How To Use A Distortion Pedal – Placement, Settings, Etc. More on the pedals later. An overdrive pedal adds some distortion to the signal but not a lot, while a distortion effect crushes the wave pretty heavily—and fuzz even more so. Just be sure to use a clean and balanced EQ on your amp as a base, and get your distortion from a pedal, instead of the amp itself. Plus a couple of actual Rockman units including a first … With bigger distortion sounds on professional recordings, studio techniques so often play a part in the result. On a typical distortion effects pedal, you will see the following knobs. I had the distortion generator, two EQ's, the chorus, the octopus and about 4 or 5 loop boxes to go with it, the midi pedal and if I remember correctly I think I had a stereo delay, too. It will sound much better. If you are playing lead or heavier songs, you should set this higher. The result might sound like one guitar, but it could be a stereo combination of two, four, or more. If you are a straight up rock/metalhead, your amp isn’t cutting it, you need the high gain; go for the distortion pedal. Want even more gain, get both a distortion and overdrive. It seems others have pointed you in the right direction - it will depend on you amp on whether or not it is possible and what kind of distortion you’re after. just keep dialing back the gain until it sounds right. Simply put, tube distortion is the most versatile of all fractured guitar sounds; unlike the overly metallic signals generated by certain stompboxes, tube distortion is warm, round and easy to harness. Still, many people strongly prefer the interaction of distortion that occurs from the preamp and output stages of a tube amplifier – myself included. Drive (aka Gain or Distortion) – This setting controls the amount of distortion. Thanks for the answer request. Today’s pedals often have a very full-range available in their distortion characteristics, which enable them to be a good platform of choice when used against a clean amp. If that doesn't create adequate distortion, you can also try adding a second transistor to form a Darlington pair for more amplification (connect collectors together, emitter of first transistor goes into base of second transistor), or if you have an op amp lying around and a dual supply you can use it to amplify the guitar prior to distortion. Over the years, I have used a ton of distortion pedals, all different but […] Different Types Of Distortion Pedals. Double-tracking or multi-tracking guitar parts makes things sound bigger and more powerful. Tube amps are, and have been for eons, the most desirable medium for producing natural distortion. It’s considered the most significant step in the guitar world: The birth of guitar effects. Then run that through the effects. Guitar distortion effects can be found in all kinds of music. Much better to get 8 bars of choked notes and chords then chop that up / warp it. A clean boost pedal’s job is to increase the output of your guitar signal only enough to give you extra volume or drive your amp to distort, without adding any grit of its own. Stacking overdrive and distortions can yield some pretty good results if done correctly. it allows for a lot of flexibility without the use of effects pedals. I've found that its possible to get nice/passable guitar setups with Ableton's native effects. i recommend overdrive over distortion, on a guitar with single coils like a strat its easy enough to roll back the volume a little on the pot to achieve a cleaner tone or even a nice mix between clean and overdriven. Also, once I get the distortion controls set just right, it stays right no matter what volume I go to with the volume pedal and the amp. Who doesn’t love a little distortion – I know I do! That way the amount of distortion is sensitive to my picking, and the volume pedal merely makes it louder or softer, without affecting the amount of distortion. In fact, I've noted that regular electric guitar amplifiers, particularly warm-sounding tube amps, tend to work better for distorted acoustics than their acoustic counterparts.