The HM-3 definitely does NOT suck. Hit the right EQ settings on this pedal with a decent guitar & amp (e.g. Ibanez GRG7221 & a Marshall Valvestate AVT50 in my case) and the HM-3 can sound even better than either an HM-2 or Metal Zone. The HM-3 only 'sucks' for those hardcore Swedish chainsaw tone freaks because it does not nail their precious Entombed tone, such as the dorks in this video, who seem more like bored farmer's kids than death metal musicians.
I'm sorry that the shorthand term for ""Japanese" used in the context of describing where a distortion pedal was made has triggered you. You can head over to the safe space, they have coloring books.
Standbackforscience You mean thrash? I'd wager the HM-2 will roll off quite a bit of the chug you're looking for in the palm muted riffs, so not quite the ubiquitous thrash tone. Not if the pedal is dimed all the way through anyways. Think you'd be better off with a metal muff or even the HM-3 actually.
y'all totally forgot the Behringer HM-300! My guitarist owns a Japanese HM-2 and 2 HM-300s and the 300 performs remarkably well and gives an uncannily similar tone to the original. Not a perfect copy but closer than some of these in this video. Also, I think the correct settings for testing should be all knobs to 11... Left and Wrath sounds pretty good here though.
Ryan Alexander Bloom It's also cheap as fuck and readily available. Buying a real HM-2 second hand is cheaper than all of the modern ones apart from the behringer. Shame the plastic housing is a bit ropy. £15 tho.
I've owned 2 HM-300 pedals, I have a MiJ HM-2 and a LHW Deluxe. The two HM-300 pedals both broke on their own and all I did was using them at home activating them with a finger, the build quality is shit.
I think the HyperMetal sounded pretty damn great. It didn't really sound like the rest of them though. The Left Hand Wrath, and the Unnamed sounded best to my ears though.
Sounds great. Do you know if Justin Broadrick from Godflesh used the HM-2 with the JCM 800 clean or using its own gain as well? I guess the same question can be applied to Todd Jones of Nails. Cheers
Through the Ampeg I think I actually prefer the HM-3. Just sounds more balanced, which I guess isn't exactly the tone these pedals are known for. Through the Marshall, the LHP with the Japanese HM-2 in a close 2nd.
I made a good preset in Amplitube that has this Trap Them feeling. When I switched to playing my guitar through the bass amps in the vst its very much changed my game here. I love Trap Them and basically all of the distortions I hear from God City. Keep up the sick work Kurt!!!!
I appreciate this video very much. Thank you for demoing all of these pedals! I now know that I am saving up for a Dunwich HM-2 clone as opposed to an original HM-2. Without this video I wouldn't have known!
there's also the Behringer HM300 pedal. 30 bucks and about on par with the Arion. that Lone Wolf seemed to nail the Japan version pretty well. the Dunwich one is nuts...
actually found this vid looking for a proper demo of the Dunwich clone. Super helpful idea, and even though it doesn't showcase the different sounds you could get from the Dunwich, at least I have some idea of what itll sound like lmao
I actually liked the Taiwan HM-2 sound more than the Japan one. The Japan version had a bit too much of that HM-2 edge. Left Hand Wrath sounded nice too. And yeah you should try the HM-300! It's also very nice for the price.
In the 80s here in Brazil, Roland (Boss) had their own Brazilian Brand (Oliver) cause it was very expensive to import pedals. So, I have the Oliver HM-20 and it's awesome. Almost the same of the original boss pedal.
Apesar de ser um pouco mais caro, a Monstro fazia um clone do HM-2 japonês com um knob a mais pros médios chamado Morbid. Fui tentar comprar um no mês passado e eles me informaram pra eu segurar um pouco as pontas que eles tão pra lançar uma versão mais atualizada dele, creio que vão botar algum mod meio louco ali, só estou no aguardo
Hyper Metal sounds more like a rat but with the EQ of a big muff. It uses germanium clipping diodes so experimentation with different types could be interesting.
For the mass production pedals, I liked the Arion best, then the Taiwanese HM2, and lastly the Japanese. The more boutique ones, I liked the LHP most, then the LHW second. The Dunwich model had too many unpleasant overtones for me to consider using live, but would probably be okay with some subtractive parametric EQing if I were recording with it. Good, useful video here, Kurt. Been toying with the idea of getting a HM2 style pedal lately, and this was definitely helpful.
The only one I really liked was the Dunwich...Was never a fan of these pedals, but that Dunwich has some sort of magic in it, really dig it's sound. Best thing in this video is.. they're being played through two rigs I know VERY well. I used to own an Ampeg V4, and I still own an old ass Marshall JMP 50, so I know both of their stock tones VERY well.
i like the Enormous Door since it has the HM-2 vibe but adds some fullness and clarity to the sound whereas the original sounds thin. The Lone Wolf is my second choice. The Hyper Metal doesn't sound as bad as it's made out to be. It's a little generic sounding though..
Pablo Cabrera Listening with headphones: i take that back, the Left Hand Wrath is the best, it has the ideal low-tuned heavy tone. also all of these sound a million times better through the V4 than through the JMP
Makes sense you'd say that. ED LHP and LW LHW are done by the same designer/engineer, though working for different companies. Since the LHW (especially the second version) is more recent and has a shitload of additional knobs, it will probably be better.
+Standbackforscience Sounds good solo but in a mix it gets lost. The Hm-2 cuts hard through the mix with a bass guitar Ratted out and a nice heavy bass kick. I run the Japanese version because i got it years back but to be honest the Taiwan does the job at 1/3 of the price. Boosting it with an 808 sounds better then the Ds-1 in my opinion but I believe most Swedish guitarists use the Ds-1 Japan version to boost. Also avoid the Taiwanese Ds-1 like the plague i picked one up for 25$ years back and its a piece of shit compared to the Japanese version.
This is a better demo compared to the others. All the people in other demos barely turn the Distortion up and sitting here thinking: "What the flying fuck? How am I supposed to know if that pedal has the tone I am looking for?" It was great demo please do more!
This was great. I've always read so much about the differences but it's so helpful to hear it side-by-side. I'd definitely say the OG Japanese is obviously the best overall. Even the Taiwan version sounded off - it was like hearing DISMEMBER then listening to FLESHCRAWL. Just not quite the same.
jackobthesnakob the left hand path and left hand wrath are the same designer. Check out lonewolfaudio's big cartel. He just reissued the Left hand path for a rediculous price compared to his left hand wrath!
Could you guys do a follow-up video talking about settings for these pedals maybe? I have a mij and would like some pointers to get the best sound out of them, even though I realize it's a thing you really have to tweak for yourself. I've read that brian's has been modded to be lower gain. Does he usually use it as a boost and rely on the V4 for doing the actual distorting?
Yo, you dudes should revisit this. I feel like there have been a few more hm2s unleashed into the market. Also a comparison through a moderately dirty amp just to really push the chainsaw sound. Would really love to see that, cheers!
I've used 4 of these pedals to get my Buzzsaw tone. none of them come close to what i use now for Buzzsaw, which is a T-Rex Bloody Mary V1 cranked like a HM-2. It's fucking killer. Roll the treble back a little bit. Sounds a bit like the Dunwich Amps clone, but more defined
I just bought a MIJ HM-2. It was cheap so I got it. I used one when I was a kid in the late 80's in a punk band. I didn't realize how bad those pedals sound. Back then it was awesome. I now have it for a nostalgia thing I guess. Does get the Entombed sound pretty good so I can use it for that
Just in case you are still seeking a set-up for a Boss HM-2 and a Peavey 5150, follow the links below to some Ultimate Guitar forum pages for HM-2 related discussion, and read comments from user name KailM: www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1893153#25 www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1916913 I hope that is of help! \m/
+Wayde McDonnell You don't need to mod them, actually. Just plug them into a daisy chain type power cable along with at least one standard 9v powered pedal, and have an audio cable plugged between the two. The pedal will get proper 9v internal voltage because of the common ground through the audio jack. That's how I do it at home!
'This pedal sucks" - Ha, the HM-3 doesn't have much of a chance with that introduction! It sounds more like a fuzz to me. Can you expound on why you think it sucks?
+Nucleozoid It doesn't suck at all, it's a perfectly good high gain pedal if you like scooped distortion. The HM2 is better as a low gain overdrive though, but then, for that application it's better than most pedals.
+Nucleozoid I used to own one. It's just pretty standard metal crunch tone, nothing really special about it. It doesn't totally suck, it's just that it doesn't have the magic of the hm-2, which has a really distinct flavor to it.
I love that Kurt says the hm-3 sucks then that's the one that sounds best in the test. Sludgy, with a spongy bass response, it's probably what I'd use for a sludgy post-hardcore sound.
I think it is a better bass fuzz than a guitar distortion actually. The L knob has a ton of range to boost lower mids, and the H knob is set at 1khz which is right under the top end of the string harmonics and right over that wooly mid-range area. The gain and volume knobs also becomes a lot more usable because the range that people say is "useless" on guitar becomes incredibly useful. I usually still dime the L control, but the other 3 knobs are all over the place for bass. On guitar, people usually either dime the controls or they're "using it wrong" but I've gotten good results on guitar by playing around with the knobs on guitar too, bass just seems to have more usable sounds with it.
The Taiwan one doesn't sound as clear as the Japanese one, but doesn't sound bad. HM3 sounds really scooped and would be lost in a mix quick. The Arion sounded pretty nasty but would have it's uses I'm sure but I wasn't really a fan. Left Hand Path and Left Hand Wrath are pretty close, they're like the original Japanese one but more articulate, more so the LHW. The Dunwich sounded good but doesn't seem quite like the HM-2 tone.
I've watched this video around 20 times and I'm amazed at the commenters who say the HM-3 doesn't sound terrible. Maybe it's good for that crappy, mid-scooped metal sound, but the Japanese and Dunwich are the HM-2 sound. All others held their own, too.
The Dunwich sounded the best. I thought they all pretty much sound like shit tbh. I used an HM-2 in 1984 when recording my first album [Your Turn Next by Concrete Sox] and it sounded a lot better than these (through a Marshall JCM800 head)...
bro you look like the guy from converge bro.
bro ... bro
Matt Taylor bro
@@oatmeal710 bro the hm2 is sick. I almost blew an eardrum bro
Into a V4 and an emperor cab. Great choices. You definitely did this shootout the right way.
Big Boy i would have prefered some moderate gain for eviscerating chainsaw slay! But its kewl.
yess please keep thinking the HM-3 sucks. that way I can consistently pick them up for 40 bucks
cave digger no shit, my favorite out of the bunch.
You can buy ALL of them... no worries
it sucks at being a clone of the HM2, but seems to be good on its own
The HM-3 definitely does NOT suck. Hit the right EQ settings on this pedal with a decent guitar & amp (e.g. Ibanez GRG7221 & a Marshall Valvestate AVT50 in my case) and the HM-3 can sound even better than either an HM-2 or Metal Zone. The HM-3 only 'sucks' for those hardcore Swedish chainsaw tone freaks because it does not nail their precious Entombed tone, such as the dorks in this video, who seem more like bored farmer's kids than death metal musicians.
@@georgesaris9968 Kurt Ballou is a living saint amongst heavy guitarists. You go listen to the Jane Doe album and call him a farmer again!
I actually really dug the Taiwanese HM2.
Same here, loving the taiwanese! the enormous door is nice too.
+Daniel West Yep, I have a Taiwanese HM2. I don't get why people snark on it so much, it's the real deal as far as I'm concerned.
I'm sorry that the shorthand term for ""Japanese" used in the context of describing where a distortion pedal was made has triggered you.
You can head over to the safe space, they have coloring books.
Triggered? Haha, sure, whatever. Just STFU you ignorant trash.
Standbackforscience
You mean thrash?
I'd wager the HM-2 will roll off quite a bit of the chug you're looking for in the palm muted riffs, so not quite the ubiquitous thrash tone. Not if the pedal is dimed all the way through anyways.
Think you'd be better off with a metal muff or even the HM-3 actually.
y'all totally forgot the Behringer HM-300! My guitarist owns a Japanese HM-2 and 2 HM-300s and the 300 performs remarkably well and gives an uncannily similar tone to the original. Not a perfect copy but closer than some of these in this video. Also, I think the correct settings for testing should be all knobs to 11... Left and Wrath sounds pretty good here though.
Ryan Alexander Bloom It's also cheap as fuck and readily available. Buying a real HM-2 second hand is cheaper than all of the modern ones apart from the behringer. Shame the plastic housing is a bit ropy. £15 tho.
The pedal arion master also the housing is made of plastic
I've owned 2 HM-300 pedals, I have a MiJ HM-2 and a LHW Deluxe. The two HM-300 pedals both broke on their own and all I did was using them at home activating them with a finger, the build quality is shit.
There are a lot of DIY pedal housings out there, would it be terribly difficult to transplant the guts of an HM-300 into one of those?
Greg Harder you could just get an Eyemaster from TC Electrics, same guts in a metal casing (though there are no color knobs, they are forever maxed).
The Enormous Door & Dunwich were my favorites. Thanks for the demo
now i get when people use the term "chainsaw". That Japan HM-2 sounds amazing
Original Japanese HM-2 still sounds best , then the Dunwich for me .
Yes. For me, not even close.
I have been waiting for someone to say "the Japanese sounds better" as usual.. :D They sound exactly the same IMHO
I own the japanese and the taiwan and they sound ... the same.
I like that wrath pedal. It's got the qualities I like from the HM-2, without the flimsiness.
I think the HyperMetal sounded pretty damn great. It didn't really sound like the rest of them though. The Left Hand Wrath, and the Unnamed sounded best to my ears though.
Hm3 gave off more of a Crowbar tone than a Swedish death tone
Amen to that
Sounds great. Do you know if Justin Broadrick from Godflesh used the
HM-2 with the JCM 800 clean or using its own gain as well? I guess the
same question can be applied to Todd Jones of Nails. Cheers
Never heard of an Arion Metal Master until seeing this. Picked one up for $30. Thanks for doing this. Trap Them kills!
the riff he plays sucks,come on,zero originality
Cancer Söze are you slow?
Through the Ampeg I think I actually prefer the HM-3. Just sounds more balanced, which I guess isn't exactly the tone these pedals are known for. Through the Marshall, the LHP with the Japanese HM-2 in a close 2nd.
I made a good preset in Amplitube that has this Trap Them feeling. When I switched to playing my guitar through the bass amps in the vst its very much changed my game here. I love Trap Them and basically all of the distortions I hear from God City. Keep up the sick work Kurt!!!!
Dunwich sounds incredible
I appreciate this video very much. Thank you for demoing all of these pedals! I now know that I am saving up for a Dunwich HM-2 clone as opposed to an original HM-2. Without this video I wouldn't have known!
the Hyper metal is actually a pretty good fuzz distortion. Gotta get me one of those!
there's also the Behringer HM300 pedal. 30 bucks and about on par with the Arion.
that Lone Wolf seemed to nail the Japan version pretty well. the Dunwich one is nuts...
actually found this vid looking for a proper demo of the Dunwich clone. Super helpful idea, and even though it doesn't showcase the different sounds you could get from the Dunwich, at least I have some idea of what itll sound like lmao
do all of them turned on at the same time!
+imit that would make the planet melt.
That’s how the apocalypse starts
That's what your mom said
My favorite is the blue Enormous Door LHP with both setups. BTW, great demo, hope to see more videos like this in the future!
Would be cool to also see a DOD American metal in the mix too.
Awesome video! Dunwich and the Japonese one got m vote. Btw are any of these riffs in a song? the're killer!
I actually liked the Taiwan HM-2 sound more than the Japan one. The Japan version had a bit too much of that HM-2 edge. Left Hand Wrath sounded nice too. And yeah you should try the HM-300! It's also very nice for the price.
In the 80s here in Brazil, Roland (Boss) had their own Brazilian Brand (Oliver) cause it was very expensive to import pedals. So, I have the Oliver HM-20 and it's awesome. Almost the same of the original boss pedal.
Apesar de ser um pouco mais caro, a Monstro fazia um clone do HM-2 japonês com um knob a mais pros médios chamado Morbid. Fui tentar comprar um no mês passado e eles me informaram pra eu segurar um pouco as pontas que eles tão pra lançar uma versão mais atualizada dele, creio que vão botar algum mod meio louco ali, só estou no aguardo
Where is Behringer HM300? I have both HM-2 MIJ and Behringer HM300 with Marshall 6100 LM and I asure you they sound almost the same!!!
Saw them (††) live a year ago and Brian had a Model-T/HM-2 combo that induced our inner ears into bleeding. Serious stuff.
Hyper Metal sounds more like a rat but with the EQ of a big muff. It uses germanium clipping diodes so experimentation with different types could be interesting.
What song is that. Saw it in another HM2 video.
For the mass production pedals, I liked the Arion best, then the Taiwanese HM2, and lastly the Japanese. The more boutique ones, I liked the LHP most, then the LHW second. The Dunwich model had too many unpleasant overtones for me to consider using live, but would probably be okay with some subtractive parametric EQing if I were recording with it. Good, useful video here, Kurt. Been toying with the idea of getting a HM2 style pedal lately, and this was definitely helpful.
The only one I really liked was the Dunwich...Was never a fan of these pedals, but that Dunwich has some sort of magic in it, really dig it's sound. Best thing in this video is.. they're being played through two rigs I know VERY well. I used to own an Ampeg V4, and I still own an old ass Marshall JMP 50, so I know both of their stock tones VERY well.
i like the Enormous Door since it has the HM-2 vibe but adds some fullness and clarity to the sound whereas the original sounds thin. The Lone Wolf is my second choice.
The Hyper Metal doesn't sound as bad as it's made out to be. It's a little generic sounding though..
Pablo Cabrera Listening with headphones: i take that back, the Left Hand Wrath is the best, it has the ideal low-tuned heavy tone. also all of these sound a million times better through the V4 than through the JMP
Makes sense you'd say that. ED LHP and LW LHW are done by the same designer/engineer, though working for different companies.
Since the LHW (especially the second version) is more recent and has a shitload of additional knobs, it will probably be better.
Cool video :) what speakers are in the emperor cab?
not even considering the sound, the dunwich pedal LOOKS fucking awesome.
Just bought a hyper metal today.
Sounds rad.
I don't want chain saw.
I want high gain overdrive/distortion.
Goddammit that Dunwich sounds mean as fuck. It sounds like it's made from a thousand human teeth jammed into a little metal box.
+Standbackforscience That was my favorite, too.
+Standbackforscience The mention of a kit version had me on Google before he finished the sentence.
+Standbackforscience Sounds good solo but in a mix it gets lost. The Hm-2 cuts hard through the mix with a bass guitar Ratted out and a nice heavy bass kick. I run the Japanese version because i got it years back but to be honest the Taiwan does the job at 1/3 of the price. Boosting it with an 808 sounds better then the Ds-1 in my opinion but I believe most Swedish guitarists use the Ds-1 Japan version to boost. Also avoid the Taiwanese Ds-1 like the plague i picked one up for 25$ years back and its a piece of shit compared to the Japanese version.
I kinda like the HM-3 tbh. It sounds more like a traditional guitar rather than a chainsaw.
Great comparison, can really hear the differences between these! Wrath wins for me
This is a better demo compared to the others. All the people in other demos barely turn the Distortion up and sitting here thinking: "What the flying fuck? How am I supposed to know if that pedal has the tone I am looking for?"
It was great demo please do more!
When you use that much gain, do you only track one guitar instead of double tracking?
GodCity Music what you think of the DOD FX70? i love it !
"Japandy corn"
5:48 he's holding the JCI instead of the Les Paul, just a re-used shot for some reason?
Just as i was reading your comment this scene came up lol
This was great. I've always read so much about the differences but it's so helpful to hear it side-by-side. I'd definitely say the OG Japanese is obviously the best overall. Even the Taiwan version sounded off - it was like hearing DISMEMBER then listening to FLESHCRAWL. Just not quite the same.
What speakers are in that Emperor cabinet?
What are the settings on the mij hm2 when it's being played through the Marshall head?
i'm sorry because i don't care about the pedals in this shoutout, but omg the GCI Guitar is one of the sexiest thing i've ever seen in my life!!!
I liked the Taiwan, the Arion, and the Dunwich. The HM-3 sounds nothing like the rest, but I don't necessarily think it sucks.
0:51 Hahaha "This pedal sucks"
its got so much muck....the bass player can cover that. hm-3 will just make your band sound unintelligible
Lautaro Nahuel Perucca Jover it's actually my favourite between all of them...
Yep. There's no other way to describe that one.
They had so much treble on the hm2s they made the shit one sound the best
It’s more of a doom metal sound whereas all these other ones are made for death metal
wtf at 5:47 Brian is holding the GCI when it's filmed frome above?? Then suddenly he has the Gibson again? lol
Good spot :)
They probably felt like they didn't have enough angles and just too another footage :3
Man, what can you say about Throne Torcher? Is it piece of crap or cool pedal?
It's great
Japanese HM-2 has the most balls. HM-3 sounds woofy. I liked the Left Hand Wrath. I thought the Arion was a bit woofy too.
thats awesome that one of the clones is named Left Hand Path
jackobthesnakob the left hand path and left hand wrath are the same designer.
Check out lonewolfaudio's big cartel. He just reissued the Left hand path for a rediculous price compared to his left hand wrath!
Could you guys do a follow-up video talking about settings for these pedals maybe? I have a mij and would like some pointers to get the best sound out of them, even though I realize it's a thing you really have to tweak for yourself. I've read that brian's has been modded to be lower gain. Does he usually use it as a boost and rely on the V4 for doing the actual distorting?
Yo, you dudes should revisit this. I feel like there have been a few more hm2s unleashed into the market. Also a comparison through a moderately dirty amp just to really push the chainsaw sound. Would really love to see that, cheers!
i liked a lot of them! i could see uses for almost all of them
I've used 4 of these pedals to get my Buzzsaw tone. none of them come close to what i use now for Buzzsaw, which is a T-Rex Bloody Mary V1 cranked like a HM-2. It's fucking killer. Roll the treble back a little bit.
Sounds a bit like the Dunwich Amps clone, but more defined
Confirms my purchase of the LHW which should be arriving soon. Although, that Dunwich sounded great too. The sick thing is I've got an old HM-2.....
I just bought a MIJ HM-2. It was cheap so I got it. I used one when I was a kid in the late 80's in a punk band. I didn't realize how bad those pedals sound. Back then it was awesome. I now have it for a nostalgia thing I guess. Does get the Entombed sound pretty good so I can use it for that
I think putting three Boss pedals with buffers in the end of a ridicilous daisychain colors your sound but then again, what do I know.
would have liked to see behringer hm300 in this video, it costs 25 dollars and sounds pretty swedish in my opinion.
Huh wow, that hm3 actually sounds great!
i have a peavey 5150 and a hm-2 taiwainese model,do you have any tips for a good set up?looking for the proper swedish sound.thanx
Just in case you are still seeking a set-up for a Boss HM-2 and a Peavey 5150, follow the links below to some Ultimate Guitar forum pages for HM-2 related discussion, and read comments from user name KailM:
www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1893153#25
www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1916913
I hope that is of help! \m/
Can't decide between the Lone Wolf Audio or Dunwich...
There was no example of palm muting in the riff. So we have no idea how they handle it... Or even tremolo picking...
??
Did you run the Japanese HM2 with 12 volts or is it modded to take PSA ?
+Wayde McDonnell You don't need to mod them, actually. Just plug them into a daisy chain type power cable along with at least one standard 9v powered pedal, and have an audio cable plugged between the two. The pedal will get proper 9v internal voltage because of the common ground through the audio jack. That's how I do it at home!
SteelSkin667 Cool, thanks for the tip!
Issa tie between the Japanese HM-2 and the Left Hand Path joint imo. They both sound good through both amps too.
How can I get a tyrant pedal?!? Those things are sick!! I want to run it through my matchless.
how are they getting so much distortion out of a v4??
thanks for the shootout. I'm left with the impression you've undersold the HM3 sound. But maybe that's the only good setting, I dunno.
'This pedal sucks" - Ha, the HM-3 doesn't have much of a chance with that introduction! It sounds more like a fuzz to me. Can you expound on why you think it sucks?
+Nucleozoid
It doesn't suck at all, it's a perfectly good high gain pedal if you like scooped distortion. The HM2 is better as a low gain overdrive though, but then, for that application it's better than most pedals.
+Nucleozoid I used to own one. It's just pretty standard metal crunch tone, nothing really special about it. It doesn't totally suck, it's just that it doesn't have the magic of the hm-2, which has a really distinct flavor to it.
The Dunwich pedal sounds better than the OG HM-2. Holy shit.
I'd love to hear what the Japanese HM-2 would sound like in that Orange amp.
I love that Kurt says the hm-3 sucks then that's the one that sounds best in the test. Sludgy, with a spongy bass response, it's probably what I'd use for a sludgy post-hardcore sound.
The Arion sounds dope with the second setup.
Enormous room (for that distortion sustain) and that unnamed clone are FUCKING NASTY in different beautiful ways
The HM-2 sounds really good on bass.
I think it is a better bass fuzz than a guitar distortion actually. The L knob has a ton of range to boost lower mids, and the H knob is set at 1khz which is right under the top end of the string harmonics and right over that wooly mid-range area. The gain and volume knobs also becomes a lot more usable because the range that people say is "useless" on guitar becomes incredibly useful. I usually still dime the L control, but the other 3 knobs are all over the place for bass. On guitar, people usually either dime the controls or they're "using it wrong" but I've gotten good results on guitar by playing around with the knobs on guitar too, bass just seems to have more usable sounds with it.
The Japanese HM2 is pretty spot on for Trap Them's sound I reckon.
The Dunwich sounds nothing like the Japanese HM-2, in this example. To my ears they both sound good.
where is the behringer hm300? basically the best hm2 clone ever made
I got the Wren and Cuff HANGMAN and it does a great job
Great Video/Demo. Japanese HM-2 was best with both rigs in my opinion. Then the LHW and Dunwich. Thanks for doing this. Hope to see more.
why not have the Dry amp tone a little cleaner as alot of these are stacking Horribly with the amp gain or maybe just turn the pedal gain down
the buzz saw tone is created by stacking the pedal on an already over driven amp. honestly, they should have probably turned the amps gain up a bit
Super cool! Hope to see more of this.
i choose the hyper metal one, sounds legit and so raw
EXACTLY FRIEND
The Taiwan one doesn't sound as clear as the Japanese one, but doesn't sound bad. HM3 sounds really scooped and would be lost in a mix quick. The Arion sounded pretty nasty but would have it's uses I'm sure but I wasn't really a fan. Left Hand Path and Left Hand Wrath are pretty close, they're like the original Japanese one but more articulate, more so the LHW. The Dunwich sounded good but doesn't seem quite like the HM-2 tone.
they sound better through the Marshall... that being said, the last 3 boutique pedals definitely sound the best for sure.
The Dunwich kills, LHP Is a close second!
the HM-3 sounded pretty good!
Does anyone know what song hes playing?
I've watched this video around 20 times and I'm amazed at the commenters who say the HM-3 doesn't sound terrible. Maybe it's good for that crappy, mid-scooped metal sound, but the Japanese and Dunwich are the HM-2 sound. All others held their own, too.
🤘Japanese hm2 is pure Sweden 🇸🇪 every other pedal just doesn’t deliver 🤘
Enormous door left hand path sounds the best to me
The Dunwich sounded the best. I thought they all pretty much sound like shit tbh. I used an HM-2 in 1984 when recording my first album [Your Turn Next by Concrete Sox] and it sounded a lot better than these (through a Marshall JCM800 head)...
Also, depending on the year, it needs an ACA adapter. The difference being it needs to be at 12 volts. Hence why some hm2 LEDs don't light up as well.
Japanese and Taiwanese HM-2s sound the same to me. The Japanese one just sounds a tiny bit fatter.
Love it! It should always be this simple!
That Dunwich sounds crushing!
By the way: What is that Riff he's playing? it roxx!
You can get some raunchy ass grinding distortion with a Taiwanese HM-2 and some 3 o'clock gain on the drive channel.
great vid, nice work!