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

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Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe Overdrive Pedal (Pre-Owned)

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£99.00

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Wampler Golden Jubilee Dual Overdrive Distortion Pedal

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£189.00 £229.00

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Tone King Royalist Tri-Tube Preamp

£599.00

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Fulltone OCD-GE Germanium Limited Edition Gold Standard

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Fulltone OCD V2 Limited Edition Gold Standard

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MXR EVHMHG Modern High Gain Pedal

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Electro Harmonix Hot Wax Overdrive (Ex-Demo) #202510133863

£99.00 £125.00

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JHS Pedals Kilt 10 Limited Edition

£199.00 £249.00

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£59.00 £129.00

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Fulltone Full-Drive1 Overdrive Pedal

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£149.00

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Catalinbread CB Overdrive

£79.00 £129.00

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Catalinbread CB Distortion

£79.00 £119.00

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LSL Instruments Original Overdrive Pedal

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Wampler Ecstasy Drive (Pre-Owned) #142010

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Dod 50th Anniversary Edition Overdrive Preamp 250

£179.00 £199.00

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Fulltone Custom Shop PlimSoul MkII Overdrive/Distortion Pedal

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MXR M251 FOD Overdrive

£169.00 £194.00

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LSL Instruments Lucid OD Transparent Overdrive Pedal

£99.00 £199.00

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Wampler Plexi-Drive British Overdrive Pedal Deluxe

£239.00

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Fulltone Fulldrive 3 Overdrive Pedal

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£169.00 £199.00

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Wampler Plexi Drive Overdrive Mini Pedal

£129.00 £139.00

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Strymon Fairfax Analog Class A Output Stage Drive

£199.00

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Overdrive & Distortion Pedals

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Victory Amps The Kraken Preamp (Pre-Owned)

Two Notes Le Clean Dual-Channel Tube Preamp (Pre-Owned)

Keeley Oxblood (Pre-Owned)

Citadel Particle Drive High Gain Overdrive

Cornerstone Antique Classic Drive

Source Audio Ultrawave Bass Distortion Lab

Zoom MS-200D Drive Pedal

KMA Machines Logan Overdrive Pedal

Source Audio Ultrawave Distortion Lab

Citadel Plutonium Overdrive Total Bass Annihilator

Wampler ReWired Brent Mason Overdrive Pedal

Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe Overdrive Pedal (Pre-Owned)

Bogner Ecstasy Blue Mini Overdrive (Pre-Owned)

Wampler Golden Jubilee Dual Overdrive Distortion Pedal

Walrus Audio MKII Mako ACS1 Amp/Cab Simulator

JHS Pedals Morning Glory Clean

Fulltone PlimSoul mkII Overdrive (Nearly New) #244

Tone King Royalist Tri-Tube Preamp

Fulltone OCD-GE Germanium Limited Edition Gold Standard

Fulltone OCD V2 Limited Edition Gold Standard

MXR EVHMHG Modern High Gain Pedal

Electro Harmonix Hot Wax Overdrive (Ex-Demo) #202510133863

JHS Pedals Kilt 10 Limited Edition

Laney Nathan East Digbeth Bass Pre-Amp

EarthQuaker Devices ZEQD Preamp

Way Huge Penny Saver Royale Modulation and Overdrive

MXR Eric Gales Raw Dawg Overdrive

Fulltone Full-Drive1 Overdrive Pedal

Catalinbread CB Overdrive

Catalinbread CB Distortion

LSL Instruments Original Overdrive Pedal

Wampler Ecstasy Drive (Pre-Owned) #142010

Dod 50th Anniversary Edition Overdrive Preamp 250

Fulltone Custom Shop PlimSoul MkII Overdrive/Distortion Pedal

MXR M251 FOD Overdrive

LSL Instruments Lucid OD Transparent Overdrive Pedal

Wampler Plexi-Drive British Overdrive Pedal Deluxe

Fulltone Fulldrive 3 Overdrive Pedal

Wampler Plexi Drive Overdrive Mini Pedal

Strymon Fairfax Analog Class A Output Stage Drive

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