Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion Pedal Reviews

Had this when they first came out. Great pedal. Sustain, gain, eq parameters. I had fun with this. Need a new one. Can't go wrong.

no dual gain BS, this baby has a sweepable quasi parametric eq to shape any tone, blues, rock, thrash, fuzz, u name it... even with distortion all the way down it blasts that glassy clean punch like the old rat boxes, definately a must-have!

Back in the early 2000's Keeley modded a few pedals for me. The MetalZone was just bad! One of my favorite Boss pedals. Dead quiet also. Built like a tank.

For that old school metal sound, you cant go wrong! Some people give this pedal a bad rep, so I bought it not expecting it to sound as good as it does. It's a permanent fixture on my board for sure.

This was one of my favorites growing up and becoming an intermediate level player years ago. I saw Ola England review one several months ago and I knew I just had to order one. The nostalgia isn't the only reason I ordered it though. This pedal smacks! I love it! It's great for new-gen metal of many varieties, core or otherwise. Lots of tonal options with the EQ.

Dont care what anyone says...this pedal is cool! The EQ section is very sensitive, so yes you can make the pedal sound bad if you aren't careful with it. But you can also make it sound really great too!

Put through your effects loop and you will be amazed.Great for heavy applications.You will not be disappointed......."..

I've been using a BOSS Metal Zone pedal for 16 yrs. and it's the BEST distortion pedal that I've owned in my 40 yrs of playing rock and metal. My first Metal Zone still works like brand new after using for 16 yrs. but I bought another one for a another amp setup that I have. People love this pedal or hate it. I have found that the people who hate it haven't taken the time to learn how to use this pedal properly and haven't explored all the different types of distortions sounds it creates.

My advice: READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL THAT COME WITH THE PEDAL!!! (It's only 1 page)

When I first got one, I started playing with all the settings and heard everything it could give me. When I found the metal sound I was looking for, I fell in love with this pedal and never used another one. When I play onstage I use my Marshall distortion footswitch for regular rock tones. When I play Metal, I click off my Marshall footswitch and I click on my BOSS Metal Zone and it blows the roof off the joint!!!

This pedal gives me all the different distortion tones I need and I will continue to use it for a long, long time.

Been using this pedal for about 20 years. From a punk band in the late 90's to a djent metal band and anything in between. Sustain is insane and midrange was slows to you capture the pinch and clarity without sacrificing clarity and over saturation. Always part of the setup

Use through effects loop if your looking for great heavy sound you have been looking for.Amazing pedal if you can use it correctly.What a difference.This has been my go to pedal for 20 years.

This pedal is amazing! Has the tone I've been searching for!

I've had my same original MT-2 for over twenty years and it still works perfectly after all these years. I noticed from some of my fellow reviewers this has been a wrongly maligned pedal all over the internet from 16 year old guitarist who don't know how to set the distortion knob or the midrange level. It has a killer Death Metal sound through my Marshall Valve state 100 watt stack that I've also had for twenty + years. So don't believe the detractors this was and still is a great go to pedal for all types of Metal if you take the time and learn how to dial it in.

Can sound almost identical to a md-2 (marshall-like) as thats how I use it. Trick is not using the high knob as much as possible...mine is pretty old but it works fine as what I like most about boss pedals.

It's become an almost robotic parroting on internet guitar forums of supposedly how "bad" the BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone is... usually by people who 1) never used/owned it, or 2) don't know how to use it properly. It's an unfairly maligned pedal also due to the prevalence of 14-year old kids with a 6" speaker-equipped combo amp and a youtube account, or a ride to your local Guitar Center. LOL

The real KEY to properly using the MT-2 is the mid-frequency control. Again, it's almost become a cliche that "scooped mids sucks", when in fact there IS a way to get that scooped metal tone without disappearing in the mix... Start by placing all controls at the 12 o'clock position, which should be more or less neutral eq-wise, the inherent tone of the pedal not withstanding. Now turn the mid control all the way up(stay with me here) - now slowly sweep the mid-frequency control all around and find that awful, nasally annoying frequency... you'll know it when you hear it, and it will be different for your guitar than mine, so one setting does not fit all. Now that you have found that nasty tone, turn the mid control down to scoop it out. You are NOT scooping ALL the mids, just a certain frequency range that is unpleasant to the ears. Now adjust level, bass, treble & gain to taste.

Be realistic - a small combo amp is NOT going to sound like a raging stack of multiple 4x12 cabs... but the BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone CAN give you some brutal metal tones, from Exodus to Death to Cannibal Corpse. AND, since it's a BOSS, it's built like a tank and will last for years! Stay true & stay heavy!

This is a great pedal great metal tone easy to get it dialed in

Great pedal.I was looking for that Heavy sound.I found it.sounds cool.awsome.

I have owned this pedal for many years, and I have heard it catch a lot of crap over the years, mostly from people who don't know how to use it. There is a wide range of distortion that can be achieved with this pedal. I have used it in many live applications playing heavy music and always was satisfied with my sound. There are probably better alternatives for the studio, but you will be able to find a tone that cuts through in a live setting. Take your time with this pedal fiddle diligently with the controls start with everything at 12 o'clock and first look to cut unwanted frequencies before you boost. Then adjust the distortion to desired level, I doubt there would ever be a situation where you max out the distortion knob. Have fun and be heavy!

Arsenal of metal pedals, Metal zone MT2 it will give you that old Metallica sound that was on their first 4 albums.It can be set for Chuck Berry sounding Rock N Roll to Sex Pistols. Remember Metal pedals are different from Overdrive pedals but we are here to talk about this great pedal. I've owned and own many dirt pedals but this is the only on that is versatile without breaking the bank. I have played guitar since 8 years old. I am 50 and That is why I know about the best. I will give this more than 5 stars because I stil have one that close to 20 years and looks knew after abuse.

Great pedal does everything I expected for the price.Way better than the metal core I also own.

This by far the most range pedal I've played with cool heavy low end for the heavy players to the highest high end for modern rock players

i have been really wanting this for some time now. but was unsure if it would sound good with my LTD M-50. But when i plugged it all in I was like holy crap. now i cant wait till i can get me a much better ESP guitar and really be able to feel its AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!

With all the adjustments to the mids, highs, lows, it just don't get much better for rockin out hard. I have paid more for less so this is just an unreal product for the cost. If you can't get a rock sound you like out of this then you haven't played with it enough.

Super cool distortion pedal!! Great for Metal, Rock etc. A must have pedal IMO. Easy to dial in a great tone! Add it to your board now!!

I do not belong in a band, or perform for a living. Music is a hobby of mine, and I do have some nice toys. I bought this pedal because I purchased a 15 watt tube amp that created wonderful clean tones, but did not do distortion very well. I plugged this baby in, and wow! I was able to get some of my favorite tones out of it right away. I suppose this pedal will react different with other equipment, but dispite what some people have said, this pedal is very versatile. You can get a Led Zeppelin sound, AC/DC, Judas Priest, and many other tones. Now my little tube amp is able to give me the best of both worlds, clean and dirty, and sounds better than my 75 watt solid state amp.

Metal Zone is my favorite distortion pedal. i own many and love them all, But the Metal zone has been used on countless Metal records, from Whitesnake to Cannibal Corpse. Entombed used a early one similar on Left Hand Path. Toxic holocaust uses it. So many to list. I swear by mine. It gives awesome sounds from Fuzz to flat out high gain death metal! There are new ones coming out all the time. But i try them and i miss the old school thrash metal attack sound i can get from the MT2. It can get high gain but sometimes i want to back off and play old metal records, And there's hundred's!!! MT2 can do this with it's great equalizer built in. It Is easy to dial in , simple and almosy every distortion pedal you hear is based off of the MT2. This is a Legendary Pedal.

I've owned many different types of distortions over the years but this is the ONE. I've bought many over the years. It's like yr favorite album. The most intense distortion and the crunch is the best. The EQs built in are fantastic too. I can't even go back to any other distortions.

I mostly use preamp distortion, but needed an actual distortion box sound for a few songs in a live set and chose this after trying a bunch of pedals. Most pedals sounded more like toys with one basic sound to me compared to this. I know that some people prefer other sounds, but this gives you a range of quality choices. Boss always seems to give you something that takes you farther and they did it again with this pedal. It's diverse. It's definitely a solid workhorse. The MT-2 gets some nice sounding distortions and the EQ gives you a great range of sounds and control. The EQ really put this over the top for me. The pedal can be adjusted for use as a booster pedal too. It's hard to choose a distortion pedal without hearing them all, but if you're trying a web only selection, I'll say that this is definitely among the best and it gets sounds from 70's rock and metal to some of the heavier stuff that's on the radio now. If you're playing mostly blues, there are better choices, but for hard rock, metal or some sweet lead sounds in anything from pop to a range of heavy styles, this is one of the best if not THE best, depending on your situation. Nice hard rock/ metal rythm sounds too. Even though it's called Metal Zone, it covers more ground than just metal. It sounds extra cool on lead guitars combined with a little delay and I've used it to add a small amount of EQ and distortion while recording a bass track too.

This is a great pedal. My brother and I each use one regularly in our metal band. We love that we can get the full out metal sounds from a clean amp. We go into JC-120s and it allows us to set our sounds for songs at home and sound the same at rehearsal or anywhere else. We have loved these for quite some time. If you play metal, this is the way to go.

I've used this pedal for a while now, and I don't understand the hate some people online give it. It is far from being the worst distortion pedal out there, but I also understand that it is far from the best. This circuit was designed in the early 90s and has mostly remained unchanged, so you can expect the tone to sound like metal from that era. If you expect it to sound more modern or to be the end-all-be-all distortion pedal because of its great commercial success, you'll be disappointed.

It's a very polarizing pedal. Love/hate. It delivers the huge (yet tight) bottom end. Just turn the highs ALL THE WAY OFF. I repeat: COMPLETELY TURN THE HIGHS OFF. The treble knob is meant to accommodate the darkest and brightest of amps. In most cases it's best ALL THE WAY DOWN. Doesn't matter if you are cutting it completely as long as you can get where you're going.
Okay: now that you've done that, bring the highs back in by using the mids and mid frequency knobs. Try them both at 1:00 or 2:00. Good. Now try not to be a geek and just put the gain knob at 9:00-10:00. If you want more pick attack, just give the pedal more volume. This volume-pushing approach may not be optimal if you have a solid state amp. Who knows. So many variables.
Just remember: you want an aggressive signal going to the amp but not an overwhelmed signal (unless you're after fuzz, depends on what you are trying to achieve). So try to be JUST past unity volume so that when you kick the pedal on the amp wakes up and says "Oh, snap. There's a pedal on comin' atcha! Look alive people!" Then give it as much bass as you can to sound huge, but not to the point that you get flubby. More bottom can always be delivered from your sneaky amp.
Again, resist all urges to push the gain or the treble. If after crashing the highs and bringing in upper mids you find you still need more high end, deliver more highs from your amp. Remember: scooped mids sound cool when you're alone in your geeky bedroom, but in a band you will not stand out in the mix.
Look, I get it, I was half of a sneaky little weirdo for many years before I realized less is more. Don't be like me. Life is too short for bad tone. Ease off on the gain, Sport. Make the pedal dark. Then bring it in to the light. So sayeth the Scrolls.

Very cool pedal. Gives you both high and low tone's. Very durable. Puts more power. In your sound. Well worth the money.

For anyone looking for a solution to get a very wide range of extreme, or not so extreme tones out of a limiting amp rig, this pedal is may be it. I used it through a 120 watt peavy tube combo for some leads on a record resulting in some face melting. I also used it to overdrive vocals. Strong points are the obscene amount of gain you can get, but more importantly how far you can boost or cut frequencies with the EQ section. This pedal could be instrumental in developing very unique tones due to the extremes of the EQ for sonic sculpting. I also own a proCo Rat II, Ibanez FZ-7 fuzz, and EH big muff, and BBE freq boost. Between this and the big muff, I've found many applications throughout the studio. Oh, I believe I used it on bass as well with interesting effects.

Wow! I could practically sum up this review with that one word. I was actually given this pedal by a buddy of mine at church. When I got home and hooked it up, I was blown away! This little pedal gives some of the best distortion I have ever heard, it even makes my cheap guitar sound good through my cheap amp! It's quite versatile, featuring 6 tone knobs, allowing you to adjust from low gain, almost bluesy type stuff, to high gain heavy metal. This is great for the guitarist who wants to change their tone from day to day with a single pedal. It allows for smooth note clarity, even at super high gain. On top of the awesome tone it produces, it's built like a tank! The metal casing not only makes it look cool, but makes the durability awesome! I've owned and used many distortion pedals, and this is by far the best I have ever used. If you're seeking a pedal to give you that awesome metal tone, buy this today!

I Bought one of these bad bois when i first got into metal, and it sounded fantastic. Could do any type of metal, and the sound was heavy, but not muddy. Wasn't thin sounding at all. The controls were easy to use but did require a bit of tweaking. It is noted that the treble shouldn't be above 7, nor the bass below 5. Unfortunately, BOSS's bomb-proof build quality didn't hold up, and it broke after a couple of months. Not physically broken, but the sound was WAAAY too high and thin. The MT-2w would be a good alternative, as they are a bit more consistent-sounding.

Been using this pedal for years and have always went back to it as a standard. You can hit almost any desired distortion in almost every mid range possible.

Over the years people have commented on the lack of ability to impress with this pedal and I've never understood why. That is until I witnessed people plugging up and selecting EQ all wrong. Maybe I made a mistake the first time as a youngster while playing around with effects but, I've always done one thing that stands out compared to other people's way of playing.

The first thing to do is plug the pedal into the Return Effects Loop of the amp... NOT the front input of the amp. Secondly, set all nobs to 12 o'clock and Then find your desired sound through EQ. No need to scoop the mids or run up the gain all the way. Just switching to the loop will increase tone and level out some mids for a nice smooth chunky sound.

This Pedal is probably the BEST available Pedal for playing METAL. IDK of a better one.....I've had EXPANDORA's, MUFF's etc etc and this Pedal beats them all..........

Knowing how to dial in your desired tone is crucial. I found a chart of settings on-line of where to put the Dials in specific settings for certain 'TONES' and it was a biG bIG BIG HELP. Scooping out the nasally MID's and doing away with un-wanted FUZZ-y HIGH's is key...

Tho it is NOT a ONE-TRICK PONY, I can not go and get rid of my other Pedals because I got this Metal-Zone Pedal.. I still have to keep my 'OCD' & 'Blues-Driver' Pedals. I also use my 'Soul Food' Pedal STACKED w/this Pedal (and the two other just mentioned Pedals) as a Boost, although both my 'OCD' & the Blues-Driver will be seeing less action because of this MT-2 addition to my board.

This Metal Zone 2 Pedal is BAD-A**...

I wasn't sure what to expect with this pedal, I've always been a fan of the DS-1 the classic Boss Distortion I was raised on. But I have to say it was impressive, dark, full, articulate and heavy. Boss caters to the garage musician, sure you can go buy more expensive pedals and maybe you can get a little something extra and if you have the bucks to blow, go ahead load up on them. But if you just want to get a great heavy tone without the frills, you can't go wrong with MT-2. Like Slayer, Metallica or similar bands, this'll give it to ya for a fraction of the cost.

For my small studio it's perfect for the limited effects I need. It's a lot more subtle than just a distortion blast. For the last song I wrote I wanted an underwater sound and with a few simple adjustments I got the exact sound I was looking for.. No regrets. It's a great addition to anyone's gear!

For my small studio it's perfect for the limited effects I need. It's a lot more subtle than just a distortion blast. For the last song I wrote I wanted an underwater sound and with a few simple adjustments I got the exact sound I was looking for.. No regrets. It's a great addition to anyone's gear!

CAVEAT:
Don't expect to be able to use this for a wide range of styles. The pedal imparts such an insistent "metal" color to your basic tone that even backing off the distortion level to 7 or 8 o'clock won't be enough to hide it's molten DNA (OK, I couldn't resist that guitar mag review phrasing). But this won't be a drawback if you know this going in.

BOTTOM LINE:
The Metal Zone is a great pedal for getting metal tones, even making my SSS Strat breathe fire. The tone controls are the key to getting amazing, classic scooped sounds. If that's what you want, this is a terrific - and affordable - option.

In the Mid 90s Boss came out with this amazingly successful pedal and it is still a big seller today. Why? Cause it adds a THUMP and/or a whomp to your notes and an amazing dual gain crunch to your otherwise earthly amp. It is played best in the clean channel of your amp. You will likely be overwhelmed with out of control feedback or bad noise if you connect this to your Overdrive or Power channel.

The better the amp, the better the sound. If you plug it in to the clean channel of a 50 or 100 watt Marshall Super Lead, Dual Super Lead or other JCM tube amp, Soldano, Mesa, or a good HiWatt with Fane or WEM speakers, if you watch your levels, you will be happy with your sound, if, and I mean a BIG IF, if you have an understanding of parametric equalizers, and utilize them carefully,

A parametric EQ is not like a graphic or tone type Equaliser. It allows you to set the parameters of your midrange, the LEVEL of your midrange, the RANGE of your midrange and the bandwidth or Q of your midrange. They are multiband variable equalizers. You can set your bass, and treble individually, like a tube amp, not like a tone control, with bass on one side and treble on the high side.

Then you get to name the range of your midrange, and emphasize the upper, lower midrange or mid- midrange, and then the amplitude of your midrange you have chosen to emphasize (or de-emphasize)...Which is all important in getting your overall sound to get where you want it. Too little midrange in the wrong range and your tone is thin, tinny, and lifeless, and too much of the lower midrange and your powerful thump will turn into an annoying rumble that won't go away.

I used to like the Metal Zone a lot, but now I have mellowed in my tones a bit. I like the MD-2 Mega Distortion Boss, because you can get Zep II and semi-clean Joe Bonamassa Marshall like lead tones with it and not get over the top or get too thumpy. I used to prefer the dual distortion, and I agree even it does have its uses, but for leads now I prefer the single distortion and power of the MD-2 just a tad better.

Either way, adjusted correctly and used with the clean channel of appropriate amplifiers, both can make you a happy guitar player.

Now, I have read about guys who have Mesa Boogie amps and hook up muff pi's and Metal Zones to add to the (already huge) amp distortion. For you guys, all I can say is lotsa luck. Vaya Con Dios. The MT-2 Metal Zone already Seethes with gain. Why on earth use it with a greatly distorted power amp? Search me.

As I mentioned in my review of the MD-2 Mega Distortion Boss pedal, I had an argument with a Metal Zone owner back 10-15 years ago, who claimed his MT-2 was horrible piece of junk he said. Well I checked it out. Sure enough the way he had it set (virtually everything was middle, nothing was adjusted properly and I mean NOTHING), so yes, it WAS horrible. Until he set it right.

Set properly you can get your 1x12 or 2x10 or 2x12 to sound like a 4x12 cabinet. If you already have a 4x12 Celestion cab, then carefully set your Metal Zone will get you tonal bliss, if carefully controlled. For a little less mayhem I suggest the Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion. Both units are built like tanks and last many years, and can easily and inexpensively repaired if you have a cable connector or battery connection go bad. I have a couple still going that I bought in 1996. One that had a 30$ repair in 2002.

Boss has many answers for modern guitarists. In several flavors...Metal Zone is one of them.

I wanted to give this pedal a 5, but on guitar it only deserves about a 2... On the other hand, it sounds fantastic with the clav sim on my Korg keyboard! Seriously, every keyboard player should check out distortion at some point if he/she has an amp.

The BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone is one of the best selling compact effects pedals of all-time. It’s Dual-gain distortion circuit produces some of the most versatile distortion sounds ever made available. From low gain breakup to totally over-the-top insane. With huge mids and lows it can make a small combo amplifier sound like a dedicated head and closed back cabinet set-up

Separate controls are included for level, distortion and three bands of EQ. The EQ section offers 15 db of cut or boost at each frequency center and includes both High and Low shelving EQ, plus mid-band Parametric EQ with a 200hz-5Khz sweep. All this in Boss’ smart, easy access, durable housing!

The wide range of distortion and flexible EQ make for an extremely flexible unit. The manual lists several reference settings that sound great on their own, but also can be used as a starting point for creating your own sounds. These settings cover basic overdrive, 80’s Metal, Modern Metal, 70’s Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, early British rock, 50’s style Rock ‘n' Roll, and 60’s fuzz among others.

The BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone is one of the best selling compact effects pedals of all-time. It’s Dual-gain distortion circuit produces some of the most versatile distortion sounds ever made available. From low gain breakup to totally over-the-top insane. With huge mids and lows it can make a small combo amplifier sound like a dedicated head and closed back cabinet set-up

Separate controls are included for level, distortion and three bands of EQ. The EQ section offers 15 db of cut or boost at each frequency center and includes both High and Low shelving EQ, plus mid-band Parametric EQ with a 200hz-5Khz sweep. All this in Boss’ smart, easy access, durable housing!

The wide range of distortion and flexible EQ make for an extremely flexible unit. The manual lists several reference settings that sound great on their own, but also can be used as a starting point for creating your own sounds. These settings cover basic overdrive, 80’s Metal, Modern Metal, 70’s Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, early British rock, 50’s style Rock ‘n' Roll, and 60’s fuzz among others.

I used to use this on bass guitar a while ago. It was stolen by some metal band I was doing sound for.
I think it i cheesy that there are two reviews in a row with ad copy pasted into them.
pure cheese like that knocked a star off my review.

This stomp-box is mainly meant to get you that "scooped" metal sound at bedroom volumes, and it does it extremely well. When using it live however, it begins to sound harsh and shrill like a solid state amplifier. For live use I would suggest something more "tube-amp friendly" like an Ibanez TS-9 or the BOSS overdrive pedals. Overall, it's the best at what it does.

I've always found the MT-2 very nasally and thin sounding... regardless of how you set the controls... actually WORSE than the HM-2. Several of my students have bought these over the years and brought them in for me to demonstrate. And while I am trying to adjust the tone controls to something useable in real life (cringing in disgust), I could always look up and see the look of pure joy on their faces as the feedback howled and hissed.

OK for the basement rockstar, I guess, but no-one with experience playing live venues would ever use on on stage... not even metal bands. YOUR GUITAR WILL LOSE ALL NOTE DEFINITION AND DISAPPEAR IN THE MIX WHEN USING THIS PEDAL LIVE!!! (Try explaining that to a 12 year old with an ear-to-ear grin... he doesn't care.)

Bottom line: Great for beginners chunking away on power chords... not much else.

P.S. I'm not one of those stuffy guitar teachers who tries to teach note-reading to kids who just want to rock. I was learning Randy Rhoads back when he was still alive. :)

I purchased this pedal about three yers ago and at first was truly blown away by it. But as my ears and taste matured it began to lose it's luster. I placed an EQ in the chain before than after and never could quite gain the sound I was trying to achieve. If you are wanting to sound like what is already out there than this is the pedal for you, if you would like to sound original this may also be the pedal for you, just be prepared to spend hours "knobbing" to achieve individuality. The intent of this pedal is very noble, but I found the extra controls to be very daunting.