# Boss HM-2 vs Behringer HM300



## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 10, 2011)

I've read in a couple places that the behringer hm300 is a duplicate of the hm-2. I haven't been able to test this hypothesis out because I haven't played either pedal, sadly (I have a WTB HM-2 thead up if anyone has one  ). Can anyone chime in as to whether the hm300 stands up to the classic Entombed and Dismember sounds? Thanks! ^_^


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## Wookieslayer (Mar 10, 2011)

maybe this can help



Edit: the real thing has to be more reliable tho


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## cyril v (Mar 10, 2011)

There is one on Guitar Center USED section that is beat to hell and back... $29.99.

You could probably talk them down on the price since it's so mangled looking. 







heres a few links for ya to check. maybe shoot them an offer?
FS: Boss HM2 Heavy Metal Pedal
FS/FT: Whetstone, Holy Grail, Noise Floor SM, HM-2

I would just go for the real thing honestly.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 10, 2011)

I've seen that video and it is not a good basis to compare to Entombed  Thanks for the replies, both of you. I appreciate it.


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## cyril v (Mar 11, 2011)

heres a thread with a few comparisons and opinions on the two... 
Behringer HM300 // Copy of Boss HM-2? - Ultimate Metal Forum


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

That is a really interesting thread... it seems like it isn't a copy of the HM-2. To my ears, it's not as tight sounding (although Entombed and Dismember's sounds aren't tight by any means). I'll have to try one next time I can make it to a guitar center.


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## Tomo009 (Mar 11, 2011)

Haha the HM-2 isn't tight.... at all,the antithesis in fact.

The HM-300 seems to be a bit closer to the HM-3 than the HM-2 a bit more bassy and flat. Not as punchy, but it seems like a decent imitation. But not good enough to get instead of.

You can find them on ebay for $30 in better condition then the one above, the Taiwanese ones at least. Figure out which you want, for the Entombed/Dismember sound I strongly suggest the Japanese which is a little more difficult to find and a bit more expensive. Just make sure the seller is sure of which they are giving you.


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## Kride (Mar 11, 2011)

First is Boss, 2nd Behringer
SoundClick artist: trih - page with MP3 music downloads



Just the Behringer
SoundClick artist: trih - page with MP3 music downloads


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## Tomo009 (Mar 11, 2011)

Kride said:


> First is Boss, 2nd Behringer
> SoundClick artist: trih - page with MP3 music downloads
> 
> 
> ...



Both sound like the behringer, seems the first was made to sound like it. I have no idea how to get an HM-2 to sound like that. Mine isn't close to that on any amp I've tried. More punch, more high end.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

@ Tomo

I wasn't saying the hm-2 is tight because it isn't at all, haha. I was just saying that it is tighter relative to the hm300. The hm300 seems to lack a lot of definition in any eq range whereas the hm-2 shines in the midrange.

Those are interesting clips. I don't know if I like the hm300 as a comparison to the hm-2, but I could definitely see old black metal bands like Marduk using something like that.


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## MrMcSick (Mar 11, 2011)

Damn, Im gassing for an HM now. I'de just spend the $40 and get the real thing used.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

MrMcSick, if you know of a place where I can get one for that cheap, please, for the love of death metal, tell me! I've never seen one go for that low. Plus, I live in the middle of nowhere, which makes them even harder to find : /


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## gunshow86de (Mar 11, 2011)

^

There was one on CL in Houston the other day for $30.

You might be SOL in Wyoming, and the eBay prices are ludicrous. I thought these were the metal tone everyone made fun of, how did they manage to increase in value?

For the eBay prices you could get a new modded version from Analog Man. => http://www.buyanalogman.com/Boss_MT2_Pro_p/am-boss-mt2-pro.htm


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## MrMcSick (Mar 11, 2011)

Search on craigslist and guitar centers used page. The is 1 in SF for $40 1 in OH for $40 1 in San diego for $50 1 in NY for $50


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 11, 2011)

yeah they dont pop up online too much because basically everybody that doesnt dig oldschool death metal thinks they are trash and they sell cheap in pawn shops, craigslist, etc. i already talked to you a bit in your other HM2 thread but hold out for a real HM2 the behringer copy aint too good unless you play bass.


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## 5656130 (Mar 11, 2011)

Tomo009 said:


> Both sound like the behringer, seems the first was made to sound like it. I have no idea how to get an HM-2 to sound like that. Mine isn't close to that on any amp I've tried. More punch, more high end.



or you look for that old swede metal type thing? idk what he did but i know all the bands that use the HM2 like tha just jack all the controls to 10


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 11, 2011)

5656130 said:


> or you look for that old swede metal type thing? idk what he did but i know all the bands that use the HM2 like tha just jack all the controls to 10


no they don't. people think that because of ekeroths video, which was done as a joke.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

I've found several on craigslist, but you can't do craigslist outside your area  At least, they strongly advocate against it.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

Kali Yuga said:


> no they don't. people think that because of ekeroths video, which was done as a joke.



Actually, I read Ekeroth's book, Swedish Death Metal, and he has interviews with Uffe, Alex, and Leif who were the original Nihilist and Entombed guitarists and Uffe credits Leif by saying he invented the "Sunlight Studio" sound by cranking the mids on the pedal to 10. Other than that, it's not important really. The thing that was so special about the HM-2 that no other pedal had at it's advent was a mid control. Sadly, Leif died a couple years ago


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## cyril v (Mar 11, 2011)

they're pretty easy to find and even easier to get a better price when you ask. i would only pay a good amount if it was basically NOS.

3 Vintage Boss Pedals FS
FS: Boss HM2 Heavy Metal Pedal
FS/FT: Whetstone, Holy Grail, Noise Floor SM, HM-2

Also, there are a few on GC's Used section: just search for these in the used section to pull them up.
-106428082
-106044851
-106326965


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks for the links Cyril. I was going to buy it from the last harmony link you sent, but the guy sold it  I'm waiting on pms from the other two and I contacted guitar center about the two pedals that might be worth getting. 

Does anybody know if there is a difference between MIJ and MIT models? I know debates like this are often inflated and untrue, but I've heard audible differences between MIJ and MIT SD-1 pedals so I was wondering if this holds true for HM-2s. Thanks for the replies everybody!


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 11, 2011)

0 Xero 0 said:


> Actually, I read Ekeroth's book, Swedish Death Metal, and he has interviews with Uffe, Alex, and Leif who were the original Nihilist and Entombed guitarists and Uffe credits Leif by saying he invented the "Sunlight Studio" sound by cranking the mids on the pedal to 10. Other than that, it's not important really. The thing that was so special about the HM-2 that no other pedal had at it's advent was a mid control. Sadly, Leif died a couple years ago


yeah i got the book too \m/ i harassed uffe about tone a few years back with another band and he cranked the level and fiddles with the rest, but doesnt have a set in stone method really


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 11, 2011)

0 Xero 0 said:


> Does anybody know if there is a difference between MIJ and MIT models? I know debates like this are often inflated and untrue, but I've heard audible differences between MIJ and MIT SD-1 pedals so I was wondering if this holds true for HM-2s. Thanks for the replies everybody!


i honestly dont know but i have both makes and have A/B'd them extensively but cant figure out if theres a real difference or if its a placebo effect from always hearing that one was better than the other. i always feel the japanese pedal is more grindy if that makes sense, it snarls a bit more. its not a night and day difference at all though and in a band jam i highly doubt anyone could pick them apart.


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## Tomo009 (Mar 11, 2011)

0 Xero 0 said:


> Thanks for the links Cyril. I was going to buy it from the last harmony link you sent, but the guy sold it  I'm waiting on pms from the other two and I contacted guitar center about the two pedals that might be worth getting.
> 
> Does anybody know if there is a difference between MIJ and MIT models? I know debates like this are often inflated and untrue, but I've heard audible differences between MIJ and MIT SD-1 pedals so I was wondering if this holds true for HM-2s. Thanks for the replies everybody!



I have both models and there is most certainly a quite large difference between them.

For the Death Metal sound I can say with confidence you really want the MIJ over the MIT, it has a lot more punch and note definition. The MIT has more presence and atmosphere at the expense of note definition (playing anything above eighth notes you probably cant tell the difference between notes over an octave and chords seem to get a bit lost. It's great fr a more black metal sound or if you just want to add some background guitar effects.


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## cyril v (Mar 12, 2011)

The schematics are exactly from what i've seen, but the only difference _*seems*_ be the resistors/caps etc etc.

Japan:
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/thecauseofdeath666/DSC02854.jpg

Taiwan:
http://www.bossarea.com/forum/uploaded/lightburst/boss_hm-2_platine_MIT.jpg
http://www.bossarea.com/forum/uploaded/ssanyee/HM-2_pwb_2.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/3222022806_f8e89aeaf4_b.jpg

Maybe it's the quality of the caps which leads to the slight difference in tone?? I dunno, maybe someone who actually knows about this stuff can chime-in.


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## Tomo009 (Mar 12, 2011)

cyril v said:


> The schematics are exactly from what i've seen, but the only difference _*seems*_ be the resistors/caps etc etc.
> 
> Japan:
> http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/thecauseofdeath666/DSC02854.jpg
> ...



Well I dunno about that, but I have them both here and I can assure you they sound different. Enough for me to use them in different applications, they both sound like an HM-2 fr sure though.


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## cyril v (Mar 12, 2011)

They definitely do, I agree. I have both, though the MIT is on loan to my friend at the moment, but I remember correctly it sounded tiny bit more shrill and maybe a bit thinner if that makes any sense. I definitely prefer the MIJ though.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 12, 2011)

Most people seem to prefer the MIJ model. It makes me wonder, if the MIT version was the original instead of the MIJ, would people still prefer the MIJ over the MIT? I wish I could test it myself, but I can't sadly. Hopefully I can just get me an MIJ soon


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 12, 2011)

By the way, do any of you have experience with craigslist? I've found some good deals for HM-2's and am thinking about trying to see if they'll ship here, but I don't know if it will work. I wonder if I used paypal for half the money, then sent the rest if that would work... I don't know. Chime in if any of you have an answer.


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## Inazone (Mar 14, 2011)

0 Xero 0 said:


> Uffe credits Leif by saying he invented the "Sunlight Studio" sound by cranking the mids on the pedal to 10. Other than that, it's not important really. The thing that was so special about the HM-2 that no other pedal had at it's advent was a mid control.



Uh, _what_ mid control? My HM-2 (Taiwan) has Low and High only, as does every other HM-2 I've ever seen, including MIJ. Unless we're talking about a modded version . . .


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## cyril v (Mar 14, 2011)

*snip*


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 15, 2011)

No, I'm talking about the HM-2. I didn't mean there was a mid control on the pedal, rather that the pedal controls how the mids are voiced better than its contemporaries (at the time). I just didn't explain myself very well. But the "studio sunlight" sound was invented by Entombed and Dismember. At the Gates recorded at Studio Fredman.


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## cyril v (Mar 15, 2011)

Ehh, I put 2+2 together and came out with 5 somehow.

I know At the Gates have recorded there (Gardens of Grief), and I know they used the MT-2 (I guess that was @ Fredman), but you mentioned "cranking the mids" and that there "was a mid control"... so I just assumed you were referring to the MT-2.


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 15, 2011)

The HM2 doesn't have a mid control, but the chainsaw sound is mostly in the upper mids.


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## 0 Xero 0 (Mar 16, 2011)

Yeah, I phailed in saying what I meant. Most of the old school death metal from Nihilist until around 1992 wanted the "sunlight" sound so they were all copying each other until bands like Grave and Edge of Sanity started doing their own things. Then black metal got really big...


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## Tomo009 (Mar 16, 2011)

I managed to get an extremely dirty but clear tone, boosted mids on the amp, used a lot of distortion on the amp and not a lot on the pedal. Everything else on the pedal to 10.

I'm starting to think this thing is very amp dependent, it doesn't sound similar on any amp I've tried it on, but I'm finally happy with the sound I've got now. I will record with bass at some point to see what it REALLY sounds like.


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 16, 2011)

It's definitely an amp dependent pedal. It's downright atrocious with the wrong amp. It seems to work best for mid-gain amplifiers than over the top metal amps. HM2s through 5150s sound terrible, while HM2s through 800s, VTMs, V4s, Model Ts, Oranges, etc sounds excellent.


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## Ishan (Mar 16, 2011)

I have the Behringer and love it. I use it direct tho, every knobs maxed out through Revalver MKIII 6505 power amp sim and redwirez impulses, no preamp sim, sounds great


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## Tomo009 (Mar 16, 2011)

Kali Yuga said:


> It's definitely an amp dependent pedal. It's downright atrocious with the wrong amp. It seems to work best for mid-gain amplifiers than over the top metal amps. HM2s through 5150s sound terrible, while HM2s through 800s, VTMs, V4s, Model Ts, Oranges, etc sounds excellent.



I do in fact use an Orange Thunderverb 50, I wouldn't call it a mid gain amp. It has more than I'd ever need for tones up to portal anyway.


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## Kali Yuga (Mar 16, 2011)

Yeah, that one isn't, but other Orange amplifiers are, or have plenty of gain but have good med-gain sounds. You know what I mean, haha.


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