Zoom TM-01 Tri Metal

Very easy to use, I have A LOT more control over the sound than I do with any other pedal. You can control the gain, level, mid, treble and bass all in one single little pedal.

The sound is way more clear the the DOD - Metal Dist. and the Boss - Metal Zone. I had a very bad experience with the ZOOM 505, it was like playing inside a cereal box with wannabe sound effects, so I really didn't expect much of the TM but ZOOM has really outdone itself with this one! It's also very quiet so you don't get a head buzz after playing with it.

The box looks very sturdy and the nobs are all steal... for once. Way much better than their plastic 500 series or the plastic nobs on the DOD. I would use it for a gig, although if I were to become rich and famous I'd rely on better equipment... then again, everyone would.

I play heavy metal and hardcore, and this is absolutely perfect for me. Even if you play more of an alternative rock style, I'd recommend it, but you have to be aware that it isn't called Tri-METAL for nothing. The only con I have is the price, it's a great pedal, and better than the DOD that's for sure, but over here the TM costs 40$ more than the DOD Metal Distortion and the only avantage it has over it (although it's a great advantage) is that the sound is more clear and less noisy... but then again, I'm really cheap, so you can dismiss what I have just said.

I bought this effect used, and so I never even got a manual with mine. But after about ten minutes I had figured out how to get something like what I wanted and actually, very little has changed since then. IMO, what could be more straightforward than plug in, turn on, and fiddle around with the knobs for a few hours until You're happy? The EQ is very good and responds well... The only hard part is to get some of the fuzz out... It gets a 9, since all stompboxes are easy to use, and since the parametric EQ can be a bit to get one's head around. I'd love to know what the Q setting is!

I use a Vester Custom Shop with a JCM900 at all times, neither has never failed me. (not a typo)

I find that the Tri-Metal works very well with my rig, it has plenty of gain and on and on, and it's very quiet. So I'll deliver the pros and cons. Bad news first.

CONS:

Annoying "fizz" in the distortion, like that on the GT2... Maybe it's part of the effect, but not one I like. Not very warm sounding.

The level knob seems to change the voiing of the effect, which is bad, since turning it to where it sounds good is way too quiet and makes the clean sound totally over the top when You switch it off.

The bass distorts when pushed beyond three o clock no matter what the rest of the pedal is set to (then why have anything beyond three o clock on the knob?)

You WILL need an EQ or something to boost solos, the TM is geared toward low end voicing. Oh, and forget about rolling the volume knob to get a clean sound... Waaaaay too much gain for that. but that could be a pro.

PROS:

Built in noise suppressor. This is the quietest pedal I have ever tried! Take Your hands off the strings when not playing anything and it's dead quiet! Makes for great "stops" in music without any hiss (remember DOD?) or string noise. Very good indeed.

True bypass, which makes for an extremely transparent effect when playing clean...

Very wide response parametric EQ gives You a good tonal range in what is usually a category of pedals that just plug and chug...

Finally one that sounds good cranked! All pedals are good at bedroom volumes but with this, I can gig with a clean conscience and forget about EQ.

Amazing gain (THREE stages!!! THREE!) and tone (Analog, by ZOOM? yes, and great to boot). This pedal has singlehandedly thrown out any semblance of a chance for the MT-2 of DOD pedals to catch up. it dishes out rougly the same amount of gain as the GT-2 on Cali hotrodded settings, which is saying a lot. This knob will not disappoint, and, also, the knob IS twistable, which is to say that the pedal gets good tone when used as a light distortion (no fizz). Oh, and forget about rolling the volume knob to get a clean sound... Waaaaay too much gain for that. but that could be a con.

As a side order, I don't play 7 strings, but for those that do, the TM contains a special distortion circuit which turns on when it detects extra low frequencies. This should do wonders for 7 string players with 6 string pedals. Good thinking!

Hard to think of much else, as always I concentrate more on faults... But i did fall in love with the sound very much indeed, I was thinking back and forth between this and the GT2... It's every bit as good, and really isn't another MT-2 or 86. Try it out and if these names I just put down ring a bell I know You will like it. I pretty much tried everything I could get my hands on... For retail price, it's a deal. For 60 bucks, it's a steal. It gets a nine for studio quality distortion, not quite reaching to the stratosphere (But a DOD would get about 6 by comparison)

Haha, if anyone ever told me that I would every be giving a ZOOM pedal a good reliability rating I'd smack him in the face and thus render myself the innate moron. Somewhere along the line someone over at Samson/ZOOM had a major personality disorder and did a turnabout of epic proportion (all us victims of the 500 series know about the high tech wizardry of scissors and glue associated with the ZOOM name). They started making analog effects in sturdy metal boxes... A great idea. This thing is built well. The knobs have resistance, the switch feels robust (remember DOD?), the power outlet in the back seems stable enough and the box is almost indestructible. I have no complaints in the reliability department. I would not hesitate to use this thing live.

The day I need it, scratch my Reliability rating... I've never dealt with ZOOM since amazingly I haven't been able to break my 508 yet.

Well, in closing, let me remark I wouldn't be caught dead playing NU-metal, but I get caught all the time playing the Tri-Metal by ZOOM. This pedal gives me exactly what I'm looking for. When soloing, I play a lot of fast runs and sweep arpeggios (with EQ, mind You), and the tones never blend and mush together. I've been playing it for a while now and I have never really had a bad experience with its truly huge sound. Maybe the fizzy treble knob, which is useless at anything past 2 in my taste. Otherwise, all the tones stay clear and sharp, and the midrange EQ can really give a "super vintage"-y sound to the pedal, as well as the standard big dipper scoops. It is NOT a booster. It is an attempt at a rectifier in a box. Since I'm not too crazy on the gain and volume of my amp, I've had no difficulty w/ a tube amplifier (JCM900). Just don't turn the pedal's volume up, use the master volume on the amp instead and You'll have no problems with sharp tones. I would replace it with a new amp, or give an extra listen to the GT2... But I got it for 60 bucks, so I am shutting up and loving this pedal. I really think it deserves a shot, so try it at the shop and write back to me what you think. My grandchildren will probably be able to play this thing good as new. It really will be one of the great ones in the future. Good job, ZOOM.

Truly a piece-of-cake! Very easy to get the sound you desire. No trickery or "hip" sounding names for the control knobs.

OK, I've tried quite a few distotion pedals, and liked several of them. Until now, The RAT was my favorite. I'll even admit to liking the MT2 Metal Zone. Those days are gone. There's a new sheriff in town - The TRI METAL! Believe it or not, this thing actually has more gain than anyone could use! Even you death metal types. Ah, but that's not the kicker, this pedal is quiet! Really! A distortion pedal that barely hisses? DOH! I love it!

Metal case + analog = bulletproof

No need yet

For screaming metal - you've met your match! Buy it!

bloody awsome. anyone who can't use this is in need of glasses. its a few nobs c'mon. its simple

i dont play gigs but if i did id use it. and see if it really does sound good cranked. otherwise i guess there is good old digitech rp7 for me but thats not as ballsy. this thing is killer !!! metallica sounds never sounded this good before. id easliy ut it above a marshall sound. it rocks !!! paml mute i recon is incredible. and solos sound really panteraish. which i love. so im very very pleased with its sound quality.

well its a brick. its reliable.

this is killer. if u want the marshall sound, but dont have a marshall, then get it !!! price is reasonable but u gota luv the sound u get *drool*

Only George W. Bush couldn't use this pedal, I got a Korn tone out of this in 2 seconds, Fear Factory (Soul of a New Machine & Near- Demanufacture) in about 3 minutes. I like the fact that tweaking this pedal isn't stopped by lack of range but instead it stops where your amp rumbles like a madman.
With a little tweaking you can get almost any tone.

It's almost perfect, only complaint is palm muting, which could be a little more intense.. with a decent amp sim pedal played to line-in you get this almost real studio quality sounding distortion. Only noisy when you don't play but press that round switch that is impossible to miss and voila! no noise at all!

YESS!! Finally the endless Zoom product developement tests showed them that iron is infinitely more durable than cheap ass plastic ;)
I never play pedals with batteries so dying pedals are not my case...

Mailed Zoom about my 505 and after 6 months I still haven't got any answer... sloppy, if not arrogant.

Pedal to the Metal!!! Infinite gain and sustain.
If only it would have a kickass palm mute sound...

TIP TO ANYONE WHO OWNS BOSS METAL ZONE: Trade your MT-2
to this pedal and enjoy (I did)

And since I play with a 6-string Yamaha EG-112U downtuned to B (standard 7-string tuning) this pedal really is the perfect distortion for me and anyone else who use low tunings (with 7 or 6 string guitars)

Forget about Boss Metal Zone, it's a memory from the 80's, welcome the 21st century, buy a Tri Metal.

The Unit is extremely easy to use. It has controls for level, highs, lows, mids, and mid range. Very similar to the metal zone, except not as knob-sensitive. Manual describes a few useful settings, and you go from there.

My rig is as follows: Modified Fender Std. Strat and Modified Epi. Les Paul through a Marshall AVT100 combo. The only effects I use are an Ibanez SM-7, and a Dunlop Wah. I play heavy-alternative, (TOOL, SMASHING PUMPKINS), Prog Rock, (DREAM THEATER) classic rock (HENDRIX AND ZEPPELIN) and Metal, (METALLICA, MEGADETH, SABBATH) I've owned plenty of distortion pedals, (Boss SD-1, Boss OD-1, Boss DS-1, Boss DS-2, Boss MT-2, Pro Co Rat, Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi, DOD Death Metal FX86B, Ibanez SM-7). Out of all those pedals, the only one I've been able to stick with is the SM-7, which I've kept through 3 amps. The TM-01 is best described as sounding exactly like the metal zone with a hell of a lot more crunch, gain, and utterly silent. You can simulate Metallica's sound on Master of Puppets and Pantera's Cowboys from Hell within a second. The built in noise suppressor is great, but isn't enough to make it an amazing pedal. I know, I know, all of you people who write reviews after this are gonna be praising the crap out of this thing just like the MT-2, but most of you guys haven't been playing long enough, or just don't have much real live gig playing experience to judge these pedals on their full potential. The Tri Metal is a great pedal for playing in your room or with some friends, but on extremely high volumes this thing gets muddy as hell! Can't hear a single note you're playing! I think this pedal would work best with Solid State amps, because it provides a very thick tone and wouldn't do well over any pre-amp distortion that's already in the signal. No clarity when playing, especially in chords that require more than 3 notes...As for shredding, it does a decent job, but just sounds too processed for my tastes.

This thing is just as solid as any boss pedal on the market. Like a rock. I spilled some water on it accidentally, and it still worked fine a couple days later.

Haven't dealt with em..

If you like that over processed, enormous high gain sound on a fairly small amp, I say, go right ahead and get it. Not a very diverse pedal, you have gain, gain , gain, and yet more gain, expect it all sounds the same. If you want a reliable pedal for exclusively heavy metal playing, buy this, if not, search elsewhere.

Five knobs and a big-ass switch... took me about 10 seconds to get an awesome sound out of the beast.

I use a peavey 'nathan cavaleri' model, into the tri metal into a peavey bandit 112... This thing rocks, no noise at all. I play mainly metal, which you have to remember; THIS THING IS BUILT FOR METAL! If you want bluesy crunch, LOOK ELSEWHERE!!!! You can get awesome gain out of this thing, anything from metallica, tool, papa roach (especially the sound in 'between angels and insects') I love this unit... theres a really mad bonus, if you pump the bass right up, you get this uncontrollable rumble, WICKED! easily stopped by dropping it back a notch... If you turn your guitar down, theres bairly any noise at all!!!!! This pedal is from the first line of analogue circuitry pedals from ZOOM, it kicks ass... they should have been building analogues from the start!!!

Solid as a tank, but it sucks on the batteries... something like when you suck down a smoke after you've finished a gig!!! Get a 9 volt adapter and you'll be cheering!

Haven't dealt with that side of things, and by the looks of it, i wont have to...

If you like metal, get it... its got tonnes of gain, in my opinion it beats the BOSS MT-2, its got all the same features... but its HEAPS more quiet... looks better, and sounds better, if you see one, try it out!!!

Just turn the knobs

Its like a Boss Metalzone except voiced with more bass. Its also fuller sounding, and you can take away the treble for a NU Metal Type sound. It has no noise with my setup at all. Unlike my other distortion pedals that would hum or hiss.

We'll see.

Don't know.

Its great for practice, or screwing around with, I don't know how it would do on stage or with a band.