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Overdrive Vs Distortion Pedals


andrewade

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I'm a bit unclear on why so many people use distortion pedals with tube amps. Isn't the point of a distortion pedal to emulate the sound of an over-driven tube amp? If a good all-tube amp is naturally over-driven, wouldn't using a distortion pedal mask the amps true tone? I use an over-drive pedal to push my Kustom brand tube amp's natural distortion even further but, my KNOW IT ALL buddy keeps telling me that I should add a distortion pedal to my pedal board because "all the pros have a DS-1 on their pedal board." I'm kinda new to using pedals so, any help/further explanation would be appreciated. Andre

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  • 2 weeks later...

Welcome Andre. I personally use my distortion pedals to overdrive my amp at lower volume levels. Sometimes I use them to get more punch or edge. As a fellow tube amp owner you probably already know a tube amp's tone is best when cranked to 11 so it's a matter of taste and usage. Other people may have their own reasons for using them. My pedals are pretty versatile with good EQ's esp. the Metal Zone. At the time this was cheaper than getting a power attenuator and gave me more tone options. Still not sure what to think about power attenuators and the possible damage they can do to a good tube amp.

Rewd.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm a bit unclear on why so many people use distortion pedals with tube amps. Isn't the point of a distortion pedal to emulate the sound of an over-driven tube amp? If a good all-tube amp is naturally over-driven, wouldn't using a distortion pedal mask the amps true tone? I use an over-drive pedal to push my Kustom brand tube amp's natural distortion even further but, my KNOW IT ALL buddy keeps telling me that I should add a distortion pedal to my pedal board because "all the pros have a DS-1 on their pedal board." I'm kinda new to using pedals so, any help/further explanation would be appreciated. Andre

 

 

This post reminds me of boutique pedal questions I had 8 years ago.. hehe Well Andre, you need to match the overdrive or distortion pedal to the guitar or guitars and amps you want to use them with. Of course you can use just one pedal for everything and call it a day, but the tone, headroom, type of drive won't be the best you could hope for by just using one pedal for anything... make sense? In a nutshell, an overdrive is going to color the midrange frequency's more noticably than a distortion pedal will, at least that's what you'll hear immediately, either a honky or thick smooth or both tone on the notes, especially as you turn the drive up. Most overdrives are based on a tube screamer circuit, and have a pronoucned mid range with a higher drive settings... not all OD pedals, but lets say 95%. Exceptions are OD's that do not use a tube screamer circuit: like a marshall bluesbreaker, Analogman, King of Tone, Menatone Red Snapper, Timmy and the full version with FX loop, TIM by Paul Cochrane oh and the Xotic effects, RC,AC and BB series. Some OD use LED's for clipping (drive) but most all use op amps....and there are many op amps to choose from as a builder, new, or NOS.

 

Distortion pedals usually are voiced to have more mid scooped than a mid hump, but they of course can be set to have a mid hump. Distortion pedals generally have less headroom, more compression and square off or clip your guitars dynamics, sounding thick but polite on the volume dynamics. Lots of Dirt boxes to choose from.

 

Where do you start? Well, first ask if you can tolerate changing you amps character, and tone at all? If not then neither are for you. ALL Fuzz Pedals, OD's and Distortion pedals have an effect on your amps tone and feel, even when a pedal's drive is set to ZERO and the the output at unity gain. Why? Because different circuits with different electric signal paths, and impedances....so you guitar's micro volt signal that you made, gets changed somewhat everytime...EVEN CABLES mess with your guitar's signal. That is another journey, best to match a cable to the amp in question, not per guitar.

 

My experience tells me to recommend only trying different boutique pedals with exceptions to:

 

Mass produced great Overdrive Pedals: Vintage or Current Ibanes TS-808, Maxon true bypass, OD-9 and all other nine series overdrives, and a vintage MIJ Boss SD-1 and OD-3.

Mass produced great Distortion Pedals: Current Maxon SD-9, a vintage MIJ DS-1 or vintage MXR Distortion + or vintage TC Electronic Distortion, or vintage MIJ Boss HM-2, MXR Zakk Wylde

 

That's it. The rest I would spend on boutique pedals. I have my personal method to putting a OD or dist. pedal through its paces to see if it is special or not. 4 Criteria: tranparency, tone shaping, full drive coloring and its dynamics ( compression etc) and its ability to blend seamlessly into the amp's natural overdrive or at least how well. Those are MY personal goals of a new pedal.

 

1) Set the pedal unity gain, zero drive and find the most natural tone position for the best transparency. Turn the output, into the overdrive of the amp and see how or if any coloration : favorable or not? Now set Drive a Max, into the tube amp set clean, no amp over drive, how does it sound? Ok or great or are you puking? Now turn the output higher with the drive set high or near max and see how sounds into the amp clean. Now, dial dirty clean overdrive on the amp, experiment with the pedals output level, 70% to max, then unity volume but add 10% pedal drive into the clean dirty amp, gradually increase the drive, try backing the drive down a little but add some more volume output... listen the the amps tone and overdrive. Is the pedal blending well or not? Try doing this sequence again with more amp overdrive, a few times, until your using max amp overdrive. If you have an amp with pre gain and master, try doing all of these steps with the master, not the pre gain AND now try using a little pre gain, and gradually turning the master for more power tube overdrive ala ACDC with the pedals settings explained above, now finally setting the pre gain higher and higher, and gradually turning the master and experimenting with the pedal.

 

Also, do this with the distortion pedals, in the same order. Why all this trouble? It is called getting to know your gear, and if you scour ever setting, you could find YOUR trademark sound, that might be a very touchy, difficult combo of settings: amps eq, master, pre gain, pedals, vol, tone, drive. Fuzz pedals are easier, set the amp very clean and later to cleanish and tweak and experiment with the fuzz's settings.

 

Last, to add to the complexity, try different guitar with each full sequence of testing and finally if you have ability to make semi-professional recordings, then definitely record. Also what you play in your test is important and how you play. I DO NOT recommend, soft gentle strums etc. rather, grab a heavy pick and play moderately hard and aggressively hard, that is how your will really hear the potential of your signal chain (guitar,pedal,amp,speakers) sound and dynamics. Play chords, percussively rhythmic and solo at different spots on the neck to hear how the pedals if filtering: subtracting or adding, frequencies at different pitches/octaves. When your playing hard, think DOA Van Halen, listen for the pick attack, it's pitch and impact. VERY important, at least if you EVER want to record and sound the best you can and wow people. ;)

 

Aside from the mass produced GEMS stated above, here are the top boutique od's and dirt boxes to check out.

 

Distortion Boxes ( short list) EmmaReezFratiz (jcm800) Emma, Pisayoualot (the best modern metal) Love, purple plexi Wampler, Pinnacle (jcm800) ToneFreak, Servere (modern marshall), crunchbox (not very open, but fun jcm800 box), Zvex Box of Rock (JTM-45, clean dirty),Zvex, Box of Metal (mix of jcm800 and modern), Mad Professser Mighty Red Distortion,T-Rex Mudhoney Dist and Stage Hog

 

I own the pisayoualot, SD-9 and the mini tube amp pedal, the Stage Hog.

 

Overdrives:

Analogman, King of Tone, Menatone Red Snapper, Menatone Shut up and drive, Tonefreak Naked OD and the Abunai2, Love, Eternity, Timmy and , TIM - the full version with FX loop, TIM by Paul Cochrane -google for his phone # or ask on gearpage), Xotic effects, RC,AC and BB series, Any Maxon nine series overdrive, Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Klon, Hotcake, Mad Professor Little Green Wonder amd Sweet Honey Overdrive, T-Rex Michael Angelo Batio Overdrive Pedal, T-Rex, Swamp Overdrive, Zendrive any of the Barber overdrives.

 

 

I own Maxon OD-9, Eternity, Abunai2 Hotcake, Little Green Wonder and TIM.

 

Well that list should keep you busy for a year or two. Acquire slowly, test thoroughly, record if you can for reference.

 

Of course there are way more boutique pedals out there, but I would have listed them if I felt they were professional grade..... ;)

 

Now some of the priciest overdrives' drive colors your amp overdrive a LOT like the Klon, and the very cheap SD-1, but you might want that sound, too.

 

If you find that any of these pedals mess with your amp's sound too much for your liking - say if your a purist for amp overdrive, then explore some transparent quality EQ and boost pedals. I recommend Maxon's EQ, a vintage Boss GE-10 ( Ed Van Halen used one on VH II -I have an extra I might be talked into selling if your serious), a vintage TC Integrated Pre Amp (great EQ ) but VERY rare, I have two, but I can't sell them. Boosts: the Keeley Katana, The Catlinbread super chili picasso or sangrado, the fulltone boost (original, but they still color -thicken the tone), the stephensonamps, Fix My Duck Jfet Boost, The Diamond boosts and the Scientist Boosts are great, too.

 

Ok, fingers are done.... someone sticky this....

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