How Do You Make an Electric Guitar Distorted?

The sounds generated by an electric guitar depend heavily on your equipment.

Distortion on an electric guitar modifies a clean sound, transforming it into a fuzzy, gritty or in some cases heavy sound, depending on the settings on your guitar, amp and any pedals in between. Making your electric guitar distorted depends heavily on your equipment. Fortunately, most guitar amps come with an "overdrive" or "gain" button, switch, setting or dial built into the unit to create distortion. For all other guitarists, there's the fallback of the distortion pedal.

Things You'll Need

• Electric guitar
• Distortion pedal
• Guitar amplifier
• 2 instrument cables

Instructions

1. Connect an instrument cable to your guitar amplifier's primary input. This is typically found by the amp's volume and setting knobs, but its exact location depends on your amp.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to your distortion pedal's output. If your distortion pedal runs on a battery, you need to insert a battery before using it. Many distortion pedals also support wall adapters that plug right into a wall outlet.

3. Connect the end of a second instrument cable to your distortion pedal's input.

4. Connect the other end of the instrument cable that's connected to your distortion pedal's input to your electric guitar.

5. Turn the volume knob on your guitar to "0" and power on your amp and distortion pedal.

6. Slowly raise the volume on your guitar as you strum. This is to protect your ears, just in case your amp and distortion pedal are set to an unsafe volume level.

7. Turn on your amp distortion by adjusting the gain, overdrive, drive or distortion switch. Oftentimes a gain, overdrive, drive or distortion dial is available to adjust the level of distortion. If using your distortion pedal, don't use the amp distortion. Instead, turn off all amp distortion and use the "clean" settings on your amp (when you strum, it sounds like a regular guitar).

8. Turn on your distortion pedal by pressing the power button or switch on the pedal and adjusting the settings to your liking. Each guitarist has a different preference for his sound, so it might take a few minutes of tinkering before you get something you like.

Tips & Warnings

• Getting that "perfect sound" is going to require a bit of experimentation. Play with the knobs and settings on both your distortion pedal and amp. This is the easiest way to learn the ins and outs of your equipment while creating your own unique sound.

• There are literally hundreds of different distortion pedals on the market. Shop around to find the one that best suits your style.

References

• Goodnight Kiss Guitars: Guitar Effects and How to Get a Good Guitar Sound
• Sweetwater: Guitar Pedals--Buying Guide