There’s no denying the effect (see what we did there) that Boss Pedals have had on the music industry over the last 4+ decades, and today we’re going to acknowledge two of their most coveted stompboxes. The MT-2 Metal Zone and SD-1 SUPER OverDrive have been staples on pedalboards across the world, since their releases in 1991 and 1981, respectively. Wanting to celebrate 40 and 30 years of continuous production of these two gems, Boss has released the MT-2-3A and SD-1-4A Limited Anniversary Editions of both the Metal Zone and the SUPER OverDrive – let’s check ’em out!
The MT-2-3A Metal Zone has all the iconic high-gain distortion its non-Limited Edition sibling has, but features gray lettering and a vintage silver thumbscrew for the battery compartment. The internal analog dual-gain circuit remains intact, giving you mid-focused clarity and aggressive character. This circuit has been carefully tuned for pre- and post-distortion filtering, ensuring your tone is tight and well-defined at any setting. The distortion is smooth, and the active EQ section with semi-parametric midrange allows this effect to work well with all types of amps, both clean and a bit dirty.
For the SD-1-4a SUPER OverDrive, it’s basically the same thing: the circuit is the same, the paint job is different and the screw is vintage silver. A longtime charter member of the Overdrive Club, the SD-1 has helped define this genre, producing a signal rich in even-order harmonics, it utilizes unique asymmetric clipping to replicate the feel and sound of a driven tube amplifier. The active Tone control helps to shape the treble response, while using subtle enhancements for more low-end body as well. An all-around classic, these mild-to-moderate drive tones have a focused midrange, perfect for using with both clean and slightly pushed amps.
For our demos below, we run through the anniversary pedals first, testing tone and showing you the control sections. Then, we pair ’em each up with their original counterparts, to see if there is any difference in tone (and to just have some fun with pedals). While the sounds may not be much different from the vintage units, the new look is certainly a departure, and they both look absolutely stunning. Grab them while you can, as this limited run only goes through the end of 2021. You can always get the regular pedals, but hey, aren’t special editions even cooler? Congratulations to Boss on so many decades of incredible effects, and to two of the best-selling and most recognizable pedals ever created. Cheers!
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