Overdrive/distortion pedals – Updated to include the entire article!
Effect pedals can be used to get almost any type of sound out of an electric guitar. Anything from a clean country twang, to distorted thrash metal, to a synthesizer and orchestral strings; effects can be used to either get the most out of your creativity, or to generally make your playing sound better than it really is (you know you’ve done it). However, when it comes to effects pedals, some electric guitar players don’t know what kind they need, what brands to buy, or why they need them, so I’ll try my best to shed some light on the subject.
First, overdrive/distortion pedals. The term “overdrive” or “distortion” is used to describe the tone of the guitar when the original clean signal begins to break up; the signal is essentially pushing the amp or pedal over the clean amplification levels, or over their “limit”, thus causing the signal to distort. The two terms are generally interchangeable, but overdrive is usually describing a lower gain pedal, while distortion describes higher gain pedals. Overdrive pedals are NOT the same as overdriving an amplifier, and are used to create more energy, strength, and volume (or just to ROCK OUT). Most of the time, these pedals are essential in getting a good guitar tone, and finding the right one can be a costly and time-consuming venture. Luckily, there are some chumps like me that have spent enough money to hopefully have some decent advice! Most of the time, I try to stick with the self-labeled “overdrive”, or lower-gain pedals, and chain them together if I need a very distorted signal.
- My absolute favorite (today, that is), is the Paul Cochrane Tim, a two-stage overdrive that doesn’t change the essence of your guitar (the mark of a great pedal), but adds all the harmonics and tasty overdrive you could want. Con – Right now the Tim is on a 4 – 7 month waiting list, or you can go to eBay to pay $50-$100 more to have it now. ($169)
- One of my favorites is the OCD overdrive, made by Fulltone (a great brand to stick with for pretty much anything), which has a very non-compressed, raw quality that can push a good Fender amp into Marshall-type grind without breaking a sweat. Has a switch for lower gain British-type crunch or higher gain American crunch. ($150)
- My other love is a Robert Keeley-modded Ibanez TS-808. If you’ve been around guitar players very much, you have seen the 808 (or its counterparts, the TS-9 or 10). This pedal is famous for its classic bluesy/classic rock sound (and how could a SRV fan not have one of these?), however, the midrange on this pedal gets a little too powerful for me, so I sent it in to Robert Keeley (robertkeeley.com) to mod it for me, which was worth every penny. Keeley did his more/less mod, giving the pedal the ability for both more gain and less gain, which made it a great volume boost alternative for me. ($180-reg pedal; $50-Keeley non-true bypass mod; $250-new from Keeley w/True Bypass)
- Another great pedal is the Fulltone Fulldrive 2, which has become the standard overdrive in many respects. Another two-stage overdrive, this pedal is based off of the original TS-808s. Many say that the older versions (black knobs instead of white) sound better, but I suppose that’s mostly preference, and the new ones come with a MOSFET boost option. ($170)
So those are some of my favorites. Some other great brands are Lovepedal, Keeley, Diamond, and Xotic Effects, among many others. The great thing about all of these effects pedals is that there are so many available, everyone can find something they like. However, because there are so many available, I hope this gives you some point of reference for where to start. In a lot of ways, you can’t replace a good guitar and a good amp, but at least these pedals can be a cheaper alternative for the time being, or an addition to the setup.
Humility first, and always for His glory,
Tyler
tyler@fqworship.com
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