The HM-2 (Heavy Metal) was the first BOSS pedal I ever purchased, and I got it way back in 1984. The fact that it still works is testament to BOSS quality. After all, my Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi gave up the ghost years ago. As did my E-H Doctor Q (darn! I miss THAT effect), and a no-name equalizer - anyone out there ever hear of an effects line named Loco?.

(If you're interested to see what kind of pedals/effects I owned back around 1987, I dug up an old photo. To see it and read a description, click here!)

For years, it was the only distortion/overdrive pedal I owned, and for home recording I generally used it in tandem with my Vantage "Analog Echo" rackmount.

Gradually, I built up my BOSS collection, with the CS-2 (new), PH-2 (used), and CH-3 (used). I added a few other pedals (wah, echo, EQ), but the HM-2 was my only distortion.

Until two things happened:

1. I got a well-paying job, which gave me some serious discretionary income.

2. Toronto was invaded by Cash Converters.

Cash Cons are a franchise operation which deal in buying used goods and selling them them in relatively clean shops which are set up all across suburbia. Suddenly, I found new outlets for used BOSS pedals for rather good prices.

My first buy was a DD-3 for a mere $75. So far, so good.

But then I found a DS-1 for $35. Uh oh.

It didn't take long for me to build up a collection of distortions and ODs.

With my new found money, I even bought some new pedals: the Danelectro Daddy-O and DOD's Juice Box. And once I found the BOSS Metal Zone selling for $50 (mint condition - still in the box!) at a Cash Con imitator, the HM-2 was doomed to sit in the shadows forever.

Or so it seemed.

Late last December, I was surfing through Harmony Central's Review area (which is a favorite pastime), and on a whim I checked out the reviews for the old HM-2. One of the owners suggested a certain setting.

He said that if the volume control was turned full up, while the distortion control was turned fully off, the HM-2 would overdrive the amp. Here's my HM-2 set up this way:

Of course, it had to be tested. I set it up with my 1965 Princeton amp and my Reactor.

Ooo baby!

The tone was to die for! Have you ever heard a tiny tube amp driven to the limit? Even with the amp's volume set at a mere 2, my Princeton sounded wonderfully crunched out, maxed to its limit! And it was a natural sounding overdrive - the pedal wasn't coloring it at all, as I discovered when I turned up the distortion slightly.

Amazing!

It was a dark deep bluesy growl, and the last thing I would have expected from a "Heavy Metal" pedal!

Needless to say, this elevated the HM-2 right back into the top of my pedal list!

Moral of this story? Don't be afraid to try ANY setting with your pedals - you'll never know what hidden wonders you may discover! Experiment!

Warning: just be careful when playing around with "Level" control of a pedal. Keep your amp volume low, just in case. You don't want to break a speaker. Or an eardrum.