F ROMTHELA B
Distortion Dissection, the Final Exam
Now then, all you steely-eyed guitar kill- Gain interplays with volume, overdrive
ers, what have we learned about our and distortion. It is usually a function of a
beloved distortion? Let’s take a moment circuit, whether it is an amp, mixing con-
to recap. sole, etc. Gain is usually referenced at the
beginning of a circuit and can increase the
volume of the signal, up to a point. After
the operating parameter of the circuit is
reached, the signal will begin to become
distorted – a classic example of overdrive.
Continuing to add gain at this point will
First off, we should have a good understanding of the terms overdrive, distortion, gain, and volume. As luck would
have it, all of these aspects of our guitar
sound are closely related and overlap
somewhat. As a result, they
are often incorrectly used to
refer to one another. If you’re
still a little hazy on the differences, please consult our last
four discussions (available
online at premierguitar.com).
But if you’re short on time
like the rest of us, the following is a quick rundown.
two also covered the communication
aspect of the music we play – I cannot
over emphasize how important this is in
relation to overdrive and distortion. It is
paramount to remember that less is more
in a band situation. When you are playing
with a band the guitar signal has to “fit in
the mix” and not compete with the vocals
and cymbals. When practicing alone you
can distort all you want – and it sure
sounds good – but use that same
amount of crunch with the band
and I can assure you the band
will sound like hammered mud.
Overdrive is essentially the
result of pushing a signal
above “normal” limits. This
can cause distortion, an
increase in volume, and, in
technical terms, an increase
in gain. The confusion among
the terms is becoming understandable now, isn’t it?
Part three spoke about the ins
and outs of pedals, and our
love/hate relationship with
them. Pedals can be great tools
to achieve heavy distortion at
lower volumes, but as the volume rises the sound starts going
south. Pedals have an inherent
“tone robbing” aspect and often
take your original tone far from
home. This too is not always a
bad thing, but it is a pity to have
the tone of a $3000 guitar killed
by a $100 pedal. Pedals must be
kept in their proper place as you
work on achieving killer tone.
Distortion occurs when
something causes the signal
to bend or square off from
its original shape or amplitude. Remember, amplitude
is the “height” of the signal,
often measured in a voltage. Whatever is causing the
distortion can be overdriving
the tubes or components.
These can be wave shaping devices such
as pedals designed for this purpose or
even the speakers when pushed to their
limits. It should be noted that most distortion is not very musical. In most cases,
the more distortion the less original tone,
which is why true tube amp distortion
tends to sound better than the pedal-derived kind. That is the main problem
guitarists face with distortion pedals
– they stray too far from the original tone
of the guitar and amp. Keeping the tone
intact is difficult but pedals work great for
achieving distortion at less than ear-dam-aging levels – see the trade off?
If you’re not careful in constructing your tone,
misplaced/misused pedals can kill your sound.
not increase the loudness but will add
to the amount of distortion. This is often
described as “thick.”
Volume simply refers to loudness, period.
It doesn’t matter if it is a clean or distorted signal – loud is loud. Pushing the
pre or post-volumes may cause overdrive,
which then gives us distortion. Around
and around we go.
Our fourth article covered
speakers and hopefully you did
your homework and checked out
the speaker websites – if not,
“git ta steppin’!” There is a ton
of really great information on
those sites. What is your tone
worth? Do you want to sound
really good or just be aver-
age? You have to figure out which type
of speaker, amp, pedals and guitar work
for you – not me, Eddie, Ted, Dan, Zakk,
Stevie or Chet. You have to work this out
– it’s your tone.
In parts two and three we looked at some
signal waveforms on a osciloscope. Review
these photos to get a good “visual” representation of what they represent. Part
Gary “Sarge” Gistinger
President, Creation Audio Labs, Inc.
creationaudiolabs.com
