To celebrate the 30th and 40th anniversaries of two of its longest-running effects pedals, Boss has unveiled limited-edition versions of its celebrated MT-2 Metal Zone and SD-1 Super Overdrive units.
Each new-look offering sheds its retro aesthetic vibe in favor of a classy cosmetic makeover courtesy of a sleek black housing, and will only be available throughout 2021.
The pedals pay homage to their own original styling by way of colored text and control knobs, with the MT-2-3A sporting gray lettering and the SD-1-4A flashing a yellow font.
Aside from the sleek colorways, the pedals perform in much the same way as their predecessors. This means for the Super Overdrive, which is inspired by the original SD-1 first released way back in 1981, an asymmetrical clipping circuit appears in a bid to serve up tube-like sounds.
These tones can be tweaked via the tried-and-trusted control layout of Drive, Tone and Level, with a buffered bypass switch and vintage silver thumbscrew capping off the spec sheet.
As for the MT-2-3A, whose older sibling burst onto the scene 10 years later in 1991, Boss vows to deliver its famed fat, saturated sound by way of the original three-band EQ with semi-parametric midrange.
Staying true to its roots, the revamped Metal Zone also features controls for Level and Distortion, which aim to provide a similarly extensive tone-sculpting experience to achieve rich, high-gain tones.
Since the launch of the pedal giant's legendary compact pedal series in 1977, the SD-1 and MT-2 have proven to be some of the brand's best performers, with the Metal Zone having sold over one million units to date, second only to the original DS-1 Distortion.
The Boss SD-1-4A and MT-2-3A will be available for $59 and $112, respectively, and are set to be released in June later this year.
For more information in the meantime, head over to Boss.
In other Boss news, we recently got our first look at the upcoming HM-2W Waza Craft reissure courtesy of Ola Englund, who put a prototype of the hugely anticipated pedal through its paces during an in-depth demo.
