ML-2 Metal Core Review

With its extreme gain, the ML-2 is the most potent and heavy distortion pedal ever created by BOSS. It easily delivers massive distortion and gain with heavy lows for playing Nu Metal, Grind core, industrial, hard core, or any genre that requires crushing sound. The ML-2’s ferocious and biting tone will complement and cut through any blast beats your rhythm section can create.

Ease of Use:	9
Sound:	8.5
Reliability:	9.9
Impression:	8.9
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	8.7
Comments:	127

overall: 9

Featured review by: UG Team, on july 20, 2007

Ease of Use: Like any good Boss pedal the controls for this one were simple: It has 4 swivel knobs (the modern looking ones that attach directly to the surface of the control panel on the casing) One level, low, high, and distortion amount. I found it very easy to coax whatever sound I wanted out of this pedal as it's low and high knobs were fairly responsive (no large spots where the tone wont change). The pedal part of the box wasn’t jammed or too stiff to easily activate it on command; the springs were fine as well. // 9

Sound: I used a B.C. Rich Mockingbird (newer 4-knob model) through a 15W Crate Palomino 1x12 (tube) and then again with a Jackson Randy Rhoads Flying V through a Mesa-Boogie Roadster Half stack (tube. as if you didn’t know). Through both guitars and amps I was able to get a great distortion sound from the pedal. While the distortion is powerful and you can produce an awesome grind with it, it's very limited to it's task. Unless your into bands like Ozzy Osbourne, White Zombie, Metallica or other metal bands then you may want to consider a different pedal. Other than that I’d have to say it’s the best Boss metal distortion pedal you can buy (especially after the fiasco that was the MT-2 metal zone). // 8

Reliability & Durability: Like any Boss pedal this one is built like a tank. Its battery life is pretty standard for a pedal (4-6 hours continuous playing) but a power supply would be better in the case of a gig. Don’t expect the casing or pedal lever to break on this stomp box. It can take quite a bit of abuse and is definitely gig-worthy. // 10

Impression: This is (in my opinion) the best distortion pedal designed to play “metal” that Boss has made. It's heavy, easy to use, and can go from growling bassy distortion to head ripping high tones. It is limited in the range of sounds but for any type of metal it wont let you down. Just be warned that it does get weaker in sound through a Solid State amp than through a tube amp. // 9

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: diabolus, on february 19, 2008

Price paid: $ 106.65

Purchased from: Renaissance Music

Ease of Use: Completely simple operation. Sporting four self-explanatory knobs, any user can find a good balance between heavy low ends and crisp high attacks. Basic on-off switch, doesn't get easier. The provided manual is excellent, explaining the functions of various controls as well as supplying a few examples for stock metal sounds. // 10

Sound: I'm using this pedal with a B.C. Rich Warlock through a Kustom Solo 16 amp, I've also tried it with my old Ibanez Gio. Both guitars produced nearly exactly the same sound through this pedal. This pedal is capable of producing fat distortion with a high Pick attack, but I find that it is really limited to one genre of music. If you're looking for a heavy, crisp thrash sound, then this is the pedal that you want. // 8

Reliability & Durability: All-metal construction for this one, if you're dealing with an unruly crowd, you could always bludgeon someone with it during a break, and then continue using it for the show. The sound never fails, and I doubt that the construction will either. Reliability and durability. // 10

Impression: I've been playing guitar for about 2 years, almost strictly metal. This was the first pedal that I'd ever purchased, and I've found that it has given me that riff sound that was I looking for, especially with such a cheap amp. I would recommend this pedal to anyone wanting a down-tuned sound even without the down tuning. The only thing that I really don't like about this pedal is that the power adapter (Boss PSA) is sold separately and a 9V lasts a mere hour. // 9

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Lavatain, on february 09, 2009

Purchased from: Local Guitar Shop

Ease of Use: This is very easy to use with only 4 control knobs. Level(volume), Low(bass), High(treble) and Dist.(fairly obvious). You can change from racking all the knobs right to the top for a very good rhythm metal sound, take away all the high leaving everything else for a Slayer sound or turn up the high to the top with low at bottom for Megadeth. // 10

Sound: I use an OLP John Petrucci Signature guitar into a Boss PW-10 V-Wah to a Boss ME-X that has loops for the ML-2 and outputted from ME-X to a Laney LX35D. It is a little noisy e.g. moving ur hand over strings but when ur playing something it's perfect and if you have a noise suppresor you can get rid of that slide noise. It is a very heavy distortion that when you turn the dist just under halfway you get a nice 70s rock sound but you need to tweak the other knobs to help get that sound or go all the way up and go mental. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would definetely use this without backup, it's a Boss. Not much else needed to say but if you're a lead guitarist like me you probably want this pedal for the Rhythm playing but isn't very suited for soloing so take a MT-2 or something else but if you're a rhythm player you need this. // 10

Impression: I play a range of metal music from metalcore to thrash metal to heavy metal and this produces them all after a bit of expermineting. I've been playing about 2 years and fit this into one of the loops of a ME-X which aren't being made anyomore which is a shame because they beat any other Multeffects board. I wish it could be a bit better for soloing which is a problem. If it got lost I would get a MT-2 if I didn't already because I'm getting one soon but I would maybe buy this back. I love that it makes riffs sound awesome and just yeh. I don't like that it doesn't have a mid control knob but I can Live without that. I compared it to a FZ-5 Fuzz and it is a much cleaner metaly distortion and better than my distortion on the Laney. I only wish it had a Mid control knob and a Remote jack for a footswitch for a Lead mode and a Rhythm mode. // 9

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Sasms, on february 17, 2009

Purchased from: Billy Hyde Music

Ease of Use: This beast of an amp includes 4 nobs. Level, High, Low and Dist. With just these 4 nobs, I can get basically any metal sound I want. it's got a good battery life although I'd recomend buying the power pack and it's practially indesructable. it's easy to press down and the nobs turn quite easily to get that perfect amount. There are so many different sounds you can get out of this, it's hard to not find a good sound. // 10

Sound: I use an Ibanez SA220FM through a Marshall MG50DFX and with the high, mid and low controls on my amps clean channel with the pedals high and low controls, there is endless possabilies with settings. This pedal is suprisingly quite, I'd expect atlest a little bit of noise but it very quite untill you pull out a big chunky chord.
I listen to bands like B.M.F.V, Trivium and Atreyu aswell as bands like Children Of Bodom, In Flames and Parkway Drive and I can get pretty decent sounds for all of the bands. The distortion on this pedal is insane. // 10

Reliability & Durability: As I mentioned before, this pedal is indestructable. I've had it for a while and I abuse it so much yet it still sounds good as new. I'd definately depend on it at a gig without a back-up as long as I had the power supply although it does relativly well without it. Stomp on this as hard as you can and I bet you can't break it. // 9

Impression: This is definately the best metal amp I've ever come across. I've been playing for 5 years now and played some of my mates other distortion pedals and most of them don't even compare to this one. I got this becasue the shop guy recomended it as the best distortion pedal he had in the store. The thing I like about this pedal is just how much distortion it has, I'm kind of an addict and this pedal just goes way past anything I've ever played. I'd defs get it agen if I lost it because it's just such a good pedal. Also the simplicity of it is pretty exicting for me, I had complitcated pedals with too many buttons and nobs that are just there for show. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Beefjerky01, on august 26, 2008

Price paid: $ 100

Purchased from: Castellano's House of Music

Ease of Use: First off, let me say that this pedal, in my opinion, is the best distortion pedal I've ever purchased. Right out of the box, it's ready to use and you don't need the manual to know how to operate. Just plug your guitar into it and the pedal into the amp and bang, you're ready to rock. Fiddling with the knobs, it's easy to get a nice distortion tone. Especially after living off of regular Overdrive for a while. // 10

Sound: The distortion tone on this pedal is simply awesome. Nice heavy and not too crunchy distortion. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find the distortion of every band you'll like but this pedal offers that nice distortion which is rarely found when turning the knobs. A nice metal, rock, or whatever you like sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is definitely made to last, even though it includes a 5 year warranty. Looks like it's been built like a tank and feels practically indestructible. For a gig or any event of any kind, I would definitely use this pedal as my main pedal. // 10

Impression: Even though I've only been playing guitar for a little over a year, I've heard many variations of distortion tones, including Overdrive, and this pedal is simply the best. It offers that metal sound I've been looking for which no other pedal or effect device can imitate. Plus, I bartered a deal where the ac power supply was included for no extra charge! When I plugged this pedal into my amp and guitar into the pedal, I instantly fell in love with the sound that was produced. Just awesome! But a review can tell you only so much. So if you're in the market for a pedal with good distortion, you simply have to test em' out and choose according to your preferences. // 10

overall: 9

Reviewed by: RndyW0, on february 06, 2008

Price paid: $ 144.57

Purchased from: Soundhouse

Ease of Use: This pedal was not easy to get a good sound from it. The pedal sounded better through other amps when I tried it in the shop, but when I took it home I set the treble to top, bass to half and the distortion to the top it worked perfectly with my amp. The manual does give a few ideas for distortion but it's better just to try and find the one that suits you with this pedal. // 6

Sound: I am using the pedal with a Marshall MG100DFX and an Ibanez S470, or occasionally my B.C. Rich Mockingbird. It doesn't create much line noise when using batteries but it is noiser with a PSU connected. The pedal does sound more like a fuzz pedal with the treble and bass at the same level but turning the treble up makes it sound a lot better. It works extremely well with sweep picking when using the neck Pick up and divebombs sound awesome. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would easily gig with this pedal without backup, I would put a new battery in each time but that's about all the backup it would need. I was considering buying the MT-2 as well to get two different distorion types in a pedal board but this one is metal enough as it is. I think I could drop it down stairs a few times and it would still function, maybe even out of a second floor window as the casing is a good solid metal. // 10

Impression: I mainly play speed metal and progressive metal, it works well with both and is able to keep up perfectly with fast playing and sound crisp all the time, I still use a Korg AX1500G multi-effects unit with this but only to get the talkbox setting which features on that pedal. It is annoying when you first get the pedal and can't find the best metal setting but as soon as you have it there is no need to change. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: GunsNRoses91689, on july 20, 2007

Price paid: $ 110

Purchased from: Samash

Ease of Use: This petal is no toy. The manual gives some very nice presets to get you started off, but if you want to get that perfect high gain sound you've wanted it takes some tinkering. It also takes a great deal of coordinating between the pedal and your amp to find the perfect amount of treble and bass output. // 9

Sound: The sound this petal makes is very unique. I've used it with a Fender Champion 300 in Samash and it sounded fantastic. On my Marshall 15-Watt it sounds like crap. On my friend's Peavey XXX is brings tears to your eyes. If you're looking to match music like Norma Jean this is the perfect petal for the job. I've even gotten this petal to sound relatively close to a few Tool songs. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I don't see it breaking anytime soon. I've even dropped it a few times and seen no damage. Very dependable on stage and off. I wouldn't even bother bringing a backup. If this is your first petal remember to get a power adapter. The battery drains very quickly and requires constant changing. // 10

Impression: Perfect for fast high-gain metal. Can make the crappiest guitar sound alright. Compared to most other distortion pedals this one gives a more distinct crunch and a great tone. A bit pricey, but well worth it. If you're unsure about this pedal you should probably give it a test run before you order it online. // 10

overall: 6

Reviewed by: nedthehead, on january 23, 2008

Price paid: $ 86.9

Purchased from: Long and McQuade

Ease of Use: As far as this pedal goes, it is fairly easy to use. They're aren't many knobs to adjust, and all of them are responsive enough to let you know what you're doing. This pedal gives good response from anything you do, as far as turning down the distortion, or adjusting any of the knobs. // 8

Sound: Oh god, where do I start? This pedal has no life! I repeat, no life! I couldn't believe how terrible this pedal was. I've tried it through some Ibanez guitars, and Jackson guitars through some Peavy, Traynor, and Marshall amps. Okay, everything sounds the same! That is in caps because it is important. Sure, you can adjust the low and high knobs, but it throws the frequency of sound out the window. The distortion is either too much (too buzzy) or too thin. Get used to your amp's EQ, because you will fiddle with it for a good 45 minutes trying to get a decent sound. The high's sound way too thin. You get that paper-mache sort of crinkly sound at anything past 10 O Clock. Yes, I know, it's that bad. Lows aren't that much different. You play at 12 O Clock and the bass overpowers everything. Death Metal distortion? Hell no. I play styles from Death to funk, adn this pedal wont hit anything. Too bassy for thrash, too thin for death, and too cold for classic rock. I'm sorry, but this pedal just sounds so generic. It's hard to get a good tone out of it that is unique. I can bet 9/10 people who use this pedal have the same settings on their pedal, because there are only a few combinations that make this pedal sound acceptable (but not good). I'd really look into another distortion pedal to achieve a tone close to any famous artist, unless you want to sound like a 10 year old trying to play metal with a Squier sarter kit (no offence though). // 2

Reliability & Durability: Okay, this is a reliable pedal. Dropped it first day I got it (a few minutes after I plugged it in) and not a scratch or dent on it! I've had it for a while and is as flwless straight out of the box. Really, if you know anything about Boss pedals, you'll know that this will last you! // 10

Impression: I got this pedal when my other pedal got lent out and I needed a replacement for a few weeks. Geez, I'm sorry Boss, but you dropped the ball. This is a really thin sounding pedal, and does not count for much more than your amps distortion. Take it from a guy Who's been playing for a few years to tell you what tone is, and this does not have it. I've tried coaxing a good metal sound out of this, and came up with nothing. It is a good pedal in everything except what it produces. The only major problem is the tone of the pedal. If Boss could make a tighter and more smooth pedal that hits every EQ range, that would be a great replacement. For $10 cheaper, get a Metal Muff. You'll love it more than what Boss tried to do. // 4

Comments

[Inhale.Breathe]

I just got this yesterday. Its amazing, I run it with a shitty Epiphone Les Paul Special II and a 15w Crate Amp and it makes them sound amazing. I love it!

[StratPat]

Inhale.Breathe :
I just got this yesterday. Its amazing, I run it with a shitty Epiphone Les Paul Special II and a 15w Crate Amp and it makes them sound amazing. I love it!

Dude I have that same guitar lol pretty dodgy hey? Oh well this pedal kick major ass!

[Jard_weirdo]

is this better than my boss mt2 metal zone???

[Glassprison_31]

hmmm seems like a good pedal but unlike the metal zone pedal has no mids so im not too sure id buy it instead of my metal zone

[Glassprison_31]

Jard_weirdo wrote:

is this better than my boss mt2 metal zone???

i dont think so because unlike the boss mt-2 it has no mids...im sure on the boss Mt-2 u can get the same sound

[phenom1991]

I think youd need a noise gate for one of these though...boss pedals tend to get really noisy.

[XcatalystX]

i bougth this pedal a month go an i friggin love it! makes my b.c rich warlock sound like a champ! i recomend to all who want that edgy metal sound

[bgman]

i disagree with saying that the mt-2 was a fiasco. i own 1 and i think its a great distortion pedal.

[Synyster Gates]

i disagree with saying that the mt-2 was a fiasco. i own 1 and i think its a great distortion pedal.

I own one as well and while with proper application it can sound quite excellent, the ML-2 far surpasses it in the face that you can plug it in straight and get a tight distortion sounds as opposed to the MT-2 which was hard (for most it would seem) to EQ in a way that was satisfactory

[Dennis17]

Very good

[jacob23]

this pedal sounds more like an amp than just a pedal but the metal zone seemed too digital.

[RX120D]

I find the mt-2 is the farthest i could get from a digital sound, thats why i got it, and you have to be a complete dumbass to not know how to use EQ, 4 knobs, Low, High, Mid, Mid Freq. they all make certain sounds. if you cant figure out the MT-2 you should get the ML-2 but ifyou want real tone, and real distortion, get the MT-2.

[eltravo]

i just think the name is hilarious

[deaththrashcore]

This thing F*UCKING owns. It blows the MT-2 away (for all you nay-sayers). This pedal can give you great attack. It's PERFECT for hardcore/extreme metalish type stuff.

[opposablethumbs]

how's it compare to the digitech df7? i need a good distortion pedal. How do both compare to an Ibanez Tube Screamer?

[kelvinxkelvin]

the tubescreamer is an overdrive, not a distortion. ur better off getting a tubescreamer anyways, EVEN if your playing metal...

[spoonylove90]

i dont think so because unlike the boss mt-2 it has no mids...im sure on the boss Mt-2 u can get the same sound

perfectly stated. i A/B'd these two pedals and the MT-2 can sound exactly like this pedal. not the other way around however.

[piratemetalhead]

I'm trying to get a pedal to play melodic death metal, like Kalmah and dark tranquility, and some classic metal kinds stuff, like Black sabbath and iron maiden.

I need something to sound good on solos and make harmonics more pronounced, so wich one do you think is better suited, this pedal or the electro-harmonix metal muff?

[grimevil]

This pedal may blow away the MT-2 Metal Zone, but the Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff blows this one away. It is much more versitile, has a much better tone and is cheaper than the Metal Zone.

[Sciatic]

On an MT-2 you will get the same sound and more, but that is in terms of Boss pedals.

[Sciatic]

cheaper than the Metal Zone

I don't know, I got my MT-2 for about $50

[piratemetalhead]

This pedal may blow away the MT-2 Metal Zone, but the Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff blows this one away. It is much more versitile, has a much better tone and is cheaper than the Metal Zone.

Thanks, I'll probably get the metal muff. Plus, just that mention of nu-metal in that description at the very top drove me away from it at the beginning. :P

[Emocrusher]

Yeah true pirate.. I might have read the review if it wasn't called metal core.. BOSS have clearly tapped the faggot market with this one.

[CobainenHeralyn]

BWAHAHAHAHA you know hardcore has reached an all time low when boss makes a ****ing "metalcore" pedal...whats the standard metalcore gear now? A 5150, ESP Viper and this thing?

[black_punk]

can this pedal get me a Lamb of God kind of tone??? or should i get the MT-2????

[ChoPxSueY]

Sounds like a nice 'petal' o.o

[rifftnstrings]

Yeah true pirate.. I might have read the review if it wasn't called metal core.. BOSS have clearly tapped the faggot market with this one.

Doesn't matter if the pedal sounds sexy.

[rifftnstrings]

Speaking of which, is there any reason to get this if I have an MT-2?

[Shor-T Zero]

black_punk, I have gotten a Lamb of God tone with an MT-2 and a Crate half-stack. It takes a bit of tinkering, but I have the settings written down somewhere. This seemed like a decent pedal, I'd buy it if it was cheaper, just because its looks kinda koo and it has a good sound. But I'd probably get something diff., since I have an MT-2. And I have an ESP ltd. Viper, but I don't play metalcore at all. I usually play hard rock, and then metal, and then some melodic death metal (which for me translates to Arch Enemy). That's about it though. Ok sound here, I would rate it better had it been cheaper.

[SuperSnake2012]

I would really recommend the Metal Muff pedal instead. So much more versatile and natural sounding compared to the MT2. I wish I knew about it before I bought it. I hate the way the Metal Zone sounds.

[becker009]

ahahhaha as soon as i saw "metal core," i thought, "oh lord, what has this world come to?!" I would have never thought that a respected pedal producer like BOSS would stoop to the likes of so-called "underground" metal fans by throwing a XcoreX at the end of the name ahahahaha. pure hilarity.

anyways, i'm sure the pedal sounds great

[Pacarazzi]

jacob23 wrote:

this pedal sounds more like an amp than just a pedal but the metal zone seemed too digital.

The reason I bought the Metal Zone was because of the 4 distortion pedals I tried, it sounded the LEAST digital. It gave a full sound, and it's really versatile. If you think it sounds too digital you obviously need to go try out a couple more distortion pedals.

[Pacarazzi]

SuperSnake2012 wrote:

I would really recommend the Metal Muff pedal instead. So much more versatile and natural sounding compared to the MT2. I wish I knew about it before I bought it. I hate the way the Metal Zone sounds.

I forgot to say..not only did the other pedals sound more digital, but a big thing is that the Metal Muff sounded like pure digital crap compared to the Metal Zone. Maybe the set up was bad for the Metal Muff...all I know is that compared to the Metal Zone it was thin/cheap sounding crap.

[Cori-XX]

This Pedal Dominates, I use it with a Gobson Explorer and a Marshall Stack and let me tell you somethin.....dont even think the MT-2 can compare, i sold my MT-2 when i tried to compare it..BLAH not gonna happen, this pedal dominates

[graspchoke!!!!!]

This pedal delivers what it says.It has more sound mass than any pedal except ..maybe the LANDMINE pedal.

[simoT.I.]

ok, so: this pedal have a ****ing huge sound. no matter if boos had follow some new ****ing brand or something like this... its sound is so powerfull, and so "real". i don't now how many peaople say that the mt-2 is better... it has one the fakest sound i ever heard from a distortion pedal! it has NO low end... this one is a fury, my favourite control is the high setting, fantastic... try this with EMG 81 in the bridge and you'll love it

[thrash_bassist]

this pedal makes my pants tight :x

[franksciante]

tried one out today and was actually fairly impressed. especially since i generally hate distortion pedals. seems like the best alternative if im stuck using an amp with dodgey overdrive or no footswitch.

[piratemetalhead]

This pedal delivers what it says.It has more sound mass than any pedal except ..maybe the LANDMINE pedal.

XD

[drenvital]

Unless your into bands like Ozzy Osbourne, White Zombie, Metallica or other metal bands then you may want to consider a different pedal.

hence y its called the METALcore pedal

[piratemetalhead]

hence y its called the METALcore pedal

But the metalcore genre is a complete abomination of metal!

Anyways, right now, my effects pedal is just turning the gain all the way up with the overdrive on. XP

[grimevil]

I don't know, I got my MT-2 for about $50

You're right, I meant to say the MetalCore is more expensive than the Metal Muff.

[mike_r_peggio07]

i used to have the mt-2 pedal but now i have the me-50
is this pedal better then the metal distortion in the me-50?

[Sleepwalker 666]

I still like my Metal Zone MT-2 better but i think thats because I'm more of an old school metal head.
Overall though the Metal Core MT-2 still gives out a deadly sound.

[the spiker]

MT-2 is great for metal, the ML-2 is great for numetal. I played around with this pedal in the shop and if I owned a 7-string and play a lot of Korn this would be perfect. But nope I own the MT-2 and play different music :P

[SL!!!]

CobainenHeralyn wrote:

BWAHAHAHAHA you know hardcore has reached an all time low when boss makes a ****ing "metalcore" pedal...whats the standard metalcore gear now? A 5150, ESP Viper and this thing?

That's kind of true. That's really disappointing though. There used to be a lot of great metalcore bands in the nineties, like Converge and Coalesce. As I Lay Dying and other crap bands have ruined it. Maybe Between the Buried and Me could save it, but i like hardcore better anyway.

[winterXsolstice]

SL!!! wrote:

CobainenHeralyn wrote:

BWAHAHAHAHA you know hardcore has reached an all time low when boss makes a ****ing "metalcore" pedal...whats the standard metalcore gear now? A 5150, ESP Viper and this thing?
That's kind of true. That's really disappointing though. There used to be a lot of great metalcore bands in the nineties, like Converge and Coalesce. As I Lay Dying and other crap bands have ruined it. Maybe Between the Buried and Me could save it, but i like hardcore better anyway.

you forgot zao, shi halud, 7 angles 7 plauges. the bands that really made the genra

[a dying entity]

THIS PEDAL SUCKS!!!!! PLEASE DONT WASTE 100 BUCKS ON IT!!!!! FOR THE SAME PRICE YOU COULD BUY A LINE 6 UBER METAL PEDAL, WITH CONTROLLABLE MIDS,SCOOP,BASS,TREBLE AND A BUILT-IN NOISE GATE!!!

[Tubyboulin]

Cori-XX wrote:

This Pedal Dominates, I use it with a Gobson Explorer and a Marshall Stack and let me tell you somethin.....dont even think the MT-2 can compare, i sold my MT-2 when i tried to compare it..BLAH not gonna happen, this pedal dominates

What is this "Gobson" you speak of? anywho this pedal is too Synthesizery

[whm119]

I tried both BOSS metal pedals. They both have their own personalities, and sound good through the clean channel, but I stil go back to my old setup: Ibanez RG-470 with a Dimebucker[Bridge], Hot Rails[middle] straight into a Marshall MG-100DFX [1x12 combo]with a BOSS RGE-10 EQ and ZOOM 606 multi-effect in the FX Loop, with the mix between 10 an 11 oclock.

[Mr.Tea]

I tryed it through a peavy valve king and a prs ce 22 and it was amazing

[Key Master]

nice

[Synyster Gates]

drenvital wrote:

Unless your into bands like Ozzy Osbourne, White Zombie, Metallica or other metal bands then you may want to consider a different pedal.

hence y its called the METALcore pedal

True enough, yet I'd hope you realize just how many people will randomly buy ANY distortion pedal without considering the kind of distortion they're going to get from it. A guy who wants tone for distortion you might here in a band like Foreigner or Winger shouldn't buy this pedal.

[HELLSHREDD]

The ML-2 is the ultimate heavy sounding pedal.The MT-2 metalzone has settings you will never use& im glad i got rid of that fuzzy sounding thing, the metalcore is exactly what i needed &couldnt be more happy.
I must add , that if you really want the right sound with the ml-2 get a chorus, i bought a ibanez chorus with the metalcore & ive never heard such sweet sounds ever, maybe the EMG-81 pick-up & mesa tube amp just is the perfect mix 2 send me right 2 hell & thats route 666

[berysLTD_h-50]

this pedal is a fecking beast!
ive tried the metal core, and its realy good, but i just likeed this one more.
i play this with an ibanez ts9 tubescreamer, but i cant get the boost witht the ml-2 on...so the tone i get is trealy clean...and its just WAY to clean...my solos sound terrible..anyopne know how i can fix my tube screamer tone with the metalcore pedal still on?
i play thorugh a line 6 spider III half stack
and another thing***I GOT BOTH PEDALS 3 DAYS AGO***

[ryanjt801]

yeah i think that the metalzone owns the metalcore. Mainly because of the extra knobs which it has. you can get the same sounds which the metalcore has, on the metalzone, and i disagree that the MT-2 is a fiasco. i own one, and if you know how to adjust it right, the sound can be quite awesome. using a BC Rich warlock with EMG 81s and 85s. been awesome through any amp i play

[HELLSHREDD]

Berysl, try turning your gain down on amp & use your gain more on pedal , That should make your day.

[shinedown98]

yea i just picked it up earlier today, and though ive only been able to play it at minimal level this evenign due to neighbors, it def sounds better then my MT2, the distortion is much darker and heavier, a dist i couldnt get with my mt-2... i got it runnin through a boss dig delay and noise suppressor too, not sure if the suppressor makes much diff, pedal is super quiet for a high gain pedal...from an esp ltd ec500s into a peavey vk100....sounds pretty nice..

[graspchoke!!!!!]

Hell is not a good place to be!!Pray to Jesus and ask Him to guide your life!

[ralleymonkey]

Hey i was rait about to buy this pedal like today.. and these reviews make me think i should sitck to my Boss MT-2 Thanks guys Rock on!!!

[Drokan14]

I'm getting it for chirstmas..
I didnt know if i wanted the metal zone or this..
Can anyone tell me which one is better
Thanx

[tzmen23]

i got the mt2 today and i couldnt get the right tone i was expecting. you can get some good tones out of it if you can figure out the controls. it took me awhile but i found some but it wasnt what i was expecting. it kept hissing at me if i wasnt playing anything and i really didnt like that. im gona take it back tommorrow and look at this. ive looked at some sound tests and this sounds better for my taste

[gcnmaster7]

I bought this pedal a few days a go. I play it through a Spider III 30 watt amp with a Schecter Gryphon. This pedal kicks ass 24/7!

[Runow]

The metal zone pedal is made for Metal. This one is, like the description says, for nu metal and industrial etc so i bet there's a pretty big difference. So it depends on what music you're going to play.

[Andraysexy]

I play an Ibanez RG7321, which is a 7 string, so i'm having a tough time finding a good distortion pedal to handle the low B. Unfortunately, the only good one has "core" in the name. Absolutely great pedal, homo name. I suggest scratching it off and putting a sticker saying "not-gay-super-cool-awesome pedal"

[wesman69]

i play in a hardcore band and i bought this thing as a joke. i busted it out at a show and i had every band there laughing

[stevenjw2007]

The perfect mate for the metal core is the NS-2 Noise Suppressor. This thing will cut the shit out of your tone with its high threshold and its low decay. A perfect match.

[metalhed717]

okay, im gettin the Metal Zone pedal, but ive been hearing a lot about this one. it says this is good for nu metal and metalcore and stuff, but which would be better for Metallica-like thrashy sounds?

[DOMR28]

I got one of these for $65 at a hole in the wall, cool sounding after only eight damn hours of tinkering with noise sup, chorus, and eq, but for $65 I couldn't pass it up. So, setting up for leads is a bitch. But a great sounding pedal none-the-less. I had the original Metal zone, and will be getting the MT-2 as well.

[takotakumi]

hey, im thinking in buying a new distortion pedal,i like to play a lot of death metal,thrash, and want to try to get that decapitated sound or lamb of god sound.would u guys recomend me this pedal or a metal zone or a digitech dist. factory?

[mbsunga]

Is it comparable with HYPER Metal HM 3? Well they both have the same knobs a level a DIST and 2 EQs a LOW and HIGH. I have a HYPER metal but i doth think BOSS is still producing one thats why they came up with this Metal Core pedal. Idd like to hear some comments from you guys THANKS

[no. 1 maggot]

OK. I just bought this pedal recently. i ahve used to play everything from nirvana and silverchair to slayer, slipknot, SOAD and the berzerker. truly a versatile pedal, despite what MT-2 owners seem to believe. i could not imagine that the metal zone could be easier than the metal core. if you have both high and low on max and have the level knob at a point where there is no difference in volume between having the effect on or off, all you need to mess around with is the distortion pedal. and yes, pedal is spelt with a d. also, the name is just a name, and nu metal kicks ass, although I hate rap.

[no. 1 maggot]

distortion knob i mean

[mikerockstar]

I bought this recently and was disappointed. I play it through a Randall RH300 head with Randall RS125CX cab (2x12, 1x15 cab). So far I find that this pedal is not the best. I had high hopes. I play metalcore, hardcore, deathcore, heavy rock, stuff like that. This pedal seems tailor-made for those styles (the modern stuff). I find the lows are either too little, or too much (gets WAY too "woofy" and undefined). Same thing goes for the highs. This thing needs a MID or Scoop control in the worst way. I find the attack on this thing is NOT good. I like the Line6 Uber Metal better, although it is slightly more digital sounding. Perhaps it is my active EMG pickups (I play an ESP EC-1000 and a MHB-400 baritone tuned to C-standard and drop B-flat). I'm getting a Boss 7-band EQ pedal soon, so I'm gonna try the Metalcore in combination with that to see if it improves things. I do not have these problems of poorly defined lows and woofiness with my Uber Metal, DigiTech Grunge, or Damage Control Demonizer. But I'll play with it more and post again. But it's still better than a Metalzone. Personally I hate them.

[mikerockstar]

I wanted to add something about the above post on the mids. It sounds like this pedal has SUPER SCOOPED mids almost all the time. I love a good scooped tone (like I said, I play a lot of modern styles of heavy music), but this sounds almost too scooped. Great for grind and death, but needs some more mids, I think. Again, an equalizer might improve this. But I shouldn't need it.

[nedthehead]

I really disliked this pedal. The distortion is okay, but its hard to get a good tone from the pedal. Get a Metal Muff

[taytay8b]

wow, I played this at my local guitar store. what piece of crap, doesn't sound good at all and you have no mids. I have a Boss MT-2 (Metal Zone) and I love it, I couldn't be any happier. I would get the MT-2 if you're looking for more EQ settings and better distortion.

[DarkLordArthur]

hey, i need an opinion, is the boss metalcore better than the digitech death metal? I personally think the boss is better but i want to hear others opinion

[capo2ndfrett]

black_punk wrote:

can this pedal get me a Lamb of God kind of tone??? or should i get the MT-2????

if you want a lamb of god tone, definetly the metalzone from what ive heard and seen, MT-2s walk all up and down the metal core pedal

[troy88]

as i lay dying, all that remains, the human abstract, bullet for my valentine, killswitch engage, arch enemy, as blood runs black, unearth, inflames the metalcore will give you the perfect tone, who ever said that the metalzone will give you the same sound by adjusting the equal is wrong, the metalzone is a more versitile petal but it sounds thin, the Metalcore is a very THICK distortion and has more attack than metalzone, ive used both for a while, in the end i chose the metalcore becuase it sounded great through my solid state Vox VT30 and even better through my all tube Peavy ValveKing 112, the attack on this pedal is crazy, i have the perfect sound i was looking for, its also less noisy than the metalzone.

[javier2012]

the metal master is better!!!!!

[tamotots]

METAL CORE! KICKASS PEDAL YEAH?

[AaronR2]

The Metal Core has some good tone. haha.

[Bleedsxnoxmore]

I love it! this pedal pwns.

[fenderbender_1]

[this ed[/quote]

[fenderbender_1]

Soz
Should I get a boss Metalcore

[dranz1212]

is that really Synyster gates that left a message?!

[tamotots]

is this pedal good for playing metalcore? i know it's a stupid question but everyone mentioned this pedal good for nu metal and mt-2 for old school metal but no one mentioned metalcore. i play old school metal and metalcore and i hate nu-metal

[Razorback555]

it's a an awesome pedal. It's so worth buying.

[danrawkz]

yes this pedal will do metalcore sounds, just put the lows up to about 3 oclock, and drop the highs to to about 9-10oclock, perfect for breakdowns/chugging on the c/b string

[Nirvana6722]

I was at my local music shop today and they have a little booth where you can try all different kinds of distortion pedals (they had about 50 different ones.) For about 30 minutes I played along with all of them with a $4000 Ibanez. When I came to the metal core ml-2 , I was awestruck. This is the sound that I have been wanting for a long time. I cranked the distortion up and play WALK! WALK! Its that heavy. I'm ordering it right now and It will get here in a couple of days! Sweeeet.

[slipknot_420]

I own this pedal anyome who say the mt-2 is better because of the equalizer your a ****ing idiot!!
This is one of the top 5 distortion pedals ****ing great sound I love it!!!
Also u can buy equalizer pedals that will let u customize your tone even more thats what i do im very picky about my tone!!! But anyways great buy!!!

[hmonk0608]

ive just tried this pedal and man its gd! i prefer it so much to the mt-2 cos the 2 band eq without the mid control gives it that extra edge! also this may seem weird to you all but hav any of u ever tried the odb-3 bass overdrive through a guitar? i did it today with the treble at 3'o clock, bass at full and gain and balance full too, and it came close to rivalling ml-2! if u dont beleive me try it yourself

[ImInHell]

Ok, so I'm 20 years old, and have been a lead guitarist in a gigging band for 6 years, here is my advice.
1. you're an idiot if you're using a pedel with a spider II or III.
2. MT-2 sounds like I'm playing out of a tin can..distortion is thin as hell.
3. ML-2 has a great sound, but can you say..FEEDBACK? OMG! you'll need a noise gate for sure...maybe two of them!
4. Go with either a Uber Metal or a seymour duncan metal mayhem, its all about trial and error, if you're a beginner or an intermediate guitarist...im telling you...stay away from Boss and Digitech. Although the Metal Core pedal is kinda cool for your basic hard metal riffs.

[CleanCanvas]

i play alot of killswitch , i killed the prom queen, bring me the horizon that sort of stuff
and own a fender 15 watt lol and a epiphone lespaul custom with emg's
could i get those sounds with my gear and this pedal?

[RGshred88]

sry....but this pedal sounds horrible...to me at least.

if u want a clearly digital sound by all means get it...otherwise no

[bla556]

to me this is the worst distortion pedal i've ever heard (except for behringer's, but they do not count as real pedals). no tone, horribly fuzzy...
you can't play chords with it, it sounds totally digital and has too much crappy gain for every music. most undefined sound i've ever heard.

personally i play the mt-2 and it's so much better. not that digital, more versatile, clearer sound.
of course not the best pedal out there, but enough for my needs.

[decayingdave]

If this is half as good as the HM-2, then I'd like to thrash it to death just to annoy the neighborhood, as the sound with these heavy pedals is usually dirty and distorted, and tends to take a dump on delicate sound.

Still - is there anyone here who isn't ranting on about tone and other p*ssy concerns? This is a metal pedal... If you want to play Extreme Genres properly then you're going to have to say goodbye to clean settings, if you think they're so important then you should stick to lighter genres. Most peoples complaints are against the genre, not the sound - making their rants an invalid argument.

Still, an awesome and insightful review, kudos.

[afrohitman13]

as many people said this pedal is not for anything but metal, so if you wish to play other music with this i suggest go with a lighter distortion pedal what i do is use my marshall's distortion to play other things but definitly buy this pedal for those crunchy metal riffs and rebember that nothing is more durable than a boos pedal

[xXChimairaXx]

SL!!! wrote:

CobainenHeralyn wrote:

BWAHAHAHAHA you know hardcore has reached an all time low when boss makes a ****ing "metalcore" pedal...whats the standard metalcore gear now? A 5150, ESP Viper and this thing?
That's kind of true. That's really disappointing though. There used to be a lot of great metalcore bands in the nineties, like Converge and Coalesce. As I Lay Dying and other crap bands have ruined it. Maybe Between the Buried and Me could save it, but i like hardcore better anyway.

Wow. You did not just go there saying As I Lay Dying ruined metalcore. What an idiot.

BTBM...ugh. The Human Abstract is better.

[mj2007]

i've heard people say the electro harmonix metal muff top boost (i think i got the name right) is as good if not even better than this.

thoughts anyone?

[gizmodious]

Great for metal, but its not flexible at all.

Doesnt get more crunchy than this folks.

[StraightHate]

This is why I love my GT-8. This pedal is OK for what it does but sonically limited, IMO.

[MetalManiac_86]

I have an MT-2. I tried both of these at my music store before buying and the MT-2 is definitely more versatile. Like was said, you can basically make the MT sound like the ML anyway. The ML is more for bottom end you can't get half the tone out of it. Still, a good pedal but I feel the MT is superior overall.

[shaymack37]

Distortion wise I own a boss metalzone and a digitech death metal. For years I used the metalzone, somewhat disatisfied with the tone, but I couldn't find anything better. For awhile I even ran a boss acoustic simulator behind it for an insane buzzsaw effect (way too much, just try it for fun). Then I got an ESP F-50 (cheap-ass metal guitar), and a Crate XT120R amp (cheap-ass metal amp). After that I stopped using any distortion pedal because the 'solo' channel on the crate sounded better than any pedal I'd ever heard, and still does. Then my brother bought me a Digitech Death Metal for a birthday, it didn't even sound as good as my discarded boss metalzone. But years later I started recording my music on a Zoom multitrack I purchased. And when I put a mic to my wonderful amp to record it just sounded wimpy. I needed a direct plug-in from my guitar to the recorder. The answer came when I was drunk one night and pulled out the 'death metal' my brother got me. It has two different outputs, one for your amp, a different one for your mixer/recorder, I unintentionally plugged in out of the 'amp' output...and it was the most clean/hard/distortion sound I had ever heard. Now when I record I only use digitech death metal. People forget that you need different equipment for shows than for recording a song or album. If I'm playing just to play, my cheap-ass guitar and amp combo sounds better than any distortion pedal, but when it's time to record...the digitech 'death metal' rocks me. I hope this helps somebody.

[pigeonmafia]

As a few people have said, the pedal to get is different depending on your needs. I play bullet for my valentine, children of bodom, killswitch engage and slipknot etc and the ml-2 sounded better for that kinda thing than anything else i tried. However, it's about as versatile as a kettle, so is rubbish for anything else. Don't make your mind up from reviews and comments on here: go out and try it somewhere! It's the only way to know what suits you.

And as shaymack37 said: recording's sound different, and the pedal's will sound different with different amps and guitars. You really have to try the pedals before you choose!

[element1385]

i want a sound like protest the hero or even inflames
would you reccomend this pedal?

[minchew]

pigeonmafia :
As a few people have said, the pedal to get is different depending on your needs. I play bullet for my valentine, children of bodom, killswitch engage and slipknot etc and the ml-2 sounded better for that kinda thing than anything else i tried. However, it's about as versatile as a kettle, so is rubbish for anything else. Don't make your mind up from reviews and comments on here: go out and try it somewhere! It's the only way to know what suits you.

thanks. my band plays a lot of stuff like that. I might look into this pedal ( my MT-2 crapped out on me after about a year.)

[CleanCanvas]

i duno about u guys
but its a tad fuzzy and noisy for me
but i tried it on my friends valve orange amp
wow..
crap on my amp
but not noisy at all on my friends orange valve
was totally insane

[element1385]

what are some good setting on the metal core?

[EpiExplorer]

element1385 wrote:

what are some good setting on the metal core?

Everything to full! Maybe >.> Uhm, try level at 8, low at 5, high at 10 and gain at 10, you get a good machine head type sound o.o

[model_15]

this pedal totally complements my set-up

ibanez: rg7321 81-7 bridge 60-7 neck
fender frontman 212r

kind of a weird setup

[kellogg777]

the metal core is indeed pretty awesome,but i have a question for anybody that can answer it. I use the metal core with a Line 6 Spider III, and for some reason it makes more of a difference when i have it set to the clean channel than when i have it on metal. why is that?

[dx4life68]

I wouldn't of bought this pedal, but my metal zone randomly stopped working so i figured metal core being the most recent boss distortion metal pedal should be much better then metal zone.
When I gave it a try, I found it made way too much noise. I play with an Ibanez RG421 on a Marshall AV50watt amp and with my setup i found metal zone was atleast ten times better then metal core. I can probably get all the metal core distortion and more on a metal zone.
I play mostly metallica, megadeth, pantera, anthrax, slayer, and i couldn't find any good settings on the metal core for any of these bands.
I just got back from the music store after buying another metal zone, so all you metal zone owners who are debating on getting metal core because its newer don't bother... i think i'm gonna use mine as a paper weight.

[mr_snuggle]

grimevil wrote:

This pedal may blow away the MT-2 Metal Zone, but the Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff blows this one away. It is much more versitile, has a much better tone and is cheaper than the Metal Zone.

i would have to disagree
the metal muff is totally badass, and has a buttload of gain, but i think for a 3 band eq, it is limited in tone. almost all of my artificial harmonics sounded the same (my shitty line 6's channel sounded more diverse).
yes, this pedal has only 2 eqs but if you dial in a decent setting on the amp then apply the pedals eq, you can find a nice tone. the actual distortion of the metalcore totally beats down the metal muff.
but its all about what sound you want
if you like newer hardcore/metalcore (as its rightly dubbed) this pedal works
but if you like that real nasty biting tone that hurts so good, then the metal muff is a great option, and it has a boost on it
idk how the metal zone fares though, the name enough just makes me stay away. METAL ZONE...really? not that this ones name is any better hahahaha

[Atheistgreek]

I have a line 6 spider and i ll get soon a jackson dkmg (EMGs 81-85). What dou you think is the best pedal to play anything metal( thrash, groove and heavy the most)?? Metal core(it sounded heaviest to me in some soundcheck videos in youtube), Metal zone or something else??? Thanks

[Atheistgreek]

*heavier

[EpiExplorer]

Atheistgreek wrote:

I have a line 6 spider and i ll get soon a jackson dkmg (EMGs 81-85). What dou you think is the best pedal to play anything metal( thrash, groove and heavy the most)?? Metal core(it sounded heaviest to me in some soundcheck videos in youtube), Metal zone or something else??? Thanks

This one is your safest bet. As long as your guitar is above £500 then its going to sound immense. but keep the Gain at 7...lest we forget that too much dist killed the music. Admit it guys, grindcore is a terrible waste of time. 'oh look at us, we make songs that are 5 seconds long and our vocalist sounds like a 5 year old being raped till she screams about hating the government' not to mention the idea gets old and then the low quality production makes every single band sound the same. but I digress O.0 but yeah, this is probably the best pedal for distortion in existance really o.o MT-2 isnt as distorty, Death metal is akward to use..so yeah.

[EpiExplorer]

SL!!! wrote:

CobainenHeralyn wrote:

BWAHAHAHAHA you know hardcore has reached an all time low when boss makes a ****ing "metalcore" pedal...whats the standard metalcore gear now? A 5150, ESP Viper and this thing?
That's kind of true. That's really disappointing though. There used to be a lot of great metalcore bands in the nineties, like Converge and Coalesce. As I Lay Dying and other crap bands have ruined it. Maybe Between the Buried and Me could save it, but i like hardcore better anyway.

Its just the name of the pedal, its not even meant for any 'metalcore' bollocks when talking about music. Its a Death Metal Pedal through and through.

[EpiExplorer]

I got this because it sounds exactly like Opeths Ghost Reveries album o.o Hasnt faulted me since.

[Atheistgreek]

EpiExplorer wrote:

Atheistgreek wrote:

I have a line 6 spider and i ll get soon a jackson dkmg (EMGs 81-85). What dou you think is the best pedal to play anything metal( thrash, groove and heavy the most)?? Metal core(it sounded heaviest to me in some soundcheck videos in youtube), Metal zone or something else??? Thanks

This one is your safest bet. As long as your guitar is above £500 then its going to sound immense. but keep the Gain at 7...lest we forget that too much dist killed the music. Admit it guys, grindcore is a terrible waste of time. 'oh look at us, we make songs that are 5 seconds long and our vocalist sounds like a 5 year old being raped till she screams about hating the government' not to mention the idea gets old and then the low quality production makes every single band sound the same. but I digress O.0 but yeah, this is probably the best pedal for distortion in existance really o.o MT-2 isnt as distorty, Death metal is akward to use..so yeah.

thanks

[Aleks_6_6_6]

hi ppl
can i use this pedal for black metal??

[Biffman]

Will this pedal be good for a KoRn sound?

[LTD/ESP]

Should I get a MT-2 or ML-2 to play old-school and new-school Metallica??

[Kronos09]

I play a lot of metallica and the ML-2 makes a great sound. I play an ESP LTD EC-50 and the metal core gives it a great metallic sound. you can use this for any kind of metal sound

[flying V boy]

....i need a distortion pedal but i cant decide between the boss ml-2,boss mt-2 or the mxr dd10 dime distortion pedal. i have a schecter v 1 hellraiser, roland cube 80 x and a boss ns2 noise supressor(makes feed back a thing of the past)

ps i play death metal and thrash metal (think machine head-necrophagist)
thank you

[Clayton777]

I'm hoping on getting one of these, either that or a line 6 floor pod.