Digitech TL-2 Metal, review and sound demo

Digitech TL-2 Metal Distortion Pedal

The TL-2 is a high gain pedal from the Digitech Hardwire series, retailing at around £100.

TL-2

Build Quality

The hardwire series are a solid batch of pedals, as is proof with the CM-2 earlier reviewed.  Metal construction, battery compartment under the footswitch and well manufactured dials, this is one classy pedal.  Not a problem if dropped, bullet proof.

Take a look at our unboxing to see what you get in the box, also gives a good idea of the available settings.

Ease of use

All dials are clearly labelled, easy to use and give resistance which gives you confidence they wont move mid song.  Dials go left to right, two inner ones have additional dials for extra settings, these inner two would be a bit fiddly to use on stage.  As with the other Hardwire pedals it comes with the patented stomp lock, allowing you to lock down your settings with a plastic cover so they are not moved during your performance.

Nothing out of the ordinary, click on and off.

Sounds

This is HIGH GAIN, kills other pedals I've used for playing anything from heavy rock to thrash metal.  You can nail the tones of all your favourite metal bands, think Metallica, Iron Maiden.

There is a lot of adjustment so you can go from a fuzzy Van Halen tone all the way to a thick Metallica (think Sad But True) sound and with the volume control you can play at bedroom levels without annoying the neighbours.

Sound Demo:

Value for money

£100 is a lot for one distortion pedal but you can rest assured that Digitech have done their homework and produced a cracking distortion pedal with loads of adjustment.  You might want to try the Boss HM-2 if you are on more of a budget and do a comparison, take a listen to both before parting with your hard earned cash.

Overall

This is an excellent distortion pedal and with the adjustment available, very versatile.  If you are after a high gain pedal then definitely consider this against anything else you are trying, it's worth the extra bit of money for the build quality.  If you are looking for something more old school blues/rock then look at the Digitech Hardwire CM-2 instead.

G | H rating 4/5