Distortion Effects
This page discusses using distortion pedals to provide distortion - for use as a boost, see the Boost page. Also, while overdrive and boost are synonymous, some distortion pedals are designed to provide a distortion tone that mimics an overdriven vintage amp and called Overdrive Distortion - this page covers them in that respect.
Distortion pedals have been a staple of rock and roll music since the 60's, providing distortion typically by pushing some solid-state component (such as op-amps, diodes, LEDs, or simple transistors) into clipping. This form of clipping differs quite a bit from the tube clipping in pre-amps or power amps. Some modern pedals actually use pre-amp tubes for their distortion and function more similarly to amplifier distortion than what is discussed on this page.
Distortion pedals are also called dirt boxes, due to their "dirty" distortion in comparison to tube distortion.
Contents
Solid-State Distortion vs. Tubes
Distortion pedals have a few main differences compared to tube amplifiers. Solid-state clipping is said to emphasize odd harmonics, while tube clipping emphasizes even harmonics. Also, solid-state clipping is often called hard-clipping, as it leaves sharper angles in the resulting waveforms than tubes which exhibit soft-clipping. Solid-state clipping is said to be "colder", while tube clipping is "warm".
| Dirt Pedals | Tubes | |
|---|---|---|
| Clipping Type | Hard | Soft |
| Harmonics Emphasized | Odd | Even |
| Tone | Cold | Warm |
Dirt pedals also typically feature other tonal attributes; however, it is incorrect to attribute these to the medium itself rather than the design. Modern solid-state distortion pedals may avoid such attributes altogether while older tube amplifiers were subject to them. I'm mainly referring to random phase inversions and other crazy stuff. Of course, some of these aspects became associated with distortion pedals and heralded, while viewed undesirable in amplifiers.
Types
Distortion pedals can be grouped into a few basic types:
Fuzz
These were the first distortion pedals, but they are still popular and modern iterations are still popping up. They fully embrace the cold, hard, odd-harmonic tone of solid-state, producing a very dirty and buzzy distortion.
Overdrive
These seek to provide the tone of an overdriven tube amp in a pedal. Their ability to do so accurately is quite suspect; however, it is not their similarity but their unique take on that sound that give them their charm.
Distortion
These seek to provide a modern-sounding tube distortion in a pedal. Again, its highly debateable how well they accomplish that goal but have created their own charm.
Metal
These seek to provide a very modern-sounding, tight distortion, similar to a boosted amp.
Not all pedals neatly fit into the above categories, some even having switches to alter their distortion mode. Just because a pedal is labeled as modern doesn't mean it can't do a good vintage tone or vice versa.
Popular Models
The most popular pedal I know of is the Boss DS-1. Steve Vai and Joe Satriani have actually used these as their main distortion tone, run through the clean channel of a tube amp. There are numerous popular modifications to this pedal you can find online, such as the Keeley Mod.