Overdrive & Distortion Pedals

1-40 of 315 products

Filter

BOSS DS-1 Distortion

BOSS DS-1 Distortion

(53)
£63.00 £74.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Ibanez TSMINI Tubescreamer Overdrive Mini Pedal

Ibanez TSMINI Tubescreamer Overdrive Mini Pedal

(44)
£55.00 £59.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive

BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive

(29)
£69.00 £73.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver Overdrive

BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver Overdrive

(29)
£99.00 £105.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Landlord FX Whiskey Chaser Distortion Mini Pedal

Landlord FX Whiskey Chaser Distortion Mini Pedal

(24)
£29.00 £39.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Landlord FX Amber Nectar Overdrive Mini Pedal

Landlord FX Amber Nectar Overdrive Mini Pedal

(20)
£29.00 £39.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Marshall Bluesbreaker Distortion Pedal

Marshall Bluesbreaker Distortion Pedal

(5)
£149.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS DS-2 Distortion

BOSS DS-2 Distortion

(9)
£79.00 £86.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
MXR Duke Of Tone Overdrive Mini Pedal

MXR Duke Of Tone Overdrive Mini Pedal

(5)
£169.00 £184.99
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

(15)
£129.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

(8)
£129.00 £139.99
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS DS-1W Waza Craft Distortion

BOSS DS-1W Waza Craft Distortion

(1)
£124.00 £138.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Pro Co Rat 2 Distortion

Pro Co Rat 2 Distortion

(16)
£79.00 £85.99
Out of Stock
Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive Pedal

Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive Pedal

£229.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
FREE Delivery
In Stock
Marshall The Guv'nor Distortion Pedal

Marshall The Guv'nor Distortion Pedal

£149.00
Out of Stock
Nobels ODR-1BC (Bass Cut) Overdrive

Nobels ODR-1BC (Bass Cut) Overdrive

(1)
£99.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS BD-2W Waza Craft Custom Blues Driver Overdrive

BOSS BD-2W Waza Craft Custom Blues Driver Overdrive

(8)
£149.00 £173.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Universal Audio UAFX Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier Emulation Pedal

Universal Audio UAFX Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier Emulation Pedal

(2)
£325.00 £349.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
FREE Delivery
In Stock
EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Overdrive

EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Overdrive

(9)
£119.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS HM-2W Heavy Metal Distortion

BOSS HM-2W Heavy Metal Distortion

(1)
£159.00 £173.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS MT-2W Metal Zone Waza Craft Distortion

BOSS MT-2W Metal Zone Waza Craft Distortion

(6)
£129.00 £153.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Electro Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Distortion/Sustainer

Electro Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Distortion/Sustainer

(21)
£85.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Wampler Tumnus Overdrive Mini Pedal V2

Wampler Tumnus Overdrive Mini Pedal V2

(12)
£139.00 £179.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Nobels ODR-Mini Overdrive

Nobels ODR-Mini Overdrive

(2)
£65.00 £69.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Wampler Tumnus Deluxe Overdrive V2

Wampler Tumnus Deluxe Overdrive V2

(8)
£189.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Ampeg SGT DI Preamp Pedal

Ampeg SGT DI Preamp Pedal

£359.00 £481.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
FREE Delivery
In Stock
Landlord FX Bar Brawl High Gain Distortion

Landlord FX Bar Brawl High Gain Distortion

£29.00 £39.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

(7)
£179.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
NUX Queen of Tone Dual Stacked Overdrive Pedal

NUX Queen of Tone Dual Stacked Overdrive Pedal

£99.00 £119.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

(25)
£89.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
All Pedal 1987 Steel Panther Signature Distortion

All Pedal 1987 Steel Panther Signature Distortion

£199.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Spring Sale
Solar Guitars Chug High Gain Preamp Pedal

Solar Guitars Chug High Gain Preamp Pedal

£169.00 £199.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
BOSS OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion

BOSS OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion

(8)
£89.00 £108.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Electro Harmonix Soul Food Transparent Overdrive

Electro Harmonix Soul Food Transparent Overdrive

(18)
£79.00 £84.00
Out of Stock
MXR Bass D.I. M80 Preamp

MXR Bass D.I. M80 Preamp

(3)
£199.00 £214.99
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Universal Audio UAFX Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier Emulation Pedal

Universal Audio UAFX Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier Emulation Pedal

(2)
£325.00 £349.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
FREE Delivery
In Stock
BOSS OD-200 Hybrid Drive

BOSS OD-200 Hybrid Drive

(8)
£209.00 £258.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
FREE Delivery
In Stock
MXR M89 Bass Overdrive

MXR M89 Bass Overdrive

(1)
£149.00 £167.99
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock
Vemuram Jan Ray Overdrive Pedal

Vemuram Jan Ray Overdrive Pedal

£389.00
Out of Stock
Orange Terror Stamp 20w Valve Hybrid Guitar Amp Pedal

Orange Terror Stamp 20w Valve Hybrid Guitar Amp Pedal

(3)
£129.00 £159.00
Get it Wednesday, Mar 20
In Stock

About Overdrive & Distortion Pedals

Finding the right overdrive/distortion pedal is the key to unlocking your unique voice as a guitarist. The term ‘overdrive’ comes from players in the 50s turning up their amps louder than the amp could handle. This overdrove the valves and created a rich, saturated guitar tone. Since then, overdrive has become the definitive sound of the electric guitar. The only trouble, however, was that turning amps like this was very loud. Overdrive and distortion pedals, then, allow you to capture this sound in a more user-friendly way.

We refer to the amount of overdrive something has as ‘gain’. Overdrive and distortion is pretty much the same effect, except distortion is higher gain than overdrive. This means it is suited to hard rock, punk, and metal. Famous distortion pedals include the Boss DS1 - as played by Kurt Cobain and Steve Vai - and the ProCo Rat - rocked by Blur’s Graham Coxon and The police’s Andy Summers.

There is a huge number of overdrive pedals for guitar on the market these days. This allows players to be extremely particular about their tone. In truth, there is a relatively small number of overdrive circuits and most other pedals are either a copy or embellishment. The circuits that reign supreme in overdrive mythology are the Tube Screamer and the Klon. With original units going for thousands of pounds, it’s easy to see why players prefer modern replicas!

 

Why Should I Choose an Overdrive or Distortion Pedal?

  • Most popular guitar effect
  • Light saturation to thunderous distortion
  • Find your voice as a guitarist

Frequently Asked Questions about Overdrive & Distortion Pedals

Question: 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.
Question: 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.
Question: 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.