Distortion, guitarists can’t live without it. From a light crunch to a searing fuzz and everything in between, there’s a pedal that will create the sound you’re looking for. These days, in what some may refer to as the golden age of guitar pedals with a multitude of options to choose from, it can be hard to decide which pedals to buy. There are small boutique companies popping up creating some amazing pedals that fiercely compete with the big guys. Given the vast marketplace for pedals out there, we’ve gone ahead and assembled a list of the top 5 most iconic & best distortion pedals. If you’re looking to grab a new pedal, you can’t go wrong with the classics. These are pedals that have been in production for decades that are top selling and have been worthy of space on rock stars’ pedal boards.
Boss DS-1
The BOSS DS-1 is one of the most popular pedals of rock history and offers extreme versatility for an affordable price.
A Brief History
BOSS first introduced the DS-1 in 1978 as their first entry into the distortion pedal market. Aside from a few cosmetic and production location changes over its +40 year history, the overall signature DS-1 sound is intact. Before the pedal was introduced, most distortion pedals were known to produce harsh, muddy sounds. This was mitigated when the Boss engineers developed a pioneering two-stage circuit that resulted in its signature low-frequency roundness. Most importantly, the DS-1 worked with your tone and adapted to different guitars and pickups. Many guitarists appreciated its versatility. The pedal is surprisingly versatile and will produce anything form a light crunch to a heavy growl.
Who Plays the Boss DS-1?
The DS-1 is used my many famous guitarists across many genres. Kurt Cobain was one of the most well known for using the pedal on the album ‘Nevermind’. Cobain noted that the DS-1 was the primary factor in his sound. Other well known DS-1 players are listed below:
Steve Vai
John Frusciante (RHCP)
Prince
Glenn Frey (Eagles)
Joe Satriani
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Mike Stern
The list goes on, but you’ll have to admit it’s impressive that a pedal this affordable is used by so many great guitarists.
How Does It Sound?
Pro Guitar Shop does an excellent demo that captures the sound of the DS-1 and shows the pedal’s versatility.
Bottom Line
You can capture the great classic rock distortion tones with the BOSS DS-1. It is extremely affordable, yet high quality and creates the distortion sounds used on many well-known records.
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
The TS9 Tube Screamer, or the “green giant”, remains one of the all time most classic distortion pedals. It is also one of the most imitated. The TS9 is as authentic, featuring the same components and seasick-green color as the original model.
A Brief History
The Tube Screamer is known as the most copied pedal of all time. Even if you don’t own a Tube Screamer, there’s a good chance you own another pedal that has similar features. The Tube Screamer began it’s history in 1979 with the TS808, which is now a collectible and highly sought-after model. Overdrive pedals built prior were built around transistors. The TS808 was the first to integrate the JRC 4558D integrated circuit chip, which is the main determinant behind the thick, mid-range Tube Screamer tone. Sales were poor for the TS808 and the model was dropped by 1984. The model was changed to the TS9 in 1982. There was a period where the model names frequently changed until the late 80s and early 90s when guitarists started to more widely adopt the pedal. As demand and popularity increased, in 1993 Ibanez settled on the model name TS9. Rising demand had to do with a certain guitar player from Texas - can you guess who? Stevie Ray Vaughan was a user of the TS9. He used the pedal as a boost for solos pushed into his Fender Vibroverbs. He would crank the level knob to the max and keep the drive knob below 3.
Who Plays the Tube Screamer?
The Tube Screamer is used across country, blues, and rock genres. You’ll see a wide variety of artists below that have used the pedal:
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Carlos Santana
Gary Moore
John Mayer
Eric Johnson
Greg Howe
Brad Paisley
Buddy Guy
The Edge
Gary Clark Jr.
Joe Bonamassa
Trey Anastasio (Phish)
How Does it Sound?
The appeal of the Tube Screamer is the way it interacts with a tube amp. The pedal has a smooth, mid-range sound that adds thickness and character to the player. The level knob serves as a volume boost that will push the front end of an amp. The drive knob can sweep from sweet low gain to a saturated overdrive sag. The tone knob will boost the highs or add low end, but it will not increase the mid-range boost characteristic of the pedal. That is the signature sound of this pedal and for that reason, you’ll simply like or dislike the signature sound. Here’s a demo that captures the TS9 sound using a variety of guitars:
Bottom Line
There’s actually a whole green rainbow of Tube Screamer models to choose from. Some models should be disregarded as they are made from cheap parts and therefore sound cheap (cough, cough…the TS5 & TS7). However, tone is subjective and as an example, the TS10 was disregarded until John Mayer started using that model exclusively causing prices to soar given limited supply as the model was only in production from 1986 to 1993.
The TS9 and TS808 are the most popular models and the main differences between the pedals are as follows:
The TS9 sound is more modern and edgier, where as the TS808 is smoother and creamier.
The TS9 is at least $50 less expensive than the TS808.
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
The legendary Big Muff Pi lets you dial in a thick harmonic distortion with all the sustain you need. Don’t be fooled by the silly name or it’s massive size as this is an all out classic.
A Brief History
The Big Muff Pi is the most popular fuzz pedal ever and has been in production for over 50 years. The pedal was the first big success for Electro-Harmonix due to its low price and distinct sound. The pedal sold well throughout the 1970s, made popular by guitarists such as David Gilmour and Frank Zappa. Electro-Harmonix was forced out of business in 1982, but the pedal remained in high demand leading to clones produced by other companies and prices for the limited supply of available Big Muffs to skyrocket. The company was restarted in the 1990s and the Big Muff was brought back to market. The pedal’s popularity continued into the 1970s and 1980s, being used by alternative rock bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., NOFX, and Sonic Youth. Other artists include:
Who Plays The Big Muff?
David Gilmour
Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins)
John Frusciante
Jack White (White Stripes)
J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.)
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Dan Auerbach (Black Keys)
Jimi Hendrix (there are some accounts of him using one, contrary to other opinions)
How Does it Sound?
A good fuzz pedal reacts to a guitarist’s playing and responds to your amp’s settings. The pedal offers three knobs that let you dial in the perfect roaring harmonic distortion/sustain. The volume knob adjusts the output level, the sustain knob controls the amount of sustain/distortion, and the tone knob sweeps from a warm, sweet sound to a sharp, crisp treble. This is an all around monster of a pedal that basically turns your guitar into a roaring cello with gobs of sustain. Let’s give it a listen:
The Bottom Line
Yours truly has the Big Muff Pi on his pedal board. There are several models currently in production, but the Big Muff Pi is the most popular version, and it’s made in NYC. Purists may argue about which is the best model, but they also sound pretty much the same with the unmistakeable roaring tone.
MXR Distortion +
The MXR Distortion + produces classic distortion tones ranging from calm overdriven blues tones to 80s hard rock distortion.
A Brief History
The Distortion + was originally designed in the 1970s by MXR Innovations. The pedal has been copied many times by others. It uses a single op-amp with a pari of germanium diodes to ground for clipping in a very straight forward configuration. There are only output and distortion knobs as the pedal does not use discrete transistors for a tone knob.
Who Plays the Distortion +?
The pedal is well known for its crunchy hard rock sound featured by Randy Rhoads in his recordings with Ozzy Osbourne. Dave Murray of Iron Maiden was another hard rocker that used the Distortion +. On the other end of the musical spectrum, Jerry Garcia used the pedal almost exclusively for distortion in the late 1970s. Other artists include:
Randy Rhoads
Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
Jerry Garcia
Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
John Mayer
Slash
Tom Morello
Paul Gilbert
Eddie Vedder
How Does it Sound?
With just output and distortion knobs, the Distortion + is able to produce cool, low gain bluesy tones with the output maxed and distortion set low, to 80s hard rock tones with the distortion knob cranked. The pedal actually is capable of producing more gain (46.5dB) than the Boss DS-1 (35dB) and the Ibanez Tube Screamer (41dB).
The Bottom Line
The Distortion + is yet another classic and is responsible for the distortion sounds on countless recordings. The pedal sounds great right out of the box and only having two knobs makes it easy to dial in the tone you’re looking for.
Pro Co RAT
The Pro Co RAT produces a surprising diverse mixture of tones ranging from sweet overdrive, powerful distortion, to an all out sustain/fuzz.
A Brief History
The beginnings of the Pro Co RAT can be traced back to the mid-1970s. Engineers Scott Burnham and Steve Kiraly began repairing and modifying existing pedals such as the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face. Burnham ultimately was determined to build a better pedal from scratch, and he came up with “The RAT”. He came across the unique sound when he accidentally attached the incorrect resistor to an in-progress distortion machine. Variations of the pedal have been produced over the years, but the RAT tone has remained mostly unchanged. Such variations include the Turbo RAT and You Dirty RAT, among others.
Who Uses the Pro Co RAT?
The pedal saw its popularity increase in the early 1980s due to use by several well-known artists such as Weezer, R.E.M, and even Metallica. The list below shows a variety of guitarists that use the RAT:
Dave Grohl
Kurt Cobain
James Hetfield
Hoizer
Nels Cline
John Scofield
Peter Buck (R.E.M)
Bill Frisell (surprised by this one?)
Alex Turner (Acrtic Monkeys)
Jeff Beck
The Bottom Line
The RAT is still in the game with guitarists using the pedal for face melting distortion around the world. It’s no doubt a fan favorite. The pedal is surprisingly diverse and is best used as a primary distortion for rock rhythm tones and soaring leads, but can also be used to create a warm overdrive or as a boost for leads.
Summary
Well that was a lot of content and I hope stayed with me up to this point. Do you agree with my list of the top 5 most iconic & best distortion pedals? Whether you agree or disagree I’d love to hear your comments. Look our for a follow up article that includes any pedals I may have missed!