As Ola Englund has previously suggested both versions of the Metal Zone works a lot better in the FX loop, as opposed to hitting the front end of a preamp, though the EQ section is also very amp/speaker sensitive. It can take a lot of tweaking to dial in just right and the original version gained a negative reputation partly because folk treated it like a plug & play distortion and lacked patience.
I still use mine (have it since the 90's), it saved me in a lot of situations, I always use it as a drive pedal, not distortion, or as a 'feedback' machine. It's very easy to get a bad sound out of it, but once you found the right settings...hard to let go. Boss did it again!
Actually just started using mine again this week, first pedal I ever got back in 2003. I play Doom Metal, but I use the Metal Zone as a lead boost. It can be very difficult to dail in because the EQ is crazy sentitive, but it works really well for that context for me.
Boss Metal Zone is quite versatile because of that extensive EQ section, also try the Boss Mega Distortion, which is also a nice drive pedal, The one I don't have and want is Boss Power Stack ST-2, nice to see you try out a Metal Zone John, happy holidays.
I love it. It's a thing of it's own. It's surprisingly versatile too and modable. Lasse Lammert (recording engineer from Germany and has a YT channel) loves it for "clean" boosting.
TPS did a video a couple years ago seeing how close they could get an MT2 to sound like various other famous drives. Long story short, the eq is so poweful that they could, in fact, get pretty close to the other pedals on their board.
I love both the Metal Zone and the Heavy Metal too but I haven't played this Wazacraft version of the MZ though so might have a look at that. They are both truly hated yet truly loved pedals all at the same time. It is quite bizarre sometimes. As John showed in his vid you do have to spend a bit of time dialling in a sound that works for you and be mindful that even a few millimetres of a turn of any of the knobs can have huge effects on sound. But surely that's part of the fun, yeah?
2007 when i built for DiazAMplification. I was given parts ta build my own 2x12 Diaz TWIN 4 holer...I put a Boss metal zone in n was BLOWN away, i was gttg very good fat EJ-ish violinish stuff bk then...if u can turn a knob, u might get rewarded w/something very kool indeed!
I have an OG Metal Zone. It was given to me by another guitarist who was so frustrated with it that he just wanted it gone. Meanwhile, I'm like "free pedal...yea!". So I basically like the pedal, but that cocked wah tone is annoying. However I came across a mod (which I have yet to perform) that based on the video I watched seems like something that would be more to my liking. But that EQ is powerful; especially the mids. I'm not a metal player, but tone that resulted from this mod is more suitable for 80's style hard rock (maybe even hair metal).
Yes….there are several mods you can do, but the simplest is to simply remove one of the caps (the C35 if memory serves) and it essentially gives you the Waza custom mode. I did it to my Metal Zone and it sounds really good. 👍
Metal Zone is one of my favorite pedals of all time, I'll always have one. Works great in front of a high gain amp as a boost or distortion, and it works as a preamp as well.
it has the most powerful eq stack, but the knobs are way too tiny and sensative so getting a good sound is tough. but in theory it should be quite a flexible drive/distortion sound. surprised other drives haven't used the eq style with the ability to choose the freq and sweep.
I’ve always thought I should get another one of these someday, after learning it was a Gilmour mainstay for some years. This is one of those where I think a lot of the hate is because it goes too far and people didn’t dial it in moderately - I know I used to make that mistake often - and nowadays I think we all know a bit better now to coax sounds out, instead of bludgeoning the effects into giving them up.
Gilmour actually used the HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal on recordings such as A Momentary Lapse of Reason. As far as I'm aware (happy to be corrected if wrong) he has never used a Metal Zone, not for recording/live at least. Although there are some similarities they are different pedals though, especially how the EQ works. It seems to have fallen out of favour with Big Dave these days though with his trusty Big Muffs and Tube Drivers the preferred way to "dirty up" (his words) his Alessandro amps.
I remember when this pedal was first manufactured, circa 1991. I was excited to hear it, but when I did I thought it sounded like absolute shite. Ditto the Guvnor. My signal chain was a cheap assed Korean guitar, but with awesome stock SD Invaders, straight into a JCM800 (or 900), into 4x12 Marshall cab. Full gain, always. Huge tone. Didn't need any kind of pedal or effects. Nowt.
You think that’s bad? I had its 90’s predecessor, the Digital Metallizer. It was such a traumatising experience that I stopped playing for 12 years. 😱😂
Keeley Filaments, Walrus Audio Eras and Fender Pugilist anyone? I always avoided the Metal Zone due to the negative reviews. It sounded ok here. A comparison head to head with other pedals eg like the ones above would benefit.
An interesting pedal. Filtering is key. Takes single notes to a chord like full sound. Many of the analog synths from early days did a similar thing. Not sure where I would use it in my personal gigging though.
That’s (takes single note to chord like full sound) a good insight, and maybe why Gilmour used one of these. I’m trying to figure out some of his live sounds and that certainly makes some sense.
The Waza has 2 modes…..a standard and a classic mode that is all the bees and sneeze of the originals. The standard mode sounds like every Metal Zone I’ve ever played. This video makes perfect sense…..a Metal Zone in the hands of a person who knows how to get their sound can get it.
@shanetx81 This is the only video I've posted this on. Fact is: he wanted to get success off of pedal manufacturers without knowing anything about running a business and then gave a very nothing apology while deleting his previous videos on it so he looks better. It was very immature, rude, and frankly could have really hurt different businesses.
@ sure. And that was weeks ago. At this point, all you are doing is stirring shit up and giving Cordy more money via driving engagement. So, by all means, continue if you want. I suspect Josh doesn’t need or want your valiant efforts but if they make you feel better, right on man. 👍🏼 Have a good holiday!
@@shanetx81 I'm not bringing it up for Josh. I brought it up because I don't think John realizes how it makes him look. But you're right: it does just give him engagement. You too. Have a great holiday season, mate!
As Ola Englund has previously suggested both versions of the Metal Zone works a lot better in the FX loop, as opposed to hitting the front end of a preamp, though the EQ section is also very amp/speaker sensitive. It can take a lot of tweaking to dial in just right and the original version gained a negative reputation partly because folk treated it like a plug & play distortion and lacked patience.
Yeah put it in the loop - watch the Studio Rats’ vid.
I still use mine (have it since the 90's), it saved me in a lot of situations, I always use it as a drive pedal, not distortion, or as a 'feedback' machine. It's very easy to get a bad sound out of it, but once you found the right settings...hard to let go. Boss did it again!
Actually just started using mine again this week, first pedal I ever got back in 2003. I play Doom Metal, but I use the Metal Zone as a lead boost. It can be very difficult to dail in because the EQ is crazy sentitive, but it works really well for that context for me.
Boss Metal Zone is quite versatile because of that extensive EQ section, also try the Boss Mega Distortion, which is also a nice drive pedal, The one I don't have and want is Boss Power Stack ST-2, nice to see you try out a Metal Zone John, happy holidays.
I love it. It's a thing of it's own. It's surprisingly versatile too and modable. Lasse Lammert (recording engineer from Germany and has a YT channel) loves it for "clean" boosting.
TPS did a video a couple years ago seeing how close they could get an MT2 to sound like various other famous drives. Long story short, the eq is so poweful that they could, in fact, get pretty close to the other pedals on their board.
Got an original Boss HM2. Great pedal, still works, Phil Campbell out of Motorhead once asked me how I got my sound.
In the right hands, it sounds great. Do the DOD Grunge pedal next!
I love both the Metal Zone and the Heavy Metal too but I haven't played this Wazacraft version of the MZ though so might have a look at that. They are both truly hated yet truly loved pedals all at the same time. It is quite bizarre sometimes. As John showed in his vid you do have to spend a bit of time dialling in a sound that works for you and be mindful that even a few millimetres of a turn of any of the knobs can have huge effects on sound. But surely that's part of the fun, yeah?
2007 when i built for DiazAMplification. I was given parts ta build my own 2x12 Diaz TWIN 4 holer...I put a Boss metal zone in n was BLOWN away, i was gttg very good fat EJ-ish violinish stuff bk then...if u can turn a knob, u might get rewarded w/something very kool indeed!
I have an OG Metal Zone. It was given to me by another guitarist who was so frustrated with it that he just wanted it gone. Meanwhile, I'm like "free pedal...yea!". So I basically like the pedal, but that cocked wah tone is annoying. However I came across a mod (which I have yet to perform) that based on the video I watched seems like something that would be more to my liking. But that EQ is powerful; especially the mids. I'm not a metal player, but tone that resulted from this mod is more suitable for 80's style hard rock (maybe even hair metal).
Yes….there are several mods you can do, but the simplest is to simply remove one of the caps (the C35 if memory serves) and it essentially gives you the Waza custom mode. I did it to my Metal Zone and it sounds really good. 👍
Metal Zone is one of my favorite pedals of all time, I'll always have one.
Works great in front of a high gain amp as a boost or distortion, and it works as a preamp as well.
The old Metal Zone plugged into the an FX loop is great for some nasty metal
it has the most powerful eq stack, but the knobs are way too tiny and sensative so getting a good sound is tough. but in theory it should be quite a flexible drive/distortion sound. surprised other drives haven't used the eq style with the ability to choose the freq and sweep.
I used to use one in front of a Marshall 100w 2203.. dial out the nasal stuff and it sounded wicked!
Wow, you do make everything sound like you. I think you need to gig this as your rhythm/solo tone and report back.
I still own one of these but I might sell it as it isn't "hard" enough, it's too "fuzzy" for me. Hard to describe but there it is.
I’ve always thought I should get another one of these someday, after learning it was a Gilmour mainstay for some years. This is one of those where I think a lot of the hate is because it goes too far and people didn’t dial it in moderately - I know I used to make that mistake often - and nowadays I think we all know a bit better now to coax sounds out, instead of bludgeoning the effects into giving them up.
Gilmour actually used the HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal on recordings such as A Momentary Lapse of Reason. As far as I'm aware (happy to be corrected if wrong) he has never used a Metal Zone, not for recording/live at least. Although there are some similarities they are different pedals though, especially how the EQ works. It seems to have fallen out of favour with Big Dave these days though with his trusty Big Muffs and Tube Drivers the preferred way to "dirty up" (his words) his Alessandro amps.
@ thank you for clarifying! I’d rolled these two very different pedals together in my mind.
@@shanetx81 More than welcome my friend.
I remember when this pedal was first manufactured, circa 1991. I was excited to hear it, but when I did I thought it sounded like absolute shite. Ditto the Guvnor. My signal chain was a cheap assed Korean guitar, but with awesome stock SD Invaders, straight into a JCM800 (or 900), into 4x12 Marshall cab. Full gain, always. Huge tone. Didn't need any kind of pedal or effects. Nowt.
You think that’s bad? I had its 90’s predecessor, the Digital Metallizer. It was such a traumatising experience that I stopped playing for 12 years. 😱😂
The biggest flaw in this pedal, is having such a powerful eq sweep, on the tiniest little trim pots.
Keeley Filaments, Walrus Audio Eras and Fender Pugilist anyone? I always avoided the Metal Zone due to the negative reviews. It sounded ok here. A comparison head to head with other pedals eg like the ones above would benefit.
No issues with the pedal at all. Sounds great through the effects loop, if you’re will to take the time to set it up.
An interesting pedal. Filtering is key. Takes single notes to a chord like full sound. Many of the analog synths from early days did a similar thing. Not sure where I would use it in my personal gigging though.
That’s (takes single note to chord like full sound) a good insight, and maybe why Gilmour used one of these. I’m trying to figure out some of his live sounds and that certainly makes some sense.
It’s sort of like a Rat with an envelope filter and zero gain range.
Prince the undertaker tones
The one I tried for a while didnt have that switch. I hated it. Very square-wavey.
I had an OD 1 and traded it for a MZ 2.
Bad mistake. From your video it sounds the same almost no matter your EQ setting.
Welcome to the party! 😂
Cannibal Corpse and Korn pedal
Harsh Clipping Circuit 😁
MT-2 is the best preamp ever ❤
Yup. Time for another MT-2. Where’s the innovation? Where’s the MT-3?😂 Come on, Boss. Throw us a bone, here…
a must have ;))
The Waza version is a different circuit from the original pedal that received all the hate over the years. This video makes no sense.
The Waza has 2 modes…..a standard and a classic mode that is all the bees and sneeze of the originals. The standard mode sounds like every Metal Zone I’ve ever played. This video makes perfect sense…..a Metal Zone in the hands of a person who knows how to get their sound can get it.
Everything John plays sounds that same…
Awful then, just as awful now.
Try, the best drive ever.
EQ peak at 1k? Ugh. That explains a Lot.
Ola Englund asked the same question 6 years ago. You're a wee bit late.
Did you think about doing a video titled "Are Boss Ripping Is Off?"
No one makes you troll these videos.
You can stop at any time.
@shanetx81 This is the only video I've posted this on.
Fact is: he wanted to get success off of pedal manufacturers without knowing anything about running a business and then gave a very nothing apology while deleting his previous videos on it so he looks better. It was very immature, rude, and frankly could have really hurt different businesses.
@ sure. And that was weeks ago. At this point, all you are doing is stirring shit up and giving Cordy more money via driving engagement. So, by all means, continue if you want. I suspect Josh doesn’t need or want your valiant efforts but if they make you feel better, right on man. 👍🏼
Have a good holiday!
@@shanetx81 I'm not bringing it up for Josh. I brought it up because I don't think John realizes how it makes him look. But you're right: it does just give him engagement.
You too. Have a great holiday season, mate!
Ugh . . .