Yep, this is actually a mod I came up from a book I wrote in 2005 or so. There's a bunch of cool things you can do to a metal zone actually. it's just several opamp stages and an active eq, so if you change the gain stages to be, well, better I guess than you can get a decent distortion out of it. Also, the question about "why is it called Diezel?" I dunno. Stupid on my part I guess -- I was coming up with a book full of mods on a ton of pedals and was running out of names.
+Wampler Pedals Thanks for the info. I had no idea this was one of your mods, otherwise I would have given it proper credit. If memory serves someone mentioned the name of the mod in a comment and upon doing a google search I found several people listing the component changes in online forums. Also, I love your work.
+Wampler Pedals Theres two things you didnt include in your book of things to do with a Metal Zone pedal and thats throw it in the trash...or buy a Wampler Triple Wreck instead.
I love the MT-2 and always will, but I'm willing to admit it's a pretty shit pedal, objectively. The new Waza Craft is a lot more useable. Also I'm replying to a 4 year old comment what am I doing, I'm ill Edit: Shit objectively in that it's finicky, difficult to find good sounds, and not particularly well-rounded, especially in comparison to modded versions, and the aforementioned Waza Craft.
It might be invading the bassist's territory now. If you play by yourself, you want the wider range. If there is a bassist around, it's best to dial the bottom out a bit.
I agree, the reason I got a metal zone was because it's a clearer distortion than the drive on my Laney GH100L (which is great but more for stoner stuff), the metal zone can sound really great for stuff like trash metal
I used a stock MT-2 I had purchased new in 1991 through a 1968 Fender Bassman 50 for years. My contrast between clean and Distrotion was dramatic. It was a nice combo and I will never understand why so few can fins a good tone on this pedal. I like the mods also!
Stick in a good set of headphones and have a listen to the difference between the stock and modded MT-2. If you like what you hear, follow the instructions to do it yourself. Or experiment to get your own sound.
I should probably put a disclaimer on these videos to not attempt these modifications unless you have a firm knowledge of electrical components... If by black circley type you mean an Electrolytic Capacitor (cylindrical with a flat metal top), then I'd assume a blue one would be a Metal Film Cap (although the ones on my MT2 are sliver) It doesn't sound like you are describing a Ceramic Cap (which are the circular orange ones) or a Tantalum Cap (usually yellow, and cylindrical with a rounded top) I'm looking at my board and I'm unsure which Cap you are referring to with this. If you can nail me down a board reference then I should hopefully be able to give you a value.
Great work. the mod makes this pedal's effect sound so much more full and warm where it was previously thin and fizzing. though I never bought one of these so I won't be doing this any time soon though I will send this vid to my mate who bought a metal zone pedal. good work Colin :)
Ola Englund opened my eyes to the fact that there are absolutely some really nice usable tones from the stock pedal. But the Diezel mod just sounds fantastic. Wampler is such a stud.👏🤘💪
To my ear; the mod did exactly what you said it was supposed to, but, you did trade off a noticable bit of output, worth it though! Definitely a huge improvement
c34 .47uf or .047uf? Diezel mod: C35: remove, C34: 0.047uF MKT Capacitor, C25: remove These three mods remove the harshness somewhat. C42: 1uf MKT Capacitor, D3: Red LED, D4: 1n4001(or 1n400x) diode This makes the sound more dynamic and full. C36: 0.1uf MKT Capacitor This makes the EQ more useful. tanks :D
The Metal Zone gets a lot of hate here on UA-cam, but there's a reason why Boss sold so many of them. I bought one for the same purpose that every 16 year old kid did: to get tremendous amounts of gain and a huge sound out of a cheap combo amp played at low volume. For that purpose they were at the time pretty much unbeatable.
I spend a lot of money buying mod kits for the MT 2, thinking about it I decided to do the most basic and cheapest mod trying to keep most of the original components in, just remove the two caps, and the only components you should change is the clipping diodes for MOSFET transistors, maybe for the bypass there is a mod I developed, so effective and simple you will forget about true bypass mods and you don’t have to buy nothing only use one of the caps you removed. The result is fantastic
the difference is HUGE ! Oi, Boss... why didnt you do this in the first place ??... bah ! I liked what I assume were the "faces of the average metal zone user" on the unmodded clips hahaha
love the sound after this mod. i am going to have to find a second one of these on the cheep so i can make these changes as well. thanks for the info. keep it up. :)
Damn, that mod sounded fucking great! If I had a MT2, I would seriously consider doing this (then again, I have no idea why I would have a Metal Zone anyway). Also, the face-slapping was beautiful.
Did this mode, sounds less shitty, but it's still pretty bad. At least I got the will and reassurance from watching your clip, so I am really thankful. Greetings from Serbia :)
The problem with the Metal Zone is the fact that it's called 'Metal Zone' and therefore every metal freak is trying to get the 'perfect' metal sound out of it. Well, as everybody will know by now, that's not going to happen. Now, I'm NOT a metal freak, but some guy (who was just as disappointed with the MT-2 as most of us) just gave it to me. Well, my basic rhythm sound was just me playing a Gibson ES-347 via a simple old Boss OD-1 (and later the slightly lesser OD-3) plugged into a very old Vox AC30 linked to a new Vox AC30cc that was connected to a Marshall JCM800 1960A cab. To me, that was sound heaven. I used the MT-2 as my 'solo pedal'. Now the first thing you need to do is dial the drive knob all the way down to 0. The EQ of the damn thing proved to be perfect to find the sweet spot. What I really liked when I hit my 'solo pedal' was the extra depth and warmth in the lower mid range. And with the volume setting in combination with that EQ I got a lot of extra punch and 'oooomph' and it really gave me that powerful, yet creamy, full bodied sound with an endless sustain. I LOVED the MT-2!!! But please do not use it as a metal pedal. That's why I think they never should have called it the Metal Zone and maybe they would have done better by changing the drive knob for something completely different (maybe a subtle octave below the original sound, I don't know). I just wanted to say that you CAN get a great sound out of the MT-2. And off course, two AC30's and a 4x12" Marshall cab add a lot to really make it work. Unfortunately both amps were stolen last year. It broke my heart. I've had that old '69 Top Boost for almost 30 years. That amp was to me what that one beaten up strat was to Rory Gallagher. Last week someone gave me an MT-2 (again!!!). I can't wait to hear what it does with my new gear. :-)
By pure coincidence I just found out that on another video you did about the MT-2, I probably felt the urge to comment using almost exactly the same story. That was four months ago (and I completely forgot that I already held this pro MT-2 speech!!!). There's something about this pedal that keeps us busy, 'cos half an hour ago I discovered even a third video you made on which you gave the MT-2 a fair chance by using it the way I think this pedal works best (as a booster). The MT-2 created an awful lot of hum. But then again, although it shouldn't (if the MT-2 would be a boutique box), one might expect this to happen when you want to boost an extreme high gain sound. I assure you, if you would use the MT-2 the way you did in that video (on which you used a Bugera amp for the high gain sound and boosted it, first with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, then with a perfect little clean boost, then the MT-2 and then something else - I keep forgetting names and brands, sorry for that), to boost a moderate, mildly overdriven basic sound, THAT'S when the Metal Zone is at its best. Let me make it very clear that I don't think you're wrong when you test the MT-2 for its metal sound and find it sucks, 'cos it does! And the Diezel mod can't change a pile of shit into a Vermeer. And we both agree that the MT-2 is not the best option to boost a high gain sound. You're not a fool. There's only one fool and that's the guy who was stupid enough to name this pedal the Metal Zone. It's like naming an octaver 'The Pitch King' (I couldn't come up with something more idiot than 'The Metal Zone').
+Mario Driessen Amen broltha! I feel the exact same way. It's a great pedal for very warm medium gain solo playing, if you try to use it as a metal riff machine you'll be disappointed
kingpossie thats what ive always used it for, i rely on my amp for my more rhythmic distortion then use this as more of an overdrive/solo boost when the leads come around
Definitely sounds much better, but I'm gonna stick to my stock for now cause I just got it and its the only peddle I own ATM. Once I own a few more peddles and get bored of the stock, I'll mod it. Thanks for the post.
+Chris Mortlock lol agreed...to use either of those on an actual recording you would still have to EQ the shit out of them...There's just way too much fizz coming through either way.
I modded it using two small green LEDs instead of the 1N0004 and the red LED. (I don't know why thatt mod is asymetrical in the first place) Since the green LEDs have a higher forward voltage the sound is now more blues and tube like. Thanks for your instructions. Without your video I would have searched for the right components like forever ;-)
My brother in law gave me his metal zone after buying it used at a guitar center. It sounded bad. I opened it up and noticed that someone had attempted to mod it. C35 had been removed, as well as C24 and C25 was replaced. And one of the diodes was taken out and the other one was replaced with a germanium for some reason. I modified it to a different version of the diesel mod and it sounds absolutely massive!!!
Just run the Metal Zone through an equalizer pedal! I do that with my Behringer Ultra Metal, and I bet it would work and sound just as improved with the MT-2.
Hello Collin? Kallen? I'm not sure lol but thank you for your videos, because I have learned a good amount about guitar tones with your help. I have been playing guitar for about six years, give or take, and I am still learning new things about how I can effectively sound good, so thank you for your insight good sir. And by the way I find your english to be quite clear and easy to understand. ^.^
I modded mine, but differently, I made c35 removable from the circuit, via a little toggle switch. Removed, it sounds better for small gain, but it helps removing noise in higher gain. Also, replaced the clipping diodes with two infra red LEDs. Finally, replaced the to resistors that set minimum and maximum gain, to get less gain and less harshness. At lower gains, it goes from an almost clean booster, to overdrive, and then to distortion. No more extreme metal setups in it, which I like.
Just wanted to thank you about the toggle switch on c35, I just did it to mine. I put a IN4004 in D4 and a Green LED in D3 and I’m totally happy with the outcome. Cheers mate.
The Keeley mod is awesome. It makes this pedal very versatile. I played the first one that Keeley did. I am sure there is a newer mod that they have done.
You know, I've been building pedals from scratch for a bit now, and I never thought about modding some of my existing pedals. You've inspired me to try and mod my Metal Zone! The Diezel mod sounds great, but just to be different, I'm going to try the Bogner/Boogie (Bognie? Boogner?) mod on mine. So many options, it's hard to settle on one. Great videos, great channel. Looking forward to more, dude. Greetings from Nova Scotia.
If you like it better stock, leave the stock values, and just upgrade the caps in the signal path to better quality. A few stacked metal film caps, a few metal film resistors in key spots, and c0g/np0 ceramic caps for pF values and the pedal will get less fizzy/artificial sounding and a little 'richer/cleaner' in timber.
Wow! After seeing your review of the stock Metal Zone MT-2 it amazes me that you managed to get such note definition out of that pedal! Nice! My expertise is in sound mixing, not hardware modification, so what you did here would be beyond me, and unfortunately I don't know how to play the guitar. But, from what I've seen of your videos here, should I ever LEARN to play the guitar in the future, or if I ever have the occasion to give a guitar player a gift, I'll be looking for a guitar made by CSG. ;) BTW, of the EQ settings you used, I liked 6:58 the best; nice and sharp on the high end, driven but with body and solid note definition. Really nice. :)
I think the stock pedal is absolutely very versatile and I can dial in lots of varied tones. I don't find it harsh or muddy except in the extreme dial setting that are useless in about every pedal made, from tremolo to reverbs, etc. Yours also sounded good, but I would not agree with the comments of people like you who say the stock sounds like s.... It is a great pedal for when I want to play well, heavy.
I'm hearing an improvement, but alas it's still got some of those metal zone vibes. I think I enjoyed the MT2 for about 5 minutes when I was eighteen. I'm more a fan of a modded Marshall GV2
The Diezel mod makes it sound buizzier than before... and I thought that's what made it sh!t? I love the pedal as it is... can get my nice fat crunchy sound with my Jackson in the MT-2 and a nice tube amp.
opinions about this pedal are such polar opposites. it's been my favorite pedal for over 20YRS. seems to me most ppl who didn't like it, didn't know how to use it. the mid eq's are NOT additive or regular cut mids. it's actually a scoop. to scoop take to the right set of knobs. set the frequency you wanna scoop with the outer ring, i like mines around 400/500hz, then use the upper/middle knob to scoop it. crank it to the left to scoop the freq you designated, crank it to the right to boost it. FFS. i base my tone settings starting absolute flat. 1) set all knobs to middle position. 2) then set yer scoop using the right outter ring. 3) then spin left on the right inner/upper knob to scoop out the freqs you don't want-or crank right to boost them. 4) knudge the highs to where u like them using the LEFT inner/upper/little knob. 5) cut the big/outter/lower left knob for the bass to clean up your mud and record. 6) do any extra trimming boosting using your amp eq or module. 7) Set volume to about 55-60% 8) Set the Gain to Max, and taper back to meet your style. -I leave that shit on max at all times. >8D in preference i set my pedal up as per the above instructions, then i boost the highs to let it breath, then i use the external amp or external eq to taper back the highs to clean up any snow his or fuzz. most of the time, the external eq's won't trim the highs of the pedal since the high knob sits in the 4khz-10khz range. which lets you trim the snow using your external eq without taking any meat off the pedal's tonal output. the bass goes from 0 to roughly 150hz. Same applies for Guitar Rig: MeZone, by Native Instruments. The volume knob seems to operate on your standard sound Engineering/DJ'ing Principles. Always Crank the input/source material volume levels, before you start cranking the volume on the amp. This will help you maximize volume, but reduce the amount of hiss and buzz generated by the actual amp. Always make sure you pump your source volume as high as you can before clipping occurs on the signal, before you start cranking up the amp volume. That's just basic sound engineering 101. Again, i like my volume around 55-60% to maintain a good strong signal, but not clip the inputs, or resort to cranking up the amp and introducing hiss and buzz to the signal. if you crank the volume to absolute max on the pedal you're going to clip the signal, and it's gonna sound like shit, then you're gonna be making youtube mod videos before you know it, cuz you got the wrong impression of how the pedal works. >8P mIn/
I never understood the hate this pedal gets. When I bought mine I went through comparison videos till my head hurt and found the next best was a fullbore at 3 times the price. I use mine through a 100 w peavey with passive pickups and its great. I cant help but wonder if maybe the haters are just not using the right setup. The attack might not be a great thing if your using high gain active pups and a small or really bright amp or single coil strat. I use mine mostly with 6534 setup and its great.
I too share this unpopular opinion. The modded version seems to lack all the mids and highs that made it sing, and ended up sounding muted and muddy. At the end, fiddling with the knobs made for a few better sounds, though. With a good bass roll-off somewhere to rangle that boomy woob-woob chugging it could be a fun project.
John Yang Eh, I would disagree that the pedal sounds 'harsh', just 'fuller', and yes, I know that scooping mids is a cheap and cheesey way to make for a rich sound, but I honestly don't mind if it's juxtaposed correctly with the accompaniment. The modded pedal definitely lacks upper mids and highs, or at least de-emphasizes them a lot, and also added that 'woob-woob' sound that pops up when guitarists chug along without handing everything 150Hz or so and below to the bass player. My honest reaction when I heard the modded one was pretty close to 'Wait, is this a joke? This sounds like shit!' After a few knob twists is sounded pretty okay, actually, maybe flattening out the dynamics just a bit less, too, but that first bit had a flat and lifeless timbre, reminding me of some garage recordings I've heard done on cassette. To be honest I think people have started bashing this particular pedal because doing so grants them some sort of smug superiority, like wine snobs insisting that the $200 Cabernet is better than the $20 one, even though if you swapped them out they couldn't tell. In the end, no matter what the mod actually does to this pedal, it will always sound 'better' or have 'more life' than the stock one, you know, just because it's modded. Oh, and that last bit wasn't directed at you just to be clear: It's just a general rant on the subject.
TheRev Well. That is what exactly what I thought. You listened to the first part. True it sounds like shit. but the second part. It shows the much better high frequency detail and clarity. It is way beyond. Even though the low frequency is still muddy as the stock one.
John Yang Nah, I listened to the whole demo, just don't agree that the rest actually sounded better - just different, and a bit muddy for my tastes. It also seemed to need more attention to 'dail in' a decent sound than the original to boot. It may have more 'range' but most of the range was not great sounding, whereas the original sounded fine to me, if a bit 'specific'. In the end it's up to the player (or engineer) to decide what fits them best, but my personal opinion is this mod isn't any better that the original, and might be a bit worse. It's certainly not my style - I go for either the scoopy wall-of-sound when emphasizing heavy, powerful guitar, or anti-scoop (almost-)mids-only to give it a specific range to sit in when it's meant to be a smaller part of the mix. For others it probably works fine. I'm not knocking it, really, since it'd be awfully boring to have the same exact sound from player to player (which is mostly the case in a lot of recordings nowadays). I just don't like chopping off highs or peaking around the fundamental on the low string personally.
Miguel Roldao Agreed, that is pretty damn good for what was (before modding) quite possibly the worst pedal in existance. Makes me wonder why BOSS still sells the damn thing and hasn't just made a "Diesel Zone" pedal to replace it.
Personally, I strongly prefer the sound of the unmodded MT-2. It sounds like the music I love to hear when hearing metal things, has some bite and proper sustain. The Diezel Mod basically seems to turn the guitar into an background instrument for not so lead focused uses. It lacks the presence. In a band context, I'd use the Diezel Mod for background guitars filling up the space, and the stock MT-2 for lead and rhythm guitars. At least going by what I know about the available mods at this point.
BOSS should take some notes from the modding community, and fix their pedals. I am assuming this mod would also work for its Behringer equivalent, the Ultra Metal? I would not buy an $85 Metal Zone with the intention of modding it, but a $25 Ultra Metal, I possibly would.
clint fulks always have a converter handy for conversion of microfrads, nanofarads, and picofarads. i just uses mine from amplified parts website. just look up capacitance converter on the web.
The Boss MT-2 is not shit, you just need to set it right lol.. I heard a couple of people saying it is shit and well, after we tweaked around with the settings guess what happened.. it sounded awesome ;) Anyway I prefer my custom made (copied by two guys that have a local guitar/bass effects company) maxon OD808 copy =)
sounded way better, if i was stuck in shits creek and had nothing else i wouldn't mind it all that much, might get one to the mod and have a back up to my backup
Yep, this is actually a mod I came up from a book I wrote in 2005 or so. There's a bunch of cool things you can do to a metal zone actually. it's just several opamp stages and an active eq, so if you change the gain stages to be, well, better I guess than you can get a decent distortion out of it.
Also, the question about "why is it called Diezel?" I dunno. Stupid on my part I guess -- I was coming up with a book full of mods on a ton of pedals and was running out of names.
+Wampler Pedals Thanks for the info. I had no idea this was one of your mods, otherwise I would have given it proper credit.
If memory serves someone mentioned the name of the mod in a comment and upon doing a google search I found several people listing the component changes in online forums.
Also, I love your work.
CSGuitars
No worries at all! :)
Just wanted to clear up some questions regarding it. Thanks CS, love your videos! :)
+Wampler Pedals Theres two things you didnt include in your book of things to do with a Metal Zone pedal and thats throw it in the trash...or buy a Wampler Triple Wreck instead.
cast390
haha! Thanks!
***** \m/ \m/
idk if i'm crazy but i love the stock metal zone. whatever
Adam Knight me too
Same you just have to know how to dial it in with the head.
I love the MT-2 and always will, but I'm willing to admit it's a pretty shit pedal, objectively. The new Waza Craft is a lot more useable.
Also I'm replying to a 4 year old comment what am I doing, I'm ill
Edit: Shit objectively in that it's finicky, difficult to find good sounds, and not particularly well-rounded, especially in comparison to modded versions, and the aforementioned Waza Craft.
It might be invading the bassist's territory now. If you play by yourself, you want the wider range. If there is a bassist around, it's best to dial the bottom out a bit.
Lol
the modded petal definitely has a much more professional sound to it. nice work.
I prefer the stock model
....to be as far away from me as possible.
lol
Its actually really good if you find the right sound
for the right music yes
I agree, the reason I got a metal zone was because it's a clearer distortion than the drive on my Laney GH100L (which is great but more for stoner stuff), the metal zone can sound really great for stuff like trash metal
trash, there, you said it..
I used a stock MT-2 I had purchased new in 1991 through a 1968 Fender Bassman 50 for years. My contrast between clean and Distrotion was dramatic. It was a nice combo and I will never understand why so few can fins a good tone on this pedal. I like the mods also!
Stick in a good set of headphones and have a listen to the difference between the stock and modded MT-2.
If you like what you hear, follow the instructions to do it yourself. Or experiment to get your own sound.
CSGuitars Please tell me the name of the 1st song of the Before and after tests.. its fucking amazing i must learn it! or link or send tabs pls!
I have a massive collection of electronic components and old circuit boards that I often salvage parts from.
I should probably put a disclaimer on these videos to not attempt these modifications unless you have a firm knowledge of electrical components...
If by black circley type you mean an Electrolytic Capacitor (cylindrical with a flat metal top), then I'd assume a blue one would be a Metal Film Cap (although the ones on my MT2 are sliver)
It doesn't sound like you are describing a Ceramic Cap (which are the circular orange ones) or a Tantalum Cap (usually yellow, and cylindrical with a rounded top)
I'm looking at my board and I'm unsure which Cap you are referring to with this.
If you can nail me down a board reference then I should hopefully be able to give you a value.
CSGuitars I do like the mod and it is slighty better but this pedal is call metal zone so I am not so sure
or don't pissed about with it and get a decent pedal in the first place.
Great work. the mod makes this pedal's effect sound so much more full and warm where it was previously thin and fizzing. though I never bought one of these so I won't be doing this any time soon though I will send this vid to my mate who bought a metal zone pedal. good work Colin :)
Thank you @wampler_pedal and @Scott @CSGuitars. Now my Metal Zone sound AWESOME 👍👍👍
DAMN! The mod made the low end so much fuller and more metal- like. Keep up the good stuff Colin!
This is obviously a brilliant distortion. And Colin, from one musician to another, you've earned my respect.
Ola Englund opened my eyes to the fact that there are absolutely some really nice usable tones from the stock pedal. But the Diezel mod just sounds fantastic. Wampler is such a stud.👏🤘💪
i listened with very expensive headphones, the stock just seemed to cut better!
BareMetalMods
Because the stock pedal sounds better.
I really don't get all the hate for it.
Cut the ears off anyone in a 5 mile radius.
that explains why it makes so many ears bleed
@@philcollinshill2951 so what’s it like being deaf?
@@gamesandguitars3901
That's TOOL, bro.
the second setting on stock mt2 sounds great
The mod made it sound a lot clearer and more pleasing to here.
To my ear; the mod did exactly what you said it was supposed to, but, you did trade off a noticable bit of output, worth it though! Definitely a huge improvement
Wow the Diezel Modification makes a world of difference.
I would watch these videos of yours even if iI wasn't into guitar. Your accent is so fun to listen to.
I always find a comment of yours in every single metal-related video 😂😂😂 already subscribed!
This Mod is great! I just soldered all the components and got a great tone!
c34 .47uf or .047uf?
Diezel mod:
C35: remove, C34: 0.047uF MKT Capacitor, C25: remove
These three mods remove the harshness somewhat.
C42: 1uf MKT Capacitor, D3: Red LED, D4: 1n4001(or 1n400x) diode
This makes the sound more dynamic and full.
C36: 0.1uf MKT Capacitor
This makes the EQ more useful.
tanks :D
The Metal Zone gets a lot of hate here on UA-cam, but there's a reason why Boss sold so many of them. I bought one for the same purpose that every 16 year old kid did: to get tremendous amounts of gain and a huge sound out of a cheap combo amp played at low volume. For that purpose they were at the time pretty much unbeatable.
Thanks for the video, mate, exellent job, the most useful video about metalzone modding I've ever seen.
Wow! what a difference a change make. Good job!
I spend a lot of money buying mod kits for the MT 2, thinking about it I decided to do the most basic and cheapest mod trying to keep most of the original components in, just remove the two caps, and the only components you should change is the clipping diodes for MOSFET transistors, maybe for the bypass there is a mod I developed, so effective and simple you will forget about true bypass mods and you don’t have to buy nothing only use one of the caps you removed. The result is fantastic
the difference is HUGE !
Oi, Boss... why didnt you do this in the first place ??... bah !
I liked what I assume were the "faces of the average metal zone user" on the unmodded clips hahaha
I was skeptical but it does sound way better
Honestly through the fx loop trick with this sounds really good. Not sure I'm convinced that this mod is better.
Sounds much better!
Stock sounds better sometimes.
It sounds better for certain types of music such as thrash or old school death metal, maybe
Its coz he used the same eq, but the dynamic changed so hard you have the stock pedal inside the Diezel one... so, muuuch better after the change.
The dieselzone's pinch harmonics sounds awesome.
the modded one sounds so much better than the stock. so much meaner. looks meaner too. that big red LED looks sweet.
Sounds great, Colin! Like how it;s warmer and less compressed. Makes me wish I didn't sell mine to fund a GT-6 :/
Wow, that actually made the disgusting stock Metal Zone ACTUALLY PRODUCE a PRACTICAL Metal tone!!!
I like both. If I could only have one I'd take the modded one though.
love the sound after this mod. i am going to have to find a second one of these on the cheep so i can make these changes as well. thanks for the info. keep it up. :)
Damn, that mod sounded fucking great! If I had a MT2, I would seriously consider doing this (then again, I have no idea why I would have a Metal Zone anyway). Also, the face-slapping was beautiful.
Did this mode, sounds less shitty, but it's still pretty bad. At least I got the will and reassurance from watching your clip, so I am really thankful. Greetings from Serbia :)
Thanks! I did it, now it sounds better!
The problem with the Metal Zone is the fact that it's called 'Metal Zone' and therefore every metal freak is trying to get the 'perfect' metal sound out of it. Well, as everybody will know by now, that's not going to happen. Now, I'm NOT a metal freak, but some guy (who was just as disappointed with the MT-2 as most of us) just gave it to me. Well, my basic rhythm sound was just me playing a Gibson ES-347 via a simple old Boss OD-1 (and later the slightly lesser OD-3) plugged into a very old Vox AC30 linked to a new Vox AC30cc that was connected to a Marshall JCM800 1960A cab. To me, that was sound heaven. I used the MT-2 as my 'solo pedal'. Now the first thing you need to do is dial the drive knob all the way down to 0. The EQ of the damn thing proved to be perfect to find the sweet spot. What I really liked when I hit my 'solo pedal' was the extra depth and warmth in the lower mid range. And with the volume setting in combination with that EQ I got a lot of extra punch and 'oooomph' and it really gave me that powerful, yet creamy, full bodied sound with an endless sustain. I LOVED the MT-2!!! But please do not use it as a metal pedal. That's why I think they never should have called it the Metal Zone and maybe they would have done better by changing the drive knob for something completely different (maybe a subtle octave below the original sound, I don't know). I just wanted to say that you CAN get a great sound out of the MT-2. And off course, two AC30's and a 4x12" Marshall cab add a lot to really make it work. Unfortunately both amps were stolen last year. It broke my heart. I've had that old '69 Top Boost for almost 30 years. That amp was to me what that one beaten up strat was to Rory Gallagher. Last week someone gave me an MT-2 (again!!!). I can't wait to hear what it does with my new gear. :-)
By pure coincidence I just found out that on another video you did about the MT-2, I probably felt the urge to comment using almost exactly the same story. That was four months ago (and I completely forgot that I already held this pro MT-2 speech!!!). There's something about this pedal that keeps us busy, 'cos half an hour ago I discovered even a third video you made on which you gave the MT-2 a fair chance by using it the way I think this pedal works best (as a booster). The MT-2 created an awful lot of hum. But then again, although it shouldn't (if the MT-2 would be a boutique box), one might expect this to happen when you want to boost an extreme high gain sound. I assure you, if you would use the MT-2 the way you did in that video (on which you used a Bugera amp for the high gain sound and boosted it, first with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, then with a perfect little clean boost, then the MT-2 and then something else - I keep forgetting names and brands, sorry for that), to boost a moderate, mildly overdriven basic sound, THAT'S when the Metal Zone is at its best. Let me make it very clear that I don't think you're wrong when you test the MT-2 for its metal sound and find it sucks, 'cos it does! And the Diezel mod can't change a pile of shit into a Vermeer. And we both agree that the MT-2 is not the best option to boost a high gain sound. You're not a fool. There's only one fool and that's the guy who was stupid enough to name this pedal the Metal Zone. It's like naming an octaver 'The Pitch King' (I couldn't come up with something more idiot than 'The Metal Zone').
+Mario Driessen Amen broltha! I feel the exact same way. It's a great pedal for very warm medium gain solo playing, if you try to use it as a metal riff machine you'll be disappointed
kingpossie thats what ive always used it for, i rely on my amp for my more rhythmic distortion then use this as more of an overdrive/solo boost when the leads come around
Definitely sounds much better, but I'm gonna stick to my stock for now cause I just got it and its the only peddle I own ATM. Once I own a few more peddles and get bored of the stock, I'll mod it.
Thanks for the post.
that was a pretty dramatic change but they both still sucked
+Chris Mortlock
lol agreed...to use either of those on an actual recording you would still have to EQ the shit out of them...There's just way too much fizz coming through either way.
+Chris Mortlock Yep. I was like "Crap". then.. "Crap with more bass"
I ain't an expert but a bit more shaping with post-eq (either pedals or software) may have helped a bit lol
You made it a lot better, but I find the concept that it’s now supposed to sound like my Diezel hilarious (and slightly insulting to Peter Diezel)! 🤣
I modded it using two small green LEDs instead of the 1N0004 and the red LED. (I don't know why thatt mod is asymetrical in the first place) Since the green LEDs have a higher forward voltage the sound is now more blues and tube like. Thanks for your instructions. Without your video I would have searched for the right components like forever ;-)
What about 1N4004 and green led? Would that work?
Dude. You rock. Love all your stuff
Sounds decent! Still would MUCH prefer the AMT Electronics Legend II series stuff. But hey for a MT-2, it's sounding much better then it did!
My brother in law gave me his metal zone after buying it used at a guitar center. It sounded bad.
I opened it up and noticed that someone had attempted to mod it. C35 had been removed, as well as C24 and C25 was replaced. And one of the diodes was taken out and the other one was replaced with a germanium for some reason.
I modified it to a different version of the diesel mod and it sounds absolutely massive!!!
But polishing turds can be very fun
Just run the Metal Zone through an equalizer pedal! I do that with my Behringer Ultra Metal, and I bet it would work and sound just as improved with the MT-2.
I own an Ultra Metal and it's actually pretty good on its own. It's a nasty pedal for bass guitars. ;)
dude, I have an JS3 Jackson Concert Bass... sounds fucking fat with that guitar pedal lol
Exactly. That's what I do.
Hello Collin? Kallen? I'm not sure lol but thank you for your videos, because I have learned a good amount about guitar tones with your help. I have been playing guitar for about six years, give or take, and I am still learning new things about how I can effectively sound good, so thank you for your insight good sir. And by the way I find your english to be quite clear and easy to understand. ^.^
Hi mate , thanks for sharing great video on the mod .
Sounds good.
I modded mine, but differently, I made c35 removable from the circuit, via a little toggle switch. Removed, it sounds better for small gain, but it helps removing noise in higher gain. Also, replaced the clipping diodes with two infra red LEDs. Finally, replaced the to resistors that set minimum and maximum gain, to get less gain and less harshness. At lower gains, it goes from an almost clean booster, to overdrive, and then to distortion. No more extreme metal setups in it, which I like.
Just wanted to thank you about the toggle switch on c35, I just did it to mine. I put a IN4004 in D4 and a Green LED in D3 and I’m totally happy with the outcome. Cheers mate.
MT-2 Metal Zone is a killer pedal. You have to dial it in correctly.
The Keeley mod is awesome. It makes this pedal very versatile. I played the first one that Keeley did. I am sure there is a newer mod that they have done.
waza craft is the newest
You know, I've been building pedals from scratch for a bit now, and I never thought about modding some of my existing pedals. You've inspired me to try and mod my Metal Zone! The Diezel mod sounds great, but just to be different, I'm going to try the Bogner/Boogie (Bognie? Boogner?) mod on mine. So many options, it's hard to settle on one.
Great videos, great channel. Looking forward to more, dude.
Greetings from Nova Scotia.
Pretty cool. Sounds much better. Now if there's a way to get rid of some of that fizzy distortion, it would be pretty usable.
Subscribed after the face slapping. Cheers!
Might leave one of the capacitors in, for a brighter sound... But this definitely makes the pedal sound much better
If you like it better stock, leave the stock values, and just upgrade the caps in the signal path to better quality. A few stacked metal film caps, a few metal film resistors in key spots, and c0g/np0 ceramic caps for pF values and the pedal will get less fizzy/artificial sounding and a little 'richer/cleaner' in timber.
Somehow it sounds like my Herbert MK1 Channel 3...Nice mod!
Wow! After seeing your review of the stock Metal Zone MT-2 it amazes me that you managed to get such note definition out of that pedal! Nice! My expertise is in sound mixing, not hardware modification, so what you did here would be beyond me, and unfortunately I don't know how to play the guitar. But, from what I've seen of your videos here, should I ever LEARN to play the guitar in the future, or if I ever have the occasion to give a guitar player a gift, I'll be looking for a guitar made by CSG. ;)
BTW, of the EQ settings you used, I liked 6:58 the best; nice and sharp on the high end, driven but with body and solid note definition. Really nice. :)
Awesome vid and mod brother
I think the stock pedal is absolutely very versatile and I can dial in lots of varied tones. I don't find it harsh or muddy except in the extreme dial setting that are useless in about every pedal made, from tremolo to reverbs, etc. Yours also sounded good, but I would not agree with the comments of people like you who say the stock sounds like s.... It is a great pedal for when I want to play well, heavy.
I've now seen a fair few of your vids you make music fun keep it up \m/
Damn the diezel zone sound awesome! Boss should honestly strike up a deal with whoever came up with this mod and start selling diezel zones
Nice mod! Thanks for the instructions !!
I love my stock MZ. Of course, your desired tone is dependent upon the set-up of your guitar and amp, to include cables.
C34 is actually .047u removed from C42, not 47u.
I think there's no saving that pedal from its own fate. It sounds bad stock, but choked out to me in the mod.
Sounds like it would be good for the blister exists
This pedal both with and without the mods reminds me a lot of the albums that Kurt Ballou produces
I'm hearing an improvement, but alas it's still got some of those metal zone vibes. I think I enjoyed the MT2 for about 5 minutes when I was eighteen. I'm more a fan of a modded Marshall GV2
The Diezel mod makes it sound buizzier than before... and I thought that's what made it sh!t? I love the pedal as it is... can get my nice fat crunchy sound with my Jackson in the MT-2 and a nice tube amp.
either way that pedal is a beast
opinions about this pedal are such polar opposites. it's been my favorite pedal for over 20YRS. seems to me most ppl who didn't like it, didn't know how to use it.
the mid eq's are NOT additive or regular cut mids. it's actually a scoop.
to scoop take to the right set of knobs. set the frequency you wanna scoop with the outer ring, i like mines around 400/500hz, then use the upper/middle knob to scoop it.
crank it to the left to scoop the freq you designated, crank it to the right to boost it. FFS.
i base my tone settings starting absolute flat.
1) set all knobs to middle position.
2) then set yer scoop using the right outter ring.
3) then spin left on the right inner/upper knob to scoop out the freqs you don't want-or crank right to boost them.
4) knudge the highs to where u like them using the LEFT inner/upper/little knob.
5) cut the big/outter/lower left knob for the bass to clean up your mud and record.
6) do any extra trimming boosting using your amp eq or module.
7) Set volume to about 55-60%
8) Set the Gain to Max, and taper back to meet your style. -I leave that shit on max at all times. >8D
in preference i set my pedal up as per the above instructions, then i boost the highs to let it breath, then i use the external amp or external eq to taper back the highs to clean up
any snow his or fuzz. most of the time, the external eq's won't trim the highs of the pedal since the high knob sits in the 4khz-10khz range. which lets you trim the snow using
your external eq without taking any meat off the pedal's tonal output. the bass goes from 0 to roughly 150hz. Same applies for Guitar Rig: MeZone, by Native Instruments.
The volume knob seems to operate on your standard sound Engineering/DJ'ing Principles. Always Crank the input/source material volume levels, before you start cranking the volume on the amp.
This will help you maximize volume, but reduce the amount of hiss and buzz generated by the actual amp.
Always make sure you pump your source volume as high as you can before clipping occurs on the signal, before you start cranking up the amp volume. That's just basic sound engineering 101.
Again, i like my volume around 55-60% to maintain a good strong signal, but not clip the inputs, or resort to cranking up the amp and introducing hiss and buzz to the signal.
if you crank the volume to absolute max on the pedal you're going to clip the signal, and it's gonna sound like shit, then you're gonna be making youtube mod videos before you know it, cuz you got the wrong impression of how the pedal works. >8P mIn/
sounds much better
This may be a good way to get a tool type tone on a budget.
That pedal sounds really good with that mod. You should post a parts list and a diagram of which caps and diodes get clipped and zipped.
I never understood the hate this pedal gets. When I bought mine I went through comparison videos till my head hurt and found the next best was a fullbore at 3 times the price. I use mine through a 100 w peavey with passive pickups and its great. I cant help but wonder if maybe the haters are just not using the right setup. The attack might not be a great thing if your using high gain active pups and a small or really bright amp or single coil strat. I use mine mostly with 6534 setup and its great.
I think its because the pedal doesent sound like what it was marketed for. but for other uses it sounds pretty good, I might actualy pick one up
tbh i preffer the first one
I too share this unpopular opinion. The modded version seems to lack all the mids and highs that made it sing, and ended up sounding muted and muddy.
At the end, fiddling with the knobs made for a few better sounds, though. With a good bass roll-off somewhere to rangle that boomy woob-woob chugging it could be a fun project.
TheRev The original is the one that sound harsh and lacks mid range. If you prefer scoop traditional metal sound then it is good.
John Yang Eh, I would disagree that the pedal sounds 'harsh', just 'fuller', and yes, I know that scooping mids is a cheap and cheesey way to make for a rich sound, but I honestly don't mind if it's juxtaposed correctly with the accompaniment. The modded pedal definitely lacks upper mids and highs, or at least de-emphasizes them a lot, and also added that 'woob-woob' sound that pops up when guitarists chug along without handing everything 150Hz or so and below to the bass player.
My honest reaction when I heard the modded one was pretty close to 'Wait, is this a joke? This sounds like shit!' After a few knob twists is sounded pretty okay, actually, maybe flattening out the dynamics just a bit less, too, but that first bit had a flat and lifeless timbre, reminding me of some garage recordings I've heard done on cassette.
To be honest I think people have started bashing this particular pedal because doing so grants them some sort of smug superiority, like wine snobs insisting that the $200 Cabernet is better than the $20 one, even though if you swapped them out they couldn't tell.
In the end, no matter what the mod actually does to this pedal, it will always sound 'better' or have 'more life' than the stock one, you know, just because it's modded.
Oh, and that last bit wasn't directed at you just to be clear: It's just a general rant on the subject.
TheRev Well. That is what exactly what I thought. You listened to the first part. True it sounds like shit. but the second part. It shows the much better high frequency detail and clarity. It is way beyond. Even though the low frequency is still muddy as the stock one.
John Yang Nah, I listened to the whole demo, just don't agree that the rest actually sounded better - just different, and a bit muddy for my tastes. It also seemed to need more attention to 'dail in' a decent sound than the original to boot. It may have more 'range' but most of the range was not great sounding, whereas the original sounded fine to me, if a bit 'specific'.
In the end it's up to the player (or engineer) to decide what fits them best, but my personal opinion is this mod isn't any better that the original, and might be a bit worse. It's certainly not my style - I go for either the scoopy wall-of-sound when emphasizing heavy, powerful guitar, or anti-scoop (almost-)mids-only to give it a specific range to sit in when it's meant to be a smaller part of the mix.
For others it probably works fine. I'm not knocking it, really, since it'd be awfully boring to have the same exact sound from player to player (which is mostly the case in a lot of recordings nowadays). I just don't like chopping off highs or peaking around the fundamental on the low string personally.
Wasn't actually liking the "diesel zone" until it reached 7:00 , that tone is a quite good tone you can get from a distortion pedal.
Miguel Roldao Agreed, that is pretty damn good for what was (before modding) quite possibly the worst pedal in existance. Makes me wonder why BOSS still sells the damn thing and hasn't just made a "Diesel Zone" pedal to replace it.
+Miguel Roldao the same with me! Very juicy sound, just the way I like.
I think I learn about the engineering more from Colin than the university lol
I haired that this mod is pretty good.
definite improvement!
That's definitely a major improvement, but it still sounds harsh and crackly to my ears, which is why my MT-2 has been sitting unused since the 90s.
I prefer far away the stock sound lol !
+dafxtone same!
+dafxtone the conversion mod lost some harmonics.
It's still a shit pedal so 👍
I disagree. It's a good pedal for indus and you could do a lot of thing with it, but you have to tweak it carefully.
Alienlovr only for shit players
You are a cool guy, colin
Hell yeah man now its much much better and i can use it more efficitively \m/!!
Personally, I strongly prefer the sound of the unmodded MT-2. It sounds like the music I love to hear when hearing metal things, has some bite and proper sustain. The Diezel Mod basically seems to turn the guitar into an background instrument for not so lead focused uses. It lacks the presence. In a band context, I'd use the Diezel Mod for background guitars filling up the space, and the stock MT-2 for lead and rhythm guitars. At least going by what I know about the available mods at this point.
"Where's the vids Colin! Can't wait 4 the next
BOSS should take some notes from the modding community, and fix their pedals. I am assuming this mod would also work for its Behringer equivalent, the Ultra Metal? I would not buy an $85 Metal Zone with the intention of modding it, but a $25 Ultra Metal, I possibly would.
I have the Ultra Metal and I got a similar sound to the moded version of Metal Zone, I use a stock Ultra Metal.
Dang, the modded version is just a little more usable which is huge. Very cool. I wonder if there's any reason to mod the new Waza version?
Diezel mod is SO much better than stock. and your hair is so much better long lol
another great video keep it up
Bugera 333XL and Marshall AVT100. just love it :) I don't mind the pedal though :D
I think this is the mod I did on my MT-2, but I missed the original "wasp in a filing cabinet" sound, so I bought another one.
Bass frequencies are way, way better and the EQ sounds awesome. However, the highs sounds broken. Great mod, but not quite there yet.
clint fulks always have a converter handy for conversion of microfrads, nanofarads, and picofarads. i just uses mine from amplified parts website. just look up capacitance converter on the web.
The Boss MT-2 is not shit, you just need to set it right lol.. I heard a couple of people saying it is shit and well, after we tweaked around with the settings guess what happened.. it sounded awesome ;)
Anyway I prefer my custom made (copied by two guys that have a local guitar/bass effects company) maxon OD808 copy =)
13thNemesis
Can you Just to confirm the value in C-34 is 0,47 uF? I found different information in some other place for C34 saying is 0,047uF
Tnx mate.....I hated the damn stock pedal....I modded it and it's much better now... won't sell it anymore
sounded way better, if i was stuck in shits creek and had nothing else i wouldn't mind it all that much, might get one to the mod and have a back up to my backup