How to Use Distortion Pedals: 3 Easy Tips

When you really want to fine-tune your guitar tone, randomly turning knobs will rarely get you where you want to go. Join Don Carr for these expert tips on using overdrive and distortion pedals, and you'll be better equipped to dial in any type of guitar tone your music demands.

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Into A Clean Amp
2:40 - Into A Distorted Amp
5:00 Stacking Distortion Pedals
8:00 - Thanks For Watching

#Sweetwater #DistortionPedals #JHS #Ibanez

[sweetwater]

We hope you get closer to your ideal guitar tone with these tips from Don Carr! Like this video if you got something out of it, Comment to join the conversation, and Subscribe for more videos from Sweetwater — thanks for watching!

[tristanambrester]

1. Gain all the way up
2. Volume all the way up
3. Tone all the way up
4. Destroy speakers

[etiloyon]

Thanks. I am 70 yrs old, played a lot of acoustic guitar but know nothing in electric. If I were in the USA, I would surely be sweetwater consumer. You've always been kind and available.

[sbwhddv]

I've had the privilege of meeting Don Carr and HEARING him play.

From these concise informative videos, you might never know what a fantastic versatile player he is. That's because he stays focused on the subject or product at hand. He never shows off. Don is humble. He serves the MUSIC first. He just plays what is required.

If you ever get a chance to hear and see him play live, I guarantee he will light you up like a Roman candle. When Don Carr and Brian LeMert play together and they both cut loose, prepare yourself for humility. You will get calibrated.

Although I too am a pro session player with decades of experience, when Don talks, ... I listen.

Every guitarist will serve his goals well by listening to Don Carr. Sweetwater is lucky to have such talent. And all the information about pedals in this video is SOLID GOLD.

It is RARE to find such unbiased useful information in any corporate-sponsored video. You can trust Don even when he is on the payroll.

[maacrl]

This guy knows what he's talking about, this video was a big help with my first pedal, thanks a lot.

[sunlight-sky]

I bought my very first guitar from Sweetwater a couple years ago, absolutely love all the personal touches they add with contacting you and asking if you need any help with anything and now that i kinda want a pedal, I see they uploaded a video,

Absolute legendary company. 10/10

[thisperfectworld]

Leave it to Sweetwater to perfectly sum up pedal use. Yet again, Don Carr's knowledge and expertise help make me a better musician!

[yackohoopy]

Another thing is, especially with pedals with MASSIVE amounts of distortion, you can run them through your fx loop. For the BOSS metal zone pedal, this was a better way to use the distortion rather than in front of your amp. Weird how it works though.

[GC-bkmv]

Great vid! What I love doing is using a boost to give my OD's even more grit than what they're capable of on their own. Boosts are fantastic for giving that extra mojo that wasn't there before. I also love using distortion for lead stuff.

[asterhogan]

EZ, put the gain all the way up, scoop all your mids, and play only on single coils to get the best djent tones in E standard

[ThePhantomTerror]

Great video! Everything is explained clearly, and this is useful to a pedal newbie like me.

[omnidivergence]

Great job on the summary, it’s the best video I’ve seen so far.

[thUser]

WILL IT CHUG?, oh wait, wrong channel..

[BKDocHoliday]

This is an excellent guide for how to test out any pedal in a guitar shop or when you are trying to dial in your own sound!

[Traynoramp]

I use a mini tube pusher pedal. This thing can do blues to chug, and to neo classical tones. Mad mini little tube pusher.

Best pedal that works for me.

[gordonstarship]

Shout out to Don Carr. That was great. I needed to know the basics to figure out where to start my set up.

[graxjpg]

A DS1 into a clean amp (fender of course), with a big muff style fuzz before that (only rarely) really impresses the very wise FOH engineer at my church. I want a distortion+ too.

[larrimos]

The obvious winner in this demo...the shirt.

[adhaskym.a]

Finally I get to see clearly the finishes of the guitar. That is one well played piece you got there.

[QueenFrisky]

I can't wait to try the TS9 Tube Screamer with my Metalzone now XD