Distortion to Overdrive

[robboster]

I was just looking around on the net, when I saw something that said that overdrive os a minor version of distortion, so I was thinking...

Can you crank down the distortion knob on a reasonably light distortion pedal (for me the BOSS DS-1 Distortion) to turn it into something that gives an Overdrive pedal sound?

 

[theunknown]

yes sure it can. but the quality of it is rather questionable. thats why there are such thing called overdrive pedals. they are more suitable for low drive. it rather depends on ur needs. not all distortion pedals sound "good" in low gain settings.

 

[theunknown]

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[robboster]

Well, ya know, some people aren't working yet, so they don't have that much cash to buy a new pedal so fast... So I was thinking of improvising

 

[theunknown]

haha yeah i know, cause i experienced it too. only had a mt2, a high gain pedal, it sure sucks in low drive but what to do? no footswitch for amp and no $ buy pedal. haha. so u have a ds1, i assume. go and try and hear how it sounds! i dont have a ds1 to begin with.

 

[robboster]

Well yea, I have a DS-1... It's a decent distortion, though not as powerful as the MT-2 Metal Zone... It's quite okay with the low-gain, though I'm just a beginner, so my ear's not that good...

 

[theunknown]

if u like it, then its good!

 

[Godspeed64]

Technically how an overdrive, a distortion pedal, or even a fuzz work is different.. In fact, the manner in which they alter your signal allow us to recognize it as an OD, distortion, or fuzz..

In some cases, lowering the gain or increasing it will give certain characteristics that are prevalent in other types of gain.. Like a distortion unit, lowering the gain will give a somewhat OD-ish kinda tone, but with more grit and crunch (you don't get that smooth, TS-type of mid hump OD).. And some distortion units, when the gain is turned all the way up, will have fuzz like characteristics with the thick boominess and decay of the note (but not the gated action, farty sounds, unpredictability of fuzzes).. :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Sure you can get somewhat similar sounds, but getting the perfect pedal for each task would obviously fulfill the role better.. One of the most versatile pedal IMO is the MI Audio Tubezone..

 

[subversion]

+1 to the Tube Zone