Wren and Cuff Hangman 2D

The Wren and Cuff Hangman 2D is a distortion pedal that recreates the circuit of the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, the 1988 "Heavy Metal" pedal whose scooped, grinding tone became known as the chainsaw sound¹²³. Where the original is a mass-produced Boss unit, the Hangman 2D is a hand-wired, hand-loaded build from the US maker Wren and Cuff, with a Vintage/Modern clipping switch and a lifetime warranty¹.

Wren and Cuff describes the pedal's range in plain terms: it can go from super compressed, tight, smooth distortion to a snarling buzz-saw monster that brings out every pick-to-string strike you throw at it¹. Pedal of the Day's 2016 review echoed the same description, noting that like the HM-2, the pedal covers that whole span⁴.

A Boss HM-2 circuit, hand-loaded

The Hangman 2D is a detailed recreation of Boss' "Heavy Metal" pedal, the HM-2, which Boss released in 1988¹³. The HM-2's two-band EQ, built as studio console style gyrator controls for its Low and High knobs, is what gives that circuit its distinctive character, and it is the reason so many players associate the pedal with the Swedish death metal chainsaw tone⁵. MusicRadar called the HM-2 "the ultimate chainsaw" when Boss reissued it as the HM-2W, and noted that David Gilmour also used one⁶⁷.

Wren and Cuff's take on the circuit is not a straight parts copy. The board is hand-wired and hand-loaded, and it uses 1/4 watt metal film resistors instead of the 1/8 watt carbon film resistors on the original. According to the maker, this gives the pedal a dramatically lower noise floor and more apparent colorful overtones¹.

The HM-2 circuit has since spawned a family of variants from other makers, including the Klirrton Grindstein, the KMA Guardian of the Worm, the Lichtlaerm Medusa, and Boss's own HM-2W reissue, so a player comparing HM-2-style pedals has plenty of options alongside the Hangman 2D²⁷.

The controls

The control layout follows the HM-2 formula: Volume and Distortion for level and gain amount, plus the two-band EQ¹⁴.

The High knob is the one that surprises players coming from other pedals. Because the high-mids are tied together, it works more as an upper-mids to treble control than a simple treble roll-off¹. Pedal of the Day's reviewer called it "actually more of a hybrid high-end-and-mids conundrum, making it effectively dial in the upper echelon" of the frequency range, and found that the Lows control does exactly what it should and plays nice with the Highs control too⁴.

The Vintage/Modern toggle switch reconfigures the clipping diodes. Vintage gives you the "stock" clipping, while Modern moves to a less compressed, more overdrive-meets-distortion sound with a boost to output level¹. That makes the switch a practical choice: Vintage for the compressed chainsaw character, Modern when you want less squash and more level.

Power and practicalities

The Hangman 2D runs on a 9V DC center-negative 2.1mm adapter or a 9V battery, and draws only 8mA¹. That draw is low enough that a battery is a realistic option, and the pedal will not strain a typical pedalboard power supply. It is built in a tough metal enclosure, made in the USA, and covered by a lifetime warranty¹.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day featured the Hangman 2D on 22 September 2016, describing it as a beast of a pedal that pays homage to a treasured piece of gear from the past, and comparing its range directly to the HM-2's span from super compressed, tight, smooth distortion to a snarling buzz-saw monster¹. The review also flagged an upcoming Wren and Cuff signature pedal from Troy Sanders of Mastodon, for players following the maker's wider lineup⁴.

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