Rocktron Metal Planet

Basic controls but it can take some time and a good ear to dial in your tone. The volume knob has the right amount of output. The tone knobs are so sensitive that every performance, practice or recording I really have to recreate my sound from scratch. The positive is that you can make it sound good though a slew of amps.

I play various Humbucker guitars through my pedalboard into a original Carvin x100b (6l6) head and a Marshall 4x12 with Celestion 75 watters. Once I dial in my sound, it kicks ass...Big Sound. It has one sound but does it really well. Another thing that I like about The Metal Planet is that even if you turn the distortion all the way up it still sounds good (not fuzzy). I usually have my drive between 10:00 and 2:00. If you like having a loud clean amp like a Twin Reverb, Traynor, or a Jazz Chorus this pedal is the deal. I have tried a lot of pedals of over the past few months and the Metal Planet won. Here is a list of the runners up from best to least favorite.. Hardwire Valve Distortion, Metal Muff, Tube King, Metal Zone, Distortion Factory, Satchurator. I'll give a good 9 rating because of the low noise. It really was the deal maker. There is no gate that you hear opening and closing like the Tube King. It just has good electronics.

Seem to work everytime so far. I like the blue LED.

I will give the Metal Planet an 8 due to its believable rock/metal tone, strong output, and quietness. One thing that I'm not crazy about is the extreme of tonal range of the eq pots...But it rocks. It does that...

It has 6 knobs> level, bass, hi, middle, middle freq and level, quite standard for all those metal distortions. So, there are simpler pedals around, but that is really not of great importance.

Very good sounding, full, saturated, powerful ss distortion, I don't find it thin or cold. Very high output also, I play with level on 9 o'clock.

Lot of people compare it to boss MT-2. I actualy took boss from friend of mine to do parallel test. Used Ibanez with peavey bandit, marshal valvestate and fender 15g amps. Puting all pot on 12 o'clock, metal zone will sound better for my liking. But, when you start making own tone, you notice MT-2 always keeps that very high annoying hshshsh treble, that rocktron doesn't have at all. That hshshsh makes easier for beginners to make some decent metal tone, but I dislike it as it sounds very artificial. Also, moving middle sweep on MT gives little result, on rocktron, that thing really works. You can make that extremely bassy sound(that MT can't do), but also very trebly dist, without loosing on sound quality. Considering this pedal is quite cheaper than boss, I am very happy salesman recommended it instead of boss.

It has quite enough gain, not too much. When playing extreme metal, I find 3 o'clock just enough. Lowering gain down will give good distortion for some rock or blues stuff. Together with eq section it makes this thing very versatile.

I play mostly metal, and that is what for I am using it. This is very good pedal. I played it trough lot of amps, from Fender 15g to Marshall JCM. Always performed well.

Built very well, metal casing, pots are sturdy. I have it for 3 years already, not a single problem.

Never dealt with them.

Yes you can get a really good sound out of it. Fortunately, this pedal is calibrated such that if every knob is in the 12:00 position, the user is already in the ballpark to hone their sound. I'll have to give this category an "7" just because the user has to take time to "tweak the sound." Also, the eq knobs are extremely sensitive so each time you gig you have to really dial in in precisely. It is not the pedal's fault it just the nature of having a pedal with a good amount of control.

I use various humbucker guitars>Carvin X100b head (old school 6l6's) and a Marshall 1960a cab. I play 10% clean, 60% rock distortion, and 30% with metal tones. I have used a vintage rat with a ts9 as well a the new Zoom G2 to try to get by with metal tones in that 30%. That wasn't hacking it so over the last several months I was on the quest for the right pedal for metal tones. I bought the Rocktron Metal Planet from Craigslist. This (Metal Planet) pedal has the right amount of 'snarl' without being to "nasally" or fizzy. I was on the fence between The Metal Planet, the Metal Muff and the Digitek Valve Distortion. Eventually the Metal Planet won. I've tried over 15 distortion pedal over the past four months. It was extremely close. You might be thinking that the Hardwire Valve Distortion does not even belong in the comparison but your are wrong. That pedal is in between the 80's Rat's and the Nu Metal with having the circuitry for very responsive playability. I tried Digitek's Hardwire "metal pedal" and didn't like it at all. It was very much like the Metal Zone...just too much "in your face." I know that is what some want. I wanted a believeble chest cracking metal tone that really could deliver the eq even when the distortion level is at 10:00. I really wanted to hear the tone of my guitar as well a good distortion. I also needed a pedal that can be "eq'd" to match my Rat and Tube Screamer so when I perform the songs don't sound drastically different. That was important. I give it and "8." I think that it is a really good pedal and I fully intend on giging and recording with it. But I have tried some $250 pedal that would make you cream your jeans. Just too damn expensive. If you have a solid state amp I'd go for a Valve King or another 12ax7 pedal to get that sound. I stayed away from them because my amp is very tubey and thought that an extra tube would swamp out the sound.

You have to step on the switch to change the channel. When if you don't fully engage the switch but still hear it "click" it sometimes doesn't change the channel. I've figured this out and it is not a problem.

Don't know. It is my first Rocktron product.

I play in the band Opus Grey. I've been playing for 25 years.
I like the believable metal distortion and the eq control of this pedal. I think that the range of the level and drive controls is "right on" and the eq section really works!. I forgot to mention that the pedal is really quit. It's weird. There is no Hush or Gate going on that I can hear, just good circuitry. It will be my "balls out" sound for quite a while.

It's very easy - 6 knobs - a lot of variety.
I didn't have the manual, because I bought it used, but who actually uses them anyway?

I'm using Peavey Bandit 112 (at home), different Marshalls, Crates, Line6 etc. A lot of different amps and a lot of different guitars (Gibson Les Paul, Ibanez S470, custom made Explorer, etc)

This Distortion is THE THING! It actually surprised me, because I had no Idea that a Rocktron can sound that good. The tone is Beefy and rich and with a huge bite. If you're playing rhythm (palm muting, heavy riffs,...) this really kicks *** to most of other distortion giants, such as Dime distortion, Metal Muff, Vox Bulldog (I have owned them all, so I know what I'm talking about). When playing leads, you might want to have something softer sounding (I use Metal muff), because this Rocktron really bites.

In a metal box it's just like a tank.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing and testing gear for a while, I also make and repair guitars and other string instruments myself. Mostly I play metal, gothic metal, neoclassical and medieval stuff.

I've owned and tested a LOT of distortion and overdrive pedals, such like Metal Muff, Boss Metal zone, DS-1, ds-2, Marshall Jackhammer, Marshall guv'nor, Vox Bulldog, and other pedals from Digitech, SansAmp, DOD, etc. I can say that for rhythm playing this pedal is better than anyone of them. Although you still could put an Equalizer to produce even better sound (like you should do to all distortion pedals, because noone of them is perfect).

This stompbox perfectly suits my style of music. Before I got it I really thought that there's nothing better then Metal Muff, bet when I compared them, this thing just crushed that Muff into pieces. The Metal Muff is a lot muddier and softer sounding (doesn't matter how the EQ is set) than Rocktron Metal Planet. Like I said before - it's a beast! If you're playing metal this definitely should be on your pedalboard!

I'll give it a 10 because I have understood that a pedal can't be good playing rhythm and solo pieces at the same time and settings, so you have to choose one of these two things. And this is perfect for rhythm, so it deserves a 10.

Bass, Mid (with a parametric sweep) Treble, Gain and Volume controls. How much easier could it be? Gave it to my cat and he figure it ou in two minutes. Took me about 5.

Wow.....just wow. Massive amounts of a nice earthy gain. VERY reminicient of the Ultra Channel my Peavey Triple XXX head. I decided to quite gigging about 3 years ago and sold everything but 1 guitar. Lately I've had the itch to play, but didn't want to shell out the big bucks for and tube head, and high end effects. I watched a demo of the Metal planet and the Silver Dragon on youtube. Although I was tempted by the silver dragon it was really more than I needed, and the dual gain switch didn't really appeal to me. So I bought the Metal Planet, and wow......am I happy I did.

A reviewer below me nailed it when he said, "this pedal is everything my Boss Metal Zone should have been."

Massive chest thumping lows, tons of gain. Sounds great at gigging volume. Head and shoulders above any other high gain distortion pedals I've played/heard. And quiet too!

Only had it a week or so. Sturdy switch and metal chasis. Looks like it'll survive being stepped on, tripped over, beer spills, all the usual gigging hazards.

Never dealt with them.

Since I'm buying all new gear I decided to give rocktron a try. Never owned their gear before because it seemed marketed more towards the low-end crowd. Being a gigging musician I just never considered their stuff. In the past month I've purchased the X-tune pedal, Rocktron Utopia wah, and the Metal Planet. So far I have not been disappointed.

Bad points:

1)These pedals are large. About twice the size as a boss pedal.

2) For as large as these are you'd think the in/out jacks and DC-in would be located on the top of the unit instead of the sides, so that you could conserve pedalboard space by placing them closer together. This is my biggest gripe about these pedals.

Rocktron has the goods. I would have easily paid twice as much for these pedals after hearing them. Rocktron is doing a disservice by marketing these as low end gear.

I'm quickly becoming a Rocktron fan. I'd have bought the short timer delay, but I need longer delay times than 300ms. If your pedal-board space is not at a premium, and you want massive XXX/5150 style tones you should consider this pedal.

Check out the tones by doing a search for "metal planet" on youtube.

This pedal is very adjustable and easy to understand. My sound is from Black Sabbath to Lamb of God and this pedal delivers. Buy it!

I've already alluded to the fact that I can get the sound I want with it. I can even tame it down to mild overdrive but I'm using a Route 66 for that...the Metal Planet is for satisfying the monster. He hasn't been hungry since I added this pedal to my home-made board.
I mainly use a lefty Schecter Blackjack C-1 with Seymour Duncans (JB/'59) and they really compliment one another as the signal travels from a Morley Bad Horsie 2, the Route 66, the Metal Planet, and a Deep Blue chorus to a Tone Tubby filled Crate V30. No noise and varying the EQ controls gives a variety of colors. I've been using the distortion control from 12 to 3 and it's all the break-up i need. Great pedal...Buy it!

With several practices and gigs under it's belt, I have all the confidence in it and haven't even considered a back-up. Lot's of compliments and "where can i get one"

Well, I just contacted the artist relation guy at GHS and told him of how much i dig this pedal and he e-mailed right back......that's pretty typical of a company that makes the best strings (Boomers) and helps out the working musician

I've been playing distorted music for a long time. I've been using Boomers since the mid-70's and had my Mom worried playing Black Sabbaths' 1st album (she would say; why don't you play something from the Everly Bros.)I've sold and traded more left-handed guitars, good old tube amps and effects than i want to think about. I've been in and out of making music, but for my money and time, making hard rock and metal music is where it's at and the Metal Planet has found a permanent home. I hope to have a good tube head and 4 x12 cabinet soon, perhaps a Mesa Boogie or a Headstrong, until then the Crate V30 is doing a great job making alloy's. Buy the Metal Planet!

It's pretty easy to get a usable sound. I think on its own it's a little tame sounding to retain string definition, but if your amp is a little ragged, like a tube amp, set the volume high and it should sound great. I like to use this with my amps JCM800 esque breakup and this pedal with a Super Overdrive for leads. I also sometimes use the tube channel of my Rocktron Silver Dragon with the Metal Planet's distortion set low (to like 2-3). I give it an 8 because it has 6 knobs, though these same 6 knobs get it such a high score for tweekability.

I can get the sounds of my favorite artists because it is very versatile, but I prefer to go with my own personal preferences of tone. This pedal can oddly get an overdrive-esque sound with the distortion knob set low, or with it set high, can get face-melting gain. With an EQ or active pickups, this thing really smokes, but without these, you can also coax good tones. These just make them easier.

Rocktron is dependable stuff with metal cases and true bypass switches. This one has a stiffer button than my others, but makes a solid click everytime. I've had it for probably 2 years or so now.

They were quite helpful when I asked them about what kind of adapters their stompboxes needed. Only email I've ever had to send. I should send sometime though to see if I could get any tips for tone settings on this stompbox to see what they give me (and hopefully it isn't "experiment with the controls" because I want to know some crazy things this pedal can do.)

I play metal and this is a good match. It has nice chunky distortion and tons of versatility. Worth more than $70. I have been playing 5 years. If it were lost or stolen, I'd definitely get this over something like a Metal Zone. I love it's versatility, and my favorite feature is the mid frequency sweep knob. I compared it to the monstrosity that is a box of bees buzzing, with hissy mids, nasally treble, white noise mid frequency, and boxy bass, with a distortion that is extreme gain almost from the starting line, and you can hear the two cascading stages, almost like a compressor or noise reduction unit working poorly. This helps me make music as with my other two rocktron distortions and is a great pedal.

Simple, straightforward controls. Not much to really say here, a bit of knob tweaking on your side will need to be done obviously.

It does what it does well. I bought this to have an option for higher gain work without resorting to buying another amp, so I am certainly not expecting a pedal to end all pedals.

Set the distortion around 12 or 1 o' clock, and you get a good amount of chunk as well as retained string definition... a huge plus for me. Beyond that the pedals gain keeps increasing, but definition also starts taking a hit. The mid knobs on this pedal are a saving grace, and really help cut or add what you may or may not like. Running my pickups in split mode brings a nice amount of glassiness to the tone, and playing remains nice and controllable.

I gave this a 8 because of its gain, eq, and suprisingly low noise factor. On the down side, it has a decidedly solid state sound (ie, somewhat 'thin' and artificial for lack of better descriptions), and general limited dynamics range.. but again, thus is the nature of a lot of distortion pedals. If I played with these sorts of tones as a majority of the time, the score actually be lower.. anyone who does would be well served to just saving up for a high gain tube head. But for me, its a good tool, at a reasonable price.

I currently run 2 heads.. a Valve Jr, and an Orange Tiny Terror, both through a 2/12 cabinet. I find this pedal to be good, and slightly different through each amp. My guitar is an Ibanez, using a SD JB bridge pickup and Jazz in the neck.

Just got it, and I do not gig, so I don't expect any issues. Seems quite well built, given its price. No complaints.

I suspect I'd gig with it with no worries.

n/a

This is a fairly good match for what I need.. for some solo work, and limited rhythm work. Again, if I had my druthers, I'd just use a higher gain head than either of the 2 I have now, but this is a good budget alternative.

I've been playing for about 12 years (though it certainly doesn't show),and play a mix of styles that lean a bit towards metal, but I guess you could lump some of it in as prog (The Atropos Project on Soundclick, if you're so inclined).

If it were stolen, I'd probably be tempted to try something else out.. who knows? There are lots of good products out there :)

The only other pedal I have, besides an eq, is a Fulltone OCD.. which, despite being about as one-trick as this Rocktron, isn't really comparable. Its a much grittier, lower gain sort of deal. Both have their role, and will both be used in future recordings.

So in summary... good pedal, not fantastic, but for the money is worth at least checking out.

well, this box has parametric eq's, you'll definately have to sit down with it for at least a few hours tweeking it, but once ya find that sweet spot, look out...it is sweet! I bought mine new but for some reason mine had no manual, but don't worry, do www.rocktron.com and download it!

man this pedal can have you going from today's hardest metalcore bands like hatebreed, sworn enemy, to earlier metal bands like iron maiden,
and preist...not to mention hard rock like ac/dc and danzig(john christ
needs more reconition!)...anyway, this pedal sounds great with chorus,delay eq's, anything really, it's so damn quiet! even with the distortion maxed and the level 3'o clock(I'm afraid to crank it past that), my settings are: level-half way, lows-1'oclock, highs-10'o clock, mid sweep-11'0 clock, mids-10'o clock, and dist. almost at max...
my setup with this pedal is: esp/ltd viper 400 w/emg 81 and 85's going into the metal planet, boss super chorus, ibanez de-7 delay then into a randall rh200 halfstack, sounds killer!!! like I said, THIS PEDAL IS EXTREMLY QUIET FOR THE AMOUNT OF GAIN IT PRODUCES! it crushes that MT-2 piece of poo...

BUILT LIKE A TANK! everything is solid, even the knobs feel nice and sturdy, no backup needed for this!

never had to deal with them...

for the style of music I play,(hardcore/thrash/neo-classical) this is about perfect...I've been playing for 15 yrs. and went through all kinds of dirt boxes over the course and this is by far one of the best!
the only thing that I can gripe about this pedal is that it's a little big, say about the size of 2 boss pedals, IF YOU PLAY HARDCORE OR METAL,
I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU GET THIS PEDAL, YOU CAN FIND THEM ON EBAY FOR UNDER $70 BONES! a word of warning: DO NOT BOTHER WITH THE METAL ZONE!
IT SOUNDS LIKE BEES BUZZING AROUND IN A TIN CAN COMPARED TO THIS.

How could be not easy to use?
Just plug in and out and turn the knobs to get your favourite sound. That's it.

Often the metal planet is compared to the BOSS MT-2 (metal zone). Distortions are not very different; probably the mt-2 one is a little more aggressive...bust just a little and it depends to the equalization, too, not just to the distortion level.
But the best thing that the metal planet has is the output level. Simply terrifying! You could turn the level knob at just a quarter, to get a great sound definition and NO NOISE, at all!
To get the same distortion level with the mt-2 you must turn the level knob at least at half, so you start to have bad noises. With the metal planet, if you turn the level knob at half, you'd better go out of the room!

Didn't need any support. I don't know.

If you like aggressive metal distortion, the rocktron metal planet is all you need. It's one of the best distortion pedals on the market, even if the price is still low! (take a look on eBay...) The eq knobs can get you a grat range of sounds from the old-style runch to the heaviest saturated distortion. The amazing output will not cause you any bad noise. I've tried both the mt-2 and the metal planet and now I've decided to use the metal planet.

Very easy to get a wide range of sounds. Once you've mastered the mid-range versatility you'll find it can do a lot for you. Back off the mids for metal, put more mids if for lower distortion crunch.

I use a Les Paul through various amps. I can't get a good sound putting it straight into a small amp, but it works great through a higher wattage combo amp like a Peavey 85. For direct recording it sounds great looped into my GT-6 with amp/cabinet modeling. Looping it through the GT also improves my sound when playing through a little Fender practice amp.
No noise problems. I often wonder that all these complaints I read for almost any effect on the website are more operator error. I bought this pedal because it was clean and tight, noise-free, and not muddy at all. Just pay attention to your low end settings.

Very reliable. I do stomp on my stomp boxes. This one's bullet-proof.

I've been playing for 20 years, in and out of bands. Currently, I play for a church praise band. This pedal's great when we need the wall of sound power chords backing everything up, as well as for over-driven solos. Outside of that I play metal.
I love the tone and versatility.
Favorite feature: mid-range control.
At lower volumes it needs a compressor for sustain. It doesn't have much sustain in highs unless you're compressing or playing loud.

This pedal is sweet.It sounds very warm and prefessional. I play it through a VOX AC30 with seimour duncan sh-4 and sh-2. I tried the dunlop distorsion wich doesn't sound as sweet and well balanced.
The bass is so think and defined that makes the low strings attack very nice. The mid eq is really sweet, nice range of tone and the changes are not abrut but well balanced all the time. No noise at all and the drive gain is vere pregressive and distorts very pleasingly. Clarity and thick sounds. This pedal worth to try. It reminds me to the distorsions used by maiden in the somewere in time LP into sme of the mid settings. The highs are not strident or unpleassing bit clear and cristal clear.

perfect.

for metal this is the best I heard. But Not for overdistorted sounds but clean and defined sound.

Honestly folks, a potato could probaly figure out how to use this one. I got mine used without a manual although it is available at Rocktron's website. You've got a Level knob, a Low knob with an inset High knob, the Mid knob with an inset Mid Freq knob, and a Distortion knob along with the on/of stomp button. Input and output are clearly marked as well. It's pretty easy to get good sounds out of this box if you just spend about 2 minutes playing with the Mid Frequencies.

I play through an Ibanez Destroyer II 2002 re-issue with a Dimarzio PAF pro in the neck, a Dimarzio SuperDistortion in the bridge with a Kahler Pro trem bridge on it. I also play a 2004 Gibson Flying V, and a 1985 Ibanez Proline V. The guitar goes into the Rocktron Metal Planet, then into my Boss DD-6 Digital Delay and then into my Crate v16 Palomino all tube amp. I can, without hesitation, say that this little box is hands down my favorite distortion pedal I've yet played with. I can get the most razor sharp tones I've ever produced. If I put the Mid Freq at about 4.5, I can get the ultra-metallic Judas Priest tones with rediculous squealing pinch harmonics. If I turn the Mid Freq way down I can get a bassy growl. I tend to like bright tones as long as they have at least some of that beautiful tubey warmth. Most people tend to have problems with the pedal's mids because a lot of times they don't adjust their amp EQ settings. Rather than turning the bass up all the way, try pulling back a bit on the mids or the highs and vice versa. Folks, if you really want a death/thrash type of sound, don't play a Strat through this thing. Don't play through a tiny Squier 25 watt solid state amp and then blame the pedal when your tone sounds like crap. Pedals aren't a fix-all for crappy tone. Be willing to set aside a good half of an hour to play with entire range of sounds the pedal can give you. One last note, it's quiet; I get no unwanted fuzz with it. I've owned a Boss Metal Zone and it was so noisy it wasn't even worth it. If you play with the controls for a bit, you can also get some rich blues tones; something I could never do with the Boss Metal Zone or the wretched MXR Distortion Doubleshot.

The Metal Planiet is made out of cast aluminum and could probably be dropped out a second story window with no real damage done to it. It doesn't guzzle batteries like Digitech and Boss tend to do, so you should be able to do at least an entire set without running out of juice (I don't like power adapters because the cords get in my way) but you still should probably put a fresh battery in there before each gig. In any case I'd would use it on a gig without a backup (although they're so inexpensive that you might want to get another one anyways).

I play METAL and some blues. I've been playing for about 6 years now and this box has quickly become one of my favorite tools in creating a sound that is distinct. If it were stolen, I'd fork over another 40 or so get another used one (I almost never buy new equipment) and still come out ahead than buying many other distortion pedals. I can't emphasize enough the great METAL tone this box produces. With the Rocktron Metal Planet, I find myself wanting to play longer, and creating more music. Best of all, I feel like I've finally found MY tone; my own distinct tone. I no longer want to go out and buy new distortion pedals, I've found the one for me.

Easy! There are four knobs on it, two of them with a double function, so maybe you can say these are six alltogether.

Its the same with all effects: you have to try different positions to get your desired sound. With this effect it is as easy as it can be.

I am using this one with a Schecter Damien Guitar and a Hughes & Kettner Blue Edition 60R at home.

I read a comment by someone, who called the users that gave this pedal a good rating "nieve" and "non reliable".

Don't believe him! This one is the best Metal Distortion Pedal I can get. Why? I will tell you: This one has the most natural sound of all! No over-EQ'd sci-fi Distortion, no fuzzy and muddy "i wanna be heavy" garage sound. Just cristal clear, metallized distortion. And yes, it IS indeed better than the BOSS Metal Zone. Don't be blinded by the name BOSS. The MT-2 can distort, the Metal Planet can distort and rock, it is living music, breathing - ok, call me what you will, but this is it!!!

It's a tank. You can stomp on it as you like, use it for the heaviest gigs. Wanna destroy it? Go and get a A-Bomb! And by the way: Never had any problems with the electronic components either.

Was no need to contact them yet.

If you like a sharp and clear heavy sound, get this one. Havent used it with a Tube Amp yet, but it will shure do its job more than just good.

The controls for the Mids are what gets everyone in a fix.If you used a metal zone, youll probably say "not again" when you see this pedal. If you play around with the knobs for a little bit you can pretty much tell whats going on and dial in a good sound.

Allright, this is why i love this pedal-its clear.A lot of pedals I buy(distortion pedals, anyway) always sound like theyre about to become a fuzz.Or they have a muddy tone and no highs. I get a nice clean distortion at high gain with this.I would like a bit more gain though.Not much, just a touch. I personally give it a 9, but my freind who I recommended this to said that through some of the amps he used it through, he couldnt tweak it to a desirable effect. It might be him, but Ill give it that bit of doubt.

My setup is a schecter omen or epiphone sg (g 400 model) running through this pedal, then through an boss octave, ibanez lofi, boss shift/delay, then into some crappy amp- My kustom amp burned in a friends housefire.Sounds good. I can hit pinch harmonics pretty good with this.

I will probably buy a second as a backup.See, not only did my amp burn in that fire but my first metal planet too- it was chillin inside the amp.Soo for most abuse its good, but keep it away from open flame.

Lets start with my comparisons-I went through about twelve other distortion pedals trying to find one as good as or better before buying the same pedal again.I tried some dod, guyatone, boss, and some crazy pink fluff pedal.Note-I did not try any of the new digitech pedals. So yeah, it does beat out a lot on the market, but I always look for something better.
Ive been playing for a good amount of years now- I play mostly a heavy metal sound, and I like very dark, doom filled riffs.This is good for that.You can chug with it, solo with it, etc.It is for metal- though I can get a decent bluesy sound at lower levels, its really made for agressive sounds and does it well.

Same settings as a metal zone... 4 eq dials, distortion, and volume.. very simple

Here's where the problem begins.. This pedal models itself after the metal Zone and when reading the glowing reviews metal planet here, I got the impression that its a better version of the metal zone by containing a bigger bottom tone and better shaping and more distortion.. Whoa was I wrong.. Once again, the nieve reviewers on this HC board dissapointed me by giving the wrong information... This pedal does not sound any where as good as the metal zone for the following reasons.
1. It doesnt contain as much distortion as the MZ
2. it doesnt have as much bottom end tone as the MZ
3. It doesnt have the range of mids as the MZ

This pedal is basically a watered down version of the Metal zone however, it doesnt even come close to matching the sound quality of the metal zones medium distortion settings. This is due to the Metal planet having an flat tone.. Once again the sound on this pedal is FLAT FLAT FLAT.. remember that.. spare yourselves the agony of finding out what a dissapointment this pedal is so avoid it...

easy as hell. Plug in and go. Great mid controls.

You can really get a variety of sounds out of this pedal. It has four nobs that create enough sounds for all kinds of different styles. If you are into tube sounds this is not the pedal for you. I have a mesa boogie tremoverb and I play a strat plus with lace sensors, ithat banez artstar with seth lover pickups, and a Hammer a/t p90 (seymour duncan p90's) that I have converted into a barritone guitar (with a 70 for a low B, tuned b,e,a,d,f#,b). This is a solid state sounding pedal to me all the way. I just couldn't get that gritty sound that I wanted to cut through with my amp, but this pedal did the trick

I play a lot of gigs, and my pedals go through hell. Half of them have had beer spilled all over them, and been stepped on by hundresds of drunk idiots. It still works fine.

n/a. I get wholesale prices anyway, and this pedal is so cheap, I'd just buy a new one.

Every review I've read on this pedal was from people who play metal. That is what inspired me to write a review. I play experimental jazz, motown, and fusion, and this pedal works for all styles. When I turn this pedal on with the tube distortion from my amp, so screamin. I've gotten some cool John Mclaughlin tones. The vintage thing is cool, but I also like those heavy death metal sounds, bands like Mr. Bungle gets.

the ease of this pedal is very simple because it has 4 knobs so its pretty easy to understand,but to get a good sound i found was actually tougher than i thought.

my guitar is a gibson les paul studio.my rocktron is the only pedal i have and im playing it threw a vox ADVT30 or somthing like that which i think is a piece of bollocks!soon im getting a crate 250 watt which should help with the sound,because at the minute i seem to be gettin a lot of noises and a tiny bit of feedback.although, i play mainly metallica and a lot of other metal and this pedal really has got a good sound for metal.i have tryed playin it with a wah which sounds pretty decent and just threw other pedals like chorus's and the noises have pretty much gone!but i dont no why it does that.

this pedal is tough!u cold lob it at a brick wall and it wouldnt break.i would sertainly use this pedal without a back up.its very light aswell which is wierd because a lot of pedals ive played on or looked at have been really heavy.i dont really no whether thats good or bad.

ive been playing for just over 3 years now.if my pedal was stolen or broke i would probably try another pedal like the boss metal zone.the best bit is just the drive and how heavy it is,the worst bit is definately the noises anf feedback.i think if you want to buy this pedal you might want to consider getting a noise compresser or somthing like that.the only reason i brought it was because i needed a distortion pedal and i new this wasnt the worst and it was on sale so i thought,go for it!i was going to get a metal zone and i wish i had actually.basically if you want a cheap distortion pedal that isnt a pile of wank!buy this.but to be honest i think you would get so much better distortion and less feedback with a metal zone.there both pretty much the same pedal but the metal zone is just that bit extra.BTW a metal zone is a BOSS MT-2.

It is stompbox, therefore it is pretty easy to use. You must tweak a little to find sound you want.

Sound quality is most important to me. I play METAL, of course, why else would I bought metal planet. Overall, sound reminds me of metal zone. Someone here mentioned it is metal zone ripoff. I totally agree. But this is cheaper and has a little beter sound (but just a little). It reminds me of Boss distortions too much (which I don't like). It has that fuzzynes which is driving me nuts. Of course it depends on amp, good tube amp would smooth the sound, but if you have it, there is no point in using cheap stompbox :)
It has a lot of bass, but sound is thin and noisy. Especially the high end...damn it is cheap sounding.
I also don't like sound of it when I'm palm muting (which is very important to me). It doesn't have enough chunk, unless you put treble to max (even then it's not enough imo), but then you get needle-like highs, annoying and nasal. No way to play nice melody or solo in that way. When you set it in reverse highs will be acceptable (even though not enough harmonics), but palm muting will be awfull. There are pedals that don't have this problem (Digitech Metal Master for example).
I use Jackson guitars and Marshall amps.

For the while I had it it looked pretty dependable. Cuz it is Metal zone circuit I think it will last for quite some time (like Boss stomps).

Never dealt with them.

I'm not saying this pedal is bad, but it isn't very good also (for my ears, of course). It is a little better than Boss MT-2 (and a lot cheaper), so if you want to choose between this two, buy Rocktron. I sold mine btw...

But imo Digitech Metal Master is waaaaaaay better, if you are shoping for stomps. Amps distortions are the best choice, but that is whole another story...

Listen this pedals yourself, and then decide which do you like. After all, we all have different ears ( and brains:) )

Stay heavy and CHEERS !

VERY easy to use, great sounds, great looks, one of the best sounding distortion pedals ive ever heard/played

I use a Fender strat through it and it sounds very nice, has 70s - 80s heavy rock sounds to heavy sounds such as slayer.
The pedal works well with almost all other pedals (chorus, flanger, trmolo, wah, etc. This also is very quiet and doesnt give as much unwanted noise as other distortion pedals.

I will use this pedal at gigs with confidence without back up, It has a solid metal caseing and it is very sturdy and looks like it will last a long time without having troubles with it.

havn't needed it yet

Overall this is a very good pedal and i am proud of mine, i completely trust rocktron now and will definately try there other pedals. Very Sturdy, Very reliable, Very nice sounds, overall a GREAT pedal

Very easy to use. The mid and mid-freq knobs offer a great deal of flexibility over the tone.

Three guitars used with this: Fender MIM Fat Strat, Epiphone '67 Flying V Reissue, Gibson X-Pplorer Pro. Effects chain: Guitar--> Fender PT-100 tuner--> Digitech Screamin' Blues--> Metal Planet--> Marshall AVT50 amp. DOD Ice Box Chorus running through effetcs loop. Metal Planet is not noisy, even at higher gain settings. Much more versatile than the Boss MT-2. Gives a great tone for any kind of metal or hard rock. Pumping up some of the mids and lowering the distortion can give me a nice crunchy EVH type sound for leads. Turning up the low and mid, while putting the mid-freq just a hair below 12:00 gives a huge scooped rhythm sound. The mid-freq overall is a bit touchy though, and doesn't take much to dramatically alter the sound one way or the other.

Have had no trouble at all.

I emailed the company with questions before purchasing the pedal and they responded quickly.

Overall I am very pleased with the Metal Planet in the two months I have had it. Good for both modern scooped metal and 70s/80s hard rock, but not a great fit for lower gain or overdrive type sounds. The pedal is built like a tank with its metal casing and is fairly large compared to other pedals. Would definitely recommend this pedal.

This is an update to my previous review (Anonymous at 09/09/2004 22:09). I have had this 6 months, and it has grown on me a lot. IE: Last time, I said I hated the lack of sustain, but that was also in my "scooped" days, when my mids were at 3ish. Blah. Anyways, I have this set at 5 on Bass, 7 on Treble, 7 on Mids, 3-5 on mid freq, 3-7 on Distortion, and Level at 1.5 to 3. My amps settings are Bass: 6, Mids: 7-9, Treble: 7-9, and Presence: 2-9. My gain section on my Peavey Rockmaster head is at Preamp: 4, Pump: 3, Postamp: 2. I have, since my last update, gotten the Peavey Rockmaster head, a Laney 2x12" 8-ohm cab, and a Hamer Vector Cherry Sunburst with Flamed Maple top and a red body and set neck. The pickups in both my LTD MH-201 and this guitar are Duncan Design HB 102's based on Seymour Duncan's Jazz set. The Vector's, however, are a covered version. The sound of this pedal with my equipment is so versatile, the next step up would be a Rectofier tube head with 4 power and 4 or 5 pre amp tubes with built in distortion. I, by the way, am thinking of getting a B-52 ST-100A or B-52 AT-100 all tube rectofier head.

The Rocktron Metal Planet was simple to get a good sound out of, and surprising, the high is barely lower than the bass (so maybe it is parametric, sounds like it.) Set your mids where you wish, and then set the mid freq. The mid freq. is great, and has a wide variety from fuzz to radio transmitter, and any other good distortion I can think of in between. I haven't messed with the amp from the last pedal I used, but it sounds good still. Can do metallica and the stuff everyone else said, but for me, doesnt have the bite of metallica, and for others it has as good as it could get, I suppose I could get more precise. Overall, I think a drummer could use it. The manual, at first, seems lacking. If after your messing with the Planet for a few minutes, and still can't get something good, I'd suggest fixing up your amp a little better (whether dialing in a better tone or better amp) or thinking of early guitar retirement. Yes, very good manual. Explains the knobs and points em out. (Only gets a 10 because of the vast variety of distortions, could be a be all end all type pedal but Rampage I think would go good with it. Read on for other good stuff this can do)

Im using an ESP LTD MH-201 with stock (duncan design hb-102s [SD Jazz copies]) and a drive CD-300 8G. This isn't very noisy, but I haven't used it at really high volumes yet. I assume it couldn't be too much louder. If so, get a noise gate, (Hush C maybe?). For me, they sound great, they work for my music perfectly, which is prog thrash going into odd black or death metal bridges in a thrash/speed metal style. I can get all the sounds people said before plus a few missed. Can do the radio transmitter that I have seen in a few other reviews (in random reviews), so I guess people use that to color a rhythm guitar (Annihilator use this technique well.) I can get my more preferred spin of my favorite artists sound, and could possible get closer like I said. Slayer, Testament, Metallica, Megadeth, Annihilator, Sepultura, Pantera (not a fave, but CFH is good, and can do it), Anthrax, possibly Centinex if I tried (haven't yet), but (from my knowledge) can't do the Judas Priest sound, but I'd contribute some of that to the twang of a fender. The distortions (the mid freq. has a better more wide variety of the morph knob on a DigiTech, and doesnt sound so digital [is the Metal Planet digital?]) on this fine pedal. 8.5, but I'll be generous and round up as math says. By the way, try coloring your amp distortion, and even use the pedal on the clean channel. Nice.

A past reviewer made me weary of the button, no problems yet though. I have a DC adapter, so possibly gig without a backup (be prepared).

The company was half informative, but I was half ignorant (I was under the impression an adapter was AC and they can be DC). I soon got my answer, and got the pedal.

I play prog thrash, not power metal, not nu metal, progressing in a thrash/speed metal manner. Great match for me. I've been playing 2 and a half years. I also own a kinda bad marshall g15cd-r. If it were stolen, I'd buy another one, or steal it back from the clepto who tried taking it. If I came across an Akai G-Drive for 70, I dunno what I'd get. I like the sounds it gives, and it's (I think) parametric, can also color amps distortion. I hate the sustain, get the rampage (I have a feeling it'd make it sustain more, plus it'd work for a lead pedal. My favorite feature would be whatever gives it such a good distortion, better than what 90 bucks will get me (digitech and boss are good, but didn't fit my style, not that it didnt work for the previous person.) The value was why I chose this. $70+good sound=great value. I wish it had the Rampage as a lead second channel (such as the Doubleshot, but not just like it in terms of sound and design, just two switchs and the two seperate channels.) It actually makes me like what I play (DigiTech got in the way.)

Easy to use,yes...it's a stupid stompbox.Easy to get a good sound of,
i'm not too sure about that...

This one reminds me the Metal Zone i had 10 years ago,maybe a bit better ( more bass and output ).So if you have to choose between
the Zone or the Planet,go with the Planet,it's cheaper as well.
But try it before buying,i didn't,it now collects dust.Like the Metal Zone,it's very fizzy and it's noisy as hell.I'm much happier with my Digitech Metal Master.Sorry Rocktron.

It looks sturdy,but it's made in China so who knows.Anyway i don't care,mine's for sale.

Bought it out of curiosity since it was cheap and i wanted another
heavy-sounding pedal that could do metal and hard rock,my Digitech
Metal Master is thrash-metal all the way,nothing else,but i love it.
I haven't had the chance to try the Metal Planet prior to buying (got it via Pedalgeek).It's not a terribly bad pedal,maybe i was expecting too much for $60.I just don't like it.

This pedal has a lot of versatility, you can get a lot of great tones out of it. The manual is as discriptive as you'd want it I think.

I'm running a Washburn WG208 customized with my choice of Seymour Duncan humbuckers (it sounds great) through a Behringer GX212 (Great SS amp, buy a Behringer!) I was running my setup through a MXR 6-band EQ then to a Boss OS-2 into the amps flat EQ. I was suprised to find you dont need any more than it's 4-band EQ to get a good clear sound. This pedal kicks ass!! At first I would have said what the dude said about the pedal. But after playing with it straight into the amp you'll find some good tones. You can get a chunky AC/DC tone, Van Halen, definitely Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Judas Priest, Pantera etc. You can work it for Nirvana and bluesy stuff too I bet. If you need more distortion, your humbuckers are shit, or you don't know how to use an EQ. But for those who want a cool tone (which I use with my Seymour Duncan JB) its as follows: Distortion: MAXED (why settle for less :D) Bass: 1-2:00 Treb: 1-2:00 Mid: 9-10:00 Mid Freq: I like it around 10:00 - minimum availible.. except minimum seems TONE LACKING ;) but.. as we know.. some artists seem to like lacking tone). It's a great pedal, I A/Bed it with my old setup and I'm suprised at how much I like the pedal more after an hour... Think about working on some Testament or something to bomb the pedal with when you buy it, this pedal can do a lot of stuff, you can't really get a warm tone, but you can get a tone great for asskicking stuff. Funny to think there'd be anything better, this thing rocks!! I have yet to try the Keeley.. honestly this will do you don't really need anything better.. but better is better so take what you can get. About half way of the distortion is my OS-2 maxed out with the EQ providing mid/treble distortion (which I'm glad I can sway away from... Trebly (tinny) distortion is ick really.

This thing is the size of two Digitech, DOD, Boss stompboxes scrunched together. It's got bigger knobs, it looks really slick. Mine came with an empty 9V (instead of being pissed i found it humorous :D) The Pedal could stand some damage I'm sure. Though I wouldn't want to see it damaged because it looks so damn cool! (Plus the blue LED.. which could like blind you lol but I turn off the lights in my room when i play because it looks so cool!

I've emailed the Rocktron dudes.... about which distortion pedal I should get.. I told them I wanted a pedal great for harmonics (and you can great harmonics) and they led me to this. I tried a Boss Metal Planet and I think this one is better, and you can't get a light distortion with the Boss (that doesn't mean the thing has more distortion than the Rocktron) They are nice people.. and they saved me $20, gave us better tone, wow, seems we should sway away from the Boss pedals a bit and see whats out there!

This pedal is great for Metal! I've been playing for 3 years.. and well.. I guess I can sell my other pedals now!! If it were stolen... I would track down the theive and make him pay me double and buy the pedal and buy another pedal... the pedal is quiet and SO nice! It's got the right amount of distortion, a great EQ. It can sparkle through a lot of bass (my neck SD Jazz) and you can achieve some cool bluesy solos. I don't dislike anything! My life seems to be all about tone and I dont need any help at all.. no problems here, the mid freq knob really affects the tone, watch for that! If you have $69.99 and $5.00 for shipping (NJ(where Zzounds.com is ;) -> WI took 3 days ground) then buy it!! You shouldn't regret it, I havent tried it with crap equipment.. but hell buy it anyways, and when you get better stuff you'll love it! (Monster cables/Planet Waves 1/4 - 1/4's, $200 amp... $150 Basswood/rosewood fretboard guitar, then $200 to replace all the pickups, then $70 for the Metal Planet.. and you've got great tone!) I've seen Damage Plan, Drowning Pool, Unearth, and Hatebreed on the Headbangers Ball tour. You can get all their tones (though for the Hatebreed you may have to boost the mids/treb to get their more unpleasant to the ear tone! (Everyone else sounded great.. but their tone just really works the ears.. it sucks! I believe they were the only ones who use EMGs, which just may have been what it was.. just a theory. (Damage Plan uses SDs, Drowning Pool uses Passive I believe, not sure about Unearth) Basically, you can get tone much greater than the rivaling bands, and you'll get tone that makes you want to play! I know I've been very nice to Rocktron.. but they have done nothing to dissatify me.. even the box it came in kicks ass :P