The Ibanez Super Metal Mini belongs to Ibanez's long line of distortion pedals aimed at heavy guitar sounds. Ibanez built several pedals under the Super Metal name across its vintage series, and the Mini sits within that family of circuits. Published reference material on the individual Super Metal variants is limited, so this page gathers what is documented and points to the closely related pedals players usually compare it with.
What it does
Like the other Super Metal pedals, it is a distortion effect in pedal form, made by Ibanez1. The Super Metal line was designed to push an amp toward high-gain metal tones rather than the softer clipping of an overdrive.
The clearest documented example of how these circuits shape the sound comes from the related Ibanez MS10 Metal Charger, from the 10 Series Power Series. Its Punch control is described this way2:
"The punch control simulates the cabinet resonance at certain low frequencies"
That is, the control does not just add bass, it emulates the low-end thump a speaker cabinet gives a distorted signal, which is what keeps a high-gain pedal from sounding thin.
Related Ibanez Super Metal pedals
The Super Metal name appears across several Ibanez series. Players comparing the Mini will usually run into these:
| Pedal | Series |
|---|---|
| Ibanez SM9 Super Metal | 9 Series |
| Ibanez MS10 Metal Charger | Power Series 10 |
| Ibanez SML Super Metal | Master Series L |
| Ibanez MSL Metal Screamer | Metal Screamer family |
The SM9 Super Metal is documented as an Ibanez pedal in the 9 Series1, and the MS10 Metal Charger carries the Punch control described above2.
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