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{{Tone Crumbs|2}}
The most important part of getting a rock guitar tone is achieving the ''right '' '''distortion ''' that you want. This certainly depends on the amp (or stompbox) you are using; however, I want to stress how to tweak different distortion tones from the same device. Dialing in the desired distortion is often nowhere near as simple as turning the "drive" or "gain" parameter until the sound is as saturated as you like. A typical guitar rig will involve 4 main possible distortion stages - stomp box, pre-amp, power amp, and speaker, and you generally use one as your "main" distortion stage. However, any stage being pushed to breakup will distort in a certain way depending on the nature of the signal sent to it. This section mostly discusses what ways to expect a stage to breakup and how to alter the signal before reaching that stage to get the distortion you want.
The output of each distortion stage also depends on the waveform of the signal fed into it. Even if we were to EQ a guitar, banjo, violin, and piano signal to have roughly the same frequency response, the distortion produced by any particular distortion stage would have drastically different tones. For guitar, this is helpful, because we can alter a guitar signal before it hits a distortion stage, by using EQ, other distortion effects, modulation effects such as phasers, chorus, or flanger, time-effects such as reverb or delays, filter effects such as synths, and pitch effects such as octavers. This is a lot of ground to cover, so I'm not getting into it here, other than touching upon using multiple layers of distortion.
While most devices can be tweaked to provide a wide range of distortion tones as identified below, each amp or distortion pedal has a relatively similar response or signature characteristic that is difficult to dial out and difficult to emulate on other gear. In other words, a Marshall will still sound Marshall-y with a ''Tube Screamer '' in front, but you can hear that there's a ''Tube Screamer '' in front. Similarly, you can't make a Marshall sound like a Mesa/Boogie just by putting some EQ on the incoming tone. Consider pre-EQ'ing more of a fine-tuning process, even though in some instances you are drastically altering the tone. You want to start by choosing the right amp or distortion effect. This requires seeing the potential in an amp even if you think it initially sounds "off". You have to ask yourself questions like, "What if it sounded less muddy?" or "What if I could get the grittiness out the tone?"
== Types of Distortion ==
Also, tubes are not universal - some amps can be dialed in for nice-sounding distortion in one (or two) type(s) below, but not the others. And this is not about distortion levels - there can be mild distortion or extra-saturated distortion in any of the types below.
Leads higher up the fretboard tend to sound nice on all kinds of distortion, although the response or "feel" can vary significantly.
===Fuzz===
'''Fuzz''' sounds are marked by an emphasis on distorted bass frequencies. The tone is rumbly (or muddy) and tends to turn to complete mush whenever intervals beyond perfect 4ths or 5ths (or chords) are played. When transitioning between two notes with slight overlap, the notes sound almost like they are fighting each other. The response is quite loose, making it difficult to play fast passages clearly, especially in lower registers. Palm mutes are particularly muddy, with the percussive attack extremely muffled and tone rather noisy.
===Crunch===
'''Crunch''' has an emphasis on midrange frequencies distortion. It can sound a lot like a vintage-style overdrive (although depending on the amp or pedal model, it may be much smoother and cleaner). This is often the default type of distortion that an amp will provide, requiring a boost or pre-EQ to dial in others. The attack retains most of its dynamics, being able to hear accents and strums. Lower registers can get a little rough and loose, but it's generally clear enough for rock riffing. Chords can get a little nasty, but come through well enough as long as they aren't too complex. Palm mutes are clear but rather percussive, sounding similar to how a clean tone sounds on palm mutes.
''Note: "Crunch" has many contexts, such as the common name for an amp channel with mild/medium distortion and emphasis on attack, as well as the upper-midrange/treble bite that occurs as distortion onsets. This is not what I'm talking about here, although there can be some overlap between the two concepts.''
===Metal===
'''Metal''' is based on distorted treble frequencies over others. The bass comes through clean and tight, only compressed, while the high-end is filled with saturated, harmonic overtones. Notes and power chords in riffs have a tight response - all the notes can be fairly clearly distinguished, even when playing at fast tempos. Chords have most notes come through well enough to be distinguished, but can get too harsh and noisy for bigger chords. Palm mutes sound thick and rattle the walls, while having the signature ''djent'' sound in the upper mids and highs, emphasizing each stroke.
== Pre-EQ ==