Boss Metal Zone MT-2, tear-down photos, with schematic

[technician_the]

possibly the worlds most common pedal, the metal zone has had a pretty bad reputation, but I actually like it, in the right circumstance.

the metal zone has a very strong pre-eq that mimics the pre-amp tone of a Marshall or fender. I assume this was intended to give a cheep solid state practice amp the tone of those classic amps.


(chart of the frequency response, and schematic of the first stage of the MT-2)

it was common for early solid state amps to be more linear then a fender/Marshall, which have a very pronounced high end bump. (this is a result of the non-linarity of the tone control.) the high end bump can be flattering to a lead guitarist, and necessary to get a screaming hi-gain sound.

if the metal zone is placed before an amp that already has a pronounced hi end, it is going to sound very bad. I prefer to use it directly into a DI box, but it can also be run straight into a power amp with good results.

I'm in the process of modifying this particular pedal, and converting it to a rack mount distortion, to better fit my recording process.