5150 and hm-2

[Massili]

Hi,

I just bought a boss HM-2 pedal to get that swedish guitar sound but i didn't get that!
The bad thing is that i thought it would be an instantaneous thing, "turn all knobs way up and go for it" blerghh... it's sounding simply awful, horrible, shit!!!

Miles away of the way i'd like it should be, i mean, this not the tone itself, but it's just HORRIBLE, it sounds weak, no power, no punch, no definition, a wet sound, thin ... god shit i was incredibly happy to put my hands on an original HM-2, made in japan!!!!
I read in many places and many ppl said that combo would do the trick for that sound (5150/HM-2/NS-2)
I didnt get it to work
Any words of comfort to me?
i'm afraid the 5150 will not work for that!

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Hi,

I just bought a boss HM-2 pedal to get that swedish guitar sound but i didn't get that!
The bad thing is that i thought it would be an instantaneous thing, "turn all knobs way up and go for it" blerghh... it's sounding simply awful, horrible, shit!!!

Miles away of the way i'd like it should be, i mean, this not the tone itself, but it's just HORRIBLE, it sounds weak, no power, no punch, no definition, a wet sound, thin ... god shit i was incredibly happy to put my hands on an original HM-2, made in japan!!!!
I read in many places and many ppl said that combo would do the trick for that sound (5150/HM-2/NS-2)
I didnt get it to work
Any words of comfort to me?
i'm afraid the 5150 will not work for that!

Dude, I've been in your EXACT situation and can give you my findings...

-Played it through my Mesa F-100 gain channel, sounded like shit, had to tweak forever to find anything remotely usable, and even then it didn't give the full on grind that we love about the pedal.

-Played it through the clean channel and it was instant gratification! It is a distortion pedal afterall, not an overdrive. The knobs sounded good pretty much anywhere on the clean.

Try it on the clean/crunch and you should have better results.

Joe

 

[Lasse Lammert]

to boost distorted tones use the MT-2 (yes, i does sound great as a boost).
the HM is cool on a clean channel...I wish I had one of those pedals

 

[FloridaRolf]

I didn't play it through a 5150 but it's always a bit different with each amp. You really have to invest 1-2 hours for finding the sound you likel. Apart from just running it through the clean channel of your amp (when doing this I have the gain on 10 (max) you can try this:
Level 8-10
Bass & Highs: 10
Gain: 0-2

into your amps crunch / lead channel with just a little bit of gain

I use those HM-2 settings on both of my amps, only the amps settings are different. When I play the HM-2 into my little Cube 15x i use the distortion channel on it with very little gain -> instant br00talz
When I play it through my 2203 KK I only adjust the level and gain settings to match the amp.

 

[Tokyurot]

The pedal is abit untight for modern metal, but sure does it make that old swedish sound right out of the box.
I think it works better with music where's not much palm muting.

If it really sounds that horrible, then I can't think of anything else than make sure you use it in the clean-channel of (any) amp,
or try to compare it to another hm-2 to find out whether they sound similar or not.

I have both Japanese and Taiwanese versions of the pedal and they sound very much the same.

If comparing is out of the question, you could also post a sample with all the knobs maxed out.

With some post EQing and the right IR, it can sound good line-in too.

 

[The Unavoidable]

It works on both the distorted and clean channels, but you have to tweak the amp accordingly with the pedal engaged to get an idea of where you want to go.

I use it with a 6505 and it works great on both channels.

 

[mondocane]

well, I have a few HM-2's and still searching for the appropriate/perfect amp. best match until now old JCM800 2203.

I have both Japanese and Taiwanese versions of the pedal and they sound very much the same.

not quite the same here, Taiwan is slightly less definite and more hiss-trebly, I prefer Japan made. maxed out and at stage volume the differences are minimal btw.

the HM is cool on a clean channel...I wish I had one of those pedals

if you want one, Lasse... me interested in reamping with that pedal, and Oz/Glenn would hate me if I asked him about that!

A.

 

[Sickan]

You either go knobs = 10 into a poweramp or you use it as a boost.
I use mine with 0 dist (I even lower the signal from the pickup), L 12 oclock and H like 3 oclock.

 

[Massili]

I tried it for 5-10 min and tweaked all the knobs a bit (amp and hm-2) and failed to get the sound. Anyway, i see the experimentation could be the key.

I've talked to mika from rotten sound and he said he used it with mesa dual rectifier live while ago and now he uses 2203, 1960cab. For recording he used 2203 and peavey bandit 65, quad tracked on cycles, mesa on exit album. Anyway, for anyone interested. He thinks i can get the sound with a 5150.

The Unavoidable, thanks for saying u use it thru a 6505, it comfort me a bit.

However, i've tried it thru both channels, lead and rhythym, gain to 0. In the Next band rehearsal will try more.

Thanks you all for the replies!

 

[tgs]

Let's just make sure you're not making the same mistake I made when I bought one:

Are you using it with a power adapter? Is it 12V? First thing I did when I bought mine was to plug in a regular 9V DC. It sounded absolutely horrible indeed.

The HM-2 needs 12V.

 

[FloridaRolf]

Let's just make sure you're not making the same mistake I made when I bought one:

Are you using it with a power adapter? Is it 12V? First thing I did when I bought mine was to plug in a regular 9V DC. It sounded absolutely horrible indeed.

The HM-2 needs 12V.

wut? I prefer it with 9v
But worth a try

 

[Massili]

Let's just make sure you're not making the same mistake I made when I bought one:

Are you using it with a power adapter? Is it 12V? First thing I did when I bought mine was to plug in a regular 9V DC. It sounded absolutely horrible indeed.

The HM-2 needs 12V.

I use it with regular 9V as it says that requires 9v! shit...

edit:
just found it:
BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal 10mA ACA 12V
what crap!

 

[Massili]

found this
For those interested:
http://www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/articles/bossadapt.htm

tgs

you are probably right!
when i get home will check the pedal again, i'm (almost) pretty sure it's labeled 9v on its chasis

 

[mondocane]

Massili, try if it makes a difference using a battery, first. always duracell pro here. anyway, I have one modded to always work with 9VDC PSA, simple soldering for a tech in the know.

interesting info about the Rotten Sound dude and 2203. I dig his mesa live sound too:



A.