Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

Some people say that the 4-band EQ on this thing is simple to use. I'd have to agree, but in the 10 years that I've had my MT-2, I found it very difficult to tweak them to get the sounds I want. I only really used about 3 or 4 settings all in all.

Custom Strat --> Boss OD-2 --> Marshall Shredmaster --> Boss MT-2 --> Digitech RP-100 --> Marshall VS65R. It can be noisy when cranked, especially with single coil pickups. To date, this is the meanest, loudest OD/Dist pedal I've ever used, even if I don't think there's enough presence (so-called "nasal" sound), and it can be a bit harsh. In certain instances, I find it great for playing lead up the fretboard, but rhythm sounds leave a little to be desired.

i think my pedal has a loose solder or something, but it's an easy fix. other than that, like other boss pedals, i wouldn't bother with a backup even if i could afford it.

After years of use, I just about gave up on this pedal as I didn't like its sound that time. Yet, just recently, I found myself coming back to it, and actually liking some of its sounds again. I believe this pedal is a nice addition to any collection of pedals, but I wouldn't recommend this as your sole od/dist pedal.

Very easy to use. This pedal has a four band equalizer built in.

It is not noisy at all. I tried out the digitech metal master before purchasing this and the digitech was noisier than anything. This sounds better than anything else out there for metal. It is a bit "nasal" as some reviews might mention. But it is great for classic metal and even new metal. I can nail Ozzy with Randy Rhoads (studio version) almost perfectly and it adds much added life to the old Dio stuff with Vivian Campbell. I even use it for Scorpions and Judas Priest. I use a Jackson DK2 guitar (alder with maple neck). These guitars sound a little thin for the low-end palm muting and rhythm. They are better on the high leads. However, I find that this has been rectified by the four band eq on the pedal. It can give you a different sound when you turn the low setting on the pedal to full. No effects pedal will cut through the mix on a bigger live venue. That's why the big artists don't use these things. But if you want a pedal for jamming in the apartment or studio, this is the pedal you want. The digitech metal master sounds very artificial and is extremely noisy. The Boss is better. If you're playing a larger venue, by a tube amp. Simple as that. Then use an Ibanez tube screamer 9 overdrive pedal. That will cut through the mix. That's what Zakk Wylde uses, I hear.

No problems here

Haven't needed it

Pretty easy to use. It may take a few minutes to find a usable tone depending on the amp you're using(30 watt solid state will greatly differ from 100 watt tube half stack), but the EQ makes this a very versatile pedal -- IF you're into metal.

I can't say it enough, if you're into METAL -- not blues, not classic rock, definitely NOT pop, this can be a great pedal. If not, look elsewhere. Just about any metal tone can be had with a bit of tweaking. Looking for SRV? EVH? Clapton? Forget it. Pantera? Metallica? Slayer? Step right up.

C'mon, it's a Boss. It's a friggin' tank. In a nuclear holocaust it would outlast the cockroaches.

Never dealt with them. Never had to.

I play about everything EXCEPT metal. I play an American Strat with a Duncan humbucker at the bridge. I got a Turbo-Rat instead which serves my purposes very nicely. I don't want to dog the metal zone though. VERY few manufacturers have the cojones to make a pedal which is strictly for metal, and to h*ll with everyone else. You want REAL metal? This is the pedal. I've tried others. They're all posers. My rating for this pedal is based on how well it does what it was built to do. In that regard you're gonna spend close to 2 grand for a tube half (at least) stack to get what this will do for usually less than a hundred.

If you can't figure this pedal out within the 1st 10 minutes it is definatey user error.

use a Schecter C-1 and Ibanez GAX70 Downshifter through a peavey transtube spreme amp and marshall cab. Distortion sound is the best i've heard for my taste. I play mostly hard-rock and i have tried several other distortion pedals that were not upto par with the MT-2. Recently i bought a Digitech GNX-2 and sold all of my pedals. After trying to get a similiar distortion sound out of the GNX2 (unsuccessfully), i went back to guitar center and bought back my metal-zone.

i think you could set a nuke off on top of this thing and it would be holding up a "ready for round 2!" sign when the smoke clears.

never spoke to the basturds

play mostly hear/hard rock and it's all i use and or need. have been playing guitar for 15+ years (damn i'm getting old). If i lost or someone lifted my MT-2 i would be at the store the next day when they open to buy another one.

With 6 knobs in total can seem a bit too much for a pedal, but its just common stuff. I dont know why some people are bitching about having a 4-band eq on a pedal? Being able to control more than just "tone" is very useful. So stop ur bitchin!! If u know how to control tone, then 4 knobs is NOT a problem. U dont even really need the manual, well, mebe for some sample tones. But just build from there.

I love what this thing can deliver. My style is either crunchy, chunky, thick, bitchin riffin distortion, or mellow, smooth, great soft tone overdrive. I am a Metallica and Steve Vai fan, and this pedal is the shit for either one(hell, for most of ur distortion needs). With the right setup(duh), this distortion will leave ur guitar happy for sounding and lookin good showing off some killer riffs from Seek and Destroy. Add some reverb and lessen the distortion, and u got some mellowed-out, I Know Your Here sound. I have a Crate Vintage Club 30 All-Tube, and the MT-2 makes this classic amp a crank machine, or produce rich, beautiful music. I use a strat with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge, and this pedal is a monster!!! I have had the Metal Zone for a couple months, and craved a Dual Rectifier: oh yea, I am satisfied... Even single-coils can rip like shit! This thing grinds equally with either solid-state and tube amps. And the EQ!!! U can get so many sound posibilities, from scooped shit, to thick/smooth and articulate. screw the DOD and the Digitech wanna-bes. DOD cant control gain, no treble frequency, and sounds worse than William Hung. And the Digitech? Cmon. U think just high and low control with a gay "I can morph and look like im worth more than 40 bux" knob and no gain control would make it as a GOOD distortion pedal? PPPPPPHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSS!!!!!! Metal Zone might be designed for metal, but it goes beyond "just metal". Never has it failed to give me a strong, solid sound, and the noise(which is almost not there) is something u cant control, so why whine about it?

The only thing I'm gonna say: If you dont know how rock-solid Boss quality is, I'll give u a quality, rock-solid kick in the ass!!!

Never filled out the warranty, but me not worried. No problems, not anytime soon, either.

I play anything, this delivers everything I play. I may have only been playing for almost a year, but i know a thing or two bout music. Screw "Im a tone-addict" people. What we musicians do is make and play music. If it sounds good, its worth it, and thats all that matters. Who cares if its all-tube full stack, or 15-watt bedroom amp. Good music is good music, and this lil box allows good music to be made. I would understand y someone would steal my MT-2. Course, id buy another one. Its the only stompbox i have, but most likely itll be the only ballsy distortion pedal ill own. Those other softer distortion pedals (like the DS-1) are nice to have, but if u want versatility, and/or something thatll grab you by the balls, this is a great pedal. If only it can also sound like a Big Muff, or a DS-1, this would be THE distortion pedal ever made. Hats off to Boss...

It's very easy to use if you take a look at the manual, and even if you don't do that it's easy to get good sounds out of it.

I use a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall Valvestate combo with this pedal, and this pedal really gives me the distortions the amp can't. I can get all the distortions I want. I recommend that you use an eq pedal after the Metal Zone to make it sound better. This pedal gives you a lot of gain, but doesn't respond to your "attack", it just gives you a lot of distortion (which is ok to me). I gave it a 10 because it's perfect for me, if you want a violin-like sustain with some gain this is not the pedal to go for. It works great with solid-state amps and I guess if you have an all-tube 100 watt stack you wouldn't use this pedal, but for guitar players on a budget this is great.

Solid as a rock.

I'm giving it a 9 because my pedal came without a manual. It just had a small "brochure" with 3 suggested settings. I got the real manual 3 weeks later.

I don't play a specific genre of music, I like to play blues, classic rock and even some pop tunes. This pedal gives me the distortion I like, this doesn't need to be the sound other people like, it works for me and that's enough. I chose this pedal just because I loved it's tone and with an eq after it, it just sounds perfect (for me).

Aright, the features on this pedal have probably been posted a good 400 times on this, so I'm not even gonna bother with that...
You can get a good sound pretty damn easily from this thing, as long as you're not a complete imbecile. I've only had the thing for a day, and I've already copped some serious tones from it. Might not be as easy to use as, say, a Fuzz Face[or any other distortion with just 2 knobs] but you can't get as many sounds from a Fuzz Face as this thing; that's for damn sure.

I'm mostly playing a fat strat into this and a crybaby wah, using a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. As soon as I got home, I played with this thing for a little over an hour, and found 6 very good settings, along with only one or two truly bad settings. Even the manufacturer's recommended settings weren't so bad, for the most part. The "Fuzz" setting is the only one I would ever consider using, though.
I've been able to cop a ton of distorted tones on this thing. I've gotten Hendrix on Purple Haze and Fire, Iommi on...pretty much every Sabbath song, Dimebag[again, on just about every Pantera song], Kerry King[same], and others.
Yes it's somewhat noisy, especially when I'm using the single coils, but what the hell do you expect? It's a distortion pedal; it's not exactly easy to find one of these that doesn't make any noise at all. If the noise pisses you off that badly, then get a damn supressor and stop whining.

I've only had it for two days, so I can't say I know for damn sure, but it IS a Boss. My cousin once got really drunk and threw a Boss pedal out a 2nd-or-3rd-story window[hell if I know why]. The next day he went looking for it outside, and all that was wrong with it was one knob was kind of messed up. Can't say that about too many other companies' pedals.

If you play anything that uses heavy distortion, and you want at least a half-decent sound, this pedal will give you a serious run for your money.
If it were stolen, I'd call up some Albanians to find out who stole it, have them get rid of the bastard, and then take my pedal back. That's about how much I like this thing right now.
Before I bought this I was mostly using amp distortion or the distortion from my old-ass Digitech RP6[just about everything but the distortion is pretty good], and I was just sick of being unable get heavy distortion at a low volume that DIDN'T sound like ass.
I bought this thing, and now my RP6 will probably be collecting dust until I decide I need chorus or a phaser.

This pedal is versatile - to a point. But that versatility makes it hard to dial in the right tone you want. For the rest - Distortion and Level controls, it's the parametric EQ that makes it complicated.

I'm using a large setup, and I've had the metalzone for about 18 months now.

I play a Vantage 118t -> Wireless -> Boss MT-2 -> Boss BF-2 Flanger -> KOD Chorus -> Boss TR-2 Tremolo -> Boss DD-2 Delay -> Boss EH-2 Enhancer.

That Enhancer is a must if you're using anything like the MetalZone! On the MT-2 you sometimes get a nice creamy distortion, but it sounds like the guy next door's playing it. The EH-2 will pull the sound back into your own practice place. Furthermore IT'S NOISY! It hisses like crazy when you turn the treble past 11 o'clock, and that's buggin me. Once again you *can* filter it out with the EH-2 but not very many people seem to have an EH-2...

The flexability of the pedal also leaves something to be desired. You can get metal distortion out of this, with many EQ options - but that's it. There was a guy here who said "I can get blues out of this!" - Please, email me and tell me how :D Because eevn with the distortion knob on '0', it is still a metal distortion and won't calm down to give you that not-so-over-the-top distortion. Treat it that way. I use this for metal sounds and screaming leads, but I borrowed a mate's DS-1 for a while and liked it a lot for it's milder, crunchier distortion. I bought one now for 30 euros, it should be arriving tomorrow.

So therefore, here's my advice: If you're after screaming creamy smooth distortion, the DS-1 is going to let you down bigtime, and you should consider the MT-2. If you want a crunchy distortion which will still go pretty good like classic rock, but no metallica sound, get a DS-1. If you want versatility - get both! They're both excellent pedals in their own rights, and they simply cannot be compared.

Well, let's say that I've gigged it a couple of times due to the lack of a good amp, and treated it roughly, and it still works. A couple of aesthetic damages but I like that :D

Never dealt with them.

I play a lot of things, from blues to rock to even metal. For rock and metal, this thing fits the bill. For blues and classic rock etc it is too shouty. As I said before, even with the distortion knob on '0' it still is to smooth and creamy and lacks dirt. But it gives you amazing sustain for leads and pinch and natural harmonics just jump out at you. It also gives a good compression for leads. You can also use it for that dark chug-chugga-chug-chugga-chug sound. So in the end, it's a decent pedal. As long as you keep in mind that it is a METALzone and that you might consider using a noisegate after it. For the rest, nice pedal!

The controls are very straight forward. I can get great overdrive and metal sounds. It is so flexible. You just have to dial to the sound that you are happy with.

I am using this through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I was using a Boss DS-1 but this pedal just makes the amp sound 10x better. It picks up the harmonics at low volume (even at bedroom level) where my DS-1 does not. I get a fat smooth overdrive to Metallica distortion with a change of the dial. Since the Fender has a very clean tone on the clean clean channel, it compliments the pedal very well. All my settings are at 12 o clock while my amp settings are 4 treble, 4 bass, 7 mid, and 6 presence. If I use the amp overdrive and set it to 3, I get a fatter mid range overdrive tone without sounding harsh even at high volume. I am playing with an Epiphone LP Standard (all stock). Very nice indeed.

I have had it for just a day so I don't know I cannot answer this question.

n/a

This is the best metal petal that I have ever had. I have used MXR Distortion Plus and Boss DS-1. Both are now retired. I play a lot of 80s hard rock raning from Ratt, Van Halen, and Queensryche. This pedal covers it all. If your amp has raspy or less then satisfactory overdrive or distortion, use the clean channel with this pedal and your amp will sing.

This pedal has 4 knobs and a 3 band Eq. It may look easy to use but it actually is really difficult to get a good sound out of it. You have to spend too much time testing different EQs

I'm using a peavy Rage amp (yes, I know it sucks - I've tried it in bigger amps too.) and an Epiphone Flying V goth. As I said before it's very hard to use, but when you get the right Eq you also get one of the best metal sound I've heard.

Many people complains that this pedal gives no tone, that's not true, I can get enough tone to get a good sound out of this, here's what I did to get the sound I was looking for:

Turn High really low : like 10:00 or so, the use plenty of lows (1:00) -- As for the mids, use a high frequ (12:00) so you can use it as highs and turn the mids volume up (10:00 / 11:00) . Using this config I've gotten a very good sound.

It looks like a tank, but do not mess up with the knobs.

This is a really nice pedal for Heavy Metal so it suits my style perfectly, but if you're not very patient don't get this. In this moment I couldn't live with metal zone distorsion, so I would bought another one If I loose this one for some reason.

Anyway test it with your current equipment since you can't get a perfect sound with every amps, in this way I would like it worked any amp.

Boss Stompbox - 4 knobs, 3 band EQ. would have got a 10, but there are so many tones you can reach from the equalizers that it takes a while to hear them all.

agile hornet----->boss mt2------>marshall 15 watt practice.
obviously noisy-its a distortion pedal, but surprisingly not as noisy as most ive heard.
The sound jumped out the pedal and kicked me in the ass! i like lots of mids, and i GOT lots of mids.
the distortion can go from bluesy to biting in the turn of a knob.
hell, theres distortion when you have the distortion knob turned to 0.
i would describe the distortion (the way i set it) as harsh and high end.
ill never need to buy another distortion pedal.

its a boss. made of metal, probably live longer than me. plastic knobs tho.

never dealt with the company; so 5

i play pantera, metallica, at the gates, stratovarius. whatever kind of metal, this will do. i also own a Boss ds2, and now that i have this, i dont think the ds2 will be getting much use. if it were stolen, i would devote my life to finding the guy and giving him another hole in his face... or i would just but a new one. if you play, blues, punk, metal, anything in between, you need this pedal. simple as that. only problems i have is that it sounds crappy with compression, and it eats batteries like a mofo. however, that is minor overall

Well... it is a pedal. Not too hard to use! :)

Ok, here is the big thing. People come on here and say this pedal is tinny, has a thin tone, etc, add infinium. I have found out why this is. Soild state technology.

Solid state: n. (soo-liyd stayte): A device specifically designed to make a guitar sound bad.

I have tried this pedal with numerous brands and sizes of solid state amps from manufacturers such as fender, marshall, crate and peavey. All of them sucked. I thought I would never find a good amp for this pedal, but then I stumbled upon the fender blues deville series of tube amps. Holy-shit.

Let me get it straight what I was looking for. I was looking to get an ultra high gain, feedback inducing, vai/satriani type tone with a nice metal edge to it. The Metal zone gives those properties, but it is the blues deville that truely smooths out the sound and brings out the best in the pedal. I have gotten the perfect tone. It is warm, full, and rich. It cuts through a full band like nothing else. The pedal itself allows you to dial in as much or as little bass responce as you want, and it is very exceptional. I can crank this setup as loud as I want and it stays crystal clear the whole way, without getting tinny or annoying.

The high and low EQ's are excellent, as are the parametric Mid and middle EQ's (a huge feature on the pedal). I can get almost any metal sound I want, I lean towards a more 80's metal sound with more of an edge to it. The Metal zone does it, no problem.

My guitar is a Godin SD, and any guitar with an exceptionally bright lead tone should sound awsome with this pedal and amp combo.

Its a boss... it has another 20 years left in it.

Never needed it....... see above, its a boss.

This pedal will shine when mixed with the right amp. If you TRUELY desire to have a great, awsome tone that your friends will drool over and will have people asking you how you did it, you will seek this pedal and a suitable amp. It beats all digital effects, and all other distortions I have seen. I am very choosy about my tone, it has to be very smooth and pleasing to the ear, and the Metal Zone/Deville combo delivers.

I have owned Marshalls, Crate, Fender. I have had the DOD death metal, DigiTech Metal Master, DigiTech Death Metal. I have played through Mesa Duel Rectifiers, and Peavey 5150s. The MT-2 rises above all of them. The manual it comes with helps you pull out some nice tones.

I play a Gibson les paul studio for my main stage guitar, and for my main stage amp i use a b-52 lg100a head with a standard crate cab.
The pedal produces a little noise but if you have a noise gate than its all fixed. The distortion comming from this thing always sounds awesome. it has a tube like analog soundl. Not all digital like the digitech metal master. You can get any sound you want out of this thing. Atreyu smooth soundin gmetal to Van halen like crunch.

i can depend on this for sure

I play in a posthardcore/metal core band. And I think this pedal is awesome for the tones that I am trying to get out of it. I have been playing guitar about 5 years. I use a B-52 head out of a standard crate cab. with a gibson les paul studio. my pedals include the metal zone. mxr phase 90. boss digital reverb. boss digital delay. and boss noise surpresser. If it were stolen or lost I would DEFF get a new one ASAP I think it cranks better tones than that of a mesa duel rectifier.

I've had a hard time finding the best distortion setting this has to offer. Easy to use, but it definitely requires some tweaking time, which to me a distortion pedal shouldn't require.

Sound quality, or tone, is completely subjective, as everyone has unique tastes. To me good distortion has lots of bass and punch, but also has warmth and definition. I've never liked Dimebag Darrell's sound because it is way too scooped for my taste, and doesn't have any warmth. I also have never liked Slayer's sound, as it has way too many mids. My idols for heavy distortion are Zakk Wylde, Adam Jones, and James Hetfield. Check out the albums "1919 Eternal" "Lateralus" and "And Justice for All" for my versions of "perfect" distortion.

This pedal could not give me the distortion I wanted. I found that it was very fuzzy sounding, and was very "nasally" or "high pitched" in nature. It doesn't sound warm to me at all, and is pretty noisy. It also sounds compressed, which I don't like. However, the one thing that it does well is cut through the mix for solos. I'd recommend it for people who want a solid lead tone at a reasonable price. As for rhythm work, it has some chunk to it, but not nearly enough saturated gain or bass for me. I have only ever played these pedals through solid state amps (would you need one of these if you had a tube amp? hell no!).

I have a tube preamp now which has the exact sound that I am looking for, so I haven't tried any other pedals, but I have heard good things about the Zoom Tri-Metal/Hyper lead (don't get the multi effects units though, yeech!), Rocktron Metal Planet, and Visual Sound Jekyll&Hyde distortion pedals if anyone else is looking for alternatives. I'm curious to try the Digitech Metal Master though, as those seem to be showing up quite a bit nowadays...

I could probably get NASA to throw it into the atmosphere from space, and it would survive the fall back down to earth, making a nice huge crater. BOSS. Nuff said.

never dealt with 'em, but their website sucks

If you love Dimebag's tone, you'll be in heaven. If you have only been playing guitar for a couple of years, and are just starting to buy your own equipment, you'll love this pedal. However, if you are an experienced player anal about tone, stay away, unless you need a pedal to do leads. Personally, for a lot of guitarists just starting out, I'd recommend buying some of those cheaper amps that have decent enough built in distortion and buying an EQ pedal to tweak the sound to your liking. Nothing will ever beat a good tube amp for metal distortion, but as technology advances maybe we will get better options for those who can't afford them.

fairly easy to use, although i can see how people could get confused by the parametric mid controls. right off the bat i should say i only use this at home for practice and for learning songs.

using it through a peavey minx 110 bass amp, setup for best clean sound posible. i think this is very important because if you put distortion on top of distortion it does'nt tend to sound very good too square wavy. it's also important to remember that this is a distortion pedal not an overdrive so using it with a tube amp is probably not going to make it sound any better! try a tube screamer. ps as some wise man said no distortion pedal will sound perfect. oh ya it also goes without saying the better the guitar and pickups the better everything sounds

it's a boss nuff said!

never had to deal with them and i've owned a ton of boss pedals.

i play heavy metal and punk and this is a good match.
once again i should say i only use this at home, to play out i use a peavey all tube 60 watt with a tube screamer ts 808.
guitars are charvel jap model 3a and model 2.

Its hard to use because of the advanced EQ. no matter where i turn it, it sounds ugly. The only setting i liked was "hard rock" which is showed in the usere manual

I've tried this pedal through a washburn 20 watts, and now a JCM 800. it was ok when i runned it through the washburn, but when i tried with the marshall, i realized how dead this sound is. When the marshall gives me warm and soft distortion, this gives me soul-less creepy distortion that hurts my ears. im giving it a 3 because it sounded ok with playing palm muted power chords on the E and A string.

Most boss pedals are reliable

I play hard rock, classic rock etc. i dont play metal so i don't know why i bought this pedal. it doesnt fit my musical style at all. if it were stolen, i wouldnt give a damn. i still have my RAT.
Im so happy that a friend of mine bought it from me.

not too difficult to acheive a good sound, but needs to be tweaked when jamming with a band due to the ridiculous amounts of compression and gain. it's great that it has such good eq options, very few pedals offer that.

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR EVERYONE: the is NO perfect pedal. but at least this one is true to it's name. I own a ds-1 (old jap ane), a ds-2,a RAT, an me-50, i have OWNED quite a few dod pedals (nuff said), i work in a music store so i have played persitantly through marshall jcm 800's, and 2000's, mesas, peavey triple xxx, the whole bit. IF U ARE SOME STUCK UP BOUTIQUE FAN,DO NOT COMPLAIN BECAUSE YOU DONT NEED THIS PEDAL. but for those of us who have clean old fender tube amps and want them to become demonic once in a while THIS IS THE PEDAL. this is boss' best selling pedal ever FOR A REASON. no mxr dime shit will come close( he doesnt use that pedal or the dimebucker, his sound comes from his ridiculous cabinets and his bill lawrence L-500 pickup) dont complain because it is not perfect, and dont expect gold if u are plugging it into some crate garbage or any kind of small practice amp. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PEDAL, I HAVE HAVE MINE SINCE 1992.

if you whip it at a wall, u might bend the level, of distortion knob. besides that, you can treat it like a slut for 12 years like i did and have no problem!!

i have never before had a pedal that made me feel as if i had gomitted a mortal sin by using it. AND I MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY. this is a great pedal and is true to it's name.

Its a Boss.....if you can use a pencil you can use this. But the manual explains everything anways.

Great metal setting for the player on a not so high budget. Great metallica sound can come from this, and any other metal sound. Of course it's not going to sound like you have a mesa boogie stack, but it comes quite close. I use a fender 65w amp with a b.c rich nj series warlock and an ibanex rg2550ex, great sound. Not strictly for metal, but don't look hear for mellow distortion settings.

It's a boss, throw it out a window, then throw bricks at it and it'll still work. (well maybe not....but who would be stupid enough to do that)

Had the pedal for a few months, but i can honestly not see anything going wrong with it. Heard good things about boss customer support though, so i'll give it an 8

Great value, the closest you will come to a great metal/rock/classic rock sound without spending thousands on amps (and guitars). I must point out the people further down the page bitching about the sound it gives .....of course pro's arent going to use this pedal as they have a near limitless budget, so if these guys can bitch on about how crap this sounds through their #3000 setup, why dont they buy a mesa stack and active emg's????? but for a player on a budget this is your key to a fantastic sound.

This pedal is "Trainable Approved". Any window-licker can make this sound at least decent.

Fender P-Bass into a Peavey Bass Amp. It can be a little overbearing at times, but that will become much clearer below.

I used to be mad metal. I was in the seventh grade in a Metallica cover band and at our first show ever, I dropped my Metal Zone on the floor. The distortion knob broke off while it was set on 10! This pedal was shunned and ignored for years.
Now I play alot more noisy kind of Fugazi/Sonic Youth kinda stuff. My Metal Zone has now become my "Feedback Machine"! Even with my amp volume and level very low this thing squeals like an eleven year old boy getting his first atomic wedgie. It is perfect for noise. I'm rating it 10 for reliability because it broke in the most beneficial way possible.

I've never spoken to the bastards.

If I lost this pedal, I would probably steal another one and break off that god damned distortion knob on 10 again.

Easy if you know what your doing. The manual comes with suggestains but they suck balls. It took me awhile to get a good sound. but thats only cuz im retarded

I use a Fender Sam ash custom strat and a Marshall MG250DFX amp. THis thing sounds awsome if you know how to get the right sound. I know it might not be the best out there but if your a teenager like my self that doesn't have any money, this is probably your best choice. The EQ on this thing has a huge range. You can get a sh*t load of different sounds out of this. The nobs are really sensitive so if you move them the slightest bit it "f"s up your sound

My only suggestain is that you don't drop it on the knobs like i did. its still useable but the distortion knob is tilted alittle. But you can drop it anywhere else and it'll be fine. You don't need a back up at all unless your a dumbass like myself. Oh yeah, after 3 years of use you might need to re-solder the output jack cuz it came loose. but thats no big deal

I've been playing for 4 years. I play punk (NOFX, Bad Religion punk not emo)and this pedal is perfect for it. Sounds awsome with Metal also. If it were lost or stolen i wouldn't have the money to replace cuz im a poor S.O.B. But if i did have money i would get something better and more expensive. I'm giving it a seven cuz you can probably get something better. But its still an awsome pedal

This pedal is awesome it is pretty easy to get a good sound out of it. The cool thing is is that thanks to the 3 band EQ you can really morph your distortion to sound like anything you want. Set all the knobs at 12oclock and then slowly move the knobs around to get a full understanding of how each knob works with your sound. The manual is ok..it gives you an idea of how to acheive a ceartain genre of distortion but you need to just take some time and really play around with the Metal Zone until you get the sound you want.

I play a Squier Standard Stratocaster with Single Coils. Strat> Boss Tuner> Boss Metal Zone> Boss 7 band EQ> Boss Noise Supressor> Fender FMR212 100 watt combo amp. The Metal Zone was the first of my 4 Boss pedals and suprisingly even with single coils it does not produce that much hiss or hum. When it feedsback it's a nice warm sound not screeching. The sound has improved greatly thanks to my Noise Supressor and 7 band EQ they really help shape the sound. But the Metal Zone alone sounds great by itself as well.

I rely on this pedal heavily considering I always play with distortion on. I've used it on every single gig with my band for the last 6 months. It is a really nifty pedal. believe me it's way better than any Marshall or even Some low end Mesa's amp distortion. This little Black Box packs a punch and a whole lot of attitude. This pedal is great for almost all Genre's of music. I play Ska/Punk and Grindcore and Metal so the settings on mine suit each one perfectly. I want to show you guys my setings if your want a huge boost in sound and quality distortion. These settings fit most styles.

Level: 12:00
Distortion: 12:00
Low: 1:00
High: 5:00
Mid Freq: 1:00
Mid: 7:00

I play mostly Crack Rock Steady (i.e) Punk, Ska, Metal, Grindcore. I'm seventeen I've been playing for almost 3 years now. If it were stolen I would purchase a new one. I love how it has just killer crunch and suits all music. I compared it to a Sansamp, Proco Rat, DS-1, DS-2, and Hughes and Ketner, nothing even came close to the Versitality and Sound Quality.

It is very easy to get a decent sound with this. You can get that classic creeping death sound within seconds. 4 knobs easy to use don't listen to the people who say it takes ages to find a good sound.

Epiphone les paul gothic/Jackson dkmg w/emg 81/60 - dunlop 535q wah -Boss ds-1 - boss mt-2 - marshall mg100dfx.

This is a good metal effect you can basically get any metallica or metal sound you want but it can't do much else apart from metal. It does what it is suppose to do very well and that is metal you don't buy this pedal for mellow distortion. I would recomend getting another distortion pedal with this e.g. boss ds-1 or something like that. I can also get a very good paranoid sound out of it. The mid's knobs make the most difference in the distortion you can get about 4 different types of ditortion. don;t listen to the people who say this pedal is rubbish it plays metal well.

I would use this without a backup because boss make good strong poducts.

This makes a good live heavy sound but I recomend buying a more mellow distortion to go with it. For what it is spose to do it does very well.

It's so easy to use . The knobs speak for itself (if you know what mid,treble,bass etc is)

I have a Fender American Standard Strat, Les Paul Custom Gibson, Parker Fly De luxe. The key is you have to set your clean setting first then start the mixing of the MT-2 EQ from center (12 o'clock).Work your setting for the mid EQ & mid frequency going left , meaning minus not boosting. I never pass the 12 o'clock in my EQ's. I add low and always keep the high at center.This is the most amazing and versatile distortion I ever used. I have a Marshall JCM800, Mesa DC-5, JCM60 and I get anywhere from Metal to Classic Rock. My motto is know your gear. Stop buying and buying give the equipment a chance, there is a very important factor in setting a good sound and that is ear fatigue. If you you are setting your equipment for more than 45 minutes, take a break and come back. You will have good results. I thank Boss for MT-2 and of course the delay and chorus. Boss rules.

like what they say , It doesn't break.

N/A
It's almost indestructable (normal usage)

I play variety. But doing classic rock . I can get from BTO to Metallica easy.I am a Filipino musician. I've been playing since I was 16 years old professionally. If I count the gigs I've done you would say I'm lying. I play variety music and for a Filipino we have to be good musicians or elese we won't eat. This is my livelihood. I a m living in Okinawa now. I'm 47 and have been playing for 31 years. I have GP-100, ME-10, GP-16, just to name a few. If it were stolen, I would be very upset and envy the one who stole it. I will buy it again. I love everything about MT-2 . It helps me a lot, I cannot pull off a gig without it.People says negative things about this product do not know how to use it and should keep their opinion to themselves rather that attacking a very good gear. It shows how amateur and in-experienced they are. Know your gear and clean your ears.

So simple a child could use it and get an incredible sound without any trouble.But time spent on learning all the subtle nuances of the EQ section will introduce you to a whole kaleidoscope of incredibly amazing distortion effects.

I regard the Metalzone as much more than just a mere distortion pedal. It is quite simply the finest amplifier emulation device currently available. Mastering the EQ is the doorway to a whole world of distortion possibilities.You can dial in the sweetest, velvet-like, most delicately touch-responsive bluesy overdrive you've ever heard, or shudder in fear at the most terrifyingly extreme metal distortion you could possibly imagine! As well as all points in between. Astonishing versatility in such a small package. They must only have geniuses working at Boss! And it is a complete myth that an extra EQ pedal is needed to get the best from a Metalzone.You can use one if you wish of course, but why tamper with absolute perfection? There is more thunderous bottom end on tap than anyone could ever use. It is so gratiyfing to see that many others agree with me that you can easily get the sounds of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Pantera, Tool, etc. from the Metalzone. You can also get soloing sounds like Van Halen, Satriani , Vai, Malmsteen, Slash, SRV, Zakk Wylde.... The list just goes on and on. But beware! This pedal will turn any amp, even the humblest of practice amps into a mighty fire-breathing monster!!! I actually find it amusing that all these big rock stars spend many thousands of dollars on their hugely expensive Marshall, Randall, Mesa, Peavey and Diezel amplifiers. Imagine how foolish they would feel if only they knew that all those sounds are available from this one small, inexpensive box!! The Metalzone can be set to sound like an overdriven Marshall JCM800 stack with ease. Or if you prefer, it can be tweaked to sound EXACTLY like a triple rectifier! What other pedal can compete with this? Let me answer that simply.There is none! This is the only pedal you will ever need and I dont just mean distortion. Effects like phaser, chorus, delay, wah-wah etc, will suddenly seem like an childish irrelevance once you experience the magic of the Metalzone and have such brutal, bonecrushing versatility at your command!
I quake with laughter when I think of poor Hetfield and Hammet, Hanneman and King, Mustaine and Friedman, Dimebag Darrell, Max Cavalera, Scott Ian and the like, struggling to achieve the sound that will alwways elude them. Will they ever see the light I wonder?

It is an established fact that Boss pedals do not ever break down. Never. They are quite literally indestructible. Everyone knows this.

I can assure you you will never have any reason to call them. Unless of course you wish to congratulate them on their superior product!!

I have tried many varieties of distortion pedal over the years including every single one of those from Proco, DOD, Ibanez, MXR, Tech21, Guyatone, Danelectro, Digitech, Tonebone, Zoom and many, many others besides, and none of them can compare to the furious majesty of the all-conquering Metalzone in any way. I currently own three of them and my dream is to have about six or seven Metalzones all conected in a line, each at a different setting, to make the ultimate Overdrive/Distortion pedalboard. If you are serious about rock and metal guitar then you must own at least one Metalzone. You will sound like a god when you use one of these!!!

The reason I give no ratings is because they only go up to ten and the Metalzone is completely deserving of at least twice such a number of marks.

The Metal Zone is pretty easy to use. A level, 4-band EQ knobs, and Distortion level allowing you to have a soft growl or axe-wealding mania. The ease is in the style of music you play.

I use various guitars and basses with this and each kick some serious arse. There is only the hint of noise on my Strat because its about 10 years old and battered to death (so much so I repainted it). The effects are always strong, but then playing in small halls with hench amps, you will always get that effect. I personally have a little Peavey Microbass II for home use - till I get outside then hook up to a Fender Bassman 1200 amp with four 8x10 cabs attached. WARNING - this setup has brought down buildings in my area. Anything built before 1900 should NOT have this setup in. The sounds I particularly get are a crossbreed of MYRKSKOG, KAAMOS, CANNIBAL CORPSE and a host of other bands with distortion thrown together to get the true sound. All in all it cost me #15,000 to make it. But every last penny was worth it.

This pedal, when I bought it, was the subject of much awe and speculation at Jewson, my workplace. To give it a test of strength, Chris our driver, ran over it in a fully loaded 13-ton lorry...and it worked as well as it ever did before from new - this proved by playing Emperor's Curse You All Men! in the yard that afternoon. If I were ever to need a backup for this pedal it would only be another Metal Zone. I've had it for 10 months and it hasn't faltered once. The only let down is that it eats batteries like I eat burgers...by the dozen. One battery 9V will last you around a week on on/off use. On continuous, it's something like 25-30 hours (which considering I have a track twice that long doesn't help me) But BOSS have the answer with their adaptor, which will cost you #25.

I've never had to deal with anyone for this pedal, but I would think that the service would be excellent.

I play Ultimate Metal - this being the next step on from Extreme Metal and not stopping at any particular point. It matches well on it's own but does lack in the right feel. When connected to other pedals it has THE effect. It is perfect for Death Metal where growl is wanted, the Old School stuff like KAAMOS. To lose it would probably kill me but then they'd make another one. It really is the mutts nuts and there aren't too many people I know who have complained when using it. It is a good rugged pedal that takes some serious shit - like a good solid rock, it doesn't give way. I would compare it to my other pedals, DOD Death Metal, Digitech Metal Master, Danelectro Black Licorice, BOSS Mega Distortion, Danelectro T-Bone, Marshall Jackhammer and so on... but they only tell part of the story. The full part is when they are connected all together with my custom built 250-band EQ and put through my Octave Drop (also by BOSS) pedal. Then it comes into it's own as a murder weapon. If anything could be added to the MT-2, I'd hope it would be an Octave Drop/Prop to lift up or down an Octave or two when needed, but you cant have everything. This pedal is THE music I play. Branded by locals as pure Satanity, (they know little of such music) it is the very soul of metal and me.

Very simple to use. There is no mystery as some would have it.See previous reviews.

I want to correct the simple-minded presuppositions of the review a couple down from this by godmachine(about his twentieth review of this pedal on this board by my reckoning)that if you don't like the Metal Zone it's either your fault or you don't like metal. This is pure, patronising juvenile ignorance.It is possible, after all, to love metal, to play metal, to know exactly how to use the Metal Zone and still hate the sounds it makes.How many gigging musicians use the MT-2 as opposed to those who only play by themselves at home? The answer is: very few indeed, as we all know. A couple of years ago to prove the point I compared a borrowed MT-2 to some other pedals. Zoom Hyperlead, Tonebone Hot British, Sansamp GT-2 (My own pedals) plus Digitech Metal Master,Danelectro Fabtone, Zoom Trimetal(all borrowed). Every one of those pedals sounded incredibly better than the MT-2 no matter how it was set, and that was through a Marshall AVT20/Marshall DSL 401/Fender Hot Rod Deluxe combos and also through my stage rig of Marshall JCM 8000 2203Zakk Wylde Edition head with two Mesa Recto 4x12 cabs. I used quality instruments by Jackson, Gibson and ESP as well as my main gig axes which are two Fender Strats loaded with EMG actives. Hell I even used the MT-2 on a couple of songs one night just to give it an even chance and the other guys in the band made me promise not to use it again.Not ever. Thin, weak and fizzy with a constricted, nasal honk in the mids which always dominates the sound is the best way to describe it.I've been playing for over twenty years, I love listening to metal, I love playing metal yet I loathe the Metal zone, and that puts me in a LOT of good company. As I say, few gigging players use one and VERY few full time pros would even go near one. Now why do you suppose that is? Because they hate metal even though they play it and they're too stupid to figure out a few simple controls? Or because the MT-2sounds just plain awful? Figure it out for yourself. That should take, ohh... half a second or so.

No quibbles about Boss reliability.

I'd say don't let other people's failures to recognize the Metal Zone's considerable shortcomings to persuade you to buy one of these. But if you absolutely must try one don't buy new. You can easily pick them up used for 30-40 bucks, so no need to cry if you lose yours "Jerbaldo". Incidentally. nice to see you're playing a decent guitar these days. Strats rule!

As with all BOSS equipment, it's user-friendly. The difference in the mid controls throws you at first, but it's basically easy if you know a little about equalization. simple and straight forward, the knobs don't confuse you.

Best ever. I use it on my Marshall half stack, and it's one of the best distortions I've heard in a long time. I've had a danalectro, DOD, and Ibanez, and they don't have the diversity or quality that the BOSS does. you can turn the bass and mid way down with the high freq. really boosted to get those screaming wacky solos, or turn the bass way up with the mid about 3/4 to get some nu-metal. everything a bit down sounds like 70's rock....it's all in one pedal. you can make it sound like just about any type of rock around.

just like every BOSS pedal. the stomping can be tweaked by using the little screw at the bottom-front. this allows you to activate it by tapping it or stomping it. I did have a problem with the small rubber o-ring that controls that, and I had to have it replaced to make it adjust again, but other than that, I've never had it go bad on me. I've only had it for about 4 years, though. I've never needed a backup, and I don't think I will for awhile.

I haven't used it yet. haven't had the need.

I play a cross between deftones, A perfect circle, and Alice in chains. the BOSS metalzone goes between all of these. I've been playing for about 5 years now on my Marshall half stack, and if my metalzone got stolen, I think I'd cry. It's way to diverse and powerful to lose, no drawbacks. It's awesome how you can adjust the tone with a small equalizer. and no matter how small that equalizer is, it make a big difference in the sound quality coming out.
Compared to my DOD and Ibanez, the BOSS blows them away. As I said, diverse and powerful.

The tone knobs are easily misused leaving users thinking the tone of their guitar is too altered when using this pedal. After 10 years of using this pedal I still feel it is important to leave all the tone knobs straight up to start with and then very gently boost bass or treble and only cut mids if tone alteration is attempted.

For the love of God make sure your clean tone is sweet before stepping on the Metalzone. Failure to this can only lead to utter frustration.

I use the Metalzone with a 1978 Marshall JMP 50 watt head and a Marshall 4x12 cabinet loaded with 30 year old 25 watt celestions. Yep, with out the Metalzone my tone is sweeeeet. My guitar is a 2000 Fender Stratocaster American Series. Yup, a $1500 amp and a $600 guitar but I have the ultimate tone.

I have tried dozens of overdrive and distortion pedals. TS-1s, SD-1s, DS-1s, HM-2s, OS-2s, OD-1s, Proco Rats, vintage Big Muffs, DOD preamps, DOD Malmsteen, DOD Grunge, MXR Distortion Plus, Digitech rack units, ART rack units, Jeckly and Hyde, Marshall Shredmaster and Governor, Morley, Dan Electro, modified Marshalls. Shit, I own 5 vintage Marshall half stacks. I've had Mike Morin, Lee Jackson, Bob Risson, Jose Arredondo and Mark Cameron mod my Marshalls. I've been looking for the ultimate tone since 1979. Thats 25 frikkin years kids!

So what do I like? Actually, I like almost everything....but what do I do I use everyday? On a Marshall half stack I use the Metalzone or a Boss SD-1. The SD-1 with the Marshall overdriven is very cool! The Metalzone on a clean running Marshall is also very very cool. It's hard for me to choose.

On a little Fender amp I use a Boss DS-1 or the stock overdrive.

The Metalzone on my Marshall half stacks is just frikin awesome. Megadeth, Judas Priest, White Zombie, Alice in Chains, Tool, Pearl Jam, etc are all easily replicated.

So don't let other people failures keep you from hearing this pedal used properly. It's tighter and punchier than any other pedal out there. It has the hardest hitting bottom of any pedal I've heard in the last 25 years.

If you are using a solid state amplifier you might try running a Boss CE-3 Compressor/Sustainer ahead of the Metalzone. At very low volume I have found this to be really cool.

I've bben playing since 1969. I love Metal and Grunge. I play in a band and do a show every Sunday.

If you don't like the Metalzone you either are using it wrong or hate Heavy Metal. Period!

My friend got a Keeley modded metalzone and loves it. I heard it over the phone and it sounded pretty wicked. I'll have to send him one for myself.

Later,

I do not own one of these (almost did though), but I have tried it out on many occasions and have heard many, many people play through it (from 1000$ BCRich warlocks and my ESP LTD EC-100, to a Squire Affinity series Tele), so I thought it'd be time to give my two cents. For ease of use, it's a mixed bag. If you have a good guitar (not necessarily a good amp as it tends to sound relatively good in some of the shittiest ones), it's very, very easy to get a useable tone. I've seen this in only a few cases so far. If you guitar costs less than 300$, you'll have a hard time getting good settings out of this (that is, if you know what you're listening for). The mid EQ is a real blessing if your guitar is fairly decent. I think it's the only reason this pedal *might* be worth looking into. Then, however, I find it extremely ironic that people go out and buy a GE-7 to boost up their otherwise bland MT-2s. People (by the way), if you're gonna buy a second EQ (and not as a boost), then by all means get a cheaper metal pedal, or even just a powerful normal-sounding distortion you can then transform it into something much better than just an MT-2, without losing 250$ to Boss. If you can't get a sound out of your Metal Zone with a semi-parametric EQ, bring it back. If you EQ it too much after, it'll come out artificial, will not cut through, and/or will be extremely noisy and will lose its original definition. That's why people say the MT-2's EQ is 'perfect'. It's as much EQ-ing as the pedal can take without being excessive. The only time I heard this combination sound really good was with a local nintendocore band. Their sound was incredibly trebly, artificial and noisy, but it's nintendo music, so it was perfect for it... Otherwise, only get an EQ if you really need a boost, and even then, their may be better choices for that. Trust me, I've tried it, and even though it may initially sound spectacular, wait 'til you get in a band (and yes, I own a GE-7).

Again, a mixed bag. I think my main complain with this pedal is that it always comes out slighty fizzy/fuzzy at the least. I used to believe otherwise, but I think that the companies who 'remove' the gain level knobs from their metal pedals are the ones who are on the right track. I own a Digitech Metal Master (which I would recommend over this any time, despite its slighty higher price) that doesn't have a Dist. knob, but the gain is set exactly so there's NEVER any fuzzyness in the sound. I had the same experience with other pedals. Anytime I hear somebody play with this (including me), it always comes out fizzy because there's not way to set the Dist. on that sweet, smooth spot. To me, at least, since this is intended for metal, Boss should've found that right setting and left it there (then maybe replace the knob with something original, like a presence knob maybe? anybody seen one of these on a pedal lately?). My friend went live with his 1000$ BC-Rich and I'm sorry to say his sound was horrible, fuzzy, and blended right in with the drums; and since his sound at low volumes was fairly good, I'm tempted to think this works better off-stage (or when it's processing silence...). The pedal's character also has that nasal quality to it, like everybody says, as well as trebly. You can turn the treble down, but then you can't hear yourself play in a band situation. This does make it very attractive to people who are constantly tremolo-picking, though, because it articulates each stroke with precision and makes for good harmonics. Although this usually depends on the amp, I can say that this one is at least better than the new MD-2, but not as good as the DOD FX86 death metal pedal. Once you get past the noisyness (you'll need a noise gate eventually anyway, unless you're lucky enough to find a silent high gain pedal, apparently like the discontinued Zoom Tri-metal that I haven't tried yet) and the 'wildness' of its sound and learn to control it, I think the FX86 provides a much stronger 'feel' than the MT-2, and is cheaper. The Danelectro Fabtone is also better than this to an extent. Really, the only redeeming factor in this pedal is the EQ (which makes it fairly versatile), but what's the point when the pedal's character lacks punch overall (or maybe a better way to describe it would be to say that it does have punch, but in all the wrong places).

Never seen one of these break. Excellent in this category and as good or better than any other metal pedal as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, it seems sad that these would be the only pedals remaining after a nuclear holocaust because those poor mutants would never know the joys of a real metal sound.

I've been playing for 3-3.5 years. I'm glad I never bought this. It's sad that I was lured into purchasing the MD-2 instead, which ended up being worse, but I eventually got a Digitech XMM which beats anything Boss makes. Most Boss pedals I've listened to, even in their own demos, simply sound too fuzzy to me. This one is no exception. The only time this *might* sound truly good would be with an expensive guitar and amp, but then, what's the point of buying a cheap pedal? I laugh at the person who put an MT-2 in front of a Mesa Boogie down there. I laugh even harder at the person who wanted to put two of these in-line. What a waste. Trust me, if your current equipment sucks, even though your ears may tempt you to get this as a cheap fix, save your money and get a better guitar and amp. I've been through the experience of buying pedals as substitutes for better gear, and sometimes it paid off, but only temporarily. In the long run, you'll only lose dough. I bought an MD-2 and a GE-7. 250$ canadian. I sold my MD-2 for half-price two years later and I stopped using my GE-7 because it drowns my sound (it's not a bad pedal, I just don't need it). Once you do have decent gear (say at least 1200$ canadian for a guitar and amp), if you still need a metal pedal, don't just settle for this. DEMAND good tone. It's your money. I've always believed that if you settle for less, you end up like the rest. Limiting it to my own experience, I'd recommend a MetalMaster or a Fabtone over this, again, anytime, anywhere. Maybe even an FX86 if it goes well with your rig (it's not the crap some people say it is, but it remains imperfect). But don't just take my word for it. Get your new shit, and test the pedals through that specific gear BEFORE buying. Don't just get something because you've been convinced that you need it.

It took me a really long time to get the sound i liked out of this pedal, but once i did get the sound i will never forget how cool it was. Well worth the effort put into it. It's just so versatile, not only did i find my sound, i figured out tons of other sounds i could get out of it. It was time well spent.

Like i said, once i found my sound i couldnt be happier with this pedal. I run a washburn X 50 into a rogue gs-100r. My amp isnt what i would call good. But the metal zone takes care of that for me. The total versatile tones you can get with this pedal are incredable. With this pedal i have played, tool, pantara, zeppelin, metallica and many more and the distortion is extreamely accurate to those bands sounds. It amazes the hell out of me.

i have been gigging and practicing with this pedal for over a year and brought a backup everytime and never needed one, this pedal is almost impossible to destroy, like all boss pedals. Every boss pedal i have ever owned is still running today.

never dealt with them

For my sound and style of music this pedal fits me perfectly. I have been playing for about 6 years and play everything except country. This pedal is for me. After you find yourself a sound with this pedal their is no turning back. If it were lost or stolen i would def. buy another one. However i would buy it new instead of used. I would like to buy a digitech metal zone so i could compare the two. If anyone has done so, e mail me and tell me what you think.

I had a Boss metal zone that i bought for myself for my birthday on May, 9 2003. I owned it for about 5 months when i realized i had plenty of time to find a good sound with it and it wasn't happening. at the time i played it through a 70's yamaha solid state 15'' guitar combo and the amp sounded beautiful for solid state, and a 99 fender american tele. I traded in my metal zone and got a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde overdrive/distortion and i still own it to this day and have played it on many amps and it is amazing.

This thing is garbage. Boss makes some amazing pedals for decent prices, but this is definitely not one of them. its noisy, there is no bridge in between a thin sound and a muddy sound. its one of the other, and i'm not looking for either one of those tones and i can't imagine anyone else seeking that tone out.

if you like the sound of this pedal, by all means get one. Boss certainly makes their pedals to last a lifetime and i would always consider a boss pedal if i couldn't afford one with higher sound quality

never dealt with boss.

i play emo/indie rock and jazz. It would be a great addition to a pedal rig for a metalhead that has no idea what good tone is. however i did tour with this, and it gave my amp distortion. even though it wasn't very good distortion it did the job while i was in between gear so i think this is worthy of a 6

It's not easy to get a good sound out of this thing. Actually, I wonder if that's possible at all. Let's try another question; is it easy to get the designated sound out of this pedal? Oh ok, yes quite easy.

Used this with a Fender strat + and mainly on different Marshall amps. Combined with other pedals, but they don't really matter.
I have to agree with other reviews that the sound of this pedal is not ok. There's no bass response, there's just an overall unpleasant sounding mid and high range. You can't hear the character of the original guitar signal; it?s like a blanket over my otherwise nice guitar sound.
Furthermore, I think this pedal is highly overrated. Ok, so you get a cheap box that produces distortion. Please don't let the price fool you. If you really want a great sound, get something else. Thank you.

O yes it is reliable but I wouldn?t gig with it. Actually, I sold it.

No, didn?t.

I really don't like this pedal. Played it to long as well, wish I got rid of it years ago, but it stood with me. Damn those reliable Bosspedals.

It is easy, but it needs some time to find the good sound.

After reading some reviews, it is obvious that the pedal depends a lot of the amp. Some settings suggested by other reviewers didn't work for me, but after testing some time, I found a good Thrash configuration.
I have a Behringer GM110 (30 Watts) and my settings are:

LEVEL: 12:00
LOW: 2:00
HIGH: 12:00
MID-FREQUENCY: 1:00
MID: 8:00 (Not the minimum, a little up)
DISTORTION: 3:00

You can find some different sounds that are good too with other settings. If you use other amp, this settings will not work for you.

I give it an eight because it is a little bit noisy. I suppose that it will be great with a Noise Gate.

Very reliably. It seems very rough.

Never needed.

When I bought it I thought it would sound bad. My amp has only one channel, so I wanted something that allow me to change dist / clean. I was very surprised with it and I recommend it. But give it an opportunity and try different sounds until you find the good one.

I bought this thing back in 2000.

Well, the only difficulty that it might show is the fact that it has a parametric mid eq section, which is really easy to control once you understand what's going on there. Then there's your typical high, low, gain, volume, blah blah. The manual has some really crappy 'recommended' settings, but it's useful on explaining the pedal's functions. Your typical distortion pedal with a few extra whistles.

I used to run this thing from my Ibanez RG1550 (Dimarzio loaded) with D'addario 10-52 strings tuned to E to my Peavey Bandit 112, only with a Boss GE7 in the way (great unit, by the way)

To be honest, this black box sounds like crap. And no, I have NO EXPERIENCE with tube amps. I've never played anything but SS amps. And I don't have 2 grand to put on a Marshall. But I do have a discerning ear...

This pedal sounds very thin! The bass is either BOOMY or it just isn't there. The highs are the most horrible buzz I've ever listened to come from a distortion pedal, you gotta put em low (like 10 o' clock) and pump the highs from the amp if u don't wanna get your ears pierced. The mid EQ section is, well... deader than dead. It lacks warmth and presence. It has a fizzy 'trademark' tone that you just CAN'T get rid of.

Cranking the gain is a really bad idea, it will bring tons of hum and your tone will be mush. 3/4 AT MOST.

I hate the fact that it compresses the signal.

I hate almost everything about this pedal. The tone is horrible to my ears.

Well, it has never failed on me... it seems dependable but I wouldn't gig with this thing. I hate it THAT much.

Never.

Well, I play stuff from Hard Rock to Black Metal, and honestly Black Metal is the only thing it can do 'decently'. If stolen, I'd regret I hadn't sold it b4 and then buy something else. NOT a MT-2. There are tons of better distortion units out there, in my opinion. It CAN'T nail Metallica, Megadeth, Faith no More, Death, Judas Priest... it flat out sucks. The only tone it can EMULATE halfway decently is Dimebag Darrell's tone (Pantera) and I don't like his tone, for starters...

I truly dislike this unit. I can't stand it, not even for bedroom practice. The only good thing is that it seems very dependable. Besides that, I think I'll be selling this thing really soon and buying a decent unit really soon...

I don't recommend this pedal.

Real easy, just listen and dial in your tone, see comments about the sound.

I wanted a pedal to give me a heavy/heavy metal sound because I play through smaller tube amps that dont have that kind of distortion build into them. I wanted this as a pedal that I would only occasionally use. After bringing it home and playing with it for a few minutes, I threw it in a box were it stayed for a few years. The pedal sounded bad, figured I would never use it. Recently I got it out and played with it some more. I got a useable sound out of it. It has a bad nasal quality that is built in an I can't get rid of it. If it wasn't for that feature, it would be a good pedal. The tone adjustments have a good sweep, can get a variety of sounds. Good level of distortion.

Built well, should last.

Never had to deal with them.

I would not buy another one, will look elsewhere. I play mainly classic rock, blues, but needed something were I could occasionally hit the bottom hard.

May be confusing to beginners but no problems for experienced guitarists who have used stompers before.

Like many guitarists I bought one of these years ago as a newbie and soon outgrew it's lack of real guts or versatility.The most honest way I can describe the sound of this unit is to tell you that it gives a bland and fizzy "me too" kind of distortion. It's not exactly awful but it doesn't have a lot of distinctive character either. The midrange is definitely thin and pinched like a stuck wah pedal which the EQ section cant ever get rid ofbut if you can live with that it's reasonably punchy for palm mutes. Just dont crank the distortion up to high or it becomes mushy.Also it definitely sounds better at low volumes than high ones. All round though its probably the best choice for anyone who just wants a cheap, reliable distortion pedal with a generalized sound for wanking around in your bedroom at low volumes and never plans to gig or jam with friends. It just can't cut through a band mix. It's a million miles away from that gutsy all-tube Marshall sound that so many big name players go for, so don't be deceived into thinking you'll be getting anything of that calibre for your hundred dollars. Some of the reviews here are way over the top and obviously by inexperienced players who just never heard a good distorted guitar sound in real life.Zakk wylde and the Slayer guys manage to get a killer sound out of their Marshall rigs and they don't use a Metal Zone.In fact I can't think of any name metal player who uses one of these units for their main sound.It does sound better with an GE-7 Equaliser but still not that great.

Itis dependable being a Boss but I sold mine six months after I got it. I'd NEVER use one on a gig because of the thin midrange sound and its inability to cut through in a band situation.

It says at the top of the review submission page that "superficial, glowing reviews will not get published" yet this board is full of 'em and that's disappointing.Very,very few products even of the finest quality deserve a 10 rating for sound. I'm not saying the Metal Zone is totally awful.If you never plan to leave the bedroom arena you'll be ok with it. All i'm saying is don't be misled by all the over the top reviews on this board and DON'T expect miracles.

It is easy to use once you know what each knob does, messing about in the shop I was struggling a bit.

I don't know where to start. I had my parent's get me this for my birthday as I wanted to replace my cheapo overdrive pedal and reckoned with all the EQ control I would be able to get a good sound, maybe even better than my cheap one. Wrong. I use a Jaguar into an old Peavey Musician 100W amp and I could not eradicate the nasally, boxy sound of this pedal no matter what I did. I tried different guitars, humbuckers and single coils, messed with the amplifier EQ and drive settings and an hour later gave up, almost in tears. I plugged my cheap overdrive in and it brought a smile back to my face. Everyone I spoke to before raved about them but everyone who heard it agreed that it was horrible.

I have had to use it in three gigs while I wait to get it exchanged, obviously it sounded crap in all three but the battery compartment popped open in the third gig. I almost destroyed the battery wires stomping on it in this state. Rubbish.

I really wish now I'd just replaced my cheap pedal with a new cheap pedal, now I'm stuck with #70 credit in a music shop. If it were stolen I would feel sorry for the poor sod who would have to endure it's nasally whining.

Straightforward on/off stomp box with gain and EQ. The Parametric EQ is not well explained in the manual and will take novices a while to tweak the EQ just right.

Awesome is the only word to describe this, i have a jackson with EMG-hz humbuckers and i can nail the tone for any metal band. The most impressive thing with the pedal is its outstanding clarity and low noise compared to my amp distortion and most if not all of the digital line6/COSM distortiongs i have tried.

Some people wil undoubtably compare this to a tube amp. If had money to buy a dual recto i would and this would be THE ultimate metal sound. However this pedal only cost #70 new!!! a bargain. No it doesnt sound quite like having a real tube amp. But its the best metal sound short of buying a 5150 or Recto. For metal this pedal blows anything marshall every made out of the water. Most of their JCM heads are too weak to get a nice chunky muted metal sound. I recently bought a boss multi effects ME-50 with all digital distortions in it, it wasnt even close to having a true analogue pedal.
One of my favourite features about this is the parametric EQ, it can transform your sound from dimebag darrel to some mid heavy 80s in seconds. Unlike some EQ's on amps turning the knobs makes a HUGE different to the sound coming out. Although i have seen people abuse the EQ and as a result get some auwful sounds from the pedal.

it built like an aeroplanes black box. i dont think i could break it if i tried.

never had to deal with them.

This pedal is perfect for my sound, and currently owns the metal distortion market.
If you want to sound like any metal band this box of tricks will do it for you.

Easy to use even FOR idiots. level, distortion, high, low, all self expalnatory. Middle cuts or boosts the mids.mid freq. sets the turnover point for that. There's no mysterious black art about it as some clowns want to make out.

This is a weak distortion by any standards. I play metal& gig usually twice a week most weeks so I know what I need and it aint one of these.the mids have a honky nasal tone which makes the pedal sound like shit. Tweakin the mids wont get rid of it either.A total waste of bux. It couldn't pulverize dried up dog turd (sounds like it though)

Boss are usually v.reliable. this pedal can easily be killed though. put it next to a Danelectro Liquid Metal and its gonna die of shame.

Dont waste time and money on this overated POS. get a Dano Liquid Metal or an H& K Warp Factor,better yet get a Boss MD2 Megadistortion+ eq pedal for a pretty good take on that brutal menacing boogie recto sound.

Easy to use for most. I'm sure idiots might find it hard to use.

Gear:
ESP Lynch Skulls/Snakes, Clapton Strat, Ibanez s1625fb
TC Electronic G-Major
MT-2
Tube Screamer-modified
Digitech envelope filter
BBE 482
Mesa Studio Pre
Mesa 20/20
Mesa 4x12 cabs x 2

Don't use all at once of course, but that's a sum of the gear I use most.

The MT-2 sounds great before the g-major and through the 482 to the 20/20. Very amp dependent though....sounds terrible using a ss pos (which is what most of the bad reviewers are using). I like it better than what I can get from the studio pre playing my s1625.

So far so good.

Never dealt with. When I've played my gear to death, I don't bitch at the mfg, just buy a new one.

For instrumental progressive rock, I can't find a better alternative, especially in the price range.

From all the stompboxes this was the one that gave me more trouble due to that mid frequency knob. It can definitely screw up your tone if set unproperly.

If we don't consider that mid frequency problem once you found the proper setting this one pulverizes everything else out there. I tried many distortion pedals but no one even came close to this. When the MT2 is on it's best it becomes untouchable. When i use it with a rented amp it becomes my main distortion unit and with the distortion just under the half it delivers so much gain when other units need to reach at least 3/4 of they're setting. While if use my Flextone i just turn the distortion to zero and the you go, i got an amazing drive boost. Too bad it will take some ages unless you are lucky to find a great sound

Well the only thing about boss pedals is that, at least in my experience they are not the most solid ones. You'd better stick some gaffa tape on it and write down your knob setting because if you miss the pedal and hit the knobs or just have them touched while moving your pedalboard bye bye setting. And on the MT2 that's a big no. And thate is that awful plastic ring in the pedal/battery compartment that might get broken easily and i noticed that everytime it happens the pedal has a hard time getting activated. I would recomend a spare one around

never dealt with them

Well if you are a metal player you'd better get it, especially if for some reason you gotta use a stompbox for distortion. I already talked about it's structural flaws, but hell...if you want metal distortion this is the only way. I tried the Warp distortion and it wasn't going anywhere, the digitech one...god awful, the ibanez classic metal got close but not enough and the smashbox was way too cheap sounding.

I don't want to say much about the Metal Zone:
--If you want to sound like early Metallica or Pantera buy this pedal
--If not, buy a Pro-Co Rat II.... I have both, and each is suited for different sounds.

Try these settings for the "Master of Puppets" Metallica sound:
LEVEL:12:00 o'clock
LOW:5:00
HIGH: 11:00
MID-FREQUENCY: 9:00
MID: 7:00
DISTORTION: 5:00

I have been playing since 1985...you will not find a cheaper way to sound this heavy.

Cheers, Donald
Auckland, New Zealand

The ease of use on this pedal is somewhat straight forward but you really need to tweak it to get an amazing tone. Once i had the EQ set up i was having trouble with volumes. I usually like a little boost in volume when i hit my pedal...but i found that if you turned the volume knob on the pedal past about 3 o'clock my amp feeds back a lot at high volumes. Later i realized that you can cut down on a little distortion and turn the EQ up a bit and it looses the feedback and works perfectly. To sum it up...it took me about 2 weeks before i got the tone i love out of it

absolutly amazing. This is by far the best distortion box out there in my opinion...i love the tone im getting and it sounds extreamly brutal :)

Boss seems to make all their pedals to be built like bricks...

have yet to deal with them...hope i never do

I play in a hardcore screamo band (influences: As I Lay Dying, Across Five Aprils, Thursday, Finch) It works perfectly for what im doing...perfect tones. My dad plays in a oldies rock band and even though this thing seems to have more of a brutal sound he managed to get a really nice cruch/ overdrive kind of sound out of it...so the versatility is somewhat there too.
anyway i love this pedal. a must.

It's incredibly easy to use, once you have the hang of the equalizer. Im still a teen and I've figured out various tones such as the Kirk Hammet style all the way down to Toni Iommi. It can also emulate other distortion pedals such as Jimi Hendrix type tones if you just boost the lows a bit and turn down the Dist. very good pedal.

Although there have been many complaints about noise, i tend to be able to avoid it and still get a great sound. Maybe switching pickups on your guitar could help but i've never had a problem and ive had this thing for over a year.

It's very dependable, mine has never had any problems. It eats batteries pretty quickly but i use an adaptor with a daisy chain to all my other pedals. Saves a lot of cash.

Well, ive never needed customer support because its pretty simple. But with the 5 year warranty to it i doubt i ever will.

I play everything from metal to soft blues and this can emulate pretty much any sound in between, but is more useful towards the heavier sounds of course. Ive got a Fender Strat and a Gibson Les Paul into > Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah > MT-2 Metal Zone > DS-1 Distortion > BF-3 Flanger > CE-2 Chorus Ensemble > Fender Frontman 212 combo amplifier. The sound is perfect though i do get much much feedback. I compared it to other distortion pedals before buying it but i found this to be the best most flexible pedal and for the extra money is more than worth it. It certainly helps me get every tone i desire for the most part. I would defenitely buy this pedal, It's great. And i aggree you defenitely need your fucking mids.

LIKE MANY REVIEWS SAY YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH IT. ALOT. IT CAN SOUND SO DIFFERENT WITH JUST LITTLE TWEAKS

THERE ARE A LOT OF BAD REVIEWS ON THIS BUT TRUST ME IT ROCKS,LIKE I SAID YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH IT THE KEY IS NOT TO GET CARRIED AWAY PUT EVERYTHING TO 12 AND TWEEK A LITTLE HERE AND THERE. ONE HINT USE YOUR MIDS DO NOT SCOOP THEM I HATE WHEN DIPSHITS SAY THAT.YOU NEED MIDS TO ROCK HARD THEY CUT THROUGH. THIS IS NOT THE THE END ALL ANSWER TO DIST. BUT IT IS CLOSE. YOU CAN REALLY DIAL IN A GREAT THRASH HARD ROCK SOUND.

ITS A BOSS PLEASE.

LIKE I SAID ITS A BOSS YOU WILL NOT NEED IT BUT I HAVE FOUND THEM TO BE VERY GOOD

IF YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A GREAT METAL PEDAL OR SOUND GET THIS PEDAL YOU WILL HAVE TO PLAY WITH IT A LOT BUT ONCE YOU FIND IT'S SWEET SPOT WITH YOUR SET UP YOU'LL SLEEP WITH IT AT NIGHT. I WOULD REPLACE IT IF BROKE OR STOLLEN

The pedal is real easy to use. A retard with drool coming out of his mouth could easily figure out how to get a good sound out of it. I bought it used, I didn't need a manual.

I use a Fender Mxican Strat with various mods into a CS-3>DS-1>Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer>MT-2>PH-2>BF-2>CE-5>DD-3, then into a Marshall VS100 combo. I love Boss pedals like crack. This pedal is very noisy, just like all of the other Boss distortion pedals. I hate the noise. I don't know if it is the guitar or what. It was normal for a long time, now it makes a hideous noise. Great other than the noise.

It's Boss. I would rely on my Boss pedals more than anything else in my life. Including my family, car, girlfriend, or anything else. All of the pedals I have work perfectly. No back-up necessary.

Never dealt with Boss, no need. I am curious about the Keeley mods, though.

I play lots of rock music, some blues, and some harder rock. I also dabble in jazz. I have been playing for about 6 years. I had a DOD Grunge for years, and this sounds much less annoying. It certainly helps me make music. Deosn't get a 10 beacuse of all the damn noise.

This pedal is a pain in the butt. In my opinion, there are too many ways to tweak the sound, and only a few settings that are actually useable.

I use this pedal with a fender 12" chorus amp, and a peavey 110 amp- with a fender strat w/ emg 81 pickup in the bridge. I think the distortion and tone could use alot of help. The only way I can get decent sounding distortion out of this pedal is if i turn the mids all the way down on my amp.

I guess it is dependable, but i'm not sure, cause i've only had it for a month. One thing i am sure of, this pedal eats batteries pretty quick

I guess this pedal is suitable for personal jamming, but it is extremely hard to hear with a drummer, as opposed to my dod grunge, which was perfectly audible- cutting right through the mix. I play mostly metal, like slayerish type stuff, and i must say, the dod grunge is a much better choice, in my opinion. Not only is it easier to use than the boss, but its also cheaper, and gives a much more tubey, high quality distortion.

It's easy to use .
My first reflexe will be to scoop ythe mids and fool aroubd with the med freq.
-and it sounds great just like this I just d'ont like these two in one dials but orelse the pedal would be 2 times as big.

It's good for killer metal like some metllica and especially pantera.
But first of all you got to know it's transistor so the sound soun's more like a buzzsam than a hot tube distortion.
It's not to polyvalent cause there is now play you can play blues or jazz with this( even by turning the gain all the way down cause he sound stink's)
I recomand using it with a humbucker cause with a single coil it's sound like playing threw a very very bad noise reducter ( and the noise is still there )
so this pedal is for trah or metal and for this it's sound good.

It's boss so It's good I use a lot of boss pedals and they never broke

I never dealt with em' exept I went on the web sit and the mltimedia demos ar EXELLENT!!!

Great for metal an easy and cheap way to get randyroads killing sound metallica's ride the litening sound and dimbag's trademark chainsaw sound!!!
Cheap and Good!!!
Just no good for everything thatdoesn't enter in the metall zone...

Bought it yesterday. It took about 20 minuites of tweaking
to get a good sound out of it. 2 stage knobs takes a little
squinting and getting used to. Unlike my other effects, I dont
expect to touch the knobs once it's on the floor.

I play mostly blues using a homemade strat into a Boss Blues Driver,
then into a nice old MusicMan 210-65. Lately my band's been getting requests from the teens at weddings, and stuff, to play some FooFighters, and the like. Well, a Blues Driver into a MusicMan
just wont do the Hi Gain thing. So I picked up a Boss MT-2.

Nice stomp box. There's a Mitsubishi car ad, in B, that has a nice Recto crunch to it. I fiddled with the MT-2 until I got it to sound
as close to the guitar in that Mitsubishi ad as possible.

After about 15 ~ 20 minuites I got it pretty close. Not right on,
but close enough to have seved me from spending $1,000 on a Mesa.

And that makes me happy.

I have other Boss Stomp Boxes, and other than slurping down batteries
I've not had any breakdown's. However, I use a Boss Chorus and
the control pots are getting wobbely. It is over 10 years old.

Never needed any. Have visited the BOSUS.COM website looking for specs
(more specifically mA current consumption figures so I can decide on a Boss PSA-120 - 20mA - power supply, or take a chance on the 1 Spot power supply - 800 mA so I can stop buying batteries), But these kinds of specs are nowhere to be found on their site.

Overall, I only have it for a day and found one setting I like.
But that one sound will do the job I need, to be somewhat current
and make a living, at 1/10 of what the real thing costs.
It's a good tool, and I'm pleased.

i give it a nine because it's kinda hard to find your sound (i spent about 3-5 minutes) But when u do find the sound ROCK ON! But my amp stinks, so it was kind of weird cause in the store every sound worked good with the amp and on my amp sometimes they stink
I guess you just have to have a good clean sound

I use this with a schecter c-1plus (awesome guitar) and a marshall mg10cd amp (the clean sound is BAD!) It actually doesn't have bad noise problems!!!! The effect is AWESOME!!!! I can get a good distortion sound, but it's mainly for metal. But if you turn the volume on your guitar down the mt-2 still kinda sounds the same (only complaint!)

very dependable

I play in a metal/ industrial/ classic rock/ southern rock band this pedal is AWESOME for any kind of metal, it is very clear, it is NOT a thin sounding distortion pedal(for all u people who take the lows out!) Best distortion pedal u can find!!

It's not very difficult to use. but for me it's hard to get a good sound since it has a lot of settings...

I use LTD (ESP) M-102 guitar and Roland Cube 15. I use only bridge pickup.
I listen to seattle grunge (Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Hole, Babes In Toyland...) and thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura), also Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Guns N Roses, Marilyn Manson (mostly antichrist & portrait), Hypocrisy, Behemoth, Death, Vader, Mandragora, Dimmu Borgir & Dissimulation (the only black metal bands i listen to). And i play mostly Nirvana and Metallica songs + trying to write some mine grunge or Hypocrisy-type songs. Metallica, Hypocrisy, Dimmu Borgir sound well to me with MT-2, but still i don't like it's sound very much, it's too noisy for me (great for "kill em all", but sux with "master of puppets"). And it's NOT for grunge at all. Since i'm getting more and more into grunge, i am going to sell this one and purchase a DS-2.

It works well. of course i would use it on a gig without a backup

have never dealt

It's good for thrash metal like "Kill em all" with distortion level all the way up, but it lacks something when playing something more heavy. it's too noisy, i think.
and it don't help me make music. i can get a headache playing with this shit all day, so sometimes i just switch to MD-2 on my Roland Cube.

Couldnt Be easier

Read this, for the people who bag on this pedal because it sounds fake its shitty or some other retarded reason, they havnt opened the potential of it.Cmon , it will sound like shit if you scoop all mids out(and I know thats what all you metalzone newbee critics do) and max out the highs, lows, and dist. Add mids to your clean channel on amp, halfway on the metalzone(mid freq. just a touch higher)halfway on highs and a touch more on lows with dist. about 9o'clock. Now if this sounds like shit, you probably have a crappy setup. But I tried this on so many setups(Good and Crappy) and the metalzone NEVER FAILED ME or other guitars that have tried it.

Boss never, ever builds crappy pedals

always great.

Buy this pedal trust me. Theres goin to be a critic for everything you buy, and theres alot of critics against this pedal because they have no experience. I have experience and Ive been playing METAL too long for some metal guitar wanabee to tell me or you wrong.

The Boss metal zone pedal is very easy to use, if you know what sounds you are lookin for. You can get great distortions out of it, you can go from a soft distortion to a huge distortion that is insane. I don't have the manual, I bought it from a store used for only $30!!! And it is in great shape, just like it was new without the box and manual.

The boss metal zone pedal has the biggest heavey metal distortion I have ever heard, so far. THis pedal is insane, it is not for all you cool kids who like punk music, punk is terrible, punk has some of the worst musicians ever. Definitly a pedal for anyone who plays metal. The only thing I don't like about the metal zone is that it gives out alittle too much middle, but it is still a great pedal.

It is a Boss pedal, it is made of metal, Boss pedals are built to last. When I play shows with my metal band I use the Boss metal zone pedal.

Never had a problem with my boss pedals, so I don't know, but will give a 10 because they are probably good.

I have about every kind of pedal made, distortions, overdrives, flangers, phasers, fuzz, compressor/sustainer, delays, and many more. But the boss metal zone definitly has the heaviest distortion I have ever used. If this pedal was lost or stolen I would probably buy another, I might not only because I don't play metal a lot.

If you want easy to use, by a typical hot rodded marshal clone. Getting a metal sound from solid state gear takes more work but can sound heavier if you're trying to get a really heavy "guitar" sound that doesn't really sound like a guitar anymore at all. What sounds good by yourself won't sound good with a band because you need mids to cut through, so you have to spend time with the EQ. That's why this has a 4 band EQ. It'd be nice to have a middle notch, but it will do everything necessary to get the sound right for the amp and pickup. It takes more effort than plugging into a mesa boogie, but it's not rocket science either.

This is the only distortion worth using for hard metal. Tube amps are nice and easier to get the sound right with, but will never sound as heavy as this pedal can with the right amp and pickup setup. It doesn't sound warm, or sweet, just cold, harsh and heavy. Unless you're looking for an unintelligible sound, there should be NO distortion of any kind in the signal chain after this pedal. Also, high gain pickups are pointless and can hurt your sound with this kind of distortion. I use a Les Paul with plain paf type humbuckers, and of course I only use the bridge pickup with this pedal. Keeping the pickup height backed off a bit gets a better sound. Use the most powerful clean amp you can find, whether tube or solid state, though this will usually be solid state unless you're using a HI FI tube amp or something. Tube guitar amps are made to distort, even if only a little, and you need the opposite with this pedal. Solid state guitar heads with lots of power (more than 100w rms with a 4x12 cab) or PA heads work best since they have a useable EQ and spring reverb which I use a little of, and a decent one will go very loud and very clean. With lots of clean power and the EQ dialed in right this pedal will beat anything else for a hard tight metal sound. Very smooth and tight distortion with a very fast modulation so it never craps out into chainsaw mode and can follow very fast muted playing. It's a very dense blast with open chords and a very tight bass hit when you mute. This pedal doesn't do overdrive, it doesn't do blues rock, and it's not useful for anything that actually sounds like a guitar. If you want to sound like clapton, beck or page when your cover band plays at the bowling alley, don't buy this pedal. I've heard and played through all the garbage people were wasting money on in the 90's with all those rack preamps and multieffectors, and they all suck compared to this. I've never heard a useable distortion in any multieffects unit or rack preamp that didn't take a lot of processing just to sound like a metal zone in a tin can. For what it's supposed to do it's a 10, or anything else it'd be a 0.

Typical Boss pedal.

I wouldn't know.

If it were lost and I was still playing metal I'd buy another one. I have no complaints, this does one simple thing and does it right. A middle notch in the EQ would make dialing it in a little faster and easier.

Anyone aquainted with effects pedals in general or just plain using an EQ shouldn't have a difficult time with this pedal. Really, as far as pedals go, it's very simple. However, those wanting a more "tubelike" sound (i.e., tube clipping), will be quite frustrated. This pedal works best for speed metal/heavy picking attacks. If you're looking for subtlety, you've bought the wrong distortion pedal. As far as the sounds this thing is capable of producing...lock in your favorite metal tone and then forget that the tone knobs are even there (assuming you don't change your amplifier!). This pedal is one-dimensional, but what a dimension! I've not found a tighter, fuller-sounding solid state distortion pedal. There is definitely a reason that this pedal has been a standby for many metal enthusiasts. And despite what the "tone snobs" will say about its lack of warmth...I say tube and solid state are just different colors of sound...I actually find most tube amps to be brittle and problematic in certain contexts...although that's not to say solid state amps and effects don't have their share of problems. Just realize what this pedal is: a METAL Zone...not to be confused with tube screamers or big muffs, or tube preamps, etc....try learning English and actually pay attention to what words (again...in English) are on the box and/or pedal.

I've used the MT-2 with a variety of solid state amps (Crate 1X12, Crate 2X10, Crate GX900H with 4X12, Peavey Transtube Supreme with 4X12 cab loaded with Celestions (G12H-80's), and a Kustom Quad 65DFX) and several guitars. I've used cheap strats, a cheap Les Paul rip off, a shitty Charvel (my first electric guitar), an ESP 200, ESP 207, and last but best, a US Masters Versatek. I've had luck with every setup I've had. This pedal does react differently to different amps, but its never a radical shift, and minimal tweaking should be necessary...it really depends on how you EQ your amp.

I basically go for the old Metallica sound with this pedal...it doesn't nail Metallica tone, but it's in the ball park...then again, Metallica was using a lot more gear than I can afford! Anyway, for the money, it's the best Metal pedal you can buy.

I give it a nine on this because there is a bit of a hiss that comes along with your sound when your playing. It's not very noticeable until you really stop and analyze the sound. Overall, however, this doesn't detract much of my enthusiasm for the pedal...other pedals I've used are worse!

Unless you're trying to break it, you shouldn't have a problem in this area. I've had mine for 9 years, and it's held up very well.

Don't know. Never had a problem.

If you're into metal, and you're working on a tight budget, I would recommend this pedal. If you've got the cash, go for a nice, quality preamp or something. For the money, this thing really shines.

Small knobs,Takes time to tweak.Touchy with different amps.But like all things it takes time.

Using the Boss Metal zone,A DOD Death Metal Pedal and the Digitech Metal Master(distortion freak) ran throught a couple of Yamaha Guitars(The good quality ones,not the cheap ones) that have different pick ups,like 1 has the Seymour Duncan Distortions and another has the Seymour duncan Invader.Running through a Marshall Solid state head(TUBES SUCK!)and sorry,a tube head can only give you a portion of good distortion.

I use 3 pedals,but very reliable.

Never had to deal with them.

O.K.here is the scoop.Dont listen to these people who "i cant stand this pedal",if you dont like it,take it to a pawn shop,or better yet,,find a person standing outside a guitar store and give it to him!.If it was stolen,yes i would replace it!This is a great pedal.I have been playing speed/thrash/death for 16 years,(I am almost 30 now,)and love distortion more than what i did when i started playing)and if you dont play old fogey Van Halen/Foghat/Led Zepplin/blues/country/etc that your parents would listen to(sure i have respect,but that is all i have for them).Other than that,dont let these people bash on this product.It can cover sloppyness,but so can a overdrivven crappy tube amp cranked to "10"(solid state all the way).So go buy this pedal,better investment than owning a pro-co rat or a overdrive pedal(you want to hear a "tinny"sound buy a regualar distortion pedal or a overdrive pedal).Better yet get it modded,it would scream!.THIS IS A METAL PEDAL!thats what it says,it doesnt say"Lawrence Welk,Geriatric music pedal"

Because of the dual equalizers, it was difficult for me to choose the settings. Once i found the perfect settings the pedal was amazing. After experimenting with the different settings I found there were settings within the manual which I highly approve of. Hard rock, metal, overdrive, rock, British rock all these settings are included.

Its is very very quiet when you want it to be and loud when you want it to be. The leval knob on the left side of the pedal gives you the option of volume of the effect. Boss has there reputation of desirable effects and this is no less than perfect. This pedal gives me the fuzz i want out of my old Fender Blues Junior tube amp. I suggest the metal settings, it is the best effect.

It Boss they have the best Reliability. And a 5 year warranty.

I have not had any problems with it so far.

It works with all types of styles and I strongly suggest this pedal. Its one of the best Boss pedals I have played on.

It's pretty damn hard to get a decent sound out of this baby, I've been using it for about 8 months now and I'm finding my tone now.

I'm using an Epiphone Goth Les Paul through this pedal only into a Marshall MG10CD, which is mic'ed with a Shure SM-57 running into a Behringer UB-livemixer into a Crown 2x1000Watt amp and a London City 2x500 into 2 LEM 15" subs and 2 LEM 12" tops with horn tweeter.
This pedal gives a little hum when not playing while the dist is on, but once you start playing it rocks out. The only way of getting a good tone out of it, though, is NOT ignoring all of those knobs on your guitar itself. I've got my bridge-volume to 9, neck-volume to 4 for some extra thickness. Bridge-tone to 7 and neck-tone to 3. I added a tiny bit to the highs and lows and cut a bit on the 5K mids, and now i get a thick rythm tone which is still not too shrill when playing a solo.

It's more or less busted right now, the footswitch isn't working half of the time, so I'm going to return it and get it fixed.

Never delt with.

I'm mostly playing metal and rock. For a rock-sound I really have to drop the output of my pickups to like 1 or 2 out of 10, else the gain gets too much. For metal it's great though, I've made it scream and growl and it does it all!

this pedal can be a pain in the ass, to get a great tone out of. mostly because it reacts strangely on different amps. and the knobs can be tricky, because of the huge difference of tones with the mid-sweep knob. never had a manual with it.

i'm currently using the mt2 with an old randall head,4x12 cab, celestions. and, an 80's les paul studio,w/emg's. i really hate to see all these guys knocking this pedal, because it's one of the best metal distortions out there. it really depends on the application. i've played this pedal through several different amps, and had to tweak it extensively, to get it to work right through each one. my current amp, the rg100 randall, loves this pedal, but i still had to set it up specific for this amp! the level sems to be low on most amps, and i think that's where most guys are getting the signal loss that is mentioned. my settings on this amp are: level: full-on,bass:12:00,trble:11:00,mid freq:10:00,mid level:10:00,gain/dist:12:00-1:00 positions. but as i said every amp is going to act differently to this pedal,btu, once you get it set up for the amp, it's a monster. i also used to run it through a mesa bass amp(about 300 watts tube),and 4-4x12 cabs,and seriously i had never heard a heavier, brutal sound. i do think guys buying this for anything other than heavy type music,are not reading the label. and guys that are not getting a good heavy sound out of it are not tweaking it to it's fullest extent. it can sound nasally, or thin,and maybe isn't the ultimate distortion ever, but i get a ripping sound out of it, and i'm not a kid on a little practice amp, i've played in full bands for about 10years,and guys that i play around with 5150's,mesa's,marshalls, whatever, always come up to me and ask what in the hell i'm using! evryone comments on how sick the tone is. again, dial in your particular amp for the tone you like, andthen adjust the pedal according to your amp. i'm currently getting a metal zone modded by keeley to see if it improves the level and overall natural nature of the midrange. i'm giving it a 9, because it is hard to dial in the right tone for different amps,and even it's gain can be improved from what i've heard of the keeley mods.

absolutely, i've had one of them for at least 8-9 years, and never had a problem, and i won't have a backup until i get my modded pedal back. never needed one for a few hundred gigs.

never dealt with them, i always buy gear used.

i play hard core/ grindcore/regular rock, and this pedal does it for me. i've been playing for about 15yrs now, and using this pedal for about 10 of them.if it were stolen or lost i would definately buy another, and they're easy to find.i love the amount of dist. it has on tap, i never turn the gain all the way up, ever! and it can go from zepplin, to soilent green! i wish it didn't have the tendancy to be low level compared to the plain signal going into the amp, that's why i run the level all the way up regardless! i' hoping the mod will take care of this.

since you have a four eq options rather than just one tone knob it takes awhile to dial your tone in, but that that option is exactly what i like about it.

i'm a classic 60's/70's garage punk and hard rock player. my set up is pretty vintage so i'd never use this for overall tone BUT for certain leads this thing is killer. the scooped mid on the neck pick up sounds awesome. not something i'd use alot but a great pedal to have in your arsenal especially for recording.

i think i may have spliced the the 9volt wires back together once. other than that you could drop a brick on it and i doubt much would happen to it.

n/a

for how often i use it i wouldn't pay full price for it but worth having around if you can get it on the cheap.

It's easy to find a good sound. A lot of control for so few knobs.

I am using Washburn guitars with EMG 81's, usually going into a solid state Peavey, sometimes a Fender super six. This is in my opinion a very quiet pedal, especially considering the amount of gain. Reviews that I have read are usually a love it or hate it affair. A lot of people seem to get angry when they hear a great review of it. As other people have said, this should be used for extreme metal sounds, is wicked even at low volume levels-distortion is better around 12 o'clock, 9 o'clock for high volume with the band. It is true that this distortion won't let the unique character of your guitar show through, but I'm not playing blues here. Maybe not a purists effect, but for the price I think it is amazing. It's a matter of taste. First VanHalen album it is not. Newer wicked metal it is. Maybe I have immature taste, but I have been playing for 17 yrs., have tried a lot of dist., am still looking for something to top it in my opinion.

Dependable-needs no backup. This shouldn't be special so no 10.

As a do it all distortion, not a very good rating. But for a narrow taste of wicked scooped metal, I beleive they hit the bullseye. Years ago I tried a ART dist/reverb pedal. I cant remember the name and wish that I had bought it. It had a real stud wicked distortion and a pretty good reverb(the boss reverb/delay pedal totally sucks). I'm looking for this pedal.

It is a little hard to get the sound you want out of the MT-2 from scratch. A good idea would be using the settings that come with the pedal and tweak them to your liking. It's a bit complicated.

My Pedals are run through to a MG Series 15DFX practice amp. I play an Ibanez GRX 40. This pedal is not noisy at all except on the bridge pickups when the distortion is turned full, but thats to be expected. It also feeds back like a bitch through my acoustic. The effects never sound weak, but if u play blues or rock n' roll u screwed with this pedal. This is good for thrash, metal hardcore, and some nu-metal line NIN and RATM.

This thing is very dependable. I have had mine for about a year and only one of the knobs has been bent a bit, but is still in awsome working condition. Boss is a very dependable brand. I would use this without a backup live any day.

Have not had to deal with them.

I play heavy metal along the lines of In Flames, Metallica, Slayer...etc. It is a great pedal for thrash and hardcore as well. You can also get a not-so-bad overdrive from this baby. I have been playing for about a year and 1/2. Not very long, but i practice a lot so i believe my oppinion should matter. I also own a Boss DD-3 Digital delay and an Ibanez TS-5 Soundtank. If it were stolen i'd be really pissed off. I would buy a new one. I love the great tone you get out of this pedal, especially when run through mdg's....mmmmmmmm good.... One problem with it is that it is not really ideal for anything but heavy music. I compared this pedal with the DOD Metal Master and the Digitech Metal pedal, however the MT-2 beat them both. I wish it came with built in flanger...but thats just me...im weird. I highly advise people to buy this pedal.

very simple. 4b eq, dist, level.
if you havent been introduced to a 4th eq yet, then you'll have some
fun.

using with squier strat to
mt2
ce2
dd3 to
peavey transtube pro 112

sounds fake. good distortion, but sounds too much fake. like a circus tiger, trained, but restricted. can go all around the cage, but forget about ripping trough humain flesh. it has more crunch than the dist on the amp, but the amp's dist still sounds better. sounds good with the amp's vintage dist, but too much hum.

anyway, cant get any of my favorite band's sound. I guess it's okay for bands like metallica, or any other shallow metal band, but dont expect to let your spirit bleed through the strings.

reliable. the only way your would beak it is if you play with a frickin hammer on stage. why would you do that anyway? if you do, then bring a backup, but otherwise, dont even consider it.

playing 4 or 5 years.
stolen, I wouldnt buy another one. that's what I'm planning to do anyway right now.

better than nothing. not satisfying though.

It's pretty damn easy to use. There is a 3 band eq with sweepable mids, a volume knob, and a distortion knob. Pretty easy.

let see... I had this pedal since i got my first electric guitar. that was 8 or 9 years ago... i liked the sound of it then.. I thought it was the best distortion pedal on the market, because it was the closest thing you could get to metallica in a stompbox. But about 5 years ago.. I got a Marshall head... and I just used the distortion on that rather than messing with pedals, and i pretty much forgot about the metal zone. I was bored the other day.. and I decided to hook up the old metal zone. I couldn't believe how crappy it sounded. Harsh... like something coming out of a tin can. The battery wasnt the problem cause i just put a fresh one in, and i even tried it with a power supply, but i got the same results. I can't believe i used this pedal for 3 or 4 years. I guess once you get a taste of something good (marshall distortion) and you get so used to it.. and then go back to something you cherished and used for so long, you realize how shitty it was. Basically.. most of the new players out there start off playing low line equipment... as did I... and they were looking for a nice heavy sound like metallica, megadeath, nu-metal, etc... cause they don't know what tone is.. and they cant get anything heavy out of their 10 watt crate or fender amp. Generally there is hardly any bottom end in those combos and the metal zone provides more than enough low end boost to get a scooped sound. They will realize that their metal zone is crap, once they get out there and try some other equipment. I fiddled with it for almost an hour trying to get a decent sound out of it. It was horrible. I now have a gibson les paul standard with the new burstbuckers, and I use a marshall 50 watt super lead (metal face), so the gear isn't the problem. There are so many better sounding distortion pedals out there, like, ones from boss even.. like.. ds-1 or ds-2 turbo distortion, proco rat, fulltone distortion pro, fulldrive, etc. All of the aforementioned listed are better sounding, and don't have the harsh mids and brittle high's of the metal zone. Not to mention this is a battery and tone sucker, and it's noisy as hell.

Well.. I certainly can't bash this pedal in this category. The pedal still operates like it was new, it has a sturdy, solid metal case, and seems to be able to take a beating. No Problems here.

never dealt with boss.

I play a bit of everything. I like Guns n Roses, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Cream, acdc, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc... pretty much all over the place. i've been playing for almost 9 years now, and I have a good idea in what is crap and what isn't. The metal zone is leaning towards the crap rating. It sounds completely horrible compared to the DS-2 or DS-1, or a fulltone fulldrive, etc. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It is Boss's best selling pedal, cause all the people who use it are the newcomers of guitar playing, and they don't get a chance to play something real or good sounding, and they think this is the shit. They'll realize that the metal zone is crap, if they research and try some other pedals.
Cheers

this unit is so easy to set up that my mom could set it up. very easy sound shaping

I'm using a 66' fender band master, modified with 2 6L6 tubes and 4 12ax7 tubes and other mods, its pushing about 100 watts, the mettal zone blows out all other pedals by far.

I would throw it at a brick wall and use it im my live settup moments later.......very dependable

no need for it

By far its the best distotion without a marshall amp and those who complain about it are the ones who don't know what it does in the first place. I play Gun's and Roses and sound very accurate with this pedal I also play NELLY FURTADO,Bon jovi,Metallica,matchbox 20 and its quite versitile its one bitchen set-up. I also noticed it cut the noise down in my rig, clean tones are much more defined and kick ass without the noise. I hate people who bitch about distotion saying it covers up bad playing, its take take good playing to tame distortion(almost another skill) so don't give the play clean to sound like a pro shit, distortion and clean are two different animals both take good skill to play.

The Metal Zone, love it or hate it. It's not easy to get a good sound out of this pedal, you will be tweaking a lot before the end. I strongly recommend turning the distortion down when playing loud (not past 12 o'clock), it doesn't help your sound. The manual is somewhat helpful, but you really need to try this pedal and see what settings work best for your style of music.

Sound quality is adequate, but tends to be somewhat tinny and weak. You really need to boost the bass and mids, or else your guitar will get lost in the mix. I once plugged straight into my amp (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe - 40 watt all-tube) and getting this really great blues tone. Then inserting the Metal Zone there was major frequency shift. The mids dropped out, and even after boosting them with the tone knobs there is still that "metal" sound. This is definitely a metal-only pedal, if you are playing anything else you will not like this pedal. I plan to replace this pedal with something that has a hardwire bypass, anything else will affect your tone adversely.

Pedal is very reliable. Haven't broken it yet after nearly 8 years.

Never had to deal with the company.

I notice that some people who say they don't like this pedal and give it bad reviews indicate that they play blues or RNR. It's a disservice to the people reading this forum to confuse them with bad reviews when you should not even be using the product in the first place. However I do play metal and having said that I would not recommend this pedal. There is no hardwire bypass and it sounds tinny. It might be good for the beginner or someone looking to duplicate metal guitar sounds in their basement or bedroom without having to crank an amp. I will keep this pedal as a backup but I want something with a true bypass feature and better sound.

Fairly easy, if you sit down with the manual and start tweaking the knobs to see what they do. The presets in the manual are useless for me, until I tweaked till I found what I wanted, and it matched the Heavy Metal setting, except for the drive. More below. I give it an 8 because there's more than one knob. Oh, hell, even one knob is too much for some.

My use for this is with SD JB's in the bridge. Start with a Morley Bad Horsie, MT-2, Keeley SD-1 (set for boost), into Mesa amps with a DOD EQ and a Line 6 Delay in the loop.

I've had this thing for well over 15 years, and hated it very soon after I bought it. I was using an original Japanese DS-1 into a Fender Harvard (ran at 10 all the time, nothing like it :-), and wanted something harder. The MT-2 was fizzy, shrill, weak, empty, nothing that someone else below hasn't said before. It may work for bedroom floorgazing, but you sure as hell don't want to turn it up. So, in the garage it went.

So, I'm cleaning out my old guitar stuff for either ebay or the shitcan, and I pull this out. I think, well, one last time before I sell it. Hook it up, and the same shrill noise. But then, since I gave up distortion pedals and just use boost pedals now, I turned the drive to 0 and the level to 1 o'clock, heavy metal setting, and BAM! My Mesa's (Mark 1, IV, and V-Twin, no Rectifiers) sound like a wall of Recto! Unbelievable push, grind, I couldn't believe it. So then, in the undeniable lust for more boost, I put the Keeley SD-1 in front of it. Sounded like shit. That never happened before with boost. Then, in a fit of creative rage, I put it after the MT-2, before the amp, level on 2 o'clock, drive on 8 o'clock. NIRVANA!!! If you think Mesa's sound good, try this setup out. The only thing left to do now is send the Metal Zone to Keeley for his Twilight Mod. If you even sort of like Boss, try a Keeley mod. It doesn't get any better if you're trying to get a serious message across.

The only real downside is a tiny bit of distortion bleed when bypassed, I don't know if Keeley can fix this or if I'll need a true bypass box for the clean stuff (that's why I don't go Recto or Marshall) but it'll be worth it when it's finished.

9 as a boost, 6 as a distortion pedal.

I have never had a problem with Boss pedals in 28 years of playing. I wish I could say the same thing for women.

No reason for a backup, you can always find another one the next day somewhere. But when Keeley's finished with it, I may have to keep one for a rainy day.

Never needed Boss for any help, and Keeley is going to take over after the mod. Customer service doesn't get any better than Robert Keeley, period.

I play everything from crappy jazz to lame rock to arthritic shred metal. You'd think after all these years I'd be better. Oh, well, it did get me laid a few times. I've finally settled on a usable rig, now if I can only trim 80 pounds off my Boogie amps.

It makes me play longer than I usually do, so that's a good thing. It even makes me write more songs, so that's an even better thing. Try it as a boost, you won't be disappointed.

On a small home setup (in my case a 15w marshall valvestate) it can be easy to enough to get a useable sound out of it. Not so much a "good" sound, but just a workable sound - something u can jam with at home.

But when you start to use better equipment with more power you immediately notice how hard it is to actually get a "real" sound out of it, and it takes a lot of twiddling to find something you could use.

The manual supplied as can be expected has a few suggestions, but these are pretty pointless to be honest, because you should be aiming for your own sound.

In rehersal with band I use a maverick X1 --> marshall ed1 compressor --> metal zone --> boss noise suppressor --> marshall 100w hdfx head --> 1960 marshall cab. The reason for me buying it was because my amp distortion, although very good, wasnt quite loud enough or cutting in rehersal so I thought a metal zone (on recommondation) would get me a cutting sound. To a certain degree it did, once i had dialed in the best sound. But the actual tone that i was getting was awful - it doesnt sound real by any stretch of the imagination. It wasnt crunchy at all, just a kind off fizzy metallic sound with no real body to it. The kind of music we play is hard rock, metal , but this pedal just doesnt sound right to me. No matter how much tweaking I did with it, i just couldnt bring myself to like the sound that was coming out. In rehersal situations it made my tone very cheap sounding , as though i was using a #50 amp cranked right up. I have now invested in a Marshall Jackhammer pedal, which is far superior, and actually gives a much more real overdriven distortion sound with plenty of body.

very reliable, with it beign a boss and all.

n/a

overall, this pedal is good for bedroom jamming and possibly home recording, because on smaller setups it can be tweaked for a useable sound, but if you want a natural hard distortion for live and rehersal then this pedal isnt for you.

I'm sorry but i feel i should say something to warn anyone looking here for info on this pedal.

I am tired of seeing posts by guys who use this piece of shit and say that its the best pedal around for metal, and saying that people who say it sounds tinny or harsh are using squires and crates.

i bought this, played around for a few months before giving a review, so i tried it with many different setups (most were kickass setups) and it actually sounded a little better on the cheaper rigs. but it really sounded like shit using good equipment. i am used to tweaking every little thing in a signal path to get a good sound, but this sucks.

i guess if someone wants just thick distortion thick enough to cover up slop with a harsh and tin sound, this is it.

so dont think buying this will give you an immediate "good" sounding metal.

i think those who rave about it are getting thier 2nd distortion pedal that sounds a little heavier than the rogue pedal they started out playing with. it's o.k. jr, i know you think its the bomb right now, but give it a few years for puberty and experience to set in, and then you will understand.


i'm sorry but this hype about the MT2 from new guys (or guys who have played a few months and went from rogue distortion to MT2) are just setting up alot of people who are in the market for a good pedal to be stuck with a heavy piece of shit.

This is the main downfall of the pedal...takes a long time to get a perfect sound. It's very sensitive and the suggested settings in the manual are quite poor! Don't worry though..enough tinkering and you will find something eventually but just make sure you make a note of your settings!

i play the mt-2 through a fender champion 30 dsp amp with a mxr phase 90 and an epiphone les paul. I would give this a 9 out of 10 because the setting i use is fantastic but at least half of the other settings you can dial are piss poor! at times you'll have the mid so high that turning the distortion knob between halfway and full wont make any difference.

Definately...it does use batteries fast so just buy a cheap adaptor and you'll never have to worry again! But other than that its metal and built like a brick so it isnt goin to break in a hurry

Never dealt with boss but ive heard good things about their customer support so i'll give them an 8

I play mostly Brit Rock like Muse, Radiohead and The Cooper Temple Clause..You can get a great Muse style sound which is quite similar to the zvex fuzz factory sound Matt Bellamy uses. If it was stolen i think i'd try something else but this definately is worth a look at cos theres so many different tones you can get...also at high volumes it can sound shit again depending on the settings u have. basically its just all about patience with the pedal and it getting it spot on.

not easy...
6 control... but this isn't the problem... the regulation of mid freq is SO hard cause it's very sensible.

well... my configuration:
gibson les paul (gothic)-> noise suppressor ->[DS2-> MetalZoneMT2 -> EH BigMuff ->FlangerBF2 ->Zoom505II]-> amp:fender deville 410

his sound isn't bad BUT sometimes i had the impression that with this distortion i was playing with a mosquito into the amp. (ZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)
perfect for play metal of every kind... and if you have the time and the tranquillity to STUDY its sound, it will be perfect for ALL.
pay attention to high and mid regulation. They are the problem. pay attention. =)

perfect

good, but it is not the best!

This product is realatively easy to use, it took me a good 10 minutes to get the settings right but generally easy.

i am using a Marshall ATV-100 with it and the sound is perfect for my purposes. It is a perfect clone of Metallica's sound and is the only pedal i have found the appropriate crunch of the band in. Iron Maiden and Guns N Roses also sound great.... basically any metal overall great metal sound.

I definately use it in gigs with no backups, it is not breaking soon.

This is overall the perfect pedal for my metal purposes. I would certainly buy another if it were stolen, from no other source can i get such a great metal sound. I would be lost in band practice/gigs without it.

It takes forever to get a decent sound out of this thing(if it can even be called decent).There's a few extra knobs on it so it's not moron-friendly. By the way, the settings in the manual suck. I rate ease of use an 8 unless you can't figure out an EQ with mid frequency.

When I first got this I played it through a Fender Frontman 25 and it sounded like shit and then I got a Marshall JCM800, and yep, still sounds like shit. It's not like i'm using cheap gear either..I play a Fender Strat with a Rio Grande humbucker in the bridge and Tex-Mex's in the neck and middle position. As for sound quality, if you really enjoy having all the heart and soul taken from your guitar's tone then this pedal's for you. I even tried putting a Boss EQ after it but there was no way to get this thing to sound good.

Boss makes good stuff. I have other pedals by them and none have had any problems.

I mostly play blues and blues oriented rock and this pedal sucks for everything except music that requires you to be untalented. There are way too many people playing guitar these days with no ear for music. They should all give their guitars to someone who actually knows what SOUL is. I hope this pedal gets stolen so I can laugh at whoever stole it. I wish I never bought this piece of shit when I could have bought something MUCH better for less or about what I paid for this.
Final Verdict: DON'T BUY THIS PEDAL!!

Need different combinations to figure out your taste, after that you are set.

One of the best, I have a small practice amp, it makes it come ALIVE!!
again, with a 1000$ amp I dont think you get what you want but i've hearn in band situation this thing SMOKES every other distortion pedal.

Its BOSS WHAT CAN I SAY? Just kidding :)

No human being alone without any other tools can damage this. It will knock you out.

For its price its absolutly ONE OF THE BEST.
Compare to all its one of the top ones.

It's not difficult, really. But I don't know that I'd call it easy to use either. This is a difficult thing to rate since acclimation to gadgets and their options/settings is different for each person. I found it VERY easy to use once. The labels under the knobs are self-explanatory. But there are 6 knobs which can be a lot for a stomp box. So versatile that there's almost too many options for a little pedal. Manual is very helpful with recommendations for sound, though I didn't care for most of the recommendeds.

Gear: Fender Mexican Strat and Gibson Nighthawk with a Boss TU-2 (awesome), DOD FX Compression, Marshall Shred Master (set for a good warm light crunch overdrive), BOSS MT-2, DOD Ice Box Chorus, Dunlop Crybaby, Danelectro Tunamelt Tremolo, DOD FX Digital Delay/Sampler, Morley Volume to a Peavey 50W/410 tube combo amp. Not noisy, the effects are incredibly versatile with the parametric mid EQ. You can boost high or low mids. Totally awesome! Rather than really perfectly nailing any one particular artist's sound, I find I get 90% close to most of them, which is close enough for the non-guitar player. Creed, Zep, Hendrix, Matchbox20, MxPx, SRV, Metallica, Hootie & the BF, etc (like I said VERY versatile). I wish I had another!

Super reliable. I've jumped on this thing, dropped it, I've had cords yanked out of the jacks and it keeps on ticking. Short of scratching the paint you can't hurt this pedal (or most Boss pedals).

Never had to deal with them, though support through Boss's website is quite helpful.

I've been playing for about 8 or 9 years. I play mostly original rock now. Harder than Springstein, Matchbox 20 and GooGoo Dolls, but not quite as intense as Creed or Nickleback. Probably somewhere along the lines of Foo Fighters or Switchfoot (don't know who they are? gott find out). But I play around with punk/thrash just for fun and my friends and I love Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Stones, Eagles, Who, etc and this pedal can do it all pretty well. I don't just give all 10's to everything, I'm usually quite critical but I just couldn't find anything wrong with this one.

It has more knobs than most other distortions, but that's actually great, since you can get a more unique sound. It took some time for me to find the right setting, but when i did... Wow!

I use a Marshall JMP 2203 100w and a Marshall AV box (which i just bought). Many people kept telling me that MT-2 works really well on this type of marshalls.. And the combination really is great! I put the bass to 3 o'clock, turn the treble down completely(why is it there anyway?), the middle to a half or something around, the mid-freq. to 2 o'clock and the dist. to 1/2.Knocks me out, true heavy metal sound.

I bought it new a year ago, it seems indestructible.No problems.

Didn't need any yet.

It's really great for HM, but i imagine you could get a variety of different blues/rock sounds from it as well.. really very flexible. I think i'd buy it again if it were stolen, as you really get a lot for the money. The treble does bother me,though... just gets in the way, really!

Ok now,this pedal is not one of those "Dial the onlyone tone knob" things,it has rather more advanced EQ if i can say so,its not 200 bands EQ but one is parametric,the one for mids,lets you choose the frequency you wish to change.Really nice,you can dial mids from dark stupid metal tone which i dislike very much to a nice blues-rock type of tone.
You got Tone,High,Low and Gain controls too,nothing to suprise anybody who ever saw a pedal.

Well,how about a little advice?If you see a review that has a 1 for sound quality and starts something like this "Oh,this pedal sucks,trough my 10000$ Mesa Boogie it sounds thin,and also my 4 Marshall heads are better too......" SKIP IT!I just hate those guys,i mean you have one of the best state of the art amps that is like 4000$ more expencive and you are comparing it to a little metal box with few transistors in?
Im writing this for you dudes out there who are struggling to buy any equipment and try to have fun with gear that is not worth millions,like i did.
First,that METAL in pedal name is pure marketing shit,i dont like metal,in fact i hate it,i love blues and hard rock,and i did get those sounds out of this pedal.I have Roland JC160 and Strat,pretty basic stuff,but hey i work hard and money is not fallin from trees you know.I get that rock sounds i always wanted out of solid state amp,rich,with lots of sustain,and clarity.Noisy,yes it is,but its a pedal to remind you.I never dial gain to full,its too much for me ,so it really has power.This is my setup High=0,Low=full,Mid gain at full and frq. at 2 clock,now you havent seen this on other reviews right?Well it just a fact that every amp reacts differently to pedal,so you need to dial the right tone for every amp.In the shop it sounded awfull,but guy let me try it at home and i never returned it :)))

Had it 3 years,no problems.

All you folks who are not having thoushands dollars to spend on amps,this pedal is great,for begginers perfect.Im not sayin youre gonna get exactly a Marshall sound,thats imposibble without a ........well,Marshall head.But i believe every gutarist is dreamin about all tube amp,well at least i do,and i will get one for sure,those things are the best out there,but if you need something that will keep you satisfied and give you that devilish smile on your face when you hit that riff and it responds with so much power,this pedal is for you.

Very easy to get a workable sound. I bought it used so no manual.

Here is were it gets tricky. I got this used for cheap, I normally play through a fender Bassman 2 12 cab, dble humbucker pups. This pedal sounded like garbage through this setup, may be good for people that cant play to cover up their emberrassment. I took this pedal from my non climate controled detached studio to my house for the winter. In my house I have an old 2 12 yamaha solid state, very clean sounding amp. My other pedals dont push thia amp enough, but the MT-2 makes it sound great. I put all the knobs at about 12:00, sounds like good 80s hard rock, AC/DC, some OZZY, Sabbath and so on.

Boss is very reliable.

Been playing for 20 years. Hard rock some blues. If it were stolen I would buy another one , but wait for the same price. It is good for practice, but too much with my real set up. I chose this because it was at the pawn shop for the price, otherwise I would not have bought one. Good to have if you can get it cheap, but lot of better sounding stuff out there for the retail price of this pedal.

Well,first off its not easy to get good sound out of a pile of shit,which is exactly what this pedal is.

I was using this paper wieght with a Gibson Flying V through my Marshall 80 watt combo,everyone was talking me up on how great it was so i bought one.After i hooked it up and jammed for a few minutes,i noticed such a tinny,fake,dull,lifeless tone,i kicked it into the wall.Good thing i got my money back on this second coming of the turdish 'Heavy Metal Pedal',which was weak,crappy and lacked gain also.

Are you joking?I wouldnt use this pedal to audition for The White Stripes(who suck ass)

My name is Rob,i mainly play Prog,Metal,and classical(Howe,Rhoads,Van Halen are my main influences)If the pedal were stolen,i'd give the thief bus fair to take it home,it would be a good thing if it sounded halfway decent,but it sounds too much like mice fucking in a tin can.Digitech's distortions are a billion times better than the tone on this thing.

The manual has a set of suggested settings for different sounds which are good to use as a guide to shape your own sound.

This is the only pedal I have in my setup and all I will ever need. At first(1 year ago) I didn't like it until I realised it was because back then I couldn't tune my guitar very well and only tried it on my lame 15watt Peavey practice amp. Once I upgraded to a 50watt Marshall MG amp the Metal-Zone gave me one of the best distortion tones I've ever heard. Here are my settings "High" 9o'clock, "Low" 3o'clock, "Middle" Zero, "Mid Freq" 9o'clock. I can't wait to hear how it sounds when I upgrade my guitar to a better one and finally get a Stack amp.

Hasn't Broken before, don't think it ever will.

Haven't had to deal with them.

Ive been playing for 4 years and play mostly Offspring, RATM and Metallica apart from my own songs. In my opinion, I'd say the Metal-Zone sounds good for playing most styles especially for Metallica & Offspring. Its the only pedal I'll ever need and would replace it if it was lost or stolen.

This pedal is not the easiest to tweak....but it will give you some nice sounds if you work at it.

I like hard rock sounds..this mod improved the pedal. I like the smooth hormonics and the higher distortion settings. I don't play that much heavy metal. The pedal can still get tin sounding when you dime it. The bass setting sounds like some one placed a blanket on my amp. I can get close to Pantera or Ozzy with this one. I like Les Paul's and this is a good distortion pedal that can get heavy enough for just about anybody that is ready to rock.

Boss makes good stuff.

Brain got the pedal and modded it right away and got it right back. He answers emails fast. Seems too do all the right things.

I mostly play blues and classic rock, this could be used for a lead boost of sorts. As a main tone generator it is too heavy for me. I thought a mod might bring this ol' pedal out of the closet and help blow some dust of the speakers which it can do. The overall improvement is there...over the top?? no..just a nice heavy metal pedal improved in a good way. More sustian, smoother dynamics and richer harmonics. That is all now go play your guitar.

VERY EASY

VERY QUIET CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF DIST ON TAP. VERY STERILE, THIN, CUTTING TONE. THIS IS NOT A VERY VERSITILE SOUND. DOD DEATHMETAL IS ALOT THICKER AND MORE VERSITILE (AND CHEAPER TOO), BUT A NOISE GATE IS A MUST WITH THAT PEDAL. GREAT FAKE METALLICA TONE W/ TUBE AMP (SOLID-STATE IS MUCH TOO THIN).

I USED THE WRONG DC-ADAPTER ONCE,AND IT WAS BROKE FOR ABOUT ONE MINUET. THEN IT STARTED WORKING AGAIN. I HAD ONE FOR 3 YEARS, AND SOLD IT. GOT A NEW ONE A YEAR AGO . IT STILL WORKS, BUT I HAVENT USED IT MUCH (2 OR 3 BATTERIES).

TUBE DISTORTION IS MUCH BETTER. I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 9 YEARS. BEST FAKE METALLICA SOUND OUT THERE, BUT WAY TOO THIN. SOUNDS TERRIBLE W/ EMGS. 6 FOR SOLID-STATE/ 7.125 FOR TUBE *** ATTENTION METALHEADS ***-SELL YOUR PEDALS!!!, AND GET A TUBE AMP!!!!! DONT LISTEN TO NU-METAL OR CREED OR LINKIN PARK OR TECHNO!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

I had this pedal between 1992 and 1997.If you have mess around with distortion and eq pedals before the metal zone should be pretty easy to figure out.i have to admit the parametric mid control is very flexible in tone compare to the digitech parametric eq's which didnt do no justice to my sound at all.I guess if you buy those pedals brand new the dealer should provide you a manual.

I've ran this pedal through a fender m-80 chorus combo w/a gibson les paulincluding amps(fender sidekick switcher,peavey ultra 120 amp.I cant recall any noise problems but i do remember playing with peoples metal zone boxes and it would get real noisy when you turn the guitar volume knob down.Personally i dont pedal distortion but this is probably the best distortion box that i ever played through.It doesnt have that cheap fuzzy crap tone that most standard distortion boxes have.the only thing that i dont like about the pedal is that it has a very fake lead tone(ala wah bass filter)which is way i like amp distortion it has a natural harmonic sense between high and low frequencie .But the eq is great,very versatile ranging from warm valve-like tones/tear your face off scooped mids metal tone.

no comment

i never dealt with them

Personally i like diffrent metal sounds and this pedal does a decent job with it's flexible eq.But the truth is within the last 16 years as a guitar.I'm sorry but a distortion just doesnt have the balls and power that a fully driven amplifier has. Nowadays i just stick to my marshalls because that's what hard rock/metal is all about no imitaters please.

Teenie weenie little knobs. Need to were my magnoplasmic glasses when using it on stage.

Very hard to find a fat sound that cuts through but blends well with the rest of the dudes. Extremely noisy used through my 100 watt Marshall I guess if your just a basement metal head band and you wanna' be the loud and proud dude this might work.

It's a Boss. They don't break. Switches will dye after about 20 years of steady stompin' though.

It's a Boss.

I added this pedal to my board 'cause I wanted some real grind for a couple of Metal Head tunes the boys wanted to play. I finally found the sound after about a month of messing with it. This is not an easy pedal to use, unlike the Boss OD's that sound good just about anywhere they are set. I have a pedal board with 10 effects on it and this is the hardest one to use. If you turn the gain and the distortion down to the 9:00 o'clock setting it's usable there. Anywhere past that it becomes uncontrollable and way to scary to use live. Get one if you really wanna' screw up your sound man. They just hate them.

Very easy to use..........it's only knobs how hard can that be?

I'm playing a stock strat thru a carvin x100B half stack and a fender sidekick 35 bass, and this pedal sounds good thru both of them. I play funk-rock, and I use this pedal for my lead tones. I can get dirty heavy percussive sounds to clean sustained sounds ala carlos santana. Don't let the name metal zone fool you, it's a very versitle pedal that you can tweak and get many different tones. I first got a DS-1 and it was way too tame as a distortion box. Metal zone will give you the sustain for legato technique and still keep the clarity to hear every picked note during solos.

c'mon this is boss, I've never had any problems with any boss pedals.

I've played thru many pedals, and I was cautious when getting this pedal because I didn't want that shrill cheap amp type distortion, but I am pleased with this one. I really love the smooth gain and sustain. If it was stolen, I would buy another. I gave it a 9 because there's always room to improve on something.

Do you know what Gain, volume, and EQ do? Then you can use this. Gave it a nine because nothing deserves a 10 (nothing's perfect), and the mid-sweep might confuse some fresh rookie guitartists.

Now this seems to be where the debate is. And I think I have the solution to it. I used it through a Peavey Bandit (one of the newer models), and the other guitarist in my band still does. I got an absolutely amazing sound out of it and it was my main distortion for 4 years. Now I got my mesa stack I don't really use it. I tried it through the clean channel on my mesa, and it sounded like shit; had the tinny, thin sound that others have complained about. So the solution i mentioned earlier is that it seems this pedal really depends on the amp you put it through.

So I would say this: If your a young or begining guitarist who can't afford a "real" rig (Mesa, Marshall etc) who needs awesome metal distortion, this is your pedal. If your someone who bitches that this pedal sounds like crap throuh your mesa or marshall, well tough shit cause if you have a mesa or marshall, you don't need this pedal anyway.

Gets a 7 for the amazing sound it made through my Peavey Bandit, but not higher casue I gave my Mesa head a nine and its much much better.

Made of metal, takes lots of stomping and keeps.....uh....romping?? (needed something that rhymed). The two middle knobs broke off, but only after my 10 pound stereo speakers fell on it from 4 feet up about 6 or 7 times. (one would think I would move the pedal after the first or second).

Havn't had to deal with them.

As a distortion pedal, this gets an 8 cause it is capable of amazing metal tones, but loses points cause it really does sound like crap through some amps.

Easy to set up. Not to hard to get a great sound out of. Mids however do make a mass difference when setting your sound, But thats how its susposed to be.

This is the best distortion box ever. It has mass harmonics, razer sharp highs and super tight bass. Great for metal. Anyone that thinks this pedal sucks must be playing the wrong music for it. Dont expect limp bizkit or blues to come out of this thing. This pedal does sound like METALLICA MEGADETH and SLAYER. Mass gain . I love it.

Its Boss. It Metal. Nuff said.

never delt with but their website kicks butt. You can sample the metalzone and other pedals as well. Just remember that the metalzone sounds even better live.

Ok I play metal and use jackson and bc rich guitars with upgrades to them. I know metal ,been doing it for 11years now. It goes through a ampeg vh140-c head and a genz benz 4x12, with an assortment of pedals and rackmounts. If this pedal did suck I would know and let me tell you THIS PEDAL KICKS ALL ASS. Other guys might say no versatility and it sounds to tinny wah wah wah, and I dont know why maybe they should put down their squire guitar and 1x12 combo and get some real shit. TO me this pedal has all the versitility it needs, To cover all your metal sounds.

it's easy to figure out what the knobs are "supposed" to do.
twist knobs for desired (usually undesired) function.
no rocket science involved

i got this a few months ago, noticed the horrible sounds but decided to give it a while before bashing it right away.


it would probably make a teenage rocker in your life a nice gift for the bedroom. everyone has that one pedal, that sucks for live/recording, but sounds pretty good in the bedroom to play heavy music.

but trying to put it through good equipment there are no useable sounds except for that harsh tinny sound that makes a good "joke intro".

i am using only perfect equipment, the type guitarists look at and immediatly drool, cry, then vomit.

the effect is o.k. for beefing up a small bedroom amp for practice, but dont try to use this recording (i tried every possible setting over the few months) and dont say to use with an E.Q., as there are good pedals out there that respond well to playing and get shaped by the amp.....but with this, well - i guess my amp does not like to shape "shit".

i'm sorry, but thats the only word that comes to mind other than harsh and tinny.

i would rely on it to knock someone out, as it is a tank like the other boss pedals.

use it without a backup? i wouldnt use it at all live or recording.

i never dealt with them except for when getting free stuff, but i think i'll complain about this one

i wont keep bashing, as you all can tell my opinion is that this thing would only please a beginner or one who never had good drive before, and thinks its the "bomb"



you all have heard my thick screaming tone many times before, but i cant say my name. but trust me, i will never abuse my fans by recording with this. you all should feel safe that every album i put out will grind as always, and i wont even use this on the "low-fi" crunch (its too lo-fi)

Humm Yea its easy to use! Very vesatille if you like its sound! Dont understand what the 2 mid nobs do though! Makes a lot of difference!

Really fake! Tight tinney toneless pedal!
Sucks out all the tone compresses the sound like you wouldnt belive. Leaves you with a dark, week, tight tone! Very aggressive ill give it that but couldnt use it in a band it will never cut through the mix you would just be heard as a noisy tinney thing! Doesnt have any crunch its to compressed! Makes you guitar sound like a guitar patch on played on a keyboard! Not good at all!

Sounds Ok in the bedroom thou!Loud and aggressive can have alot of fun with it! And can get loads of satuation hich can be good for simple heavey riffs! But still unusable live especially if you wanna play lead!

Yea soild asa roc couldnt break this thing if u tried!The best bit with this pedal. You can buy it 2nd hand and be 99% certain that it works like new!

Never delt with them and wouldnt think you would have to! Some companies may do an upgrade which would be good as the pedal is very versatille and could be shapped into something better! Somthing to make it sound better live. I like to feel my distortion shake every bone in my body this on bearly wobbles my lips!

Good for bedroom use! Very unusable in a band situation! Very agressive very dark with good bass response but too tight too compressed too fake not crunchy or big enough sounding! Otherwise its great!:)!
One word to describe it is Tonless! O and Solid! Dont expect to take it to a gig we wont even no there aguitarist in the band!

Can it be simpler?

For a small transistor stompbox, it cannot be better. I don't know how verstile it can be but for metal it really rocks. I've used it with many amps(Crates, Peavys, Marshalls), Jackson and Fender guitars and it has always nailed the sounds I was after.

It's a rock!

Don't know, see preevious answer.

I've been playing metal for 10 years and it alway as been around. It is a great distortion. I sold it because I'm going for the Line6 Vetta so it will be useless to me (it is in the Vetta). The only "problem" with this is that you have the same sound all night long, or you have to get on your knees during the show to change your setting...

Pretty easy to get good sounds out of it. The mid and mid contour are the controls you need to take the most time with, they practically morph the sound, while the low and high controls just make this thing sound harsh and farty. Be conservative with the high and low knobs, and careful with the mids, and you'll be sounding like you're favorite nu-metal guitarist in no time!

:)

I've never owned this pedal, but my friend and former bandmate used this on his Randall RH100 for almost a year, and I played it a fairly good bit, even borrowing it to further evaluate the sound. This pedal used to sound bad-assed to me, having never even played a high gain tube amp, or any tube amp for that matter, just cheap SS amps with various distortion pedals.

Now, for a pedal, its hard to beat. I've yet to hear a distortion pedal that can nail a metal tone as good as this. But as far as distortions go in general, it doesn't hold up very well. But hey, what do you expect for $80?

I bought a Peavey 5150 II head not too long ago, my first tube amp, without even trying it out because I live in a shithole redneck dump of a town in western Louisiana, and there are NO places to try out amps, REAL amps, anywhere near me. I first turned on the amp, and was shocked at how much it just pushed my flaws right back in my face. It was so articulate that I couldn't hide minor mistakes, even behind immense amouts of gain.

I went back and played the Metal Zone again, and the Randall RH100 amp distortion, and both just felt kinda "dead" compared to my 5150. The sound coming out of the speakers was good, yes, but that "feeling" just wasn't there, and everything I played felt uninspired. I can't go back to SS amps, and I CERTAINLY can't go back to these "metal" pedals.

As far as getting the sound of your favorite artists, I don't know. The only artist that I know who uses one of these is Crowbar, because they actually use these, and they have an ultra thick, HEAVY, crushing sound that could kill small animals. And yes, with a powerful amp or power amp, you can get those sounds.

Seems very rugged. Boss isn't a cheap brand, but they make up for it with great reliability.

never dealt with Boss.

Guys, I know a lot of you are just starting out playing guitar, and if you want a good distortion, and you can't afford an amp with decent distortion, then look no further. The Metal Zone will make you sound good, but it will also hide your mistakes, and when you actually get to play a nice high gain tube amp, I hope you're inspired to become a better player. Thats how it worked for me.
I guess this thing will be wonderful for slamming on power chords, puts its not very articulate and can sometimes sound mushy.
But, like I said, for a pedal distortion, you can't beat it.

It is very easy to use. Just play with it a bit. I'd say look at the manual to see what it has, I always do, sometimes it's good, sometimes not. This one is ok.

I use ESP guitars. A EX with EMG 60 and 81 pickups, Metallica, go figure, and a v-350. I thought about going 81-81 with that, but I really like the HZ's. They ain't half bad. But, I go through those two guitars, Ex for rhythm and V for leads, then to a Boss OC-2 - Dod Death Metal - Dunlop Dimdbag Cry Baby from Hell - Digitech Metal Master - Boss MT-2 - Randall RH200. It isn't that noisy at all. That;s probably due to the EMG's. No feedback whatsoever with those. Like everyone else has said, it is perfect for Megadeth. I do really like the pedal. But I just wish it was more. I thought it was a Metal Master with a Mid knob. It's not that at all. I guess that's what I was lookin for. it's goes great with the OC-2. I haven't had it for that long so I guess I have to play around with it some more.

It's a Boss. Go figure. When I gig, I use all of my pedals. I use them for all different songs, sometimes I switch them durin the song. I switch guitars when I play One. I use my EX during beginning of the song, but the other guitarist can't play the solo so right before the solo I switch to my V so I can do the solo. This pedal will probably will be used for the parts of songs that just need a little distortion. Like intro to St.Anger. That kind of stuff.

Never delt with any company. Everything I've bought was good. and stayed good. I take care of my shit.

I play all metal. This is ok i guess for my music. I play some other stuff but mainly my own. I have been playin for about 2 years. People don't believe me cause i have progressed to much. Especially in the last couple of months. I probably wouldn't buy another one if it was stolen. I'd probably buy a flanger, Ive wanted one for a while now. I guess, I wish it had the tone the Metal Master does. Other than that's it's pretty good.

THIS PEDAL IS VERY EASY TO USE, TWIST THE KNOBS TILL U FIND YOUR DESIRED TONE, OR USE BOOKLET, OR GO ON THE INTERNET TO FIND SETTING YOU CAN A VARIETY OF TONES,FROM METALLICA TO VAN HALEN,EVEN SOME BLUES TONES

THE SOUND QUALITY OF THIS PEDAL IS THE BEST IVE USED AND IVE USED ALOT OF THEM!NOT A VERY FAT TONE A LITTLE TREBLEY,I USE MARSHALL AVT100 AMP WITH BOSS TU-2 TUNER,CRYBABY WAH WAH 535Q AND THE METAL ZONE MT2 AND A GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD,IBANEZ RG220 WITH EMG 81 AND A TEXAS SPECIAL AMERICAN FENDER FAT STRAT WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN PEARLY GATES,IBANEZ WITH EMG 81 SOUNDS THE BEST WITH THIS PEDAL!

ITS A BOSSS ITS VERY DURABLE LIKE A BRICK!

HAVENT DEALT WITH THEM

I PLAY METALLICA STYLE OF MUSIC AND THIS PEDAL IS PERFECT FOR THAT STYLE,IVE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR FOR 3 YRS,WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE BOSS MT2 METAL ZONE IS TONE,EASE OF USE,BEING ABLE TO CHANGE TONES FROM METALLICA TO STEVIE RAY VAUGHN,I COMPARE THIS PEDAL TO DOD,MARSHALL JH1,AND DIGITECH AND THIS MT2 SMOKES ALL OF THEM,THIS PEDAL ALLOWS ME TO GET A STACK SOUND OUT OF A COMBO AMP!BUY THIS PEDAL IF U LIKE TO PLAY METAL IF NOT DONT BUY IT,ITS FOR METAL HEADS!

For simply the distortion circuit its relatively straight forward for any user, but the 4 way EQ makes it slightly more complicated for a beginner. The manual has some nice instructions for the tone settings on how to achieve various different tones. A bit of patience with the pedal, your amp and your guitar will be rewarding.

its not THE ABSOLUTE best distortion ive heared, but for its price its outstanding. I got this pedal before i had a decent amp (i was originaly using a Leem KA-1210) and i was impressed with its sound imediately. Then i got a marshall valvestate and it still sounded good. The best ive heared it sound was through a mesa boogie (but thats not really surprising now, is it). As for guitars i use either a Gibson SG, Fender Jaguar or Fender Mustang. All these guitars used with this pedal have different pro's and cons. With the SG i can get a really nice screaming lead sound, one thing that struck me about this pedal is its sustain. The compression settings in the distortion circuit must be really high. I have the 'DIST' setting up to about 3 o'clock, mid gain at about 1, mid frequency at 12, low at 5 and high at 12.
The mustang and the jaguar sound better with the pedals 'DIST' at about 12/1 o'clock. I do find that sometimes i wish there was more 'UMF' to the drive but i might be being silly, i generally use light strings anyway so thats probably what does it. The pedal gives a nice sort of sustainy/screamy/smooth type distortion if that makes sense (as opposed to crunchy) and that suits me down to the ground but i can see why others dont like it, particularly after the bands they mention. I use the pedal in conjunction with several other pedals, a Boss compression sustainer (for even more sustain) and a boss DD-3. The pedal is good for placebo esque sounds as it really excenuates the high strings for hammer on's. I would say that if you're into muse/placebo/garbage, you'll be happy. But metallica (as so many of you mention) i'd look elsewhere.

i wont even answer this question

in accordance with the question above, ill leave this question too

this is a good pedal, but its good for what its good for. Thats why people like us have so many different pedals and effects and guitars i guess. And thats why manufacturers like boss keep churning them out. I've been playing (and when i say playing i dont mean 1 hour practice a week in my bedroom) for only about 6 years. But im very familier with music production generally and other instruments. I produce many different types of music and use 'guitar pedals' for all sorts. For example the boss MT-2 in question sounds fantastic on a 2 oscillator mono synth, twin squarewave, bit of delay and then the MT-2, if you've ever heared 'voodoo people' by the prodigy then you'll know the sound im getting at. But for guitar and 'rock' based music im happy with my MT-2. The other distortion i use is a roger mayer voodoo. If one cant do the job the other can. I would replace this pedal if it where stolen or lost.
One minor 'piss off' factor. The low gain has a steady incline (obviously) but in the last 1/4 centimeter it sudenly becomes earth shattering creating a horrible noise through the amp. This product was a replacement for my old boss distortion, a HM-2 and as a result im much happier with the MT-2.

All in all its personal preference. But i would recommend this pedal if you're after sustain/distortion without the need for separate hardware. So if you're into 'Christan Death' then this is the one for you.

Using this pedal for things other then it's intention can be frustrating.

Very difficult to get blues tones, grunge tones, brown sounds, etc

If you use this pedal to obtain Metal tones from the likes of bands like Megadeth, Judas Priest, Ratt, L.A. Guns, etc, then the MetalZone is superpable easy to use.

If you experience noise it's either a broken MetalZone or you've got problems elsewhere. The metalZone is very powerful. Folks,this pedal has TWICE the gain of an ordinary distortion pedal (like the classic Boss DS-1). If you have the gain over 1/4 up you are in a high gain situation. ANY high gain situation is going to expose your rigs noisey parts. Be it noisy pick ups (like single coils), noisy cables, noisy electronics, etc, like a compressor the MetalZone will amplify any noise going into it. The MetalZone itself is very very quiet. It's low noise. Remove the input cable and you will see.

The MetalZone is very powerful. I usually have the gain set at 11 o'clock. ELEVEN o'clock folks! That's less than half way up and still I have tons of gain. I can turn the gain down to almost off and still have a good metal rhythm crunch.

Tone? I love it! But it's NOT Korn, Limpbizkit, Pantera, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Aerosmith, King's X, Suicidal Tendencies, Overkill, Ted Nugent, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Beatles, BB King, Guns n Roses, Blind Melon, or a million other bands.

This pedal has the Megadeth's Symphoney Of Destruction CD tone. It also has the Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengence CD tone. It also does Ratt's sound extremely well. Remember Rip And Tear from L.A. Guns? That too is how the MetalZone sounds.

Can you also get Nirvana, Korn, Led Zeppelin or Scorpion tones from the MetalZone? Maybe, sorta, kind of, but there are better ways.

I use a stock JPM Marshall head and cabinet with a Les Paul with the MetalZone. I have no problem with hiss or noise at decent gain levels. With the gain full up I might be turning off the MetalZone between songs. Imagine that? But why would I have the MetalZone's gain full up? Full up is only good for insane leads exactly like the last lead in the song from Medadeth's Captive Honour. Man, that's a MetalZone with the gain all the way up. Do you think it is possible to have no floor noise with that much gain? Not without a noise gate working hard. I don't care how good your equipment is.

Boos pedals are the most reliable pedals ever built....I think. I've got 20 of them that I've been abusing for the last 25 years.

i play all kinds of styles of music.

When I want to sound like Megadeth, Ratt, L.A. Guns or Judas Priest I break out the MetalZone!

If it broke I'd get another one within a week or two.

What do I hate about it? Maybe the mid or treble controls could use more adjustments.

I've got a dozen distortion pedals. The MetalZone is a high quality and professional tool. Sophisticated electronics inside. Excellent noise to output specifications.

I love the Megadeth's Countdown To Extinction CD. It's so angry! The guitars are bad ass. The leads are wild and over the top. What an album! Buy it! Some of the greatest lead guitar ever is on this collection of tunes.........and you can bet they used noise gates to make it!

Too bad no one can play lead guitar anymore. Todays rebelious head bangers have got it easy. Does Greenday even know what a pentatonic scale is? Easy money! lol

pretty straight forward. volume, high/low knob, mid/frequency knob, and distortion knob. easy to tweak if you know what each function is used for

Here's where the problem lies and I dont know what you all are talking about when you choose to give this thing high marks. Granted it gives off sharp distortion great for palm mutes and a high frequency to give detail to the low notes but, common the hiss on this thing is annoying as hell which throws everything out of wack when trying to play through it. It sounds so unprofessional that I found it discouraging to continue on playing. In addition I found that it lacked warmth in its sound. Its sounded to dry and buzzy which makes your music suck if you want to compare it to the sound to a high quality device.

The metal zone is Good for palm mutes and power chords but, dont expect this thing to give you a good sound when playing lead guitar or a solo because the high frequency buzzes out all the detail. I feel the Digitech Metal Master is a superior pedal in producing a fuller and more rangy sound for metal but, it also has the same drawback as the metal zone which is it does not provide clarity on leads guitar and solos.

The moment that you stomp on it...if your playing on a small squeaky-clean Fender of some sort...is just like...YEAH!!!!!:) Very 'master of puppets' to be sure.

If you know how to use the EQs properly you can get a great sound.

I was suprised at how little noise this pedal produces. My guitar is a humbucker-singlecoil-humbucker Ibanez RG170, so I can flip through to single coils to see how the noise floor is. Obviously it depends on the pickups and the amp too, I donno maybe I'm just lucky I guess.

The EQs are the best thing on this amp. It can be a bit confusing, particularily the frequency selection and its respective cut/boost.

Here's my favourite setting:

Lows (bottom section of the left EQ knob) - 2 or 3 o'clock
Highs (top section of the left EQ knob) - 10 to 12 o'clock
(this pedal produces ear piercing treble...I usually cut some of it)

Frequency (bottom section of the right EQ knob) - 2 or 3 o'clock
(this is the frequency you are cutting or boosting...at that position thats around 1khz...dont ask, it just sounds good, okay lol)

Cut/boost (top section of the right EQ knob) - 1 or 2 o'clock
(your boosting the frequency range that much).

This gives you somewhat of a less harsh sound out of this thing, with the gain still cranked. I use this pedal on an old Roland DAC-15XD (solid state). The beauty about this pedal is that it's killer for solid state amps, particularily practice amps. I would much rather use this pedal on a squeaky clean Fender Princeton or a Marshall MG than any of their respective amp-gains.

However I wouldn't bother using this on a tube amp of any sort. Thats when this stomp box sounds like a stomp box. And who'd be dumb enough to use a $100 stomp box distortion pedaul on a $1,500+ stack? thats just retarded...

This pedal is definatly Metallica/Pantera/Megadeth. Thats what it's best suited for. ABout the gain settings though, people have said this before, you dont want it under 12 o'clock. One of the reasons why this pedal has such massive gain is because it compresses the guitar signal like CRAZY.

So basically with the pedal turned on, your softest playing turns out as loud as your heavy playing. And with the gain setting any less than 12 0'clock, yeah your getting softer distortion, but its still compressde and very muddy. You'd get a slightly better sound cranking the gain to full, and lowering the volume of your guitar.

I can't say if this is the best pedal ever, but certainly the best from Boss. It will always sound like metal though. So I wouldn't reccomend it for Blues players. It has a certain resonant peak in the high mids...if you want mellow "tube like" distortion, try the Boss Blues Driver, or an Ibanez Tubesreamer.

its a fucking Boss pedal!

I play alot of Nirvana, Rush, Metallica, Zeppelin, that sort of thing. This pedal is made for practice amps with harsh and muddy gains (Marshall MGs), or Fender solid-states with wimpy gains. This is my first guitar pedal, I've tried others mostly from Boss. I liked the versatility in the EQ section, and of course I liked the huge amounts of gain.

Yeah it can get a bit muddy if you play music thats subtle. This pedal's not subtle though! It just rocks, and the EQ just varies the degree of fuckin ROCK. Dont even bother with the gain. Leave it cranked, and use your guitar's volume knob as your variation of gain!

E-mail me at snowdog2112@gosympatico.ca if you have questions or whatever. Later!

I like the distrotion at around 11 oclock and the rest around straight up. Tweeking the tone knobs off of straight up is dangerous but i wiil boost the bass and cut the higher mids a bit.

I think the treble control could have used a better frequency range to adjust. Too high. A parametric for the treble would be a nice added touch. Maybe some pedal guru out there will start modding the Metalzone for a better treble control.

A seasoned musician will be able to quickly turn an old Marshall half stack or old Fender Twin into a Symphony Of Destruction.

I play my Metalzone with a 1972 Marshall 50 watt head [all original] and a 300 watt Marshall 4x12 cabinet and the tone is perfect. I mean PERFECT! It lacks nothing. It's awesome! It's Megadeth! It's Slayer! It's Tool! It's Pantera! It's hard and tight SPEED METAL!

Of course, I set the distortion at below halfway. Sounds like shit all the way up!

I can get away with playing grunge with it too but prefer other pedals for grunge like S.T.P., Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, etc. I like the Boss DS-1 Distortion or HM-2 Heavy Metal pedals for grunge and real old metal like Led Zeppelin.

I've tried a hundred different pedals in my years. I like Boss pedals the most.

Better than Marshall, DOD, Ibanez, Electro Harmonix, Jekyl and Hyde, Ross, MXR, Maxim, TC, Mutron!, shit, no one makes a better quality pedal. I've got some from the 70s that still work and sound like new and I play guitar everyday since the 70's.

I'm sure it would be hell to have these guys fix an old pedal. I usually replace broken wires and grommets my self. The foot switches can get intermittant and should be available at music stores that sell Boss pedals.

I like metal, grunge, rock, blues and thrash. I play the metalzone for the metal music from 1980 to the present. I think Judas Priest was the first band to coin this sound with the Screaming For Vengence album (1982). Using a flanger before the Metalzone really captures that album. Ya, I'm listening to "The Hellion" right now from the album and it's a Metalzone sound for sure. I wonder if you kids under 40 can appreciate this album. (LOL, kids under 40) Oh fuck! Where's my Geritol?
You punks banging your heads to Limp Biscuit and Korn can find the roots to your music here. From Chuck Berry to Led Zeppelin to Judas Priest to Megadeth to Tool the torch keeps getting passed down from generation to generation. Except no one can play lead anymore! in the 90's guitar players got too lazy to play lead anymore! LOL! Just kidding. After the Malmsteen dude from Switzerland blew our heads off we needed a good long break!

Like I said earlier. The treble adjustment could use a parametric adjustment but what the hell, change a capacitor in it and taylor it to your own taste. Where's my soldering iron?

Boy, old Rob Halford sure sings like a tough guy! I really hope to see Judas Priest in 2024 do another tour right before the end of the world! Hell, we'll all be near 70 by then! Will Metal still be produced by teenagers and selling millions? Shit, metal is suppossed to be young rebellious expression. Now we have teens and senior citizens banging their heads at the same concerts. Look at Ozzy Osborne for shit's sake! That's how fucking old Heavy Metal is kids! We love ya though! As long as the goverment keeps treating us like slaves in a salt mine Heavy Metal will live!

It's very easy to get the sound Boss intended. YOu just plug it in and go.

I'm going to give it a five and I will explain why:

On one hand, if you are a young player who wants to sound like the Metallica CD and are playing a practice amp in your bedroom, yeah, buy this. You will have a great time with the raunchy distortion this pedal gives.

On the other hand, if you are a professional player, or have professional-grade gear, you will laugh at this pedal. And miked? Forget it...it sounds like a mosquito got into the PA. This pedal is not geared for someone playing through a Marshall and being miked into a PA. It's too much for that...

So it depends on what you are doing. I would never, ever think of using this in the studio or in a live situation. However, for re-learning old solos from Priest records in my living room, it's perfect.

I think they should make international borders out of the casings of Boss pedals. War would be a thing of the past since no one could get through the border.

I've never needed Boss support in 20+ years of using their products.

I have been playing for over 20 years. Many of those years were as a professional club musician. I have owned a lot of different amps, including a Marshall JCM 800 50 watt 1/2 stack, and different Fender combos.

I worked with this pedal and got a kick out of the mid-80's sound it gave me when I was sitting in front of the amp. No, it has no versatility, but then again, if you are looking for Neil Young's tone, what on earth are you doing messing with a pedal called "Metal Zone"? I tweaked the tone, messed with different levels of distortion, but still ended up with that midrangey raunch distortion. This is good and bad. Like I have already said...it's great in the application of someone who wants a buzzbomb to use in their bedroom and to get a killer 80's sound. It's ridiculous in any miked, live or studio setting.

Not too bad. It could be a bit tricky for first time users to get the sounds you want. But once you've figured it out, it's as easy as ABC.

You've got to sacrifice some ease of use for versatility.

WOW!!!

No other BOSS distortion pedal could give you such a powerful distortion with massive sustain. This thing gives out endless sustain even when the Dist level is set to 5. Pumps out more gain and sustain than the newer Boss Mega Distortion pedal (MD-2), although not as bassy. But definately cleaner.

Very versatile. The people that complain that it's one sided probably havent discovered it's full potential yet. Besides cranking the Dist all the way, try cranking up the Level (turn your amp master down first!!!) then adjust the Dist level. You won't need to crank the Dist all the way up.

You could literally use this with a hollowbody Jazz guitar with floating mini-humbuckers plugged into a karaoke amp and you would still sound like Metallica. Beleive me, i've tried it!

No matter how much i've tried hating this pedal, i could'nt. I've tried using other distortion pedals in the past 10 years but keep coming back to it time and time again.

AMAZING!!!...for a pedal.

Built like a brick. Tank like structure.

The most vulnerable bits are the knobs and they are pretty much indestructible...unless you get some C4 and blow the thing up.

Then again, I don't think a chunk of C4 could completely destroy this thing.

Definately gig without backup.

N/A

As hundreds of other BOSS reviewers wrote:

"NEVER need to deal with them."

Unless you're a Roland / Boss technician, how many broken Boss single effect pedals have you come across in your life? Since i started using them 10 years ago, none.

Maybe i'll come across 1 or 2 in 20 years time....

I use it when i play heavy, grunge metal music and it suits me just fine, every thing from 70's style of Kravitz to Slipknot.

I've been playing on and off for over 10 years. I've owned 2 Ibanez's, an Aria-Pro, Washburn and Yamaha guitars. I've also used Epiphone, BC Rich and ESP guitars. I've owned 4 Boss distortion/overdrive pedals (OD-2, OS-2 and MT-2). I started off with a tiny little BOSS amp (yes, they make little amps years ago) to a Marshall combo.

If my MT-2 got stolen, i'd definately buy another.

I've sold it (big mistake), and bought it again brand new.

I love it's clean distortion compared to MD-2 and it's endless sustain. The only thing that i hate, as others have mentioned, is the battery life. I love the fact that it pumps out more gain / sustain than the OD-2 and OS-2 put together at max level and gain but without the noise.

I compared the MT-2 directly with the newer MD-2 at my local music store. Spent about an hour testing it back and forth. It's a close call, but I choose the MT-2 for the second time just because i miss it's sound. The MD-2 sounds harsher and doen't have the sustain that the MT-2 has. I really, really tried loving the MD-2 over the MT-2 just because it's newer.

Wish it doesn't use up battery as fast.

The MT-2 definately help me get the sound i want.

I made the mistake of getting 2 overdrive pedals before i heard the MT-2. I really thought that a distortion / overdrive pedal was meant to be a supplement to the existing distortion of the amp. Was i wrong.

As i've mentioned before, this thing could turn a Jazz guitar plugged into a karaoke amp sound like an ESP with EMG pickups plugged into a stack of Marshalls (sort of). You will have years of fun with this pedal.