Boss Metal Zone MT-2

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Equipped with a dual gain circuit, the MT-2 provides super-long sustain and heavy mids and lows like a stack of overdriven amps. With three-band EQ, a wide range of distortion textures is at your command.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $159.50

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User Reviews of the Boss Metal Zone MT-2

Submitted by Phil from London (148 points) on Nov 17, 2010
This was my go-to pedal for years but I find it to be rather too compressed sounding these days, something I've found with other Boss hi-gain pedals. Lots of squashed low-mids that can be rather boxy/raspy and unexpressive. That said, the EQ section is very useful and it does have a very high output indeed. A monster if you're into Boss tones.
Good Points: Loud, brutal, good EQ, well built.
Bad Points: Compressed sound, can be expensive, only found it to be useful on the end of a chain so may not play well with your other pedals.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: Guitar store(?)
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Submitted by Howard from Brighton, MA (132 points) on Jan 8, 2009
I recently played with this pedal at the beginning of a feedback loop. I found the separate volume and distortion knobs particularly useful as I could limit the volume of the loop as a whole without cutting down on the grit in the signal. The stacked eq knobs work wonderfully; isolating each individual frequency range produce four distinct sounds. Blending them in different combinations produces a wide variety of tones. While I agree that the distortion is raspy, this pedal can produce some rumbling sounds within a loop (much like the DS-1 does with the tone all the way too the left and the volume almost maxed). The flexible eq also makes this a great pedal for distorted contact mics and other sources.
Good Points: Flexible eq. Separate level and distortion knobs. Solid construction.
Bad Points: A bit pricey new.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: Borrowed from a friend.
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Submitted by andy from Providence, RI (30 points) on Dec 21, 2008
i've had this pedal for many years, and it gets used in virtually every incarnation of my setup. depending where you place it in a chain, you can create some great "screaming" distortions by messing with the EQ. however, it's kind of a one trick pony; the distortion is very raspy and biting-- but that's not always a bad thing.
Good Points: boss builds fucking tanks for pedals the EQ changes drastically in different points of a chain
Bad Points: really only good for those biting, high treble sounds
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: guitar center - used
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Submitted by Ferox from Los Altos, CA (432 points) on Jan 24, 2008
Nice loud rumbling distortion. A nice addition to a chain or loop, but nothing too great.
Good Points: Distortion is pretty good, although it doesn't destroy tone like some may like. Eq range is exceptional and good for loops. The level boost. Built Boss tough.
Bad Points: More of a low end focus (although if you like low end this is good...I'm a high end junkie) and the price.
Price Paid: US$70.00
Purchased At: Starving Musican.
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Submitted by Jon from Huntsville, AL (500 points) on Sep 11, 2007
Got this last night... I must say, I was kind of underwhelmed too... It's pretty good, and it's basically made my Danelectro Fab Metal redundant in my chain as it's similar, but probably better... But I can't seem to get much GREAT stuff from it. Still, I'll deffinitley keep it around. I find I get the best results with internal feedback loops. Overall, a good buy. I'll probably trade/sell the Dano pedal now.
Good Points: Boss construction, sounds neat in a feedback loop, the mid freq knob makes a cool "WAAHHH" sound as you adjust it, easy to get you hands on one, pretty easy to figure out by playing with it.
Bad Points: Doesn't sound like anything "life-changing"-- I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be, Sounds a bit compressed... tends to sound like I'm inside a cardboard box, it doesn't play well in a chain with other distortions at times.
Price Paid: US$39.00
Purchased At: eBay
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Submitted by Craig from Burbank, CA (6 points) on Nov 11, 2006
While I'm sure this pedal would suit many people's fancies just fine, it really doesn't do it for me as a noise tool. True, the EQ does allow a wide range of shaping possibilities, but there is a sameness to the tone that doesn't excite me. As a pedal for guitar I love it. As a noise pedal, I never use it.
Good Points: Great for guitar.
Bad Points: Doesn't suit my taste for noise.
Price Paid: US$99.00
Purchased At: ?
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Submitted by Iain David from United Kingdom (144 points) on Nov 3, 2006
I put off buying one of these things for ages until yesterday when I found a second hand one going cheap..... The MT-2 offers a pretty impressive high-gain distortion that makes fantastic mic feedback with a Zvex Fuzz Factory thrown in after it. The distortion sound is (as already stated by another reviewer) fairly smooth, although that doesn't stop it from being harsh. If you can find one cheap then you should definitely pick one up.
Good Points: - Harsh - Loud - Abundant - Stacked knobs in the middle make for LOTS of tweaking potential (you can get a huge range of sounds out of this thing). - Solid Boss construction.
Bad Points: - New ones a little bit expensive for what they do. Try and pick one up second hand.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by ryan from calgary (196 points) on Oct 22, 2006
Killer pedal for noise other than that it's all been said.Sweet eq as well!!!I only put in my two cents here because I dig this pedal sooo very ,very much , shit that eq is wicked!!!!
Good Points: bloody severe distortion the eq is awesome Boss quality did I mention the sick distortion
Bad Points: Price ( I got mine cheap on Ebay, I recommend you do the same)
Price Paid: US$35.00
Purchased At: Ebay
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Submitted by Ed from Malverne, NY (104 points) on Sep 19, 2006
An excellent distortion pedal for noise, mainly because of its three-band EQ with sweepable midrange, which puts it a notch above my other favorite three-band EQ distortion, the Dod Death Metal. It doesn't bite quite as hard as the Death Metal, but it's still a powerful distortion, especially for when you want a *slightly* cleaner sound. And with the drive cranked, it can still be pretty brutal-sounding as well. The EQ controls work great, providing a good range from pounding bass to shrieking highs. And the parametric mids allow you to alternately reinforce both ends of the spectrum as you want, or simply drive forward with a powerful middle.
Good Points: - three-band EQ with parametric midrange - powerful control over sound
Bad Points: - none
Price Paid: US$45.00
Purchased At: eBay
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Submitted by Emanuele from Italy (64 points) on Jun 17, 2006
In my opinion one of the best distortion pedal for noise. You can get from this beast an extreme metallic distortion chaos. Thank to the eq and distortion level you can set multiple distortion types. A great thing about this pedal is the sweep turning the middle knob. The bass is not heavy and present as other distortions but it is pretty good, same for the high.
Good Points: -unique metallic high gain distortion -eq 4 knobs (2 for middle) -Boss construction
Bad Points: -new is expensive
Price Paid: US$50.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by Michael from christchurch (60 points) on Jun 4, 2006
Personally this is my second favourite distortion pedal (behind the Fabtone and just ahead of the Rat).Obviously the E.Q. really makes it more versatile than many other distortion pedals.If my one dies, I would consider buying a new one if I could find one, which for me is a big deal!
Good Points: E.Q.
Bad Points: None really
Price Paid: US$10.00
Purchased At: Pawnshop
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Submitted by chris from Crown Point, IN (2 points) on Mar 21, 2006
One of my favorites in my kit. This is hooked to my Korg X5D and it really gives me a lot of control over the type of distortion I want. The built in equalizer is the stand out feature. There are infinite tones that can come from this pedal if put to good use. When compared to my Digitech Grunge this is by far the best distortion pedal I have come across so far.
Good Points: Built in equalizer, easy to use, compact, medium weight
Bad Points: I have yet to be disappointed.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: Rubinos. Free with drum machine
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Submitted by John from Evanston, IL (126 points) on Mar 13, 2006
worst pedal ever made, possibly. Pure noise. No harmonics what so ever...Blaaaahhhh
Good Points: Metal heads will love it, anyone who likes to hear a mealody in your music, don't waste your
Bad Points: everything
Price Paid: US$35.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by series_ from Portland, OR (184 points) on Jan 3, 2006
Amazing. I put this thing off for so long too. The two double stacked knobs in the middle are the key to this thing. Low, High, Middle, and Mid frequency. A full EQ sandwiched in between the level and distortion knobs. I personally hate shopping for distortion pedals. You can never really tell how they're going to work out for you until you get them home with your set-up. This and the Proco Rat are the only two I've been sold on immediately. Found mine for in a shop which means you can likely find one for somewhere. HUGE range of sound - it all sort of sounds similar - so by huge range I mean HUGE ability to morph the sound thru-out a set. Take sounds from the lowest rumble gradually to the highest thinest static.... As well this pedal plays great as an open circuit. Just pop the bottom off, a battery in, out to the board, cable in other side try different points on the board.
Good Points:
Bad Points:
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: Trade up Music
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Submitted by analog from Reedsburg, WI (18 points) on Mar 12, 2005
decent pedal. catches the signal well and won't make things muddy even in long chains. it is really nice to see a parametric eq on pedal, but it would be nice if the high and low had adjustable frequecies as well because, like ben said, they are not always the prefered frequecies. distortion is certainly abrasive and it's timbre is very static. does well in feedback loops . . .
Good Points: - parametric eq. only one, but better than nothing. pedal people seem to be afraid of them for some reason . . . - strong, abrasive disortion.
Bad Points: - timbre sits motionless which makes the unit's effect pretty identifiable over time . . . you know like, "you hear that? yeah it's a metal zone . . ."
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Azrael from Williston, VT (18 points) on Oct 29, 2004
Overall, I find this an excellent distortion pedal. This is wonderful for vocal noise, I find. Especially is you can find a mic that is really breathy. Then you can turn voice into a killer wall of white noise. I absolutely ADORE being able to do that without the 2 pedals I used to need. I agree with Hum of the Druids in that this is a warm, fuzzy pedal, so if you aren't quite going for that, it's a bit hard to get off this. This pedal also works for a fairly long time on batteries. Great for utterly destroying most sounds you can think of.
Good Points: Warm, fuzzy distortion Can get fairly high gain Runs for a long time on batteries A versatile pedal
Bad Points: Warm, fuzzy distortion
Price Paid: US$115.00
Purchased At: Advance Music
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Submitted by Ben from United States (250 points) on Oct 13, 2004
I'm going to have mine modded by Keeley or someone else, because this thing is way too noisy, and the mids too nasal. Adding upper mids and highs only ads to the hiss and noisiness. Lows generate excessive hum. It will give you that sought after harsh noise carbon copy sound!
Good Points: Great gain and some EQ settings are awesome. If the Noise Swash is Merzbow in a box, the Metal Zone is Guilty Connector in a box.
Bad Points: Noise noise noise. Not in the good way.
Price Paid: US$80.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by pneumothorax from Fort Lauderdale, FL (2 points) on Oct 3, 2004
This pedal is by far one of the best distortion pedals available. The distortion is really thick and can be a bit to fuzzy at times but for the most part it's perfect for killing sounds through a contact mic. The high, mid, and low frequency adjustment features make it really versetile. The construction is really sturdy, it's almost indestructible. The price could be a little lower but over all, it's a great pedal.
Good Points: Great EQ features. Solid construction. Good, thick distortion.
Bad Points: A little pricy. Distortion can be over-done at times.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: borrowed from a fiend
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Submitted by HUM OF THE DRUID from Kirkland, WA (8 points) on Jun 11, 2004
Definitely one of the most important pedals in just about any set-up I use. Being able to manipulate the mid frequencies is ultimately valuable, as many pedals simply feature high and low. The distortion can be a bit too warm sometimes when I am going for a more crisp sound, but the amount of versatility makes up for any faults the pedal has.
Good Points: Extremely versatile due to all of the frequency knobs. Warm distortion sound (can be good and bad, depending). Great for making frequency transitions.
Bad Points: The warm, fuzzy sound of the distortion can be somewhat of an annoyance if that is not the sound you are looking for. It is possible to work around it, however.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Blake from Redmond, WA (18 points) on May 19, 2004
This pedal is the 1st one i ever got and that was 3 years ago after countless other DIST pedals iv always found my way back to this one is held up very well over the years even at min dist its still really fuzzy sounding i havent tryed it on a feed back loop yet but i will when i get home
Good Points: Sturdy,POWERFULL,4 band eq CRAP LOADS OF DIST! loud enough to blow your amp MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! its also useful as a hammer :-)
Bad Points: it takes awhile to find the perfect setting and thats it
Price Paid: US$89.00
Purchased At: Guitar center
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Submitted by tapesss from Brooksville, FL (344 points) on Feb 21, 2004
A great distortion for all your noise needs. Hard edged, loud, and just overall good sound. You can create some crazy feedback with this. A serious pedal if you want something loud and vicious. Kind of costly, but it's probably worth the money. I only borrowed one. i had it for a few weeks, and it served me quite well.
Good Points: LOUD. very good tones, feedback galore.
Bad Points: kind of costly
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: borrowed
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Submitted by spit + smudge from Savannah, GA (214 points) on Feb 2, 2004
Great pedal obtained from a very cool chap (thanks Kevin.) This pedal sounds pretty good. Even through a *cough*guitar*cough* it sounds pretty sweet. The one thing I really like using this pedal when doing pedal noise is the ability to tweak the equaliser on the Metal Zone. Feeding some noise into it, you can tweak the high/low/middle/mid frequences which is VERY useful. It's almost as if you have a small wah pedal built inside. Generally I use the middle knob(the lower base of the knob) to get that filtered sound.
Good Points: Just like a typical distortion pedal with the ability to tweak the equalizer(VERY useful!)
Bad Points: Can't think of any.
Price Paid: US$30.00
Purchased At: from a contact
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Submitted by timothy from Rohnert Park, CA (68 points) on Jan 11, 2004
not that great. you want amp distortion, get a high gain amp. or a dano black coffee, or fabtone. its good for what it does, but not really my thing.
Good Points: sturdy
Bad Points: boss
Price Paid: US$90.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by nkondi from Portland, OR (610 points) on Dec 31, 2003
not a bad pedal, it will get you some really good feedback, and the tonal possibilities with its eq section have a nice range. the big turn off is the price...too much money for something that i could find similar in a couple of other pedals, and be happy with...
Good Points: solid boss construction...
Bad Points: but my friend had this and it went dead within 6 months...
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: borowed from a friend
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Submitted by Marcos from Valencia (38 points) on Oct 13, 2003
This is classic, at least in my equipment ('95). The MT-2 will produce a considerable load of feedback in your chain, richer in tones than most of the distortion pedals out there. Besides this, its EQ knobs section provides tons of possibilities to change sound. I usually place it at the end of my chain to take advantage of this feature.
Good Points: Awesome and powerful distortion, versatility, durability and firm construction.
Bad Points: None.
Price Paid: US$110.00
Purchased At: Bosco
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Submitted by E. Victor from Toronto (2 points) on Apr 1, 2003
Not much to be said that hasn't been already... It nastifies any sound source quite adequately, or you can just leave a naked plug dangling out of the input and enjoy the the solo sonics through an amp.
Good Points: Solid build, nasty sound, lots of knobular options.
Bad Points: My level knob is crooked (I assume it doesn't come that way though).
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: pawn shop
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Submitted by Torbjörn from Örebro (110 points) on Nov 2, 2002
The first pedal I got after listening to discussions at the Cold Meat Industry mailing list. It is really a nasty piece of distortion and everything sounds vicious through it. A bit samey sound in the long run but then I just move it in the chain of effects. Used this when I played live and it sounds great for vocals combined with a delay.
Good Points: Well known in noise circles. Sturdy. Looks good.
Bad Points: Can sound a bit samey.
Price Paid: US$79.00
Purchased At: Musikbörsen -Used
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Submitted by josh from Las Vegas, NV (8 points) on Sep 7, 2002
a good distortion pedal, i use this quite a bit. has a very high end sounding distortion to me, avery distinct sound to me. i like to use this in most situations. can get some super feedback out of this thing. i also really like that it has 4 different eq knobs where most pedals have 2,adds a lot to sweeps, and adds a lot more possibilities in general. the distortion itself to me seems to be good to very good.
Good Points: boss casing.4 eq knobs. good level boosting. pretty good in feedback chain.
Bad Points: noen really, i dig it.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by K. from Sealy, TX (532 points) on May 23, 2002
Good all around distortion, everyone seems to have one - I have two, but only use one. Fairly loud (though not as loud as the corrosion, metal x, big pig, etc, etc...), smooth distortion. I prefer my distortion rough, so the MT-2's smoother sound doesn't appeal to me much. What I do like is the extensive tone shaping capabilities of this pedal, whereas most distortions will have at most high and low tone controls, the MT-2 adds two for midrange, making the tonal possibilities endless. It has taken over the duties of the Boss HM-2 in my live set-up, able to give the same sound as the HM-2 plus so much more flexibility w/ an extra punch.
Good Points: Tonal possibilities are virtually endless w/ four controls dedicated to this purpose
Bad Points: Smooth sounding distortion
Price Paid: US$70.00
Purchased At: new at Texas Music Imporium
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Submitted by Gustavo from Rosario (6 points) on Apr 6, 2002
The Brain-reducer- Grinding mayhemic- The Ear-ringer Artifactus- The tympanum-Shredder!!!- the best thing to destroy sound from every range frequencies. Great feedbacker with mics. "Even passing through him a Casiotone, could be a Chaos!!!!" One of the best!!! Easy to handle. ItŽ´s "A MUST" for the noiser! Thrashylly Awesome Pedal If youŽ´re thinking about Noise GO AND GET ONE NOW!
Good Points: All
Bad Points: none
Price Paid: US$100.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by K. from Karlskoga (2 points) on Jan 20, 2002
An astonishing distortion pedal. We purchased our in ~1993 and it has been used on every MZ. 412 / Folksotrm album since. Great for walls of distorted noise (great possibilties to "sweep" the sound), but also good for shouted lyrics.
Good Points:
Bad Points:
Price Paid: US$80.00
Purchased At: cant remember...
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Submitted by Harm from Mechanicsville, VA (86 points) on Jan 20, 2002
The best thing about this pedal is the midrange frequency sweep. It allows you to shape the sound anyway you want and it's a perfect way combined with some kind of delay to get this great wall of moving noise. The bass is perfect, never too much and you can cut it all out if you want to.
Good Points: Mid-Rang Frequency Knob
Bad Points:
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by Jonathan from Marine City, MI (120 points) on Oct 27, 2001
This is a powerful distortion pedal. Its knobs control tone and frequency and can shape the sound immensely. With the Metal Zone you can obtain anything for maxed-out lows to painfully harsh highs. I haven't found it to be useful in a feedback-loop set-up yet, but it can do wonders with a contact mic.
Good Points: This pedal allows you to have great control of its sound. If you want to make a sizable racket this is your pedal.
Bad Points: This pedal's sound is not subtle! If left on during quieter moments it has an annoying hum.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: Guitar Center
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Submitted by Johnny from Waterloo, IA (14 points) on Aug 5, 2001
It sounds good for metal. But if you want something just a little bit fuzzy do not get this. It makes some of the best feeback I've heard. The mid freq knob is very good to have on there.
Good Points: Good bass and dist
Bad Points: hard to make sound you realy love. But when you get it tuned just right it is capable of mass destruction.
Price Paid: US$89.00
Purchased At: Musicians friend
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