Top Overdrive Pedals

Overdrive/distortion pedals are often your first pedals. Nearly everyone has at least one of these on their pedalboard, though many professional guitarist also get much of this effect from their amps. Still, with so many of these in use on today’s top pedalboards, there is ample choice as to what can be crowned the top overdrive pedals out there today.

Choosing the Top Overdrive Pedals

As we always do, we select the top overdrive pedals by going through our archives of the Pedalboards of the top guitarists, and rely on their expert opinion. There’s no better sign of approval than using a pedal during a gig. The more a pedal appears on different artist’s pedalboards, the higher it appears on the top overdrive pedals list.

Overdrive vs. Distortion

On this list, we will be distinguishing between overdrive and distortion. What is the difference? Well, both are technically distortion, just as the fuzz effect is, though we tend to separate the idiosyncrasies of fuzz and overdrive effects into their own category, while placing the remaining distortion effects into another category.

Overdrive pedals mimic the effect that comes from “overpowering” an amp when the master and volume settings or so high that the sound becomes distorted. Distortion and Fuzz focus on modifying the sound wave to clip the wave, with fuzz effects creating a much more square wave.

Top Overdrive Pedals – The 3rd Runner Up

The BOSS SD-1 SuperOver-drive
Used by: Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Noel Gallagher of Oasis (SD-2)

Boss is strong as ever on this list, making it’s first appearance with the SD-1. We’ve included the SD-2 in its score as well, as the similarity between the pedals is close enough to assume that the choice between the two can fall into questions of availability rather than a conscious selection.  The SD-2 has been replaced in manufacturing by the OD-3.

Boss SUPER OverDrive SD-1 PedalGet the top overdrive pedals from:

Musician’s Friend
Amazon
Guitar Center
American Musical Supply
Boss Od-3 Overdrive PedalMusician’s Friend
Amazon
Guitar Center

Top Overdrive Pedals -2nd Runner Up

The BOSS Blues Driver
Used by: Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys,  John Mayer

BAM! Another Boss pedal makes our exclusive top overdrive pedals list. The Blues Driver kind of plays second fiddle to the Tube Screamer (Spoiler?), but it does have its own applications, as many prefer this one to match with Fender Amps, while the Tube Screamer works better with Marshall (though this preference is completely subjective).

Boss BD-2 Blues Driver PedalGet the top overdrive pedals from:

Musician’s Friend
Amazon
Guitar Center
American Musical Supply

The Best of the Top Overdrive Pedals

Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer
Used by: Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Jonny Buckland of Coldplay, John Mayer (TS-808), Trey Anastasio of Phish
This is hands down the top overdrive pedal. It is so popular, you sometimes see two of them on pedalboards. Artists like Trey Anastasio of Phish uses one for the overdrive effect and the second as a boost for solo and such. It even wins out for this particular model, though if we count the different versions, such as the TS-808, its lead grows even more.
Top Overdrive Pedals Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Effects Pedal Get the top overdrive pedals from:

Musician’s Friend
Amazon
Guitar Center
American Musical Supply
Ibanez TS808 Vintage Tube Screamer Reissue Musician’s Friend
Amazon
Guitar Center
American Musical Supply

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