Different types of distortion

and when to use them

So, you've got this fancy effect pedal that lets you use more than one kind of distortion! That's great! But... how do you know when to use each kind of distortion? Hmmm....

Maybe I mislabeled this page. It should probably be "Different levels of distortion."

If you don't have all different kinds of distortion, don't worry! Make do with the gain and tone controls on your distortion unit. Use the gain for distortion level, and the tone control for crunchiness.

Distortion type	Appropriate use
None	Slow songs
Light & crunchy	Light modern rock, slow songs
Light & smooth	Slow song leads, slow songs
Medium crunchy	Alternative rock, power chords
Medium smooth	Leads, riffs with delay
Heavy crunchy	Punk rock, hardcore
Heavy smooth	Fast leads
Heavy "wet"	Heavy metal leads (add chorus and, optionally, delay and/or reverb)

OK. Now you have a good distortion for a song. Let's equalize it to get a good sound.

EQ emphasis (what to turn up)	Resultingsound
Low end, cutting high end (use low pickups)	Deep, bassy distortion
Low end	Heavy distortion
Midrange	All-purpose distortion, maybe a tin-can sound
High end	High distortion, light/airy
High end, cutting low end (use high pickups)	Telephone-type sound

< Back

[ Home ] [ Guitar 101 ] [ Guitar 201 ] [ Electric Guitar ] [ Leads ] [ Bass techniques ] [ Chords ] [ Song Construction ] [ Tips for playing shows ]

Any questions, e-mail me at danlib64@yahoo.com for help.