Ibanez BN5 Black Noise Industrial Distortion

It's just like any other gain unit: level, tone, gain. The only things hard about it is exploiting it to its best potential (as it reacts very strongly to what else is in your rig, the levels being ran into it, etc) and knowing how to EQ it.

I use a Squier strat w/ 500k tone pots (thus making up for the mediocre PUs) and 12s. It is ran into an ibanez SP-5, CM-5, into a CGB-95, into the BN-5, the CD-5, a DOD FX-90, a PDS 1002, a Microverb III and then ran direct. Other things occasionally get thrown in, but that is the base of the tone. I predominately play ambient guitar soundscapes with my rig.

It is great for what I need: It has a stupid amount of gain, reacts well to other effects, can get a varying amount of tones, and creates a beautiful sheen when paired with multiple delays and 100% wet reverb. It creates a great wall of sound.

It's sturdy plastic. The switch isn't great, but it works.

Never dealt with them

It does everything I need, so I give it a 9.

3 knobs and a switch - you're retarded if you can't figure it out.

I tried my 79 Les Paul, 90 SG, 58 reissue Flying V, BC Rich Beast, 3 Mockingbirds and 2 Explorers with this one and the variety of sounds ranged from killer to a bit puzzling, but mostly raging.

Nice, very dirty, almost sandpaper distortion, which is the change I was looking for from my other distortion pedals (Zoom Tri-Metal, Bozz MT-2, Ibanez Smash Box, Digitech Metal Master). I'm sure it'll fit in nicely with at least one of my songs.

It's quite bass heavy and I had to tweak it quite a bit to find a decent sound.

Plastic. Gotta be a bit careful I guess. But hasn't crapped out on me yet.

Can't complain much as I paid only $15 for it. It's earned a place in my pedaboard but it's mostly a one-trick pony. Good trick though.

Very easy to use, the manual wasn't much help, but that's ok.

I run it through a Roland KC-500 keyboard amp. It is noisy, but in a good way. This is mostly for industrial music I would say. There's lots of power here to bust out. I can get a Kindey Thieves sound out of it sort of. I think the distortion is quite good, not for all tastes, but just enough bass and twang.

It is made out of plastic, so I won't be stomping on it....Careful, it's a cool pedal, but looks like ti might break if jumped on. A backup wouldn't be a back idea if you do crazy on your pedals.

Never had to deal with them, but I've heard they're pretty good

I play industrial music and I mix this with a Boss MT-2 and an inexpensive Korg overdirve pedal to quiet it during lyrics and then bust out. I've been playing guitar for 10 years and I play a Parker Fly Deluxe. I'd definitely want to replace this since it's a great pedal for the style that I play. If you're not into bass heavy distortion, but not too much bass, well this might not be for you. It brings a huge wall of distortion to my music and I love it. I wish it had some more knobs to be able to fine tweak the sound a little more, but it's fine just how it is too. Go get one

easy to figure out. strum and turn one knob at a time to figure out what each one does.

I use an Epiphone Les Paul, Jr. into a Ross Fame series amp. The BN 5 really seems to work with the P90 pick up. The disortion is great. Trouble is, the pedal seems bass heavy, so you have to really spend time experimenting with the tone controls on the pedal, amp and guitar to balance it out.
For those over thirty: don't be scared off by references to Static X and System of a Down. I got some really good Neil Young "Live Rust" sounds out of it.
I'm concerned about the plastic. I'm not a small guy and I am sure that if I really leaned on it that I could crack it.

It seems dependable. I really wonder about the plastic case. I am using it now without back up.

I got this pedal cheap and it fits in perfectly with my pawn shop bargain guitar and my garage sale amp.
This fits in with my rock/grunge sound perfectly.
I would look for another if this one went missing. From my experience, this pedal should only be bought second hand and you get what you pay for. If you want better, you'll probably pay more.

this pedal is simple to use, just 3 knobs

I have a fender deluxe 90 amp. Originally, I bought this pedal to make up for the bad distortion on the amp. oops. I used it first with an ephiphone g310 (sg rip off, 1998 i believe) and it sounded like practically nothing was going on. there was some static and such in the highs, but "low end" was nonexistent. i now have an esp ltd f200 (which is a great guitar) and it sounds slightly better, but it is still crappy beyond belief.

i'd depend on it, if i wanted to get my ass kicked by the rest of the band, haha. seriously tho, i used it for awhile and never had any problems. i guess you could complain about it being plastic, but you just have to be somewhat careful.

never dealt with 'em.

I play mostly death metal and black metal, but i like a sound with some good crunch, low end is essential of course. the pedal sounded fine in the store, but it was because the guy who helped me demo it had it hooked up to some insane peavey amp, but i was new to the world of guitars at the time so i thought it was just the pedal. i figured it was just me using wrong settings at home, but after a couple weeks i realized the pedal was shitty. i got a zoom 505II eventually, and it kicked some ass, and finally i got a metal zone, which is probly the last tone-box i'll need (wish my amp could handle the low end). i wish this pedal had some redeeming value.

Really easy to use and to get a good sound out of it. Got it used so no manual, but don't miss it.

First thing I found out when plugging and tweaking this one is that it's bass heavy... you gotta have the tone set to max not to lose highs... but once that's figured out you have a nice meaty chunk in the low end that's really nice, you just fine tune how much of it you want in. This pedal as an overal sound to itself, if you like chunky distorted bottom end that's a pedal you'll like.

Named black noise as an industrial type of distortion, but there's much more to it, I'd describe it more as a grind/grunge machine. You can get a variety of sound... this is not an overdrive... more of a fuzz meets distortion... heavy metal/grunge for sure.

Only think bad about the soundtank is the cheap switch, which is easy and cheap to replace... if it dies. Use with care and it will last forever.

They now got back to taking emails... so better than it was... but overall great, you shouldn't really need them with this tho...

I got this because of the low price, and wasn't expecting anything fancy or great really, I was in for a surprise! Great pedal for heavy low end... could get noisy if you use it on a distorted amp but that's not how I'd use it anyway. If you want a starting point with this pedal...[in clock hours] Level=10, Tone=5:30, Dist.=1:30 that's my starting point with it... just need to be fine tuned for the situation at hand. A fine pedal for heavy distortion.

This pedal is simple. Three knobs, no tough deal there.

If you are looking for a classic rock sound, I laugh at you. This thing isn't the way to go. But I suprised by the people who say this is an industrial - only pedal. I got an early Nirvana (Bleach era), Black Metal, Hardcore Punk, and Industrial sound out of it. To avoid getting the glassy sound (I LOVE the glassy sound, by the way), turn the tone up about half, and the distortion no higher than half, preferably about a quater.

The plastic is TOUGH, and I don't see how you can break it unless you slam it down (not good for any pedal) and weigh about 400 lbs (also not good for any pedal). The knobs seem a little flimsy, though.

Nope. I use all Ibanez equipment (Except for my amp) and I never have problems.

This is a great pedal. I've played many, and if you know what you are doing you can get a lot of different sounds out of it.

well that is an easy pedal to use

great sound, not too harsh if u don't turn tone and dist up too high, good dirty distortion

great deal I bought in on offer and I wont't regret it all that soon!

This seems odd for a stompbox (3 knobs and a switch), but with this unit it is true. Without the right tweaking, all you get is noise.

I use this on a bass, and it sounds incredible. However, it is not for the faint of heart. With the dist. knob all the way off it still growls like a madman. I turn almost all my treble off to avoid a glassy noise. The way to maintain a decipherable tone with this, I have found, is to turn the volume on the guitar off all the way, turn the box level up as far as it goes, and slowly turn the guitar knob back to desired volume. The sound out of this is really very different than most bands. The only one I can think of with something similar is Tool. More traditional rock would most likely never use this, but for industrial type it is amazing.

Seems good. I have no problems with the plastic case: it seems very solid.

Bought used, no contact

I love this pedal, but I really like to work with effects. For someone who just wants to stomp and launch, it is probably not that good. Range of use might be limited, depending on style.

Very easy to use. Only 3 knobs. Any bastard could use it

I use a Les paul copy and i ran this pedal through brents fender amp.
This pedal has absolutly no noise or feedback even at really high volumes. Awesome for palm muting. I use the level at 12:00 and the tone and distortion all the way up. This pedal is heavy as hell at low tunings but is poor at picking up high tones and soloing. This pedal sounds a lot like static-x and system of a down. If you add more treble you can get a good fear factory sound. The distortion is very industrial sounding and you can clearly hear the notes you are playing unlike the MT-2 or DOD pedals where you gets lots of feedback and noise.

I do not like the plastic casing because it looks like it could break easily. I would use it at a gig only for new metal and industrial music.

never dealt with them

I play lots of styles like fear factory, system of a down, static-x, NIN, Godflesh, Pollution, Pitchshifter etc. I can get a good sound to most of these bands. I've been playing for around 5 years. I use to own a fender strat but the piece of crap broke so i decided to buy a les paul copy which sounds a lot better. Be sure to use this pedal with humbuckers. I would buy it again if it was stolen, and then i would chop off the stealers head with a axe. I love the fact that it is very quiet and has absolutly no feedback, it has a great industrial sound to it and it stands out when you play at high volumes. The thing I hate about this pedal is the plastic casing. My favorite feature is the way the distortion stands out from most of the other pedals like DOD and Boss. I sometimes wish it had more treble but i can fix it with my EQ. The pedal really helps me play my own heavy riffs espesially for industrial types of songs. My advice to people who buy this pedal need to know that this only sounds really good at low tunings and high volume. If you play this at low volumes you will not get the full potential of this pedal. Great for gigs and live stuff as well as recording.

To some people who depend on manuals, it would be really hard, but if you have a sound in mind, then you sit down and fool with it until you find the sound you want. In one word, yeah it's easy.
I'm hoping they bring this pedal out in the Lok Box series becuase, they are essiential to my playing.

I us a Ibanez SG, because they seem to be the only guitars who can handle that much distortion and low-end, without feedback or humming noise. I when recording I record direct into the board through a zoom 505 pedal w/amp simulator, and then I wear a remote on stage still plugging the guitar direct into the PA system, through the same Zoom pedal.
It's not noisy if you use an ibanez guitar, trust me I've tried, fenders and gibsons and they all can't handle the distortion and the lows. I use the minimalist appraoch with the sound,...No Effects. I produce a more NIN type of distortion, similar to that on the Fragile CD. The distorted signal sits behind the tone, so the tone has more presence than the distortion. It sounds like a guitar being recorded and then played again on a bad tape deck, which is what I want to hear.The settings that I use is simple. Turn the Level up at 1/3, then the tone I turn up at 1/3 and finally the distortion I crank uat 2/3 of the way, and no more.

I always depend on this gizzmo. I would like to have another one made if possible in case the unthinkable was to happen.

I play Industrial, and this pedal does help alot. I'vbeen playing for about...it's been so long I can't remember. I own an Aria Pro bass, which I experiment also with the BN5, Boss Dr. Groove 202, and a Boss Dr. Sampler, along with Recording gear. I've had to replace it before, and I wish they would make another newer model. I love the fact that it's not an all out distortion pedal. I hate it when little Korny and Limp Kids dis this pedal. It's not a distortion pedal made for metal, it's made to complement the electronic sounds it accompanies. My favorite feature is the static distotion it has. I've tried to create the same sound with other pedals when my first one was trashed but they were to heavy sounding. I wanted distortion but not a big wall of drowning noise.I wish it had a bass partner, for bassist. It allows the rhythm of the music to beheard. No more fighting with the distortion to keep the vocalist present, or the drums and Synths covered in a wall of Distortion. They need to make more of this kind of pedal.

Very easy to get a Static-X Kittie type sound

A Vertigo-X to bn5 to 72' Fender Champ. about 3 or 4 good sounds

It's made of plastic but it's v ery heavy and think aint gonna brake any time soon.

I play new metal type stuff, to old skool punk. I can get Misfits to Korn out of it. I love it blows Metal Zone outa the water.

3 choices, pick one. Even a Squier totin moron could figuer it out!

I play a '87 Peavey Raptor (this thing is made for distortion) into a '87 Peavey Studio Pro or a Crate GFX20 (it's not mine, I wouldn't but a piece of crap like that) On the Studio Pro, it didn't sound good at all, only bass I need more than bass! The distortion on the Studio Pro is better than this crapy pedal! On the GFX20 it sounded worse.

This thing is so cheap, it disgraces the wonderful Ibanez name (as do all soundtanks)! I only touched (yes, Virginia, it's gone) with my bare or scocked feet! And the sticker, how cheap is that? I would never gig with this! Do yourself a favor, buy a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi.

I owned it for less than a week, then sold it for what bought it for.

This sucks more cock than a cheap hooker.

3 knobs.simple

the god of all stompbox distorion.i agree that the bn5 is much heavier than the mt2.the only peeple giving this thing bad reviews are them old fogies lookin for that metallica sound.i love it.....it kicks the mt2 square in the balls.any one lookin for some heavy shit ...get this pedal!this pedal is exceptionally quiet...im usin an ibanez grx20 and a generic kansas...they both sound good through the pedal.my ibanez is tuned C#/F#/B/E/G#/C#...my kansas is tuned
D/A/D/G/B/E.

it seems pretty sturdy...all my guitar bubbies know anything i own has to be built cuz it goes to hell and back.i would definately gig without a backup.

didnt deal with them

im mainly into old skool metal(pantera,alice in chainz,slayer).i just wanted to try something new ,and the bn5 was definately something new.before i bought this i thought the mt2 was the shit.but this makes the mt2 look like a piece of noisy horse shit!,though i still plan to use on in my setup but the bn5 rulz...every one must have one!

Come on, 3 knobs, this is ssoo easy to use!

Prety good, could be better if it had more terbal. VERY LOUD!

Be gentle, and NEVER hit it with shues!

Good mostly, excpt it is not that tough.

3 Little knobs, aint that hard to figuse out

I've never played on one until i got it, i heard it was a distortion pedal that sounded like nothing else, they were right. Its VERY bassie, for soundz like korn, I like it but I also run an overdrive pedal with it to get it a little bit more treble, more of a metal sound

This is the first soundtank ive owned, it plastic but its very rugged

Never delt with them before, Ibanez is a good company though

If you really want a korn deep low sound, get it, but please play korn in your own room, start something different, theres too many bands that want to be like korn, and im sick of it, play around with this pedal and blow the world away!!!!

Only three knobs to work with: Level, tone, and drive. It's just a matter of turning the knobs untill you find a combination of settings that sounds good to you.

If you're looking to get a good rock or metal sound, then leave now. This pedal is designed with industrial and death metal in mind. If you don't play low and heavy, you're not going to get what it's potentail is.

It's not the best sounding pedal in the world, but it's great for what it's designed for. The industrial grade distortion is a gritty as possible. The pedal boosts the low frequencies without making the highs unbearably squealy. It does have an extreme lot of gain, so use it with a noise suppressor set on a short release or it will be very noisy. I use it in the OD/DT loop of my BOSS GT-3 with it's preamp and effects.

This pedal is meant to be used with low tunings, so downtune your instrument or bust out a seven-string. The sound is at it's best when down at C, B, or A.

The BN5 is good for bass too, especially for that industrial bass sound. The bass sound that Fear Factory used on Soul of A New Machine can easilly be obtained.

It made out of high-impact plastic like all Soundtank pedals, but it's durable. You would have to be jumping on it all the time and wiegh some 300 pounds to break it.

I have never dealt with Ibanez nor have I ever had a need to.

I got it during a closeout sale, so mine was obtained for about half-price. It's a good deal at this price and it's great for what it was designed for.

Very easy. 3 knobs and the pedal. If you can't figure that out than you don't deserve to have it.

I love this pedal. It has the ultimate distortion I need. I use it on a Ibanez RG7 string. I look for the Korn and Sli[knot sound and this does it for me. I turn the volume and the distortion about 4:00. If you are looking for heavy industrial sound, than this pedal won't let you down.

It is pretty durable. Lives up to the name sountank. It is plastic and that kida gets me, but otherwise it is the perfect pedal. I use it on all gigs without a backup. Believe me, it doesn't need it.

I haven't had to deal with them before.

I play mostly a heavy metal. I need this distortion, to achieve my sound goals. I have been playing for about 2 years now, and have been using it for about 1. I love it. I someone had stolen it or I lost it I would definately by another one. It is worth it. It has the metal sound. I play alot of Korn, and just the amp doesn't cut it. I have no negetive feedback on this pedal all except it is plastic. This is just the perfect pedal. I really doesn't need anything else. I make my music without the pedal, but in mind. Then I take those riffs and apply them to the pedal. It works great for me. I am sure it will work with you.

Couldn't be more simple 3 knobs

I love the sound of this pedal. I use a Charvel Jackson, run threw a Wasburn PG50 head, and the tone is very sharp and hard edged. If playing in anything other than a song that needs this much distortion, its nearly useless. Turn down the distortion knob and the sound losses something (other than distorion). Pulling off any sound that bands like Korn, Rob Zombie, and anything else like this is no big feat for this pedal. I love the pedal, i compare it to a Boss Metal Zone, and the BN5 is much heavier than that.

Its a sound tank, plastic, kinda scares me. The knobs feel like they are gonna break off, but i havent had any problems with it at all. Ive used it gigging with out a back-up without being worried. The knobs work fine and the foot switch works great on it aswell.

I cant say enough about this pedal, i love the hard sound of this pedal, and in the band im in its needed. If you want to have about the hardest sounding dist. pedal that is made, this is it. Ive had a tubescreamer, and a metalzone (as well as a few other cheap dist pedals) and i prefer the hard edge sound of this over anything.

I'm the Bass player in my industrial metal band and I bought it first for me but it sounds good on both our guitars and bass. It was a little tricky at first getting the sound we wanted, but we finally found the right sound.

I play an ibanez 4 string bass and the guitarist plays a 6 string ibenez tuned at c#.
I use 1/3 distortion and tone nobs turned all the way down to keep the lows.
The guitarist uses 2/3 distortion and 1/3 tone to keep his gritty sound and still some lows.
The box if used right gives us a distinct industrial but yet metalish thrashy sound that's making us very popular in the San Francisco Bay area.

We use it on all of our gigs and recordings. We record straight from the box to get the true sound of the effects.

Never dealt with them.

I play in an Industrial metal band and this box gives us the sound that stands us apart from the rest. I would have to buy another box if something happened to it. I love the that transistor sound it gives in the distortion on both the guitar and the bass. The other pedals had either too much low end or to much distortion, but this one is is different , I can't explain it. I wish it had some kind of book to go with it but i guess it was better if we experimented with it and found our own unique sound. The only thing i know is that to much distortion doesn't work for us but maybe for other bands with this bok, but we love it and stand by it.

Three knobs, volume, tone and distortion. The manual isn't particulary useful, there are no settings or anything in it.

There is only one setting where this pedal sounds good, with tone cranked and distortion about 12 o'clock. Very punk sound. Think NOFX. I was after a more Metallica sound. When you put the tone down on the Blacknoise, it becomes very fuzzy and noisy, losing the crisp sound it has. Can get good feedback, but you get it a lot when you don't want it.

Well it hasn't broken after a year, but it is only plastic, and dropping it on a hard floor would definitly kill it.

Never dealt with Ibanez.

For certain high end metal and punk, this pedal works. But for grunge, blues, rock and other types of metal, I wouldn't recommend this. I like it better than the ThrashMetal though. i'm gonna sell mine and either get a metal zone, a rat or a big muff.

Read my other review, since Im here to update it.

Since this was my first pedal, i thought it was the best pedal in the world. Then i heard about the Metal Zone, and decided to try it. It blew me away, and i bought it. It makes the Black Noise sound like shit. Whatever you do, do not buy a soundtank.

What do you expect from a piece of plastic? I barely stepped on it, and it started to crack. I wouldn't even use it for a gig.

never dealt with Ibanez

If you want a good pedal for industrial or metal, go for a Metal Zone. Ibanez makes awesome guitars, but these soundtanks suck.

Pretty damn easy to use.

I use an Ibanez guitar, and a Bandit 112 amp and a Black Noise Pedal. This combination sounds great. It can get pretty distorted, but thats the sounds i like. Very bass heavy.

It's well built, giving the series the name of "Soundtank".

Never dealt with Ibanez

i play metal like Fear Factory and Korn. Ive been playing for about a year, and i would buy another if i lost or broke mine. I hope to get an Ibanez RG7620BK this december...

it's easy to get a good sound. you don't need the manual

my setup goes squier strat, boss OC-2, Ibanez CM5, Ibanez BN5, Ibanez FL5,Ibanez DL5, Fender Automatic GTamp. THe BN5 is a very cool pedal with a lot of harmonicsand sounds very industrial.

I've had it for 8 mo. & play every day. I use AC adapters so I Would definatly use it at a gig without a backup( eventhough I have 2 other footswitchable distortions)

I play all kinds of rock I mostly use it on indstrial and hardcore kinda stuff. it loses alot of the harmonics when you turn the distortion knob down. But, Iwould definatly buy it again.