Distortion Pedal Settings and Best Practices: A Balanced Approach

Through the 1980s and 1990s the electric guitar player’s love for their distortion knew no bounds.

Whether hair bands, speed metal, post-grunge, nu-metal or even the bizarre pop-rock mixes of the 2000s (The Three Doors Downs and Nickelbacks of the world), heavy gain and distorted guitars have been almost a given.

They’ve been the norm.

Gear I Used in this Post

The generations of guitar players that grew up during those decades have depended on distortion and high gain as a staple of their playing style.

Sure, you’ve had the occasional outlier.

The kids who wanted to study classical guitar or who really got into jazz were always there, as not all rushed into the world of rock and metal. But most leaned towards an interest in rock music or established their musical knowledge in heavy blues theory.

In other words, they almost always used some form of distortion.

We cut the distortion knob (DIST) all the way back to to roughly nine o’clock. The tone knob is a little higher, and the level stays at the halfway point.

So on a scale of one to 10:

• DIST: 3
• TONE: 4
• LEVEL: 5

Three, four and five are easy to remember. Though I’d advise matching up your distortion’s level knob with that of the master volume on your amp.

This setting means you’ll have some edge and overdrive to your tone, but not so much that you can’t still take a clean approach to your playing. It’s also an ideal setting to avoid over-saturating the music or being too noisy.

1: Lean Towards the Low End

Regardless of how much gain you use, a distorted tone should have a thicker quality to it.

It should sound heavy, with more low end as opposed to high.

So, even if you aren’t using a lot of gain, you should still be looking for a fuller tone to house the distorted signal.

Here’s what I came up with:

If you use a pedal for distortion, make sure that your pedal’s setting isn’t fighting an opposing tone on your amplifier. For example, you might have your amp set to a fairly high tone, while you try to use your pedal to compensate with something on the low end. Ideally, your amp has the first say in tonal direction, so adjust your amplifier first, then work on your pedal to compliment. You want the two to agree.

Here we’ve used a similar tactic by boosting the low end (the TS9 mode is fairly low) and matching up the levels with our clean tone:

• Drive: 10
• Mode: TS9
• Level: 5
• Tone: 8

Below is a quick checklist you can refer to for making sure that your pedal and amp settings (if you’re using a distortion pedal) are consistent:

You should be able to answer yes to all of these questions:

1. Does the volume level of my pedal match that of my amp?
2. Does the gain preserve the integrity of (i.e. not overpower) my amp’s tone?
3. Is my amp’s tone adequate without the distortion pedal?
4. Do the distortion pedal settings compliment and enhance the tone of my amp?

2: Adding Definition to your Delay

To summarize the technique, we’re going to use our distortion pedal settings to add some more substance to the sound we’re getting from our delay.

The Edge (David Evans) of U2 is particularly adept at this technique.

He add just enough distortion to his delay to give it that extra boost. It’s heavier, thicker and more responsive than what you would hear through a perfectly clean channel.

Start with the following:

1. Clean amp signal with a good dose of bass in the tone.
2. Distorted pedal (or amplifier) with a modest amount of gain dialed in.
3. Rhythmic delay that is placed before the distortion in your effects chain.

I used the same amp settings as above.

I continued to use the Boss DS-1 distortion, since it’s produces a subtle overdrive.

For a delay I used the in “Rhythmic” mode with the following presets:

The gain gives a little more volume to your delay and makes the notes more distinct. You’re also going to get a chunkier quality to the tone, where the picking sounds and scrapes will have a lot more presence and definition than they would with zero gain.

Depending on the source of your distortion (what type of amp or pedal you use) you’ll want to experiment with settings until you find a good balance of tone.

In general, here’s what you want to look for:

• Gain shouldn’t be too saturating.
• Sustain should be limited.
• Sound should be “almost” clean, but with a noticeable amount of distortion.

If your distortion is too heavy, you’ll just end up with a messy sound. That mess can come from too much saturation or sustain, which is why we want to keep those low.

You might have to spend some trial-and-error time, but once you do find something that works, I’d recommend writing down your settings or making a note on your pedal.

3: Multiple Distortion Levels

It’s good to have a variety when it comes to the volume and gain levels of your distortion.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an established tone or a consistent sound, but having two or three different distortion levels can help you be more accommodating to a wider range of music and can even help you handle guitar tracks better within individual songs.

For instance, you might need a softer, more subtle distortion during a verse and then a heavier distortion for the chorus.

It’s a simple example, but a good place to start.

Methods

So how does this work?

You have a few different options.

1. Two Different Distortion Pedals

First, you can approach this by keeping two distortion pedals on your pedalboard. Personally, I’m not at all opposed to owning two of the exact some distortions with their own distinct settings:

The scheme might look like this:

You’ve got two of the exact same pedal, with one on a low-gain setting and the other on a high gain setting.

And of course there’s nothing saying that you can’t use two different distortion pedals and still make this work. For example, I use a Boss DS-1 and a Boss MD-2, since I just happen to have both of them. They’re close enough in tone that I can work with them together.

The MD-2 handles higher gain sounds while the DS-1 handles the more subtle stuff.

Here’s a shot of the settings I like to use when I have both pedals on my board:

2. Amplifier Channels

This is the route that most guitar players take, either because they only own one distortion pedal or because they use the distortion in their amps.

Most amps have more than one channel. That’s meant to give the guitar player the option of several different sounds within their amplifier.

Via a footswitch or the amp’s interface, the guitarist can change between different settings that have been preset on each individual channel.

This works best when you’re not using a distortion pedal, since the signal from a pedal can’t be drastically changed by the amplifier, aside from its volume.

Ideally, if you’re using amp channels to change distortion sounds, the source of your distortion should be the amp itself. That way you can dedicate two channels to two different kinds of distortion, just like in the pedal example above: One for a subtle, low-gain option and the other for a high-gain variation.

3. Volume Pedal or Your Guitar’s Volume Knob

One of the simplest (though less versatile) ways to adjust your distortion’s tone is to use the volume knob on your guitar or a volume pedal placed at the end of your effects chain.

In my opinion, these options are the least desirable for the following reasons:

• Cutting volume alters and comprises every aspect of your tone, not just your distortion.
• Volume pedals and knobs are difficult to adjust on the fly.
• You don’t get the tone control that you get with two pedals or amp channels. Only the volume can change.

That’s not to say that this isn’t a viable option, because it is an incredibly simple and easy way to adjust your tone.

My advice would be to use it as a supplementary instead of primary method.

To test it out, kick on your distortion with the volume knob (or pedal) at full. Now, cut the volume down by roughly three-quarters. Your distortion should sound much more subtle as three-quarters of its gain will be gone.

4: On for the Chorus - Off for the Verse

Once again, we have a principle that should be looked at as a general rule of thumb, with many creative exceptions.

But if your habit is to use distortion all the time, it might be a good idea to cut it down this way:

• Use it during high-intensity choruses.
• Avoid it during quieter verses.

Today’s music is structured this way most of the time, where choruses are swollen, intense and emotional, while verses are quieter and more reflective. This is particularly true in the world of rock and pop.

Your guitar should follow suit.

Distortion excels when it comes to raising the intensity of a song. The only problem is when guitar players use it all the time, it loses that intense appeal and just becomes annoying noise.

So using distortion is like drinking alcohol. Moderation is key.

A good way to start moderating is to get in the habit of turning it off during verses and instead opting for a delay or phaser effect.

5: General Best Practices

We’ve been digging into some long-winded topics, but to wrap things up I’ll leave you with a quick-hit list of best distortion pedal settings and practices that you can use to clean up your sound and get more from your gain.

Sometimes the changes you need to make are really easy and won’t cause you as much of a headache as you might think.

Or maybe you just want a few quick ways to improve.

Here’s what I would suggest:

• Place your distortion pedal at the end of your effects chain, but before your wah or volume pedal.
• Avoid dialing in high-pitched tone on a distortion pedal. Use your amp’s EQ instead.
• Examine genre-friendly standards when choosing gain levels.
• Avoid coupling distortion with too many other effects.
• Use lower levels of gain for effects coupling.

And lastly, I’d add that you should experiment and work with your own gear until you get a sound that you’re happy with. Because I can give you conventions, but ultimately your own gear and the combination thereof, is going to have a lot to say about your sound.

So take conventional wisdom with a grain of salt and be willing to get creative and proactive about your settings.

Wrapping Up

Our use of distortion is changing.

It’s not as simple as it used to be. And guitar players who miss that are going to end up sounding muddy, noisy and out of touch.

As always, there are exceptions based on genre and interest. But it pays to know how to use your distorted tone and how to adapt it to what’s going on in the music of our day. Plus, it’s always better to be a more versatile guitarist, regardless of what year it is.

Take the time to learn your distortion.

You’ll be a more valuable musician and a more gig-worthy player.

If you’ve got best distortion pedal settings or practices to share, we want to hear about them. Hit us up over at Twitter or the comments section below.