Overview
Every guitar player eventually comes across guitar effects pedals or stompboxes. These devices are electronic circuits enclosed in a plastic or metal chassis and alter the guitar's tone by compressing, distorting, or modulating the signal from the instrument. They are usually laid on a pedalboard on the ground and activated by a footswitch, which is why they are called pedals. These pedals also usually have one or more encoders or knobs to adjust the effect's parameters, as well as toggle switches to change modes in the circuit.
Over the years, various pedals have been created - distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, reverb, delay, overdrive, booster, octave, wah, and filters. Equalizer pedals have even been produced to allow guitarists to adjust the frequencies in their guitar's signal before it hits the amp. The first pedals created were analog, meaning they were made of basic electronic components such as transistors, capacitors, and resistors; and many guitar players still prefer the character of analog pedals today, despite the rise of digital pedals which even brought about the production of multi-effects pedals which provided users with a multitude of effects in a single stompbox.
With all the various effects pedals created and used by guitar players all over the world, amp simulation pedals were eventually created. Without a doubt, amplifiers have a huge influence on the tone of the guitar. Some amplifiers make guitars sound warmer, some make them sound brighter. Some amplifiers even give a distinct tone, such as the famous and legendary Dumble amplifier and rare vintage United States-made Fender amplifiers.
Because some amplifiers with great sounds are too expensive due to their rarity, pedal manufacturers started the production of amp simulations. These are stompboxes that when engaged, reproduce and apply the tonal characteristics of a certain amplifier to your guitar's signal before it goes into your actual amplifier or speaker. With these, you can easily emulate a rare United-States-made Fender Blackface amp, or a Two Rock amp stack - all for the price of a pedal.
The Biyang Metal-End King pedal is a great amp simulation stompbox that provides high gain distortion for all the heavy metal guitar-heads on a budget. Seeing its features and hearing its tone will make you click the add-to-cart button on online shopping sites. It has plenty of encoders for shaping the effect's sound, as well as various toggle switches to change between modes. With all its parameter adjustment capabilities, users are presented with an endless sea of possible settings to hit their ideal sweet-spot when it comes to high gain guitar tone. Just like other reviews, this will give you everything you need to know about the Metal-End stompbox from Biyang.
Should You Get It?
The Metal-End King pedal is perfect for high gain tones and a wide range of settings for a great price. It simulates a high gain amp and provides your tone with a thickness and richness that a mere distortion pedal cannot provide. If you want a bang-for-your-buck pedal that gives you full control over your sound and versatility that is unmatched by most pedals at the price range.
If your average distortion pedal simply will not cut it for you or if you want a tone that's quite different and offers adjustments to many parameters, the Metal-End pedal is a perfect choice for you. Additionally, the affordable price will allow you to save up for other effects to add to your pedalboard, which is a great perk for those building their first rig.
Guitar | Pedal | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Main | Biyang | Metal End King |
Biyang Metal End King
PRO's & CON's of Biyang Metal End King
Before we dive into our review, let's look at some of the pros and cons of the Biyang Metal End King:
Pros
Cons
Features and Benefits
Features
The Metal-End King is a serious bang for your buck especially when you consider the amount of control the pedal gives to shape your tone. For its price, it has everything you could ask for from a high gain amp simulation pedal or distortion effect. The pedal has true bypass switching, which is common for many pedals nowadays but still a great implementation that many guitar players would be glad to have in their stompboxes.
The true bypass keeps this pedal from affecting your tone when disengaged and prevents it from sucking out your guitar signal especially when your effects chain is long. This is useful for maintaining the clarity in your sound considering that the stompbox has a high gain distortion effect that could easily flood or muddy your tone. The internal components and electronics are all made of high-quality materials which is a surprise for a pedal at this price range.
The Metal-End has four equalizer knobs to simulate tube amplifier controls that will add warmth to your tone. You're even given choices for EQ voicings and distortion modes to help you get closer to your dream tone. There is even a High Cut function to scoop your instrument's sound if you want to. As an amp simulator, this pedal works wonders and effectively separates itself from other distortion effects. I definitely would have loved to own this pedal when I was in my metal phase. Its amp simulation tones and features are just too good to be true for its price.
The Biyang Metal-End can be powered by a 9V battery or a standard DC power supply. Some drawbacks may include its size, which may take up quite a chunk of space from your pedalboard; as well as the noise that may come from the stompbox when engaged. This can easily be fixed with a noise gate, but keep this in mind before setting expectations. Besides, this is expected from a high-gain stompbox. Furthermore, its heavy distortion makes this unusable for other genres like blues or pop, and only really makes it useful for metal. Fans of the metal genre will enjoy this pedal greatly and find it hard to find a replacement for such a great sounding stompbox at an affordable price.
Controls
The Metal-End has a multitude of controls that it would take quite some time to go in-depth on each one of its encoders. Just like the other reviews, the controls will be discussed and explained briefly in this section for those unfamiliar with amp simulator stompboxes such as the Metal-End. Of course, understanding how each one of them works and affects your tone will take experimentation and some time with this pedal - so be sure to click the add-to-cart button if you want to try this distortion pedal out and you've got the cash to spare.
First and foremost, let us talk about the knob encoders. The first knob is the Level encoder, which adjusts the pedal's output volume. This knob may also alter the tone slightly, so keep that in mind. Next to this is the 4-band equalizer knobs which are Low, Mid Freq, Middle, and High. These allow you to shape your tone just as you would when using amplifier control knobs and is a very useful and practical implementation for an amp simulation pedal such as the Metal-End. The Low knob allows you to adjust the bass, the Mid freq for middle frequencies, Middle for adjusting the punchy mids that let your tone cut through the band's mix, and High for adjusting your treble or high frequencies. Finally, we have the Dist knob, which lets you adjust the intensity of the distortion effect applied to your tone.
Next are the toggle switches. There are a total of 4 toggle switches to allow you to change between modes such as Normal, Bright, Warm modes and Modern, Normal, Classic types. The first switch allows you to turn the amp simulation on or off. Doing so lets you activate the 4-band EQ amp simulation or turn it off and simply use the pedal as a distortion effect. Next to this is the toggle switch for the EQ voicings, wherein you can select between Modern, Normal, Classic modes depending on your preference. Next is the toggle switch to turn on the High Cut mode to scoop your sound. Finally, there is a toggle switch for Normal, Bright, Warm high-gain distortion modes. Nailing that tonal sweet spot has never been so easy with a stompbox that offers this much control.
Sound
Now for my favorite part of pedal reviews - the sound discussion. The Biyang Metal-End is a great high gain distortion effect and amp simulation stompbox, especially if you're on a budget. The tube amp simulation sounds good and provides a nice warmth to your tone. This is very useful when you're using a solid-state amplifier without tubes. The equalizer is accurate in adjusting specific frequencies in your tone. The toggles also allow for a wide range of possible settings that all sound great. My personal favorite is the Normal, Bright, Warm toggle, as it allows me to change up my distortion's general tone - useful for playing various riffs that have different sounds. Furthermore, the labels on the toggles are as accurate as they can be - warm mode gives your tone a smoother and darker feel, bright mode gives it a boost in its twang and treble, and modern mode gives it the distinct heavy distortion that can be heard in many contemporary metal riffs and solos. Pair this thing with a noise gate and you'll be impressing your audience with your incredible riff and solo tones coming from the Biyang Metal-End King.
For a demonstration of the pedal, refer to this video:
In Conclusion
If you're looking for a great and affordable distortion stompbox that can also provide the warmth of a tube amp whenever you need it, the Biyang Metal-End King is a sure bang-for-your-buck. It sounds great, has amazing build quality, and an incredible set of control options over your tone and its distortion effect. Biyang nailed it in the head with this stompbox as it provides you with everything you could ever need for a high-gain distortion effect. Add this pedal to your rig and see if you can find a worthy replacement for this very affordable and awesome stompbox that packs more punch than its price tag.
You can check it out Amazon and get one for yourself through this link:
