BOSS ML-2 Metal Core Guitar Pedal (ML-2)

I bought the BOSS ML-2 Metal Core to cover “modern metal” territory in a simple stompbox, and it absolutely delivers what it’s designed for: very high gain, tight/weighty low end, and a sharp, aggressive attack that makes palm-mutes and chugs sound huge. BOSS even markets it as their most extreme/high-gain distortion and aimed at modern heavy styles. Tone & feel (what it does best) • Rhythm tones: This pedal shines for heavy rhythm work—think tight, percussive riffs and big low end. The LOW/HIGH EQ is voiced for “chunk + edge,” and it really leans into that modern, biting sound. • Modern voicing: Many players describe it as naturally a bit mid-scooped and “in your face,” which is great for heavy rhythm but can be less ideal for cutting through with leads unless you compensate elsewhere. Controls & ease of use It’s refreshingly simple: Level, Distortion, Low, High. No menu diving, no weird quirks—just quick dialing. Best results (for me and generally echoed by others) come from running it into a clean/neutral amp (or a clean channel) so the pedal provides the core distortion character. The main limitation The flip side of “simple” is EQ flexibility. There’s no dedicated mid control, and that’s the biggest reason this pedal can be polarizing. If you need to boost mids for solos or to cut through a dense mix, you’ll likely want an EQ pedal after it, or you may prefer something like a Metal Zone style pedal with more mid shaping. Noise / practicality With this much gain, you should expect some noise at extreme settings—pretty normal for the category. If you’re playing tight modern metal, a noise gate (or disciplined muting) can help keep things surgical. Who it’s for - You want instant modern metal rhythm tones, tight lows, aggressive bite, minimal tweaking. - You rely on mid control for leads or mix cut—plan on adding an EQ, or choose a pedal with more flexible mids. Overall: A purpose-built metal distortion that does the “crushing modern rhythm” thing extremely well. I’d rate it 4/5 only because the lack of mid control can be limiting depending on your rig and band mix.

Great pedal for modern high gain metal! I was impressed with it right out of the box before turning any knobs. There’s extra low end for heavy palm muted riffs and good clarity even with high gain. I got better tone out of this pedal compared to some that cost twice as much. Highly recommended for metal heads!

I had the Boss Metal Zone pedal for years, because I just couldn’t find a pedal that would give me the type of brighter sounding gain that I wanted, but the Metal Zone always sounded so messy. So many other distortion pedals sound too deep/warm, like the RAT. I play stuff from Blink-182 to Slipknot and this is a great budget pedal for that stuff. I thought it might bother me that it doesn’t have a mid dial, but I just set my amp’s mid tone and I’m golden. I was going to try the Friedman BE-OD pedal if this didn’t work out, but fortunately I’m very happy with this, and with saving a decent amount of money. Though I do absolutely plan on getting the Friedman at some point. If you can only afford something in the low $100 range, this is an excellent choice. It’s got crazy distortion, but it doesn’t sound messy like so many others.

Boss' great series of guitar effects pedals creates a constant curiosity. Many are prized as treasures only long after they appear and are discontinued or upgraded. Many times Boss will discontinue a pedal, or improve upon it, and instantly the dead version skyrockets in price. For many years, guitarists have bemoaned the loss of one such pedal, the Heavy Metal. The Boss Metal Zone was meant to replace it, but has not proved as popular. Now Boss offers the Metal Core. This is another great Boss pedal. There are, of course, many overdrives and distortions in the Boss lineup yet if one has this, a DS-1, and a pick one of several overdrives, a guitarist can play anything from the heaviest metal to the tastiest blues. The Metal Core belongs on every pedal board of every metal player. It's reasonably priced and it absolutely rocks. What more do you need, Clyde?

Be specific in what you need with this pedal because heavy distortion (Metal) is about all this pedal can do. Thats a plus in my book as I tried this pedal out at a local store first and it sounded fantastic. I own several pedals and most are BOSS. I've been looking for something that was hard core enough for just rockin' out with and yet not so over the top it was ridiculous to try and control. I think I found it with this pedal. I can't possibly put into words what it sounds like, I highly recommend you try one out at a local store first. Be sure to test drive it alone, no other effects, just the pedal, guitar and amp. I am looking forward to breathing some new life into my old amp. Its well built, moderate controls for tailoring your sound a bit and then off you go to rock-land. My advice, if you haven't heard it (or played it), as with any guitar gear, stay away from it. Otherwise, I got it for over 10 bucks cheaper here on Amazon than at the local store. Pays to be willing to wait for delivery sometimes.

Bought this as a gift for my brother and he still uses it to this day. He loves it!

I absolutely love the sound of this pedal straight out of the box with all the knobs at the 12 o’clock position ... this has never happened to me before, I have a bunch of BOSS Overdrive and Distortion pedals, MXRs, and other boutique and standard pedals (Power Stack ST-2, Overdrive/Distortion OS-2, Distortion DS-1 40th Anniversary, MXR Super Badass, MXR Fullbore Metal, DOD Gunslinger Mosfet Distortion, Tone City Golden Plexi, etc etc etc) and this is easily my favorite out of the bunch for metal/rock. I used to own the Metal Zone eons ago and recall absolutely hating it at the time but this “Metal” named pedal truly made up for that name being on a BOSS pedal.

Loud background noise

特に低音に関しては歪みが特段充実している。何より低音に絡む倍音がペダルエフェクターの域を超えている。それだけ低音が充実している上に全音域の歪み具合も良い。ただトーンが低い。エンハンサーなどを追加するだけで極上のサウンドになる。

Boss pedals never disappoint. Great sound and build quality, it also helps to eleminate unwanted noises. Great stuff 👍

Works fine. Still trying to fine a particular sound.

Tosto

La marca BOSS siempre ha sido confiable y este pedal no es la excepción. Distorsión nitida incluso en tonos muy bajos. NOTA: las baterias incluidas en todos los pedales de BOSS no tienen carga completa, solo sirven para probar el equipo y se debe reemplazar de inmediato (esto lo mencionan en el manual de usuario) para que lo consideren con la compra de su pedal.