How to Distort a Guitar Sound
At some point in the history of rock 'n' roll, the sound of a distorted guitar became the definitive hallmark of the young music genre. Link Wray is generally regarded as a leading pioneer of guitar distortion. As rock music evolved in the 1960s, distortion become an even greater part of the guitar aesthetic. Eric Clapton set the bar when he recorded the "Beano" album with John Mayall. He plugged his Les Paul into a Marshall amp and turned the volume all the way up. Clapton's distorted guitar tone influenced most of the guitarists of his generation, including a young Jimmie Hendrix.
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Instructions
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Purchase a tube amplifier for the guitar. A variety of tube amps are available, but Fender and Marshall are the two major amplifier companies that set the standard for the distorted amplifier tone. Blues guitar players as well as rock players love Fender amps. The distortion from Fender produces a warm, overdriven sound. The classic models are the Deluxe Reverb, The '59 Bassman, and the Pro Reverb. Newer models such as the Blues Deluxe and the Hot Rod Deville come with a gain or drive channel. The original Marshall amplifiers were modeled on the Fender '59 Bassman, which has four 10-inch speakers. Marshall amps also feature a drive or gain channel. Marshall amps filled the need for more power and distortion for rock icons such as Jimmie Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Marshall has a wide variety of amps ranging from the JVM series to the Vintage series. The Classic 5 is a low-wattage amp that produces the classic Marshall tone.
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Plug a guitar cable into the input jack of the guitar and plug the opposite end of the cable into the input jack of the amplifier. Turn the amp on and allow the tubes to warm up. Most tube amps have two switches, a "Power" switch and an "On" switch. Some tube amps simply have a Power switch. The tubes need to warm up before the amplifier is completely turned on. If your amp has two switches, turn the Power switch to the On position and allow the tubes to warm up for five minutes before turning the Standby switch to the On position. If your amp has one switch, simply turn the Power switch on and the tubes will gradually warm up for a couple of minutes before the amp produces sound.
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Adjust the volume and tone controls on the amplifier. Classic Fender amps have one "Volume" knob that controls the sound. Turn the Volume knob up until the amp begins to distort. One trick is to turn the Volume knob all the way to 10. Continue backing off on the volume while playing the guitar until the sounds becomes clean. The distortion level on Fender amps, depending upon the type of amp, is generally between 5 and 10. It is important to keep the volume control on the guitar turned up high for full effect. If your amp has a gain control as well as volume control, or a master volume and volume control, you have a little more control. Turn the gain or master volume all the way to 10 and then adjust the volume control to a comfortable level.
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Purchase a distortion pedal. In addition to natural amplifier distortion, many guitar players rely on pedals to achieve a variety of distorted sounds. Using a pedal also makes it easier to dial in a distorted sound without playing the amp at an excessive volume. A variety of distortion pedals are available. The three basic categories of pedals are overdrive pedals, distortion pedals, and fuzz pedals. Overdrive pedals simulate natural tube distortion while distortion and fuzz pedal provide more edge and crunch.
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Plug a guitar cable into the output jack of the pedal and plug the opposite end of the cable into the input jack of the amplifier. Plug a second cable into the input jack of the pedal and plug the opposite end of the cable into the input jack of the guitar. Turn the amplifier on and adjust the volume and tone controls to levels that you normally use. Turn the pedal on and adjust the controls. Distortion pedals generally have a volume, tone and distortion control. Play your guitar and experiment with the pedal until you find the type of distortion that suits your style of music.
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Tips & Warnings
Tube amplifiers are also referred to as "Valve" amps in Britain.
Using a distortion pedal makes it easy to switch between a clean and a distorted sound. Modern amplifiers usually feature a clean and a gain channel. This allows the guitarist to set one channel for a clean sound and the second channel for a distorted sound.
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