Picking the right distortion or overdrive pedal makes it possible to immensely as a guitarist. It helps you create a signature sound, which ultimately makes you perform better. You'll feel better about your sound and your music identity, which will translate into better songs and solos. In some cases it helps you soften your attack, that also makes you sound better when you play fast (if you're a beginner). Distortion can be a terrific masking tool if you don't quite have your chops in place yet. There are 2 kinds of distortion you should be thinking about depending on your playing style.

Overdrive: Overdrive is a parameter that you may see on some effect boxes. This is generally described as the warmed distorted sound that you get from pushing a tube amp's gain up. It is possible to change the spectrum of overdrive just in the way that you play. If you play lightly on the strings the overdrive does not show up much but if you start to play harder the overdrive starts coming through. This makes overdrive a very flavorful effect. It is a lightly distorted sound that can really add to the overall guitar tone.

There are overdrive pedals on sale today that allow you to get an overdrive sound at lower volumes. I used to use the " Tube Driver" stomp box and really enjoyed the sounds I got from it. It utilizes an actual tube in the effect pedal to give you the tube driven overdrive sound. This is probably one of the most widely used overdrive pedals on the market today.

Distortion: Distortion is a more cranked up overdrive, with more flavor and tonality. It can be one of the most difficult effects to choose. There are hundreds of varied distortion effect pedals on the market today and a rookie guitar player looking for his new tone is going to have a hard time trying to decide which one to buy. What makes distortion stand out from the other effects is the fact that there is no standard in distortion stomp boxes. For example, if you get two different chorus stomp boxes and set the parameters the same you are going to get almost the same sound with very little variance in effect. Sure, you may notice some small differences, but the standards are very close from each developer for these types of effects. This is not the case with distortion stomp boxes. Not all distortion pedals are created equally.

The very first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of distortion you are striving for. This will based on the kind of music you are going to play, whether it be Hardcore, Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Indie, Country or any other of the many styles of guitar playing out in the world. Once you figure this out you are on your way to choosing the right distortion for you. The best way to find your fantasy distortion is to start plucking out the ones that are not right for your style. What is in a name? A best place to start your weeding out process is by reading the descriptive name on the units you are looking at. Can you select a stomp box based on the name alone? The answer to that question is maybe, but I recommend testing first, with your own amp and guitar. Take your guitar to the store and try it out, or borrow a pedal from a friend.