Chapter 6: Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz
supplementary content/information
This page is meant to be used along with your copy Chapter 6: Overdrive, Distortion, & Fuzz.
Gain Pedals
Page 4 - Pedal History Videos
The following clips illustrate some of the earliest Fuzz examples.
page 5 - Early Distortion Examples
Page 8 - Gain Knob Examples
page 9 - Clipping Examples
Listen to the contrast between the dry trumpet sound and the clipped sound. Notice the more apparent distorted grit as the clipping intensifies.
Listen to the saxophone examples below. You will notice a more subtle increase in level of clipping in the Overdrive spectrum. Pay close attention to the color of the fuzz example. This is the sound of clipping at its most extreme.
page 10 - EQ Examples
The examples below give a wide range of the various types of distorted effects with different parts of the harmonic spectrum emphasized.
Page 11 - Pedal Spotlight - Strymon Riverside
The following clips illustrate the versatility and incredible sound quality of the Strymon Riverside. Notice the expansive range of sounds and tones this pedal can produce. It works beautifully alone, or when combined with other pedals.
PAGE 13 - Gate Challenges
Listen to how the gate causes the start of many of the notes to be left out or hidden. This is caused by the gate’s threshold being set to high and can cause an unnatural stuttering sound. A gate is a useful tool, but can cause its own problems if not dialed in carefully.
Page 14 - Gain Pedal Whooshing Sounds
Listen to how the added gain and harmonic content can case a whooshing noise when nothing is being played. This is a common problem when using gain pedals with a microphone and should be addressed to avoid negatively affecting the overall sound of the band.
Page 15 - The Guitar Approach
In these videos, you will see the vastly different way in which guitarists talk about and approach gain pedals. In the video on the left, you will hear lots of information about gain pedals interacting with amps and with each other, types of tone shaping, cable length and more. Most of this does not apply to us, and it is important fdor you to understand what information can be ignored from the guitar side of the pedal world. The video on the right shows the guitar obsession (rightfully so) with the debate between analog vs digital pedals. This is simply not something that horn players need to deal with in the same way, especially when it comes to gain pedals.
page 17 - Practical uses/Playing with the band
Below, you will find examples of ways to use harmony with distortion. Notice how the closer harmony becomes more crunchy and less palatable than the power chords that utalize perfect a perfect fifth. This is a good lesson in choosing your harmony wisely when playing with distortion.
The example below highlights the various ways in which written lines and solos can be enhanced and made more contextually appropriate through the use of distortion.
page 18 - using Gain Pedals with other effects
The two examples below illustrate how using suble drive can help a high instrument more effective fill the role of a lower instrument when using an octave pedal. The drive give some more meat and thickness to the octave down trumpet and sax which produces a more impactful and genuine effect.
The examples below show how gain pedals can be used with a synth pedal. Listen to the texture and coloir of each synth sound, and how it is affected when the gain pedal is engaged.
page 19 - Soloing Examples
Below, you will hear various uses of gain pedals when soloing. First listen to a distorted horn with and without a band. This illustrates how this type of sounds fits in with various contextss and how it can come accross when acapella. Next, Listen to how drive can be added mid-solo to create a powerful energy boost. Last, you will be able to hear how drive can function as a tool to change your tone and not just to distort your sound.
page 20 - Soloing Examples (continued)
These last few examples show more ways to use gain pedals when soloing. First, listen to how the envelope filter with added distrotion creates a fun and impactful sound in this context. Next, you will hear how adding distortion to the chorus of a song enhances the energy and alerts the listener to the new section of the song. Following that, there are many examples of various modulation pedals with distortion. The last examples show how using wah and phaser can help you sound more like a guitar.