DigiTech X-Series Metal Master

As easy as any distortion pedal. Just watch out for the right output (amp/console). Changing batteries is boring but I doubt that you can run this pedal on batteries alone ($$$$)

Killer distortion (when it works) for any kind of Metal, from Maiden and Priest to Sepultura and Slayer to Nile and Cannibal Corpse. Better than the MT2, 1000 times (again, when it works)! Clear distorted (does it make sense??) sound, aggresive and chunky. The better your setup (PU's, guitar, amp, effects, cables, etc.), the better it sounds, but that'sa given doesn't it?

Total shit!!! I agree with another user, the switch is useless for clean/distorted type of songs. It's total shit, what a shame. Too much noise, too.

This is a fair contendant to the Zoom Tri-Metal. Sorry for the switch, if it wouldn't for that, it would be a total winner.

I really like the X series , I think for the cash , they sound great , they are easy to use , Digitech has alot of sample settings on their website to get u started

The sound on this baby just kills , the way I use this pedal , I have a koch powertone II which is a great amp a Gain lovers delite , with 2 gain channels one regular gain ala Marshall the other one a ultra gain ala hot rodded Soldano type , and of course the clean channel , I wanted a 3rd gain channel with a different type of gain sound , thus I keep the metal master on the clean channel , Im using a GCX pro , so I keep the pedal on all the time and am able to switch on and off at will from the ground controler
my rig currently consists of a TC Electronics G Major processor , which is Excellent , which replaced alot of the other x series , pedals , which like I said are good quality but the Gmaj is superior to stomp boxs , a fulltone clyde deluxe wah , a whammy , the metal master and Ill rotate a few of my many pedals just to use them ,
I play Hard Rock , Blues anything from cream to maiden to UFO to mercyful Fate ,sabbath , hendrix , trower and so on and on , mostly Gibsons

heres where it does take a wack , digitech builds shit , my digitech whammy was on the fritz after a year , Ive had 2 X series pedals need minor repairs after only a few months , so built well theyre not , and they eat batteries for snacks average battery life is 20 minutes , the only way I use them is like I said , constantly on and controled by the GCX , I think it would be fine that way , because the GCx powers it and 7 other effects up , And if it craped out My Powertone is ballsy enuff to handle it without it , I just like it because it gives a 3rrd option if I want a different tone

never dealth with em ,

Ive been playing forever , such wish I sounded like it , lol , I have a gazillion pedals some boss , MXR , fulltones , alot of have retired to my recent purchase of the TC Gmaj , which is great in my humble opinion ,
The sound on the metal master I think is great , as I think the digitech X series I think are all great sounding , But you have to have a juice box or pedal power or u will go thru a gangload of batterys .

Very easy, good sounds on almost any setting. Lacks the gain knob though... It has 2 outputs, one to the amp, the other for recording direct (surprisingly nice-sounding), so you've gotta be careful when connecting it, but besides that, it's a piece of cake. The manual is well written but not a must, just plug n' play.

I compared it A/B with a BOSS MT-2, and the MetalMaster crushed it in every aspect: clarity of sound, aggressiveness, power, crunch, sustain, palm-muted, versatility (despite the limited eq.), and it looks killer too. I played a riff or a solo with the MT-2 and the the same riff or solo with the same guitar (ESP LTD V100), same amp (PEAVEY Bandit, various MARSHALL), same cables (DIMARZIO) and the MetalMaster, an it was like removing a pillow from my amp (yeah, I know it sounds cliche, but in this case it is absolutely true!). It made my other effects in the chain sound better too ; )

BOOOOOO... that's where the charm of such a nice pedal ends... Poor (and I mean POOR, piece of crap) switching system, it may look very similar to a BOSS but believe me, it's not even as half as reliable, thus you can't play song with dirty/clean/dirty (or whatever, you get the point) consecutive changes without worring to sound like a dork on stage, because the switch won't engage. Plus, who in the Hell thought of such an awful battery access??, it's stupid, almost retarded, you need to push the locks with something, defying it's purpouse of convenience; at least you can use your hands alone with a BOSS, with the X-series you need a tool or something... : ( ... That's why I've never liked MXR, just lazyness.

I thought that this could be my main distortion, but due to it's faulty switch it will be deranged to practice status only.

no idea... do they have one??

If it wasn't for the awful switching problem, this would be a very nice main distortion, but in the mean time... only for bedroom practice (what a shame, it just sounds so fuckin' good at gig levels, I can tell!). Very modern Metal sound, it crushes hands down everything in the same niche.

Super easy to use, except for that new pop the pins to get the pedal out, i have to find a key or something to get it off

OH MY GOD!!! i played freak on a leash by korn and the one by metallica and it sounds so clear and just cuts through everything, specially for the one solo, everyone said it sounded studio quality, only thing is, turn it off when your playing and you have a pause, there's a lot of sound, so stop, unless you have noise gate

Very reliable

none

This is the best metal distortion pelda out there.....sell your boss metal zone, your ibanez smash box or whatever you have this kicks all of their asses!!

Easy to use? Ya step on it and go. Simple.

Ok, here's a tip for anyone who is having microphonic feedback (the shitty kind). A.) Take the pick up cover off of your humbucker. B.) Turn down the gain on your amp (ya I know thats not a cool thing to do but dial it back). That should help you. The hiss is a pain in the ass but I found that after a little eq-ing (spend some time with you amps other controls) you could 'lessen' it. Buy a noise gate, or a rocktron hush unit to kill the hiss.

I found that, after playing it through my JCM900 stack, I dialed up a Hetfield (MesaBoogie MKII) tone without the EMG pick ups. I play a Les Paul so the sound is real fat. My strat has a cool tone through it too...almost a petruci sound. Get rid of the hiss and I'll give it a higher score.

Heavy? yep. Does that mean rugged? Nah. But I think it'll last since I take care of my gear.

Never called em...did'nt have to. You get a 5 just for having a customer service. I'll add or deduct if ever use them.

I play metal, hard rock (modern, 80's, and 90's). The sound is crucial to cover most of what I play. I like new distortion pedals every now and then, it gets me in a creative mood.

very easy, level(volume), high, low, and morph

great for what it cost, switched from a boss metalzone to this

i play stuff from atreyu, to pantera, to hatebreed, to metallica and it works great

if your looking for any kind of metal or agressive punk and dont have a big budget for a triple rectifer this petal works great, if it only had some type of tube simulation it would be a portable orgasum

if you use it with a chorus petal it makes a great great sound when you let a note ring

the ONLY down sides to this petal are 1. lots of feedback when you arn't playing and 2. sounds to solid statey, it woudl really kick ass if it sounded more like tube high gain distortion

never had it cut out

never needed to contact them

Until you can aford a the expensive stuff this is the way to go.

Very easy to manipulate, you don't need a manual, unless your're a drummer ha ha ha ha! : ) Kidding aside, this pedal sounds good right-off-the-bat. In fact, it sounds really good in more than one or two settings (MT2... anybody???), and that is a good thing (lots of options). For the uninitiated: the MORPH knob is sort of an advanced color mix; the lack of a gain knob is not a loss really, 'cause I later realized that this is the less used knob on a heavy distortion pedal, everytime is full-up, so it doesn't matter. The eq. options are limited (low & high and that's it) but useful indeed.

My current setup: Kramer Vanguard/Yamaha RGX621/BC Rich Mockingbird w/EMG81 - Digitech Metal Master - Ibanez DE7 - Ibanez FL9 (a jewel!) - Boss CH3 (another gem) - whatever amp is supplied at the venue. This thing is the shit for playing Brutal Death Metal. You can cover a VAST spectrum of sounds, from Motley Crue to Judas Priest, from vintage Slayer to Morbid Angel, from Cannibal Corpse to Nile to Suffocation. It sounds good in front of any amp, PLUS the fact that you can go direct to the board using it's special output; I tried that when recording guitars for our second album, just to have a laugh, and wonder what??? Everyone was blown away, including myself. That damn thing really works!!

The obvious point of reference... against the much overpriced and lately very underrated Boss Metal Zone: Yes, the Metal Master sounds better, crispier and fuller, more consistent and most important: CLEAR! The MT2 has better eq options but lots of annoying settings, the Metal Master sounds good almost any way you put it. I'm planning to add an eq. pedal to my setup just to improve my sound a little bit more.

The output volume is lower than the MT2's in comparisson, but better sounding overall, and you can always use the Master Volume on the amp... The sound could use a little more punch; I want to try a Zoom Tri-Metal just to hear how do they stand one another, I've hear loads of nice things about the Zoom.

Don't know what to think really. Seem as rugged or more than a typical BOSS, but the foot switch just sucks. Sometimes I have to push it twice in a row to turn it off. I hope that this doesn't become a recurrent problem. I need to gig to support our album, and I sold my old MT2, so no backup (this thing better work good day in and day out!!)

Haven't tried yet.

I play Death Metal and this thing delivers. Good for palm muting, for fast pickining riffs and for soloing. Very clear sound, very articulate and heavy. From pussy-Marshall to masculine-Mesa Boogie is all here. If you're into Nile, Mortician, Dying Fetus, Krisiun, Cephalic Carnage, Vader, Bloodbath etc. this is a really nice buy. Highly recommended. I deduct a point for reliability.

this pedal does what it says that it does, which is give you the most heavy ass riffing capabilities possible. pretty simple to use, have not used the simulations capabilities yet.

i like it, it is heavy sounding. i bought it to use with my peavey rage so i don't have to keep my half stack out. the morph knob is great and flexible. if you want fender sounds don't buy this pedal.

seems dependable

if you like heavy metal and want that marshall or mesa sound go for this pedal.

the metal master is very easy to get up and running. it takes a while to get the tone you want out of it. other than that, easy.

i'm using a peavey studio pro 112 amp and a peavey raptor guitar in a S-S-S configuration.

the quality of the actual distortion is very good. Testament is my favorite band, and i had no problem dialing in the "practice what you preach" tone. at the full counter-clockwise position, i can even play some blues. granted, it doesn't sound great, but it's fun.

the hiss is almost unbearable unless i switch my pickups to the neck-middle or the bridge-middle positions, (effectively "bucking the hum").

it's a very durable pedal. it's heavy and doesn't slide around at all. it's absolutely perfect for home use.

if you're going to gig with this pedal, make sure you have the adapter or a large suppy of good 9-volts on hand. this pedal goes through batteries like water.

never had to deal with them.

i've been playing for a little over 2 years, so i may not be the foremost authority on effects, but it does what i need it to. the harmonics are great as is the sustain. by turning up the morph knob about 1/4 of the way you can even get a good tone for solo work. if it were stolen, i'd buy another one.

i compared it to the "DOD death metal", the "Boss DS-1", and the "Boss Metal Zone". the digitech had the best sound quality in my opinion. it's a lot chunkier than the DS-1, and less muddy than the DOD pedal.

i play a lot of old school thrash metal (slayer, testament, overkill, anthrax, napalm death), and this is a perfect pedal for that type of music. the lack of a gain knob isn't that big of a deal. if you want a more versatile pedal, you shouldn't buy something called "metal master".

As easy as any other pedal

Sound quality is bad... Huge noise floor that causes feedback
at stage volume - and not cool, controlable feedback. I could
get a good distortion, but the ocean of noise behind it is just
unacceptable. I returned the pedal asap. I know that the RP series
has some good sounds, I was disappointed that it did not carry
over to the x-series pedal line.

Nice heavy-duty case, but the dual-spring release to get to
the battery compartment is annoying.

Unknown.

Sound quality is my bottom line, and this pedal doesn't make
the grade. I think DigiTech needed some more R&D on this series
of effects; good idea, poor execution.