Hi, everyone

I've been coming across info about using an MT-2 Metal Zone pedal (or an HM-2 Heavy Metal for that Swedish sound for that matter) as a boost pedal. First of all, using one of these pedals on the amp's Clean channel is what's referred to as using it as a "stand alone" pedal, right? (I want to get the facts right first).
So, anyway, I tried my MT-2 on the amp's Overdrive channel and got a brutal distortion I must say! Lots of feedback. I assume I'd need a Noise Suppressor pedal?
And I tried the HM-2 pedal and got pretty much that Swedish sound. But like I said, lots of feedback from using both pedals.
I know that the Distortion knob on the pedals can be set to zero and the amp's gain knob can be cranked, and then perhaps one can increase the distortion on the pedals to one's taste. Is that how it's done?
I also read that Pat O'Brien (Cannibal Corpse) uses a Metal Zone pedal to boost his amp.

An other interesting thing is that on the BOSS tone manual or whatever it's called, there's a setup suggestion that involves using two distortion pedals; one on top of the other. That sounds interesting. I'd like to try it some day.

One more thing. Has anyone ever tried boosting with an Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal? It's perhaps the most well-known overdrive pedal ever so I guess someone must have tried it. Would that be good for overdriving an already-overdriven amp to get a Death Metal sound? Just curious.

Lots of questions here, I apologize for that. Thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing... err, reading what you think.

You're right about the standalone question.

Now for boosting with a distortion pedal, its kinda tough, but heres how i generally do it with my hm-2. I stick the volume to noon, eq's to max, and gain to 0, and just plug it into my lower gain crunch channel. Then i modify the gain and level to a point where i like the attack

If you put a pile of distortion into a relaly distorted channel, it will sound poopy. However, if you start on a lightly distorted channel with a lightly distorted pedal, you'll be presently suprised at what you can get. Gain multiplies when its stacked, doesnt add, so a little + a little = a fuckload. When i use my hm-2, i set my marshall up to sound like an old superlead, and then hm2 on light gain... and i sound like Bloodbath, with relatively low noise.

If you put too much gain, it gets mushy and undefined. Not fun. Keep it lite

heres a page of my clips, recorded on laptop mic
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/def...m?bandID=686797

and ive never boosted an overdrive... however i've definately used the overdrive to boost a distortion. Try it. If im not mistake, Mayhem gets their tone by going guitar --> hm2 --> tubescreamer --> marshall.

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I see you use an HM-2 too. Cool. For me, it's kinda like a love and hate thing. The pedal sounds... weird for lack of a better term but then again some of my favourite albums (Xysma's album "Yeah"!) were recorded with this pedal and the tone is crushing.

You hook it up to your lower gain crunch channel... I knew that that is most probably the best way to get a great sound. I was using it with the higher gain lead channel. I'll definitely try it with the lower gain channel. The HM-2 and the MT-2. Most probably, Pat O'Brien uses his MT-2 on his lower-gain channel, too.

(And since we're mentioning Cannibal Corpse... I recently came across a post here on Metal Tabs where some user said he had asked Jack Owen what gear they used for recording "Tomb of the Mutilated" and he said Jack Owen told him they used a Metal Zone hooked up to a Marshall JCM800.)

"Gain multiplies when its stacked, doesnt add, so a little + a little = a fuckload."

That's interesting! More of this disproportional amount stuff like the thing about amp wattages (how e.g. 50W does not sound half as loud as a 100W).

I must say I liked the tone you got with your HM-2! I especially liked "thehm2" song. Mean tone you got there. And by the way, the producer at Sunlight Studios used to mic the amps from behind the speaker or something like that, to get more bass out of the sound. Something like that. Don't ask me how, though. Here's the text itself:

"Dismember have been using a HM2 and a 5150 and their make of "chainsaw" sound has always been my favorite. Entombed supposedly used (according to Rotten Sound's studio blog for the last record, where they mention a trip to Sunlight for tips on the "Entombed sound") Peavey Bandit 60s and HM2s for both Left Hand Path and Clandestine, the Peavey being miced with a Shure 58."

"Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed
These bands used the trademark Tomas Skogsberg/Sunlight Studios "buzzsaw" guitar tone, which was created by a combination of heavily detuned electric guitars and a 40 watt Peavey amp exclusively miked from behind the speaker cabinet, thus prioritizing the low frequencies in the recording process; sometimes also using the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal for distortion."