Best Distortion Pedals Overall (2023 roundup)

Parent page: Best guitar pedals overall

There are a lot of distortion pedals out there and even more overdrives.

So before we get to my best distortion pedal picks, it's important to make some distinctions about what I mean when I say "distortion pedal" and what I don't mean. Because distortion is actually a sub-type of an effects category called gain.

All gain pedals deal with volume and decibel boosting, and distortion pedals are just one example.

Here's a full list of pedal types in the gain category:

• Distortion
• Overdrive
• Fuzz
• Boost
• Preamps/amp simulators

For these recommendations, we are not including overdrive, fuzz, preamps, or boost pedals. While some might disagree, I would argue those are not the same. They're styled very differently and use different types of clipping, which is basically the kind of waveform that's implemented.

Keep in mind that "distortion" is often used as a junk-drawer term for all these pedals, but it's not always accurate.

For example, I would argue that the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal is more accurately characterized as an overdrive, since guitar players tend to use it to boost their amp's dirty channels. Then again, my opinion is just my opinion.

We've all got those.

At any rate, I'll be focusing on pedals that are explicitly and accurately billed as distortion effects.

Let's start with a comparison table of the four pedals I'll cover, with honorable mentions listed below.

Compare our top distortion pedal picks

You can use the compare buttons to quickly check basic specs and live pricing for all the pedals listed.

Honorable Mentions

Best Distortion Pedals Overall (reviewing each pick)

Here's where I'll give my reasoning for each individual distortion pedal recommendation. There's a lot here, so we've broken things up in a way that's hopefully helpful and easy to digest.

Empress Effects Heavy

Best overall

Here's another example of weird naming conventions. The Heavy is listed as an "overdrive". But I would argue it's primarily a distortion pedal. That said, it can produce warm overdrive tones and the heavier modern tones, so I'll let the overdrive title slide. 

It's really just one of the most flexible distortion pedals on the market, with a stacked compliment of EQ options and a noise gate for both channels. 

EQ and Control

First, you have a hi and low control to serve as a global EQ.

Getting into each channel, the weight adjustment is incredibly effective for those thicker, percussive low-end distortion tones. If you back that off along with the gain, you get an overdrive sound that can work for blues and classic rock, or even country.

If you include the global EQ options, you essentially have a five-band EQ for each channel:

• Mids frequency selection
• Mids knob
• Weight
• Hi (global)
• Low (global)

Ideal Fit

It can truly cover all distortion styles and needs, and does so with near perfect tone and quality, all through an analog circuit. This is a great option if you have an amp with a solid clean tone, but an unimpressive gain/dirty channel. The Heavy can handle distortion on its own, just like a high-end tube amp like Mesa/Boogie. 

Pricing

Pricing is high for a distortion pedal, but completely fair given what it can do and how good it sounds. In this section we've put together pricing tables that let you compare between multiple retailers carrying the Empress Heavy. Keep in mind that pricing and availability is always subject to change.

Prices updated on Wed, June 07th, 2023.

Major Retailers

Amazon Only

Price Alert

Price History

Review Card

IDEAL FOR: All styles of distortion, live performances, recording, amps with weak gain channels.

Boss HM-2w Waza Craft (Heavy Metal redux)

Best for Swedish/chainsaw metal

Boss is really onto something with their Waza Craft series, and the HM-2w is one of my favorites so far. It's a redux of the old HM-2, complete with an analog circuit and an insanely aggressive, yet contained distorted tone.

Keep in mind, this is not a blues or classic rock distortion at all.

It literally can't settle down enough to give you that.

The tone is very much a Swedish metal saturation, with that chainsaw quality that you'd want in a modern gain tone. It also lays down a lot of sustain if you let chords ring, though can reign it in without being too noisy.

It's ideally paired with active pickups which would likely eliminate any noise issues.

I've reviewed this one on its own, which you can check out to get all the info.

Read the full review: Boss HM-2w Waza Craft Heavy Metal distortion

The control scheme is not nearly as versatile as the Empress Heavy, though you don't really need to do that much tweaking. The HM-2w has a very narrow assignment, which it handles exceptionally well.

Here's what you have to work with:

• A low and hi color mix (two knobs)
• Distortion knob (gain)
• Level knob (master output)

It's fair to say this control scheme is limited, but that doesn't really even matter. If you're after the aggressive tone that the HM-2w provides, you won't need to do a ton of tweaking.

Besides, the hi and low controls do provide a wide range of sounds and some flexibility. 

My only complaint is that I would have liked to see an onboard noise gate.

Pricing

Prices updated on Wed, June 07th, 2023.

Major Retailers

Amazon Only

Price Alert

Price History

Review Card

IDEAL FOR: Heavy metal, new age rock, active pickups, recording, performing, fans of the original HM-2w.

TC Electronic Dark Matter

Best budget distortion pedal

I've consistently been impressed with TC Electronic's ability to produce solid pedals at extremely low price points. Boss used to be sort of the poster child for low-cost, high-quality pedals, but these days I'd give the nod to TC Electronic, because of pedals like the Dark Matter.

The Dark Matter is one of the few low-cost distortion pedals I've tested that can handle both modern and classic rock styles. It's smooth and percussive on the low-end, with high gain settings like we see with the Empress Heavy, but really bluesy and satisfying when you cut gain lower.

Certainly the controls are far more basic than something like the Heavy, but that's part of how they cut cost.

You have a voice switch and a two-band EQ.

But that's just about all you need.

Read the full review: TC Electronic Dark Matter

Will it chug?

To give you a differing opinion (and a good demo), Ola Englund is on the fence:

Part of my issue with Ola's demo is that he used a Stratocaster. It's a Custom Strat, with a humbucker, but nevertheless, a Stratocaster. I typically don't recommend Strats for chugging.

Having said that, I'm not one to question Mr. Englund. I'm (clearly) a big fan of his.

Plus, I think there's value in having two differing opinions.

But, maybe you're not even looking for a heavy distortion. If you're needing heavy, or anything on the mid to lower gain side, I'd put forward the Dark Matter as one of your best options.

It's a very happy medium of low price and high quality, which is something we always look for when recommending guitar gear.

• As price goes down, value goes up.
• As quality goes up, value goes up.

The goal is to find the lowest possible price with the highest possible quality, and TC Electronic nails it here, as they often do.

Here's my demo, played through a PRS CE 24 and a Mesa Boogie Rectoverb. I think the difference between this and Ola's demo is significant.

Remember, the gear surrounding distortion pedals is a big part of the equation.

Is it metal? Yes, no? Do you care?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Price Guide

Prices updated on Wed, June 07th, 2023.

Major Retailers

Amazon Only

Price Alert

Price History

Review Card

IDEAL FOR: Saving money, low budgets, versatile list of playing styles, high gain, and single channel amplifiers.

Wampler Dracarys

Metal runner up

The Dracarys is a high-gain distortion pedal that's similar to the HM-2w in that it puts off that Swedish metal chain saw distortion sound. It's actually modeled after Englund's tone, so we'll once again use his demo video which you can see embedded below.

I love the tight/open voicing switch, that allows you to go back and forth between a percussive/reigned-in tone and a wide-open distortion for heavy chord progressions like you might hear on a song's chorus. 

It's the second distortion pedal on our list that is mostly dedicated to a metal tone, with the HM-2w being the first, so there are some style limitations here.

I don't recommend it for blues or low-gain situations.

Lots of EQ options

For a small-form distortion pedal, it has a nice spread of EQ options, similar to an amplifier.

• Bass
• Mids
• Treble
• Tight/open voicing switch
• Gain and volume

You have a three-band EQ, which is not typical for distortion pedals of this size. Together this provides some flexibility that we don't see in the Dark Matter or HM-2w. However, the Dark Matter still has a flexibility advantage.

You can bump the gain down and lighten things up, but that's not a Dracarys strong suit.

You can decide for yourself if it's a winner, ahead of the HM-2w and Dark Matter.

Price Guide

Prices updated on Wed, June 07th, 2023.

Major Retailers

Amazon Only

Price Drop Alert

Price History

IDEAL FOR: Metal, hard rock, EQ flexibility, Swedish/chainsaw metal tone, recording, performing.

What is a distortion pedal?

For those wanting a crash course in distortion pedals, we'll add all the information here to keep you in the know. Let's start simple.

Simple Definition of a Distortion Pedal

A distortion pedal is a type of guitar effect that sits between your electric guitar and amplifier, which is designed to produce a very high level of gain. Gain is essentially an increase in amplification or decibels. As gain goes up and volume goes down, you get more distortion.

This is what distortion pedals do.

It typically looks something like this:

Distortion is an effect within the gain category. Other effects pedals/types in the gain category include the following:

• Overdrive
• Fuzz
• Boost
• Pedal preamp

We tend to separate distortion from the rest of those pedals, though they can sometimes sound similar and the terminology can get mixed depending on the brand. But distortion is generally more aggressive than overdrive and less rigid than fuzz.

Boosts and preamps are more of a pure gain control that raises volume but doesn't necessarily create a ton of clipping and therefore not much distortion.

How do you use a distortion pedal?

A distortion pedal is placed after your guitar, with the instrument cable going into the pedal's input, which is on the right side of the pedal.

Another instrument cable is connected to the output of the pedal (on the left side) which is then connected to another pedal or straight to your amplifier's preamp.

It looks like this:

Distortion pedals are usually made to cover over a clean signal of your amplifier. An overdrive will often be used to boost a dirty channel on an amp, though some distortion pedals can do this as well.

To get started, set your amp to a clean tone, then turn the distortion pedal on.

You'll want to take time to set the gain level of your pedal, then adjust the volume to be roughly five to 10 percent higher than the volume of your amp's clean tone.

Here's an outline of the process:

• Set your amp's clean tone
• Turn on the distortion pedal
• Set pedal gain preference (level of distortion intensity or saturation)
• Set pedal volume (master output) to just a bit louder than your amp's clean tone

From there, you're good to go.

How is a distortion pedal powered?

Note that almost all guitar pedals need a power source. Distortion pedals are no different. Depending on the pedal you'll usually have a 9V, 12V, or 18V power requirement, with a minimum milliamp level.

Read more: Understanding milliamps in guitar pedal power

Make sure to consult your distortion pedal's manual and manufacturer copy to figure out what kind of power source you need.

Most of the time, you'll run your pedal off a 9V power source, which can be a 9V battery, single adapter, or pedal power supply.

Read more: Best pedalboard power supplies

Keep in mind, we do not recommend 9V batteries because they run out rather quickly (depending on the amount of use) and are very expensive given the limited amount of time they last.

Features to focus on

Distortion pedals have a fairly consistent set of features. They all have a gain and volume knob which is a necessary requirement to create distortion. 

But here are some of the variable features that you'll want to pay attention to:

• Style of gain/level of saturation (Modern metal? Rock? Blues?)
• EQ setup (2-band, 3-band, etc.)
• Voicing switches
• Number of channels (usually one but two are very helpful)
• Analog or digital? (usually analog but digital exists as well - more on that below)

Analog or digital?

So does it matter if you go with an analog or digital distortion pedal?

First, note that the vast majority of distortion pedals are analog, because it's very simple to build an analog distortion pedal.

In fact, they can be manufactured without much overhead.

When you have digital distortion, it's usually found in multi-effects pedals or some kind of modeling amp. The AmpliTube X-Drive is a good example of a digital distortion model.

All of the distortion pedals we've recommended here are analog. And that's not to say that digital distortion pedals are terrible, but they're not ideal to pair with tube amps and are still not particularly popular.

Digital modulation, pitch shifting, and ambient effects are more advanced and more competitive against their analog counterparts.

How much should I spend on a distortion pedal?

The price range for distortion pedals is fairly wide, spanning roughly $40 to $400. 

We'd recommend aiming for the $100-$200 range, in general, but it depends heavily on your situation. What style of distortion do you want? What's your budget? What's your skill level? What style of music do you play?

All of these variables are yours to consider, but just be careful to look at specs and avoid paying for features you don't need.

If you have questions about distortion pedal pricing or getting a good deal, drop them in the comments and we'll help out as best we can.

Conclusion

There are more distortion pedals than any other effect on the market, which is especially true if you count overdrives.

Overdrive pedals are a dime o' dozen.

So hopefully this provides a filter and some context to help you look. 

Make sure to pay attention to the features I've mentioned and check out my recommendations. I've used all these pedals, tested them, and took pictures - all that good stuff.

So I can answer questions if you have them.

Hit the comments and we'll chat.

Related Articles