HOW DID WE GET HERE ?
By the late 1920's jazz was fast becoming the popular music of the day. Attempts started to be made to amplify guitars because larger bands and drum kits were quite simply overpowering them.
So over the following years came advances in pickups and amplifiers. The object of these was not to change or create a new sound but to simply make the guitar louder. Amplifiers were small and under powered and when turned up louder they distorted because of poor design and limited technology. For one thing it is close to impossible to make amplifiers using tubes/valves free of distortion.These amplifiers were not designed by engineers they were created by enthusiasts with only a basic knowledge.
Gradually musicians became adaptive and began creating techniques that made this sound an asset.
By the 1950's there were styles of music that depended on this sound. The companies that made them had accidently found a balance between better technology and superior parts and a great sound by small changes in design.
What causes this distortion?
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| 50's Fender |
What causes this distortion?
...tubes especially...they produce second harmonic distortion even at relatively low volumes...bad design with preamp tubes overdriving amplifier tubes causes more... and if the transformer in the amplifier is too small it will turn itself into a compressor. Resulting in a tone that the harmonics and overtones are as loud as the note played...and the transformer gives it a distorted and unnatural sustain.
WONDERFUL!!!
Ironically when Fender sold his company to CBS they brought in engineers to update the manufacturing and the design of the amplifiers. Not understanding how a distorted amplifier could be a good thing...they set about trying to make distortion free products. CBS did come up with one good idea. They sold the company.
Tube amps are more popular than ever. We all love second harmonic distortion. What is it. To over simplify it is when for example you play a single note then listen. The loudest overtone you hear is going to be a second harmonic...the second harmonic of an A is A and of B a B etc. It is like having an artificial note being played a few octaves higher then the note you are playing.
So we now consider a great clean sound to have a great deal of it.
I have already mentioned that many tube amplifiers were designed so that the preamp signal would overdrive the amplifier even when the amp was set at very low levels. Marshall amps are famous for this.
In the 60's guys like ........ Jimi Hendrix !!!
In the 60's guys like ........ Jimi Hendrix !!!
had their amp turned up full to get a heavy overdriven sound.These amps only had one volume knob. With 2 you can turn down the amplifier section while still overdriving it with the preamp. He found that if he kept the Fuzz knob on a his Fuzz Face stomp box turned down and the volume turned up you could overdrive the amp more. He soon found he needed 2 Fuzz pedals.
He found that having a clean and overdrive sound was a must. Later manufacturers realized by adding another tube in the preamp they could build this sound right in the amplifier itself.
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| Jimi's Fuzz |
A fuzz is an artificial device that 'clips' the signal creating 3rd harmonic distortion...some modern amps and many distortion pedals allow you to do this too and although raw and exciting unlike second harmonic distortion the third is not musically related. Play a full 6 note cord thru it and the harmonics are literally out of tune with each other. Musicians got around this by creating the power chord...which are not chords but intervals like octaves and fifths that do not exaggerate this effect. If any tube amp is pushed to extremes they too will clip.
So one of the first pedals that worked really well for overdrive is the Pro Co Rat. It was sold as a distortion pedal.
Many musicians started to use it as a boost to overdrive the preamp. It used FET transistors.
Eventually the clever designers at a small Japanese pedal manufacturer called Maxon figured out what was going on. Maybe they had a look inside a Rat. LOL
They found that FET transistors created second harmonic distortion and if you overdrive one into another you create an overdrive effect. Do it right and any degree of distortion is possible. Ibanez noticed how great this sounded and licensed the design from Maxon.
The famous Tube Screamer 808 started a whole new range of pedals from everyone. The overdrive pedal.
It was not long before it became obvious that
if you overdrive an over drive you can create the perfect overdrive/distortion pedal.
Neither Maxon or Ibanez actually manufactured the pedals...they were both made at the same factory.
From these 3 companies the modern Over Drive
pedal was born.
Today by using EQ and filters in a design all manufacturers are creating better overdrives and distortions. The amount of choice is endless.
'Modeling' is the most recent category where a pedal actually imitates the sound of a specific tube amp.
It is now possible to get overdrives and distortions for specific music styles. What determines this is the
fixed shaping of the tone of the pedal (it's fixed EQ) , some filtering and the amount of distortion.
So...you say "I thought this site was all about cheap guitar pedals."
It is...but if you want to choose the right ones you need to know what you are looking for.
Often guitarist keep looking for the perfect pedal and pay hundreds. The secret is often to have 2 or 3 pedals that do 2 or 3 different things but do them perfectly. To do this is more flexible. You have a greater variety of sound and best of all it is nearly always CHEAPER!!!
So in our next 2 installments OVERDRIVES
In the first...we will discuss specific types of overdrives and what they do best.
In the second we will deal with specific makes and models that do an excellent job. Or more to the point the pedals that I put my money where my mouth is.
Best of all...most are less then $50.00 USD some are closer to $35.00 USD
Many musicians started to use it as a boost to overdrive the preamp. It used FET transistors.
Eventually the clever designers at a small Japanese pedal manufacturer called Maxon figured out what was going on. Maybe they had a look inside a Rat. LOL
They found that FET transistors created second harmonic distortion and if you overdrive one into another you create an overdrive effect. Do it right and any degree of distortion is possible. Ibanez noticed how great this sounded and licensed the design from Maxon.
The famous Tube Screamer 808 started a whole new range of pedals from everyone. The overdrive pedal.
It was not long before it became obvious that
if you overdrive an over drive you can create the perfect overdrive/distortion pedal.
Neither Maxon or Ibanez actually manufactured the pedals...they were both made at the same factory.
From these 3 companies the modern Over Drive
pedal was born.
Today by using EQ and filters in a design all manufacturers are creating better overdrives and distortions. The amount of choice is endless.
'Modeling' is the most recent category where a pedal actually imitates the sound of a specific tube amp.
It is now possible to get overdrives and distortions for specific music styles. What determines this is the
fixed shaping of the tone of the pedal (it's fixed EQ) , some filtering and the amount of distortion.
So...you say "I thought this site was all about cheap guitar pedals."
It is...but if you want to choose the right ones you need to know what you are looking for.
Often guitarist keep looking for the perfect pedal and pay hundreds. The secret is often to have 2 or 3 pedals that do 2 or 3 different things but do them perfectly. To do this is more flexible. You have a greater variety of sound and best of all it is nearly always CHEAPER!!!
So in our next 2 installments OVERDRIVES
In the first...we will discuss specific types of overdrives and what they do best.
In the second we will deal with specific makes and models that do an excellent job. Or more to the point the pedals that I put my money where my mouth is.
Best of all...most are less then $50.00 USD some are closer to $35.00 USD
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