Best Distortion/Overdrive Pedals

1. MXR GT-OD - http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m193-gt-od-overdrive - 99.99 - 4.7/5

This is definitely the best overdrive pedal on the market. Surprisingly, it's also the smallest, and one of the cheapest! Almost all of the MXR pedals made by Dunlop are shrewd purchases, but this is the star of the pack. It has great control, amazing tone, and is an all round sturdy overdrive pedal.

Jim Dunlop

The GT-OD provides three options for control, making it an extremely simple pedal. It provides an output option, great for selecting just how much you want the overdrive to power your sound, a tone option, for selecting what flavour of overdrive you want, and a gain option, a must for all distortion pedals. Together, these three provide for an endless array of sounds, but most importantly, a way to get that perfect sound simply. Each end of the spectrum that this pedal provides (which is extremely wide) is great for a multitude of situations, making it a mainstay on your board. Another plus is its small build, which allows for it to squeeze onto almost any board.

This pedal is definitely my next purchase, and my top choice for overdrive pedals.

Boss US

2. Boss BD-2 Blues Driver - http://www.bossus.com/products/bd-2/ - 99.99 - 3.9/5

This is another very basic pedal. The name is slightly misleading. While the pedal is great for blues music, it actually produces a mean distortion sound, with many electric guitarists, such as Lincoln Brewster, using this pedal as the launch to their experiment in effect pedals. It is a slightly basic pedal, but the sound being produced is still amazing.

With the only three options being level, tone and gain control, it is really quite simple to produce a great sound. The range isn't too amazing, but either end of the spectrum still produces a stellar distortion sound. Actually, the special thing with this pedal is that it kind of combines distortion and overdrive into a blues sound.

3. Ibanez Jemini Distortion - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/distortion-overdrive-effects-pedals/ibanez-jemini-distortion-guitar-effects-pedal - 280.00 - 4.0/5

This is one funky pedal! And it's not just the appearances that is freakishly unique, but also the actual effects. However, the swirled colours give you enough reason to add this pedal to your board to brighten it up a little!

Baz the Axeman

This is one of very few dual or double distortion pedals. As far as dual pedals go, they are more designed for the extra effects, such as modulation or delay, rather than distortion. However, Ibanez have made sure to keep this pedal as simple as possible in an effort to use the dual pedal method in a way that doesn't confuse the user. The options to control the effects are fairly simple, and the set up is extremely self explanatory.

The cool thing with this pedal, is because it is dual, you get distortion and overdrive in the one pedal, rather then having to buy two separate pedals. Ibanez is known for focusing on the rock side of electric guitar work, and their distortion and overdrive effects are no exception to that special focus. The sounds are gritty, hard core, but great for a solid rock sound.

A neat added feature is the LED lights that help to differentiate between overdrive and distortion. There is also the option on the pedal to have these lights bright, or dim.

4. Visual Sound Route 66 - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/distortion-overdrive-effects-pedals/visual-sound-route-66-american-overdrive - 250.00 - 4.1/5

Harmony Central

This pedal can almost be considered a classic now! This model has been discontinued, sadly, as this was the best build of the model. You can still get Route 66s, but only in the version 2 or 3 models, unfortunately. This version remains the best of all three. Actually acting as a dual pedal, with overdrive and compression effects combined, the sound produced is breath taking.

Again, the pedal is fairly simple control wise, with only three options for either effect. Overdrive includes drive, tone and volume, while compression has controls for sustain, tone, and gain. The two together also include a bass boost, and tone control option. While those options are basic, the sounds created are amazing. There's not much variety, but whatever you choose is a stellar sound. There's actually not much poor to say about this pedal, other then it's weird shape which is just another unique feature of this unique pedal.

Boss US

5. Boss MT-2 Metal Zone - http://www.bossus.com/products/mt-2/ - 87.00 - 3.7/5

I played around with this pedal for a while previously. It was a lot of fun, but there is a reason why it is not in my current set up. Although it seems to provide many options for control over the effect displayed, the sound is actually quite similar on either end of the spectrum. It is a much dirtier distortion, with not much quality or tone produced.

The three options are level, distortion, as well as high, low, and two middle frequencies control. However, the options aren't widely varied, and don't provide different sounds to the effect produced.

This is a good starter distortion pedal, especially for those who are in to medal. It isn't one that I would take to a gig in any situation, but it was fun to play around with during a home practice.