History Of Guitar Distortion

In this episode we are exploring distortion through the decades. We can all agree rock wouldn't be the same with out it. Leave a comment with your favorite distortion! Stay Classy!

*T-shirts are no longer a limited run

Check out the gear in this and past episodes here:

Gear in this video:
3:34 1949 Fender Deluxe
6:39 Maestro Fuzz-Tone
9:22 Vox Tone Bender
10:05 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
10:58 Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi V1 (Triangle)
12:05 MXR Distortion +
12:43 ProCo RAT
13:35 Boss DS-1 Distortion
14:45 Marshall JCM 800 and 900
15:45 Ibanez SD9 Sonic Distortion
16:29 Boss MT-2 Metalzone
16:57 DOD Supra Distortion GFX 55 Extreme
17:48 Zvex Fuzz Factory Vexter
18:00 Big Ear Company Wood Cutter
18:17 EarthQuaker Devices Park Sound Fuzz
18:43 JHS Angry Charlie V3

Record Time:
Kinks Debut Album

Josh’s record player is by U-Turn Audio:

#jhs #thejhsshow #distortion

[boywomack]

I got pumped for the shirt, then realized this video is over 2 years old

[felixdeschambault]

so guitarist stole fuzz from us bassists.


marshall made his amp based on a fender bassman.


and when i distort my bass they say it sounds like a guitar...


damn you all guitar players!

[jamesburba]

I'm 71, and still play my Ric 4001 through my Fuzz Face. Best bass noise ever !

[BobCraigmile]

as someone who has distortion pedals and is a librarian....I love this.

[PhreddCrintt]

Hi Josh. I am 73 this year (2020) and despite our band mutually folding after 50 years, I still play every day. Played some big venues and crowds in my day and, following your channel of late, you bring back many memories with your wonderful, factual comments and opinions. This one - in particular (of all such-related subjects) - is particularly fantastic and I thank you so very much because... you demonstrate so much of what I try to tell younger muso friends. Especially the youngsters!! (LOL!) You have a new fan my friend - and I am spreading the word! Good luck going forward Josh.

[TaylorSmith-godbucket]

In my pre-teens I spent all my money, never had any cash for anything, and nearly bankrupted my poor parents... in search for the tone on Metallica's 'And Justice For All'. There was no internet back then, all I knew is they used Mesa Boogie amps which I clearly could not afford. I must have bought/sold/returned every amp made between '88-'90, trying to get that sound. Now I'm 42, play blues, and plug straight into a Peavey Delta Blues, lol

[joshuadramsey]

19:22 is the best advice ever. The sound you're looking for is often just a few degrees on a knob somewhere in the chain you already have, whether it's your guitar, pedals, or amp.

[bdduke]

Jesus and Mary Chain's PsychoCandy blew my mind in the 80s. Most of the album is skillfully drenched in fuzz and reverb and some individual guitar tracks are mostly feedback.

[chuckelator]

No Boss HM-2??? You've just offended the entire country of Sweden hahah!

[thestadiumshoppeonrazorbac]

The Rocket 88 story being told at Sun Studio in Memphis is that the amp fell off the car and busted the speaker. The guitarist put newspaper in the hole and the fuzz was the result. The band thought this ruined their chance at a hit. But instead, it worked out.
They even have an amp, supposedly THE amp, on display in their museum.

[TheSaintedOne]

Aside from selling my Mesa Dual Rectifier, losing my Boss Metal Zone is one of my bigger regrets. Oh, and selling my DBZ Thoracic X signed by Dean Zelinsky is my number one biggest gear regret. Heroin.. not even once, kids. Clean and rebuilding the armory as we speak.

[mja]

i read an article back in the 70s saying that r&b and rock and roll guitarists through the 40s 50s were "jealous" of the energy that sax players could create during their solos, and wanted something that would give their instrument, which traditionally had a relatively clean sound, more punch and energy like the sax.

[Hal_T]

"Loud is more good"? Very poor grammar. Should be "loud is more gooder".

[jamesha]

imagine having all of those pedals behind him and only one 9v battery

[fernfawkes]

I still remember the first time I heard Dream Theater's album "Images and Words" on the local rock station. It was featured on their weekend "CD Feature" where they played select albums from start to finish. I was only half listening when the first song "Pull Me Under" started playing but when those heavy distorted guitars came in I was floored. I listened to the whole album with my jaw on the floor. To this day, the distortion sound on that album is my favorite distorted guitar sound ever. I've spend a small fortune trying to recreate it.

[Bietel]

LINK WRAY was the one who stabbed the tweeter of his Premier amp.

Ike Turner used an amp that was simply broken from falling from a truck - which sounded amazing, but happened by accident.

[thomasaquinas]

Amazing how the first two "distortion" pedals ever made, sound better than half the distortion pedals in the market today.

[davidthayer]

My uncle found a SD9 at a flea market for $5, only needed potentiometers cleaned out

[nikolajihlemann]

Van Halens distortion on their first album is just unbeatable..

[matthewenriquez]

Jimi Hendrix
Machine Gun
Band of Gypsys self titled item

Kinda cheating because it’s distortion/modulation but I love the fuzz/uni-vibe combo