Overdrive

A milder, warmer form of distortion that emulates a pushed amplifier.

Overdrive is a gentler, more natural-sounding form of distortion that recreates the warm, gritty sound of an amplifier being pushed hard — the tone players historically got by turning a valve amp up loud. It adds harmonic richness and a pleasant 'breakup' to the sound while keeping much of the original note's character intact, sitting between a clean tone and full-blown distortion. Overdrive is the backbone of blues, classic rock and roots-music guitar, prized because it responds dynamically to how hard you play, cleaning up when you ease off and growling when you dig in. Often delivered by pedals, overdrive is one of the most popular and musical ways to add edge to a guitar.

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