Overdrive & Distortion Pedals
1-40 of 248 productsFilter

Landlord FX Whiskey Chaser Distortion Pedal

Ibanez TSMINI Tubescreamer Mini Overdrive

BOSS DS-1 Distortion

Pro Co Rat 2 Distortion

Landlord FX Amber Nectar Overdrive Pedal

BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver Overdrive

BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive

Bogner Uberschall Pedal Overdrive/Distortion

NUX Reissue Steel Singer Drive Overdrive Pedal

Wampler Tumnus Overdrive Pedal V2

BOSS DS-2 Distortion

Electro Harmonix Soul Food Transparent Overdrive

Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive V2

Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

Wampler Tumnus Deluxe Overdrive V2

BOSS BD-2W Waza Craft Custom Blues Driver Overdrive

Electro Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Distortion/Sustainer

EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Overdrive

Friedman Small Box Pedal

Wampler Ratsbane Distortion

Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver DI V2

BOSS MT-2W Metal Zone Waza Craft Distortion

MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

Walrus Audio Mako ACS1 Amp + Cab Simulator

BOSS ODB-3 Bass Overdrive

BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion

Dod Looking Glass Overdrive

Wampler Plexi Drive Mini Overdrive

Wampler Belle Overdrive

Ampeg Classic Preamp

JHS Pedals The Bonsai 9 way Screamer Overdrive

Friedman Be-OD Brown Eye Overdrive Pedal

Walrus Audio Ages 5 Stage Overdrive

Way Huge Smalls Green Rhino Overdrive MKV

MXR CSP027 Timmy Overdrive

Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer Reissue Overdrive

BOSS OD-200 Hybrid Drive

BOSS OD-3 Overdrive Pedal

JHS Pedals 3 Series Overdrive

MXR Bass D.I. M80 Preamp
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 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