Best Distortion Pedal For Electric Guitar

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The Boss DS-1 is a legend. It plays well with other pedals & a wide variety of amps. Its tone has graced thousands of recordings in every genre from classic rock to metal.

The RAT 2 carries on Pro Co’s legendary line of distortion. Its thick fuzz-like rock tones have inspired guitarists for decades. Read more

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A classic distortion, well loved for its budget price-point, unique distortion tone, and Boss reliability. A very capable pedal to start with, and you can easily modify it to make it even better. Read more

Three gain stages coupled with 7 generous tone shaping options give this pedal a ton of breadth for a pedal that does high gain so well. Read more

Truly badass distortion pedal with an incredible range, from boost to overdrive to full-on distortion. Incredibly useful and responsive EQ knobs are a game changer. Unbelievable value. Read more

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This signature pedal from Metallica's Kirk Hammett features amazing high gain metal tones and an incredibly useful built in noise gate. Read more

If modern high gain distortion is the name of your game, we have yet to find one we like more than this huge-yet-articulate sounding boutique pedal. Read more

A distortion pedal drives your guitars signal and saturates your tone more than a standard overdrive does. This effect has a distinctive tone that is predominant in many genres of music and it is one of the most popular types of guitar pedals. Here are the best distortion pedals available.

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We curate a selection from classic gain distortions to modern pedals with several gain stages and multiple EQ parameters to make sure we help you find your perfect pedal. Whether you are looking for a relatively lighter classic rock crunch or the heaviest metal riffing machine, we have you covered.

I don’t play much metal and prefer distortions that do one thing really well, as opposed to try and do everything. For me it all comes back to the sound, and the RAT nails it.

The Pro Co RAT2 has always held a pretty special place in guitarists' hearts. The Original RAT was introduced in 1978 and found immediate success. Despite being one of the first dedicated distortion pedals, its current incarnation, the RAT2, is

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The thick chewy sound we love from the RAT2 sounds incredibly full with tons of bottom end but feels balanced enough to still really let the upper registers sing. It’s essentially half fuzz and half distortion, offering a really interesting mix between the two. To know exactly what we're talking about, reference Blur's brilliant Song 2, which was made using a RAT2.

This pedal is spartan, extremely easy to dial in, and built like a tank. You get 3 control knobs - DISTORTION, FILTER, and VOLUME - and a footswitch. The control knobs feature a rubberized grip that feel great to the touch. The knobs adjust smoothly and have indicators that glow in the dark so adjusting the pedal in the dark is easy to do on the fly.

The RAT2 has rubberized feet that keep it about a quarter inch off the floor. This makes space for the “no tools necessary” thumbscrew that secures the battery access door. The 9V DC input is located on the top of the box between the input and output, but be aware it does not include a power supply.

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Thick aggressive tones are our favorite tones with the RAT2, but we also love it because of its versatility. Used sparingly, this pedal can function as an overdrive. Roll on the filter while paring back the distortion and you have a killer overdriven tone that rivals a tube screamer. Dial up the distortion, and you've got capable distortion that set the standard for thrash metal in the 1980s.

Guitar

It lacks the granular controls of some of the other options on this list, but whether for hard rock, metal, or smoother/warmer blues soloing needs, the RAT2 can dial it in perfectly making the RAT series from Pro Co modern classics. Hugely influential guitarists like David Gilmour, James Hetfield, Dave Grohl, and a slew of other monumental artists have used it.

Bottom Line: The RAT2 is a classic that delivers overdrive, distortion, and fuzz in one box. The sweet spot for this pedal is a thick and saturated distorted tone.

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Kurt Cobain is one of the reasons I picked up a guitar and he used this distortion. I especially like this distortion with an amp that has a robust low end to thicken up the sound.

The Boss DS-1 is the most popular distortion pedal on the planet. Introduced in 1978, the little orange box is the first distortion pedal Boss made and has become an icon.

This is not a specialty metal pedal, so it is not a high-gain drive. It generally breaks up before getting super modern metal sounds. Be aware of that, but virtually any other type of distorted music you can think of the DS-1 handles like a champ.

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This pedal is a relatively bright sounding distortion. It can do crunch to hard rock really well. Boss even includes eight suggested settings in the user manual for a great way to get to some good tones for specific genres.

The way this pedal cuts through a mix is pure rock and roll perfection. Our favorite application for this pedal is rock and roll, plain and simple. Kurt Cobain, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani are among the long list of well-documented DS-1 users.

Keeley Electronics Filaments » 3 gain stages and a full featured EQ give this pedal the ability to sound great from low to high gain.

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At high gain tones. We just find that calling this drive a high-gain distortion pigeonholes what is a versatile drive that sounds excellent at lower gain settings as well.

Robert Keeley is no stranger to dirt. His company makes some of our favorite drives on the market, so while the Filaments can go into higher gain territory than their other offerings, we still feel that calling it a high gain is a misnomer because of its versatility.

The Filaments has three stacked gain stages that interact on the signal and even sound warm and inviting at some of the lower settings on the pedal. Once you roll up the gain the sound stays tight as the signal gets saturated.

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The tone is incredibly easy to adjust given since you have 7 methods of EQ shaping at your fingertips. The controls are laid out logically and are easy to use. These include PRESENCE, BASS, BODY, and TREBLE knobs as well as toggle switches to adjust the BOOST, BRIGHT (for more shine), and CRUNCH (chugging rhythm versus searing solo tones).

In our review, it was hard to find a setting where the Filaments produced a bad sound. All the controls give you optionality to micro sculpt your tone, but you can quickly dial in everything from some light gain drive to chugging metal.

The pedal looks the part too, with a black on black art scheme of a glossy tube on the matte case. The bold red lettering really sets off the look, and the LED is a bright blue.

Best

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The Filaments can draw power from 9 or 18 volts (sounding louder at 18) and is true bypass. However, it does not have the ability to run off a battery, so be aware of that limitation.

Bottom Line: It is too restrictive to call this only a high-gain drive, although it produces nuanced metal tones brilliantly. Its tone shaping options give it a versatility that makes it a compelling option no matter what genre you play. All things considered, this is one of the most versatile modern drives with a range that will satisfy anyone wanting serious distortion.

The MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion is one of the best sounding distortion pedals MXR has made. The distortion has an incredible range, it's easy to dial in, and it's an outrageous value for the money.

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The 3 EQ knobs are its marquee feature. They allow you to sculpt your tone no matter what guitars, amps, or other pedals you're using.

And that's where our dilemma with the M75 is. If you wanted ONE pedal to cover all your dirt needs, this would be hard to beat, especially given the price. It does clean boost -> gentle breakup -> hard rock distortion -> metal.

It's not our favorite sounding in any single category, but it can handle them all extremely well. If you are limited to a single drive pedal or want to put together a minimal pedalboard, this is a great option.

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The knobs are super simple: OUTPUT knob controls the volume; DISTORTION knob does the heavy lifting. The 3 EQ knobs - BASS, MID, and TREBLE - serve to sculpt your tone. The pedal features True Bypass and is a rugged and attractive little thing with a metallic silver finish.