Boss HM-2 MIJ

The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal is a distortion pedal made by Boss and produced in Japan from 1983. Boss states it was produced from 1983 to 1991¹, though other references give different end dates: Guitar Pedal X says it was manufactured from 1983 to 1992², and TONEHOME says Boss discontinued the model in 1993³. Whatever the exact end date, it is long out of production, and KMA Audio Machines describes the original MIJ (made in Japan) unit as "the classic and now sought-after original Boss HM2 MIJ"⁴.

What it does

The HM-2 delivers what Wren and Cuff call "it's buzz-saw brand of high-gain distortion"⁶. That sound became the backbone of Swedish death metal: KMA Machines writes that "From its beyond brutal and grinding distortion tones, bands like Dismember and Entombed birthed Swedish chainsaw metal"⁴, and Delicious Audio calls it "a favorite of Swedish chainsaw metal players from bands like Dismember and Entombed"⁷. KMA also notes that calling a pedal legendary or a cult classic is often a stretch, "but when it comes to the Boss HM-2 MIJ it's absolutely on the money"⁸.

The pedal's character comes largely from its Color Mix controls, which let you boost or cut mids using the H (high) Color Mix³. Electric Druid's technical analysis of the circuit found a low mid peak at 958Hz with a Q of 3.4, and a cut/boost control for the low peak that allows a "double notch" response⁹. That aggressive mid shaping, pushed hard, is what produces the chainsaw tone players associate with the pedal.

It is not only a metal pedal. In a Boss interview, producer Tom Dalgety said, "I like using the HM-2 as a mild overdrive," dialing the distortion back¹⁰. David Gilmour also used one, as MusicRadar reports¹¹.

The circuit's afterlife

The HM-2's design has been revisited repeatedly since production ended:

• Boss itself returned to it with the Boss HM-2W, announced as its HM-2 Heavy Metal reissue in the Waza Craft line¹², with a reduced noise floor compared to the original in Standard mode¹ and a Boss five-year warranty¹.
• KMA Audio Machines built the Wurm and Wurm 2 as modern takes on the MIJ original¹³, and RockBoard's PedalPedia entry for the Wurm 2 repeats the Dismember and Entombed chainsaw lineage¹³.
• Guitar Pedal X reviewed the Freqscene Cleanless, which Stefan Karlsson describes as massively evolving and enhancing the HM-2 circuit into an amp-like gain machine².

For players chasing the chainsaw sound today, the choices are an original on the used market, the Boss HM-2W Heavy Metal reissue¹², or one of the boutique takes such as the KMA Wurm¹² or Wren and Cuff's HM-2-inspired pedal¹². The original remains the reference point all of them measure against⁸.

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