What's the difference between distortion pedals and overdrive pedals?

They are essentially the same effect. Distortion is an extreme kind of overdrive. ‘Dynamics’ are the difference between your loudest playing and your quietest playing. Light overdrive will preserve your dynamics whereas distortion will compress them to the point where all your notes are the same volume and have a long, singing sustain.

How to stack overdrive and distortion?

A good starting point is to put the pedal with the least 'Gain' first and the highest fain pedal next. But as with music it's good to experiment! So feel free to move all your pedals around till you find your sound.

Do I need both overdrive and distortion pedals?

Of course not, but it can't hurt to have extra versatility! Your pedalboard is yours and you should load it with pedals you love the sound of.

Should I get an overdrive or distortion pedal?

Without wwanting to say ‘you should get both’, you should get both! Players often use overdrive and distortion in tandem, using distortion for riffs, choruses and solos and using overdrive in verses and lighter songs. Overdrive and distortion pedals work really well when ‘stacked’ in the same signal chain, creating a wider range of gain and tones.

Where does my overdrive and distortion pedals go in a chain?

Overdrive and distortion tend to go near the beginning of the chain - before modulation pedals and time-based effects, like reverb and delay. If you are using both overdrive AND distortion pedals, players tend to stack these in order of gain. Plugging the guitar into the lighter gain overdrive pedal and then into the higher gain distortion pedal works well.

Overdrive & Distortion Pedals | guitarguitar

MXR Distortion+ M104

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£99.00 £109.99

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NUX Reissue Plexi Crunch Distortion Pedal

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£39.00 £59.00

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Keeley Fuzz Bender Fuzz Pedal

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£149.00 £159.00

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Marshall Shredmaster Distortion Pedal

£149.00

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MXR M294 Sugar Drive

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£129.00 £144.99

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Fulltone Custom Shop Germanium OCD GE Overdrive Pedal

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£199.00

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JHS Pedals The Bonsai 9 way Screamer Overdrive

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£219.00

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Fulltone Fulldrive 3 Overdrive Pedal

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£199.00

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£139.00 £167.99

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Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer Overdrive

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£149.00

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£279.00 £329.00

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BOSS ODB-3 Bass Overdrive

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£105.00 £120.00

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£319.00 £456.00

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Way Huge sTo Super Terrific Overdrive

£149.00 £164.99

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Wampler Gearbox Andy Wood Signature Overdrive

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£249.00

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Keeley D and M Drive

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£229.00 £249.00

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EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker Overdrive Pedal

£119.00 £135.00

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Ampeg SCR-DI Bass Preamp and DI with Scrambler Overdrive

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£249.00 £343.00

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MXR M251 FOD Overdrive

£165.00 £194.99

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Dod 250 Preamp Overdrive Pedal

£89.00 £99.00

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Blackstar Dept 10 Dual Drive Pedal

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£249.99

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£99.00 £120.00

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BOSS ST-2 Powerstack Distortion

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£89.00 £107.00

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Fender Hammertone Distortion

£59.00

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Overdrive & Distortion Pedals

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MXR Distortion+ M104

NUX Reissue Plexi Crunch Distortion Pedal

Keeley Fuzz Bender Fuzz Pedal

Marshall Shredmaster Distortion Pedal

MXR M294 Sugar Drive

Fulltone Custom Shop Germanium OCD GE Overdrive Pedal

JHS Pedals The Bonsai 9 way Screamer Overdrive

Fulltone Fulldrive 3 Overdrive Pedal

Ampeg Classic Preamp

EarthQuaker Devices Sunn Life Pedal v3

NUX Reissue Steel Singer Drive Overdrive Pedal

Two Notes ReVolt Guitar Analog Amp Simulator Preamp Pedal

MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive

MXR CSP027 Timmy Overdrive Mini Pedal

Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer Overdrive

Way Huge Smalls Conspiracy Theory Professional Overdrive

Way Huge Smalls Green Rhino Overdrive MKV

BOSS SD-1W Custom Waza Craft Super Overdrive

BOSS IR-200 Amp and IR Cabinet

BOSS ODB-3 Bass Overdrive

JHS Pedals 3 Series Screamer

NUX Reissue Recto Distortion Pedal

Laney DB-PRE Digbeth Bass Guitar Preamp Pedal

Universal Audio UAFX Woodrow '55 Instrument Amplifier Emulation Pedal

Way Huge sTo Super Terrific Overdrive

Wampler Gearbox Andy Wood Signature Overdrive

Keeley D and M Drive

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker Overdrive Pedal

Ampeg SCR-DI Bass Preamp and DI with Scrambler Overdrive

MXR M251 FOD Overdrive

Dod 250 Preamp Overdrive Pedal

Blackstar Dept 10 Dual Drive Pedal

BOSS MD-2 Distortion

Electro Harmonix Bass Soulfood

Electro Harmonix East River Overdrive

Keeley Noble Screamer

Keeley Katana Clean Boost Mini Pedal

BOSS OD-3 Overdrive Pedal

BOSS ST-2 Powerstack Distortion

Fender Hammertone Distortion

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