Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

[devastone]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

Which pedal do you like better and why?

I like the Metal Zone. I've played it through many Marshalls, Line 6, Mesa Boogies, and Fenders, and it rocked, especially with the Marshalls. Perfect for all types of rock and metal. For years I've heard the Tube Screamer had better tone overall, but not unless you had a tube amp. That was what turned me away from buying it. If you don't own a tube amp, should you even think about buying it? I'd like to try them out to see if its my thing or not, but no local shops carry them here. How does the Tube Screamer sound compared to the Metal Zone?

Thanks :alcoholic

The 2 pedals are apples and oranges, but if you are asking for advice on what pedal to use, it would help to know what you are going to be playing it through and what kind of tone you are trying to get. I've known people that ran TS9s into HM pedals into old Marshalls in the 80s and had awesome tone, as long as you keep the distortion levels on the pedals in a reasonable range.

Roger

 

[xicodelico]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

Agreed. I think the part that was missing in the earlier statements was the "on it's own" part.

I'm agree... I used MZ ( the eq of that pedal make miracles on it) almost for every kind of music but I got a DS-1 for Hard or Slow Rock things and I boost with the SEYMour Booster, and in case of emergency I make a back up with amp OD...

 

[davedvdy]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

I guess if you can really tweak the EQ on the MZ, it would sound a lot more versatile? When I heard it at Guitar Center, it had a huge emphasis on lows and mid-lows ~ very hard and dark sounding. Great for Metal, but what else?

If you need a metal sound, as other members stated, the Tube Screamer will not cut it, and I totally agree with that statement.

 

[Kac]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

Which do I like better?... Tube Screamer hands down. There is no comparison.
I've got a Wylde overdrive on my pedalboard, but the addition of a TS-9 was definetly a good one for me!

Rock on ~ Kac

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

I guess if you can really tweak the EQ on the MZ, it would sound a lot more versatile? When I heard it at Guitar Center, it had a huge emphasis on lows and mid-lows ~ very hard and dark sounding. Great for Metal, but what else?

Ummm.... what else do you want the Metal Zone to be good for?

 

[davedvdy]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

Ummm.... what else do you want the Metal Zone to be good for?

The OP is looking for a pedal that is useful for Rock AND Metal.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

If you wanted to try out a TS sound on the cheap, you could do worse than get hold of a Behringer TO800 'Vintage Tube Overdrive'. They are very much a TS clone, but at £15.00 UK price are pretty much disposable (especially so as they're made from high-impact plastic). The price may not be so good on import to the US, as Behringer are a German company - the actual pedals are made in China though (isn't everything these days). They're a very good way of seeing if it's really a TS you want before you shell out the mega-bucks. Personally, I'm using an Xotic Effects AC Booster.

>;o))

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

No pedal is going to do any good without a good amp!
From there most will sound ok or useable, for better feel and more 3d sounds the cost will increase in pedals.
Most people use pedals to make life easier, not really to improve on clarity and to enhance an already good sound!

 

[jmh151]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

I had a Metal Zone- it was too compressed. OK for Rhythem, but too thin for solos.

It was OK played through a Boss GE-7 into a Fender solid state amp. Still thin though.

On my Marshall JCM800? The TS-9 sends it into insane overdrive, and does Slayer and Megadeth easily, especially if you put a GE-7 in the effects loop and maybe the BBE Sonic Maximizer in the loop as well. Think Zakk Wylde, Slayer, Megadeth, any 80's and 90's Marshall metal.

 

[Jeroen]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

I like neither of 'em. The Metal Zone is far too brutal to my liking, and a laugh really. It kinda makes your guitar sound like a stringed vacuum cleaner. Or a chainsaw, if you like. Not my cup of tea.

The Tubescreamer distorts beautifully, but I feel it cuts both the bass and the treble a bit, leaving a very compressed and 'empty' tone. This does work nicely of you just use it as a boost on a distorted or overdriven amp, but if you want to use it for its own tone, on a clean amp, I don't like it one bit. Really, I love its distortion characteristics, but I just can't stand the tone. Big pity! I also tried a Maxon OD808 and OD9, and thought exactly the same.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

Just for anyones info, Maxon used to make all the old Ibanez pedals, it is only recently Ibanez has used someone else for that work.

 

[baritone]

Re: Metal Zone or Tube Screamer?

This is an old thread. I have a Metal Zone and a TS9DX. I think this is how it goes: Kirk used a TS9 through his huge tube amps to get the Metallica sound. Then heavy metal distortion pedals, like the MT-2 were created to recreate that sound on a solid state practice amp. But for a different sound, my Metal Zone sounds awesome through my tube amp with the right tone settings. I have also plugged my TS9DX into my MT-2 to experiment with the sounds. When I do this, I set the tone knob on the Tube Screamer close to the midpoint and use it for its characteriestic fuzziness. On the Metal Zone, I keep the gain at 0 and use it for its EQ functions. The dirt from each mixes together in small amounts, and I get a wide range of tone control. To me, the overall sound was pretty coool.