Zoom TM-01 Tri Metal

The Tri Metal is very straight forward. It has 6 knobs on the pedal to help you dial in a sound. Treble, Middle and sweepable mid Range, Bass, Gain and Level. So dialing in a sound is just a matter of adjusting until you find the sound your looking for. The manual suggests you start with all the knobs and 12 o'clock and work from there..

This is where I thought I was going to be blown away.... Ive used a MT-2 for distortion for many years and I was eager to try a new sound. I thought after reading so many good reviews about the Tri Metal that this was the holy grail of pedals. In reality I found the sounds I was able to produce with this pedal to be better than the mt-2 but how much better?

My biggest issues were with the settings on the pedal. If you crank up the bass all the way the signal becomes totally useless. If the pedal sounds like crap when the knobs are maxed out why be able to max them out in the first place? So your thinking well, Im sure theres plenty of bass before it starts to sound like crap which is true but the MT-2 has a deeper wider low end than this pedal easily.

A lot of people are complaining about palm mutes not sounding good enough with this pedal. I think a better way to describe this would be to say the TM-01 sounds fine but the MT-2 sounds better. The palm mutes on the MT-2 are brutal in comparison to this pedal. There is no possible way this pedal can match the MT-2 in that department.

The TM-01 does have advantages over the MT-2 in some areas though. The Tri Metal is really quiet compared to the MT-2 which is one of the things I was looking forward to. This tends to make for a more precise and clear tone. This makes the tm-01 a worthy pedal and I would say slightly better than the mt-2 but you will lose some lowend.

I saw this pedal go for as much as 120 dollars on ebay. ITS NOT WORTH EVEN CLOSE TO THAT MUCH. I paid 59.99 and Im leaning towards selling it on ebay and getting a keely mt-2 mod for my mt-2. This is not a bad pedal. You can get a good sound out of it but you can get the same sorts of sounds out of the mt-2 with less quality. If your looking to loose some noise and some low end but gain some quality and clarity I highly suggest this over the mt-2.

You can drop this off a building and plug it in. Its got a metal case and is very sturdy.

The pedal is discontinued but the manaul is still available from their website. As far as getting it serviced or repaired? Im sure they would laugh in your face since it is discontinued.

Easy. If you've used a Metal Zone before, it's just the same. If not, just tweak with the mids and you'll be rewarded with a versatile pedal. Just be careful with the levels, it has too much of everything: bass (A LOT!!!), highs, gain, etc. Not subtle but tamable.

Whoa!!! It simply ROCKS!!! Lots of gain without noise, lots of definition, a very articulate heavy (I mean HEAVY) distortion, nice for palm muting, speed picking, heavy riffs, and smoking leads. I use it with a variety of guitars, wth EMG, DiMarzios and Duncans and it smokes with each one of them. Through a tube amp's clean channel it's just unbelievable.

I upgraded from a Boss Metal Zone and then from a Digitech Metal Master, and yes it's worth the change. It's a Modern Metal pedal, not a subtle distortion; so judge it for what it is and what it serves for: METAL!!!!

It gets 9, because it's just a pedal (a 5150 in a box if you wish) and not an amp; very impressive though. With an equalizer it just gets better!!

It looks and feels better than a Boss, or even an MXR, so... just imagine that!! The entire pedal is made of metal and weighs a lot.

Don't know, can't answer...

A modern day classic. It will be the Holy Grail of seriously heavy distortions in a stomp pedal format; the TS-808 Tube Screamer of 90's and 2K's Metal if you wish!!

If you see one, grab it without hesitation (they're discontinued)... if you want a serious Metal tone you'll like it, and if you don't, I will gladly receive it as a gift : )

Easy. If you've used a Metal Zone before, it's just the same. If not, just tweak with the mids and you'll be rewarded with a versatile pedal. Just be careful with the levels, it has too much of everything: bass (A LOT!!!), highs, gain, etc. Not subtle but tamable.

Whoa!!! It simply ROCKS!!! Lots of gain without noise, lots of definition, a very articulate heavy (I mean HEAVY) distortion, nice for palm muting, speed picking, heavy riffs, and smoking leads. I use it with a variety of guitars, wth EMG, DiMarzios and Duncans and it smokes with each one of them. Through a tube amp's clean channel it's just unbelievable.

I upgraded from a Boss Metal Zone and then from a Digitech Metal Master, and yes it's worth the change. It's a Modern Metal pedal, not a subtle distortion; so judge it for what it is and what it serves for: METAL!!!!

It gets 9, because it's just a pedal (a 5150 in a box if you wish) and not an amp; very impressive though. With an equalizer it just gets better!!

It looks and feels better than a Boss, or even an MXR, so... just imagine that!! The entire pedal is made of metal and weighs a lot.

Don't know, can't answer...

A modern day classic. It will be the Holy Grail of seriously heavy distortions in a stomp pedal format; the TS-808 Tube Screamer of 90's and 2K's Metal if you wish!!

If you see one, grab it without hesitation (they're discontinued)... if you want a serious Metal tone you'll like it, and if you don't, I will gladly receive it as a gift : )

Facil de entender el manejo.. ni necesitas el manual, Aunque no tenga gran caso... porque el sonido de este padal no es gran cosa.

Lo probe usando una Ibanez RG370DX con pastilla DiMarzio SuperDistorion en puente y una humbucker hecha por mi mismo en el brazo, conectado a un Laney GH50L con cab 2X12 y/o tambien a un Ibanez ToneBlaster 15R... lo probe agregandole un boss compressor y un ecualizador tambien boss... el asunto es ke suena muy parecido a la mierda del MetalZone 2... solo que con un poco de mayor definicion en bajos... suena mejor el OverDrive de mi Ibanez ToneBlaster y el GH50L ni se diga... sin embargo es interesante combinar TriMetal junto con otros pedales de distorsion o con el Gain del Laney o el Ibanez... En general este pedal me desepciona... me gustan las distoriones calidas y un tanto bien definidas.. este pedal no da eso... creo que necesariamente hay que combinarlo con otros pedales de modulacion y ecualizacion y otro distor para obtener algo interesante... asi solo suena a mierda...

Es bastante resistente, muy bien construido... no plastico... parece bastante durable...

Quien sabe en donde de servicio Zoom en Mexico... si se descompone o falla algo creo ke te chingas...

He leido que la mayoria le dan muy buena calificacion y no entiendo realmente porque.... Pienso que definitivamente si se quiere una buena distorsion, sobre todo para Metal, no hay como un ampli de bulbos; he probado varios pedales de distorsion y definitivamente ninguno llega a algo bueno del todo... para jugar un rato estan bien, pero despues de un tiempo el sonido "cansa" y llega a ser disgustante... en fin, el TriMetal es para mi una desepcion mas, como dije, muy similar al MetalZone con un poco mas de punch, pero igual, el mismo esteril sonido... mejor ahorren para un buen amplificador de bulbos... caros pero lo valen 100%.

6 knobs.....

Does take some time to get a good sound from it....not a good sign.

The manual is unnecessary

I compared this to my MetalZone, Tubester, Hot Tubes, Boss DS-1, DS-2,HM-2, OS-2, SD-1 and Fender Champion 30's natural overdrive.
Using a Fender American Series Stratocastor with a Dimarzio HM-3 in the bridge position.

Only the MetalZone was a close comparisson. The ZOOM TM-1 is cool. It has a ton of bass and easily put's any amplifier into whacked out bass overload. It is naturally "scooped" and all the mid boosting in the world ain't gonna change that fact.
It definitely has a more modern tone compared to the 80's sounding MetalZone.
The MetalZone has a tighter bass for palm muting E string chunking.
The MetalZone also has a sweeter high end for lead soloing.
The MetalZone has a better middle eq setting....with the ZOOM only terrible things happened when trying to move the mids anywhere from straight up.
At lower volumes both pedals require some help from my Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer to achieve the sustain I like [I must always be close to feeding back to be happy].

So really, to me, the only thing going for the Tri-Metal over the MetalZone is that it doesn't have that 80's mid boost that the MetalZone has. Instead it can be used for all your Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier needs. Limp Biscuit, Slip Knot and all that "New Metal" crap.

The Zoom does have a nice layout however and the big on/off switch works nicely.

I want to see the amplifier that can deal with all the bass the ZOOM has to offer. I can't get past half way up without the speakers going bananas!
The bass is a bit farty [loose, muddy, undefined, etc] by my standards.

I've been playing since 1969 and own several vintage Marshall half stacks.
I play blues, rock, metal, heavy metal and some newer metal stuff...like Creed.

I prefer tones closer to Van Halen III or early Pearl Jam....you know?...alot of sustain but not really a whole lot of gain.

Lately, I've been NAILING the early Van Halen sound using my Stratocastor with the HM-3 in the bridge, a Boss PH-1r Phaser, a Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer with the level on 10 [most important], a Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion with the drive set very low and the knob leaning to the distortion side, a Boss DD-2 Digital Delay and into a Fender Amplifier.

I'm giving the ZOOM a 7 because off it's high price compared to the comparable MetalZone.

quite easy to use, if you know how to operate a eq section with with parametric mids.
this thing's EQ is very powerful, so be genlt and patient.

by the way, the most recent contender in the metal pedal range is the line6 uber metal (...which I'll be making comparisons to regularly, especially since the metal-zone has been properly compared below...). that things has a mid-gain volume labeled "scoop"...and guess what, turning the knob UP (clockwise) decreases (scoops) the mids. what a sad insult to guitar player intelligence; to think that something will be more appealing if it cateres right into some "crank the knobs UP" to make it sound better.

THIS pedal's controls do exactly what they say they do.
the only reason it's tricky to use is because it's so powerful, and easy to get carried away.

first miracle; it's dead quiet
I only hear op-amp noise if I crank the gain past 3:00, and that's only really if the level is set to boost at that gain.
even if this thing had a gate, it's so gentle, effective and unobtuse that it's still just magical.
the uber-metal has two levels of switchable gate, which is very fast and clicky (...meant only for metal).

second miracle; turn the gain knob all the way down, and it cleans up better than any "mean" pedal I've owned (...the toneworks hyper distorion, metal zone, mega distortion, etc....)
as (very well) explained in the review below, the range of sound and response availabel from even the 1st half of the gain knob far outstrips the uber metal. THAT pedal has 3 different selectable modes of gain/clipping, with a gain knob that mostly just adds "more" to any mode.
the Tri-metal allows you to dial in EXACTLY what kind of gain response... granted there's a whole range of clean-to-slight-grind in the first arc-hour of the knob, but it's worth the delicate exploratinon.

third miracle, perfetly balanced 15dB cut/boost on the eqs...
(...well, with all knobs at noon, it's got a slight mid scoop, but still...it's just part of it being so well calibrated...).
the uber-metal is a digital pedal, so it just doesn't have the organic and smooth high end that that the all analog tri-metal has.

fourth miracle; huge bass response. plug a 5 string bass into this thing, and it'll stay with you all the way down. I've sampled drum loops with 808 kicks through this, and they still sounded "chesty"...
it's range far outreaches the uber-metal.

even with it's flexibility, this thing still reigns supreme for huge grinding "jud jud jud" stuff.
this is a VERY mean pedal.
like the reviewer below, I play in a noise metal band, and this thing is lethal.
someone reviewing the zoom Hyper Lead (the milder distorion with the same EQ) declaired they "don't undestand how anyone could need more gain..."
after comparing the two side by side myself (...on guitar, bass, and sampler), the tri-metal (while it doesn't clean up as flexibly as the Hyper Lead) just goes the "extra mile" for totally meaner sounds.

the ONLY pedal I've heard sound more "heavy" than this thing is that rediculous dano black licorice (with it's sub-octave crutch). but that thing is another beast altogether.

as mentioned below, "this is THE sound".

tough metal/aluminum chassis.
friendly accesible battery compartment.
nice big switch. very sexy shape/design.
wonderful metal knobs. so what if they aren't recessed like boss/digitech/ibanez, whatever,...the knobs, while flush with the top, are locked down to the chassis from below and above, with no wiggle or "loose, breakable" feeling to them...and that's even after dropping a snare drum on the knobbed top.

the uber-metal is a heavier petal, with silly little plastic knobs sticking (and wiggling) straigt up. I would not trust anyone, even the wiafish keyboard player, to jump on that thing.

not applicable.
pedal is, sadly, discontinued.

I've most recently been playing metal and noise.
this thing is a dirty secret weapon to me now. a perfect match.
love the sound, hate the fact that I waited so long to buy it.
favorite feature is the gain knob.
sounds great in feedback loops of my homemade feedback router (...like the eye-of-god / TSA that all the experimentalists are clamouring about these days).

...as for the "does it help me make music" question;
as a litmus test for any distortion I bring home, sometimes I dial up an out of tune talk-radio station scramble from my clock-radio, and run that through chorus, then distortion. The tri-metal si the first pedal to provide impressive results in a LONG timee (...since my blue box).

This is a follow-up to an earler review

Since reviewing this thingy a couple of years ago, I have a few more things to say about it. First of all, my earlier zeal for this product has only been strengthened. I'm pissed zoom discontinued their analog pedals. I have done a lot of recording with this thing, in three different bands. I'd like to comment on this unit's hidden flexibility since many below are calling it a one-trick-pony.

First off, I have used the TM to record 2 cds with a heavy rock band, kind of a cross between the Melvins and scratch acid with a bit of death metal thrown in. In this context, i almost never dial the gain more than 25% and can still get that chugga-chugga thing going really nicely. I play through a 1983 rivera-designed 60 watt fender concert all-tube chassis mounted in a legend transtube 112 cab with a celestion g65 speaker. My guitars are a 1972 yamaha sg85 (basically a LP special) with stock pups (quite hot) and a weird charvette purchased in japan which i've modded with a fury 50's rocker pup in the bridge as well as graphite bridge saddles. I use both of these guitars in all bands, but the charvette is definitley more suited to metal. The tm really kicks in the gain and interacts well with the concert's tube power. I find this pedal well-defined at lower gain settings. Pick attack actually means something if you don't crank the gain.

i also play in a "fuck band" which is basically noise rock/hardcore/death music. Not very pleasant. We have recorded 4- er- cds in the last year, and i've used the tm exclusively. However, i decided to experiment both with gain levels and amps, and have run this thing through a vintage jcm800 100 w head with a nice carvin 412 cab. At high gain (50-75%), this is an un-fucking-believable combination. As aggro as you could want. Marshall "clean" leaves a lot to be desired so i wouldn't recommend this combination unless all you play is death, but holy shit does it fucking smoke.

i'm also in a more melodic (but heavy) rawk band, and rarely nudge the distortion past 15% or so in this context, with the eq basically flat. On the concert with a 412 ext cab, this is the shit. the other guitarist plays into the aforementioned marshall using a boss blues driver with the gain cranked and the sounds actually complement each other well. at low gain, or even zero gain, this pedal can make an amp really come to life with some nice "classic rock" style distortion. Obviously it shouldn't be bought solely for that purpose, but it's not as one-dimensional a pedal as some have said it is.

the best "metal" pedal i have yet heard that costs under $500. If you can't afford a boogie pedal and want a more ballsy alternative to the metal zone, pick this up. it will turn your tube amp into a hight gain daeth machine. and that's what it's all about, eh?

Easy to use, however, the range took a little getting used to. Once you get the parametric-like use of this it is very powerful.

This is it. This is the sound. Unless you can afford a Mesa Rectifier, this is the pedal. I have a Mesa and this does a great job of emulating it. In fact, if you are looking for the scooped-mid super high gain sound, this pedal does it even better than my Rectifier. Yes, it is that good. It is very quiet for a high-gain pedal, heck for any pedal.

Built like a brick. Very heavy metal case. Unless you go at it with a hammer, you should be fine for years.

N/A

I have tried everything to get THAT sound that is in my head. I am never satisfied with the gain of so-called high-gain pedals. They are never enough. Modeling comes close, but I always want more tone shaping and more gain. If you are looking for the high-gain scooped sound, find one of these pedals. Pay whatever you have to. I have spent hundreds trying to get this sound. This is it.

This pedal is real easy to use. It may take some time to dial in your sound, though, because the gains get so high, it's psychotic.

I use USA Jacksons with EMG 81's in the bridge and 60's in the neck.. Currently I am running as such:

Guitar-->Boss Tuner Pedal-->Morley Bad Horsie Wah-->Zoom TriMetal-->Marshall JCM900 High Gain Dual Reverb stack. In the effects loop, I run a Boss DD-5 Delay and a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, which is seldom on.

I really like the articulation and "tightness" feel of power chords and palm muting thru this. The Marshall's distortion has much more headroom (it's tube), but it's too loose and not gainy enough for me. The only thing I dislike is the solid state vibe I get with this pedal (obviously). Fast leads get "squashed" and don't sound as natural or cut through as much as with the amp's tube distortion. As such, you really have to work those fingers on the fretboard when soloing. So, there is a trade-off, I guess. But it's the old tube vs. solid state thing again and I see advantages for both.

Great for those fast, tight metal riffs which I could never get without the solid state / this zoom pedal stuff. Sounds super in the lower register "grind."

Good.

Never dealt with zoom. With this pedal, you shouldn't even have to read the manual, which is something most musicians can't do anyways (myself included). We just want to wail!

I think my best bet so far is using this thing for my tight , heavy distortions. For leads, I have been experimenting with the Marshall distortion on at the same time as the Zoom pedal; the tube distortion seems to add to the places where the zoom would be too squashed to.

Like others stated, easy to fiddle with. Just dial in for your taste.

Thanks to THIS site I've reviewed all opinions and had to give it a shot. The only thing that concerned me was a statement of "if you have a solid state amp save your money and buy a good tube amp". Well, I have a Roland Blues Cube 60W Solid State amp with Roland's tube emulation circuitry and was hesitant about buying the TM-01. I found one laying around at a music shop and I tried it out - I love it! I know it sounds alittle strange using a Blues Cube amp with this pedal but I like classic rock just as much as blues. I've owned several distortion pedals with several amps and this one is awesome. Another reviewer made some statement of idiots spending $125 for pedal need not submit an opinion (or something to that extent), well I'm one of those idiots and I don't regret purchasing it - I love it. I'm not really into MegaDeth or Metallica, but I do like classic rock like VanHalen, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, etc. and most recently NickelBack. The dropped D tuning sounds awesome with this pedal. I never realized how muddy and tinny these other pedals sounded until I played the TM-01. And lastly, to the reviewer not being able to crank up the amp because of this pedal? I've never enjoyed my amp more than now and I keep cranking it louder and louder because it doesn't break up and just rocks the more I crank it up!

Like others have stated - rock and metal use (obviously, this is called Tri-Metal for a reason). I've been playing off an on for about 18 years for my own enjoyment and jam with some friends every once and awhile. I currently have (2) Ibanez RG320 guitars, Morley Bad Horsie Wah, Boss Blues Driver, Boss DS1, Boss ME6, MXR Phase90, blah,blah,blah. Like others have stated - high gain distortion, very very quiet/noiseless bypass, Oh and I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned the switch itself, but it is very smooth to switch on and no popping. I'd replace it if stolen or lost. Check one out! I give it a 9 only because of the price.