The 5 Best Distortion Pedals
Whether a beginner guitarist needs a distortion pedal depends primarily on the style of music they want to play. For most guitarists, a distortion or overdrive pedal is an essential part of their pedalboard. We'll explain the difference between distortion and overdrive and what distortion pedals are good for. You'll also find out which distortion pedals made it into our top five.
Why You Need a Distortion Pedal
Distorted guitar sounds are characteristic of many popular genres, such as hard rock and metal. However, slight distortion of the guitar sound is also used in other genres, such as blues. Distortion generally makes your sound more aggressive and assertive.
Originally, distortion was an (often intentional) noise in amplifiers. When tube amplifiers are played very loudly, a phenomenon called "clipping" occurs. Imagine the typical waveform of a sound; clipping occurs when the peaks are so high that they are cut off.
Since playing amplifiers at such high volumes is impractical, distortion was soon recreated as an effect. This allows you to play with distortion without damaging your hearing or disturbing the neighborhood.
Many amplifiers have two channels: one clean and one distorted. You can achieve greater flexibility with external distortion or overdrive pedals. Other terms for distortion pedals are "screamer" and "fuzz," which can be found in some pedals' brand or product names.
Two classic distortion pedals are the ProCo Rat* and the Ibanez TS808*, the latter of which is responsible for the overdrive effect on countless albums.
Distortion and overdrive: What's the difference?
As mentioned earlier, the characteristic distortion sound is created by clipping, or cutting off the sound peaks. There are two types of clipping: hard and soft. With hard clipping, the sound peaks are shaved off, so to speak. With soft clipping, however, the sound peaks are only cut off above a certain threshold, resulting in a gentler flattening of the waveform.
The difference between overdrive and distortion is simply which type of clipping is used: hard or soft. Distortion uses hard clipping and overdrive uses soft clipping.
In terms of sound, this means that distortion sounds much more aggressive. This is why distortion pedals are especially popular in rock and metal. Overdrive doesn't distort the sound as much, but it can be used more dynamically. It is suitable for more "emotional" music styles, such as blues or jazz.
With an overdrive pedal, you won't get a powerful, loud sound. Instead, you can play quiet passages with virtually no distortion. Only when you strike the strings harder will the distortion kick in. With a distortion pedal, however, it almost doesn't matter how gently or powerfully you strike the strings; you will always get distortion.
Since these effects are similar, some pedals can be used as either an overdrive or a distortion pedal, depending on the setting.
Distortion and overdrive: Our five current favorites
Want to buy a distortion or overdrive pedal? Then you've come to the right place. Here, we present our five favorite distortion pedals. As with all our lists of favorite classic effects pedals, these are not necessarily the best-sounding devices on the market. Instead, we have focused on devices in different price ranges and those that offer interesting additional features.
ProCo Rat 2
What do Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and James Hetfield of Metallica have in common? They both used the ProCo Rat for distortion. The ProCo Rat 2 is a modern update to the classic distortion pedal that has been a staple on many pedalboards since the late 1970s.
The pedal comes in an inconspicuous black case that looks a bit outdated. While the device may lack in appearance, it more than makes up for it in sound. For the affordable price of around 85 euros, the Rat provides a sound that many professionals appreciate, as well as a device with lots of gain and true bypass.
The ProCo Rat can be powered by either a 9-volt battery or a suitable power supply, which is not included. With only three knobs for distortion, filter, and volume, operating the ProCo Rat is easy.
Boss DS-1
Another representative of the "distortion" genre is the DS-1 from Boss. The DS-1 is available for just under €80, and thanks to its widespread use by bands in the '90s and early 2000s, it's also something of a classic among distortion pedals.
It is very easy to use, with three knobs for tone, level, and distortion. As usual, the device comes in Boss's iconic stompbox format. In this case, it is painted orange and features Boss's characteristic large footswitch.
Although the DS-1 is the cheapest device on our list, you don't have to worry about it sounding cheap. It offers fantastic value for money and has no real weaknesses apart from slightly shallow mids. We believe the DS-1 is one of the best distortion pedals for beginners.
The DS-1 is powered by a 9-volt battery or optionally via a power supply unit (not included).
Boss MT-2w Metal Zone
Is metal your passion? Then Boss has the right distortion pedal for you with the Metal Zone. As the name suggests, the Metal Zone is not for everyone, but it has been specially developed for fans of merciless distortion.
If you've read some of our product reviews of multi-effects devices, then the name "Metal Zone" should be familiar to you. Most multi-effects devices have a "Metal Zone" simulation on board—and not just those from Boss. This is no surprise, as the Boss pedal is extremely popular in the metal genre for good reason.
The Metal Zone is based on a circuit that distorts the input signal twice, resulting in a significantly fatter sound. However, the MT-2w impresses us not only with its hard sound. The pedal has good sustain and is ideal for both brutal riffs and sophisticated solos.
The device's housing follows Boss's tried-and-true formula and is painted jet black with blood-red lettering, fitting for the genre. In addition to the standard level and distortion knobs, Boss equipped the pedal with two special knobs with outer rings that allow you to adjust the treble, bass, midrange, and center frequency.
At around 160 euros, the MT-2w is more expensive than other Boss offerings. Nevertheless, if you're a metal guitarist, you can't go wrong with this pedal, even at this price.
Incidentally, the "W" in the product name indicates that it is from the Waza series. Waza is a Japanese word meaning "technique" or "art." Devices in the Waza series are manufactured directly by Boss in Japan and have a switch that allows you to switch between two channels.
With the MT-2W, you get the classic Metal Zone sound with the standard setting and the new, improved Waza sound with the custom setting, which significantly enhances the device's dynamics.
Strymon Sunset
The Strymon Sunset is the first overdrive in our list of favorites. With a price tag of just over $300, it is clearly aimed at professionals. What makes this device special is that it combines analog and digital sound. In this case, "digital" means that a powerful Sharc DSP chip has been installed.
The six knobs on the Sunset's stylish red housing are not just for decoration. This pedal offers incredible sonic versatility. The interface is divided into sections A and B. The A sound is similar to the Ibanez Tube Screamer, while the B sound is more similar to the ProCo Rat. With the Sunset, you don't have to choose between the two sections—they can also be combined, which opens up some really interesting possibilities.
You can load and save presets on the device using an optional cable. A 9-volt power supply is included, as one would expect at this price point. Speaking of price, it may seem high at first. However, we believe that the Strymon device's great flexibility is more than worth the money.
Wampler Tumnus V2
The field of distortion pedals is rich with legendary devices that are well-known and favored by many professionals. The Klon Centaur is one of these pedals in the overdrive category. Why are we telling you this when we're writing about the Wampler Tumnus? Because the Tumnus is a clone of the Klon Centaur — and a damn good one at that.
The Klon Centaur has one major drawback: it hasn't been produced in years. Unless you have $1,500 to spare and the device is miraculously available on eBay, you'll have to do without the original.
Not only does the Wampler Tumnus imitate the Centaur perfectly, but it also looks stylish and has an ultra-compact housing. With only three knobs for gain, volume, and treble, the Tumnus is easy to use.
The Centaur sound is certainly not for everyone. However, if you like it, the Tumnus is the best way to get a device that sounds similar to the original Centaur. It has a price tag of just under $150. You can get it without having to sell one of your kidneys on the black market.
Conclusion
A distortion pedal is a must-have for almost every electric guitarist's pedalboard. If you're into hard rock or metal, a distortion device is your best bet. Everyone else is probably better off with a good overdrive pedal.