i really wonder if there is anyone using m-zone model as drive block ?

Tonewicker

Inspired
im not even sure why we have a boss mt2 model in axe fx... i never saw anyone using or talking about the m-zone model and i wonder if anyone using it ? if so how and with what amp are you using it ?
 
In the right context with a mix of 15 to 20% of it with a flanger before the drive and with an edge of breakup amp setting, the sim can be quite neat.

I don't look at names of drive blocks anymore I just look for the right character of edge or default EQ tonality with a given amp and start tweaking knobs from there. In the end when I look, it sometimes surprises me which drive-amp-cab combination I use with other effects used in unconventional ways throughout the chain.

I was turned on to the MZ IRL years ago on a Krishna metal session I engineered where the bass player also had a Rickenbacker bass similar to mine. He used the Rick-o-sound output and had the treble pickup going through the MZ into a Marshall JCM 800 with 1960 cab and the bass pickup going clean into my Hartke 1415 combo and the sound in the room was very much in that Justin Chancellor edgy distortion while retaining bass wheelhouse.

That is when I learned there is a use for everything, it all depends on your sonic goals and context regarding the choice of tools you use to get there.
 
Sure - I needed an identifiably 80's sounding distortion for the chorus of Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight". I needed to go from a chimey clean to a blazing distortion, and the Metal Zone-clone drive seemed like a pretty good choice. The band likes it too.
 
I use it in a couple presets with the gain close to 0 for that "scooped yet nasal" distortion
 
I've always wondered why the Metal Zone was included in both the Axe and Line 6 modelers. I'm not saying you can't get a decent sound out of them, but its not easy, and I can think of so many other high gain pedals which would have been much better and more useful too. MI Audio Crunchbox? Wampler Pinnacle and Triple Wreck? Mad Professor Stone Grey Distortion? To name a few.
 
If you use it as a boost like the TS808 (0 Gain, 10 volume) then you can get some interesting sounds Infront of a cranked Marshall. I also like to use it for stuff death metal sounds, when blended in properly it actually works well but agreed you don't want it to be your main sound.
 
People say that Radiohead use it

The Metal Zone? Maybe on the new album but I was in a Radiohead tribute band for years and to the best of my knowledge they never used a Metal Zone.

The fact that it's one of the best-selling Boss pedals ever probably is a clue.

True, then again its a best selling pedal to mostly new guitarists. Once they accumulate a little experience any metal guitarists worth its name quickly ditches it in favor of a good amp head. I've done FOH during metal shows for years and the number of metal guitarists with a metal zone I could count on the fingers of one hand. Considering that new guitarists don't tend to buy Fractal and most experienced guitarists shun this pedal like the proverbial black plague I still wonder why this pedal is included.
 
People say that Radiohead use it

Radiohead's Jonny greenwood heavy distortion is Marshall shredmaster into a fender 85 (solid state), lighter od is a boss sd1 into a vox ac30 (or fender twin reverb depending on the era)
 
Btw, I think its cool to have it in the axe, because even though it might not be the best distortion box ever, it definitely has a voice on its own. I mean, you could use the ts model to mimic a couple dozens od's, but you probably wouldn't be able to mimic the mz without the model - if you ever needed it! It's just a different color, and it's cool to have it!
 
It's a classic pedal, whether one likes its sound or not.

I don't like the Maestro Fuzz sound at all, but it's a classic as well and the fact that it is included as a model doesn't hurt me. :)
 
It's a classic pedal, whether one likes its sound or not.

I don't like the Maestro Fuzz sound at all, but it's a classic as well and the fact that it is included as a model doesn't hurt me. :)
please dont get me wrong im not bashing the model or the pedal itself i was just curious about why i didnt saw anyone talking/using the model and wanted to know how people using it
If you use it as a boost like the TS808 (0 Gain, 10 volume) then you can get some interesting sounds Infront of a cranked Marshall. I also like to use it for stuff death metal sounds, when blended in properly it actually works well but agreed you don't want it to be your main sound.
i will try that thanks :)
 
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Different zones for different tones. I never use it mvself, but I certainly don't mind that it's in there.
 
Good analogy. It's become fashionable to poke fun at it. The actual pedal was pretty impressive at the time because it had a 3 band EQ with sweepable mids. That super scooped metal sound was all the rage back then and the sweepable mids gave a lot of control.
 
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