Overdrive Pedals vs. Distortion Pedals

Let's start by defining 'Overdrive' and 'Distortion' in the context of guitar pedals and the sound created when using them.

'Overdrive' is essentially everything from sound of an amp being slightly pushed to break up to the crunch and distorted warmth of a cranked tube amp.

'Distortion' is usually everything including, and above and beyond that ceiling of the typical gain that on 'Overdrive' pedal has.

All of my gain or boost pedal on my pedalboard would fall under the 'Overdrive' definition of light to medium gain with natural and traditional amp qualities.

The reason I employ Overdrive instead of Distortion pedals in my setup has a lot to do with the style of music that I tend to play, the dynamic response of Overdrive pedals, the option of stacking multiple gain pedals, and the clarity and more articulate tone response. 

Let me unpack these four reasons:

Style - If your not playing heavy metal, grunge, thrash or a style that needs over-the-top gain and sustain, distortion pedals can sound thin, buzzy and less articulate than overdrives. I play mostly rock and pop live shows and session and find that my guitar will cut through the mixes better if I use less gain on the pedals and try to highlight the natural and transparent sounds of a tube amp at that slightly broken up setting. I can achieve high gain sounds if I need them by combining two overdrives together.

Dynamic Response - With an overdrive pedal I can clean up my sound by softer picking or using the guitar's volume control. I find that I can use a lot more dynamic control with overdrives that help with building with a songs dynamic range. Distortion pedals tend to give you too much gain to dial up or down dynamically and tend to compress the overall sound. 

Stacking - I stack my overdrives all the time in order to use the distinct and special tone qualities of a couple of pedals in combination to achieve new sounds. I might use a mid-range heavy overdrive with a full range overdrive to a cut through a mix for soloing. I might use the gain of one overdrive to push another overdrive over-the-top to get a 'fuzzface' type of sound. 

Clarity - Even though it's a lot less forgiving, I tend to turn down the gain of my pedals for the sake of clarity and articulation. A lot of the great guitar albums of the past have had this same mindset and approach to recording and tone, and I the results are generally a more punchy, defined, and distinct sound quality in both live and studio situations.

Try some A/B comparisons at a local store and find out what fits your playing best.

Take your "PICK"

The choice of the right guitar pick can enhance the quality of your tone and improve articulation and clarity in chords, solos, riffs and single note melodies. Many students make their choice of picks on which ever is the most easy and convenient to use: which usually is a thin pick. A thin pick is generally the worst for tone reproduction, dynamics, and musicality. My advice for my students is to move to thicker pick as soon as possible to help grow their tone alongside their technique.

A good example from a different discipline is that of the microwave oven. I know of no chef who would use a microwave oven to cook fine food because the end result would be culinarily unsatisfying and universally frowned upon by his peers. A chef could use a microwave for certain uncritical and minor cooking events but would ultimately keep his or her's keen eye on the making of quality food using instruments that enhance flavour as opposed to 'zapping' the soul out of the food.

Now, the general modern household on the other hand uses the microwave oven for quick and convenient heating and cooking of "food" and "food-like" substances but... it's usually means convenience over quality and a quick fix as opposed to a satisfying event. Let's exit that mind-space for the sake of our guitar playing as an art as well as the longevity of our pursuit of beauty and goodness in music.

Back to guitar picks...

So, if we hear (and we can) that tone, clarity, and dynamics are all better when we change from a thin pick to a medium or heavy pick, we should plan to inch towards that goal in even the early stages of our guitar playing. By doing this we will soon realize that it's all about developing the touch within our hands and fingers that will help add that professional tone we are missing.

So, if we wouldn't hit a real nail with a toy hammer then we
shouldn't hit a real string with a toy (thin) pick.

Keep your tone the best it can be with a 'medium' to 'heavy'

pick and enjoy the pure gourmet tone.

'AMP' or 'NO-AMP'?

A Big Rig: Nice if you have roadies

Small Rig: Can work in most situations

The move towards smaller guitar rigs has gained much momentum in the last few years. I personally use a small pedalboard and an amp simulator for my main guitar rig; so everything I need for a gig fits in my hard-shell guitar case or at most a guitar gig bag and a small duffle bag. I have in the past spent most of my life as a guitarist carrying around amp-heads, racks, pedalboards, guitars and cabinets, but I now welcome the change that my wallet, my back, and my ears thank me for. My change to a less expensive, smaller, and less ear-splitting rig that has worked extremely well in every situation from studio to stage.

I will breakdown the metamorphosis of my change to a small rig. In my time in the studios, touring, and jamming at home I have done many A/B comparisons (sometimes out of necessity) with different guitar rig combinations and I've often experienced very little loss of quality by using amp simulators either in software, rack or stomp box form. I have also taken tips from other players I have met along the way that get big tone out of small rigs.

The results:

LIVE: With the added baggage costs, and wear and tear on amps when I fly I usually just bring my guitar, a Line6 Pod and some assorted pedals. The promoter of the concert will usually rent and supply an amp for me which can be anything from a nice surprise to a nightmare. The results with the amp simulator have been consistency of tone, a nice low stage volume,  and added sound control for the front of house engineer. Sometimes I end up using the rented amp for a personal monitor but my main tone will be generated by pedals and the Line 6 pod.

STUDIO: The studio is very different from the live or touring situation because I do most of my work at home, where I don't necessarily have to lug around the gear. I can set things up and keep it ready to go at a flick of a couple of switches. In my studio I generally use the small rig out of the economic realities of a shrinking music business and a trend towards smaller lower budget productions. The session scene for the majority of players right now does not support having the big and crazy rigs of the past and small rigs are being used more effectively these days as a viable option to keep quality high on a budget.

The Verdict:

In my experience, portable rigs can replace big rigs in most studio or live situations. The quality is definitely comparable and is closing the gap quickly. For the added benefits to your budget, saving your hearing, and being easier to carry around I would recommend trying a small amp modeller or preamp with some assorted pedals in every situation from jamming at home to playing concerts.

Staying Connected - Cables and Connections

Every electric guitar player has experienced his or her fair share of cheap and easily broken down guitar cables. No matter how many times we're reminded that, "we get what we pay for", we like sheep, head to that same discount bin of 'soon to be useless' cables at our local music store.

So, many many years ago I decided to stop the cycle of 'waste and frustration' by purchasing professional quality cables for every connection in my guitar rig, home studio and home theatre. The result was happily true to the labelled 'lifetime warranty' on the majority of professional cable packages. In 30 years of plugging in and out I have only had one cable issue that was immediately remedied by the fine folks at Fender. So the lesson for the day is:
              
              Don't buy cheap cables!

Here's a list some brands that you can look for quality cable that will last and produce good overall tone reproduction. Planet Waves, Monster, George L's, Spectraflex, Elixir, and Whirlwind.

Free yourself of the worries of cable problems and embrace the high fidelity of professional quality cables and connectors... and always remember:

              Don't buy cheap cables!

Are Guitar Pedals Too Expensive?

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When you look at the price of guitar effects pedals these days ranging from $150 to $550, putting together even a modest pedal board with a few pedals might seem too steep for your budget. How can these tiny little metal boxes filled with tiny circuit boards and a few dangling wires hit my wallet so hard? My opinion, for what it's worth, is that for the most part putting together a padalboard of any size is much cheaper than the rigs of the near and distant past. I do admit that many pedal companies prices are too high; mostly due to the "hype" of the particular pedal or the "trendiness" of the particular company name on the pedal, but you can get a great rig happening for a fraction of the cost of rigs in the 1980's or 90's.

A Comparison worth Consideration

NOW                                                               

• $300  Strymon Blue Sky Reverb                              
• $450  Strymon Timeline Delay                             
• $450  Strymon Mobius Modulation                         
• $400  Analogman King of Tone Overdrive        
• $125  Xotic EP boost                                        
• $200  Wampler Pinnacle Distortion                  
• $200  Wampler EGO Compressor                      
• $200  Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2                     
• $200  Pedatrain Pedalboard                                  

THEN

• $2500  T.C. Electronics 2290 Delay                     
• $1200  T.C. Electronics 1122 Chorus                                       
• $2000  Lexicon PCM 70 Reverb                            
• $1000  Yamaha SPX 90 multi-effects                    
• $500    DBX 160 Compressor                                 
• $150    ProCo Rat Distortion                                   
• $100    ADA Midi Switcher                                      
• $200    Furman Power Conditioner                       
• $500    Anvil Rack for effects

This comparison between the 'NOW' state of the art pedal board with a price tag of $2,525 and the THEN' rack of effects with a price tag of $8,150 is a fair estimate in my experience as a professional player using gear in both eras of the music industry. One rack effect of the 80's/90's can exceed the entire price of your whole boutique pedalboard. This example breaks down a little with the thought that you could have used a pedalboard in the eighties and rack effects now but it's still a reminder to me that one can get great gear these days at a very reasonable price, even if you buy the top of the line stuff.

My Personal Electric Guitar Setup

Although I don't obsess that much about gear, I do work hard at searching and researching for the right pieces to keep my gear setup small, easy to use and great sounding. Students of the guitar can benefit from following the advice and footprints of more experienced players gear setups.

Guitars:

For my main electric I use a Fender Hotrod '62 Stratocaster. It a great sounding re-issued guitar made by Fender that takes the features and specifications of a vintage 1962 Strat and "hotrods" it by adding a slightly wider neck and bigger frets for better performance. It's has a the classic sound of a strat, but has a warmth and fatness to it that reminds me of some of the characteristics of a Gibson Les Paul. It allows me to play a variety of styles and contexts from just one guitar, and that's important for the wide range of gigs and teaching that I do.

Pedal setup:

Guitar -into- Xotic EP boost - 1982 Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer - Carl Martin PlexiTone S - Ethos Overdrive/Preamp - T.C. Electronic Flashback Delay - Stymon BlueSky Reverb - P.A.

Ethos Overdrive

Carl Martin PlexiTone

Above is my small pedal/preamp signal path setup. My Hotrod '62 plugs first into an EP Boost pedal. The EP boost is a clean boost that adds a nice boost to my signal and a extra fatness to my tone. I keep this pedal on most of the time. The vintage tube screamer is one of the most sought after overdrive pedals of the last 30 years and I use it primarily as an additional gain stage for guitar solos. It adds a creaminess and sustain that I love. Next is the Plexitone pedal. I have always been a fan of old Marshall Plexi Amps and this pedal really delivers a warm Marshall tone with a nice range of gain for different playing situations. The Custom Tones Ethos overdrive acts as my amp, or more specifically my preamp in that it shapes my overall guitar tone. It has the sound of the famous Dumble Overdrive Amp that has fueled the tones of guitarist like John Mayer, Keith Urban, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Santana. Right now, I generally use it for it's great clean amp sound and use my pedals to add the crunch. The Ethos has a clean channel, an overdrive channel and a lead boost built into one. I then go out of the speaker simulated output of the Ethos to the T.C. delay/looper. I generally use the 2290 preset and a fairly long delay time. This pedal has to be the best small pedal delay I've ever heard. Next is the Strymon reverb. Strymon, in my opinion is at the top pedal maker in the world and the BlueSky delivers a quiet and beautifully transparent reverb and a cool shimmer feature that I use as preset favourite. Personally, I always put my boost, wahs, compressors, and drive pedals before the amp and the delays, chorus' and reverbs after the amp - it just sounds cleaner and better to my ears.

Depending on the style of music I'm playing, I might change the pedal order around or make changes and tweaks to my normal preset sounds of the pedals to suite the style of a particular song.

I will feature one or more of these pedals each month on this Blog. Just click on the pedal to get information or a demo of the pedal. My whole setup can fit on a small pedalboard; small enough to fit in the overhead compartment on a plane or carried and setup easily in a local show or session.

Amps?

Sorry! I don't have an amp anymore. I generally plug straight into a PA system and monitor my sound through the stage monitors, in-ear monitors, or a small powered speaker that can fit in my suitcase. On some bigger gigs/shows I have them (promoters/clients) rent me an amp like a Fender Deluxe or a Blues Deville. I have just got tired of lugging a heavy tube amp around in a heavy flight case and hoping it arrives in working order. This also keep the gear budget in balance and relation to my income as a player and the needs and general cost of living in a modern family.

Final Thoughts

If I were to expand things, I would lean towards adding a Stymon Mobius, a Dunlop Wah, and possibly a small Tube amp for a bit more headroom on my sound.

String choices - Electric and Acoustic

Choosing the right set of strings can help improve tone, performance and tuning between changes. Although most string companies seem to offer very slight variations of the same product, the individual tone of feel of certain brands are well worth exploring to add the extra punch, clarity or a unique characteristic you might be looking for.

String Thickness or Gauges

Most electric guitars you pick up in a store will have 9's on them. That number refers to the thickness of the 1st string (.009 of an inch) and is a good place for beginners to start. As you improve you might try 10's or 11's for a bigger tone or a firmer feel. I use 10's for their fairly light tension, bold tone and responsiveness when I dig in with more aggressive picking.

Most acoustic guitars are strung with gauge 12's. This thickness of string is a nice balance between playability, durability, and general wear and tear on the guitar. Lighter strings will give you easier playability but less durability and might promote more buzzing on the guitar. Heavier strings will create better tone and durability but will tougher to play. Again, it's about trying different scenarios out to get a feel for what feels best for your fingers and your style of play.

Type or Style of Strings

This area is a where most players experiment and try different things. Different string options like round-wound, flat-wound, hexegon-core, gortex coating, and all the different type of metals used in the construction of strings can create subtle nuances for an individual players sound and can be frequently changed to add a fresh sound or unique tone to update and refresh you're style. Many higher end guitars like Taylors, Larivees, Collings', Goodalls and Santa Cruz's are fitted with Elixer Phosphor Bronze lights on all the guitars they sell. They last incredibly long: so long that at twice the price of a regular pack of strings, your string budget will actually go down.

String Brands

I use D'Addarrio NYXL 10's on my electrics and Elixer Phosphor Bronze lights on my acoustics. The D'Addarrio NYXL's are more expensive than other electric strings but they add more punch, volume, and stay in better tune than any other string that I have tried. On acoustic guitar, I avoided Elixer strings for years because I thought the idea of a gortex coating on acoustic strings was unmusical but I have since been pulled over to using them. They are double the price of regular acoustic strings but last 3 - 4 times as long and have consistently good tone and presence throughout their time on the guitar.

Good Brand to choose from:

Some good brand choices for acoustic and electric strings are: D'Addario, Martin, Ernie Ball, Dean Markley, Elixer, GHS, and DR. They can be found easily in most local music stores.

“The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice.”
- Andre Segovia