Please explain to me...

[blakktode]

...what's the difference between distortion and overdrive ?

I'm new to pedals, I've got a cheap distortion box but I've never had a chance to try overdrive.

Thanks in advance.

[Grandma's Tele]

Overdrive is more soft. It's when you are pushing an amp a bit with a bit of gain but not so much as to get the sound really "distorted"... Think of blues! If you add a bit more gain, you get more "crunch" à la Eric Clapton! Yet, it's not very dirty. There is not a lot of distortion.

Distortion is what you get when you add a lot of gain, from (Hard rock - metal songs..., etc)

Overdrive pedals are (usually) not going to give you a lot of gain. You won't rely on them to play metal. You'll need more gain for that! You'll need a distortion pedal!

Or think of it like this:

Clean ---------- A bit dirty----------- A bit more dirty ----------Distortion!!
Clean ---------- A bit less clean------A bit more crunch-----------Dirty!!!
Clean-----------A bit of overdrive--------Overdrive----------------Dirty!!!



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Edit: here is a good explanation, I think: http://www.dolphinstreet.com/blog/di...-overdrive.php

[blakktode]

Thank you very much for your answer.
I'm pretty sure I understand.

I'll have to get an overdrive pedal now...you know, just to make SURE I understand...

[Grandma's Tele]

Originally Posted by blakktode

Thank you very much for your answer.
I'm pretty sure I understand.

I'll have to get an overdrive pedal now...you know, just to make SURE I understand...

I think I should use your sentence for me too, occasionally... with a little twist each time! Could be fun!

"I'll have to get an [Insert pedal name here] pedal now...you know, just to make SURE I understand...

[mojoming]

An overdrive pedal in its strictest sense is a pedal that pushes (overdrives) the preamp tubes of your amp into distortion. Some overdrive pedals have a degree of distortion to add to this mix adding to the already overdriven tubes but generally their use is to act like a additional gain stage in front of the amp specifically overdriving the preamp tube section. I.e. "tube screamer", making those tubes scream!

A distortion pedal generates it's own flavor of distortion, not really designed to rely on tube preamp distortion. Generally paired up with an amp that is clean at louder volumes. It too can have enough boost to push your preamp into overdrive but is generally used for it's own characteristic distortion.

[Grandma's Tele]

Deleted -I replied in the wrong thread - sorry....

[Kilf]

ok then im a pedal n00b so question if an overdrive pedal drives the tube in your amp. what does it do if your amp aint tube i have a roland cube 60

[Jammin'John1]

An overdrive can add a bit of crunch & sustain to your sound Kilf.


JJ

[schenkadere]

Originally Posted by Kilf

ok then im a pedal n00b so question if an overdrive pedal drives the tube in your amp. what does it do if your amp aint tube i have a roland cube 60

You can get some nice OD sounds out of your Cube without pedals. Just dial down the gain. That's a nice amp...very versatile. I've had the Micro Cube for years and am still amazed how great it sounds. I've used it direct for recording too...good stuff.

[mojoming]

Originally Posted by Kilf

ok then im a pedal n00b so question if an overdrive pedal drives the tube in your amp. what does it do if your amp aint tube i have a roland cube 60

It will still overdrive the solid state preamp. It may or may not be to your liking. Your standard preamp tubes and certain types of transistors sound really sweet overdriven.

[Jenix]

i've always thought of overdrive as pushing the signal till it looses its clarity. I think of distortion as scrambled eggs, its scrambling the signal.

[redstringuitar]

Originally Posted by Jenix

i've always thought of overdrive as pushing the signal till it looses its clarity. I think of distortion as scrambled eggs, its scrambling the signal.

So that's what's gone wrong with my playing...encrypted riffery!!

[studio1087]

Or think of it like this:

Clean ---------- A bit dirty----------- A bit more dirty ----------Distortion!!
Clean ---------- A bit less clean------A bit more crunch-----------Dirty!!!
Clean-----------A bit of overdrive--------Overdrive----------------Dirty!!!

I wanna party with you man. I actually read the above 4 times and really thought about it. I wanna party with you.

"How do I know that the color blue "to me" is the same as the color blue "for you" mannnnnnn?

I can't tell you how much that post made me smile.

Nice!

John

[studio1087]

I'll give my goofy explanation......

With overdrive you can still hear the the tone of the clean-ish guitar. With overdrive the warm jangle tone of the guitar still sparkles through.

Distortion is almost fuzzy......It's so heavy and thick that the jangle and sparkle of the guitar is nearly gone.

REM, Tom Petty = Overdrive
System of a Down, Metalica = Distortion