Metal Pedals

[Leysan Torri]

Mostof these are still in the current range - that is to say the original Metal Zone, Mega Distortion, Metal Core and recent Angry Driver and Waza Craft Metal Zone. While the Heavy Metal, Digital Metalizer, Hyper Metal and Xtortion have all been discontinued for a while now.

There's very little that needs to be said about the HM-2 that's not already out there - it's the pedal that defined the Swedish Death Metal genre as first witnessed on Entombed's 1990 Album 'Left Hand Path' - where the HM-2 was 'juiced' by a DS-1 into a Peavey Studio Pro 40. Several players use it with a Tube Screamer overdrive instead - but generally overdrive into HM-2 into an amp (not effects loop). You of course crank/dime all the dials to the max to get that raspy almost fuzz-like buzzsaw. I've never encountered an HM-2 in the wild in a sufficiently pristine state for the right sort of money - near mint MIJ version can go for a lot. For now I have at least 4 HM-2 style clones / alternatives and have sort of given up on getting an original version unless Boss reissue - hopefully as a Waza Craft or otherwise somewhat evolved.

This is a totally underrated and under-the-radar distortion which is by default thick and rasping in its SGL stock mode - you then have 3 Doubling / Double Tracking Delay and 2 Chorus modulation modes which significantly boost and thicken the tone. The distortion circuit is analog, the modulations are digital, and it actually sounds tremendous. I actually really want one of these, but there are no suitable ones available at the moment - i.e. relatively pristine at the right price!

The much misunderstood and maligned Metal Zone has been given a second lease of life by players realising it sounds absolutely amazing into the effects loop of an amp and used as a PreAmp. I still content that with sufficient due diligence and careful manipulation of the dials you can get a pretty great tone into the front end of an amp - but it generally works better like the DS-1 if it goes into just a little bit of gain. The parametric mids can be notoriously difficult to deploy - but you'll be fine if you follow Ola's example above - set the higher dial to either 11 or 1 o'c (slight cut or boost), then adjust the outer frequency dial for the right tone, and fine-tune further with the boost/cut. I have the Keeley Modded Twilight Zone version of this pedal which has a somewhat enhanced frequency profile and two additional modes - all of which I love. I feel that the superior new Waza Craft version of this somewhat puts the original in the shade - and if you want a Metal Zone you should much rather get that - with its 2 modes, improved frequency response and superior components - and it's just 33 more than this one.

This is pretty much the direct update of the HM-2 with exactly the same controls - it has more gain on tap and a more refined, less fizzy / buzzy frequency profile - but somehow remained totally overshadowed by the original HM-2 and the Metal Zone and really did not sell that well. It's another of these pedals that is sort of wrongly overlooked - it actually gives you a different tone to the HM-3 which is why the Death Metallers never picked up on it, and most players of that time preferred the increased versatility of the Metal Zone tone stack. This is not particularly high on any of my wishlists in priority - but I could see myself snapping one up at the right price and in the right condition. All of the ones currently on Reverb.com just aren't pristine enough for me.

Another slightly misunderstood Boss distortion which has been wrongly overlooked - Contour is a sort of gyrator / see-saw frequency sweep which alternatively boosts Bass and Treble and sweeps the mid band - while the Punch control is a sort of Presence/Sensitivty/Attack control. This distortion was supposed to target that saturated Grunge era rock, and appeal to different players to the typical Metal-Heads - it has a rich textured rasping distortion to it which sounds great to my ears - and is yet another under-the-radar lost Boss classic which I would quite like to add to my collections - providing of course I find one in suitable condition and at the right price.

This is another great one of those rasping Boss distortions - here generated via two gain stages - Distortion and Boost, you also get Tone and Bottom (Lows) control for EQ-shaping and extra body definition. This is a much underrated pedal in the current range, and there are a few decent modified version of this including one by Alchemy Audio which I have had my eyes on. I was about to pounce a few months ago, but other priorities took precedence. I would most likely snap up an Alchemy Audio edition of this if it came around again - but there is nothing really wrong with the Boss original either - a really lively sounding thick and rich distortion.

Many players still hold this to be the best of Boss's Metal style Distortions, while others - particularly the more modern Metal-Heads - really miss the lack of a Mids Control. As you can see in Ola's above demo - it definitely chugs/djents - but I believe it would prove even more popular and versatile if Boss ever saw fit to add in a dual-concentric pot to delivery full 3-band EQ. I really like this one, and it's on the wishlist.

I love that EVH Brown Sound - and the ability to combine the JHS Angry Charlie circuit with Boss's fantastic Blues Driver circuit in the same compact enclosure really is a match made in heaven. Those two frequency profiles just seem to perfectly mesh with each other and give you a far richer and more satisfying sound - everyone needs to try this in the parallel mode. I typically deploy this either as a Blues Driver or as a rich parallel distortion. I feel this pedal would have been even better with dual footswtiches to allow you to combine those flavours with more control - one or the other or both stacked together. As it is you can either have On/Off or switch between two always-on modes which is not ideal. This pedal does sound fantastic though and it is super versatile - and the fact that you get both these amazing circuits for just 149 is worth the price of admission alone.

I really am surprised I still haven't snagged one of these - it enhances and refines the original Metal Zone profile and improves things with better Waza grade components. As Ola explains the main difference between the Standard and Custom mode is that the Q bandwidth changes from wide to narrow - so you get an even tighter and more focused sound. Some re-engineering has also been done with the various knob ranges to make dialling in this pedal easier. It's 33 more expensive than the standard original Metal Zone - but totally worth it in my book. As with its predecessor you do need to be careful with the parametric mids and deploy a rather refined touch when dialling those in. I've always run my Metal Zones into the front of the amp and I get a great tone - it just requires a little patiences - while some of these others sound perfect with all the dials at 12 o'clock!

I actually don't believe there are any duffers in this selection - possibly the least appealing in some ways is the HM-3, but even that sounds pretty great. As mentioned in the intro I already have the Angry Driver and Keeley Modded Metal Zone - I love and use both of those a lot in my rotation - and the Angry Driver was a long-termer in my pedal-chain before I acquired my Keeley Freak Fuzz modded Blues Driver.

I have already set my sights on acquiring a Mega Distortion, Metal Core and Waza Craft Metal Zone, and would also quite like to snap up a Digital Metalizer and Xtortion at some stage if I ever find suitable candidates.

I feel that any of the 4 most recent / current pedals are suitable starting points into this selection - with possibly the Angry Driver and Waza Metal Zone at the head of that queue - but pricing and availability may be a determining factor and likely some you may prefer the core tones of the less flexible but still great sounding Metal Core.

It's interesting to see that the forthcoming OD-200 has both the Metal Core and Metal Zone onboard as boost flavours but kind of seems to ignore the Heavy Metal. I would presume to a degree that the X-Metal mode could target the Heavy Metal, while the Fat Dist Mode will surely be able to cover of much of the Mega Distortion too. In fact on paper at least it would seem that most of these flavours are largely suitably covered one way or another by the OD-200 - with the only exception being the Digital Metalizer with its additional modulations - which in some ways may make that the most desirable pedal here post the OD-200 launch! Please keep that amongst yourselves as I really would like to try to snag one of those...

During installation on these cranks, please ensure the pedal is rotating freely, there is space between the pedal body and crank, and the pedal is torqued to 35Nm.

All pedals sold through our website and all pedals with a date code after 5221 have been updated to be compatible with SRAM carbon cranks & cranksets with recessed pedal inserts. Pedals with the date code before 5221 may not be compatible.

Pedals can be run with crank boots, after some small modifications to the crankboot.

By design, out of the box our pedals have some resistance to free spinning. This can be adjusted by adding or removing grease upon disassembly. Free spinning will increase over time and wear of the bushing.

By design, uninstalled pedals have axle play (room for movement between the axle and pedal body). Axle movement is eliminated when the pedals are fully installed onto cranks and torque to 35nm.

The Oneup Components Aluminum Pedal is a lightweight and durable platform pedal designed for mountain biking. It features a slim profile and a concave platform that provides superior grip and control.

Yes, but installation of OneUp Alloy pedals on SRAM carbon cranks does require extra care. During installation, Make sure when you tighten the pedals onto the crank that the pedal body or rubber washer do not contact the crank before the axle is torqued to 35Nm. The pedal should rotate without excessive drag and there should be a small gap between the pedal body and the crank. If the pedal contacts the crank before the axle is tight, try installing 1 extra pedal washer to space the pedal away from the crank. Do not add more than 1 extra pedal washer. If your pedals are rubbing on the crank or are not free spinning once torqued down then we do not recommend using these pedals with your carbon cranks. If you have any questions or trouble with this installation, please email us at sup...@oneupcomponents.com.

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