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    • Distortion Pedals & Overdrive Pedals

    Distortion and overdrive pedals will give your bass guitar or electric guitar an edgier, harder tone.
    An overdrive pedal will add gain to your electric guitar signal, causing it to break up or distort a bit (or more) depending on how much is used.
    A distortion pedal produces more gain and clips the signal even harder.

    You will find distortion and overdrive pedals from brands such as MXR, Catialinbread, Wampler, Keeley, Electro-Harmonix, and Xotic.

    If you are looking for similar sounds, check out a fuzz pedal.

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    What is the difference between overdrive and distortion?

    Both overdrive and distortion add distortion to your signal. Overdrive does this by adding gain to your guitars signal. The main difference is the amount of distortion you can get out of each pedal. Overdrive will give you a mild to medium amount of distortion, while distortion gives you a much more intense level. Overdrive will boost your sound, while distortion will alter your sound.

    Should I get a distortion or overdrive pedal?

    As with all pedals, this is dependent upon the type of sound you are going for. In general, heavier rock and metal music will use distortion pedals, while country, blues, and pop music will favor overdrive pedals.

    Of course, there is no right or wrong pedal for styles of music! If you are unsure what type of pedal you should get, we would love to help you decide. Give us a call or use the chat feature!

    Can I use gain and overdrive together?

    Yes, you can use gain and overdrive together. This is called gain stacking. You will usually want to put your overdrive pedal before your gain pedal in your signal chain.

    Can I use distortion pedals on bass?

    Yes, you can use distortion pedals on your bass guitar. The distortion pedal will give your clean bass tone some grit and an overall more aggressive tone. Some of our favorites are the Source Audio Bass AfterShock, the Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff, and the MXR Bass Distortion.