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Tone
,→Dirt, Distortion, and Fuzz Pedals
Distortion pedals are voiced to be run into the front (pre-amp) of an amp, with the amp dialed in for a clean sound (clean channel). They anticipate the "fattening" up of tone that the pre-amp delivers and may sound thin and harsh when run directly into a power amp. Certain models and settings may provide exceptions, however.
Rather than switching to the crunch or lead channel of your amp for distortion, you stomp on the pedal to engage it. It provides your distorted tone. You still have the option to bypass it and use the other channels, creating a wider variety of tones. Distortion pedals can also be used to provide mild dirt while serving as a boost or running into the crunch or lead channels of an amp, which is covered further [[# below]].
=== Dirt Pedals vs. Pre-Amp Pedals ===