Zoom TM-01 Tri Metal

3-band eq, mid cut frecuency, gain & volume. Not a big deal

I would give it a 10 just because the amount of gain, great sound and very low noise. This is kind of tricky because i used it through clean channel of a Marshall avt150x (& Gibson Tobbaco Classic 2004), it sounds good by it self but not perfect, to unleash the beast, I put a turbo tube screamer after the trimetal and before the avt, DAMN!!!! I heard a distortion like never before!!!!! high gain and low noise combined with the valve envelope, incredible...
After that, I used trimetal alone with my JCM2000 (crunchy channel) and also was Great!!! conclusion: honestly, if you are just about to buy one, consider something else to blow up this beast

On stage, I use other pedals (RAT2, MT2, or Krank Distortus Maximus etc) only because versatility, I don't want to carry extra pedals, I like small pedalboards.
On studio, very simple, I don't record anything without my TRIMETAL

No idea.

I play all kind of music, I use trimetal obviously for metal, maybe it can be use to play oldies (Led zeppelin) with a very low gain.
eleven years playing guitar and i'll never get tired of it

Easy. Takes little experimenting since there's really one sound in this.

I bought this pedal after owning the great Power Drive and the also good Hyper Lead and after reading very good reviews about the Tri-Metal. But I was a bit disappointed with it.

The Tri-Metal is definitely a step ahead from the Boss Metal Zone and the Digitech Metal Master, in the sense that you will achieve the same amount of crazy gain, but without the halfway-to-a-preamp tone overshaping both of those put out. The semi-parametric EQ is pretty awesome, but don't let it fool you into thinking this can be versatile; it's metal all day and all night. There is a LOT of gain in this.

This can sound very ballsy if you already have an amp with a good character. It's fairly good through my Crate tube amp. But it will sound like **** through cleaner amps, a bit like the Hyper Lead, but worse, since the signal is a little less compressed. It's a much raw-er signal than most extreme dirt pedals, so it needs something to round out the tone. This is why it sounds better through quality amps than comparable products. It won't do that magic tone-shaping the Metal Zone does on 20-watt amps.

Although I love the shape of the sound this puts out, the bottom line is that the gain itself is fairly ordinary and the input response is like any other solid-state metal pedal. It doesn't chunk like a great tube distortion and it relies on overdone bass to achieve power. It can be a little muddy if you have dark pickups, though nowhere near as muddy as, say, Behringer distortion.

Not to mention, there are problems with the low-end response in this unit. The wrong guitar into the wrong amp will produce severe farting. It's very unpredictable.

The Hyper Lead does a better job at what it tries to do overall. This pedal is a step in the right direction for metal pedals, that is, when it comes to the shape of the sound it outputs. But it won't necessarily do justice to your guitar, and it won't cut through a heavy mix like the Hyper Lead can.

Acceptable.

This pedal is good, but not great. There are better distortions out there, even in solid-state devices. The Sansamps, for example, produce much more convincing and usable metal distortions in their preamp emulations, even if they are plagued by ****** cab sims. The Hyper Lead is also a better pedal overall (can you tell I like it better?).

I would buy this over a Metal Zone, a Metal Master, a Grunge, or a Fabtone any day (I own them all). But I don't think I'd buy neither those nor the Tri-Metal again (even if it wasn't discontinued).

Gain, Level and 3-band EQ with semiparametric mids. Bit more difficult to get used to for beginners who've never seen a parametric EQ before (which apparently applies to a few of the reviewers here, too).

If you know how to use the EQ properly, this pedal is incredibly easy to tweak to your requirements. Feels like active EQ, with relatively little interaction between the Treble and Bass knobs - very nice. The ranges on the knobs are also huge.

So, a bit harder to control than a DS-1 if you're a beginner, but for experienced users it's just so much more versatile than distortion pedals that only have a tone knob or just hi/low EQ knobs.

Gets a 10 here because there is no simpler way to put this much versatility into an EQ.

Running either a Yamaha Pacifica 812v with Shadow pickups (great budget tip, by the way... the SH681 I've got in the bridge now blows the Duncan JB it replaced right out of the water, and for about half the price) into a Danelectro Honeytone 1.5W battery amp (running with a power supply on 12V into a Harley Benton G112 cab right now). This is my home practice setup, and it sounds incredibly good (considerin I spent about 100 Euros on it, and I'm getting 500 Euro amp sounds... :)). Sounds a little like my Randall RG100SC actually (which is no surprise - I can pretty much replace my Randall's OD2 channel with this pedal if I just run it up front on the clean channel of said Randall).

Also sounds great on my Laney VH100R's clean channel, and cuts through the mix beautifully - anyone having trouble cutting through is probably just too lazy to learn how to use the EQ properly (or is simply using sounds that simply aren't usable in a band situation). I'll be using it in this setup for the heavier songs, along with a MIDI-controllable True Bypass Looper.

All in all, a very versatile pedal with more than enough gain (though not as over-the-top as other reviews have stated, IMO), and VERY flexible EQ. Imitating sounds isn't really my thing, but the first thing I thought when I turned it on was METALLICA!!! A few more hi-mids and voila - awesome metal sound.

As for noise - definitely less than most other distortion pedals - the modelled stomps in my GT-8 are also a lot noisier. You could almost use this thing without a noise gate at rehearsal volume, but adding an NS2 oder the GT-8's built in noise gate at a (very) low threshold results in perfect "fire and forget" noise control - no unwanted feedback, no buzzing or crackling, just perfect.

And last but not least, a special mention to palm muting, because a few reviewers mentioned that this pedal doesn't chug enough when you're muting. And to them I say - learn to palm mute! This thing absolutely rips when it comes to fast chugging or palm muted single note riffs - incredibly saturated, but still perfectly clear and without the mushy low end of the MT-2... Unlike the aforementioned Metal Zone, this thing actually throws your mistakes back at you instead of hiding them in an unrecognizable haze of noise.

As they say: **** in, **** out.

My HL-01 Hyper Lead lasted for ages, and never crapped out on me despite being kicked around the floor at practices and on stage quite a lot back when I didn't have enough effects to warrant a pedalboard. Since this thing has pretty much the same casing in a different color, I'm guessing it'll hold up just fine.

Had a few problems with a Zoom G7.1ut once (one of the little LED-buttons stopped working), but that's a whole different line of products.

Website is ok, manuals available etc.

Personal support is pretty much nonexistent though - sent a few e-mails and never got a reply.

Overall this thing gets my seal of approval - a very solid piece of gear that sounds good and provides long trouble-free service. Perfect for what I need it for (practicing at home, and making my Laney VH100R a bit more brutal for a few songs) - sounds incredibly good.

Having owned an MT2, I can definitely confirm, that this is a far more versatile pedal, with a lot more balls. Not to mention it doesn't have the MT2's annoying permanent nasal mid-honk...

Would definitely buy it again (or even a second one, if I could find one :P)...

Pretty easy to use although the extreme ends of the settings are unusable, so a small amount of tweaking has a big effect. It's certainly not one of those pedals where you can turn everything up and it'll sound great.

Sounds like a very good emulation of James Hetfield's sound. It does this very well but not much else. If you lower the midrange frequency and turn the midrange level up a bit you can get quite close to a Lamb Of God style sound. Its noise level is so low it's almost inaudible at bedroom volumes. Perhaps it has some sort of gate but not one you can hear working. It does tend to make all my guitars sound rather similar but considering the amount of gain and the fact that there isn't a valve in sight this isn't really surprising. Bear in mind it is called Tri METAL and it is just a pedal so for what it is and the price of it, it is really good. I use it with a Roland Spirit 50 tranny amp and it makes the amp sound quite good.

Made of heavy metal, about 2mm thick, I used to jump on it wearing Harley Davidson boots for the chorus of Toxicity by System Of A Down and although the paint is coming off it's only because i've abused it for years. I don't think it will ever die, it's like the guy from the Halloween movies.

You read the last bit? Don't think I'll ever need to contact them.

I don't need this pedal anymore because I have acquired a Diezel Einstein but for anyone with a weak amp this thing is perfect. Also if you have a good valve amp with insufficient gain this pedal will provide all the distortion you need. If it got stolen I'd miss it, I like to plug it in occasionally and might want to use it for more industrial sounds which my Einstein just won't do (because it's fantastic)

This thing is super easy to use and figure out. Throw all the knobs to max and twist the "range" knob for sweepy, grainy, gritty, resonating type fun. The EQ is nice for getting a grip on those unexpected "lean back from the speaker" type moments that happen every now and then. You know... roll off those "ear piercing" hi-end freqs that you get with some gear.

Quiet as mouse. It just sits there in the mix waiting for you to feed it something.

Solid as a rock.

I use it for a noize project in a performance capacity running various sound sources through it. Anything that generates sound is usable. Right now I'm using it exclusively with a Photo*Theremin (via Professor Television circa 2003) but I also use it with a Monotonic Labs Type-U73 synth, a Buddha Machine and a Bleep Labs Thingamagoop and they all get huge and nasty sounding. It can take the most subtle sound and make it crazy. I would definitely get another if this one went missing.

Like it's got all these knobs and you turn them and it sound all crazy dude.

Dudester you just gotta' sound like hammers of the gods when you wail through this thing.

But seriously it has a very tight distortion that doesn't sound overly boxey and just makes your guitar sound huge. I like the wall of sound it creates and the EQ is all kinds of awesome.

Does this thing sound like metal or what...? How the hell would I know? Metal heads are total idiots; they want to take something beautiful and feminine (MUSIC) and make it something masculine because they believe music with melody is for chicks and queers. Playing metal in 2007 is about as relevant as playing barber shop music in 1964. I'm sure you metal heads won't get that since for you music doesn't start untill Black Sabbath (the only true metal band). Doesn't playing metal with a pedal make you a joke to REAL metal players anyway. Think about it...Keep thinking....You know it's true.

This pedal is awesome, just don't use it for "metal" or you will be a sad stale cliche.

Dank pedal.

This unit is perhaps a little bit more complicated than it has to be. Although it does offer a wide range of sounds

Firstly, I am a conservative rater (I cant understand why everyone gives everything a 10?!) but I have had this thing a year now and I think its fair to say that it really is the best metal distortion pedal I have tried.

I play EMGs into a Marshall JCM800 so my sound is already very sharp. I basically use the pedal to boost/augment my amp distortion. This thing is a real beast, you can get super heavy ultra biteing sound (I guess I agree with the mesa reference to some extent) which is so refreshing.

Basically I have tried the MT2, the MD2 (dont bother with this!), the digitech death metal (not bad) and it pisses all over these pedals, especially the otherwise similar MT2 which I reckon is fuzzy and muddy and very over rated.

On the downside the compression is high so it will naturally reduce sustain a little bit and makes for a slight thining of lead sound.
The 2 really important good things are

1. You can use this thing to make your shitty amp sound good on the clean setting (I use this at practice with my little marshalll solid state and it rocks).
2. It is freakishly quiet, no hiss or feedback

solid

dont know

The key thing is that I reckon most people who arent super rich and just want to get a decent metal sound out of their solid state amp should not hesistate in buying this, I think its amazing.

However, if you do own a good valve amp and you like the natural amp distortion, you should probably look more towards overdrive pedals as this thing has a real character of its own and will suck the natural tone away. I do but i still love this pedal, its a keeper
:-)

honestly, i had trouble getting used to having such sensitive controls: barely move a knob and the sound CHANGES BIG-TIME. once you get the hang of that, this pedal's versatility will amaze.

i have owned this pedal for a few years, and still havent exhausted the amount of sounds and tones i can pull form it. If you've tried other metal pedals, you know that there is a certain point where you've tried all ther sound combonations for taht pedal, well this one have HUGE range.

I've beaten the crap out of this thing for years ; dropped it quite a few times, kicked it, lost a knob covering, and this thing is still kickin like i opened it new yesterday.

havent had to call so i dunno

I play a mixed heavy style (think Demon Hunter, mixed with pantera, mixed with Project 86) and the Tri-Metal delivers on every level i have thrown at it. Of course its made for scooping mids, and thick heavy mutings, and all out HEAVY, but still can get old-school mid laced sounds as well. Fantabulous.

Its very easy to use once you know how the mid and range knob interact with each other. Its one of those discontinued ANALOG line of pedal series by Zoom, I've bought it used in mint condition.. nearly new. WHAT A BARGAIN FOR THIS PRICE!!, the previous dude just bought one coz he thinks it looked cool when it was available.. just for the heck of it.so.. no manual but u can just go get it off at their website. Good manual, some basic example settings and a few extras.

I won't stress on what sound of artists I could get out of because I never tried to sound like anybody BUT with one thing on my mind for a distortion pedal is that its gotta have the heaviest, ballsiest, most brutal possible distortion and its gotta be able to cut thru in a band situation, whether in practice or live. I use a Schecter C-1 Classic with EMGs pickups(81 bridge + 85 neck)and I play thru many solidstate amps. GUITAR>DISTORTION>AMP(clean setting) and nothing else, I don't want any other effects degrading my distortion tone and I will always use the best guitar cables.

With all the knobs set at 12 o'clock, it already got a thick metal tone with loads of gain, just work your way from there.

U'll find that turning the gain and bass over 2-3 o'clock, it becomes useless for the conventional solidstate amps. IT WILL RUMBLE like crazy. Is that a good thing? well i guess its a good thing i think because you could probably rape a 100watt tube amp w/4x12 with it.

The range control knob is excellent, i could get sort of a Peavey 5150 stuff from it, but its true character is dark and boomy.. like that of a Mesa with more definition and very tight sound. The raves about it being a 5150 in box, Mesa in box.. blah blah, TRUE!! this is the sheeeeit.

I play alot of fast complex riffs and do alot of heavy palm muting, the Tri Metal gets that out heavy as hell, its clear and it cuts thru (back down the bass and use more on the mids+treble, mind you)doing really fast tremolo picking too. I don't do much soloing but whenever I need to, i'll just have the range control and mids cocked out and its got a powerful edge and push to it.. DOES NOT SOUND THIN.

Now, for the palm muting issue.. like some of the reviewers have said about not being able to get a good or tight PM from it, I agree and also disagree with this. First I'd like to point out if you use guitars with single coils or low-output humbuckers, u'd just get an average PM sound (but let alone, this will already give u a fairly good one). A fair guitar with hotter passive pickups will get u great metal tones. However, a good guitar with EMGs will sound PHENOMENAL with it, ITS HUGE, very thick.. very tight.. very..

'B R U T A L' HANDS DOWN!!

I'd like to stress about one thing though, THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY WAY THAT A STOCK BOSS MT-2 could get anything near this pedal!! Quite a load of ppl have said that the MT-2 was better, probably these ppl don't know anything or haven't tried the Tri Metal enough or are using crap gear. The Tri Metal is wayyy better, what do u get from it? A noticeable lower noise floor (VERY QUIET INDEED) where as the MT-2 needs a noise suppressor to shutup and its either too weak (just to dial out the gain to get rid of the noise) or gets messed up when u crank it, u should pray for ppl to hear what u are playing thru the MT-2 in a band situation and you must be tonedeaf if you think the MT-2 does a better job in palm muting. Only one way by Keeley modding the MT-2 will probably just get it on the same league.

This thing is a bomb shelter, its got a nice weight to it and it looks great. Thick metal casing, and all the knobs and on/off switch are metal too. I doubt anyone could break it under normal use. The on/off switch is big and its very sturdy, very smooth, no clicks or pops here.. nice one!!. However I would never ever gig without a backup in a chaotic situation where people are jumping on and flyin off the stage during a death metal gig, it already convinced me that I don't need a backup but sure there'll be one of those Boss MT-2 laying around there just in case.

Don't bother, its useless dealing with them about a discontinued product for several years.

I've been playing for almost 8 years now, I'am a metalhead, I play melodic death metal and all the way to brutal death metal, deathgrind, moshpit music.. watever u wanna call it. I don't own alot of gear, coz when I buy a better gear I'll always sell off the old one once in a while. The Tri Metal is truly a keeper, if you don't want to take your amp to gigs.. then this is just the perfect thing. Comparing this to Boss MT-2 is a joke, that thing is so fake and generic.. wfk was that !@$#$^&* riff you played? COMPLETE MUSH!! If I'm ever gonna be without the Tri Metal, the Boss MT-2 will be the last thing I'll have to use (provided that they are 'provided' at metal gigs here). I also had a Line6 Uber Metal before, THIS IS A REALLY GREAT PEDAL, u can get all sorts of metal tones with a fistfull of hi-gain and huge bottom end but its a noticeable 'processed' digital sound at gigging volumes.. so it had to go. I've tried out almost every possible distortion pedal out there.. be it from Boss, Rocktron, Line6, MXR, etc nothing compares to it and it is the next best thing before owning hi-gain tube amps like a Framus Cobra, Engl Powerball, Mesa Rectos, Marshall JCM2000, etc. I'm surely saving up for one of those but till then this is what i've been hoping for in one distortion pedal, its probably the sickest lethal analog distortion a pedal has to offer. Zoom is an A-HOLE of a company that decided to end such a great analog product and went all wizardly digital. Since this pedal is discontinued, I give u my best wishes finding one, GOOD LUCK! :)

Like others have said, put everything to 12 then dial in what you want

I'm not gonna crap on about what i use but this is the BOMB. this is the distortion pedal I hoped for with MT2 but got a lot lot more. Play everything from tool (low gain) to B tuned shredding and everything in between.

This is the holy grail of high gain distortion

Its solid steel, even the knobs are steel, melt it down and sell it to china for a killing, theres that much steel in it it wouldn't break if you ran over it

never dealt with

payed OZ$75 couldnt get a better deal i like METAL and this thing is for METAL. for all you who write i like blues and hard rock and this is too much - get a TUBESCREAMER or RAT. even i have one. THIS IS NOT A BLUES/ROCK/HARD ROCK pedal it is called TRI METAL for a reason. now i no longer need my tubescreamer and rat(used as a boost for clarity on MT2) THIS IS THE SHIZNUT

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.

With the knobs it's easy to find a good tone. The instruction manual helps you finding the tone you're searching. The knobs are very sensitive so you have to try a lot of combinations to find THE SOUND you need.
But it's a pedal, does anything is more easy to use? Let your ears do the job...

My two setups are:
>GODIN ST Artisan signature Custom Shop, with 3 Seymour-Duncan Little 59', Dunlop Cry-baby, Boss expression pedal, Zoom Tri-Metal, Marshall Valvestate 8280 with chorus (2x40W, 2x12''hp)
>Lespaul standard Epiphone, with the same ...

First, the Tri metal is THE METAL DISTORTION PEDAL ! If you want to play blues, or something else, don't buy it.
This was born for play Metal (Megadeath, Metallica, Iron Maiden...). The sound is very very good. Nothing in common with the BOss Metal-zone. The sounding is not Thinny, no buzzing, so quiet.
If you can't buy a 100W all tube, you can get this pedal without any doubt, she have the power, the definition, the versatility that turn a basic into Hell Metal Master !

I would use it on a gig without a backup. the pedal is made with metal not cheap plastic parts. A heavy one.

I don't know, I don't use any customer support.

Basicly, I play Metal Covers, from Iron Maiden to Megadeath, So I need a lot of gain and definition. I have found that in the Tri Metal. All you need is this pedal, and a bit of reverb...
the Tri-metal is designed for heavy rock, she is reliable, simple QUIET (without any noise gate inside!), and produce a distortion with a lot of gain!!
She's much better than the Metal-Zone, but she is so Rare:you can have a lot of problems to found one.
I'am still thinking this pedal is not ZOOM. Zoom have so poor distortion effects on their Multi-effets that I could not believe that one was made by those men who use to produce cheappy bullshits.
Whatever, If you found a Tri-Metal, buy it! THIS NAME IS NOT AN USURPATED ONE!!

Very easy...drive, treble, bass, nice parametric eq for the mids, and output. Simple.

Wow. This thing really gets the most out of a 7-string. Here's the guitars I've tried this with:

Schecter Omen-7 with a Duncan JB-7 in the bridge, standard tuning. Sounds GREAT!!!
el-cheapo double neck w/7-string neck tuned down to A (KORN tuning)- Sounds unbelievable!!!
Homemade 6-string tuned down to Drop-C (SOAD tuning)w/DiMarzio Megadrive in bridge. Again, sounds sick on the lower stuff!!!
Homemade 6-string w/Bill Lawrence XL-500 in bridge (the real Lawrence, not the Stew-Mac)- Sounds WAY too harsh, no matter how I tweaked the knobs.

This thing is a BEAST for lower register metal rhythm work. It does better than anything I've tried (including a 100W Marshall head & an amp modeler) at handling the 7-strings. It is not, however, a lead pedal...too harsh in the upper register, imo, though others may feel differently. Very quiet except at the most extreme drive and output (which there is no need for; at 12-o'clock the gain is PLENTY!!! This thing was obviously meant for nu-metallers (which I am not, though I play some of the stuff), and not for shredders. It gets a 10 for metal rhythm, and a 6 for lead tone. Since it's meant for the former, I give it a 9 overall. Very nice pedal.

Just got it, but it seems VERY solid. Nice metal case, knobs, and true bypass switch...at least it CLAIMS to be true bypass; I haven't taken it apart to have a look at the switch & the wiring.

Beats me.

I play all kindsa stuff (currently working on a funk/metal project). Like I said above, when you need massive distortion and power out of 7-strings or detuned guitars, this thing rips. my other gear: Digitech Xp-100 whammy-wah, vox wah, Voodoo Lab Proctavia, original Soviet big-muff, original Boss OD-1, Boss Blues Driver, V-Amp 2, Fender ultra-chorus amp (just sold my Marshall).

This unit has been discontinued, and I would not be surpised if this thing becomes collectable in a few years. There's really nothing else that does the job this thing does. It was VERY expensive new (list was something like $170), and a quick search of the internet only found a few for about $100. I would certainly try to get another if mine was ripped off or broken; I think it's destined to be a sought-after piece of equipment. Nice job, Zoom...

As with all ZOOMs, they are easy to get a good sound from, hard to get a great sound from. It is a rather basic distortion: gain, level, treble, bass, semi-parametric mid (can change the range). Just start with everything half way (12 o'clock) and tweek for a good hour or so :P Mine didnt' come with a manual, but I bought it second hand off a friend

My main guitar is a customised ESP F-200, and my backup guitar is a customised Aria MAC-50Q. I use a Peavy Bandit 112 (80watt combo/amp head) and a Marhsall MG120 (cheap and merry guitar cabinet). I also use a variety of other amp setups at gigs and whatnot when I cant transport my own stuff. My fx board is rather big. It goes
Jim Dunlop Crybaby -> Boss NS-2 Noise Surpressor -> (in NS-2 effects loop) Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer -> (not in NS-2 fx loop anymore) Boss LS-2 Line Selector (two switchable fx loops) -> (fx loop A) Zoom GFX-707II -> (fx loop B) Zoom TM-01 (trimetal) -> (still fx loop B) Zoom GFX707 -> (back to LS-2) guitar amp. Its much simpler when ya actually see it, its hard to describe in plain text.

The TM-01 is very strong sounding, it is fabulous. When you dont play, its COMPLETELY silent. BUT, it does NOT have a built in noise gate like everyone seems to think, its just plain old fashioned fantastic build quality using the best parts. My only quibble with it is that its hard to get a good low-gain sound outta it, and the high gain sounds are way over the top. It may be a "metal" distortion, but with a bit of smart EQing, it can do a very wide variety of sounds.

Just to stress, I use fx wisely, not like rediculous amounts of badly set modules on everything.

I would most definitly depend on it, I have for at least 30 gigs in the past year, as well as 6 hours of band practises a week for the past 2 years. I would never gig without a backup, I always have a fall back plan incase something happens. As of yet, never needed the fall back though *touch wood*

I've never had any problems with any of my ZOOM pedals, but I have asked the company about other products and little technical questions. All responses were quick, friendly, and very useful. The ZOOM website also has manuals for all of their products for those people (like me) who didnt get one or (like the person I bought it from) lost it.

I play in a disco porno-funk emo grindcore death metal blues ska jazz band (we have a wide variety of styles in our set lists), and it works for all of those styles (except blues and jazz, which I use the GFX-707II drive modules for) I have been playing for 3 years (yeah, I only a new kid, but I know my stuff and I pretty much live in my local music shop and I try everything they have)

All of my other gear is listed above (its not exactly fantastic top of the line gear, but it gets the job done and for the price i paid for it I cant complain) If it was lost or stolen, I would definitly hunt down another.

I love its sound and the footswitch, it is the most durable footswitch I have ever found, and it switches completely silently. I also love the fact it is COMPLETELY ANALOGUE, none of that digital distortion mince (I can tell a digital distortion a mile away, no matter how good it is). I dont like the crazy rubber thing on the bottom (stops it running away at a gig when you stamp on it), it fell off mine. Nothing a bit of super glue cant fix though :)

I compared it to the all famous Boss Metal Zone. The Metal Zone sounds very thin, twangy, undistinctive, cheap and digital. Even with an EQ pedal (which does vasty improve the Metal Zone), it was pretty feeble. Also tried a couple of Digitech X-series distortion things (cant remember which ones), they were ok, but still a bit naff. The Tri Metal is very powerful, very versitile (if ya know what your doing) and very nice looking :) Also, it was #20, cant go wrong for #20 can ya?

I wish the knobs were a bit less sensitive though, a very very small turn and your sound is completely different (which does make it so versitile, so I guess I shouldnt complain)

On a side note, just because something is plastic (such as.... ooo..... say a ZOOM GFX-707) it doesn't mean it will break easily. The GFX707 is very strong, mine have been through hell and are in perfect working order. Anyway, enough of my rant.

Pretty easy to use. The only knob people won't be familiar with is the range knob. This puts more emphasis on the bass side of the mids or the treble side, depending on which way its turned. The eqs are really sensitive so you can get TONS of different sounds out of it

I use a les paul into tri-metal into a Marshall Valvestate. The distortion is infinatley better than the Marshalls distortion. Its a real METAL sound. People often say blah blah is a great distortion pedal but they mean to play stuff like Jimi Hendrix, Smashing Pumpkins, Bon Jovi etc. This is a real distortion pedal for Metallica, Disturbed etc.. HEAVY AS HELL and really quiet and clear at the same time. Wish it was just a touch clearer though. Guess i,m just tough to please.

And what is all this about people saying you can't palm mute on this thing?? What a load of .... They must only have the pedal a day and haven't figured out how to use it yet. Thats what the range knob is for. If its turned below half the muting can be a little weak. Turn it even the slightest bit over half way and holy sh*t. Heavy and tight as hell.

I have been playing for almost 10 years and am not easily impressed but this is a cool pedal. Still want a Dual Recto or Powerball though

They say if there way a nuclear war the cockroaches would ne the only things to survive. I'd add the tri-metal to that list. Solid metal everywhere

Never used it

I play METAL from Metallica to Alice in Chains to Disturbed Papa Roach etc.. If you can't afford a 100 watt all tube amp or you want to soup up your existing one, get this pedal.(if you can still find one) Its as simple as that.

It's a freakin' analog pedal. Like, with knobs that rotate. How hard is that?

Note though that it has a very wide tonal range, so getting *your* sound from it may take a while. Remember to start experimenting with all the knobs in the center position, not off (esp. the level knob, tee-hee :)

The manual... it lists some presets that are okay and yadas a bit about how to use the thing.. as if you wouldn't know.

I'm using it alongside a Morley wah pedal and plug it into either a Vox or a Behringer amp. My axe is an EXP V-350, by the way.

The unit is total hush when on bypass (it does have a mechanical bypass system) and when not hitting strings, which is *awesome*.

You'd be nuts to turn the gain to maximum, it simply soars with it. Just your most beloved rythm guitar for metal players. This is *not* a blues pedal.

Solid-as-a-tank metal casing, metal knobs, seems like the bugs will rule the after-nuclear-war world (and play with it :) before it breaks. I'd sureley gig without a backup for it.

Never dealt with them.

I play rock, blues, and *metal*. It certainly is a perfect match for the last one :)

If it were stolen... I'd cry a bit and wish they didn't discontinue it.

Just get your hands on one of them before they go vintage.

Pretty easy to get used to... you'll have to tweak with the settings a bit to get it into something that works for you. I've actually noticed a few people who've posted their settings in these reviews. Its definitely not plug and play, so it loses a point

I was on the hunt for a pedal that provided an amazing amount of gain... like more gain than you'd ever need... so i've tried out a ton of pedals... a pedal i really wanted to get my hands on was a Fender Blender... although they're discontinued and any chance of finding one is pretty rare. The Tri Metal is discontinued as well, however a few stores still have some kicking around.

I have a few different setups that sound really good...
1) Fender Telecaster -> Dunlop Original Crybaby -> Tri-Metal -> Peavey TNT 115 (Yes, this is a bass amp)

2) Ibanez RG 250 dx -> Tri-Metal -> Fender Deluxe 112

3) Ibanez Ax 7221 (7 String) -> Tri-Metal -> Fender Deluxe 112

This pedal doesn't suck tone at all, and bypass is actually a true sounding bypass, which is good.. very good. I'd have to say this is the most fun to play effect i have so far... oh yeah, try playing an Ebow set on Harmonic mode on your low strings with a slight finger induced vibrato.. sounds VERY awesome! I can't wait to show it off to my band mates at next practice

Historically Zoom has been known to build pedals with Plastic casings. In 98 i bought a Zoom 505... its still alive today after many a jam session and house parties. In 2001 i bought the GFX 4, a great pedal... somehow i still haven't snapped any of the knobs off yet... this Tri Metal is built with a solid metal casing... the knobs are metal as well, very solid... i would say that this unit is 10 x more durable than traditional Zoom boxes, and even those are pretty tough. I always hear people comaplina about the zoom multi effects units being plastic, but what the hell? is the mosh pit on the stage or something? they don't break that easy.

I've dealt with Zoom support one time before when i had accidently dropped my 505 into some special mode and couldn't get it out. I sent an email to them and received a response on how to fix the problem within 24 hours. They also provide downloadable manuals for all their products on their website... very handy

I play almost everything except country.... been playing for 6 years. Other gear i own, Zoom 505, Zoom GFX 4, Zoom Rhythm trak 123, Danlectro BLT Slap echo, Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah, Ibanez Sound Tank Tremolo, Boss DS-1 Distortion, EBow. If it was lost or stolen, i'd definitely buy another one (hopefully insurance would cover it!)
I love how variable the gain is... and how quiet it is, zero noise! I would have to say the Range knob is most fun to play with so far.

6 knobs to use are all pretty easy to figure out, but a LOT of tweaking will be required to find your perfect sound, not that its difficult to get a good sound, it'll just be your personal preference.

Im using an ESP explorer and a Tom Delonge Signature Strat. My amps are a Marshall MG100DFX for jams and a JCM900 half stack for gigs. The tri metal sounds great through both but i have to admit that running it through my jcm900 gives far better results, a real raw crunch distortion, brutal. All i use in my chain is a boss NS2 with the tri metal and a boss GE-7 running through the NS2's effects loop. This thing rocks. I was tempted to buy a metalzone as the other guitarist in our band had one, but when i heard it, it just sucked. Muddy, toneless, artificial are all words that spring to mind about the metalzone but not the tri metal! i know some people on here say this thing is just for metal, but i disagree. In my band we write heavy stuff and punky stuff and this thing delivers on both, i can get a great rammestein brutal distortion when tuned down or a great kinda new found glory/offspring punk sound. It really is amazingly quiet too, with the NS2 off, and the tri metal cranked up there is a little buzz, but compared to most pedals its nothing! with the NS2 on, there is no noise at all from the tri metal or GE-7.

Its my heaviest pedal, i've dropped it, spilt cola on it, had people accidentally step on the knobs, no damage. I bought it seond hand and there were a few chips in the paint work, but it was only cosmetic.

I play metal and punk and this thing kicks arse. I'd say it was well suited to any hi-gain style of music, EQ it a bit and u can get most styles. I am curious why they were discontinued though, as i'd say it was the best distortion pedal available.

The six buttons and the footswitch are easy enough to operate. The difficulty lies in finding your unique sound. Don't be mistaken, this boy can pump out a wide range of distortions, mostly for metal. But the first few times you try, it'll be hard to find exactly what you want, which is why you have to fiddle around with the controls a lot. And with 6 to screw around with, the complexity of your sound is mirrored through your changes significantly.

The sound is great. Unless gain is turned up ALL the way, it's silent. I left it alone and didn't even know anything was on. It's that damn quiet. But it also doesn't lack in its sound. Like I said, there's a huge range of sounds just waiting to eat up your amp with this. You can go from a heavy treble sound to a dry bassy one. And everything in between. And a lot more.

I would use this without a backup. This thing is indestructible. However, this pedal was discontinued by ZOOM. I wonder why..

I play metal and this thing suits me to a tee. I know a lot of people are afraid of having all their stuff sound the same, but this solves that dilemma. It pumps out whatever you need. Buy it (if you can find it) and you won't be disappointed.

Kind of like a Metal Zone to use with just a slightly different layout.Don't put too much faith in the manual but fool around with the 2 mid controls to find your sound. The bottom end can be overpowering so I keep it slightly higher than straight up and the treble slightly lower.

I bought it about a year ago because I was mightily impressed by the sound of this box and let me tell you I'm not easily impressed these days. This isnt really exactly a recto sound but it is a contemporary high gain sound. It can sound intensely brutal and was just made for metal and the more extreme the better.Palm muting sounds awesome [if you know how to palm mute correctly that is]. Sounds absolutely crushing at high volumes if you know how to set up an amp correctly. [I'm afraid guys who pay 125 bucks for a 60 buck pedal do not qualify here:)]
Beats the Metalzone in every department even for price. This is without a doubt the best metal pedal I have ever used and I've had Boss, Dod, Danelectro, Ibanez etc. This is even better than the Digitech Metal Master which is an excellent pedal.

I think a 10 is appropriate here.

God aint making any more real estate and sadly Zoom aint making any more of these great pedals I think I have to try to find a couple more of these as backups.Cause I never want to be without one.

Can't be easyer to use . 6 knobs . What more can I tell ?

Okey listen : I play a Ibanez RG550 , my amp is a Marshall 8200 which I play tru a 1912 cabinet . My first pedal [ which I used for over 2 years ] was an MT2 , If you know how to set up your gear you can get pretty much out of this , but I got sick and tired of the same sound . So I searched for another pedal I saw ALLOT of good revieuws on Harmony Centraill about the Tri metal , So I bought it . What a mistake . The sound is to muddy when amp is cranked up . On a gig you cannot use this pedal cause you can't hear crap what you are playing . What happend to Palm muting ?? I maybe saw 2 people talk about this , does heave PM that the mt-2 does forget about it the tri metal can't handle this . If you are in to NU metal with absolutly no PM this is the pedal you need . Speed , metal , hardcore freaks better stick with the MT-2 .

Yes its very strong made out of metal i think ??? I would not use it on a gig cause its total soundcrap .

never needed it

I play mostly hardcore metal . This is not the pedal I need . End of revieuw

Not difficult to use. Usable sounds throughout its range. Manual is fine.

I play a modded Charvette bolt-on LP style guitar (bought in Japan, very unusual Charvette)w/ a single Fury 50's Rocker in the bridge, as well as a beautiful early 70's Yamaha SG 85 w/ the stock high-output humbuckers (basically a souped-up LP Special). I play into a 60 watt 112 Fender Concert (Rivera designed-1983) combo. The Tri-Metal sounds great through a decent tube amp. The dirty channel on the Concert is great for blues and classic rock a la Led Zep, but doesn't go boom enough for a real aggro metal sound. With the TM in the string, the Concert rips. Beware though- this is built for metal. It is not going to give you a subtle OD sound. It's voiced more like a rectifier and has a massive low-end boost that, when coupled with the tubes in the Concert, fucking SHREDS. I wouldn't put this through a solid-state amp- I think it would sound a bit cold. I usually only set the gain at around 9 o'clock and jack up the master on my Concert. If darkness has a voice, this is it. Nasty. I play in a band and we do alot of heavy rock as well as old school hardcore punk stuff, and the TM delivers. I am also a big fan of Death & Grind- Carcass, Napalm Death and Cannibal Corpse- this unit nails it. Plus, it's 100% analog. It sounds processed and compressed... but in a good way, in my opinion. There is, however, a strong organic component to the sound, but this might come from the Fender. I have also played it through a JCM 800 w/ a 412 and it sounds very nice, though perhaps a bit lacking in defintion. When I use it, people are always asking if I'm detuned, but I'm not. It makes even standard tuning monstrously heavy. Also, it is very quiet. I have owned several pedals- a CRAPPY Zoom GFX 707 (Yikes!), a Guyatone Steve Salas Distortion, a Boss HM-2 and a Tube Works Real Tube. This compares favourably to all of them. For a non-tube analog distortion pedal, you could do alot worse. I have also used it for recording (mic'd my amp and a Fender Stage 60- another tube amp) and it sounded almost like a wall of Marshalls.) If you contact me, I can send you a sample song and you can check it out. I have been playing since I was 14, and I'm 31 now. I am no expert, but I'm pretty finicky about my tone, so the rating below is VERY high for me.

Well built, very heavy, no fear about damaging it. Looks nice, too.

A simply awaesome pedal. Dedicated to metal!

manual.. what the heck.. it isn't even in english! who cares.... just plug it in.. and you're on your way.. as many pple have said above, twelve o clock.. and tweak your way around.. easy peasy. : ) the day '10' comes about for ease of use is when you feed a guitar sound into a pedal, and the pedal emulates the exact sound....

guitar>>>tm 01>>>>amp. i've fed an RG 450 through this, a Gib LP special. and a Gib Nighthawk.. awesome dude.. i sold my MT2 to get this pedal instead.. this is a new industry standard.. it's so quiet!! i leave my strings alone.. and what comes out? nothing! it's quiet.. really quiet.. i've got a jackhammer, and a ts-9 too.. so basically.. i've got almost every distortion i want.. except for a mesa.. then again.. what the heck....i'm happy.. it's a really good pedal, really.. throw the metalzone away.....clarity of notes..... seriously.. are you looking for ts-9 quality of sound definition? it's a fucking metal pedal.....

i would use this without a backup.....the only thing that gets to me is that the knobs turn about very easily.... so.. one knock may blast your sound into mudland.. oh well....if not, it's solid.... really solid.. full bodied metal casing.. i seriously prefer this to the MT2, by alot......

?! go to the place you bought it from.. i'm not sending it all the way to japan!

i play indie, emo, punk, a little metal and paul gilbert kinda stuff...... and blues too.. i wont touch blues with anything but my ts9.... but this pedal is really great.. seriously.. move the knobs around.. and it's really versitile.. i like this alot.. makes me like to play.... my friend bought my metalzone from me.. so i went out and bought this..a nd made 10 bux for myself.. fantastic.. i really like this pedal.. rich..creamy.. and very nice textures coming out of this little box.... buy it if you've lost your mt2.. really.. what the hell.... just buy it whether you've lost your mt2 or not..

This one can be tricky to get right. You really have to experiment to get it to sound it's best with your equipment.

Just stick with it KJ and you will soon find that The Tri Metal totally annihilates the Metal Zone when it's set just right.For starters keep the Bass around twelve o'clock or slightly higher which is plenty, Treble about the same or slightly less, Gain probably no higher than Ten o'clock.Dont scoop the mids too much but start off with both the controls around one o'clock. This should be a good jump off point for tweaking around but remember that slight changes to the settings can have quite a noticable effect on the sound. Yes the gain factor is high but it's not a fake processed sound like the Metal Zone gives.It's got real balls. It really doesn't sound its very best through a small practice amp, especially a solid state one but through a big good quality amp [in my case a Marshall Triple Super Lead 100 stack] it sounds bloody amazing.Strangely enough though everybody I know who plays guitar agrees that the Metal Zone is mainly useful for low volume practice and absolutely worthless as a gigging tool. A useful tip to control the high gain structure is to use the Volume control on your guitar.It seems obvious enough but very few people seem to do that.Since I got this pedal my Metal zone just gathers dust!

I think we all agree on that one.

I play Metal[obviously} and this pedal is just great for that. Its what it's made for.I can accept that it might not be for everybody because some people will find it just too heavy for them in which case might I reccomend the Boss MD2 Mega Distortion pedal which doesn't have the super-heavy sound of the Tri Metal but is still a really nice pedal and much much better than the Metal Zone in my opinion.Like I said before since I got the Tri Metal my old Metal Zone doesn't get used any more.

This pedal was a little on the disappointing end. There is too much gain to be usuable. I can only hear mud, when I play in a band situation, no clarity to any notes. Only if you're into the Slipknot thing I guess. I actually got better tone with a metalzone with a 6 band eq supporting it.

I'm playing a Charvel guitar with seymour duncan 59 in the neck and Duncan Distortion at the bridge. Though a Randall RG100ES. The distortion from the head actually had better gain tones with eq's in front and in the loop with a sonic max. So it's not my setup that i'm using, like I said before i've had satistactory tones with a bass metal zone with this set up also.

Oh it's definetly reliable. you could chuck this thing out of the car and off the freeway at highspeeds and still have it in great shape. It's something like 2 lbs.

Never dealt with as of yet. I've only had this pedal for about 2 months.

I'm playing a fast, heavy metal style. in the lines of recent Testament, Slayer, and Fear Factory. I've been playing for 12 years, but I'd still use this pedal for other things, not for band situations though. Good for practice amps at low volumes or bedroom wailing.

i had it about 15 months and i find its v.easy to use. the mids controls can take a bit of playin around but on the whole its a piece of cake.best place to start is with everythin in the straight up 12oclock position and tweek from there..

i got this cause i wanted a total evil distortion pedal cause i play in a death metal band and this was the heaviest and most brutal one i could find. I cant even turn the bottom up more than 2oclock its so ballsy.I still aint heard any pedal that compares for sheer inyour face . in fact it sounds like it could tear you a new one in 0.1 seconds flat no kiddin. i recently checked out the boss metal zone which i always avoided on account of it gets such bad reviews everywhere. now i know why. the metal zone sounds like real feeble shit compared to the trimetal. it just cant hang with this bad mofo of a pedal. havnt found anything else that can so far.

never let me down yet and it gets used all the time.

perfect for death metal...warning. do not buy this one for blues or bon jovi type shit.this is a metal pedal absolutely.if you like the darker heavier side of metal though it will turn any amp you care to name into godzilla.

Very easy to use but a bit hard to find your own sound as the controls are very sensitive and has a wide range of tonal possibilities.

This is the best distortion pedal i've ever tried, period. I've had a Metalzone, a DOD death metal, a DS-1, a tubescreamer and i've heard many others but this pedal really is the perfect pedal for heavy metal. This thing is like the Metalzone but with more gain, power and bass but with less mids/nasally sound. I've had no problems with doing palm mutes like the others, i think it depends on the kind of guitar you have and the way you attack the strings with your pick.

The amounts of gain you can have is awesome and you can still hear every chord ring out with clarity even if it's all the way up, not unlike the Metalzone which is very fuzzy and thin sounding. Another cool thing is that this pedal is VERY quiet at all levels of gain. This pedal is good for most kinds of metal, you can have a tight and crunchy power/classic metal tone, scoop the mids for some chugging 80's thrash or you can turn up the gain and bass to have a brutal/biting death metal tone like Suffocation/Dying Fetus/Cryptopsy, etc.

This pedal surprised me when i saw it on the store because of its solid construction and ruggedness, unlike most of Zooms' earlier products particularly their plastic multi-effects line. I feel more comfortable and at ease when i press down hard on a solid pedal not a plastic toy.

I play mostly death and power metal like Cryptopsy, Death, Dying Fetus, Morbid Angel, Carcass, Obituary, Iced Earth, Hammerfall, etc. and this pedal can do all that convincingly. This pedal is for METAL, not blues, alternative or whatever...even when the gain is at level 1, it still sounds heavy. I definately recommend it to rhythm guitarists who worship heavy, grinding metal riffs...

update of my review (Anonymous at 02/21/2003 16:55)
I was complaining about the palm mutting and after that I wrote my review, i was even more angry about that. there were no life in my sound and the bass was crappier then ever. here's the big thing : the battery that comes with the pedal is a crappy carbone heavy dutty battery. change it for a alkaline battery or the power adapter. it REALY makes the difference! I you don't beleive me, go to analogman.com (they certify my statement).
a another thing : perfect for nu metal...that's it! you can get early metallica sound (master of pupets and before...before they switched for mesa)but for those who wants to sound like wylde or tool, go get the real thing or a amp simulator. Anyway, what's the point of copying the sounds of the others? :O)
peace

No problems, simply start with all the knobs at 12 o'clock and tweak from there until you find your sound.....

I've been using the Metalzone for years, and the tri-metal definitely made my metalzone sound thin in comparison....Actually allows your guitar tone to be heard, the metalzone covers it up. Very heavy sounding....some have complained about palm muting, these people obviously have poor technique...the palm mutes sound different than the metalzone, actually heavier, and I had no difficulty getting that sound right away...some people talked about extremely high levels of gain, my impression is that it has the same, if not a little less gain than my Metalzone, but it doesn't have that tinny, buzzy sound....highly recommend this pedal to use as your heavy distortion..

just got it...."built like a tank" would stand up to any boss pedal as far as solid construction..time will tell how well the circuits stand up to abuse, but I'm guessing I'll have no problems...

have not dealt with them....

my music is varied in influences such as Neurosis, Machinehead, The Cure, Depeche Mode, NIN, etc....I use the Tri-metal to handle the heavy sections and it does so perfectly...if you like the metalzone sound but felt it was a little thin and buzzy at high volumes, tri-metal is a perfect upgrade. I play a Fernandez Monterey guitar with EMG-81 pick-up and an LTD 7-string into......Ernie Ball Vol>535Q wah>Boss TU-2 Tuner>Boss SD-2 Dual Overdrive>TRI-METAL>Boss TM-2 Tremolo>Rockson Analog Delay>Boss DD-5>Line6 Echopro>Digitech GSP-5>poweramp>Randall Cab

PS: english is not my first language...please, be cool :O)
easy of use...well, if you used the MT-2, you know how the midrange works. for the rest (trebble, gain, bass, level) if you don't know how it works, go back to school.
the instructions are clear...but who cares about it anyway? you but the battery in it, tweek a little bit and that's it

first, I have to say, I play for my own pleasure. My stuff never Left my bedroom. But, I'm playing each and every night for about 12 years...so, I know a little bit about what is a good tone :O)
I'm currently using a gibson SG special (original pickups) with a marshall 80v (8080) and my pedals setting is SG --> TM-01 --> (other distorsion pedals) and my wah crybaby GCB-95 (effect loop or in line in...).

I had couple of distorsion pedals including the MT-2 for about 8 years (8 long years!). the TM-01 is the quiet disto pedals that I nerver see! just do the test : plug the MT-2 and TM-01 and switch on and off (not both of course) and hear the difference.
for the sound...first, for you people saying that the MT-2 sucks, your not totaly wrong. but, if you are looking for a mid 80 metal sound, go get a used MT-2 and you'll be satisfy. It's noisy, but not crap. But, if you are looking for a mesa/boogie-look-a-like sound (dream theater, metallica, disturbed) and you are a university student who that have 2000$ CAN and up to spend, go for the tri-metal! you can scoop the mids even more that you what! why the tri-metal? first, it's all analog and you can hear it of you know how digital sucks. second, 3 stages circuit of distorsions, the only pedal on the market with that feature (even the new MD-2 have only 2). so, it's quiet, loud, bassy.
cons : I was expecting more on the palm mutting departement. it's better than the MT-2 but not THAT much. but that subjective...go try it.

well...it looks like a brick and I'm pretty sure it's tought as this.

support for what? da, I don't know where to put the battery???

I mainly play rock, blues, metal of all sorts and some punk. the TM-01 rocks well, can be usefull for melo blues solo and defenitely rulez for metal (da!)! like I said, I play for about 12 years and I am a vintage/tube/analog fan and I hate those digital prossesor (wow! I now have 253 different disto and they all sucks!). I realy love that pedal. for the objectif side of what is call a GOOD sound (hiss, feedback, noise, etc.) that's the best pedal ever. for the subjective side, exept for the palm mutting that is a little weak (damn, I guess I'll have to get a mark IV to be satisfied!) the TM-01 is a good overall pedal sound

The Zoom manual is bullshit. Never mind cuz most of them are shit anyway. If you can't use this pedal then you better give up playing guitar right now. There is no mysterys involved in using distortion pedals and this one is easy to use as most other ones.. But tweeking around will tune your sound to perfection.

Before I got the Trimetal my rig looked like this ,,, Gibson Flying V with Bill Lawrence (the REAL ones) 500L at the neck and 500XL at the bridge>Dunlop 535q Wah>BossDS-1>Boss Metal Zone>Boss GE-7 Equalizer>Boss CE-5 chorus>Peavey 5150>Marshall 1960 4X12 cab. It now looks exacly the same except that I got a Trimetal in place of the Metal Zone. Let me tell you guys who are reading this that I sold my Metal Zone the day I got this pedal . It's like a whole completely different level of dstortion pedal. I have to keep the gain below 11 clock cuz it's so brutal and I found it worked out best to start out with everything in straight up position and tweek my way from there. This is not a general puropose distortion. Get a Boss DS-1 for that. But if you want it Ultra Heavy this baby delivers. I could not believe how much more heavy it was than my Metal Zone.This pedal crushes every other distortion pedal out there.It sounds mindblowing wth the GE-7 after it in my lineup. Try tuning down a step and playing Metallicas Sad But True or Machine Heads Ten Ton Hammer and youll soon see what I mean. It's HEAVVVEEEEE baby!

I never seen anything so solid as this, no exaggerations. Ive used it more than a year now and no problems at all.

All I can say is if your finding the Metal Zone to be a bit lightweight in the cojones department here's your solution right here. The Zoom Trimetal. The best comparison I can think of is if these two pedals was like television cops then the Metal Zone is like TJ Hooker, never goes wrong, dependable, predictable, gets the job done. The Trimetal is like Vic Mackey in a real bad mood ,,,vicious,totally badass,and will whip the butt of any other distortion pedal you can name.

Not easy to get a good sound out of this - at first. This is a good thing because everyone's ear is different, and we all like different things. Take your time with it and you will be rewarded. Easy to use, though, it has 6 knobs, all clearly labelled. The manual is clear and concise

I'm actually using this through a bass amp, a Crate BX-50, with a MARS Music store brand guitar (I'm a bass player first). SD Hot Rails in the Neck, EMG81 in the bridge. Previously for my distortion, I used a Metal Zone and a Sonic Maximizer (both knobs cranked), and the contour control maxed out on my amp, this was the only way to get a metal zone to sound amazing. I do not need to use the sonic maximizer with this unit. The Tri-Metal can give you the most brutal, heavy, bitiest, most chainsaw/buzzsaw sounding distortions you are looking for, or even be pretty smooth if thats what you want. This thing is just about one of the best distortion pedals on the market. I can roll the volume back on my guitar and it cleans up perfectly, dig in with the pick attack a little for some overdrive sounds, damned good for a stomp box. About palm muting: I used to use a Metal Zone and palm muting was effortless on that thing (ie made me lazy), had to actually take a few minutes to relearn how to do it right on this thing, else it sounds like mud, totally unprecise, which it IS NOT, if done correctly. Palm mute it right, and you will be rewarded with some of the heaviest, most throbbing chords of your life. Even a single note palm mute sounds thick.

Reliability? If you took a Boss (REKNOWNED for reliability) pedal and this thing and slammed them into eachother repeatedly, the Boss would be crying uncle before the Tri-Metal was scratched. Low profile, metal (most likely aluminum) case, painted black, big fat button to step on, big knobs, weighs a ton.

Never dealt with them

I play heavy metal, the heavier the better (but not Nu-Metal...who the hell started calling it that? "Nu"? sounds stupid, just call Heavy Rock or something, there's too many needless genre names anyways...'sides, most of this "Nu-Metal" ain't metal). This pedal can get you almost any heavy distortion you could think of, searing, blistering leads, heavy grinding rhythms, throbbing palm mutes...damn.

Let's see... it was at my door this morning, I plugged it in, eyeballed the knobs, started jammin', tweaked the "range" knob to the right...that was it. Personally, it's the best distortion pedal I've ever used. It came with a manual, I looked it over, how nice. My ears are my manual. It's a distortion pedal, with six knobs, and it required about 1/2 a second to give me the sound I want.

I'm using a cheap($50), piece of shit strat copy, which I installed a DiMarzio Tone Zone in about 12 years ago. It sounds great, I love it, and I don't have to worry about it getting scratched, nicked, whatever like I do with my others. Anyway, lately I've been using a Bad Horsie, into a Death Metal pedal (or an Akai D1 on an A/B set-up), with an old MXR 10-band EQ, into a Morley SLVO volume pedal, into a Boss ME-33 (for flange, delay, pitch shift, etc.), into a Randall RH200 (Musicians Friend), into a 4x12 cab (vintage 30's), and a 2x15 cab (Eminence). The Tri Metal pedal obviously blows away the Death Metal. Though, I do like the Death Metal, with an eq, it does a good job (for me). My rig is noisy (ME-33 is a pig, and I use Monster Cables), but when I played with just the Tri Metal, it was pretty quiet. This pedal is THE pedal I've been looking for, I mean it. I'm not trying to imitate any artist, I know what sound I like, and this pedal gives it to me.

It's heavy, very solid, good looking. If it breaks, you can beat the snot out of someone with it. Seriously, I'll bet this baby weighs in at two pounds. It's low, wide, and heavy. It stays put. The foot button is large, round, and easy to press. The knobs seem to be pretty solid. I would NEVER gig without a back-up of anything. Remember when "Mom" asked if you were wearing clean underwear? Hehe... always have a spare, especially when gigging, it's not fun to be caught with your pants down. That doesn't mean you have to buy two of everything, improvise, you're a guitarist, dammit!!! But don't roll into a gig with just one distortion pedal,

No need yet, this is my first Zoom prduct, time will tell.

I like to play heavy metal. This pedal is THE pedal for me. I have been playing since 1984, recording (for pleasure) since 1995. I was 16 when I started playing, I was into Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Dokken, Metallica, AC/DC, stuff like that. Now, 19 years later, I'm into playing some Satch, a little Demons & Wizards, a little Megadeth, some Queensryche. I have seven distortion pedals (DS-1 (Satch), Grunge ('eh), Death Metal (ok), Akai D1 (great for AC/DC, Def Leppard), Smash Box (dust collector), Rocktron Rampage ('eh), and an old Tube Screamer (needs work)), a couple of Dano's, three wah pedals (I like the Bad Horsie!), a Peavey Tube Fex with PFC 10 (needs work), Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro (PC, it FUCKING RULES!!!), Ibanez RG-470 (DiMarzio Super 3 in bridge, FRED in neck), Jackson RX10D (DiMarzio X2N), Washburn BT-2 (DiMarzio Evolution, sucks in this guitar), Gibson L6-S (stock!!!... oh so sweet), ESP GL-500T (Screamin' Demon), Ibanez Destroyer II (Super distortion), Gibson Flying V (mid-80's white, turning yellow, stock p'ups), the list goes on (I'm a pack-rat). If this pedal were lost (yeah, right!) or stolen, I'd buy another one. I bought this online, sight unseen, never played through it or heard what it sounds like. I liked the way it looked, and I liked what it promised to do (ah ha!). Well, this pedal is THE pedal for me, it gives me the sound I want, and looks good, too. Saturated, high-gain heavy metal distortion, this is it.

This pedal is very easy to use if you know what your doing. The range and mid are perfect to tweak the sound of distortion you want.

DAMN.....this is probably the best distortion i could ask for from this pedal (on it's own) it took me about half an hour to tweak this pedal just the way i wanted it too. AND IT SOUNDS FUCKIN AWESOME! I gave it a 9 because it does get a little muddy with everything cranked....i wish it went to 11...

I would use this without a backup because this thing could not be backed up. You would have to back it up with another Tri-Metal pedal (at least i would at shows)

I play metal with melodic and dissinant undertones (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Sevendust). This is the perfect pedal. I've been playing for about 5 years now. Attach this pedal with a Boss Delay and your fuckin rockin with some crazy sounds. If i lost this pedal i would buy it again, if someone stole it i would give them a fork in the eye.

The distortion on here cannot be matched and i suggest you buy it!

This pedal is great if you wanna go for the Pantera/Iced Earth sound.....but the problem is that there are 4 knobs..and personally that would take quite alot of tweaking to get the sound you wish to get..
Zoom added a setting in the booklet which i always use.
The manual is just like the normal booklets you find when you buy electronic gadgets..

i'm using American Traditional Stratocaster -> Zoom Tri-Metal - > Marshall AVT 20..Fantastic..i'm addicted to the sound this beast produces...
Amazingly for a heavy metal distortion pedal, there is not even a single noise thats comes out....
If you wanna get the metallica/pantera/iced earth sound, don't bother searching other pedals, you would need this..NOTHING ELSE..

It would survive even a plane crashed one it..
So far i have been using this pedal for all my jamming session, and it has not failed me.so no backup for me,

Never dealt with them.

I play anything that is rock n roll...i play metal too and this is an excellant pedal for metal..but not very good with other stuff such as blues or punk.(IN MY OPINION)..
i have been playing for about 3 years now..i have a DOD thrashmaster and that is just thrash..
if it was stolen, i would certainly buy it:)

preety easy to use, but it will take you a while to get the exact sound you want. I dont think anyone should need a manual for this beast

im playing an ibanez rg270 fitted with a DiMarzio evolution in the bridge into a crate g120c. This thing produces unbeleivable sound, if you think a boss mt-2 is a badass distortion, you havent heard this thing, its so creamy + chunky , massive tight lowend with nice trebble, i use this to get good low end crunch for bands like new found glory ( i know this is a metal pedal, but i use it in a punk/emo band)

i dont think you could break this thing if you tried

this pedal is great for any style of music that demands fat chunky gain soaked guitars

Alot of tweaking possibilities here which means that a lot of trial and errorwas involved in getting the sound I wanted. But when I did....WOW!

The sound of this pedal definitely leans towards the rectifier sound. It's dark and imposing,brutal and everything that a heavy metal pedal should sound like.Palm muting works great for me so I don't get why some reviews have a problem there. The bass is really chunky and powerful and I can get unbelievable sustain if I whack the gain levels up. Really quiet too. I don't know if its got a bulit in noisegate and I don't really care. This pedal sounds totally awesome for Thrash and Death Metal. Just don't buy it for an all purpose distortion . It's a metal monster.It says it's made in Japan but that's a lie. This ferocious brute was made by the dark lord on his dark throne in the depths of Mordor!

I can hardly believe how solid this pedal is, and from Zoom of all companies too! It will last forever unless you destroy it by casting it into the fires of Mount Doom.

This is easily the best distortion pedal around just now, but remember. ITS ONLY FOR METAL!! ( did I say that already?)

This thing is very easy to use.

Okay here we go. I went looking for the ultimate distortion pedal. I started with the visualsound jekyll&hyde pedal that at the time I thought sounded killer. Then I went to the fulltone distortion pro, thinking that this high end company would supply me with all the distortion I could ever need.Wrong!!!!! Then I went to the boss MD-2 nu-metal distortion pedal. I thought that this pedal was the end all of distortion pedals until I tried the trimetal pedal. I shit you not this is the best metal pedal of all time, that I have tried.The bottom line on this pedal is options. You can dial in a shit load of sounds from this thing. Oh and the palm mutting thing, I don't have a problem with this at all. Palm mutting is awesome!

This thing could survive a Iraqi scud missle attack.

overall I love this pedal. this thing rocks.I am in love with this pedal!!! The control of this pedal is unbelievable.The fulltone distortion pro totally sucks for metal,the boss MD-2 totally and I mean totally sucks compared to this!

6 knobs: gain, treble, middle, range, bass, level.
the "range" knob adjusts the crossover point for the "middle" knob.

this pedal has tons of gain. the tone is excellent, and it's variable over a huge spectrum thanks to the "range" knob. the pedal blends well with an amps distortion but sounds best just used through the clean channel (or the drive channel with only a small amount of gain dialed in).

the tm01 has incredible sustain, i can hold a chord for 10 seconds with no problem. i suppose the neck-thru guitar helps, but it adds lots more sustain anyway.

solid. can't see it breaking.

n/a

i bought both the tri-metal and the dod fx86b death metal pedal. both are high-gain distortion monsters, but here's the differences: the tri-metal has more bass and has a far greater adjustable range. the fx86b has slightly more gain, but it's alway on the verge of feedback, and there's no adjustment knob for gain, just level(output volume) and 3 eq knobs.

the zoom is far quieter than the dod. the dod compresses the signal and has ever so slight digital artifacts (synth like sound) on the high end. not objectionable, but still perceptable at times, especially low volumes. the dod does the scooped mids better than the zoom because, ironically, it compresses the signal (cuts the bass especially). the zoom does the scooped sound well too but sounds like it has a little too much bass freqency range when a/b'ed with the dod.

actually anyone who wants a high-gain pedal should buy both of these, and with the zoom at $59 and the dod at $49, why-the-hell-not!

but if i was going to buy only one, the tri-metal is the one i'd get.
why? cos the tone is better and it has a gain knob.

i wouldn't say this is very easy to use, but its not the worst ive come across by a longshot, however, getting the sound you want may take a while.

for amps im using marshall avt50 head w/ a 412a cab and the guitar is an esp ltd 255. this is all but completely silent. the treble is a bit 'fizzy' sounding regardless of the gain. the bass and mids are pretty rich in general and the sound is the slightest bit processed. this may be part of the sacrifice of having an extremely well defined low-end, though; every note is heard and none are muddied over. i wouldn't recommend this for your zep or nirvana cover band, but if you're gonna play some morbid angel and the like, this will easily give you as much crunch as you need with only a little patience.

its solid metal and has a better feel than any boss ive ever seen. ive had no problems ever after two years. i would never gig without a backup if i could help it, but my backup would just be another one of these.

I just want to add a few further comments an observations to my review sent in on 11/08/2002.

* The Tri-Metal definitely does not have a built-in noisegate, and Zoom don't claim that it has. The manual states that it's built around a low noise circuit. That was my mistake. Apologies if that misled anyone. In practical terms though, it doesn't reallymatter because whatever you want to call it, it works very well.

* It does have a true bypass inasmuch as the input signal isn't affected when the pedal is switched out. Neither I or any of my guitar-playing friends can detect any significant degradation when the pedal is in the signal path.

*The Tonebone Hot British I only know by reputation. The Bjf Dyna Red is a pedal that I was fortunate enough to have an extended loan of earlier this year. It's a superb pedal (and so it should be at over $200 - The Hot British is also over $200) and very versatile, but by no stretchof the imagination is it a heavy metal pedal. Mainstream rock is where it excels. I compared the Tri-Metal with the Boss MD-2 when I bought it because firstly , it's in the same price sector, and secondly the guy in the store recommended it to me( paid to push Boss pedals maybe?) as " Boss's new metal pedal" That was his description though Boss's own descriptions back it up. Whatever anyone else may think of the MD-2 in any other application, it falls short as a metal pedal which is what it's being marketed as, so don't blame me for any shortcomings that I found in it.

* The idea that your sound will mysteriously vanish into a band mix is a bit of a myth, a half-truth if you like. Any pedal will do this if the sound is overly scooped either by it's own controls or with a separate equaliser pedal.The solution is simple. Just dial in more midtones. You don't have to stick with a scooped sound if you don't want to. I gig with this pedal regularly and it not only cuts through, it cuts through with real presence and authority in a way that few if any of it's competitors can manage. I used a Smashbox until about a year ago. It was a good pedal and I liked it enough to return two of them to the store,until I finally got one that would keep on working after a few days use. While it was terrific for playing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and stuff like that, I just outgrew it when I started to play my own material and needed something heavier. But it's still a good pedal even though I don't really use it much these days.

* I don't have any problems with fizzy treble unless I dial it in too much and overscoop the midtones so I can only assume that these things are dependant on the rest of the equipment that other people are using with it. The fact is if a pedal works with your equipment then that's fine. If not, then it doesn't really matter what anybody else uses. It just doesn't work for you. The Tri-Metal works for me, and it works incredibly well. I can't say any more than that.