@@SimonSmithGuitar I've gigged my handful times, and recordings and bought dozens of pedals, heads cables etc. All that shit breaks (guitar strings, batteries, heads, pedals etc). The one thing that's always worked were my "shit" boss pedals.
straight up... boss pedals are indestructible, reliable, functional and easy to use. people who gripe about the tech specs are simply not people who need to play live very often, OR they aren't a proper player and they are relying on fancy tone boxes to hide poor playing
most of the time. however, i personally don't like the metal zone, or boss distortions in general. then again, I don't like distortions that much. Boss makes great pedals, but I don't like distortion. Their overdrive pedals are great; they can sound super heavy into a crunch channel on an amp
Hazen Stribling I gotta tell ya though,if you do intend to use distortion at some point and like the Marshall tone,the Xotic SL pedal which goes for only $124 will blow your mind. it also fits in the palm of your hand and is built like a tank and is actually heavy for its size. most other post amp distortion pedals aren't that great or simply come up short or sound pedestrian.
..or some people are assburgers, who often concentrate on little details (as I do). The boss NS2's loop really takes high treble away from guitar tone. It's especially noticeable if modern distortions are used. If you put distortions after the pedal everything's ok (because c'mon, many modern metal players boost their amp with TS or something similar, which takes off top end anyway).
Boss used to be the gold standard. Guitarists coveted them. Some time in the noughties, they became unfashionable and people paid 3x for whatever was trendy. To replicate tones that were often created with Boss pedals in the first place.
Bollocks. Boss was never budget priced, apart from very few models, and has been firmly in the middle of the road as regards pricing. If you're referring to boutique pedal shoppers, that's a minority with more cash than common sense. Today, Boss is ovepriced compared to what it offers with most competitors for most effect types.
@@martinkrauser4029 I didn’t see this 6 years ago. Where did I say they were budget priced? I said they were the gold standard. That doesn’t mean they were cheap you muppet.
First positive video I've seen on the Metal Zone. Had mine for ages and I love it. I've been using Boss pedals for 20 odd years now and never had an issue. Guitar snobs do my head in!
I believe we as guitar players should not focus so much on gear as we should care about our phrasing and technique in order to sound good. We have this bad habit of thinking that if we get a 5150 and put a drive pedal in front of it you're gonna sound awesome which is not the case. In the end,it's all in the hands.
I didn't turn into a gear snob until I'd been playing 15 some years (been 20 some now). After a while, worrying about your technique gets old-whether it should or not-but you still want to worry about your hobby. Worrying about gear is a way to do that.
Gear makes the hobby fun and ever changing. If it weren't for gear snobs we wouldn't have 75% of the gear we have now. Variety is the spice of life man.
Very well said. Gear is definitely important, but your ability to play your instrument and ability to create your own style are vastly more important. I used to think if I had better gear, I’d sound better. Bullshit. Before I started to improve, I let a friend (who still to this day is light years ahead of me as a guitar player) play through my old rig several years ago. In all reality, my rig truly was pretty crappy, but this guy plugged in and made my rig sound like it belonged on some of my favorite records. I learned that day that gear is definitely important, but it sure as hell isn’t the most important.
Exactly! I played a DS-1 for years too until I got absolutely sick of that sound. Our tastes change! I had a short phase with a HM-2 Heavy Metal after that then moved to the Rockman Sustainor and used that for years. I didn't even like Boston... but loved that sound then. It was more of a complete preamp/compressor/distortion thing and I loved its clean tone as well. Plugged mine back in recently (no idea why I kept that and sold so much other gear) and I was like, "what the hell was I thinking!". It was an 80's sound. Now, I find it glassy, harsh and unnatural, clean or dirty and it really is. Tastes change, our ears evolve, this is all normal. I just started playing with my old band again and my Red Knobs Fender Twin is the only amp I had kept. While its dirt channel has plenty of gain, it really does mild to moderate breakup best. I never liked the "texture" of its distortion all that much although it's all tube (and loud as hell). I needed something else which would bet me into Marshal territory without busting the bank so I got the JHS Andy Timmons (AT) distortion after watching a ton of videos for different pedals and it sounds and especially feels killer. It costs more than a Boss pedal (but not crazy expensive), but to me, it sounds way better than any Boss distortion pedal I've ever used (I never owned a Metal Zone but I've plugged into one many times). The JHS AT is a different thing and it's where my tats is at now. I loved all my other distortions until I didn't. I do not foresee ditching the AT any time soon...
+rayvandragon Sd1 japan and taiwan , distortion, heavy metal, metal zone, fuzz fz2, stereo chorus...rc2 loop station, and gt5 pedalboard made in japan...I play always with a boss
i was looking a band live and looking 2 guys acoustic guitars 2 guys electrics 2 guys keyboards 1 guy drums 1 guy percussion 2 singers and my eyes were so pleased but my ears i was hearing nothing at all
Prince could also have bought any clothes he wanted but chose to look like an extra on the set of a bad Jane Austen film adaptation. And he was abusing Fentanyl like I do with potato chips, which led to his death way too early. The lesson being: don't emulate famous people blindly like they somehow know better. Because they don't.
No, his death came at exactly the right time. He did everything in his life to lead to that point. He created the right conditions for it. It happened. It wasnt early or untimely.
+Martin L You are so right. Only emulate famous people blindly when you don't know what you're doing...if you know that you don't know what you're doing...hmpf...lol...I had to do this...I know you statement is common sense...just wanted to mess things up a bit for fun. Peace.
I still use a Metal Zone. People compliment my tone and often ask what I'm using. I just say, MT-2 pedal; that's it (plus a JCM 2000 DSL). They always look shocked.
I agree. The MT2 pedal gets a lot of ire, and I suppose people really dial in terrible sounds with it. The JCM 2000 is a great amp, but it's designed for classic rock. I just guess a lot of metal bands we play with are surprised.
I hear you man. I'm running through an MT2, Boss Super Chorus, MXR six band eq and then a Randall BLOQ noise gate into a Blackstar HT-5R 1x12 combo (I'm a living room warrior, hahaha) and I'm damn pleased with the sound I'm getting out of that combination. Cheers!
JCM 2000 DSL 100 is great for full on Metal with a 1960A cab, has high gain channel but I found that the Crunch channel with an overdrive pedal &/or a Screamer pedal before that is supreme \m/
Back in my first band, before my guitarist got himself a marshall vs100 and cab, he was using a metal zone into my old peavey valve amp. I think the metal zone into tube amp tone was better than the cheap hybrid, so long as we played loud. The metal zone gave enough tone shaping to keep a thick and very distorted grunge sound from obliterating my bass.
Basically as a non boss fan nor hater I say, that 50% of those who hate on boss pedals hate them because they don't like them in their personal sound and it is really really important to have a "comfortable zone" to play in, the other 50% are just simply stupid unexperianced beginners who heard boss sucks. So, I complitely agree with you and the thing about the metal zone, it's pure crap ONLY if it's in the wrong hands!
At last - an experienced gigger using Boss pedals. Fantastic Simon. Thank you for uploading this. I have used them for years live and they are super reliable and sound great.
another thing people tend to forget (or dont know about it at all) is how the actual amp you play reacts to certain pedals, just go in to your local or fav guitar store, bring a metal zone with you or ask for one, try it on a solid state 50w+ amp, try it on a laney tube amp and a marshall tube amp, you'll get 3 different sounds with the very same pedal setting and i guarantee you wont like it all
One thing that worked for me back in the mid 80's for punk rock and crossover stuff was my old peavey special 130 and the BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal. I have a Keeley modded Metal zone that sounds decent through most of my amps
Which is why people often don't like the DS1. The DS1 was made to be run on a tube amp and will sound horrible on anything solid state for the most part.
That's exactly what I thought. Running a Metal Zone thru an JCM800 would be like putting cheap chairs on your BMW and then thinking "man these chairs are not so bad after all, I'm having a great time riding them!".
I'm running a Boss Metal Zone through a Hartke GT100c (tube preamp) and it sounds super aggressive with loads of clarity and brutality, perfect for thrash and death metal. Anyone who says Boss sucks is running it through the wrong amp or they're not adjusting it right.
+Lavabug Not all swedes use HM-2s. The SOTS guitars used an HM-2 in the front and a MT-2 in the loop. In Flame's "Jester Race" has an MT-2 on it too. Heck, even Entombed stopped using the HM-2 years ago. The Metal Zone was already dissed and deemed uncool at the time, but it made its way on many albums indeed! :)
If I am not mistaken it was mentioned that that pedal was used in studio in a recent documentary on the making of the album. The documentary exists on you tube. I have had luck messing with that pedal on my board and remember taking a mental note when watching it because that record has been a favorite of mine since middle school. I have also been aware of the stigma of this pedal.
Thank you so much Simon ! I learnt so much from you. Normally I was using a different setting but tried your tweaks on the zone and worked so well, liked the tone so much ! Have a good day, and please keep posting
I've always used a boss metal zone as a low end boost always into my rectifier. when people ask what pedals I use to get my crushing sound I just say metal zone as a boost into my rectum fryer. and there like wow.
People don't like Boss and a lot of other makers only because they are a big manufactured pedal. It just isn't cool enough for them. Most of the players that buy expensive boutique pedals want to be a snob and make themselves look important instead of playing great music. Like they have to have that vomit swirled paint job with "special" electronics inside to get one noise for 10 seconds of a song. When in reality most pedals are just based off of each other with minor variations in internal electronics.
As an audio engineer I can say 99% of people invent 'tone coloration' that just plain isn't there. Hell, I've A/B tested some of my gearhead buddies and they can't tell what's what. People swear up and down that their personal favorite brand is way better, but it's a pretty damn safe bet all the 'tone' they get out of it is based on the logo. Of course, you can say that about anything: Clothes, cars, coffee... Are there differences between pieces of gear? Sure. Are they as big a difference as the price difference? 9 times outta 10: Nope. Are they as big as the acoustic differences the VENUE introduces? Oh fuck, no. Are they noticeable when you're standing four feet from an amp you've got cranked up till it's literally damaging your hearing every time you play? Abso-fucking-lutely not. Just remember: The 'warmest' most 'natural' tone you can achieve is by shoving one's head up one's own ass - and fuck me, just about everyone seems to have figured that one out!
I agree 100%. The Metal Zone was my first introduction to parametric eq. That helped immensely in finding “my sound” later on. Steve Vai used a DS-1 for years before he decided to cash in on his fame w/ the Jemini pedal. Vai, Prince, VH, all are to have used boss at some point. They all could have used boss exclusively, sounded brilliant and different from each other. Because it‘s NOT all about what you have to work with, it’s about what you do w/ what you have to work with.
That's an interesting point about buffers. I have an older DOD Grunge distortion pedal that never gets turned on but it stays at the front of my chain simply because it has a buffer and it makes my sound so much better. When I took it off, the sound was just not where it needed to be.
I only use one pedal, the Boss BD2. I have tried lots of others but this one just gives me the warmth I'm looking for. I have it 15 years and it still hasn't let me down yet. My buddies DS1 is from the early 90s, it had 2 broken knobs and wasn't working so good after some very heavy use, at a convention, Boss repaired it for free... they won my respect that day.
If someone is fighting with their tube amp trying to get better articulation, especially on fast palm muted notes, please be aware that it will not happen. Electric guitars low notes simply do not have enough presence in the frequency ranges needed for articulation (800hz-4k). This is why blues plays swear by the mid-boosted articulation of the tube screamer. Like the Tube Screamer, the Metal Zone shoves those frequencies that don't just drive the tubes, but drive our ears, giving it more presence articulation than any other pedal. The trick with the Metal Zone is that since the mids are so strong, the consonant ranges (4-5k) might need to be reduced. Run it into clean or very slightly warm tubes, the fuzz disappears, and it becomes almost silky.
Absolutely. And what really cracks me up is if you look at the circuits, components, build quality. Elite custom mods to pedals, etc. Buffers that cost $100, and only are buffers... made up of $8 of components... since that's all it takes to build a high quality buffer. People are funny... and boutique pedal builders are pretty amusing too.
This info is really helpful especially about the different types of environments that music is played in. Also to me, creativity is the most important aspect of music before tone. I think guitarists worry far more about tone than any audience ever will. I know great tone is fun and can inspire creativity but we criticize each other's gear far too much while the audience is simply just waiting to hear more music. I say if you don't want to use a certain type of gear ok, just don't use it but then no need to jump all over another musician who decides to use that gear for his/her music. if that person's music doesn't sound good to you just listen to someone else's music instead or focus more on your own music.
I agree with you on this. I own a Boss DS-1 Distortion (which hasn't been getting used that much lately since I've bought a Big Muff, but that's irrelevant), a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, and a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and they all work great. Boss is just a really good company, and it wouldn't be tough to understand why Boss is one of the most popular companies for effects pedals
Its weird for me.In the early 90's my metal zone was the best thing ever,I could get thet dime/metalica/death metal/sepultura type sound all in that one box,I agree it can take a bit of time to dial it in before I was happy. I tried my mates metal zone couple months ago and well,I hated it,it was real hard to get that old feeling back that the metal zone used to give me. Maybe because my musical taiste and style has changed a lot,But deep down I miss those old metal zone days ;) P.s- I have a boss blues driver,best pedal on my board.
yes, i have boss od3, boss ds1 (with my mods), boss mt2, boss ch1, boss dd1, and mxr phase 90 (r28 mod). I am so happy with my tone... and yeah schecter guitar and laney amp. (i have some digitech pedals, and EHX chorus nano clone cheap and noisy) I have compared the boss pedal with digitech pedal: my clean tone (when pedal is not switched on)is unchanged with the boss pedals, BUT with the digitech clean tone is losing high frequencies. And boss pedals are not noisy.
Agreed. I have a mix of pedals that are all on my board because of the way they sound. The funny thing about pedals and amplifiers is they have these little things on them called "knobs" and "switches"; they let you change the way they sound until it sounds good to you. Heady stuff, I know. Price tag does not equal tone.
Something to keep in mind about a lot of the boss pedals is that their pedals tend to also sound relatively good through bass as well, especially for stoner metal and doom metal, Al Cisneros uses a DS-1 as his main distortion pedal with Om and Sleep, and I'm fairly sure that Tim Bagshaw(used to be part of Electric Wizard.) used a boss FZ-2 as his fuzz(as did Jus Oborn.)
My first pedal was a Boss DS-1, and I still have it to this day. It delivers the goods every time I use it. I believe Steve Vai and Joe Satriani also use a DS-1 in their signal path. I also like the Power Stack and Combo Drive because they have a very amp-like sound.
I like how my OD-1 is still working since day one. Even had a leaky battery once but the design kept the acid out. It is simply perfect. Btw I think COSM it partly to blame, yet they are on the rebound with the Waza line.
I bought my first Boss DS1 in 1981. I still use it all the time. It has never failed even after thousands of shows. And most of all, it still sounds great.
What's really weird is that it's older brother, the HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal is now suddenly in vogue as a pedal to run before an amp's distortion channel. That kinda blew me away as I always had hated the mushiness of that pedal. I do however love the MT-2 Metal Zone and have used that pedal in countless gigs and studio recordings. It all really depends on what kind of metal tone a person is into, but for that classic scooped mid high gain metal tone heard on countless death metal albums, you really can't go wrong with it. However it does sound much better going through a good all-tube halfstack with the 4x12 cabinet portion loaded with quality speakers. I used for years a Dean Markley RM-80 halfstack and it always thundered in live shows. Before then I used it through a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 where it performed quite well, but just not as ballsy sounding as the halfstack of course. These days I run it through a Crate Stealth 50 watt head but through the same cabinet. While it's not my favorite metal pedal, it certain does the job and it's sweepable mid-range eq is something that very few metal distortion pedals have at that price point. To me it is a standard pedal for anyone serious about gigging in a metal band unless they are going for a very specific sound and use another pedal or they prefer their amp's built in distortion tones. If anything it makes for a great backup pedal in case your boutique pedal bites it. That being said, my favorite metal pedal is the Zoom 5000 Driver pedal. On it's Stack 2 setting, it is like a MT-2 on steroids with a much richer sound and has built in noise reduction and other distortion types as well.
boss are very dynamic, so it is easy to fuck up the tone. but if dialed in correctly, boss is as good as any other pedals. infact, i was able to get the rust in peace tone, and after a few tweaks i was also able to get a thick modern metal tone...and even get a bluesy rock tone..very dynamic and wide range of flexibility..boss pedals need just a little more effort in dialing a tone. but theyre good
I know I'm late to this thread but I have a 90s-era MetalZone I bought used for $20 and it still works and sounds like new. I got a new DS-1 for $37.99 and it's awesome (though I don't like how it sounds with certain amps). BOSS is BOSS.
Thanks for clearing up all the fuss I've been having lately in my head. Recently bought my first half stack and found the gain channel to not have enough "bite" for me personally and I've been scouring the internet lately trying to rectify whether the expensive pedals are worth their price, especially when I see and hear $100 and under pedals that sound good to me
I don't use a metal zone particularly. I have a boss me-80 and I assume the "metal" setting was made to replicate the boss metal zone, but I really like how it sounds. I just put it into a really low gain channel on my amp (just enough so if you hit the strings pretty hard youll get some break up) and boost it using the metal zone. it's pretty cool and I say give it a shot if you've previously gone in through a clean channel.
Someone landed me a Metal Zone so I could try it with my synths! With the EQ, you can tweak the sound a lot and come up with very nice distorsion tones. The key is to not crank it up to much and use a noise gate. It works great in parallel processing too.
I built the same 3-pedal setup last year, tuner, NS-2, and Metal Zone, placed in front of my JCM2000. This was to create a pedalboard JUST for a death metal rhythm tone, not for anything else. Works perfectly with no hassles and no menus. The fact that no one ever gave you any shit about Boss pedals at shows or in the studio or whatever is probably not due to everyone thinking highly of them, I would think it has more to do with people who had those views using their filter and keeping their opinions to themselves about it because they didn't want to be rude. I can't imagine any social situation where I just finished playing a show and some dude comes up and says "did you know those aren't true bypass??" and hoping to actually have any kind of conversation after that.
I'm a bass player and occasional guitarist. As a guitarist I bought several boss pedals. Now, admittedly, I didn't have much experience or cash so it more because they were reasonably priced than any other reason. Now, cut to ten years later and I'm playing bass is pretty much all my musical endeavors. I've used and Ashdown and a tone city distortion on my pedal board. Both no longer work, so now I'm back to using my old SD1 and DS1, as well as my NS2 and (japanese made ;-P ) BF2, as well as a few other pedals. Those Boss pedals are fantastic! Never experienced a metal zone, so don't have an unbiased opinion on them.
The MT2 Is One Of The Best Versatile Metal Pedal EVER !!! I Will Never Get Rid Of It. VERY Wide Range Of Tone. You Have To Dial It In, It Works Awesome !!!!
I think the key here is that they were going through a killer amp and cab. Most people had an MT-2 (or another Boss distortion pedal) when they were younger and ran it into their Crate combo amp, not realizing what was actually causing their tone to suffer.
For the price, Boss can't be beaten. I've had a phase where I had to buy boutique pedals and in all honesty, I went back to Boss pedals for the quality, durability and just the amazing sound you get for those prices. I think it's also interesting to know that Steve Vai, Prince, Robert Smith and Omar Rodriguez Lopez to name a few uses Boss pedals and their tone is amazing.
For the price, it has been beaten over and over and over the past two decades, but extolling the affordability of Boss in the era of the Chinese onslaught is really a doubtful proposition.
I disagree. In terms of value for the money, I think Boss is still the best on the market. Those pedals are practically unbreakable and just sounds good. So many artists still uses them, I wouldn't be afraid for their future.
There are pedals at a fifth (!) of the price that sound just as great and are just as durable. Boss is usually a solid choice, but is no value purchase, apart from a few notable exceptions.
Rowin 301B / Donner Morpher Nux Time Force / Donner Black Arts Donner Yellow Fall Donner Boost Killer Danelectro Fish & Chips Caline Pure Sky Joyo Dynamic Compressor Joyo Husky Drive Biyang OD-8 / OD-12 ... and lots and lots of other pedals.
Hey, Simon! I also use the NS-2, great noisegate! I wonder if you also experience a small signalboost when activating it? I`ts like maybe just 2 or 3 db. If so, do you know why i does this?? THX :) \m/
Preach it! I've got the same TU-2 tuner that I bought in 1998. Never had a single issue. Also, I bought a DD-20 in 2005. Used it for a couple years, then got into a programming techy phase and bought an Eventide Timefactor. When that phase was over, I missed the simplicity of the DD-20. I sold the Timefactor and bought another DD-20. I find my pedalboard is steadily converting back to Boss all the time. Just really fantastic and durable pedals. As you said...through a decent tube amp. That is where the rubber meets the road.
The problem with the Metal Zone is it's so easy to fuck up. You can get some great sounds out of if, but its so easy to get it wrong and mess it up. Apart from that, nothing really wrong with Boss pedals imo! I personally don't like the Tuner that much but that's more down to the fact that its quite hard to see sometimes imo (I'm short sighted haha) but they have some great pedals! The RV-3, Giga Delay (which seems to not be produced anymore sadly 😞), Adaptive Distortion and Tera Echo are all great and I'd love them! (Well except for the AD, I love my Tube Screamer too much 😜). Wouldn't mind trying the MZ out though, just to get some very harsh tones, not as a main though
+Mike Mellor I just had my metalzone modded and it's way better. All the harshness is gone. It's q good pedal just needs some tweaking for sure. Even stock it's very useful. Your rig us a huge part too
I've been looking around for a new distortion pedal since mine went out, hoping to find the best option. I've heard a lot of blather in reviews. You really shed light on the situation, thanks!
The reason buffers are being used now, is because people tend to have more pedals on their board and signal loss is an issue. Same thing with a live rig - you'll most often have long cable runs on stage and you'll need that buffer. Playing alone at home with a few pedals and short cable runs, you can hear all the subtle differences and you'll probably notice a difference with true bypass.
The only reason I gave up my Metal Zone is that it was too touch sensitive. Just a hair off one of the parameters it's a totally different sound. I just needed something simpler. Honestly, I was impressed how versatile the MT-2 actually was.
Hi Simon, great words, i'am totally agree with you! And great jod for all your channel! I have seen that you also Fender Patch Cable (me too): could i ask your opinion about those Fender Patch Cables? Are they good? A lots of people say that they sucks: i havent used different cable, so, i dont known; could you tell me your opinion about theme? Tks a lot!
Hi Luigi. I use loads of different patch cables and have also heard bad things about the Fenders, however, so far I've had no problems with them whatsoever. The long Fender cables I have had issues with them though..
hi Simon, tks for your answer and happy new year! i have also the fender malmsteen signature cable and it works well for now (anyway, nothing to compare with the old dimarzio malmsteen signarure cable, that was to another level)
I use a boss rv6 and ns2 in my pedal board and they both work brilliantly. There is nothing to complain about in both performance and build quality, the real question is should a pedal suit the guitar and amp setup as certain amps and guitars produce different frequencies. Personally I really like there delays and reverbs ,to me they do not colour your sound just add to it.
i have both boutique and standard the pedals in my arsenal and still to this day gravitate to my metal zone for heavy distortion, sounds great through a fender twin as well as a marshal no buffer needed
I use a Super Overdrive as a boost for the Metal Zone. No problems at all. I run mine straight into a power amp. And like with Simon, no one ever said anything bad about my sound or gear. I have tried various high gain amps that sound good, but they are very expensive and too massive to carry around, so I am very content with what I have. I agree with the comments that say that people who complain about pedals or other gear should instead devote more time to try to listen and dial different tones.
Hi Simon. I just bought a boss heavy metal hm 2. It has a sticker ACA Adapter only. I read that you can run it on the 12 v slot in a power supply. Is this the case?
I agree. I have a few Boss pedals that I love. the MT-2 has taken a back seat only out of personal preference (to a Wampler triple wreck), but I still love my power driver circa 1997 :)
Very well said, Simon. Being "only" an average guitarist, I have owned my Metal Zone since the mid 90's also. I have tried, and unfortunately, purchased many other distortion pedals over the years. But I always come back to my Boss. It is reliable, and gives me the EXACT tone thats in my head. Boss rules!
I find it the same with MXR Fullbore Metal. Everyone has something bad to say about it but you can dial in an awesome tone with it. It takes time tweaking the pedal and amp. Fullbore metal has awesome mids and can be used for hard rock all the way to death metal. What's not to like there are plenty of options.
I bought a Boss Heavy Metal Pedal II back in the early 80's (actually it was their 3 millionth unit, I still have the brass plaque to prove it). Phil Campbell of Motorhead, a good friend of mine, once asked how I got my sound, at the time I was using and H|H IC100S (with variable sustain) and used the Heavy Metal Pedal II as a boost while playing lead, and I got an awesome sound. As it happens, I now also have the Boss Chorus Ensemble, Boss DD-7 Delay and Boss RV-6 Reverb and I love em. I've even put them all in a Boss BCB-60 pedal board/case. By the way, my Boss Heavy Metal Pedal II is still working a treat. No I do not work for Boss, just in case you were going to ask lol. I just like a well built long lasting product, which incidentally is what Boss produce.
Hi Simon Smith, first of all, thank you for the great videos. What bands did you tour ? And could you say how did you dial those pedals ? So thank you again.
+Fábio Krüger Hi Fabio. Toured in SNUB with various bands. Earthtone 9, GF93, Misery Loves Company. Can't remember how I dialled them in, it was a long time ago :0)
You are awesome. You said everything that I wanna say about Boss pedals. i like them a lot and have quiet a few of them. NEVER had a problem with any. And because I have at least two in my pedal board, I never had to worry about the length of the cables altering the tone.(hail to buffer pedals)
I love my NS2. I have some very nasty self oscillating fuzz, and it stops all the sound when I am not playing in loop mode. Not aware of another pedal that does this. It's also the most smooth and unobtrusive noise suppression pedal out there. It just does what it says on the box with no issues.
BOSS pedals are really good. For a bass player like myself BOSS offers some really good tones in their accesories. The odb-3 is a solid overdrive and very easy to use (although i have a MXR bass overdrive, the odb-3 is really good).
I just bought a Boss Ninja 50 watt amp and when you open up the Computer effects and settings Program they have bunches of Boss pedal simulators it like being in Guitar Center all alone having a blast . Even the Effects I would never use are quality plus they boost better then a pedal into the amp . Boss Metal Zones have been a Metal staple of Guitarists boards for many years !!!
Brilliant, well said. I'm still using a Metal zone (modded i confess) as well as a chorus ensemble and dd7. All great pedals. Never had any problems in the 10 or so years I've had them. All well gigged and used to death.
I use a couple of Boss pedals on my board and love them! Out of interest Simon, what was the band you were a member of? I'm curious and would like to check out your stuff if it's still out there? Cheers! PS - Ya know who also swore by Boss pedals? PRINCE ;)
I recently purchased a MT2 and MD2 , i think they are both great pedals , you need to just set them up right and adjust to suit your amp.People need to remember that if your trying to get a sound that is similar to bands recording it will be difficult without using that exact gear . I played around with the MT2 and was able to get a decent Metallica MOP Sound, Black Album sound , AJFA sound - everything . Its all in the player , and what is suitable to your ears . Analog sound is much much better then digital . I also once used a Behringer Ultra Metal and combined with an Digitech RP50 and it sounded amazing .
If it can do what I ask of it, if it can bring out the tone that is in my head, if I can drop it by accident and not get a heart attack, and if it is going to sereve me for years and years than it is a pedal for me. Boss makes such a pedal. It is called ODB-3 Bass Overdrive and it is like a small yellow tank. I also have their tuner and EQ pedal and I am thinking about getting an octaver. The only thing not Boss is the 105Q Bass Wah.
My favourite overdrive is the Boss OD-3 and the DS-1 for distortion. I have an old Japanese tubescreamer but the OD-3 is so much richer. The DS-1 has a smooth distortion and beautiful violin sustain. I dial my gear in properly!!!
Well said. I must have over 50 pedals both vintage and boutique however my original black label Japanese SD1 is still my hands down go to drive pedal for putting n front of any tube amp. Solid tone very time
Do you really need a TUBE amp to make the metal zone work good? I use one on my 100 watt boss mark1 amp. Which is a fancy new kind of solid state amp. Sounds kool to me! Perhaps they sounded crap sometimes on older/lower quality amps from back in the day?
The thing is, the only people that will care enough about your tone to complain at a live concert are guitarists. If you’re just playing to a regular audience chances are they don’t care at all
hey !!! i need ur advice plz ? i cant get my needed powerfull distortion from my pod hd 500x ,do u recommend to sell it and replace it by metal zone peddal ???
Joe Satriani got his distortion exclusively from the BOSS DS-1 until 2008 when he started working with VOX. (Steve Vai still uses one.) Joe and Steve also have used and still use the BOSS delay and/or chorus pedals. Prince exclusively used an original Metal Zone pedal to achieve his distortion tone since first it was released back in the '80s, as well as various other BOSS pedals throughout his career. And the BOSS tuner pedal has been a standard on nearly every guitar player's pedalboard for decades. BOSS pedals are great!! ...And so is your video, Simon!! Thank you for making it!! (-:
I like this video man it's always nice to hear people that have some logic and actually think about what they're being told and what they're saying and I actually got a brand new metal zone today and it sounds great and as a beginner it encourages me to play the guitar more often and learn more challenging songs that I wouldn't have even thought of before getting it
Great video man. Sometimes guitarists need to stop with the snobbery and use their ears more. Great video I shared it. :-)
Thanks man! :0)
What a compliment to get this comment from "In the Blues", a great channel!
@@SimonSmithGuitar I've gigged my handful times, and recordings and bought dozens of pedals, heads cables etc. All that shit breaks (guitar strings, batteries, heads, pedals etc). The one thing that's always worked were my "shit" boss pedals.
People who can't play well blame gear. People who sound great do so on any gear they use.
irondarwin1 Agreed look up Zakk wylde playing MIB on a hello kitty guitar for God sakes
"People who can't play well blame gear."
Very true, I can't play andI sound crap no matter what I use:-)
Me too
irondarwin1 like ola englund he makes everything sound good
Thank you Sir!
straight up... boss pedals are indestructible, reliable, functional and easy to use. people who gripe about the tech specs are simply not people who need to play live very often, OR they aren't a proper player and they are relying on fancy tone boxes to hide poor playing
:0)
And also not crazy expensive like some other similar pedals
most of the time.
however, i personally don't like the metal zone, or boss distortions in general. then again, I don't like distortions that much.
Boss makes great pedals, but I don't like distortion.
Their overdrive pedals are great; they can sound super heavy into a crunch channel on an amp
Hazen Stribling
I gotta tell ya though,if you do intend to use distortion at some point and like the Marshall tone,the Xotic SL pedal which goes for only $124 will blow your mind. it also fits in the palm of your hand and is built like a tank and is actually heavy for its size.
most other post amp distortion pedals aren't that great or simply come up short or sound pedestrian.
..or some people are assburgers, who often concentrate on little details (as I do). The boss NS2's loop really takes high treble away from guitar tone. It's especially noticeable if modern distortions are used. If you put distortions after the pedal everything's ok (because c'mon, many modern metal players boost their amp with TS or something similar, which takes off top end anyway).
Boss used to be the gold standard. Guitarists coveted them. Some time in the noughties, they became unfashionable and people paid 3x for whatever was trendy. To replicate tones that were often created with Boss pedals in the first place.
Agreed!!
Bollocks. Boss was never budget priced, apart from very few models, and has been firmly in the middle of the road as regards pricing. If you're referring to boutique pedal shoppers, that's a minority with more cash than common sense.
Today, Boss is ovepriced compared to what it offers with most competitors for most effect types.
Exactly!!! So silly!
@@martinkrauser4029 I didn’t see this 6 years ago. Where did I say they were budget priced? I said they were the gold standard. That doesn’t mean they were cheap you muppet.
First positive video I've seen on the Metal Zone. Had mine for ages and I love it. I've been using Boss pedals for 20 odd years now and never had an issue. Guitar snobs do my head in!
\m/
we always just called it the treble zone.
i had the frommel mod great pedal great mod
Hell yeah same here
Yep, i've used mine since they came out. You just have to know how to use it.
I believe we as guitar players should not focus so much on gear as we should care about our phrasing and technique in order to sound good. We have this bad habit of thinking that if we get a 5150 and put a drive pedal in front of it you're gonna sound awesome which is not the case. In the end,it's all in the hands.
but as a musician you should get the gear that compliments your playing
I didn't turn into a gear snob until I'd been playing 15 some years (been 20 some now). After a while, worrying about your technique gets old-whether it should or not-but you still want to worry about your hobby. Worrying about gear is a way to do that.
Gear makes the hobby fun and ever changing. If it weren't for gear snobs we wouldn't have 75% of the gear we have now.
Variety is the spice of life man.
Very well said. Gear is definitely important, but your ability to play your instrument and ability to create your own style are vastly more important. I used to think if I had better gear, I’d sound better. Bullshit. Before I started to improve, I let a friend (who still to this day is light years ahead of me as a guitar player) play through my old rig several years ago. In all reality, my rig truly was pretty crappy, but this guy plugged in and made my rig sound like it belonged on some of my favorite records. I learned that day that gear is definitely important, but it sure as hell isn’t the most important.
Boss DS-1 is still one of the best distortions I ever had, doesn't fit my style anymore, but still a great pedal.
Exactly! I played a DS-1 for years too until I got absolutely sick of that sound. Our tastes change! I had a short phase with a HM-2 Heavy Metal after that then moved to the Rockman Sustainor and used that for years. I didn't even like Boston... but loved that sound then. It was more of a complete preamp/compressor/distortion thing and I loved its clean tone as well. Plugged mine back in recently (no idea why I kept that and sold so much other gear) and I was like, "what the hell was I thinking!". It was an 80's sound. Now, I find it glassy, harsh and unnatural, clean or dirty and it really is. Tastes change, our ears evolve, this is all normal.
I just started playing with my old band again and my Red Knobs Fender Twin is the only amp I had kept. While its dirt channel has plenty of gain, it really does mild to moderate breakup best. I never liked the "texture" of its distortion all that much although it's all tube (and loud as hell). I needed something else which would bet me into Marshal territory without busting the bank so I got the JHS Andy Timmons (AT) distortion after watching a ton of videos for different pedals and it sounds and especially feels killer. It costs more than a Boss pedal (but not crazy expensive), but to me, it sounds way better than any Boss distortion pedal I've ever used (I never owned a Metal Zone but I've plugged into one many times).
The JHS AT is a different thing and it's where my tats is at now. I loved all my other distortions until I didn't. I do not foresee ditching the AT any time soon...
Yeah I don't understand why people rag on the DS1. Its a great grungy rock sound.
boss ds-1 great pedal loads of distortion(the older models),i use it on bass,our guitarist used it,toured they got beat to shit, never failed though.
yeah, i tore out the d4 and d5 transistors and it sounds even way better than it already was
+rayvandragon Sd1 japan and taiwan , distortion, heavy metal, metal zone, fuzz fz2, stereo chorus...rc2 loop station, and gt5 pedalboard made in japan...I play always with a boss
People these days listen with their eyes!!!
True
i was looking a band live and looking
2 guys acoustic guitars 2 guys electrics 2 guys keyboards 1 guy drums 1 guy percussion 2 singers
and my eyes were so pleased but my ears i was hearing nothing at all
and their wallet also seem like it.
MY BELOVED EVER FIRST PEDAL THE: BOSS MT-2 METAL ZONE
Prince could buy any pedal (or pedalmaker ;-) in this world, but he uses nothing but BOSS pedals on his board...
True! Rip prince by the way
Prince could also have bought any clothes he wanted but chose to look like an extra on the set of a bad Jane Austen film adaptation. And he was abusing Fentanyl like I do with potato chips, which led to his death way too early.
The lesson being: don't emulate famous people blindly like they somehow know better. Because they don't.
Martin L k
No, his death came at exactly the right time. He did everything in his life to lead to that point. He created the right conditions for it. It happened. It wasnt early or untimely.
+Martin L You are so right. Only emulate famous people blindly when you don't know what you're doing...if you know that you don't know what you're doing...hmpf...lol...I had to do this...I know you statement is common sense...just wanted to mess things up a bit for fun. Peace.
I still use a Metal Zone. People compliment my tone and often ask what I'm using. I just say, MT-2 pedal; that's it (plus a JCM 2000 DSL). They always look shocked.
I fail to see how that combination COULDN'T kick ass.
I agree. The MT2 pedal gets a lot of ire, and I suppose people really dial in terrible sounds with it. The JCM 2000 is a great amp, but it's designed for classic rock. I just guess a lot of metal bands we play with are surprised.
I hear you man. I'm running through an MT2, Boss Super Chorus, MXR six band eq and then a Randall BLOQ noise gate into a Blackstar HT-5R 1x12 combo (I'm a living room warrior, hahaha) and I'm damn pleased with the sound I'm getting out of that combination. Cheers!
JCM 2000 DSL 100 is great for full on Metal with a 1960A cab, has high gain channel but I found that the Crunch channel with an overdrive pedal &/or a Screamer pedal before that is supreme \m/
Back in my first band, before my guitarist got himself a marshall vs100 and cab, he was using a metal zone into my old peavey valve amp. I think the metal zone into tube amp tone was better than the cheap hybrid, so long as we played loud. The metal zone gave enough tone shaping to keep a thick and very distorted grunge sound from obliterating my bass.
Basically as a non boss fan nor hater I say, that 50% of those who hate on boss pedals hate them because they don't like them in their personal sound and it is really really important to have a "comfortable zone" to play in, the other 50% are just simply stupid unexperianced beginners who heard boss sucks. So, I complitely agree with you and the thing about the metal zone, it's pure crap ONLY if it's in the wrong hands!
Thanks for the comment mate
:)
At last - an experienced gigger using Boss pedals. Fantastic Simon. Thank you for uploading this. I have used them for years live and they are super reliable and sound great.
another thing people tend to forget (or dont know about it at all) is how the actual amp you play reacts to certain pedals, just go in to your local or fav guitar store, bring a metal zone with you or ask for one, try it on a solid state 50w+ amp, try it on a laney tube amp and a marshall tube amp, you'll get 3 different sounds with the very same pedal setting and i guarantee you wont like it all
oh yea, even the pickups effect it... and the most suprising, a shitty quality cable can mess up the whole thing too
Very good point!
well that for sure. each amp have different filter caps and different speakers causing different eqs and input impedance
One thing that worked for me back in the mid 80's for punk rock and crossover stuff was my old peavey special 130 and the BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal. I have a Keeley modded Metal zone that sounds decent through most of my amps
Which is why people often don't like the DS1. The DS1 was made to be run on a tube amp and will sound horrible on anything solid state for the most part.
That pedal has a parametric eq on it and loads of bass/treble, if you can't get a good sound on it there's something wrong.
If Boss isn’t available, I use DigiTech. I hear TC Electronic and Electro-Harmonix are also really good.
I believe that it is almost imposible to make a JCM 800 sound bad so that is a large part of your experience
bobowrath sovine really? i see and hear a jcm 800 sounds horrible in bad hands
bad hands, you mean like they can't play? That is what Crate practice amps are for
+bobowrath sovine
Should I feel ashamed to own a Crate 15w practice amp as my first amp?
no, that is quite a good amp for a beginner
That's exactly what I thought. Running a Metal Zone thru an JCM800 would be like putting cheap chairs on your BMW and then thinking "man these chairs are not so bad after all, I'm having a great time riding them!".
I'm running a Boss Metal Zone through a Hartke GT100c (tube preamp) and it sounds super aggressive with loads of clarity and brutality, perfect for thrash and death metal. Anyone who says Boss sucks is running it through the wrong amp or they're not adjusting it right.
Deicide used metalzones on one of their albums I think. The entire Swedish DM scene used Boss HM-2's.
metal zone was used on At the Gates' 'Slaughter of the Soul' record
Patrick Duggan Are you sure? Thought ATG always used the Boss HM-2's like all the other swedish bands.
+Lavabug Not all swedes use HM-2s. The SOTS guitars used an HM-2 in the front and a MT-2 in the loop. In Flame's "Jester Race" has an MT-2 on it too. Heck, even Entombed stopped using the HM-2 years ago. The Metal Zone was already dissed and deemed uncool at the time, but it made its way on many albums indeed! :)
If I am not mistaken it was mentioned that that pedal was used in studio in a recent documentary on the making of the album. The documentary exists on you tube. I have had luck messing with that pedal on my board and remember taking a mental note when watching it because that record has been a favorite of mine since middle school. I have also been aware of the stigma of this pedal.
Patrick Duggan I watched that documentary a while back, it is very good. They go into a lot of detail.
Thank you so much Simon ! I learnt so much from you. Normally I was using a different setting but tried your tweaks on the zone and worked so well, liked the tone so much ! Have a good day, and please keep posting
I've always used a boss metal zone as a low end boost always into my rectifier. when people ask what pedals I use to get my crushing sound I just say metal zone as a boost into my rectum fryer. and there like wow.
People don't like Boss and a lot of other makers only because they are a big manufactured pedal. It just isn't cool enough for them. Most of the players that buy expensive boutique pedals want to be a snob and make themselves look important instead of playing great music. Like they have to have that vomit swirled paint job with "special" electronics inside to get one noise for 10 seconds of a song. When in reality most pedals are just based off of each other with minor variations in internal electronics.
I don't like them because I played them and didn't like them lol... I preferred my amp without them.
As an audio engineer I can say 99% of people invent 'tone coloration' that just plain isn't there. Hell, I've A/B tested some of my gearhead buddies and they can't tell what's what. People swear up and down that their personal favorite brand is way better, but it's a pretty damn safe bet all the 'tone' they get out of it is based on the logo.
Of course, you can say that about anything: Clothes, cars, coffee...
Are there differences between pieces of gear? Sure.
Are they as big a difference as the price difference? 9 times outta 10: Nope.
Are they as big as the acoustic differences the VENUE introduces? Oh fuck, no.
Are they noticeable when you're standing four feet from an amp you've got cranked up till it's literally damaging your hearing every time you play? Abso-fucking-lutely not.
Just remember: The 'warmest' most 'natural' tone you can achieve is by shoving one's head up one's own ass - and fuck me, just about everyone seems to have figured that one out!
My thoughts exactly!!
I agree 100%. The Metal Zone was my first introduction to parametric eq. That helped immensely in finding “my sound” later on. Steve Vai used a DS-1 for years before he decided to cash in on his fame w/ the Jemini pedal. Vai, Prince, VH, all are to have used boss at some point. They all could have used boss exclusively, sounded brilliant and different from each other. Because it‘s NOT all about what you have to work with, it’s about what you do w/ what you have to work with.
That's an interesting point about buffers. I have an older DOD Grunge distortion pedal that never gets turned on but it stays at the front of my chain simply because it has a buffer and it makes my sound so much better. When I took it off, the sound was just not where it needed to be.
I’ve still use my MZ that I bought in 91 when they came out, hardly any paint left on it. It’s easily one of the best pedals ever made.
I only use one pedal, the Boss BD2. I have tried lots of others but this one just gives me the warmth I'm looking for. I have it 15 years and it still hasn't let me down yet. My buddies DS1 is from the early 90s, it had 2 broken knobs and wasn't working so good after some very heavy use, at a convention, Boss repaired it for free... they won my respect that day.
If someone is fighting with their tube amp trying to get better articulation, especially on fast palm muted notes, please be aware that it will not happen. Electric guitars low notes simply do not have enough presence in the frequency ranges needed for articulation (800hz-4k). This is why blues plays swear by the mid-boosted articulation of the tube screamer. Like the Tube Screamer, the Metal Zone shoves those frequencies that don't just drive the tubes, but drive our ears, giving it more presence articulation than any other pedal. The trick with the Metal Zone is that since the mids are so strong, the consonant ranges (4-5k) might need to be reduced. Run it into clean or very slightly warm tubes, the fuzz disappears, and it becomes almost silky.
Absolutely.
And what really cracks me up is if you look at the circuits, components, build quality.
Elite custom mods to pedals, etc.
Buffers that cost $100, and only are buffers... made up of $8 of components... since that's all it takes to build a high quality buffer. People are funny... and boutique pedal builders are pretty amusing too.
I am subscribing and I am not even done with your vid, Truth on Boss, love it!! I have been using the MT2 for YEARS as well, LOVE IT:)
Thanks Roland mate
This info is really helpful especially about the different types of environments that music is played in. Also to me, creativity is the most important aspect of music before tone. I think guitarists worry far more about tone than any audience ever will. I know great tone is fun and can inspire creativity but we criticize each other's gear far too much while the audience is simply just waiting to hear more music. I say if you don't want to use a certain type of gear ok, just don't use it but then no need to jump all over another musician who decides to use that gear for his/her music. if that person's music doesn't sound good to you just listen to someone else's music instead or focus more on your own music.
I agree with you on this. I own a Boss DS-1 Distortion (which hasn't been getting used that much lately since I've bought a Big Muff, but that's irrelevant), a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, and a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and they all work great. Boss is just a really good company, and it wouldn't be tough to understand why Boss is one of the most popular companies for effects pedals
Its weird for me.In the early 90's my metal zone was the best thing ever,I could get thet dime/metalica/death metal/sepultura type sound all in that one box,I agree it can take a bit of time to dial it in before I was happy.
I tried my mates metal zone couple months ago and well,I hated it,it was real hard to get that old feeling back that the metal zone used to give me.
Maybe because my musical taiste and style has changed a lot,But deep down I miss those old metal zone days ;)
P.s- I have a boss blues driver,best pedal on my board.
yes, i have boss od3, boss ds1 (with my mods), boss mt2, boss ch1, boss dd1, and mxr phase 90 (r28 mod). I am so happy with my tone... and yeah schecter guitar and laney amp. (i have some digitech pedals, and EHX chorus nano clone cheap and noisy)
I have compared the boss pedal with digitech pedal: my clean tone (when pedal is not switched on)is unchanged with the boss pedals, BUT with the digitech clean tone is losing high frequencies. And boss pedals are not noisy.
Agreed. I have a mix of pedals that are all on my board because of the way they sound. The funny thing about pedals and amplifiers is they have these little things on them called "knobs" and "switches"; they let you change the way they sound until it sounds good to you. Heady stuff, I know. Price tag does not equal tone.
Something to keep in mind about a lot of the boss pedals is that their pedals tend to also sound relatively good through bass as well, especially for stoner metal and doom metal, Al Cisneros uses a DS-1 as his main distortion pedal with Om and Sleep, and I'm fairly sure that Tim Bagshaw(used to be part of Electric Wizard.) used a boss FZ-2 as his fuzz(as did Jus Oborn.)
My first pedal was a Boss DS-1, and I still have it to this day. It delivers the goods every time I use it. I believe Steve Vai and Joe Satriani also use a DS-1 in their signal path. I also like the Power Stack and Combo Drive because they have a very amp-like sound.
I like how my OD-1 is still working since day one. Even had a leaky battery once but the design kept the acid out. It is simply perfect. Btw I think COSM it partly to blame, yet they are on the rebound with the Waza line.
I bought my first Boss DS1 in 1981. I still use it all the time. It has never failed even after thousands of shows. And most of all, it still sounds great.
Great pedals. Mega reliable!!
What's really weird is that it's older brother, the HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal is now suddenly in vogue as a pedal to run before an amp's distortion channel. That kinda blew me away as I always had hated the mushiness of that pedal. I do however love the MT-2 Metal Zone and have used that pedal in countless gigs and studio recordings. It all really depends on what kind of metal tone a person is into, but for that classic scooped mid high gain metal tone heard on countless death metal albums, you really can't go wrong with it. However it does sound much better going through a good all-tube halfstack with the 4x12 cabinet portion loaded with quality speakers. I used for years a Dean Markley RM-80 halfstack and it always thundered in live shows. Before then I used it through a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 where it performed quite well, but just not as ballsy sounding as the halfstack of course. These days I run it through a Crate Stealth 50 watt head but through the same cabinet. While it's not my favorite metal pedal, it certain does the job and it's sweepable mid-range eq is something that very few metal distortion pedals have at that price point.
To me it is a standard pedal for anyone serious about gigging in a metal band unless they are going for a very specific sound and use another pedal or they prefer their amp's built in distortion tones. If anything it makes for a great backup pedal in case your boutique pedal bites it.
That being said, my favorite metal pedal is the Zoom 5000 Driver pedal. On it's Stack 2 setting, it is like a MT-2 on steroids with a much richer sound and has built in noise reduction and other distortion types as well.
boss are very dynamic, so it is easy to fuck up the tone. but if dialed in correctly, boss is as good as any other pedals. infact, i was able to get the rust in peace tone, and after a few tweaks i was also able to get a thick modern metal tone...and even get a bluesy rock tone..very dynamic and wide range of flexibility..boss pedals need just a little more effort in dialing a tone. but theyre good
I know I'm late to this thread but I have a 90s-era MetalZone I bought used for $20 and it still works and sounds like new. I got a new DS-1 for $37.99 and it's awesome (though I don't like how it sounds with certain amps). BOSS is BOSS.
Thanks for clearing up all the fuss I've been having lately in my head. Recently bought my first half stack and found the gain channel to not have enough "bite" for me personally and I've been scouring the internet lately trying to rectify whether the expensive pedals are worth their price, especially when I see and hear $100 and under pedals that sound good to me
:0)
I don't use a metal zone particularly. I have a boss me-80 and I assume the "metal" setting was made to replicate the boss metal zone, but I really like how it sounds. I just put it into a really low gain channel on my amp (just enough so if you hit the strings pretty hard youll get some break up) and boost it using the metal zone. it's pretty cool and I say give it a shot if you've previously gone in through a clean channel.
Someone landed me a Metal Zone so I could try it with my synths! With the EQ, you can tweak the sound a lot and come up with very nice distorsion tones. The key is to not crank it up to much and use a noise gate. It works great in parallel processing too.
I built the same 3-pedal setup last year, tuner, NS-2, and Metal Zone, placed in front of my JCM2000. This was to create a pedalboard JUST for a death metal rhythm tone, not for anything else. Works perfectly with no hassles and no menus.
The fact that no one ever gave you any shit about Boss pedals at shows or in the studio or whatever is probably not due to everyone thinking highly of them, I would think it has more to do with people who had those views using their filter and keeping their opinions to themselves about it because they didn't want to be rude. I can't imagine any social situation where I just finished playing a show and some dude comes up and says "did you know those aren't true bypass??" and hoping to actually have any kind of conversation after that.
I'm a bass player and occasional guitarist. As a guitarist I bought several boss pedals. Now, admittedly, I didn't have much experience or cash so it more because they were reasonably priced than any other reason. Now, cut to ten years later and I'm playing bass is pretty much all my musical endeavors. I've used and Ashdown and a tone city distortion on my pedal board. Both no longer work, so now I'm back to using my old SD1 and DS1, as well as my NS2 and (japanese made ;-P ) BF2, as well as a few other pedals. Those Boss pedals are fantastic! Never experienced a metal zone, so don't have an unbiased opinion on them.
BOSS MT-2 METAL ZONE IS KING........ MY FIRST PEDAL!
great points in the video :) Anyway, just out of curiosity, what was the name of the band?
Do you have any links to your performances or recordings with the pedal?
The MT2 Is One Of The Best Versatile Metal Pedal EVER !!! I Will Never Get Rid Of It.
VERY Wide Range Of Tone. You Have To Dial It In, It Works Awesome !!!!
I have a Boss DS-1 modded by Keeley and I love it. I have a DD-7 that I love too.
I think the key here is that they were going through a killer amp and cab. Most people had an MT-2 (or another Boss distortion pedal) when they were younger and ran it into their Crate combo amp, not realizing what was actually causing their tone to suffer.
For the price, Boss can't be beaten. I've had a phase where I had to buy boutique pedals and in all honesty, I went back to Boss pedals for the quality, durability and just the amazing sound you get for those prices. I think it's also interesting to know that Steve Vai, Prince, Robert Smith and Omar Rodriguez Lopez to name a few uses Boss pedals and their tone is amazing.
For the price, it has been beaten over and over and over the past two decades, but extolling the affordability of Boss in the era of the Chinese onslaught is really a doubtful proposition.
I disagree. In terms of value for the money, I think Boss is still the best on the market. Those pedals are practically unbreakable and just sounds good. So many artists still uses them, I wouldn't be afraid for their future.
There are pedals at a fifth (!) of the price that sound just as great and are just as durable. Boss is usually a solid choice, but is no value purchase, apart from a few notable exceptions.
Okay, give me a few examples. I'm open to take a listen and check em out.
Rowin 301B / Donner Morpher
Nux Time Force / Donner Black Arts
Donner Yellow Fall
Donner Boost Killer
Danelectro Fish & Chips
Caline Pure Sky
Joyo Dynamic Compressor
Joyo Husky Drive
Biyang OD-8 / OD-12
... and lots and lots of other pedals.
Hey, Simon!
I also use the NS-2, great noisegate! I wonder if you also experience a small signalboost when activating it? I`ts like maybe just 2 or 3 db. If so, do you know why i does this??
THX :) \m/
Yes I do get that boost. No idea why....
Preach it! I've got the same TU-2 tuner that I bought in 1998. Never had a single issue. Also, I bought a DD-20 in 2005. Used it for a couple years, then got into a programming techy phase and bought an Eventide Timefactor. When that phase was over, I missed the simplicity of the DD-20. I sold the Timefactor and bought another DD-20. I find my pedalboard is steadily converting back to Boss all the time. Just really fantastic and durable pedals. As you said...through a decent tube amp. That is where the rubber meets the road.
The problem with the Metal Zone is it's so easy to fuck up. You can get some great sounds out of if, but its so easy to get it wrong and mess it up. Apart from that, nothing really wrong with Boss pedals imo! I personally don't like the Tuner that much but that's more down to the fact that its quite hard to see sometimes imo (I'm short sighted haha) but they have some great pedals! The RV-3, Giga Delay (which seems to not be produced anymore sadly 😞), Adaptive Distortion and Tera Echo are all great and I'd love them! (Well except for the AD, I love my Tube Screamer too much 😜). Wouldn't mind trying the MZ out though, just to get some very harsh tones, not as a main though
RV-6 I mean haha
+Mike Mellor I just had my metalzone modded and it's way better. All the harshness is gone. It's q good pedal just needs some tweaking for sure. Even stock it's very useful. Your rig us a huge part too
What was your band's name?
I've been looking around for a new distortion pedal since mine went out, hoping to find the best option. I've heard a lot of blather in reviews. You really shed light on the situation, thanks!
No probs
The reason buffers are being used now, is because people tend to have more pedals on their board and signal loss is an issue. Same thing with a live rig - you'll most often have long cable runs on stage and you'll need that buffer.
Playing alone at home with a few pedals and short cable runs, you can hear all the subtle differences and you'll probably notice a difference with true bypass.
The only reason I gave up my Metal Zone is that it was too touch sensitive. Just a hair off one of the parameters it's a totally different sound. I just needed something simpler. Honestly, I was impressed how versatile the MT-2 actually was.
its the ear not the gear
I know one effects pedal modder who uses an unmodded mt2 in the studio and live gig.
What was the band name you were playing in? Where can I check out your stuff?
Amen to that brothef. Too many forum nerds in this world.
Thank you for this video sir!
I have (and use all the time) a BOSS flanger BF-2 and a BOSS Phaser PH-3, love them both
Nice one Smithy.
Can you tell me mate what are the best budget metal pedals for home use.
Hi Simon, great words, i'am totally agree with you! And great jod for all your channel!
I have seen that you also Fender Patch Cable (me too): could i ask your opinion about those Fender Patch Cables? Are they good? A lots of people say that they sucks: i havent used different cable, so, i dont known; could you tell me your opinion about theme?
Tks a lot!
Hi Luigi. I use loads of different patch cables and have also heard bad things about the Fenders, however, so far I've had no problems with them whatsoever. The long Fender cables I have had issues with them though..
hi Simon, tks for your answer and happy new year! i have also the fender malmsteen signature cable and it works well for now (anyway, nothing to compare with the old dimarzio malmsteen signarure cable, that was to another level)
I use a boss rv6 and ns2 in my pedal board and they both work brilliantly. There is nothing to complain about in both performance and build quality, the real question is should a pedal suit the guitar and amp setup as certain amps and guitars produce different frequencies. Personally I really like there delays and reverbs ,to me they do not colour your sound just add to it.
I went along time in the 90s with just a metal zone and a boss eq. Never had a problem.
i have both boutique and standard the pedals in my arsenal and still to this day gravitate to my metal zone for heavy distortion, sounds great through a fender twin as well as a marshal no buffer needed
I use a Super Overdrive as a boost for the Metal Zone. No problems at all. I run mine straight into a power amp. And like with Simon, no one ever said anything bad about my sound or gear. I have tried various high gain amps that sound good, but they are very expensive and too massive to carry around, so I am very content with what I have. I agree with the comments that say that people who complain about pedals or other gear should instead devote more time to try to listen and dial different tones.
Truth has been spoken
Hi Simon. I just bought a boss heavy metal hm 2. It has a sticker ACA Adapter only. I read that you can run it on the 12 v slot in a power supply. Is this the case?
I agree. I have a few Boss pedals that I love. the MT-2 has taken a back seat only out of personal preference (to a Wampler triple wreck), but I still love my power driver circa 1997 :)
Very well said, Simon. Being "only" an average guitarist, I have owned my Metal Zone since the mid 90's also. I have tried, and unfortunately, purchased many other distortion pedals over the years. But I always come back to my Boss. It is reliable, and gives me the EXACT tone thats in my head. Boss rules!
I find it the same with MXR Fullbore Metal. Everyone has something bad to say about it but you can dial in an awesome tone with it. It takes time tweaking the pedal and amp. Fullbore metal has awesome mids and can be used for hard rock all the way to death metal. What's not to like there are plenty of options.
I bought a Boss Heavy Metal Pedal II back in the early 80's (actually it was their 3 millionth unit, I still have the brass plaque to prove it). Phil Campbell of Motorhead, a good friend of mine, once asked how I got my sound, at the time I was using and H|H IC100S (with variable sustain) and used the Heavy Metal Pedal II as a boost while playing lead, and I got an awesome sound. As it happens, I now also have the Boss Chorus Ensemble, Boss DD-7 Delay and Boss RV-6 Reverb and I love em. I've even put them all in a Boss BCB-60 pedal board/case. By the way, my Boss Heavy Metal Pedal II is still working a treat. No I do not work for Boss, just in case you were going to ask lol. I just like a well built long lasting product, which incidentally is what Boss produce.
Did you record the albums with the JCM/Metalzone?
Hi Simon Smith, first of all, thank you for the great videos. What bands did you tour ? And could you say how did you dial those pedals ? So thank you again.
+Fábio Krüger Hi Fabio. Toured in SNUB with various bands. Earthtone 9, GF93, Misery Loves Company. Can't remember how I dialled them in, it was a long time ago :0)
+Simon Smith tnx
+Fábio Krüger No probs
I have loads of “boutique” pedals but some of my fav pedals are boss
You are awesome. You said everything that I wanna say about Boss pedals. i like them a lot and have quiet a few of them. NEVER had a problem with any. And because I have at least two in my pedal board, I never had to worry about the length of the cables altering the tone.(hail to buffer pedals)
:0)
I love my NS2. I have some very nasty self oscillating fuzz, and it stops all the sound when I am not playing in loop mode. Not aware of another pedal that does this. It's also the most smooth and unobtrusive noise suppression pedal out there. It just does what it says on the box with no issues.
BOSS pedals are really good. For a bass player like myself BOSS offers some really good tones in their accesories. The odb-3 is a solid overdrive and very easy to use (although i have a MXR bass overdrive, the odb-3 is really good).
I just bought a Boss Ninja 50 watt amp and when you open up the Computer effects and settings Program they have bunches of Boss pedal simulators it like being in Guitar Center all alone having a blast . Even the Effects I would never use are quality plus they boost better then a pedal into the amp . Boss Metal Zones have been a Metal staple of Guitarists boards for many years !!!
would u prefer the ns-2 rather than, - for example - an isp, mxr smartgate etc.?
ISP is my favourite. I have it on my main metal board!! The Boss is great also though I used it for years and still use it at home all the time.
Brilliant, well said.
I'm still using a Metal zone (modded i confess) as well as a chorus ensemble and dd7. All great pedals. Never had any problems in the 10 or so years I've had them. All well gigged and used to death.
I use a couple of Boss pedals on my board and love them! Out of interest Simon, what was the band you were a member of? I'm curious and would like to check out your stuff if it's still out there? Cheers!
PS - Ya know who also swore by Boss pedals? PRINCE ;)
What's a decent tube amp to put it through and are you using it as a preamp or in front of the amp
I recently purchased a MT2 and MD2 , i think they are both great pedals , you need to just set them up right and adjust to suit your amp.People need to remember that if your trying to get a sound that is similar to bands recording it will be difficult without using that exact gear . I played around with the MT2 and was able to get a decent Metallica MOP Sound, Black Album sound , AJFA sound - everything . Its all in the player , and what is suitable to your ears . Analog sound is much much better then digital . I also once used a Behringer Ultra Metal and combined with an Digitech RP50 and it sounded amazing .
If it can do what I ask of it, if it can bring out the tone that is in my head, if I can drop it by accident and not get a heart attack, and if it is going to sereve me for years and years than it is a pedal for me. Boss makes such a pedal. It is called ODB-3 Bass Overdrive and it is like a small yellow tank. I also have their tuner and EQ pedal and I am thinking about getting an octaver. The only thing not Boss is the 105Q Bass Wah.
My favourite overdrive is the Boss OD-3 and the DS-1 for distortion. I have an old Japanese tubescreamer but the OD-3 is so much richer. The DS-1 has a smooth distortion and beautiful violin sustain. I dial my gear in properly!!!
Well said. I must have over 50 pedals both vintage and boutique however my original black label Japanese SD1 is still my hands down go to drive pedal for putting n front of any tube amp. Solid tone very time
Do you really need a TUBE amp to make the metal zone work good? I use one on my 100 watt boss mark1 amp. Which is a fancy new kind of solid state amp. Sounds kool to me!
Perhaps they sounded crap sometimes on older/lower quality amps from back in the day?
The thing is, the only people that will care enough about your tone to complain at a live concert are guitarists. If you’re just playing to a regular audience chances are they don’t care at all
hey !!! i need ur advice plz ? i cant get my needed powerfull distortion from my pod hd 500x ,do u recommend to sell it and replace it by metal zone peddal ???
+mostafa sherif buy a metal zone pedal and run it into your pod. you get great amp simulators in the pod also. combine.
Both Ulver's Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal are recorded with JCM800 and Metal Zone (and only that) - killer combo, period!
Kirk Windstein uses the metal-zone as a clean boost with his Randalls/Orange solid state amps. Legendary tone!
Had my Boss Turbo Overdrive since the late 80's. Still kicks ass.
Joe Satriani got his distortion exclusively from the BOSS DS-1 until 2008 when he started working with VOX. (Steve Vai still uses one.) Joe and Steve also have used and still use the BOSS delay and/or chorus pedals. Prince exclusively used an original Metal Zone pedal to achieve his distortion tone since first it was released back in the '80s, as well as various other BOSS pedals throughout his career. And the BOSS tuner pedal has been a standard on nearly every guitar player's pedalboard for decades. BOSS pedals are great!! ...And so is your video, Simon!! Thank you for making it!! (-:
I like this video man it's always nice to hear people that have some logic and actually think about what they're being told and what they're saying and I actually got a brand new metal zone today and it sounds great and as a beginner it encourages me to play the guitar more often and learn more challenging songs that I wouldn't have even thought of before getting it
Good stuff!!