Picking the right distortion or overdrive guitar pedal helps you largely as a guitarist. It helps you create a signature sound, which ultimately makes you perform better. You'll feel better about your sound and your music identity, which will translate into better compositions and solos. In some cases it helps you soften your attack, that also makes you sound better when you play fast (if you're a newbie). Distortion can be a great masking tool if you don't quite have your chops in place yet. There are 2 styles of distortion you should be thinking about depending on your playing style.
Overdrive: Overdrive is a parameter that you may see on some effect boxes. This is generally described as the warmed distorted sound that you get from cranking a tube amp's volume up. You'll be able to change the dynamics of overdrive just in the way that you play. If you play softly on the strings the overdrive does not show up much but if you start to play harder the overdrive starts coming through. This makes overdrive a very flavorful effect. It is a lightly distorted sound that can really add to the overall guitar tone.
There are overdrive pedals on sale today that allow you to get an overdrive sound at lower volumes. I used to use the " Blues Tube" stomp box and really dug the sounds I got from it. It utilizes an actual tube in the effect pedal to give you the tube driven overdrive tone. This is probably one of the most widely used overdrive pedals on the market today.
Distortion: Distortion is a more cranked up overdrive, with more flavor and tonality. It can be one of the most difficult effects to choose. There are thousands of varied distortion effect pedals on the market today and a new guitar player looking for his new sound is going to have a hard time trying to decide which one to buy. What makes distortion stand out from the other effects is the fact that there is no standard in distortion effects. For example, if you buy three different chorus stomp pedals and set the parameters the same you are going to get almost the same sound with very little change in effect. Sure, you may notice some subtle differences, but the standards are very close from each manufacturer for these types of effects. This is not the case with distortion pedals. Not all distortion pedals are created equally.
The initial thing you need to do is figure out what kind of distortion you are looking for. This will based on the kind of music you are going to play, whether it be Grunge, Old Rock, Heavy Metal, Modern Rock, Country or any other of the many styles of guitar playing out in the world. Once you figure this out you are on your way to choosing the suitable distortion for you. The best way to find your fantasy distortion is to start weeding out the ones that are not right for your style. What is in a name? A best place to start your weeding out process is by reading the descriptive name on the units you are looking at. Can you select a stomp box based on the name alone? The answer to that question is maybe, but I recommend testing first, with your own amp and guitar. Take your electric guitar to the store and try it out, or borrow a pedal from a fellow musician.
Overdrive: Overdrive is a parameter that you may see on some effect boxes. This is generally described as the warmed distorted sound that you get from cranking a tube amp's volume up. You'll be able to change the dynamics of overdrive just in the way that you play. If you play softly on the strings the overdrive does not show up much but if you start to play harder the overdrive starts coming through. This makes overdrive a very flavorful effect. It is a lightly distorted sound that can really add to the overall guitar tone.
There are overdrive pedals on sale today that allow you to get an overdrive sound at lower volumes. I used to use the " Blues Tube" stomp box and really dug the sounds I got from it. It utilizes an actual tube in the effect pedal to give you the tube driven overdrive tone. This is probably one of the most widely used overdrive pedals on the market today.
Distortion: Distortion is a more cranked up overdrive, with more flavor and tonality. It can be one of the most difficult effects to choose. There are thousands of varied distortion effect pedals on the market today and a new guitar player looking for his new sound is going to have a hard time trying to decide which one to buy. What makes distortion stand out from the other effects is the fact that there is no standard in distortion effects. For example, if you buy three different chorus stomp pedals and set the parameters the same you are going to get almost the same sound with very little change in effect. Sure, you may notice some subtle differences, but the standards are very close from each manufacturer for these types of effects. This is not the case with distortion pedals. Not all distortion pedals are created equally.
The initial thing you need to do is figure out what kind of distortion you are looking for. This will based on the kind of music you are going to play, whether it be Grunge, Old Rock, Heavy Metal, Modern Rock, Country or any other of the many styles of guitar playing out in the world. Once you figure this out you are on your way to choosing the suitable distortion for you. The best way to find your fantasy distortion is to start weeding out the ones that are not right for your style. What is in a name? A best place to start your weeding out process is by reading the descriptive name on the units you are looking at. Can you select a stomp box based on the name alone? The answer to that question is maybe, but I recommend testing first, with your own amp and guitar. Take your electric guitar to the store and try it out, or borrow a pedal from a fellow musician.
About the Author:
Learn more about guitars pedals, in particular distortion pedals at Guitar Pedal Review, where you can hear samples and get reviews.
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