Distortion and overdrive effects are a key part of a guitarist's pedalboard. Both types originate from the idea of replicating the sound made when a tube amp is pushed too hard, making it clip. Overdrive pedals recreate the sound of a tube drive being pushed with too much gain and providing a slightly distorted sound, as find in many classic rock and roll, blues, country and other recordings. Distortion pedals provide more gain and changes to the signal which can produce a wider range of tones. These are usually applied more on rock and medal sounds. Fuzz pedals produce much more gain and sustain than overdrive pedals are were the signature sound of many classic recordings, including most famously Jimi Hendrix.
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