Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion Pedal Reviews

I bought my husband a surprise guitar and amp, so of course he was grateful, however he would have picked something different, something with distortion. So this time I asked him to pick a petal, and some cords for his new equipment; he did, and so I bought that as well. The delivery was faster than expected, and he absolutely loves it!!! So I thank u for the fast , free shipping, and quality product, we will DEFINITELY be repeat customer!!!!

I came to the MD-2 through unusual circumstances. My stepbrother was in the market for a distortion pedal, and I recommended the MD-2, as I knew it was the pedal of choice for Simon Neil. My stepbrother gave up on the guitar, and gave me the MD-2. I played around with it, and was ultimately shocked by how great it sounded. There's a surprising amount of flexibility in this thing, from light crunch to face melting, and the tone control and "bottom" control sweep a wide range that lets you dial in any tone you like. I play an AC30 with a Fender Jaguar, which is a rather bright sound already, and I can crank the tone control fully clockwise and it's still a musical sound. The bottom control is great for tailoring in that bass-heavy metal sound, if that's your thing. Personally, I like the bottom control at noon and the tone control at about 1 o'clock for a really cutting sound. This pedal can conjure some great Marshall-esque grind at mid level gain, and can get modern metal levels of gain when the distortion control and gain boost are cranked. Definitely a great sound with flexibility for the price.

Got my Boss MD-2 yesterday! Sweetwater is known for fast delivery! 2 days! I replaced my Boss Blues Driver with this pedal! I finally got the sound that I was hearing in my head! Played my Hendrix signature white start and IMMEDIATLY heard that sweet Hendrix distorted, overdriven tone! A power stack pedal and Monterrey pedal on the vibe channel in the chain with the MD-2 was a little piece of heaven!!! Played through a Marshall DSL40C on the clean channel. Tone knob at 1 o'clock, bottom knob at 2 o'clock, distortion knob at 1-2 o'clock, overdrive knob at 1-2 o'clock and you're COOKING with gas and electric!!! Played for 2 hours straight!! I play blues, blues-rock, hard rock, R&B, jazz and R&B Gospel, no metal. With tweaking it probably could play metal if that's your thing. Do yourself a favor and pick-up one of these badd boys! Israel Foster hooked me up and gives great service at Sweetwater! I have a drawer full of pedals that couldn't cut the mustard but I expect this pedal to be a permanent member of my pedalboard! ROCK ON PEOPLE!!!

This pedal has so much drive and pressure created inside it. that plugged into a fender amp I turn the level knob to like one. With the distortion and drive turned down to about one also. WIth my guitar on 3 I get so much power and sweet overdrive. I have owned the tube screamer and every other overdrive and distortion pedal out there. including the big muff which is a toy next to this pedal. With this pedal with it's potential turned almost all the way down blows away other distortion pedals no problem. And if I turn my guitar up to six or seven suddenly it sounds like zz top, turn up the drive and now it sounds like Steve Vai with overtones screaming then you can go over the top with this sonic futuristic Nuclear battle with overdrive and distortion over the top with screaming like a angry dragon. This pedal is one of the few pedals I have bought and kept. Most pedals are limiting and dirty. this one is amazing. I have found that often less is more with this pedal. And if you want to sound like a screaming dragon it is right at you fingertips.

I've had this for nearly 10 years with heavy use and I'm only now buying a backup. So along with the incredible sound, its also very well constructed (at least it was 10 years ago). This is actually the first distortion pedal that I ever played and nothing has ever matched it since.

This is:
Thick.
Punchy.
Smooth.
Warm.
Modern.

This is not:
Noisy
Thin
Harsh
Sharp

This pedal is fantastic. Lots of versatility and warm, heavy distortion. I have tried most of the "usual suspects" and in my opinion this is one of the very best. When you consider the great price point I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better pedal.

Highly recommended.

I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF RECORDING A DOUBLE ALBUM IN A MAJOR STUDIO, I'VE USED BOSS PEDALS FOR MANY YEARS AND NEVER HAD ONE FAIL. AS A DISTORTION THE METAL CORE WAS TOO BRASH UNTIL I COUPLED IT WITH A BOSS ACTIVE DISTORTION. THEN I NEEDED A TOTALLY DIFFERENT COLOR OF SOUND FOR WHAT I WAS DOING, AND SWAPPED OUT THE METAL CORE & PUT A BOSS MEGA DISTORTION BEFORE THE ADAPTIVE DISTORTION IN MY SIGNAL CHAIN FOLLOWED BY 450 MILLISECONDS OF DELAY & A TOUCH OF CHORUS FROM A LINE 6 FROM SWEETWATER AND I GOT THE TONE I WAS AFTER. YOU ALSO WANT TO PLAY MORE WHEN YOU SOUND GOOD ! I'M BACK IN THE STUDIO IN TWO DAYS AND BOSS WAY HUGE & CRY BABY IS THROUGHOUT MY PEDAL BOARD ALL FROM SWEETWATER.

They say it's the DS-1 upgraded to give you that low bass punch so desired by metal players and man does it have a punch it can sound like or really close to the Big Muff Pi if queued right and you can get lots of other great sounds from the MD-2 such as blues by setting the distortion and gain all the way down very cool bluesy sound.
The MD-2 is two pedals in one the distortion increases your high end sound for soaring notes in your lead solos and the gain gives you more low in sound that will thicken up your tone for heavy stuff and you can get anything from classic to modern tone by adjusting the tone and bottom controls way cool I love it.This is another great guitar effects pedal by Boss it's a keeper a must have for any serious guitar players arsenal go get you one or two of these awesome MD-2 distortion pedals and see for yourself it will be one of the best things you ever done.I'm shooting for the stars guys!!!!!

I've tried a lot of BOSS products, and while their stuff is always durable and dependable, a lot of people are critical of their distortion and overdrive pedals. But in most cases, those opinions are formed squarely off of the older BOSS pedals everyone has owned or tried: DS-1, SD-1, MT-2, BD-2, and so on.

The Mega Distortion (MD-2) did not come out until Sept. 2001, and was apparently meant to appeal to the drop-tuning, 7-string, and nu metal players that had been popular up to that time.

But actually, if you forget that whole angle and just LISTEN to how the pedal sounds, BOSS made a pretty convincing "cabinet-in-a-box" sound that can add some real size and punch to smaller combo amps. I was pretty skeptical when I read some of the other reviews mentioning 70's and 80's Marshall JCM sounds, but those are pretty good descriptions. No, it won't create that exact sound, but it will bring more life out of your rig without getting too muddy sounding.

While the controls and EQ are simpler than, say, the Boss Metal Zone, there's some cool interplay between the Dist and Gain Boost knobs. The "Dist" knob adds more traditional Boss distortion, similar to a DS-1, but capable of more saturation and low end fullness. The "Gain Boost", in my opinion, is more like an on-amp overdrive. I actually like some of the settings where the Dist is set low, but the Gain Boost is set high - makes some AC/DC-like classic rock tones.

My 5-star rating does not mean that this pedal is "better" than a Wampler or any number of $100+ boutiques. Pedal sound is very subjective, and I encourage you to try out before you buy, whenever possible. But given that the MD-2 can be found at pretty reasonable prices, I would give this modern improvement on the DS-1 some serious thought in your search for a high-gain distortion pedal.

This is a great little pedal. When I want to throw in total overdriven mayhem, I can put a Boss Metal Zone on. However when I want that classic not over the top good controlled distortion like in Zep I, III and IV, this is the pedal. Of course it helps a lot to be playing through a Marshall 800, JCMARSHALL 900, or Dual Super Lead amp, and some nice Boss digital delay and a hint of chorus, or a tc electronic G Force, for some added subtle ear candy, or even plain, this little box will reward the good players with nice snarling controlled distortion, tasteful and rich with even harmonics.

I do not know how this would sound through another amp, but if it is a quality amp like a HiWatt or the like, you are bound to like what you hear. It has plenty of potential to take you back to the glory 60's And 70's, or pull up to modern stuff like Joe Bonamassa. A ticket to sonic bliss. Without over doing it or going over the top..add a hum bucker or two or an EMG and you are ready to rock on out.

THIS PEDAL IS TOTALLY AWESOME FOR DROP TUNINGS. IT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET ALOT OF TONE AND BONE CRUNCHING DISTORTION. I USE IT IN MY SETUP WITH A CHORUS AND FLANGE. THIS PEDAL DOES GREAT VAN HALEN WORK. I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE GETTING THIS PEDAL FOR ANY TYPE OF MUSIC. ITS JUST SO VERSITILE.

Awesome pedal exactly what I needed, its dirty, it's mean, it's aggressive, and can be laid back. It's all in the settings. Love it!!!!!

Let me start off by saying this is a great pedal - I use this through the clean ch of a Marshall JCM900 with 6L6 Power tubes - Mahogany Guitar with Dimarzio Fred Pickups. The MD2 in my opinion sounds a lot like a DS1 - The MD2 is very clear and open with flatter mids than a SD1 or TS9 - If you set the Distortion to 40/50% and turn the Gain Boost off it's very dynamic. If you set the Distortion to 60% and the Gain Boost to 50% you can get a great Classic Metal type of sound + The High/Low EQ really helps to shape the overall tone - I really like this pedal - I found it to be very musical, especially when used with a Boss CE-5 and DD-3. I found it sounds best through the clean CH of a tube amplifier. In my opinion this is one of the better sounding Boss Distortion pedals. You would be surprised at how good a lot of pedals sound with the right EQ setting and the Gain backed off - Lower gain settings are more dynamic. So... Check it out - Give it a try - who knows you might Like it!!

Good pedal..thick..good for downtuned stuff..prob better on a 7 string!

This is one of my favourite distortion pedals.

I don't crank the gain (I'm glad I see that in other reviews), and get a great thick crunch anyway.
The key, in my opinion, is to never turn the gain and dist past 10 total, if the knobs go 1-10. So if you crank one all the way up and the other all the way down, both at 5, both lower, etc. So long as it doesn't go past 10 total. That may be confusing, but it's how I think about it.

That gets from 38 Special to Melvins easily.
The tone control is usable through most of the sweep, but don't go crazy with the bottom. It just goes so deep!

If you wanna go silly just turn everything all the way up and get instant Deadsy. Not for everyone, but sometimes it's fun to just roar and squeal with feedback.

Clearly one of the best pedals for distortion (that you can purchase new or used) for the money. The boss 5 year warranty certainly doesn't hurt either.
Pedals are supposed to have a cool/catchy name imho.
I would have given it 4.5/5 stars if it didn't have such a God awful cheesy name...Mega distortion?
That is such a generic name.
Boss should rename it.... but then they will charge more for it, LOL!!

One thing to remember about all these pedals, Boss included, is that so much of peoples' opinions about these techno devices are subjective, and based sometimes on limited knowledge. Why do I say this?

I have been an enthusiast of the Boss Metal Zone for 15 years, however I ran into a dispute with another guitar player a few years back, who swore the MT-2 Metal Zone was just junk. He proceeded to hook up his MT-2 and put all the controls on 12 noon. (Hint: the Metal Zone, as does the MD-2 Mega Distortion, has a parametric equalizer that allows you to custom contour your tones and parameters... you MUST know how they work or else they sound terrible.) The way he had it set, it DID sound terrible because he took no advantage of the great parametric EQ. It had no bass, too much treble, no midrange, it was miserable.

So, my recommendation is learn how parametric equalizers work, FIRST before judging FX gear. I usually set my bass for around noon to 2pm, my treble around 9-10 AM, and the midrange for about 2 pm for the level of midrange, and 2pm for the level of midrange so it is potent but not overwhelming. Same for distortion. Distortion can be overemphasized, or unexploited, both leading to tonal misery.

On the MD-2 I like the distortion set to 9 am to noon generally, so you really come across powerful but almost clean. If you crank distortion to 3 to 4 pm, your tone will be so distorted it will be mush. If you set your midrange range to be low, it will cause your entire tone starting with midrange to be absent, almost non-existent..

And of course, the way to set the volume is to compare your clean volume and try toggling your distorted volume to be set equal to, or just slightly higher than your clean rhythm sound, so your leads don;t overwhelm the listener or audience but does stand out a little bit, (to a good bit if you really want your leads to strut out.

Without these nuances, the qualities of these good pedals from Boss (or any other brand) cannot be understood, explored, and articulated .

I used to own a DS-1 distortion pedal. Too harsh and too much bass. I own
a Boss overdrive. Too smooth and too much midrange. How does one solve
this? An MD-2, that's how! The distortion control reminds me of the DS-1,
and I would never use it alone. The gain control reminds me of the Boss
overdrive, and, by itself, just wouldn't do. But combined.....that's a whole
different story.

Using these two controls together, at modest levels, allows one to really
tweak the best of bite and smoothness. And having a separate bass
control allows trimming out just the right amount of bass to prevent
boom. A very flexible pedal, once it's tweaked a little. Negative reviews
say there's too much compression......not true if the distortion and gain
controls are adjusted quite low. Just get to know it, and discover how
good it can be.

A quiet, durable, useful pedal offering wide flexibility. I am happy
that I bought mine, and I use it often.

purchased this pedal about one year ago and so far I have not experienced much that I don't like with it.
SOmtime i get to much feedback so i am gonna have to buy Boss NS-2. but buy an ac adatper.
i cant play any Sum 41 or Korn but it's good for metallica or some rock

Nice sounding distortion, but not as much on tap as I had hoped. The gain level is fixed, and the boost doesn't add too much more at all. However, for hair metal and early 90's rock, you'll be just fine!

This pedal is a Boss DS-1 with the added ability to make more adjustments. Heavy mid scoop and bumblebee tone control. Between the gain and seperate controls you can dial in a better ds-1 distortion. And thats all.....this pedal would have been better called "Mega DS-1"

This pedal is not that great. Kick it on and prepare for heaps of compression. Loss of dynamics at an incredible price! If you like it to sound like your guitar tone is missing something, this pedal is the one for you! All around, it's a bit fake sounding. I would go for something like a big muff, a rat, or some other pedal that isn't this one.