Overdrive pedals are just one of the many options used by musicians who wish to distort their music’s sound. They are connected to an amplifier increasing its ability to change a sound’s flavor, gain, and volume. The best overdrive pedals are flawlessly able to perform three distortion methods: Solo boost, distortion stacking, and by adding grit. While hoping to achieve solo boost, a guitarist will use an overdrive pedal to round off the sound that is produced. This means that the sound has a greater capacity for more flexibility and alteration without sounding choppy and unnaturally distorted. Distortion stacking (also known as gain stacking) is similar to solo boosting with the only difference being that under distortion stacking the sound’s volume is never increased, but often decreased. This is a common method for gaining extra crunch from the tone. Some guitarists will “stack” their overdrive pedals meaning they will run the sound through more than one pedal which adds to an amplifier’s ability to produce various distorted sounds. Lastly, the best overdrive pedals are able to add just the right amount of grit which can add to the character of jazz, blues, and rock and roll. Overdriving a sound depends greatly on the quality of the overdrive pedal as well as the style of amplifier being used.
How Overdrive Pedals Work
Amplifiers that incorporate vacuum tubes are overdriven by increasing positive voltage to the unit. These types of amplifiers are constructed using a simple triode valve which houses a plate and a grid. When positive voltage is sent to the plate a steady current of negatively charged electrons traverse through the cathode, eventually travelling through the grid. This greatly enhances the voltage used by an audio signal which in turn increases the sound’s volume. Conversely, negative voltage, when applied to the grid creates a huge decrease in voltage, thus lowering the sound’s volume.
Amplifiers that do not make use of vacuum tubes are known as solid-state amplifiers. These are not as efficient when it comes to overdriving. As such, they are often crafted in a fashion designed to mimic the sound produced by valve amplifiers. In determining which is the best overdrive pedal for a particular guitarist it is important to know what kind of amplifier he or she commonly uses. Moreover, some modern amplifiers incorporate the characteristics of both solid-state and valve based units. There are some great distortion pedals out there for all types of amps, and we’ll be reviewing some of them in the near future. In the mean time check this review out on the awesome Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Pedal Board.
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