HM-1 Heavy Metal

I am a bassist and have used many different distortion pedals, everything from a blue box to modern multi effect all in one boxes and this is by far my favorite pedal. It is, as stated everywhere, really super loud, if you jack all the settings up. The secret to it is just turning the distorion barely up.  It's called DISTORTION.  Its supposed to be loud and messy and not make a whole lot of sense.  The rest of the reviews on here are trying to defame one of the most beautifuly simplistic designs for guitar pedals. "Boo Hoo I don't sound like Steve Vai".  The only people who want to sound like Steve Vai are guys who work or hang out in guitar shops.  They are lame.

blah blah blah tank blah blah blah

4 knobs. no math or science involved.

never had to use it.

I play primarily heavy music (metal, drone, noise, doom etc.) and this pedal has never served me wrong.  It's the only one that I can never bring my self to hawk for food or rent.

Well, where do we start? My bass player will play a standard blues progression in A minor (Am, D, E) then I will follow along, except, the chords are soooo distorted that they all sound the same. Wow, I mean...this is ALOT of distortion! Way over the top!! Just for fun,I  had my bassist play the same boring blues line and I vamped some crazy way out of key chords and it sounded the same! Next, I detuned some of the strings, cranked the distortion level from mid to max and to my suprise... it sounded the same. My drummer hates this pedal! I mean really hates it! My bassist thought it was a crack up. Boy, anyone can be a rock star with this piece of work! Just grow a goatee, throw on a ski cap, detune your guitar, turn the levels to max, forget taking lessons and you can land a record deal in no time!! Don't get me wrong most of my effects pedals are BOSS and I trust them far above and beyond any other company, but I think that the R&D gurus may have designed this thing on break or as a comic show and tell at their quarterly marketing meeting. If you want distortion and are too lazy to take lessons to learn how to play this is the pedal for you!! Sorry guys but this pedal really bites it hard! Love ya anyway.  

It's a BOSS, built like a Sherman tank. I couldn't destroy it no matter how many times I threw it off my second story apartment.

The adjustments on this pedal are a no brainer... typical BOSS genius design.

Always enjoy dealing with the folks at BOSS... top notch people.

I've been playing nearly twenty years and have experimented with various forms of jazz fusion (Weather Report)Theatrical Rock (RUSH, YES)Neo- CLassical(Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore)Latin Fusion (Al DiMeola)Metal (Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica, AC/DC, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai)Blues (Steve Ray Vaughn, Muddy Waters, BB King)and also studied classical guitar (Vivaldi, Bach, mainly Baroque era) for a short time while in music college. Currently, I own a American Strat w/ scalloped frets and HS-3 pickups. Play through a far simpler rig now than when I was with my band: pedal board includes a BOSS Compressor thru a BOSS FV60 Volume Pedal then thru a DOD 250 overdrive pedal thru a BOSS NS-1 Noise Gate, thru a BOSS Digital Delay then thru a  Dano Cool Cat Chorus then finally through a vintage Dunlop Cry Baby Wah. All this into a Peavey Classic 30 all tube amp. When it's all dialed in, it sounds pretty fat and is extremely versatile. Anyway,if you are a true afficiando of tone and musicality then stay away from this pedal like you would a fat lady in a thong!!