A Distortion Pedal is a very important part of your setup because it often times creates the foundation of your sound. Choosing the right one is a decision that should not be taken lightly, and in this post I am going to point out a few of the major aspects of varying Distortion Pedals that should be taken into consideration.
1. Determine the type of Distortion Sound you are looking for
The first thing to decide upon is what type of distortion sound you would like to achieve. For example, if you plan on playing the Blues, you’d want to avoid a high gain, heavy metal pedal because it would not compliment the style well at all.
If you are new to whole concept of Distortion Pedal stylings, a great way to figure out what kind would suit you best is to listen to some of your favorite bands and pay close attention to their guitar sounds.
Distortion Pedals are broken down into 3 main flavors; Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz.
* Overdrive - An Overdrive pedal’s main purpose is to make it sound like you are playing through a quality, vintage tube amp. These pedals are a great fit for class rock tunes, and add a sense of warmth to your playing. This type of Distortion is not ideal for heavy rock, or metal playing though. Here is a review for the Boss SD-1 Overdrive pedal that contains additional information and a video demonstration.
* Distortion - These pedals make up the bulk of available distortion effects pedals, and can help you achieve blues, hard rock or heavy metal tones. This category, unlike Overdrive, is hard to define because there are so many different types of sounds that these pedals can create. They can range from a low gain, soft distortion to a high gain, screamer like the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. Your best bet is to check around on YouTube.com and watch some demo videos to get an idea of what type of distortion you are going for.
* Fuzz - I decided to make Fuzz its own category because I think the sounds the pedals who fit this description make are so unique. Jimi Hendrix made the Fuzz tone legendary with the use of his Fuzz Face Distortion Pedal, and his influence is still being heard today. Fuzz tone is best described as a gritty, high gain distortion with a heavy low end.
3. Decide on a Quality Brand & Price Range
Once you have decided what kind of Distortion Pedal you are looking for, the fun part begins. Now you get to research and experiment with the possible selections that will become a part of your playing.
* Brand - I definitly reccomend not cutting corners and going with a cheap brand. You want to get the best distortion pedal possible for your money while not sacrificing quality. If you are unsure what the best brands are, read reviews and watch videos and you’ll soon figure it out. I personally really like BOSS and Electro-Harmonix Pedals.
* Price - Once you’ve selected the brand of pedal you would like purchase, check out the models they make that are in your price range and meet your sound requirements. Read reviews, watch videos and participate in forums to know exactly what to look for if you are feeling lost.
3. Purchase Your Distortion Pedal
There are a ton of great places to find great deals on distortion pedals, and below I’ve listed some of the best.
* Purchasing through Rock Distortion Pedals.com. Our store pages are teamed up with Ebay to provide you with some of the best deals on the Internet. We have a huge selection, and are always updating our pages with the latest sales.
* Musician’s Friend - Quality source for Pro Musicians Gear. Click on the link below to take advantage of a limited time coupon code for Musician’s Friend being offered through this site.
4. Start Rocking
Hopefully these tips will help you find an awesome distortion pedal.
http://www.rockdistortionpedals.com/
