In a rehearsal room somewhere in late-1980s Stockholm, a teenager plugged a cheap Ibanez guitar into a small Peavey combo amp and stomped on a black and orange Boss pedal with “Heavy Metal” silk-screened across the front. He turned every knob to maximum. The sound that came out was unlike anything anyone had heard before—a dense, sawtooth wall of midrange aggression that tore through the air like a chainsaw through dry timber. That teenager was Uffe Cederlund of Nihilist, soon to become Entombed, and the pedal was the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal. What happened next rewrote the rulebook for extreme guitar tone.
The HM-2 was not designed to sound like that. Boss engineer Yoshinori Ikegami built it in 1983 to emulate the midrange response of a Marshall stack—a reasonable ambition for an era when most guitarists couldn’t afford the real thing. It found modest success in the glam metal scene of the mid-1980s, sold respectably for eight years, and was quietly discontinued in 1991. By any commercial measure, it was a solid but unremarkable product. By any sonic measure, it turned out to be the most genre-defining guitar pedal ever made. The Swedish death metal scene didn’t just adopt the HM-2—it built an entire aesthetic around a single, extreme setting that Boss never intended and never anticipated.
Thirty years after its discontinuation, the pedal was reissued as the HM-2W Waza Craft, an acknowledgment that some accidents are too important to leave in the past. This is the full story of the chainsaw that built Swedish death metal—what it is, why it sounds the way it does, and how to make it work in any context from death metal to ambient post-rock.
Origin: The Marshall-in-a-Box That Missed Its Target Audience
Boss launched the HM-2 Heavy Metal in October 1983, roughly three years after the Ibanez Tube Screamer had established that a humble stompbox could genuinely shape a guitar’s voice rather than simply distorting it. The design brief was straightforward: build a high-gain distortion pedal that captured the midrange punch of early-1980s British stacks, particularly the Marshall JCM800, in a format affordable to players who couldn’t run three hundred watts of valve amplification on a bedroom budget.
The circuit was based on Boss’s own DS-1 Distortion, which had been on the market since 1978. Where the DS-1 used a single-stage gain topology with a relatively simple tone control, the HM-2 added a more elaborate active EQ section—two independent “Color Mix” controls labeled L (low) and H (high)—that could add up to 20dB of boost or cut at each frequency range. The name for these controls came from Boss’s internal terminology for tonal coloring; later pedals like the MT-2 Metal Zone would expand this EQ philosophy into a full semi-parametric system. On the HM-2, the coloring was blunter and more extreme—which turned out to be exactly what the Swedish death metal scene needed.
Production ran from October 1983 through October 1991. Units manufactured between 1983 and 1988 were made in Japan; from 1988 to 1991 production shifted to Taiwan. The Japanese-made examples are generally more sought after by collectors and tone hunters, though the sonic differences between the two production runs are less dramatic than the used-market premiums might suggest. When Boss discontinued the HM-2 in 1991, it replaced the pedal with the HM-3 Hyper Metal and the far more commercially successful MT-2 Metal Zone. Neither replacement captured the particular magic of the original’s Color Mix EQ section. The HM-2 was gone—and the used market began its slow climb toward cult status.
The Sunlight Sound: When Accident Becomes Art
The HM-2’s transformation from commercial product to death metal icon happened at Sunlight Studios in Stockholm, under the guidance of producer Tomas Skogsberg. In 1989, a young band called Nihilist—the embryonic form of Entombed—arrived at the studio to record their second demo tape, Only Shreds Remain. Nihilist guitarist Leif Cuzner brought along his Boss HM-2.
Skogsberg had worked with plenty of pedals before. None of them had prepared him for what happened when Cuzner turned every knob on the HM-2 to maximum. “For me, the start of death metal and death ‘n’ roll was when Leif Cuzner brought his HM-2 into the studio,” Skogsberg said in the Boss official history article on the pedal. “I’d tried different kinds of pedals before, but the HM-2 was really the start of it.”
The sound they captured wasn’t just heavily distorted guitar. It was something denser and more focused—a compressed, harmonically saturated roar in the upper midrange that cut through even the most primitive recording setup with terrifying clarity. Skogsberg describes the complete signal chain: “The sound we got was because of the HM-2 pedal, the Peavey combo amplifier (which we miked up with an Audio-Technica ATM41), and the desk, which had a bit more electricity going into it than it’s supposed to.” A GC2020 rackmount stereo compressor completed the picture. “These things together are like a marriage,” he said. “The attack of the sound was also about compression. People call it the ‘buzzsaw’ sound, but to me, it sounds like a big truck.”
When Nihilist reformed as Entombed and recorded Left Hand Path in December 1989 (released 1990), the same approach was applied at greater length and with more deliberate craft. Uffe Cederlund has described his setup on that record plainly: “I just used a worthless Ibanez guitar, a small Peavey combo amplifier, and a Boss Heavy Metal pedal. Basically, there are two Boss Heavy Metal-distorted guitars—one in each speaker—and a DS-1 in the middle.” Two HM-2s panned hard left and right, with a DS-1 filling the center. A recording budget that would barely cover a decent microphone cable. An album that permanently altered the trajectory of extreme music.
Word spread fast. Dismember guitarist David Blomqvist recalled hearing the Nihilist tape and immediately seeking out the same pedal. “Of course, we heard the tape and thought, ‘This sounds really good,'” he said. “So, Dismember wanted to record there as well. We said, ‘We’ve got to buy that HM-2 pedal too,’ and then this whole trend started.” The HM-2 became the foundational instrument of the Stockholm death metal scene, passing through Sunlight Studios on record after record through the early 1990s. Grave, Dismember, Bloodbath, and dozens of lesser-known acts all arrived with HM-2s in hand, all of them turning the knobs to maximum. “You don’t need to be so fussy about which amp you’re using with an HM-2,” Blomqvist noted. “You could plug it into a toaster, and it’d still sound like an HM-2. They’re incredibly consistent sounding.”
The legacy spread beyond Stockholm. In Gothenburg, a different strain of Swedish death metal was developing around bands like In Flames, At The Gates, and Dark Tranquillity—melodic in structure but still sonically rooted in the HM-2. Niclas Engelin of In Flames describes being introduced to the pedal by older players in his local scene. “I had so much respect for Dismember and Entombed because that was their sound—their identity. But I wanted a sound and identity of my own. So, I tended to use the HM-2 almost like an overdrive.” Rather than the full-dimed Stockholm approach, the Gothenburg scene sometimes ran the HM-2 at more moderate settings—a different use of the same instrument.
Specs: What the HM-2 Actually Does
The four controls are simpler to describe than they are to master. Dist sets the gain level—at minimum it barely adds any dirt, at maximum it generates the saturated wall of the Swedish death metal sound. Level sets the overall output volume. Color Mix L boosts or cuts the low-frequency content; at maximum it adds a thick low-end swell to the distortion. Color Mix H boosts or cuts the high-frequency content; at maximum it adds an aggressive upper-midrange spike around 1kHz that is largely responsible for the “chainsaw” character of the dimed sound.
The key technical insight is that both Color Mix controls interact with the distortion stage rather than sitting purely after it. Boosting Color Mix H before the gain stage effectively emphasizes certain harmonic overtones that the saturation circuit then amplifies and compresses. At extreme settings, this creates a kind of self-reinforcing brightness that sounds unlike any standard EQ applied to a distorted signal. Tom Dalgety—producer for Opeth and Ghost, and an enthusiastic HM-2 user—describes it this way: “It goes from a touch of hazy distortion to a deranged bit-crushed crazy thing. Color Mix L is focused around a guitar’s lowest notes. Turning up Color Mix H is like putting a spike in the signal around 1kHz. This can work well for sparkling up a big valve amp like an old Marshall Plexi.”
The 20dB of available boost on each Color Mix is unusually generous by any standard. For comparison, most active guitar EQ systems offer 15dB of boost at most. Having 20dB of Color Mix H available at the circuit’s input is why the dimed HM-2 sounds extreme in a way that other distortion pedals with simple tone controls simply cannot replicate. The extremity is built into the architecture, not added on top of it.
Famous Players: The Architects of the Chainsaw
Uffe Cederlund and Alex Hellid (Entombed / Nihilist)
The story of the HM-2 begins and ends with Entombed. Uffe Cederlund and Alex Hellid are jointly credited across multiple primary sources—including the Boss official history of the pedal—as the guitarists who established the definitive HM-2 sound on Left Hand Path (1990). Both used the all-knobs-maximum approach, running through Peavey combo amplifiers at Sunlight Studios under Tomas Skogsberg’s production. Cederlund’s confirmed setup for the album: Ibanez guitar (budget model), Peavey combo amp, HM-2 on each channel hard-panned, DS-1 in the center. Hellid has confirmed his HM-2 use in an interview with Antihero Magazine (2019), explicitly discussing its role in establishing what would become the Sunlight sound.
David Blomqvist (Dismember)
If Entombed invented the HM-2 death metal sound, Dismember refined and codified it across an entire career. Guitarist David Blomqvist has spoken extensively about the pedal in the Boss official feature article, describing it as a “signature sound” that has been present at every Dismember rehearsal, gig, and recording since the band’s inception. Blomqvist’s most definitive HM-2 moment by his own reckoning is the 1997 album Death Metal and the earlier 1992 EP Pieces, specifically the title track. Like Cederlund, he runs all knobs at maximum.
Michael Amott (Arch Enemy / Carcass)
One of the most technically accomplished players in modern metal, Michael Amott of Arch Enemy—and formerly of Carcass—has confirmed his use of the Boss HM-2 via his own social media posts, cited in the Wikipedia article on the pedal. Amott’s connection to the Swedish death metal scene is direct; he grew up in the same cultural milieu as Entombed and Dismember, and the HM-2 was part of the standard toolkit of that generation of Swedish metal guitarists. In Arch Enemy, Amott’s tone has evolved considerably from the raw buzzsaw of the early Swedish scene, but the HM-2 remains part of his acknowledged gear history.
Kurt Ballou (Converge / GodCity Studio)
The HM-2’s second life—its resurrection from discontinued curiosity to modern metal cornerstone—owes more to Kurt Ballou of Converge than to any other single individual. Wikipedia’s article on the pedal cites Ballou explicitly as the key influence for the pedal’s resurgence in the 2000s and 2010s. As both a guitarist (Converge) and a producer at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts, Ballou brought the HM-2 into a new generation of hardcore, powerviolence, and metal recordings. Bands like Nails, Black Breath, Trap Them, and Harm’s Way recorded with Ballou and absorbed his HM-2 approach—often running it into tube mic preamps rather than conventional guitar amplifiers for a brutally different texture.
Ballou’s personal relationship with the pedal stems from the Swedish death metal scene’s influence on him in the early 1990s. He has described his affinity for it as partly sentimental—the HM-2 was the sound his favorite bands were using when he was learning to play—but also genuinely functional. In the MT-2 article published earlier in this series, we documented that Ballou also uses the MT-2 at low gain as an amp-push tool; the HM-2 serves a different, more aggressive function in his arsenal.
David Davidson (Revocation) — Unconfirmed
The spreadsheet source data for this article listed David Davidson of Revocation as an HM-2 user, but research via Equipboard and available primary sources did not return a confirmed documented instance of Davidson using the HM-2. His primary documented drive pedal appears to be the Seymour Duncan 805 Overdrive. If this connection cannot be verified via a rig rundown, manufacturer page, or interview quote, it should not be presented as fact—this article does not include Davidson as a confirmed HM-2 user.
Tone Recipes: Settings for the HM-2
1. Classic Swedish Death Metal (All-Knobs-Maximum)
This is the definitive HM-2 setting. Cederlund, Hellid, Blomqvist—all of them confirm: every knob to maximum. Dist: 10. Level: 10. Color Mix L: 10. Color Mix H: 10. Into a Peavey or solid-state combo amp. The result is the chainsaw sound heard on Left Hand Path, Like an Everflowing Stream, and hundreds of records recorded at Sunlight Studios. For authentic results: tune down to B or drop-A. Use a guitar with humbuckers. The HM-2 does most of the work; the amp matters less than almost any other situation in guitar playing. Hard-pan two guitar tracks left and right for the stereo wall effect Cederlund used on the original Entombed recordings.
2. Moderate Gain Melodic Death Approach (Gothenburg Method)
Niclas Engelin of In Flames describes using the HM-2 “almost like an overdrive”—a lower-gain approach that preserves note definition while still adding the HM-2’s characteristic upper-midrange character. Settings: Dist: 5–6. Level: 6–7. Color Mix L: 6. Color Mix H: 7. Into a tube amp with some natural breakup. This approach works well for melodic riffing where the notes need to speak clearly rather than smear together, while still contributing the HM-2’s distinctive harmonic texture. Gothenburg-era In Flames, early At The Gates, and early Dark Tranquillity operate in this range.
3. Amp Boost / Hot-Rod Marshall Method
Tom Dalgety’s technique for using the HM-2 as a Marshall enhancer rather than a standalone distortion source. Settings: Dist: 2–4. Level: 7. Color Mix L: 4. Color Mix H: 8. Into a Marshall Plexi or JTM45 running at or near natural breakup. The high Color Mix H “puts a spike in the signal around 1kHz,” per Dalgety, which pushes the amp into focused, aggressive distortion without the full buzzsaw character of the dimed approach. Good for classic rock and traditional metal tones that need more bite and articulation than a clean amp push typically provides.
4. Direct / Solid-State Studio Method (Ballou Approach)
Kurt Ballou’s studio use of the HM-2 sometimes bypasses a guitar amplifier entirely—running the pedal’s output into a tube mic preamp for a different kind of brutality. Settings: Dist: 8–10. Level: 5. Color Mix L: 7. Color Mix H: 7. Balanced between the two Color Mix controls rather than maximizing both. This creates a denser, more compressed sound than the amp-based approach. Requires a high-input-impedance preamp that can handle the HM-2’s output without overloading; a transformer-balanced mic pre works well. Not a technique for beginners, but one of the most distinctive heavy tones currently being made in recording studios.
5. Bass DI Application (Dalgety Method)
Tom Dalgety has documented using the HM-2 on bass DI tracks to add “a cool rasp and a sort of Stranglers sound—bitey, but not oversaturated and blown out,” specifically for removing 200Hz boominess via the Color Mix L control used in cut mode. Settings: Dist: 3–5. Level: match unity. Color Mix L: 3 (slight cut). Color Mix H: 7 (moderate boost). This works because the HM-2’s EQ section affects the frequency balance before the gain stage, meaning the distortion itself is shaped by the bass frequency content you’re emphasizing. The Pixies track “Baal’s Back”—produced by Dalgety—features an HM-2 on bass in exactly this way.
Comparisons and Alternatives
HM-2 vs. Boss DS-1
The HM-2 is based on the DS-1’s circuit architecture, but the two pedals sound dramatically different in practice. The DS-1 has a single Tone control that rolls off highs when turned counterclockwise and brightens when turned clockwise—a passive filter with limited range. The HM-2’s dual Color Mix controls are active, each capable of 20dB of boost or cut, and both interact with the gain stage rather than sitting cleanly after it. The result is that the DS-1 is more versatile across a wide range of distorted tones, while the HM-2 is more extreme at its maximum settings—nothing in the DS-1’s range sounds like the full-dimed HM-2. Entombed’s use of both on Left Hand Path—two HM-2s panned left and right, one DS-1 in the center—is the best practical illustration of how they complement each other.
HM-2 vs. Boss MT-2 Metal Zone
The MT-2 Metal Zone was designed explicitly as the HM-2’s commercial successor and has outsold it many times over—with more than one million units sold, it is the second-best-selling Boss distortion pedal after the DS-1. The MT-2 offers a far more sophisticated EQ section (seven-filter network, semi-parametric midrange sweep) and a quieter circuit. But it cannot replicate the specific character of the HM-2’s Color Mix EQ interacting with the gain stage. The MT-2’s reputation for harshness at high gain settings is somewhat ironic given that the HM-2 at maximum sounds exponentially more extreme—but the HM-2’s harshness has cultural meaning attached to it that the MT-2’s does not. Players who want versatility choose the MT-2. Players who want one very specific, historically loaded sound choose the HM-2.
HM-2W Waza Craft (2021)
In 2020, Boss president Yoshi Ikegami—who also designed the MT-2—announced that the HM-2 would be reissued as part of the Waza Craft series. The HM-2W was released in 2021 at approximately $229–249 USD. The Waza Craft version adds two modes: Standard, which reproduces the original circuit with lower noise floor and maximized output level; and Custom, which provides a more aggressive variation with modified Waza Craft tuning—reportedly with additional gain and a slightly different midrange character. The HM-2W also features a premium buffer for improved bypass performance. The prototype was tested by Ola Englund, the Swedish guitarist known for his YouTube demonstrations of extreme metal tones. The HM-2W is the recommended option for new purchases; original units remain on the used market but require attention to the condition of internal trimmers and output jacks.
Boutique HM-2 Clones and Variants
The HM-2’s cult status spawned a secondary market of clone pedals during the years it was discontinued (1991–2021). The most discussed include the Wren and Cuff Phat Phuk B (a bass-focused HM-2 derivative), the Heaviness by Pedal Pawn, and numerous hand-built Swedish death metal tone circuits from small builders. With the HM-2W now in production, the case for boutique alternatives is weaker than it was—but they remain points of interest for players seeking specific modifications not available in the stock circuit, such as switchable gain structure or adjustable compression characteristics.
Buying Guide
The Boss HM-2 comes in three practical forms: the original Japan-made units (1983–1988), the original Taiwan-made units (1988–1991), and the current HM-2W Waza Craft reissue (2021–present).
Japan-made originals are identifiable by the “Made in Japan” label on the base plate and typically have a slightly warmer, darker character in the lower gain settings, though the fully-dimed Swedish death metal setting sounds nearly identical across all production runs. Japan units command a premium on the used market: expect to pay $120–280 USD for an excellent-condition example depending on year and seller. Taiwan units are sonically very close to Japan units at maximum settings and can be found for $80–180 USD in excellent condition. Both production runs should be tested before purchase—the most common failure modes are output jack oxidation (intermittent signal), worn input jack, and pot scratching on Color Mix H from repeated use at maximum settings.
The HM-2W Waza Craft at $229–249 USD new is the most practical choice for most players. It sounds like the original at maximum settings (Standard mode), requires no hunting through used-market listings, comes with a five-year Boss warranty, and adds the Custom mode for additional tonal flexibility. If your primary goal is the Swedish death metal chainsaw sound at maximum settings, you will not hear a meaningful difference between the HM-2W and a clean original unit.
If you are buying specifically to record in the tradition of Left Hand Path and Like an Everflowing Stream, consider acquiring two units—one for the left channel and one for the right—to replicate the dual-guitar recording technique used at Sunlight Studios. Running two HM-2s panned hard left and right (or hard left/right in a DAW) creates the full-width wall of sound that made the Entombed recordings so distinctive. A single HM-2 in mono is still effective, but two is the historically documented approach.
Ownership Notes: Getting the Most from the HM-2
The HM-2’s buffered bypass means it is always in the signal path at a circuit level, even when bypassed. This is relevant for players who use Fuzz Face-type fuzzes or germanium-transistor fuzzes, which rely on the guitar’s passive pickup output for their characteristic feel. If you run a fuzz before the HM-2 in your chain, place it before the HM-2 or use it through a loop switcher that removes the HM-2’s buffer from the signal path when you want true-bypass behavior for the fuzz. The HM-2W’s premium buffer is designed to mitigate this issue; the standard mode has a notably cleaner bypassed signal than the original unit.
Power draw is approximately 20mA—slightly higher than most Boss compact pedals but manageable on any modern pedalboard power supply. The 9V center-negative standard is universal; no special power considerations apply beyond ensuring your supply has a 20mA-capable output.
The pedal’s active EQ interacts strongly with the input impedance of whatever follows it. Plugging directly into a low-impedance solid-state amp input (such as many Peavey combos) creates the compressed, focused Sunlight sound. Plugging into a high-impedance valve amp input produces a warmer, slightly more open sound at the same settings. This is why Skogsberg’s specific Peavey amp was integral to the original recordings, not just incidental equipment—the impedance loading was part of the tone.
If you are using the dimed approach for Swedish death metal recordings, high-pass filtering the direct signal around 80Hz before or after the HM-2 can improve the low-end clarity in a dense mix. The maximum Color Mix L setting generates significant low-frequency content that can accumulate muddily in a stereo stack without some management. Skogsberg used the GC2020 compressor to control this; modern producers often use a high-pass filter or parallel processing instead.
FAQ
What exactly is the “chainsaw” sound and why does the HM-2 create it?
The chainsaw description comes from the specific harmonic content generated by the HM-2’s Color Mix H control at maximum. At 20dB of boost in the upper midrange before the gain stage, the circuit emphasizes the 800Hz–1.5kHz range with extreme saturation, creating a buzzing harmonic texture that resembles the acoustic overtones of a chainsaw or circular saw in operation. No other mass-market distortion pedal uses this approach at this extreme a level, which is why the HM-2’s fully-dimed sound is genuinely unlike any other pedal on the market.
Does the HM-2 only work for Swedish death metal?
Absolutely not. Tom Dalgety has used it on Pixies and Therapy? recordings. It appears on bass tracks, drum room mics, and synth processing sessions. Niclas Engelin of In Flames used it at moderate gain for melodic riffing. At low Dist settings with carefully balanced Color Mix controls, it can produce anything from classic rock crunch to vintage hard rock overdrive. The all-knobs-maximum setting is what the pedal is famous for, but it represents only one extreme of a genuinely wide tonal range.
What’s the difference between Japan and Taiwan HM-2 units?
The circuits are functionally identical. The most consistently cited difference is that Japan-made units tend to have a slightly warmer, less bright character in the lower-gain range, which some attribute to component tolerances in the original Japanese manufacturing run versus the later Taiwanese production. At maximum settings—the Swedish death metal configuration—this difference is largely inaudible. Japan units command higher used-market prices primarily because of collector preference and the cultural cachet of Japanese manufacture, not because they objectively sound better in their most famous application.
What’s the difference between the HM-2W Standard and Custom modes?
Standard mode reproduces the original HM-2 circuit with reduced noise floor and optimized output level. Custom mode applies Waza Craft tuning modifications that increase the available gain and alter the midrange character—producing a more aggressive, higher-saturation tone than even the original at maximum. Boss has not published the specific circuit changes for Custom mode. For the authentic Entombed/Dismember sound, Standard mode is the appropriate choice. Custom mode offers additional extremity for players who find the original insufficient.
Why did Boss discontinue the HM-2 in 1991?
The HM-2 was discontinued because the MT-2 Metal Zone was developed as its commercial successor—a more sophisticated, quieter, more flexible distortion pedal aimed at the mainstream heavy metal market. By 1991, the glam metal scene that the HM-2 had partly served was declining, and the MT-2’s more versatile EQ made it a better commercial proposition for Boss’s catalog. The HM-2’s association with extreme death metal was not yet fully established at the time of its discontinuation; that reputation grew over the following decade as the Swedish death metal scene’s influence spread globally through fanzines, demo tapes, and early internet distribution.
How do you get the original Entombed “Left Hand Path” tone exactly?
Two HM-2s with all knobs at maximum, run into a solid-state Peavey combo amp (originally the Studio Pro 40), microphone with an Audio-Technica ATM41 or similar dynamic mic, recorded with a rackmount compressor (Skogsberg used the GC2020) with moderate compression. Hard-pan the two guitar tracks left and right. Add a DS-1 at moderate settings in the center. The guitar itself matters less than you might expect—Cederlund used a budget Ibanez. The solid-state amp’s low input impedance interaction with the HM-2’s output is a key part of the sound; a Marshall valve amp at the same settings will produce a noticeably different result. If you’re working in a DAW, you can approximate the amp using a solid-state amp simulation or simply running the HM-2’s output into a load box and high-pass filtering below 80Hz.
Is the Boss HM-2 the same circuit as the DS-1?
No, though the HM-2 is derived from the DS-1’s architecture. Both use a single-channel gain stage with diode-based clipping, but the HM-2 adds the dual Color Mix active EQ section (±20dB at each frequency) which feeds into the distortion stage rather than sitting purely after it. This fundamental difference in signal flow—active EQ before the clipping stage—is what makes the HM-2’s sound so distinctive at extreme settings. The DS-1’s Tone control operates after the distortion and is passive; the HM-2’s Color Mix controls are active and interactive with the gain structure.
What amp should I use with the HM-2?
Almost anything works, which is part of the pedal’s appeal. Blomqvist’s famous line—”you could plug it into a toaster, and it’d still sound like an HM-2″—is only slight hyperbole. The original Entombed recordings used a Peavey solid-state combo, and the solid-state character is part of that specific tone. Later Entombed recordings (from Wolverine Blues onwards) used a Marshall, and Skogsberg notes that the HM-2 sound survived the amp change: “We changed the amplifier to a Marshall, but it still has the HM-2 sound.” For recording, try the pedal into whatever amp is available and adjust the Color Mix controls to compensate for the amp’s natural frequency response.