Boss MT-2 Metal Zone .... where are the bees?

Lasse Lammert

Lasse Lammert

New member
So for some reason this pedal seems to be the laughing stock of the entire guitar community, there are loads of memes and jokes about this pedal and how it's just a can of bees etc...but WHY?
Here's my take on it...because it's affordable and for a long time it was the easiest solution for kids to get a high gain distortion sound without spending thousands of $.
And inexperienced metal gutarists are fucking stupid, so they can't dial their gear in to get a decent sound (I know, cause I was one of them), so that resulted in thousands and thousands of kids with a shitty tone, and A LOT of them had one thing in common...the Boos MT2!
But is it really the pedal that's to blame?
I DON'T THINK SO!
The MT-2 has for a long time been one of my favourite boosts for a Rectifier to get that Florida style death metal sound (no gain from the pedal), the semi para EQ makes this thing extremely versatile, it's not just a distortion pedal, it's also a capable EQ and boost!
ok, I think I've preached that side of the MT2 enough already...a lot of folks have also found out that the MT2 does actually more than just alright when used as a preamp into the FX return of your amp...
cool, but what about the most common use of this thing, as a distortion box into a clean amp, is it that infamous can of bees?
Well...not in my opinion anyways.
the semi para EQ makes it easy to notch whatever frequency you don't like and then slightly shape the tone with the low and high shelves....shall we see what this pedal sounds like as a pure distortion box into a clean amp?
Well, of course!!!
Here you go!

 
Back in the day (early mid 90's),they were a cheap easy way to boost our Randall's, marshalls, etc,. For death metal. I think they're killer for a parametric mid boost and the output is rediculous. I still keep one around for shits and grins
 
mchn13":1znaxb8l said:
Back in the day (early mid 90's),they were a cheap easy way to boost our Randall's, marshalls, etc,. For death metal. I think they're killer for a parametric mid boost and the output is rediculous. I still keep one around for shits and grins
Click to expand...

This. It was a cheap solution to boost amp back in the day and it did it's job. But now it became the laughing stock as pedals and effects in general became better. Shoots, I think I still have one modified by Robert Keeley.
 
Just pulled mine out to boost my d120. It was awful lol. Too many good boosts these days I think. Just shows that Lasse has mad skills.
 
Yes many simply created bad sounds however they also used it sd the primary distortion sourde as well. Cannibal Corpse taught me the MT-2 was a powerful shaping tool for rectifier death metal sounds.
 
I have a modded Metal Zone that sounds pretty good stand alone, and really good as an extreme boost for those Crowbar and Cannibal Corpse tones.
 
I think generally people didn't know how to dial in a tone with them (i.e everyone scooped the shit out of the mids and maxed out the gain).....I have one now and to me it sounds awesome. I would be happy to run it if something happened to my EVH
 
Seems the bees were removed when that MT2 was modded.(?)

I think the general concenous is that a stock MT2 will not give a guitarist a fantastically rich, ideal metal tone.

What they do is offer is a certain type of tone for a certain type of desired metal. Fact is, you will fail miserably using a stock MT2 into a small amp or cheap head setup and attempt to cop modern metalcore, black album, hell even authentic maiden tones.

The pedal is an end to a means. A shortcut for the less inclined. Most all who ever used this pedal were running it through garbage intermediate SS amps. Not highend professional gear. Which plays a big role in solidifying it's well earned reputation.
 
I love em . . . . . . Many may not know, the Boss MT-2 was the stripped down - stomp box version of the Roland GL-100 pre-amp (which by the way IMHO was one of the most versatile and powerful SS Analog pre-amps ever made). For years I used my MT-2 and mirrored the settings from my GL-100 (Both had sweepable Parametric EQ) and through a clean channel amp for practice, they sounded identical, which to me was pretty Kick A**. I still have one and even though I've stopped using stomp boxes years ago and went 100% rack mount but I have one I kept that I use to give me great tone when playing at open mic nights or in any situation where I have to use some one else's rig. It never lets me down and I've been told time and again how "killer" my sound was at the show.

I will agree with the original post that it does take some getting used to and it is not the easiest pedal to set up but again, I has my GL-100 to tweak the tone and transferring the settings over made easy to get great tone right out of the box.
 
I think it became a fashion to pick on the MT-2, and a large number of people just follow the fashion. It's a way to join the gearhead club. They can sound really great in the right hands, even stock.
 
HellraiserJohnny":37s8wcjq said:
I love em . . . . . . Many may not know, the Boss MT-2 was the stripped down - stomp box version of the Roland GL-100 pre-amp
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does the volume knob act as the gain knob on the gl100? i see a volume and master knob on each channel and no gain knob
 
I haven't had a metalzone for 15+ years. I used to run it with a boss GE7 EQ behind it and really liked that combo. I did try to use it live once. I heard the recording and sold it pretty soon after that. I likely had the mids too scouped, but live and learn.
Never thought to try it as a boost.

Can't say I miss the metalzone, it may be unfairly slagged, but I have no interest in owning another one. I think dirt pedals in general have some a long way since the metalzone.
 


youtube guy voice Watch in 1080p for pure bumbletone!

I've posted this video here before, but this is a prime reason why the MT-2 gets a bad rap.

The story is I was selling my 5153 100 watt head. The guy came over the night prior to this video to play the amp. We spent an hour going through how to dial in a tube head and how the channels worked (he had a solid state combo), but he said he never quite got the sound that was "in his head." I brought out an 808 to show him about boosting, but even with the 808 and channel 3 gain dimed, he wasn't quite impressed. He asked if he could come back the next day to try it with one of his pedals.

I figured I'd never see him again, but the next day he shows up with with his Metal Zone and goes to the clean channel, and this video represents what he jammed with for the next 10 minutes.

Again he left and said "I'll be back with the money, I'm picking up my tax return." Again, I figured I'd never see him again, but sure enough two hours later he arrives back at my place; pissed-off wife in tow. She was not pleased nor particularly pleasant toward me.

He's your problem now, lady.
 
Pushead":2gz0zoxg said:


youtube guy voice Watch in 1080p for pure bumbletone!

I've posted this video here before, but this is a prime reason why the MT-2 gets a bad rap.

The story is I was selling my 5153 100 watt head. The guy came over the night prior to this video to play the amp. We spent an hour going through how to dial in a tube head and how the channels worked (he had a solid state combo), but he said he never quite got the sound that was "in his head." I brought out an 808 to show him about boosting, but even with the 808 and channel 3 gain dimed, he wasn't quite impressed. He asked if he could come back the next day to try it with one of his pedals.

I figured I'd never see him again, but the next day he shows up with with his Metal Zone and goes to the clean channel, and this video represents what he jammed with for the next 10 minutes.

Again he left and said "I'll be back with the money, I'm picking up my tax return." Again, I figured I'd never see him again, but sure enough two hours later he arrives back at my place; pissed-off wife in tow. She was not pleased nor particularly pleasant toward me.

He's your problem now, lady.
Click to expand...

:LOL: :LOL: Amazing story man. :D
 
RaceU4her":kur5iuyq said:
HellraiserJohnny":kur5iuyq said:
I love em . . . . . . Many may not know, the Boss MT-2 was the stripped down - stomp box version of the Roland GL-100 pre-amp
Click to expand...




does the volume knob act as the gain knob on the gl100? i see a volume and master knob on each channel and no gain knob
Click to expand...


Yes, the pre amp actually had 3 output circuits, 2 channels - each with volume (Gain) and Master Volume and a 3rd Monitor Output which could be used to send a signal to a mixer\recorder.
 
blackba":18arup5a said:
Pushead":18arup5a said:


youtube guy voice Watch in 1080p for pure bumbletone!

I've posted this video here before, but this is a prime reason why the MT-2 gets a bad rap.

The story is I was selling my 5153 100 watt head. The guy came over the night prior to this video to play the amp. We spent an hour going through how to dial in a tube head and how the channels worked (he had a solid state combo), but he said he never quite got the sound that was "in his head." I brought out an 808 to show him about boosting, but even with the 808 and channel 3 gain dimed, he wasn't quite impressed. He asked if he could come back the next day to try it with one of his pedals.

I figured I'd never see him again, but the next day he shows up with with his Metal Zone and goes to the clean channel, and this video represents what he jammed with for the next 10 minutes.

Again he left and said "I'll be back with the money, I'm picking up my tax return." Again, I figured I'd never see him again, but sure enough two hours later he arrives back at my place; pissed-off wife in tow. She was not pleased nor particularly pleasant toward me.

He's your problem now, lady.
Click to expand...

:LOL: :LOL: Amazing story man. :D
Click to expand...

That's fucking great, tone and all. :rock: :rock: :rock: :D :LOL: :LOL:
 
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