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 Q&A, Rig Building Ideas & Outro