The only issue? Boss discontinued the original pedal in 1991 and pre-owned models (particularly the Japanese manufactured versions) sell for an unusually high price tag. Those things are so cheap and compact, I'd like to use them to insert essential FX to individual synths (at the moment, I have a pedalboard bus set up as sends for the lot of them). In fact, many guitarists still disagree about the difference between distortion and overdrive pedals. The Empress Effects Multidrive is another versatile stompbox – it includes a distortion, fuzz, and overdrive pedal in a single pedal. You can switch between different combinations and have access to a variety of toggle switches, 3-band EQ, and more. The best distortion pedals: final thoughts It is a staple pedal for doom and stoner metal bands, especially when pairing it with an already crunchy vintage amp like a Sunn.

The new version has a toggle switch that gives you the classic HM-2 tone or a custom mode which just adds “more”. More of what exactly? More of everything. The Normal channel is by no means average by any stretch of the imagination, just adjust the gain, tone and volume dials to get the desired output and you will be amazed by its rich, full-bodied output that sounds just as good clean as it does heavily distorted. Joyo also seems to offer rebranding services, but not as much as Mooer. Ammoon and Harley Benton are rebranded Joyo pedals.

The dual overdrive and distortion pedal features the 6-position mode selector to use the two pedals separately or in different configurations to combine them with a serial or parallel circuit. This way, you get quite a high range of tones to shape your sound. For example, one preset could be the fuzz and overdrive, while the second preset could be all three. It is versatile too! Inside, we’ve got two gain stages with independent tone & volume controls. You can choose to run those gain stages in series for higher-gain tones, or blend them together via a special blend control.

It features three different gain toggle settings as well as Level, Gain, and Tone control knobs. The circuitry is housed in an all-metal enclosure. In normal mode, simulating the "normal" input of the famed Plexi amp, the amount of gain applied is not over the top. This results in a sophisticated and full distorted tone with a nice bottom-end push. Rebrands: A rebrand is where a factory (likely Mooer or someone who has cloned Mooer) internals into a different enclose they made for another company. Not all rebrands are exactly the same, but they’re usually cloning the same pedal. There are dozens of Mooer rebrands on the market, so we’ve not listed everything we think is a rebrand of a Mooer pedal since that’d just saturate the list. Here are the pedals we suspect of being rebrands:We then narrowed down our scope and excluded other dirt pedal types like fuzz, overdrive and multi-effects pedals. This means that popular overdrive pedals like the Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini are not included. The Fender Pugilist is my favorite distortion pedal from Fender’s new range of beautifully designed pedals. In fact, it is one of the best distortion pedals on the market today (in my opinion). Especially considering its feature set, price-point, build quality, and tone. The best option depends on what you’re looking for. If you just want to plug in and get to playing, odds are you’ll be frustrated with a pedal that requires a lot of tweaking to get a good tone. Likewise, if you prefer having as much control as possible over your tone you’re going to want a pedal that will facilitate that. Most Op amp based distortion pedals are meant for plug-and-play use. But there are some with more tone shaping controls. Note that many guitar amps, including Headphone Amps, come with basic distortion effect. Some distortion units and compressors come with THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) control for more precise distortion.

On another note, been trying some pedals through a Laney LC30II, Mooer Hustle drive, Mosky Obsessive Overdrive, Joyo Vintage Overdrive , Rowin Plexion and Caline Orange Burst. The Walrus Audio Iron Horse V2 is a great distortion pedal. It’s based on the classic RAT pedal but offers more flexibility and improved tone. There’s also the Fender Pugilist Distortion, EQD Acapulco Gold, and Empress Effects Multidrive. What is the most versatile distortion pedal? Now that we’ve covered the best distortion pedals, I’ll answer some common questions: What is a distortion pedal? From the custom mode, you’ll still get a fairly similar tone to the standard mode, but everything is dialled up. There’s more punch, gain, and aggression.

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First introduced in the '70s, the humble MXR Distortion+ continues to be a staple on many pedalboards. Many big name artists including Randy Rhoads, Jerry Garcia, Dave Murray and Thom Yorke have put the pedal to good use.

As with many of these high gain distortion pedals, there is some unwanted hiss and noise - try moving the pedal away from the amp for better results. Then there is the other factor – resale value. A distortion pedal from a well-known pedal brand is going to retain its value better than a pedal brand nobody has heard of before. The fuzz and overdrives have a gain, volume, and filter (high-pass, low-pass, or none). But the distortion has an extra switch that goes between crunch, mild, and soaring lead tones. Interesting, your synth outputs would be line level, are you using line level or instrument level pedals, do you use an additional device? As much as distortion pedals affect tone, other factors like your amp and skill level have to be factored in. So when comparing, you have to consider other gear used.If you’re looking for a full and dark distorted tone, you need a pedal that emphasizes low-end and mid-range tones. Or you can use a separate EQ pedal to achieve similar effect. Versatility vs. Usability It should be noted that some pedals are heavily influenced by the original, as opposed to being a 100% clone. So for a few of the below pedals, the manufacturer has put their own twist or improvement on it. A distortion pedal will sound much better when paired with an expensive tube amp with 4x12 cabinets. The difference will be obvious when compared to a basic single-speaker solidstate combo amp.