Once again, the reasons why I'm reluctant to do sound demos for gear is because you're judging the gadget based on a poor recording. How many comments already about not liking the pedal because the loose mode is not nice or this or that based on that ONE video clip? The reasons why I post these reviews is to arm you guys with what to look for when you
go and TRY the pedal yourself. No way in hell do I expect my review to sell any pedals. My word is not scripture, and no one else's is either.
They are only opinions. Not fact.
One thing video clips cannot capture, is audio quality. Probably embedded at 96kbps, you'd probably find a mosquito pleasing too recorded this way. There's no mic, soundcard or audio interface in the market that is better equipped with sound capture than your own EARS.
This pedal is at this point, the most open and harmonically rich metal distortion pedal I've owned/tried.
I would really like to AB this against the Openhaus and the 7th Heaven one day. This kills the Doubleshot, Dime Distortion, stock MT2, Keeley MT2, Landmine and even the much lauded Metal Muff (close contender). Here's why.
This pedal please 2 crowds. The old school metal chugga chugga people, and the nu metal chugga chugga people. You want that old Metallica Kill Em All tone? it's here. you want that new Alterbridge Blackbird tone? it's here. It's brutal, it's big, it's bassy, and it's BRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
There was a problem with the Keeley MT2. It was a killer metal pedal. Opened up by Robert Keeley with all his mods. I actually think he magically managed to open up the freq response of the pedal very well. But somehow, Like most, it's hard to get a really low growl that's heavy not in terms of loudness and grind, but in low freq rumble too. The only way you'd get that from the Keeley MT2, is to use it with a good amp, and a 4x10 cab. On a 1x10, it's still open, heavy, but compared to the TL2, it sounds wimpy. So, the amp itself was instrumental to this big open wall of sound that people wanted. (or at least, me.)
But like the MT2, the TL2 has the SAME kind of controls. Level, Bass, Highs, Mids, Mid Freq, and Gain. That's probably as close to each other as they get. Next to the TL2, the MT2 still sounded like a, injured mosquito. While the Metal Muff was nice and tight at the top, it had that bass openness problem too. I felt that it still could have been more open and loose. Audibly, to me a good metal pedal should sound through an amp like what had already been engineered on those recordings. They should be able to make a good small tube amp sound like it's full open potential (and not box it in). The MM was not as controllable as I'd have liked it to be. It was not as tweakable as the MT2. What the MM had which I loved was a boost function, which unfortunately, not even the TL2 has.
The TL2, somehow, sounds fantastic on a small amp. It sounds amazingly powerful, wide, chuggy on BOTH my vintage voiced Fender PRRI and the Laney VC15. Both have been known to some extent to suck tone from modern sounding pedals (at least, the Jensen speakers are probably the culprit), though the Fender works better in this sense than the Laney. The TL2 on these 2 amps sounds like the MT2 did on that Dual Rectifier with 4x10 cab I loved to jam with. That's some feat right there.
What you're NOT hearing from that sound clip is the low rumble I love so much on the loose setting. Imagine being surrounded by wall to wall Marshall amps. That scary low rumble that makes your spine shiver. that's what the TL2 somehow manages to provide.
The tight setting, is not really my fav. Because I don't like sharp shrill metal tones. Like what Megadeth and Metallica used to have. Or like what Trivium currently uses. I like the Evanescence and Alterbridge styled chugs. but having said that, this tight setting is definately usable, because it's heavy, tight, but does not buzz like the old MT2 (mozzy) quality. It's more like a super high gained DS1. The loose setting has more gain, more bass, more growl.
Something metal pedals lacked in the past, was the ability to deliver good tones for BOTH rhythms and leads. An oft cut thru rhythm tone meant a weak, puny, shrill lead tone. You'd usually need a booster to beef up the tone before you go solo. Not for the TL2. This is where I say it truely shines as a SINGLE pedal. A nice chugga tone, with enough highs to get that definition, but totally transforms on single notes to a warm fat tone that lets you shine as a player. The best example? Think of Michael Romeo's tone on "Seprent's Kiss" in "Paradise Lost". that's what you CAN get with this ONE pedal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO-cpWpzxVA
The TL2 has also one more thing the MT2 lacked. Lead tone dynamics. I'm surprised that this pedal, sounds nice even at low gain, where the MT2 used to choke. And even at high gain, the TL2 is surprisingly transparent enough to allow the string dynamics to come through on a neck pup. That's odd... and like the previous hardwire pedals, the louder you play it, the better it sounds. The tone controls seem to have a wider reach than those on the MT2.
All in all, the TL2 has shown itself to be a dynamic and versatile pedal, which gives tons of good tones. Like all complex pedals, it need a bit of tweaking to get tones you want.
Ok... stop reading and go try when Swee Lee finally gets it in. Yes, it's cheaper online, but only by $40. That $40 works for you when (touch wood) something goes wrong, and you need someone to blame. But if you can't wait, there's plenty online to order from.
