Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

meatwad · #1 03-30-2009, 09:17 AM

I've had the opportunity to try one out on a couple of gigs, and finally convinced the owner to sell it to me yesterday. I was holding out at first for an HM-2, but then I read around here somewhere that they were the same pedal, different label. Under this impression, and the HM-3 being within arms reach for very cheap, I went for it.

It seems there was a pretty extensive thread on TB about the Boss HM-2, HM-3, ect.. that I cannot find no matter how much I search. Are they both truly the same, aside from MIJ/MIT?

The HM-3 sounds great btw!

Thanks!

Thunderscreech · #2 03-30-2009, 09:23 AM

Yes, they are one and the same. Just a difference of a number. Boss made the HM-3 after the Metal Zone was released, and, needless to say, it wasn't as big of a seller. The circuit is, to my knowledge, unchanged from the HM-2 to them HM-3.

Chronicle · #3 03-30-2009, 12:03 PM

wonder why they even bothered changing the name....

meatwad · #4 04-08-2009, 02:19 PM

Just wanted to mention, the HM-3 seems to sound best with the lows cranked a bit and the highs either flat or even cut a little IMO. The distortion knob sounds best if all the way down, or maybe up just a tiny bit... I guess that puts it more in the "overdriven" area?

Do any of you HM-2/HM-3 users actually crank the dist knob on yours? Seems pretty brutal, and the notes become rather indistinct cranked.

How do you like yours? Settings?

jjhardy · #5 04-08-2009, 02:36 PM

when I play with the HM-2 I have the distortion cranked (though it is pretty much as saturated with the gain on lower settings anyway). Things do get pretty indistinct, and it doesn't have a rich harmonic character so it sounds pretty flat playing chords. However, it has a surprising amount of low end with the bass boosted, and it sounds REALLY good in front of a tube amp. Having bought a V4B, it completely made me re-appreciate the pedal. With the distortion cranked and the amp volume at the sweet spot where the grind kicks in, it's one of the heaviest bass tones i've heard. Haven't tried it in a band setting so I don't know how it holds in a mix.

ih8law · #6 11-30-2009, 11:14 PM

I really like this pedal, and try to recommend it to anyone who will listen. I posted this in another thread:

Quote:

For those curious about how the HM-3 sounds on a bass, I've prepared a short and simple clip.

The settings were as follows:
Level: 12 o'clock
Low: Max
High: 1 o'clock
Distortion: 12 o'clock

Link: http://www.supload.com/listen?s=xxU3Ty

dannybuoy · #7 12-01-2009, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meatwad

Just wanted to mention, the HM-3 seems to sound best with the lows cranked a bit and the highs either flat or even cut a little IMO. The distortion knob sounds best if all the way down, or maybe up just a tiny bit... I guess that puts it more in the "overdriven" area?

Do any of you HM-2/HM-3 users actually crank the dist knob on yours? Seems pretty brutal, and the notes become rather indistinct cranked.

How do you like yours? Settings?

Maybe they're not the same then... IMHO then HM-2 has a really weird treble control that only sounds good in the sweet spot around 1.30, any lower and it's mud city, any higher and say goodbye to your lows. Tried to google for a comparison and could only find these which say they're pretty different:

http://www.stonerrock.com/forums2/al...2389&StartAt=0

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...2&postcount=17

moose23 · #8 12-01-2009, 05:50 AM

There's definitely differences in the circuits I posted in the other thread but I haven't studied them to see if they really make much difference. An A/B test would probably be better than checking through the circuit.