IndyGuitarist MT-2 Mod

A couple of extra knobs compared TO the DS1 but I don't think it will blow any minds.

Great. Out of all the mods I've heard, this is the most drastic one. Turned a terrible sounding pedal into a monster. Since you can sweep the mids, you can get a tremendous amount of sounds out of it. I can make it sound like my modded DS1 but there are so many more options. Between 8 and 12 o'clock on the gain, you'll get a nice JCM sound. Anything past 12 o'clock will blow your brains out but it's still musical. Select the right mid frequency, turn it down, and get modern metal sounds as well.

Boss. Those things last forever. Hope I didn't jinx myself now:)

Brian is great. Very helpful, especially if you get the book and do the mod yourself. His site is fantastic. The forum is full of tone tweakers who can provide a lot of help. Highly recommended.

The kicker is that I play through a crate powerblock these days. I leave the amp pretty clean. The MT sounds very natural through this. I don't miss the tubes (although if I got a $1500.00 amp, I might have to eat my words). I also have a Keeley modified BD2 and a self-modded DS1 (part Indy/Keeley/EricHansen), as well as a partially tweaked GE7. I love this stuff. Get into it!

Same as before I sent it in for modding. The parametric EQ knobs take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you'll wish more pedals gave this much control over your tone.

I use Mesa Mark amps. Can't solo worth a damn with a Recto. Wake up, kids.

I bought the stock pedal new trying to duplicate the searing lead channel on my Mk IV with the MT-2 pumping my Mk II. Nope, didn't work. So, I tried using it as a dirty boost. Still shrill and lifeless, but with some possibility. So off I go to mod land.

As far as I know, only Keeley and Indyguitarist mod the MT-2, so I downloaded all their soundfiles and played them back in loops, comparing them carefully. The Keeley still sounded nasally to me, of course the mids were scooped to appeal to most of the people that buy this thing, but the Indyguitarist mod had more girth in the mids (you need mids to shred) so I opted for the Bogner/Diezel mod.

Got it back quickly, thanks. So first I tried again to duplicate my Mk IV lead tone on the Mk II. It sounded much better, but at higher distortion settings, while much fuller and thicker, closer to a tube amp pumping, there was still this fizzy sound. Way better than stock, plenty of mids, but not the same as my Mk IV. The Keeley reviews of his MT-2 mod still mention the fizzyness at higher distortion settings, so this must be something that mods don't take out. So now I'll just have to lug that heavy *$^#*%$ Mk IV around for a few more years until my back completely gives out.

Next, I tried it as a dirty boost. Dist down, volume up, EQ knobs just a tad past 12, the bass a tad below 12. EQ knobs are very sensitive now. Holy shit, Martha, fantastic! Gobs of sustain, just a great amount of grit to push the Mk IV into territory I never heard before, tightened up the Mesa muddiness (slight, but there) just a fantastic boost. It'll never leave my pedalboard. Mean, wicked, nasty, perfect. So then a couple of surprises.

First, I compared the quality of the boost to a Keeley modded Rat II. The Bogner/Diezel modded MT-2 sounded more musical. The Keeley sounded a little flat. I use a lot of pinch harmonics in my playing, more than anybody else I've ever heard, other than the other Reverend. Listening closely, the modded MT-2 seemed to make my pinch harmonics bloom, very beautiful sounding. Listening closely, the modded Rat seemed to create some kind of phase cancellation sound with the harmonics, cutting them off before they have a chance to sustain and basically sounding awful. I don't know if this is because of the asymetrical clipping that Keeley installs, or what, but the Indyguitarist mod doesn't do that. In fact, exactly the opposite. The Rat is up for sale.

Second, and the biggest surprise, I was expecting to still have a little distortion sound come through when the pedal is bypassed. Even the Keeley reviews mention this, so I didn't expect anything different between the modded and unmodded versions. Well, guess what, no distortion sound! And, no tone suck! The pedal now sounds just like a true bypass pedal. Crystal clear cleans, until I step on it. It doesn't make sense, all my other Boss pedals have that tone suck when off, modded and unmodded (I'm not using Boss anymore because of this, I gotta have my pristine cleans. I'm replacing everything except this modded MT-2 with true bypass pedals. If you really care about your tone, it's the only way to go).

So, I'm one happy camper. The best dirty boost for high gain sounds I've ever heard, crystal clear when bypassed, and the parametric EQ tone circuit for the best tone control possible. I'm going to get another one for a backup, I can't take the risk of not having access to this down the road. It's the perfect Mesa Mk dirty boost.

Now Brian has made me an offer I can't refuse on his new Pinnacle OD pedal, for some of my lighter boost duties, so I'll pick one up and put it through its' paces.

Please don't think I'm knocking Keeley, his pedals and service are excellent, but some of his stuff kills my pinch harmonics, which just happens to be the mainstay of my sound. AnalogMan is big on the symetrical clipping, Keeley likes the asymetrical clipping, I don't know what Brian at Indyguitarist uses, but he hit a home run on this one. They all seem to have some great players endorsing their stuff, so it's all relative, so if you can, try before you buy, but I'm going to give Brian some more business as whatever he's doing compliments what I'm doing, and that's what it's all about.

It's still a Boss pedal, and I'm not worried in the least that Brian will do whatever it takes to keep it working.

See above. Brian is as friendly as they get, responds to emails quickly, knows far more than I about what's inside these things, he's right up there with the best of 'em.

Brian took a marginal pedal and turned it into a monster boost pedal. Great control over the tone, clean and pure when off, I have no complaints at all. It'll never leave my pedalboard, it just sounds so good with my Mesa's. I've spent so much looking for 'my' sound I don't impress easily, and this does it. I just can't figure out how he made the bypass so clean.

Piece of cake. Controls are very sensitive, especially the mids. So little tweaks go a long way. Four band eq's can always be a bit of a pain, but that's Roland's fault, not Brians!

Roland JC-120 is me amp, although sometimes I'll run it out to a Marshall 4x12. I play a Gibson LP. Not noisy beyond what would be expected from a high-gain pedal. Great balance, much rounder and warmer than the original, the eq is so much more flexible now. Like I said, little tweaks....

Boss. I mean, Boss.

Brian is the shit. I don't know how he has time to answer everybody's emails, he must get a ton of them. But somehow he finds the time. Maybe he lives in Cyberspace.

I'm not much of a metal guy, I tend towards hard rock, blues, (my other drive is an Indyguitarist BD-2)alternative rock; and I love this pedal. I can't say enough about the eq section on the pedal, it just plain rulz.

I modded this pedal myself using Brian's DIY book($14.00) that I downloaded from the Indyguitarist site. The rest of the cost is for the parts used.
The MT-2 has a built-in EQ section, so tweaking it in can be a bit of work, but Brian's Marshall-Boogie mod makes it easier by smothing out the mids and trimming off some of the excess highs.

My setup is pretty well laden with effects. My signal starts eith either a Gibson '57 Reissue Les Paul Custom w/stock '57 Classics, from there to an Audio-Technica UHF wireless, to a custom pedal board with the following:Boss DS-1 distortion(also a Indyguitarist mod), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone distortion(the reason for this review), vintage Boss BF-2 Flanger(stock), Danelectro Cool Cat chorus, Ibanez EQ pedal, and a Ernie Ball volume pedal, all feeding either a Mesa Rocket 44 or a Mesa Subway Blues.
I can find no faults with this pedal. It makes no noise when the guitar is idle, save for a bit of feedbakc if the strings are touched at all, but lets face it, that's what you use an MT-2 for is gut-wrenching gain. When played, the pedal produces a very useable and fat violin-like tone with sustain for days. I was about to by a compressor until I hopped up this pedal. I have no problem getting either the scooped mid sound of Zakk Wylde, or the high-octane tome of the Young brothers. The one thing that surprises me is that single-note passages keep their separation and clarity even under high distortion situation. Brian definitely did his homework on this mod.

Let's face it, even if this was not modded by myself using Brian'smods, it would still be a Boss. 'Nuff Said...

If you have ANY problems with Brian's mods-even if you do them yourself-Brian WILL be there to help. He has always answered my e-mails in a timely manner. He is always interested in what you are doing with gear modded by him or by one using his mods.

I really love this pedal, as I can get most any distortion sound I want out of it now that is isn't so thin and harsh. If it were stolen, I'd buy another and install this mod to it, provided I weren't able to maim the the rotten rouge who stole it.

Fairly easy. It's a little more complex than typical three button distortion pedals, but as long as you have an idea of how to shape tone, this should be easy enough. Brian from Indyguitarist gave me some tips for a high gain setting.

I am playing an American Standard strat with a JBjr humbucker in the bridge position into a vox wah, phase 90, fulldrive 2, MT-2, Boss DM-2, small clone into a peavey classic 30 with a vintage 30 speaker. I play mostly classic type rock and blues, but there are some newer songs that require "that" sound. The humbucker into a Mesa stack type sound. The metal zone was the obviouse choice for a decent enough price but I found it to be too nasaly sounding and at loud volumes thin sounding. I wasn't expecting much from the mod, assuming that maybe it would make a little difference. Boy, was I mistaken. This mod is a huge difference. It's still a metal zone but it's a lot more "amp" sounding than before. Makes my guitar and amp much bigger sounding. The volume is increased, the mids are more present and more tones to be had than before and no more nasaly tones, even with the mids cut. This is the DIY kit, and I did it myself. If your handy with a soldering iron, do this now or have Brian do it. Either way, you will not be dissappointed. Try these settings high: 12:00 low:3:00 mid: 11:00 mid freq: 11:00 gain :2:00.

I see no reason why this would not be reliable. It's boss, I've owned twenty year old boss pedals with never a problem.

Extremely helpful and quick to return e-mails. I originally e-mailed him to get his opinion on a certain sound I was looking for with the equipment I had. He wrote back with the suggestion of modding my Metal Zone and he was write. There was another time where I had a question regarding a different pedal, that he was actually selling, and talked me out of buying it because he knew I would be unhappy with it. I'm giving him a ten in this category and it is well deserved.

I use this pedal to get tones like Metallica, Blink 182, Foo Fighters, Greenday, etc... and it gets me as close as you can get using a strat and 30 watt combo amp. Damn close! I've had a lot of pedals, and I've compared this modded MT-2 to a marshall jackhammer and a zoom tri-metal which are both very good pedals. But this modded MT-2 is really strong sounding and can get loud without breaking eardrums not to mentions the different tones I can get which I wasn't able to get before.

Just like the standard MT-2 controls!

The sound quality on a STOCK MT-2 is very nasaly and the notes are not very clear (rate it a 6/7 as stock). AFTER Brians mod the annoying "nasaly" mids were gone! I sent this pedal to Brian AFTER I got it modded by Robert Keeley. Keeley's mod does not address the mid problems.

It is still a BOSS! :) Just with some nice switches on it now :)

Brian answers all my emails and usually within a day.

Brian really helped me out with getting the sound I was looking for. The MT-2 is a great pedal stock, but I hated the annoying mid scoop sounds it got. Brians mod fixed that problem. He also helped me out with what other distortion pedal to get - A Boss DS-1 which I am going to modify myself after buying the DIY kit he offers. I will let you know how that turns out!

This is to clarify the below fake submission. I keep very detailed records of every pedal that goes out-I make sure that after every purchase, my customer is happy. If they are not, I will gladly refund their money.

I've tried contact this person to offer them their money back, but the email address is not valid.

Furthermore, I have no record of this person, which leads me to believe that someone is trying to make me look bad. Please see my ebay feedback as well-

http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=www_indyguitarist_com

I encourage EVERYONE to email me, call me, or ask around on the harmony-central.com effects board, as well as the guitargeek.com effects board.

Thanks,
Brian
www.indyguitarist.com

N/A

I don't know, read below.

Please read below.

Okay, here is the deal! I sent my pedal to Brian for the Killer-Overdrive MOD, and I am very upset!! First, it took him five weeks to get the pedal back to me! Then, when it finally arrived, I plugged it in and NO SOUND!! I mean nothing!!! It no longer makes any sounds!! When I email him the first time to try to get him to fix it, he backed out and said that he could not be held responsable for the pedal once it left his shop. And that he test all of his pedals before they leave his shop and pretty much blamed me for trying to ruin his business. When I replied to this he never email back! And the coward never answered anymore emails I have sent to him.

So right now, I am out my main distortion pedal and lost $40 that this punk stole from me!

Do yourself a favor and don't let Mr. Brian Wampler succeed in ripping off guitarist anymore!

No different than tweaking around with a stock MT-2.

My rig consists of a Roland JC-120H with a genzbenz G-flex. Various guitars including a Washburn Dime loaded with EMG 81/60, Agile LP with Dimarzio Super Distortion/Air Norton, Strat with EMG 89/H.

If you have "issues" with your MT-2 and feel there is potential for it, then I'd really recommend this mod. I played through the stock mt-2 for over 8 years. When I received the modded version I was very surprised at how much of an improvement this had. It has a much better dynamic range.

Have had the mod done 4 months ago or so and it hasn't had a problem since.

He answers email inquiries with great quickness. I've had him answer my emails in less than an hour. From start to finish I had my pedal back in less than 2 weeks.

I've been playing for a little over 10 years(off and on). If you don't have the cash to spend on a new rig and want to breathe some new life into this pedal I would recommend it. Especially if you compare his prices to the other companies that do mods.

I would definately deal with him again. As a matter of fact I plan to send my GE-7 and BD-2 for him to mod in the very near future.

This is a pedal that does take some tweaking, so just take your time an dit will reward you when some nice tones. Not to hard to use.

This is a lot louder than the stock pedal..Indyguitarist turn this into some heavy metal, hard rock, and anything else that sounds cool kinda of pedal with his mod. Very nice sounds....I have not gigged with it yet but it sould sound great a louder volumes. Pushing a tube amp nice and hard. A really improved sound over the stock pedal, bigger, louder, richer in harmonics, and yet retains the guitars basic sound.

It a boss pedal...they seem pretty tuff!

Indy works fast and answers email quickly. He does nice mods.

I never thought the stock MT-2 was very good a real one trick pony!
But the Indyguitarist mod really makes this a tone machine that is sure to please a big cross section of hard rock vs metal heads and such. I play all types of music and will use this for the real heavy stuff.