Tagged: distortion

Where you put your overdrive relative to delay and reverb changes everything. Here's why gain almost always wants to go first, and when it doesn't.

An overdrive left on at low gain, all the time, does more for a high-gain rig than another distortion pedal ever will. Here's why it works.

Overdrive and distortion pedals clip your signal in different places and different ways. Understanding where changes how you stack and order them.

Confused why your overdrive sounds thin or your distortion sounds mushy? It's usually gain staging, not the pedal. Here's the plain-English fix.

Most overdrive pedals were designed for guitar. Here's what happens when you plug a bass into them — and how to get dirt that still locks in the pocket.

Running fuzz into a high-gain amp sounds like a terrible idea — until it isn't. Daz breaks down why the combination works, when it collapses, and how to dial it in.

Tube amp breakup and pedal distortion both add grit, but they work differently. Here's what that means for your tone and how you use them together.

Your overdrive pedal isn't broken — your amp might just not be the right partner for it. Rob explains why amp type changes everything.

Fizzy, thin, buzzy distortion is one of the most common beginner frustrations. Here's why it happens and exactly what to fix first.

Gain, tone, level — three knobs, endless confusion. Rob breaks down exactly what each control does and how to set them as a beginner.

Hard clipping, soft clipping, asymmetric clipping — what's actually happening inside your dirt pedal, and why it changes how your tone feels.

Three flavours of “dirt”, three different jobs. A plain-English guide to the pedals that make your guitar growl — and when to reach for each.