DigiTech X-Series Metal Master

Simple enough to use. THe dials included level (volume) High, low, and morph (serves as a distortion nob)

I have to question the integrity of the reviewers who choose to give this stomp box glowing reviews because this thing sounds as artificial as most mediocre distortion stomp boxes I heard. A typical characteristic of a bad stomp box is when it eliminates the tone of your guitar which is what this thing does along with the Metal Zone which is another worthless pedal I tried. That brings me to my next point which is that this pedal produces a synthesizer type sound when playing anything on the high strings. As a result, the detail for each note sounds flat and stale which makes your playing lack character. Even the low strings sound bottomed out. I guess the reason why many people like this pedal is due to the powerfull palm mute crunch along with the power chord crunch it produces but, the sound quality lacks clarity and chunkyness.

I like playing all Metallica songs up to the black album and even St. Anger and this thing doesn't even come close to producing that. Anyone who says they can play Metallica on this needs to get thier ears checked. May be this thing is good for Nu Metal but, I think Nu metal is watered down talentless metal anyway so any of you that like Slipknot and Mudvayne deserve this crap to go along with that shitty music which plays two chord muffled distortion.
I recommend the Sansamp GT-2 for those of you that want a professional metal tone as opposed to those who are blinded by the overwhelming distortion of this stomp box which just produces loud noise as opposed to music. I'm also looking into the Jackhammer as a possible replacement to this. I figure marshall's pedals can atleast add to a guitar and amps tone rather drowning out the sound from your guitar and amp.

Simple and easy to use

Here we go !! I just wish everyone would consider that no two sets of ears hear the same thing! that being said, I have yet to get a bad sound out of this pedal! now if you start cranking knobs to the max it will suck just like 99% of all other pedals that don't sound good running at 100%, one thing I do is run it at 12v instead of 9v, for me it sounds better, this is the best sounding Metal pedal I have ever heard, killer bottom! no mush! even sub-bass! I've tried all the others, Finally someone did it right! I use a Crate GT50H,Randall 1000 pro 2H,both through a Madison 4x12 slant cab loaded with Celestion V30 on the top and Eminance Delta 12A's, the cabinet is ported down to 50HZ.It is humbucker freindly, single coils just don't sound right at any setting that's why I use a Dean ML loaded with a Dimarzio Drop Sonic in the bridge "Killer PU!" I also use a Baritone strat with the same Dimarzio tuned down to A, the ML I tune to D

So far so good, I've never had a problem with any DigiTec products

Never needed , so can't say.

Nothing is perfect, but for me this pedal just flat gets it !! Price could be a bit lower and probably will drop when the new wears off in a year or so,If lost stolen or broken I would buy another right away.

Easy as any other distortion/overdrive pedal. No gain knob, but it's OK, you can use your guitar's volume knob to adjust gain : )

It's obvious for me that some morons don't deserve such a good pedal. I quote: "I am using it with an ESP LTD EX-100 with EMG HZ's and a Crate GFX-15 practice amp". For Satan's sake!! A 15 Watt Crate practice amp?? Get serious man, nothing will sound good with such a poor metalhead's setup! Use at least a JCM900 Marshall if you expect to be heard. That only means one thing: those morons don't play live. This pedal is for live playing, 100% recommended, 100% tested and approved.

The distortion is not fuzzy unless you're a sloppy player or play "Nu-Metal" (well, this one is a consequence of the first, or is it the contrary?; what was first, the egg or the chicken?? ha ha ha). This pedal has a very good sound and ok, it's noisy, but so any other distortion pedal with this much gain. The sound is clear and focused, but again, that depends on the player and his/her setup.

Look what's next: "The distortion isn't super brutal like I hoped, its fuzzy. This thing sucks for lead playing... There is no sustain for leads or clarity. I tune down pretty low so I can play: Mudvayne, Slipknot, Godsmack, Killswitch Engage, P.O.D, 40 Below Summer, Static-X, Disturbed,System of a Down..." What a moron, and he/she claims to be a metalhead!! The distortion is BRUTAL, it works beautifuly with low-tuned guitars. It's designed to play real METAL: DIMMU BORGIR, KRISIUN, NILE, EXHUMED, MORTICIAN, HYPOCRISY, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DYING FETUS...

The sound is mean, full and with a lot of presence (it must be my american hand-made neck-thru BC RICH with Duncans, maybe : ) ) A huge step beyond the MT2, believe me. It sounds good with the morph knob fully clockwise, almost reminds me a Mesa Boogie; the other sounds are more 80's Metal (nice but not my kind).

A VERY FINE PEDAL!!!

No problems so far with mine... But I've heard of some faulty pedals' switches.

If you like extreme music and have a decent setup, this one will please you, guaranteed. If you have a brutal tube amp, you can use it as a trhird or fourth channel, is tht decent. I'm surprised that Digitech finally released something crushing distortion-wise. Nice job, mates!!

Has level, low and high tone and morph knob. Just set knobs however sounds best to you.

I play an Epiphone Les Paul Custom through a Pignose 60w one twelve tube amp. Use Ibanez TS9-DX for overdrive and the Metal Master for distortion. I place the Metal Master first then the TS9-DX. This gives me three levels of overdrive/distortion. Metal Master works well with the TS9-DX engaged, gives me a good middle ground distortion. The only complaint I have is the Metal Master can be a little hissy sounding when engaged and not playing but I've found some of this is related to my pickups. Other than that sounds good. Played it against a Boss Metal Zone in the store and liked the Metal Master sound a little more.

If used with just battery power I've had the pedal freak out on me. But powered with an 9v adapter has been so far so good. I would gig without a backup.

Have talked to Digitech about how the pedal freaked out when I was using just battery. Have been very helpful told me to try power supply and if that didn't work to send to them for repair.

Good pedal for playing heavier styles of music as well as just good hard rock. Works well for soloing. If it were lost or stolen I might try another pedal just because there are so many pedal options and I have tried so few. I like the morph knob gives you a good variery of distortion. Also like to set the low eq knob on 9 or 10, this gives you a deep stack distortion. All in all a good pedal, does what is says and a little more.

It is super easy to get a good sound out of it, I just took it right out of the box without even reading the manual and bam, better distortion. The morph knob is pretty cool. I just wish it had a gain knob, thats about it...

I am using it with an ESP LTD EX-100 with EMG HZ's and a Crate GFX-15 practice amp. It does not hiss at all, but when I have the volume of my amp at three and the volume of the pedal at just below three, it farts out like a son of a bitch, any higher then it's just feedback. The distortion isn't super brutal like I hoped, its fuzzy. This thing sucks for lead playing, I tried for almost an hour to find an acceptable setting, but I just couldnt. There is no sustain for leads or clarity. I tune down pretty low so I can play: Mudvayne, Slipknot, Godsmack, Killswitch Engage, P.O.D, 40 Below Summer, Static-X, Disturbed,System of a Down (you get the idea). Black album Metallica is the exception for tuning. Pretty much drop C and B, and it is just pure mud, mud mud mud and fuzz...maybe it is just my amp or guitar or both, but damn...This thing cannot go loud without farting out and feeding back, but what can you expect when using it with a practice amp...

I think it's pretty tough and dependable. I can't really gig with it cause I don't have a loud amp...had the thing for 2 years,it's a mini tank.

never delt with em...

I have been playing for 4 years now and I am super duper good. I am a viscious metalhead. I own nothing else besides the amp, guitar and pedal. I guess this is an alright-temporary match for what I play..If it were stolen I wouldn't buy it again because I am wicked broke. I am not super pleased with this pedal, but it will do. The morph knob and the little red light when I turn the pedal on are the coolest features about it. I was going to get a DOD Metal Pedal, but the dude from Guitar Center steered me away from it. I just wish it had a gain knob and no fuzzy distortion because that REALLY takes away from the tone...I can't create music with this thing, it just messes up all the ideas I get in my head. I am gonna keep this until I get a bigger amp though. rock on

its pretty easy to use. hook it up to your signal chain, and shred away

the sound quality on this is pretty good for a pedal. I havent had good results with distortion pedals seeing how they cut the volume on high powered tube amps by atleast 30%, im always looking for something more gain saturated, crunchier, and louder. i was going for more of a searing, punishing wall of gain on this pedal, but obviously you're not going to get the sound of a certain lesser known german amp manufacturer without buying the amp.

i've dropped it occasionally, so its pretty solid. i should maybe get a power supply before doing anything else, as it eats through batteries.

digitech's customer support was never that great.

i play alot of extreme metal (death, black, grind). and the pedal does its job to an extent. don't expect to sound as brutal as Nile.

This is what blows the boss metal zone away. it takes no effort to get a good sound out of this pedal! don't even need to look at the manual just experiment with it and you'll get it

i'm using an Ibanez PGM30 and a standard fender strat thru a Boss Chromatic Tuner -> Boss Super OverDrive -> DigiTech Metal Master -> DigiTech Digidelay -> Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-5 -> Peavey Studio Pro 112.

Is it noisy? come on it's a high gain metal pedal of course there's gotta be some hiss but when you're playing you can't hear it at all. this pedal is 10X better than the metal zone i had before and no matter how you tweak it you get a great tone unlike the metal zone which sounds like a fuzz box. Not the metal master..it doesn't sound fuzzy and it certainly will give you the best metal sound coming from a stomp box

alright here's to all who say the drawback is: USE AN AC ADAPTOR...NEVER BATTERIES with this pedal..it'll stop working and do strange things when run on batteries. this pedal draws about 80mA of current so be sure your power supply has enough output left if you use it to power more than one effect

never dealt with them..but i give them a 5 just for putting the manuals on there website

this is a great pedal any metal lover should own it...i give it a 9 cuz nothing's perfect

Very easy, Level knob, high and low adjust, and a morph knob. Not hard at all to figure out some good settings.

I really like this pedal. I a/b it with a boss metal zone, and the metal master blew it away. If you are looking for brutal distortion, this will do. It can get you very close to sounding like all your favorite metal bands. Plus with the high, low, and morph knobs you can dial in your own sound. Very good for soloing, a ton of sustian.
I have found to really do this pedal justice you need to use it with a tube amp. I tried it with a tube and a solid state amp, and the tube amp sound a lot better (and I mean a LOT!). I found that good pickups help a bunch too. Cheaper pickups will feed back at higher volumes (anything higher than bedroom). Great Pedal!

I have had it for about 6 months with no problems. I highly recomend an ac adaptor. It will go through batteries like crazy. Built tuff.

Never needed it.

If you want a very heavy pedal, this is imoo is the best. I love mine! I give it a 9 because nothing is a ten.

Very Simple, Level, Low, Hi, Morph (Color)
An idiot can have no problem setting this up.
The two side panel springs for battery change is annoying. But I use adapters so I only had to deal with it once :)

Great great sound. You can get a HUGE variety of metal distortion on this. Works extremely well with Delay. Great clean tone. And no hiss or buzz when the guitar volume is off. I highly recommend it for metal players out there.

Curious question to those who gave this product a bad rating for reliability. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE DO TO IT?!?! I've owned this pedal for very very long and never had a single damn problem at all. Ive played tons of gigs with it and no problem. Do you people chuck it at walls, sit on the pedal, or take shits on it?!?! This pedal is extremely durable unless u do one of the following listed above.

Never had to deal with it, because I take care of my equipment.

Perfectly matches my style (Progressive Metal) However it gives lots of other tones and sounds. I've been using this pedal very long and have experimented with it until I found "My Distortion Tone" GREAT GREAT PEDAL. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND FOR METALHEADS.

im using a 10w amp by Dean Markly, and the guitar im using is a Slammer XP-Stardard.

ive only had this for a bout a month, its still going strong.

i haven thad to call up for help. But im sure their nice...cummon is Digitech, one of the best guitar effects companys around today.

I dont know what all these pepole are sayin on here. You can all eat a sack of dicks. If ur into playing Cannibal Corpse, The Haunted, Strapping Young Lad, Dying Fetus, Dimmu Borgir, OTEP or Cradle of Filth style music then BUY it. If ur gonna play Linkin Park or Good Charlott or sum Rollingstones type shit, then stay the hell away from it, you pussies should be using an Aria Ultra Metal Pedal...and even thats too good for ur fuckin pussy music. If ur into the true heavy music, then buy it. This is probably the best death metal pedal available. And who cares if its hard to replace the god dam battery, its sounds is soo fuckin heavy, you will cry once u got it on the right settings. Go to www.Digitech.com and check out this pedal there. They've got sounds clips and even show you how to set up the sic efect called "Tour of Hell" or summin. Check it out. Once you've heard this thing U WILL BUY IT!!!!