Ibanez CM-5 Classic Metal

This pedal is on par with most distortion pedals. Level, tone, and distortion. 9 volt jack for adapter, battery compartment that's simple to access.

I used this pedal for bass, and my guitarist used it for guitar, and it worked real well for both. The Ibanez Soundtanks of this guild included 4 distortion pedals total and they seemed like 4 levels of distortion. The Classic Metal was the 2nd heaviest. The sound was comprable to the Boss DS 1 distortion. All in a all a good solid state distortion, but no overall variance in the sound, but this is comon for any company that makes several different distortions. It's over all sound quality was great for a pedal in this porice range.

The pedal had a plastic casing, footswitch, and jacks, so it was no major surprise when the footswitch died 3 years after buying it. All the 5 series Soundtanks seemed to have the same problem, but they were cheap. This was very disapointing seeing as the previous pedals were built like tanks. Now adays, I stay away from any Ibanez pedal that doesn't incorporate the word "Reissue" into the title.

This pedal worked OK in my early metal days, but was replaced long ago. I've been playing for 15 years and owned many distortions since. I wasn't really heartbroken when it finally died. All in all it sounds great, but for serious use, you may want to look elsewhere.

The pedal is pretty simple to use.You have 3 control knobs 1.level 2tone 3distortion.I didnt get a manuel for it because i bought it used on ebay.It doesnt eat 9volt batteries as bad as other pedals and it also runs on a 9volt adapter.

I play Metallica ,Pantera mostley stuff like that.The pedal sounds good with my playing style.The only thing i dont like about the sound is it produces a little bit of a fuzz sound on the distortion.You have very good control of the bass or (lows) with the tone knob.The more you turn the tone the more bass you produce.It also puts out a good amount of distortion a lot better than an overdrive pedal.My only negitive on the sound as i said above is the fuzz sound in dist. It doesnt ruin the pedal but i can just tell and for me i dont care for a fuzz distortion.Overall sound quality is good for price range.Much better than a behringer or arion or the other cheaper pedals under boss.You get what you pay for most of the time.

The pedal is made of plastic.Although it's got to be atleast 10 years old now so i would say it's pretty reliable unless you like to kick the crap out of it or take your anger out on it.I would use it on a gig without a backup, as long as i was using a adapter for the power supply.I would never use a pedal at a gig with a battery.

Never contacted support.Actually never contacted support for any pedal i have bought threw the past ten years.My opinion customer support is a waste of time unless they just give new pedals away when you tell them theres a problem (which they dont)

As i stated above i use it for metallica , pantera ,style and it's a good match.I think it's just as good as anything else out there besides boss.I havent heard the boss but i know thats the top of the line in pedals.I have been playing for 11 years and use pedal with my other ibanez super chorus (which i would rate about the same) , a dod 7 band EQ (if you dont have a EQ pedal get one it makes sucha huge differnce).My guitar s are a fender stratocaster with a seymour duncan sh-6 humbucker at bridge ,a jackson dk2 with duncan sh-13 in bridge, a fender champion 110 and a crate full stack.I enjoy using this pedal.Ithink it's a great choice over using your amps built in distortion.If you are interested in this pedal look on ebay thats were i got mine.I payed $30.00 for it with achorus pedal too so i wouldnt pay more than $30.00 for it because you can get it cheaper.There is some people on ebay that i think are handicaped and try to sell the ibanez soundtank pedals for $80.00 and up, just overlook them.

Three control, Level, Tone, Distorsion. Very easy to get a good sound out of it. I like it better than my BOSS DS-2. The bad thing is that it is not that much tweakable, not like a BOSS, at least. even the tone control does not affect the overall sound that much. (Note that the tone control is reversed, so it like more high-end turning counterclockwise, or more low-end turning clockwise.)
What I don't like about it is that the footswitch area is too small, so I often happen to smash the battery compartment, which is situated on top, rather than the swith itself. Also the switch does not engage from time to time, or it engages and then suddenly disengages, so it is a pain in the ass trying to activate or deactivate it while I'm singing, and cannot see the LED.

I can get a nice distortion sound which is very close to the Ash sound. I also find it useful for all kinds of metal and hard rock. This pedal has lot of mids, you know. You can get a nice, rich, fuzzy distortion out of it, with a nice decay. It does cut your high-end somehow, so you don't get feedback even at high gain levels, or by putting your guitar in front your amp. I guess this could be considered a feature. However you won't get many usable harmonics artificial or natural with it.
My setup is as follows: strat -> fuzzzface -> od3 -> DS2 -> jh1 WAH -> "Cm-5" -> DE7 -> Marshall Valvestate 2
this pedal can get noisy on high gain settings, or when used after another distortion pedal, while it is generally silent after an overdrive pedal. however it has lots of gain so you wouldn't want to use another distorsion box with it, in a normal situation.

I wouldn't use it on a gig without the aid of my Boss DS2, since this pedal footswitch is soo bad.
plastic seems reliable enough, though.

never dealt with them

I play mostly, rock and pop. this pedal suits my needs for a good sound.
I've been trying to play guitar for 10 years, now I just strum it and...whatever.
I would buy it again if stolen (although I hadn't actually bought it in the first place)
I love its sound but I hate the sheetty plastic case the footswitch and the knobs often turn by mistake.

this pedal cost me 20 bucks it is a pretty good pedal for being plastic, it was very easy to use and operate i didnt get a manual for it it was just the pedal no box or nothing i bought it used. no clue?

i am only running this pedal to a crate 15 watt amp and the guitar is an epiphone sg, but the two sound really good together it has a nice crunchy rich sound for being such a simple pedal. i can get the sounds of ac/dc the darkness, and a little g and r with it. i was suprised at the great metaly sound it gave off it looked like it would short out and the effects would suck but it is really good and i am glad i got it.

i feel like i could depend on it it has already survived some gigs and its still going strong.

NO the dudes who sold it to me were pretty cool the let me try it out before i decided to buy it, i was sceptical at first because cmon its a 20.00 pedal i was thinking how good could it be, but i was wrong the guys who sold it were really cool and patient.

i like some good rock and i like music that make s you play an air guitar when u hear it i hate punk and stuff like that i like bands like ac/dc (who dosent), Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, bands like that. This pedal has given me the want to learn more complex sounding songs because i think i can do them with it im currently working on eruption....

Very easy to fool with the sounds...only has 3 knobs...only takes soft touch to switch on/off...switching out batteries is a breeze on this booger.

I use a Epi LP Custom Flametop through a 50 watt Marshall combo. To get a great "metal" sound on this pedal, I recommend scooping the mids from your clean channel and leaving the level knob on the pedal at about 2 or 3 and adjust the volume on the amp for preference. It has a nice crispy Pantera/Early Metallica (isn't this a tone everyone would LOVE to have?) palm muting/power chord sound. To me, this pedal is great for it's muting tones, but isn't so great when trying to play a riff of some sort on anything past the E, A, and D strings. It seems as though the booming tone evaporates when you make a major bend. The pedal doesn't buzz much as long as you leave the level down. For the price, (I paid $12 for it), you won't find a better distortion/metal pedal. It's a nice cheapie, but not quite what I'm looking for...

I'm pretty gentle with my gear, so I believe I can depend on it. No heavy stomping or kicking haha. The chassis is sturdy, but the plastic switch pedal makes it appear pretty weak. And yeah, I'd gig without a backup because I could dial in pretty similar tones from my combo alone.

Never dealt with Ibanez...hear they're great though.

I've been playing for about 5 years. I play mainly Metallica/shred music, but I'm into the more melodic songwriting genres as well. I think that I would consider using this pedal to record with, mainly because I can control the volume levels and get a great crunch from it. As for live, I think I'll just stick with my combo and a Tubescreamer. If it were me, for a similiar price on eBay, you can pick up a Zoom 505 (lil black box) pedal. I owned one a while back and regret ever selling it. You can edit patches to throw in your own distortions, effects, etc.

Very easy to set up, sensetive tweeking

Good sound although it can be overpowering through a small amp and will make the sound a bit crackerly

Very reliable bit of equipment. It can withstand a good thrashing, I bought mine second hand and it just keeps on going. I use it on a weekly baces on stage. Only problem is that the power cable keeps falling out when i knock it around to much. Apart from that i would recomend it to anyone.

I play alot of thrash metal, metallica and slayer etc and its brilliant for the job. overall good quality sound if its put through a nice amp. I plug mine into a 300 watt marshall and it sounds exellent. As long as you know how to play it should sound good.

Three well-voiced knobs...just takes subtle tweaks to change a whole lot. No manual.

Rig: Custom Shop Tele (Les Paul style, 2 Duncan humbuckers w/taps) into a mildly modded '89 Dunlop Crybaby, to a TS9, the CM5, DOD Analog Delay, and a USA Small Stone. This goes into a little Watkins (British) amplifier(EL84s, tube rectifier;imagine a cross btwn an AC15 and a Deluxe). This box has a broad range of sounds, but I have set it for a basic harmonically rich distortion tone for leads and crunchy chords. The level is around 2dB above unity with the amp and TS9. It sounds like a creamy fuzz when turned on alone, and with the TS9 and the wah, it is damn unbelievable the range of harmonics I get out of it! It is very controllable, and strangely very quiet (my old one was much noisier). With this pedal, a little goes a long way. It has a TREMENDOUS amount of gain, and the tone-shaping is very variable. Very organic sounding. I read once that this was basically a clone of the Boss OD-1...I never liked that pedal, but I LOVE this one. very warm and round. But I think I just got lucky. If you are looking for a pedal that can do everything, this isn't it. It is very much a distortion pedal, and has its own distinct color, but it is not opaque. You can still sound like you. It is not a clean gain pedal or straight up overdrive; it is basically a cross between a straight square fuzz like a Big Muff and a Marshall-y preamp. I would recommend this to anyone who has a nice, tube (and preferably tube-rectified) amp and wants something to really push over a normal brownish sound. I used to run this through my Silverface Twin, and the frickin earth moved. Even at low levels, the harmonics are so chunky, yet viscous...like the goop that bubbles over in Superman III. It is a very different sound. I only give it a nine because it does attenuate highs...like that snappy bridge tine...somewhat.

Unfortunately, the Soundtank series was changed from metal cases to plastic in the mid 90s. It is tough, but my only real concerns are the input jacks, as they are soldered directly onto the PC board (this is what killed my first one at ten years of age), and the incredibly dinky footswitch. As soon as I have the cash, I want to set up a switching rig as I never change the settings. I have to use it w/o a backup, unfortunately. But like I said, my first one lasted ten years. I hope this one lasts that long!

Ibanez laid off this beast...do I think they would honor a warranty for it? Doubtful.

I play my own brand of pop-folk-rock with a blues bent to it; I love playing guitar and rockin, and I love just strumming too.

I love this pedal. If it were lost, or stolen, I would cry. I spent literally months trying to find a fuzz pedal to compliment my original TS9 and EH-Hot Tubes. I played pedals that cost hundreds of dollars, handmade jobbies, you name it, I played it. But man...this thing has IT. I had one when I was younger, an original metal-cased one (w' a JRC chip). I bought it for $10 from a pal and used it all through high school. It fell apart, unfortunately, which is why I was looking for a new box. I listenbed to some old recordings and realized I needed to get another, so I started looking online and realized it was discontinued...I tried ordering it from various sources on clearance to no avail for months, ebaying it, etc. Finally I got one from a company called SoundExchange2 (http://soundexchange2.com/index.html). They sold me one on clearance at a fair price. It arrived without a box and scratched...I contacted them and asked if this was a demo...they told me it was their last one and the one in the display case, apologized for not putting that on their website, REFUNDED my money, and then told me to keep the pedal as a gift for pointing out the problem! This was totally unprecedented and took me completely aback. I totally recommend this company, as they have the BEST customer service I have EVER dealt with in my life. Nice to have a CM-5 back in my rig. This one is terribly sweet...my old one was great, but this one is brilliant.

I remeber it was pretty simple to use, 3 knobs, nothing much to get confused with

when I got this pedal I was in a hughe research for a good Distortion pedal and I couldn't find anyone that really pleased me til then. I bought it New, and It worked REALLY well with my friend's amp ( Brazilian Amp called "Meteoro" ) until this day I could never match again the extreme heaviness this pedal gave me with this amp plgged altogheter with a Boss Equalizer, BUT it didN't really worked so well in other amps , so I Later decided to sell it. I remeber I liked the Soundtank design a lot, much better that the Boss pedals, but nowadays I ONLY use distortion from my Amplifiers ( absolutely no pedals can beat them : ))

Its good for Runnig Wild or Accept type stuff, as far as I can recall. However, I could never understand why this pedal on;y worked well on my Friend 100 watt combo, but it sounded then heavy and aggressive. I Bought it new in Sept 1996 and sold it in April of 1997
when I bought a Peavey amp and decided that I'd only use amp distortions.I remeber I loved the sopund because it made me recall of a very cheap distortion pedal which was the first dist pedal i had; despite of being very raw and hummish this pedal ( called Chorus Supplier HM ) was the heaviest one I've ever heard til then, and I couldn't get enough aggressivity of any other pedal. the Ibanez one has a sound that slightly reminded this pedal I mentioned on its heaviness and aggressivity, BUT with much more quality of course !!!

three knobs level tone and distortion as simple as they come.

i have a les paul custom and a strat usa delux plus which usually run very quietly but these soundtanks are pretty inconsistant. when i was fourteen my friend and i bought a bunch of soundtanks even some of the same models some were quiet and som hummed like hell. one of the two classicmetals humed pretty bad.
this pedal is not very much more distorted than a boss ds-1 it is a good deal more fuzzy in its tone though which can be cleaned up with a light chorus and noise gate.
but the hairy ness of this pedal is part of its charm.
i don't carry this pedal with me to gigs as it is not really that usefull. it is worth having around the house for when you want a change from your big muff, mesa boogie, budda zenman, or ds-1.

i am not an agressive person and the switching mechanism goes bad on these soundtanks it is stupifying. they are the most unreliable pedals i've ever seen. but you can get them on e-bay for practally nothing like all of the soundtank pedals.

? big corporation

this pedal is worth the 15 bucks you can get one for on the net while it usually sits in a box of effects i never use and the on off mechanism works very sparatically, i do take it out of the box every once in a while. so buy one for the hell of it. who knows it may come in handy

This is a SoundTank, which means it is cheap plastic. That's not an issue, unless you are wearing 13 inch moonboots and dropping on it from the ceiling. due to its three knobs, its really easy to use.

OK folks- I've just spent an hour comparing it to the Boss Metalzone. The Boss is a tiny bit more clear, and much more versatile on tone, but almost too much so. You can get a ton of really sour and ugly tones from the Boss if you don't pay close attention. The Classic Metal, though, is hard to get wrong. Set the tone to 75%, switch to your bridge pickup (hopefully a humbucker if you want a metal sound), and YOU WILL MAKE A MARSHALL CABINET HUM ON THE LOW POWER CHORDS! It has almost more of a true tube tone than the Metalzone, which borders on the Glamrock 80's tone. I actually tweaked the Metalzone to simulate the Classic Metal, and it took some time.
I have compared this pedal with several others, and it blew them away, hands down. Among the losing crowd are the L.A. Metal pedal, and Ibanez' own Cybermetal pedal. It also wiped away the Fabtone, and the Boss OD-2 (or was it OD-3? I sold it). For being another cheap distortion pedal, I was sheerly amazed at its sound. If you end up with one of these, consider yourself lucky.
If you are playing it through an amp with anything less than 12 inch speakers, then don't whine about its sound. A Peavey Audition does not qualify as good tone- tester amp. A Fender Priceton Chorus would be the only 10 inch speaker amp that I would reccomend. I play through a Marshall Halfstack, and this pedal sounds better than the rough distortion of the Marshall.
It had no more noise than the Metalzone- they were equal there. Those of you who complain of the noise must be using single coil pickups in an unshielded guitar (most are- go to www.guitarnuts.com to see how proper shielding is done- most manufacturers don't care, and don't bother).

I can't tell you how many times I've had to replace the 9v connector on Boss pedals, but this Classic Metal pedal has been flawless. Although, I'm aware that not everyone can walk on eggshells, so I will ding it a bit for having a plastic casing. Like anything else, it will last forever if you don't act like a caveman with it!!!!

Never dealth with them.

I've been playing for over 20 years, which means that this review wasn't written by a 1 year beginner that knows 3 punk metal power chords. I do however, insist on getting a good bottom-heavy metal tone from my gear, even if my band seldom uses it. For leads, I like the Billy Gibbons squeals, and also a Hendrix "Red House" Tone for the clean.
Now that I have a Metalzone, I will sell the Classic Metal, for no fault of its own. The Metalzone has about 10% more tonal possibilities, and has about 3% more presence. Yes, the Metalzone wins again, but this time, only by the skin of its paint.