Members ak47dragunov Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I have heard all these terms used almost interchangeably, and I'd like someone to clear up my confusion and clarify to me what each one is, and what genre each is most suited for, and the differences in sound between them. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 All three are essentially "distortions" because they distort the true audio signal. Differences lie in the way they alter the signal and by which means. Transistors, diodes, IC's...there are many ways to get a decent distortion sound. "Fuzz" is just a particular 'flavor' of distoriton and is called fuzz because of the unique sound of the distortion you get with a fuzz circuit. Heres a few samples from a terrific youtube reviewer and pro musician. These should give a decent idea of some of the sounds associated with each category. FUZZ:[YOUTUBE]i-zGpurjFAo[/YOUTUBE] DISTORTION:[YOUTUBE]auV6X6gfWdI[/YOUTUBE] OVERDRIVE:[YOUTUBE]AViMnHAV-lw[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I'll leave the technical details out of it...because I'd probably get them wrong. Overdrive pedals are designed to emulate the sound of a tube amp that is turned up to a very high volume. This produces a clipping/compression effect on the tone, as well as amplifying some overtones that would normally be too quiet to hear. You typically get a warm, compressed tone with a lot more sustain than usual, but the natural tone of the guitar is still there. Classic rock and blues players (like myself) love overdrive pedals. The tubescreamer is sort of the industry standard for overdrives, but there are a billion pedals out there with different tones to pick from. I'm a fan of Barber, myself. A distortion pedal amplifies those little overtones much more aggressively, which changes the tone to a much greater extent than an OD pedal will. This makes the "fuzziness" of the tone more pronounced. It makes for a more aggressive sound, and is usually used for heavier rock and metal. A fuzz pedal (to my knowledge) is really just a distortion pedal, but the purpose is to give that super-noisy signal. With so many overtones being amped up by the pedal, you get a very fuzzy, buzzy tone. Psychedelic acts in the 60's loved these things, and they got another big boost in the early 90's when grunge bands started using them. That's the way I see 'em. I'm sure somebody else can give more details and possibly correct my mistakes. I favor overdrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Help!I'maRock! Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Overdrive pedals are designed to emulate the sound of a tube amp that is turned up to a very high volume. This produces a clipping/compression effect on the tone, as well as amplifying some overtones that would normally be too quiet to hear. You typically get a warm, compressed tone with a lot more sustain than usual, but the natural tone of the guitar is still there. Classic rock and blues players (like myself) love overdrive pedals. The tubescreamer is sort of the industry standard for overdrives, but there are a billion pedals out there with different tones to pick from. I'm a fan of Barber, myself. i always thought overdrive pedals were designed to add volume, pump the mids, and add a slight bit of gain to cut through on leads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 That guy rock my socks right off my feet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Yeah, hes not only a great player, but a funny dude as well. Recognize his voice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimwratt Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Yeah, hes not only a great player, but a funny dude as well. Recognize his voice? is that jack black? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 jack black or christian slater... Damon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Jack, yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samuraiBSD Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I much prefer overdrive...much warmer sounding and maintains definition. Distortion is just too noisy for me... Bad Monkey = FTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 The line between overdrive and distortion is pretty ambiguous. Overdrive doesn't have as much actual "distortion" on tap. It is best used to push an amp towards the onset of power tube saturation while providing a bit of gain on its own. Literally, to overdrive the amp. I see distortion as something that is better used as a standalone on a clean channel. Generally lower gain units are labeled overdrive while higher gain are distortion. Fuzz is a totally different animal to me in that while OD and distortion try to be "amplike", fuzz doesn't sound like an amp at all. It's a wild, over the top sound, super thick and buzzy. For some stuff it's great, but it's not my thing at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimwratt Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 The line between overdrive and distortion is pretty ambiguous. Overdrive doesn't have as much actual "distortion" on tap. It is best used to push an amp towards the onset of power tube saturation while providing a bit of gain on its own. Literally, to overdrive the amp. I see distortion as something that is better used as a standalone on a clean channel. Generally lower gain units are labeled overdrive while higher gain are distortion.Fuzz is a totally different animal to me in that while OD and distortion try to be "amplike", fuzz doesn't sound like an amp at all. It's a wild, over the top sound, super thick and buzzy. For some stuff it's great, but it's not my thing at all. yeah, i'd say it like this Overdrive: Cruising over the speed limit (doing 80 in a 60mph zone)Distortion: High Speed ChaseFuzz: Total Wipeout Head On Collision Cars-Flipping-Over Huge Explosion at the End. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keNz Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1437183&highlight=overdrive+fuzz+distortion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ehlpitel Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I would say OD pedals tend to be much more mild than most distortion pedals while fuzz pedals are overdriven as well as more noisy in general and "fuzzy" sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I thought his voice sounded like Jack Black - I'm a big fan - and I even thought to myself that his little comic snippits sounded Jack Blacky... but I never made the connection. That's awesome. metallica_00. I think we're on the same page with most tonalities and I've NEVER considered myself much of a fuzz guy, but that video clip with the fuzz makes me rethink that. I was very impressed with the tone he was getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boomhead8486 Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Most overdrive pedals are designed to work with your amp to produce the given tone. Distortion pedals are meant to replace the amp's characteristics for a sound of its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I thought his voice sounded like Jack Black - I'm a big fan - and I even thought to myself that his little comic snippits sounded Jack Blacky... but I never made the connection.That's awesome.metallica_00. I think we're on the same page with most tonalities and I've NEVER considered myself much of a fuzz guy, but that video clip with the fuzz makes me rethink that. I was very impressed with the tone he was getting. A product of may things, but the pedal is surely an amazing piece. When compared to a more traditional Fuzz pedal, like say an Electro Harmonix Big Muff, its a much more tone friendly box IMO. Then there are other OD/distortion boxes that can have a bit of fuzz sound to them without getting too crazy. One versatile box that fits that bill is the Crowther Audio Hotcake. Check out this vid: (2:00 mark -3:00) [YOUTUBE]qlrErdBDaoM[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bad Chile Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 Thanks for posting that. I was just googling today the diff between the Distortion III and the + (I have a III that I love and figure I should get a + too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 2, 2009 Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 No problem Chile. Glad it helped So what do you think after listening/watching? Are 3 knobs indeed better than 2 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CanIBDom Posted January 3, 2009 Members Share Posted January 3, 2009 Unfortunately that's not JB, but it sure sounds like him. There were at least 2 recent threads on here about his identity, but there doesn't appear to be any search results for "gearmanndude." His reviews are excellent and ass-crackingly funny, regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted January 3, 2009 Members Share Posted January 3, 2009 Unfortunately that's not JB, but it sure sounds like him. There were at least 2 recent threads on here about his identity, but there doesn't appear to be any search results for "gearmanndude." His reviews are excellent and ass-crackingly funny, regardless. oh...?I'd be SHOCKED if that wasn't actually him. Nevertheless though, fantastic reviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PanaDP Posted January 3, 2009 Members Share Posted January 3, 2009 Unfortunately that's not JB, but it sure sounds like him. There were at least 2 recent threads on here about his identity, but there doesn't appear to be any search results for "gearmanndude." Yeah, the search function here has some issues. I was looking for a recent thread with a very common guitar-related search term and it didn't find anything at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bad Chile Posted January 3, 2009 Members Share Posted January 3, 2009 No problem Chile. Glad it helped So what do you think after listening/watching? Are 3 knobs indeed better than 2 ? honestly? couldn't tell the difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xoltri Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 I was curious so I did some searching, and nope, it's not Jack Black. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2013015&page=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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