Thomann's Cool Online Guides: Distortion Effect Pedals
A classic Ibanez Tubescreamer or Colorsound Tonebender can fetch many times its original price from guitarists in search of the ultimate killer tone and sustain.
- 1.Introduction
- 2.History
- 3.What’s Out There Today
- 4.Booster
Welcome to our Distortion Pedal Online Advisor.
Perhaps the most popular of all stomp boxes, ‘distortion’, ‘booster’ and ‘overdrive’ pedals have become almost as collectable as guitars themselves over the years. A classic Ibanez Tubescreamer or Colorsound Tonebender can fetch many times its original price from guitarists in search of the ultimate killer tone and sustain.
From the crunching tones of nu-metal to the searing beauty of Santana or Cream-era Clapton, electric guitarists the world over have experimented relentlessly with all kinds of boxes, in all kinds of sizes, to find their own unique sound. Here, we look at the history of the distortion pedal, and explore methods of getting the best out of your preferred model.
Our Online Advisor extends to several pages - you can jump from section to section using the index below or the navigation at the bottom of each page.
Best rated products
Top Brands Show all brands
All brands
- Abasi
- Alexander Pedals
- Amptweaker
- Amt
- Anasounds
- Beetronics
- Behringer
- Big Joe
- Blackstar
- Bogner
- Boss
- Carl Martin
- Catalinbread
- Cmat Mods
- CopperSound Pedals
- Crazy Tube Circuits
- Danelectro
- Daredevil Pedals
- Darkglass
- Dawner Prince
- Death by Audio
- Diezel
- Digitech
- Duesenberg
- Dunlop
- EarthQuaker Devices
- Egnater
- Electro Harmonix
- Emma
- Empress Effects
- Engl
- Ernie Ball
- EWS
- Fairfield Circuitry
- Fender
- Foxgear
- Friedman
- Fulltone
- GFI System
- Greenhouse Effects
- Harley Benton
- HoTone
- Höfner
- Ibanez
- J. Rockett Audio Designs
- Jam Pedals
- Jet City Amplification
- JHS Pedals
- JoeMeek
- Joyo
- Keeley
- KHDK
- Klon
- KMA Audio Machines
- Komet Amplification
- Laney
- Lovepedal
- LunaStone
- Mad Professor
- Marshall
- Maxon
- Mesa Boogie
- Mod Devices
- Mooer
- Morgan Amplification
- Morley
- MXR
- NEO Instruments
- Neunaber
- NEXI
- Nobels
- Nux
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors
- One Control
- Orange
- Origin Effects
- Outlaw Effects
- Palmer
- Pettyjohn
- Pigtronix
- Proco
- Radial Engineering
- Red Panda
- Red Witch
- Revv
- Rivera
- Rockett
- Seymour Duncan
Most popular products
Digital Piano 88 Keys with scaled hammer action keyboard (Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard), 18 Sounds, 192-Voice polyphony, Hammer response, Damper resonance, Split and layer function, Chorus, DSP, Brilliance, 60 Internal exercises, Transposer, Metronome, Bluetooth audio, Connections: 2x Headphones,...
Active Monitor System 4.5" Woofer, 0.75" Tweeter, 60 W class D amplifier (2 x 30 W), Optimised for desktop applications, Front volume control, Frequency range: 88 - 20,000 Hz (-3 dB SPL), 60 - 20,000 Hz (-10 dB), Max....
Amp Modeling Interface 24-Bit / 96 kHz, 10 x 4 Amp Modeling Audio Interface, 2 x Combo inputs mic / line with Audient Class A microphone preamp (60 dB gain), Instrument input with tube preamp including 12AX7 tube and...
Baritone Electric Guitar Alder body, Ash veneer top, Maple neck, Ebony fretboard (Diospyros Celebica), Dot fretboard inlays, Fretboard radius: 350 mm, Nut width: 42 mm, 24 Frets, Scale: 711 mm, Pickup: Chapman Sonorous Zero Baritone humbucker, Controls: Master Volume...
Pitch Correction Plugin (Download) Software for automatic intonation correction in real time, Easy and fast pitch correction, Based on the algorithms of Auto-Tune Pro, Simple parameter set for easy operation, Low-latency for live applications, Compatible to Antares Auto-Key (Article...
Audio MIDI sequencer (DAW)Upgrade from Cubase AI 6 or later 32 Bit Integer and 64 Bit Float, Unlimited number of simultaneously usable audio and MIDI tracks, Supports up to 256 physical inputs and outputs, 5.1 Surround...
Bluetooth Headset Supra-aural, Closed, Foldable, 40 mm Dynamic driver, Bluetooth aptX Technology, Up to 30 hours Bluetooth operating time, Control element on headphones, Music Share (one more listener can be plugged into an earpiece with a 3.5 mm jack...
Tama Imperialstar series, model: IP62H6NBBOB+8, limited 7pcs version, finish: Blacked Out Black (BBOB), covered 8-ply, 7.5mm thick poplar shells, black nickel shell hardware, set containing 22"x18" bass drum with Accu Tune bass drum hoop, 08"x07" - 10"x08" - 12"x09" tom...
Toontrack EZX Pop Punk (ESD); expansion pack for Toontrack EZ Drummer 2 (item 399369) / Superior Drummer 3 (item 419735); produced and recorded by John Feldmann; contains 3 complete drum sets with the genre-typical Larger-Than-Life sound; 7 Snaredrums, 4 Kicks,...
Piano Monitor Specially designed for optimal dynamic playback of the Nord Piano Library, Optimized for near field, Additional auxiliary audio input to connect a laptop or smartphone, Power: 2x 80 W, Loudspeaker equipment: 3/4" Tweeter and 4 1/2" woofer,...
Jazz Bass Electric Guitar Alternate Reality Series, Body: Ash, Bolt-on neck: Maple, Fretboard: Maple, Neck shape: Modern C, Scale: 648 mm (25.5"), Nut width: 41.9 mm (1.65"), Fretboard radius: 241 mm (9.5"), Fretboard inlays: Black dots, 22 Medium jumbo...
Positive Grid BIAS FX 2 Standard (ESD); guitar effects plugin; Guitar Match technology simulates specific guitars, which can be played wiht regular guitars; contains Guitar Match-Essential with 2 guitars, 45 effect pedals and rack processors as well as 30 classic...
We're looking forward to hearing from you and aim to solve any problems as soon as we can.
Payment can be made safely and securely with Credit Card, Bank Transfer, PayPal or Amazon Pay.
Hans-Thomann-Straße 1
96138 Burgebrach
Germany