Boss HM2 Heavy Metal (and PW2 Power Driver)

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:36 pm

I borrowed one of these from a guy at work, I really like it. It has a nice thick, almost fuzzy, sound and it had a load of different sounds I liked. It didn't seem to be able to run off a regular power supply though, is this right? Do any of the other (current) Boss pedals sound anything like this or is this a bit of a one off?

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:00 pm

I once had one, too. It didn't seem to have any problems with any peticular power supply. Afaik it's a uniquesounding thing, that is why they are still sought after by people who are after a specificsound.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:51 pm

In the early 1990s two death metal scenes emerged in Gothenburg and Stockholm. The first wave of "Swedish death metal" consisted of the bands Carnage and Nihilist, who fragmented later into Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed. Many of these bands used the trademark Tomas Skogsberg/Sunlight Studios "buzzsaw" guitar tone.[4] It was created by using heavily detuned electric guitars (usually C# standard or lower), a maxed out Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal, sometimes in combination with a single guitar through a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. The originator of this guitar sound was Nihilist guitarist Leffe Cuzner though it was evolved and altered over the years.[5] Newer bands playing in the 'old school' Swedish style include Bloodbath, Paganizer and Repugnant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_death_metal

[youtube][/youtube]

Jaded · Post by **Jaded** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:00 pm

Guess this'll be my first post.

Daisy chain it with any other 9v pedal and it'll work fine, otherwise you need one of those older ACA 12v power supplies. But damn straight, beastly pedal, i love mine.

71Smallbox · Post by **71Smallbox** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:50 pm

Despite the pedals name, I find it applicable in many genres. You can also put another pedal in front of it like a TS9 or an SD1 to take to another level. It rulez for bass too. Love this pedal.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:30 pm

An excellent pedal I love the sound of mine in combination with my Telecaster, also: Belinda Butcher of MBV used one, and the guy from Swervedriver used them to create proper shoegaze masterpieces... nuff said.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:51 pm

Has it ever been confirmed that Bilinda used one? I think that one is at best a rumor.

That said, I have two Japanese HM2s and I never use them but I have a soft spot for them, because at one time, my entire guitar rig consisted of an HM2, a TU2, and a Roland Cube. Those were the days.

They sound really versatile with the distortion knob close to 0. With the knob in the middle (2 to 8 sounds the same), it has a very fuzz sound. And then at 10, it creates mayhem. The color knobs are really sensitive, too. The L knob really fattens up single coils when turned to about 3 o'clock. Then, putting the rest of the controls at 12 o'clock gives you a very fat sound, much like a Big Muff but with a harder edge, so it cuts through better and takes reverb a lot better without getting muddy. Easy way to get an excellent dream pop sound with single coils.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:05 pm

honeyiscool wrote:Has it ever been confirmed that Bilinda used one? I think that one is at best a rumor... Easy way to get an excellent dream pop sound with single coils.

Dare you question the bastion of truth that is guitar geek? I agree they sound far better with singlecoils not keen on the sound when used with humbuckers... humbuckers need a Sovtek big muff.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:08 pm

I loved the sound with the distortion set to zero. I might have to buy one!

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:48 pm

This pedal is a hidden shoegaze gem.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:59 pm

dezb1 wrote:Dare you question the bastion of truth that is guitar geek? I agree they sound far better with singlecoils not keen on the sound when used with humbuckers... humbuckers need a Sovtek big muff.

I think it's because it's on guitargeek that I believe it even less.

dub · Post by **dub** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:13 am

I think there's a diode or two behind the input that knocks it down to 9v you can clip out? and then just use it normally.

http://stinkfoot.se/archives/1019

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:57 am

I love HM-2s, had quite a few. The other pedal that is like one is the discontinued PW-2 (Power Driver) which i have now. Same kind of vowel-like EQ and Sludge/Fuzz sounds.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:03 am

honeyiscool wrote:Has it ever been confirmed that Bilinda used one? I think that one is at best a rumor.

No its not kid, i saw MBV in 1989 and she had a HM-2.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:03 am

honeyiscool wrote:Has it ever been confirmed that Bilinda used one? I think that one is at best a rumor.

dezb1 wrote:Dare you question the bastion of truth that is guitar geek?

honeyiscool wrote:I think it's because it's on guitargeek that I believe it even less.

.

Fran wrote:No its not kid, i saw MBV in 1989 and she had a HM-2.

behold the truth...

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:43 pm

Well then, I'm glad!

(I bought my first HM2 because I heard Bilinda used it.)

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:22 pm

The price of these have climbed a fair bit on teh eBay I bought mine new for about Â£30
Back in the day and now they're selling for Â£45 to Â£80 odd secondhand... for a pedal very few people liked when it came out.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:05 pm

dezb1 wrote:The price of these have climbed a fair bit on teh eBay I bought mine new for about Â£30
Back in the day and now they're selling for Â£45 to Â£80 odd secondhand... for a pedal very few people liked when it came out.

Same goes for the FZ2 too, although they are excellent pedals. I tried the Power Stack and Combo Drive pedals over the weekend, I really liked both of them.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:21 pm

Fran wrote:I love HM-2s, had quite a few. The other pedal that is like one is the discontinued PW-2 (Power Driver) which i have now. Same kind of vowel-like EQ and Sludge/Fuzz sounds.

I still have the Power Driver. Handy little pedal. I like messing about with it, same with the Boss Metal Zone, lotsa tonez to dial in!

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:49 pm

dezb1 wrote:The price of these have climbed a fair bit on teh eBay I bought mine new for about Â£30
Back in the day and now they're selling for Â£45 to Â£80 odd secondhand... for a pedal very few people liked when it came out.

That's sort of why I bought a second one. The Japanese ones, especially, they're not cheap at all. When I bought my HM-2, I didn't know what was the difference between Made in Japan or Made in Taiwan or what. When I heard those are starting to get collectible, I figured it's a good time to get another one.