Hell yeah! Distortion is THE indispensable TOOL for all guitarists looking to add character and power to their playing. Whether you’re into saturated riffs, punchy solos or abrasive textures, choosing the right distortion pedal is clearly an important step in building your ultimate pedalboard.
In this comprehensive guide, we explore:
> Some must-have and legendary distortion pedal models,
> And emerging trends and some not-to-be-missed nuggets released in 2024.
Proco Rat 2 Distortion
Boss DS-1 Distortion
Darkglass Alpha Omicron Bass Distortion
MXR Randy Rhoads DistortionThe different types of distortion pedals and our selection of the best pedals
Classic distortions
Looking for pronounced saturation with rich harmonics, but without going extreme and metal? These “classic” pedals, like the ProCo Rat and Boss DS-1, are perfect for hard rock and powerful riffs & solos, with a sharp, dynamic sound.
Some pedals have become timeless references. They’re often a must-have if you want to discover yourself as a guitarist and rediscover the sounds of our favorite legendary guitarists!
Discover our selection of classic distortion pedals:
Boss DS-1
An icon since 1978, known for its versatile sound, ranging from light overdrive to more saturated distortion. Used by artists such as Kurt Cobain and Joe Satriani, it remains a benchmark thanks to its affordability and robustness.
Boss DS-1 Distortion77 €Buy
ProCo RAT 2
Appreciated for its ability to cover a wide range of sounds, from light crunch to cutting leads. It is often cited as an essential pedal, used by musicians such as Jonny Greenwood and Kurt Cobain, and remains a best-seller thanks to its simplicity and effectiveness.
- Proco Rat 2 Distortion95 €Buy
Fulltone OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Drive)
More recent (2000s), the OCD is already a legend. Its ability to oscillate between overdrive and distortion makes it a flexible and highly musical pedal, loved by many studio and stage guitarists.
- Fulltone OCD Overdrive V2199 €Buy
Fulltone OCD Overdrive V2
MXR Distortion+
This minimalist pedal, released in the 1970s, was a popular choice for classic distortion sounds. Randy Rhoads used it for his riffs with Ozzy Osbourne (and even has a version in his colors and name!), and it’s still popular today.
- MXR Randy Rhoads Distortion225 €Buy
BOSS Metal Zone MT-2
Introduced in the 1990s, the Metal Zone is iconic for high-gain metal sounds. Its parametric EQ has divided opinion, but it remains a must-have pedal for tons of saturation.
- Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion125 €Buy
High-gain distortions and metal pedals
Dedicated to “heavier” styles such as metal, they offer a huge amount of gain for aggressive, saturated riffs. They often incorporate noise gates to limit unwanted noise. Examples include MXR Fullbore Metal and Horizon Devices Precision Drive.
For overwhelming walls of sound, you need pedals capable of handling extreme gain levels without sacrificing the clarity of your sound, Here’s our small selection of pedals to meet your most demanding needs:
Mesa/Boogie Throttle Box EQ
Inspired by the Mesa/Boogie Rectifier amps and offering tones ranging from heavy rock to extreme metal, this pedal is a powerful high-gain distortion with a five-band graphic equalizer for precise sound sculpting. Ideal for modern metal or high-sustain solos.
Diezel VH4
This distortion pedal features the famous channel 4 of the Diezel VH4 amp, renowned for its tight, articulate distortion. It’s ideal for styles requiring a high level of precision, such as progressive metal. It has the advantage of being an ultra-versatile pedal, with presence and depth control to suit different configurations.
Boss Metal Zone MT-2W (Waza Craft)
This pedal is a modernized version of the legendary Metal Zone (featured above with classic distos) with enhancements for a clearer, more dynamic sound. Perfect for heavy metal rhythms, it features standard and custom modes for exploring different types of gain.
- Boss MT-2W Metal Zone148 €Buy
Horizon Devices Precision Drive
Specially designed for modern metal, this pedal offers precise attack and a built-in noise gate for a clean sound even at high gain levels. It is particularly popular with djent and technical metal enthusiasts.
Revv G4
Inspired by the Revv Generator amps, this pedal offers rich, saturated distortion, ideal for modern metal and expressive leads. It offers a very wide sound spectrum, with powerful lows and clear highs.
Bogner Ecstasy Red
This pedal features the red channel of the Bogner Ecstasy amp, offering a warm, powerful distortion perfect for heavy rock and metal. It also includes voicing options for exploring different gain textures.
Fuzz-type distortions
Unlike metal/high-gain pedals (just mentioned), which offer precise, tight and articulate distortion, suitable for styles requiring great “clarity” / precision, Fuzz-type distortion generates a more raw and wild saturation, often associated with vintage sounds, with a thick and chaotic texture.
Fuzz pedals have over time become a specific type of pedal, although they can also be classified as distortion pedals. Mainly used for psychedelic rock and garage rock, they offer a highly compressed, grainy, almost synthetic saturation, popularized in the 60s and 70s. Legendary examples include Electro-Harmonix’s Big Muff and Dunlop’s Fuzz Face.
Here is our small selection of Fuzz distortion pedals:
Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz
This pedal offers a unique blend of fuzz and octave, with several options for adjusting timbre. It boasts a wide sound palette, from classic textures to more modern sounds.
- Electro Harmonix Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz88 €Buy
Electro Harmonix Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz
Way Huge Swollen Pickle
Designed for heavy genres such as stoner rock and metal, this pedal produces a powerful fuzz with precise bass and treble control. Its brutal character can be adjusted via internal controls to suit a variety of styles.
- Way Huge Swollen Pickle MK IIS175 €Buy
Way Huge Swollen Pickle MK IIS
JHS Muffuletta
This pedal pays homage to the famous Big Muff by integrating six different versions of this legendary circuit, allowing you to travel through the history of fuzz while offering a modern, up-to-date approach to this pedal.
- JHS Pedals Muffuletta279 €Buy
JHS Pedals Muffuletta
Death by Audio Fuzz War
With extreme distortion capability and versatile tone control, it is ideal for experimental sounds or complex saturated textures.
- Death by Audio Fuzz War215 €Buy
Death by Audio Fuzz War
Fender Shields Blender
A modern reinterpretation of a vintage octave fuzz, with presets to explore innovative sound textures, perfect for massive, psychedelic sounds.
- Fender Kevin Shields Blender B-Stock251 €Buy
Fender Kevin Shields Blender B-StockHybrid and flexible distortions
Hybrid distortion pedals are unique in that they combine several types of saturation (overdrive, distortion, fuzz) in a single box. They enable you to switch from soft saturation to high-gain in just a few settings. They can be used with maximum flexibility, especially on stage.
Here is our selection of flexible and hybrid distortion pedals:
EarthQuaker Devices Palisades V2 Overdrive
This ultra-versatile pedal features six clipping modes and five gain levels, allowing you to go from smooth saturation to a powerful high-gain sound. It combines overdrive, distortion and fuzz tones, making it ideal for quick adjustments and maximum flexibility on stage or in the studio (including 3 footswitches that let you alternate and combine 1 overdrive, 1 distortion and 1 boost).
- EarthQuaker Devices Palisades V2 Overdrive329 €Buy
EarthQuaker Devices Palisades V2 Overdrive
Keeley D&M Drive
This hybrid model combines warm overdrive in the first section and more aggressive distortion in the second, with the option of mixing the two. Its active EQ lets you sculpt the sound, moving easily from bluesy tones to heavier saturation, depending on your needs.
- Keeley D&M Drive313 €Buy
Keeley D&M Drive
MXR M77 Custom Badass Overdrive
Primarily an overdrive, the M77 can also generate rougher saturations thanks to its tone and gain control. This hybrid pedal allows you to switch between light crunch and thicker distortion, offering great flexibility for different playing styles.
- MXR M77 Custom Badass Modified O.D123 €Buy
Electro-Harmonix Operation Overlord
The Operation Overlord is a complete pedal that blends overdrive, distortion and fuzz. With its clipping options and built-in equalizer, it allows you to create sounds ranging from light crunch to extreme saturation, all with great flexibility.
- Electro Harmonix Nano Overlord Overdrive84 €Buy
Revv G3
The Revv G3 focuses primarily on high-gain distortion, but its three gain modes and EQ also allow you to explore a range of saturations from crunch to thicker tones, with a touch of fuzz on some positions. This pedal offers exceptional flexibility for metal and progressive rock-oriented guitarists.
- Revv G3 Distortion219 €Buy
Revv G3 DistortionPreamp distortion and amp simulation
Finally, so-called “preamp” distortion pedals simulate the preamp and, more generally, the sound of an amp, offering realistic and complete saturation, often with advanced controls such as equalizers.
Often used to build the basis of a sound, this type of pedal often dispenses with the need for an amp, and can be plugged directly into a live console (practical!). Examples include Origin Effects’ RevivalDRIVE Compact, which reproduces vintage American and British tube amps, the Strymon Riverside, which synthesizes the essence of a tube amp in a digital pedal, and the Strymon Iridium, which simulates 3 legendary amps: Fender Deluxe Reverb, Vox AC30 and Marshall Plexi.
Our selection of Preamp disto :
Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series (Blonde)
The SansAmp Blonde is a preamp pedal that simulates the sound of a Fender-style amp. It offers complete control over tone, gain and volume, providing a wide sonic palette from warm clean to more intense saturation. This model can be used to create authentic vintage tones, as well as a DI for live performance or studio recording.
Ampeg SCR-DI Preamp
Although primarily designed for bass, Ampeg’s SCR-DI is a popular preamp for guitarists too. It combines an authentic Ampeg amp simulation with a built-in overdrive, delivering a rich, powerful sound. You can use it for clean tones or more muscular saturation, and it can be used both as a preamp and as a DI for direct sound.
- Ampeg SCR-DI289 €Buy
Ampeg SCR-DI
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 170
Although primarily designed as a power amplifier, Seymour Duncan’s PowerStage 170 includes an extremely powerful preamp section with amp simulations. It simulates a tube amp while offering overdriven and distorted tones. Highly appreciated for its ability to deliver amp-quality sound while being more compact than a traditional amp.
- Seymour Duncan Power Stage 170459 €Buy
Seymour Duncan Power Stage 170Distortion pedal news and nuggets from 2024
Every year, we’re lucky enough to see new pedals, new concepts and even new manufacturers. Here are just a few of this year’s standouts:
JHS Pedals Hard Drive
This modern high-gain distortion pedal features a completely new design, developed over eight years. It offers versatile distortion thanks to its cascaded gain stages and a parametric equalizer for adjusting mid-range frequencies.
Beetronics FX Tuna Fuzz
This model stands out for its dense grain and adjustable appearance, moving from light fuzz to more extreme saturation. The Tuna Fuzz is ideal for musicians looking for a versatile pedal capable of producing fat, rough sounds, yet easy to tame for solos and riffs.
Beetronics FX Abelha Tropical Fuzz
Again from Beetronics, where there’s no shortage of imagination, the new Abelha Tropical Fuzz is a vibrant fuzz pedal that evokes tropical energy and warmth. Designed to deliver rich, textured tones, it lets you move from soft fuzz to more intense saturation, while retaining remarkable clarity.
Wampler Mofetta
The Wampler Mofetta modernizes the Ibanez MT10 Mostortion with MOSFETs for articulate, versatile distortion. Its 3-band EQ and “Texture” switch allow precise adjustment of sonic character, ideal for stacking with other pedals.
Line 6 POD Express Black
In 2024, Line 6 launched a new version of its POD Express: the “Black”. It combines 7 amps, 7 cabs and 17 effects in a compact, intuitive format. This multi-effects unit, specially designed for guitarists in search of a metal sound, lets you alternate easily between classic sounds and high-gain saturations, inspired by the brand’s famous Helix.
Universal Audio ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp
Universal Audio’s ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp captures the spirit of 1990s metal amps in a compact pedal. Designed for aggressive, harmonically rich high-gain sounds, it offers faithful reproduction of the legendary metal and hard rock amps of the era, with modern control options to sculpt your sound.
Universal Audio Knuckles 92 Rev Dual Rec Amp
Universal Audio’s Knuckles 92 Rev Dual Rec Amplifier, launched in 2024, captures the essence of the Dual Rectifier amps of the ’90s, famous for their massive saturation and aggressive response. This pedal offers a modern, versatile version of the high-gain sound, with two distinct channels for switching between brutal distortion and more controlled overdrive.
Fjord Fuzz SOL
Fjord Fuzz SOL, launched in 2024, is the result of a collaboration with PALF. This pedal stands out for its ability to deliver rich, textured saturation, ideal for guitarists looking for a modern fuzz, but with a vintage character. It combines a smooth fuzz circuit with great responsiveness to playing nuances, offering a wide sound spectrum, from light fuzz to heavier distortions.
Thorpy FX WOPR
The Thorpy FX WOPR is a unique pedal that combines aggressive fuzz and powerful boost. Designed to offer a wide range of tones, it blends Fallout Cloud and Rangemaster circuits to deliver rich, dynamic saturation, ideal for heavy riffs or punchy solos. With six settings (Range, Sustain, Volume, Treble, Bass and Boost), this pedal gives you precise control over your tone, from soft, subtle tones to extreme distortion attacks.
So, did one of these selections win you over? If you have other pedals in mind that aren’t in this selection, don’t hesitate to mention them in the comments!
