Boost, Overdrive, Distortion & Fuzz-What’s the Difference Between?! 

Boost : 😠 Overdrive : 😡 Distortion : 👿 Fuzz : 👹

Nice little Rory riff from Bad Penny 👍🎸👍

WOW, I did not expect a doom metal reference or that Periphery riff!

Boost- pushes the amp to overdrive Overdrive- emulates the sound of pushed amp. Distortion- like overdrive but more sustain and harmonic content. Fuzz- this is an instrument on to itself. Tons of added harmonics and sustain. No subtlety on this end of the spectrum.

Don't forget you can put a clean boost in your effects loop if you're already using a distorted amp tone for a volume boost. A boost won't increase the volume if it's in the frontend of your amp if the gain is cranked up.

Such a nice presentation! Patrioti where are you from?

Great Presentation! Liked, Shared & Subscribed

Bravo, vre Niko! Nice presenatation and playing. The link between the Greek soul and passionate playing is strong.

Great video!!

Very good and helpful video! Thank you! :)

I love the Fuzz tone. I plugged in my ES-339 through a EHX Green Russian Big Muff Pi on a Clean channel amp and it sounds so good.

Nice riffing there dude! I was all about distortion back in the day... Now I'm all Fuzz

One of the fundamental aspects of guitars is that the amplitude of the signal produced by a plucked or strummed string *changes* over time. Not only does the amplitude change, but so does the harmonic content. All "dirt" pedals add harmonic content to what they initially receive by running into limits of headroom (the capacity to produce greater amplification). Those limits can be created by things like diodes and the power supply voltage. Exactly *what* harmonic content is added will depend on how the frequency content of the signal is shaped *before* any clipping, as well as after. I take the stance that what differentiates overdrive, distortion, and fuzz is essentially what portion of the *total vibrating lifespan* of a plucked string the circuit adds more harmonic content to. So if the clipping, and additional harmonic content, really only occurs during initial pick attack, and for a very short period afterwards, as the string "settles down", we generally call that *overdrive*. The name is appropriate because it more or less mimics what happens to an amplifier when it receives sudden peaks that are a little more than it can cleanly handle. The manner in which this effect is created can sometimes produce a kind of incidental compression, as evidenced by the Tube Screamer and its various clones and derivatives. When the circuit produces harmonic accentuation for a while beyond the initial pick attack - especially if the circuit accentuates that extra harmonic content - we tend to call it "distortion". If the circuit *maintains* the added harmonic content, in roughly the same proportions of each harmonic, even as the string starts to die out, we call that "fuzz". Indeed, the "zz" pretty much captures the way in which those added harmonics stick around for a while. All of this is largely academic, but stops being academic when you think about the boundaries between the 3 categories. If headroom issues are a big part of what separates the 3 categories, then selectively *exceeding* those headroom limitations can turn a pedal/circuit of one type into one of the others. So, boosting the input to an "overdrive" starts to turn it into a "distortion", as the harmonic content gets exaggerated. Similarly, feeding a distortion with a very hot signal starts to sound more and more like a fuzz.

Great video! What is the riff at 2:10?

Very nice. Fuzz just doesn't do it for me. OD and Distortion works best for me. I'd love to try to EVH OD though. I have the EVH Phase and Flange they are awesome... It's amazing how the type and build of the guitar and the equipment used can change the sound. Do a video on how to properly use the effects loop and how to build your pedal board loop please.

Would have loved to have seen each pedal with 1st singles coils & then humbuckers or vice versa. At least that way we could get some understanding of how each 1 of those types of pedals effects each set of pickups differently. That way we get a better of understanding of what we sounds we actually like to hear & find pleasing to our ears.

Periphery ?

You don't need a lot of gain to get a good guitar tone. Dial in an edge of breakup tone on your amp, then try using a boost or an OD pedal as a boost with a little bit of gain. Control the overall volume with your guitar's volume knobs. Mids. Don't forget the mids on your amp. Unless your style of music scoops the mids of course.

Overdrive 🤟🎸

Call me poorly informed but is the riff 3:30 from a particular song? Sounds great.

Thrash metal at 5:00!

This guys accent is so nice.

Fuzz, all the way!!!

It’s 2021 and we’re still trying to answer this question? I get it cause there’s an army of bedroom obsessionists with an example of each in their flat earther sized pedalboards.

Ela vre! \m/ Often NOT interchangeable!

This video makes assumptions that may be incorrect. One could argue that none of the metal players mentioned may be using distortion. If they are using a modern high-gain amp they don't need distortion and are more likely to be using an overdrive. In fact most modern metal players are likely using overdrive.

Not everyday U see someone play Periphery - Incurus Lives on Gibson... 6 string.

Screw pedals! Get a quality tube amp, plug straight in, and you can have all these tones by just increasing the gain. Pff!

Avoid bottom of the barrel "cheap" pedals. (They will kill your tone). You don't always need the most expensive, but the dirt cheap stuff will only disappoint and frustrate you. Don't believe all the internet hype on cheap gear either. Go for long established brand names or boutique stuff if you can afford it.