The Difference Between Fuzz, Overdrive, Distortion, & Boost

Episode 221: The Difference Between Fuzz, Overdrive, Distortion, & Boost

Welcome to the Chairmen of the Boards Podcast! The ultimate pedalboard podcast with the foremost rig builders in the world: Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio), Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio), and Mason Marangella (Vertex Effects/The Rig Doctor). We've teamed up to democratize great tone and provide you with our best tricks, tips, resources and hacks so you can build the pedalboard of your dreams!

SPONSORS

Gator Cases - https://gatorco.com/shop-by-category/pedal-boards-power/vertex-pedalboards Neural DSP - https://neuraldsp.com (use code "chairmen" for 30% off) Best-Tronics - https://btpa.com (use code "dachairs" for 10% off) MASTERCLASS

Understanding Mono Signal Paths - https://vertex-effects.teachable.com/p/effects-pedal-order-explained-mono-amp HOSTS

Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio)

YouTube - https://youtube.com/goodwoodaudio  Instagram - https://instagram.com/goodwoodaudio  Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio)

YouTube - https://youtube.com/omilionaudio Instagram - https://instagram.com/omilionaudio Mason Marangella (Vertex Effects)

YouTube - https://youtube.com/vertexeffectsinc  Instagram - https://instagram.com/vertexeffects  TIMESTAMPS

0:00 – Intro & Solo Host Kickoff 3:26 – Pedalboard Signal Path Overview (The Food Pyramid) 5:10 – The "Preamp" Pedal Buzzword & Circuit Reality 7:07 – The History of Fuzz & Vintage Marshall Clean Headroom 8:33 – Transistors, Impedance Sensitivity & Placement (Wah vs. Fuzz) 12:20 – Active Pickups, Buffers & The Axess Electronics UnBuffer 13:38 – Transistor Types: Germanium vs. Silicon & Gain Matching 17:26 – Overdrives vs. Distortions: Tube Screamers, Rats & Clipping  20:45 – Dialing in a ProCo Rat (John Scofield Style) 22:00 – Stacking Drives: Order Merits & Testing Your Rig  24:08 – Pete Cornish's Gain-Staging Philosophy (High Gain First vs. Low Gain First) 27:45 – John Mayer's Evolving Drive Pedal Order (Klon vs. Tube Screamer) 28:47 – Sponsors 32:32 – Clean Boosts: Function, Headroom & Transparency 34:35 – Clean Boost in Front of Amp vs. Effects Loop 36:47 – Pre-Gain Boosts vs. Post-Gain Boosts (The Nashville Method) 40:05 – EQ Pedals as Boosts: Modded Boss GE-7 & Session Rigs 42:25 – Boss GE-10 Graphic EQ Breakdown & Tone Magic 44:35 – Parallel Distortion & Eric Clapton's Soldano Rig 46:04 – Boss SD-1 vs. Tube Screamer: Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Clipping 46:50 – Steve Lukather's 1980 Touring Board Replica & MXR 10-Band vs. Boss GE-10 50:00 – Live