Overdrive & Distortion: How to Be Creative

[@CyberattackWorld]

PRO-TIP #6: if you wanna buy any of this gear using my affiliate links, here they are: Boss SD-1: bit.ly/3wnCLJy Benson Preamp: bit.ly/3QCnyeC 29 Boost: bit.ly/3wfYao3 MXR EVH 5150: bit.ly/3wfY2oz Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop: bit.ly/3LKwqfu MXR PHASE 100: bit.ly/3JSQECs Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water: bit.ly/3cOrd81 Strymon Iridium (this is what I used instead of real amps for this whole video): bit.ly/3Uah6ur

[@silasmoon]

Again, these videos are the equivalent of hanging with your older sister's cool friend. Solid advice, no marketing bullshit, just tips and art and music.

[@CyberattackWorld]

i hate to break it to you but your older sister and i are more than friends

[@UberNuber]

@@CyberattackWorld ahahaha

[@daviddelossantos6075]

😂😂😂

[@chrisvsmusicny]

@@CyberattackWorldI was gonna drop a Like, but it's at 69 and I can't bring myself to ruin that. 😂

[@zeropointstar]

@@CyberattackWorld…lol.

[@lysdexiar31]

cyberattack out here just casually being a fucking fantastic guitar player

[@AdventureVanMan]

that last solo was 👌🏼

[@mastertimb]

Came here to say that too. Rippin solo!

[@pfcomalley1]

I concur

[@jojojiles]

I mean it is good, but pretty sure it's just the solo from the Daft Punk song he's playing.

[@CyberattackWorld]

@@jojojiles I love that solo, but it's completely different

[@Mgalacticable]

You are the only guy talking about the concepts of pedals with respect to art. I imagine it will be difficult to grow the channel because it's not about the dopamine release. You know: "that pedal is going to make me magically sound better and it's shiny and beautiful" dopamine release. I'm going through and liking all of your videos. I've learned so much. Thank you.

[@zardozjones]

Another great vid - thx! This is one of the only actual guitar channels worth watching at the moment, all the other channels just seem to be marketing outlets, with very little actual useful content.

[@admbrnk3665]

I agree, I’m burned out on the blatant shilling of every new piece of gear.

[@theyoganath3073]

Cyberattack, Michael Banfield and Stompbox Breakdown are fighting the good fight. I've basically unsubbed from every other "gear" channel.

[@minibikegarage1577]

​@@theyoganath3073Michael makes good stuff

[@ileutur6863]

Video making is a tough and time consuming process. Are you saying these people don't deserve money for doing a job?

[@zardozjones]

@@ileutur6863 Not at all - I'm saying it's refreshing to see actual original content and knowledge that will push guitar sounds and technique forward, instead of the same old cheesy boring metalcore/djent riff with "product x/y/z" being pushed.

[@yawn8974]

Even though your videos are usually about being advanced and creative, you explain the fundamentals in such a clear way that I often have forehead-smacking "a-ha" moments where I learn something that I wish I learned when I was starting out.

[@gerardocamargo2227]

It’s interesting how you slip those grungy riffs like "The Day I Tried to Live" and "Cherub Rock" to create these awesome pro tips, please don’t stop making videos.

[@roberthenry6910]

Best guitar youtuber out right now, wish nothing but the best

[@craigwood8862]

Ahh the clean squeaks of that computer- game like solo at the end- that was awesome! And the money sample.

[@nstrug]

It’s riffing on the original Digital Love solo. The original is on synth but there are a bunch of amazing guitar covers of it.

[@medulasa1]

THE DAFT PUNK GUITAR RIFF

[@Pyroja]

13:23 Definitely thought for a second you were gonna start reelin' in the years

[@toomdog]

I didn't hear it until you said it, but I can't not hear it

[@LP-123]

Damn dude - love the production candy on this one (the vid itself and the tracks)! You’ve leveled up!!

[@LP-123]

Also, love the 29 JFET - beautiful saturation.

[@Flocksandthesuzzies]

Just started playing lead for a band in February, physically couldn’t do it without these videos, glad I found ya!

[@twosjalltheway]

That solo on the Daft Punk tune was wicked.👍🏼

[@Mode-7]

Next time I have a bad day, I’m going straight to that joyous Digital Love guitar solo. Brings a smile to my face.

[@lilSchmoob]

DUDE! This video has insanely helpful info in it that I've never considered before. I always thought that the more volume/dirt pedals you add, the louder it gets until the amp can't handle it anymore. (which is still kinda true in a way). I tried experimenting with a Boss DS-2 with all settings maxed (John Frusciante style) into my Twin Reverb and the volume jump was OUTRAGEOUS. Totally unusable - and I thought the only solution to this was a different amp, until I placed a pre-amp pedal after my DS-2 and noticed there was some sort of "cap" or "ceiling" in which my volume couldn't get any louder, despite maxing all the settings on my DS-2. The pre-amp was almost acting like a compressor when I pushed it that hard. I knew something was happening but I didn't really understand how it was working until I watched this video. Thanks for making another banger vid! :)

[@CyberattackWorld]

Glad this video helped but you were already right there

[@DIYguitarGuy]

Damn both Powerslave AND Digital Love in another great CyberAttack video, this must be my lucky day.

[@mattyankovich]

Man those tones from driving the modulation pedals are so good

[@ValdrVideo]

Vid after vid the tones you make are just the best man

[@davidsummerville351]

Some very cool guitar playing in tip #5. Great phrasing. 😎🤓

[@CyberattackWorld]

Thanks man I spent a bunch of time writing that one phrase to phrase (it was not improvised)

[@Andy000Burns]

I forgot how much I love Iron Maiden

[@CyberattackWorld]

woe to you

[@slayabouts]

One of my favorite distortions is Luke Bentham’s of The Dirty Nil. He puts a Rat into the fx loop of a Marshall 1959 that’s only slightly driven. For solos, he just adds a second Rat after the first. Everything has great string definition and distortion character

[@matheomiglietta9275]

best ytb channel ever change my mind

[@EngineeredNonsense]

Another fantastic video - love the sounds from those overdriven phasers! Also, the werewolf thing walking through an office building might hurt be my favorite stop-motion yet. Full-force laughter at the TV when it came on.

[@CyberattackWorld]

it might be my favorite too, there's just something about it

[@shucrut63]

I had that exactly idea of overdriving non distortion pedals, inspired by the brian may thing of using a tape deck pre amp. I stacked two boss EQs and pushed both to max gain, with the bonus of frequency shaping, can get everything from some overdrive to full on fuzz.

[@tonyrapa-tonyrapa]

Dude, I'm seriously addicted to your channel. And you are one helluva guitarist.

[@CyberattackWorld]

thanks dude

[@Whoosh12345]

These videos are the perfect amount of instruction, demonstration, and editing. Plus you're a killer guitar player. Been getting a lot out of my pedalboard since I've subscribed

[@CyberattackWorld]

thanks dude, glad to hear it

[@RobUttley]

Oh yes - Powerslave riff. Love it. I'll be happily earwormed for the day now. That last piece was on fire - love that solo! As usual, this is the best guitar channel on the 'tube. Thanks for all you do.

[@BennyOkay]

Dude you are so sick. Your combination of knowledge and taste reminds us of why rock is cool in ways that just doesn’t happen with the recycled guitar-dad approaches to the genre’s traits

[@CyberattackWorld]

thanks dude

[@kevon217]

That fight scene interlude was sick.

[@CyberattackWorld]

sadly both men died in excruciating pain!!!!! RIP

[@samuelwynn737]

At 0:30 seconds I’m sorry but I have to ask how exactly you got that sound, it made me sit up in amazement that a guitar can sound that good.

[@CyberattackWorld]

thank you, that's gonna be a song called "Unrealistic" on the next Cyberattack album. the lead tone is something I explain in one of the pro-tips here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXuxqqOJnbaDZpo and the rhythm guitar tone is something I explain in one of the pro-tips here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bImZl56tlNWeiKc

[@justaguy2365]

You speak for me as well!!! I had to rewind and listen to that several times!

[@justaguy2365]

​@@CyberattackWorld I look forward to hearing that!

[@Jasonrich222]

The ending solo was great. Amazing descriptions of drives as well

[@ache_74x]

This one's gonna be a banger

[@oservoasafe]

ONLY BANGERS IN THIS ONE

[@pguzmancox]

best pedal channel👊👊👊, graphics are amazing man! greetings from chile✌️🇨🇱

[@fabianreyes237]

Mind blown with tip 5 🤯🐐

[@ryanbeavers2810]

Love the Cheap Trick jams! Taking Me Back, Auf Wiedersehen...yes sir 👍

[@CyberattackWorld]

i'm glad somebody noticed it was "Taking Me Back," love that band and that whole album

[@eph_kni]

dude youre insanely good at guitar

[@cybresquid]

So much CyberAttack content lately! What a treat!

[@SrSacaninha]

dude, you have the coolest channel

[@SmokinFoolz]

Last Jam was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Smooooookin

[@edwin-zone]

Audio demos were extra sick in this one!

[@linewizard]

Love the toejam and earl soundbyte haha. And that's an awesome tip for the shallow water, which is already a super versatile pedal. Now I need to do some experiments to figure out how my distortion/overdrives are actually interacting with my Iridium...

[@CyberattackWorld]

I'm so glad you caught that it was from Toejam and Earl. Also, I used the Iridium to record 100% of what you're hearing in this video, so you should be able to get pretty close.

[@linewizard]

@@CyberattackWorld ah! Perfect! Always love to see your deep dives on effects. Seems like the guitar pedal KZbin space in particular is lacking in this type of content. So many videos show off 10-20% of what a pedal is capable of doing.

[@JonathanGarciaMallen]

Thank you for explaining the whole point of an effects loop in an amp. And thanks for your exceptions slide @1:05! Maybe one day I'll try to implement some.

[@CyberattackWorld]

the exceptions are gonna get their own videos at some point

[@carlsith4359]

You kick ass. I love your music and the modes you use. For me it is in that "Happy, Saturday morning awesomeness I used to feel when I was younger," type of feel. I find that sound hard to find and consider those that can pull it off as gifted in theory and tone. This is a personal metaphor but it equals the morning sun in spring. That's the only way I can describe it. Thank you.

[@CyberattackWorld]

Thanks for the comment, glad you get it

[@andersondouglas3470]

I would add a sixth technique: put an equalizer after your pedal After I started using equalizers I started to have access to incredible tones, sometimes making a single pedal sound like 5 different ones, with a 5-band equalizer it's already very good, currently I use a 10-band one and I get very interesting tones, besides that I can adapt the distortion depending on the amplifier's behavior

[@CyberattackWorld]

yes this is good

[@oopsydaizi3s824]

Going try this out. Only ever use my BOSS GE-7 in front of the amp.

[@daviddelossantos6075]

Love this channel. I like to chain dirt pedals together, adding a little bit of gain and tonal character with each pedal. One of my other hacks is using a pedal with a strong volume pot at the end of my chain as a kind of pre-“Master Volume” when the kids are asleep and I don’t want to wake them up.

[@vhszach]

This might be my favorite pro tip video yet. Super insightful stuff, and some sick guitar chops to back it up!

[@coveryourears3851]

Barbershop is on my “short” list of pedals and gear I want atm. I hear its decently natural on bass.

[@michaelfowler3187]

Dude you nailed the conversational differences of the pedals... I agree they are all distortions but they way it's used and the way it's designed to be used are crucial - the comment you made about effects loops is spot on and the idea of overdrives working with the amp sound vs the distortion pedals printing onto a clean speaker is the key application difference. Then you have fuzz that throws all of this out the window as its part of the actual guitar for so many players.

[@MrLambo0905]

Man your content is perfect! Thank you for your contribution to the youtube guitar/music space. You're wicked!

[@CalebChrisR]

amazing videos. truly helpfull

[@alexfletcher9915]

Another absolute banger!

[@johnnylauderdale7761]

Fantastic playing throughout. Hearing the Cherub Rock opening in tip 4 has made me do some reflection on tone chasing. Like, that sound is associated so hard with big muffs and JCM800s, but your setup and technique got really close despite not including those staples.

[@CyberattackWorld]

yeah I would not have thought of the 5150 as the first place to go for Siamese Dream tones either, but when I played it I thought it worked pretty well. I think trying to get identical gear for whatever you're trying to sound like is usually not super important. but being able to play the riff is.

[@jazdosanjh1566]

great vid, and great channel. Really cleared up distortion for me.

[@toomdog]

I never knew Daft Punk was missing ripping guitar solos, but I do now. Super tasty, my friend!

[@iansmith1916]

The boost tip is the best! You get beautiful results running boost into Death By Audio effects since they're built to distort.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

I'm now thinking of the possibilities of doing that modulation effect trick with a stereo pedal

[@btrap11]

One of your best yet - rock on!

[@EduardoCostaLisboa]

Your chanell is so great and you play so well that (again) I feel so inspired. Thank you again

[@5150forevermore]

Excellent content dude. Those are some unique dirt sounds you achieved.

[@Dorachagi1]

Awesome vid. Barbershop is probably my favorite drive pedal, never leaving my board.

[@CyberattackWorld]

it's extremely good

[@andrewsanders9824]

Another cracking vid sir. Good job

[@TheVoidMachine]

Another awesome video! You are honestly one of the best music channels going right now. Thanks for the tips! ❤

[@prodiggy88]

Nice song pick dude, one of my fave daft punk tracks. Id love to see a video on interesting ways to stack distortion with fuzz and other effects

[@oliverlangrall2014]

Love your playing, gonna steel some riffs for my band. Also gonna experiment pushing modulation with distortion❣❣❣

[@CyberattackWorld]

sure thing, this might come in handy for the stealing: bit.ly/3vZ0yft

[@oliverlangrall2014]

@@CyberattackWorld oh hell yeah, thanks

[@dieselbreakfast]

That solo at the end was rad!!!

[@reallyoldcob]

10/10 total sauce

[@lmackenzie89]

I've always wondered about that distortion vs overdrive idea. Also love the examples. Iron Maiden and Daft Punk rule!

[@CyberattackWorld]

🥊❤️

[@adamgorka368]

WOW 🤩 @ the last solo. your videos rule, SO helpful

[@jeffpodeszwik1592]

Killer video and killer solo at the end! That phrasing was great 🙌

[@MrBluexmas]

Wow last solo is great! Big fan!

[@shaunmorrison6448]

I have an old 70s mic preamp that essentially works as a really good distortion pedal because a mic has a way lower output than a guitar. If you hit it with a boost it gets into a Big Muff type territory.

[@CyberattackWorld]

That sounds awesome

[@monochrome_sweatsuit]

Big fan of your videos! \m/

[@CyberattackWorld]

big fan of your channel name

[@mk-vn7xk]

maaaan I love this kind of videos!!! great content

[@turyborja96]

thats some nice animations

[@bw5260]

I just transitioned my guitar rig from mono to stereo, and I'm playing around with using different overdrive/distortion pedals in parallel. Before both sides of dirt (one overdrive + one distortion + one fuzz, though not all on at the same time usually), I run my signal into a stereo chorus with dual LFOs, so everything sounds MASSIVE. I'm just trying to set up the L/R dirt pedals to be complimentary right now though.

[@ItsVictoriaG]

Comparing the EVH to Jem and the Holograms and the Fairfield Barbershop to Barbie and the Rockers was not the metaphor I expected going into this video but I’m so glad it exists.

[@CyberattackWorld]

Thank you engaging with the video this deeply

[@Minnesconi]

Love your style of playing and your videos are so well done and inspiring.

[@dylannakiely6401]

finally, the cyberattack video i've been waiting for (my board is all dirt)

[@dylannakiely6401]

oh hell yeah, i can't wait to try life with my boost after my fuzz and bring my Ts808 back into the fray in the before spot, ive been running fuzz last in chain and boost at front, and i think boost at the end is going to fix a lot of my leveling volume problems--gave me lots to chew on! another hit from the hitmaker!!

[@dylannakiely6401]

and damn, rippin' Digital Love!

[@CyberattackWorld]

Thanks dylanna I love you always

[@CorbCorbin]

Excellent

[@bouzoukiman5000]

Nice steely dan style

[@matthewdavis473]

Another banger. I absolutely love my benson preamp. So simple but does so many things

[@matthewdavis473]

The last solo sounded like a hybrid of Jeff Baxter, Elliot Randall, and Larry Carlton

[@endersw]

You deserve happiness. I adore your videos and always come out the other side a more learned hairless monkey.

[@xdoctorblindx]

Interesting that you refer to the barbershop as a distortion. It really is it’s own thing, with characteristics of an overdrive (gain level), fuzz (compression character), distortion (signal degradation), and amp-in-a-box (cascading gain with power amp sag). I have a V1 and a Modele B

[@garrettburgess66]

Loved the jams

[@LFiles48]

I use an OBNE signal blender to run different drives in parallel, then adjust them to each other with eqs. I'm still in the testing phase but the results are promising. On another note, that fairfield barbershop sounds really good.

[@CyberattackWorld]

yeah the Barbershop rules. Also if you're into parallel signal flow, this may be of interest: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naaln3lveZ10r9k

[@mastertimb]

Fantastic video, thanks man!

[@Bloor005]

I had one of those Marshall chorus pedals that would distort if you put a higher signal into it and played with the impedance. Wasnt supposed to do that, technically but it happened. I think it was a fault with the construction on mine.

[@erikberg8352]

Good to see the 5150 get some love. This is one of those "desert island" pedals that can do everything really well in most set ups. What are your pro tips on running parallel drives?

[@CyberattackWorld]

Yeah the 5150 rules. OK for parallel drives, I think the basic thing is to combine sounds that are different-like two mid-boosting overdrives in parallel is pointless. It's cooler to run a distortion and a fuzz, or a bit crusher and an overdrive, etc. I talk a little about this in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naaln3lveZ10r9k But I actually think double-tracking is more straightforward and probably sounds better than running multiple drives in parallel. Obviously you can't do it live, but when it comes to recording, the variations you get in performance across the two takes is super interesting and has a bigger overall effect in my opinion than the benefits of adding to a distortion sound with a different distortion in parallel. You can also emphasize making the double-tracked performances different in ways that are interesting. For example, in pro-tips 2 and 5 in this video, I use different chord voicings across the two takes, and it makes the whole thing sound a little cooler. That's more subtle than the Randy Rhoads thing of putting certain notes a half step apart, which is totally bananas. But the idea of stacking chords in slightly different ways across a double-tracked performance can be fun and adds some force to whatever you're doing.

[@bode_sereia]

6:01 YOOO SOUNDGARDEEEN, I knew I'd find a video where you used one of their riffs as an example.

[@CyberattackWorld]

I woke the same as any other day

[@bode_sereia]

@@CyberattackWorld 'Cept a voice were in your head, I know the feeling

[@kwyatt261]

Oddly, that last jam was giving me Steely Dan vibes if they tried to get a Huey Lewis and the News sound lol

[@sethers18]

Awesome video as always! Love the Daft Punk section at the end. Have you ever thought about interviewing someone like Brian Wampler or other pedal manufacturers?

[@CyberattackWorld]

I would love to do it. I've found interview videos the hardest to edit, and they also don't do great in terms of KZbin analytics (at least on my channel), but I would still love to do it.

[@sethers18]

@@CyberattackWorld Yep, I totally get that. In order for it to work for you and KZbin at the same time, you would have to make the video fun enough to be somewhat popular for the analytics, but also true to your pedal-nerd base. Maybe asking pedal manufacturers for their favorite wildest tones (with examples) and how to get those tones? (or something along those lines?)

[@howamidriving27]

Man I used to love jamming on Digital Love, I need to relearn how to play that one.

[@chrisegg7936]

damn this guy can play guitar left AND right handed

[@gooman04]

DIGITAL LOVE 🫶🙌

[@redguitar6062]

I'm listening to you with a Logic session open. I can here this really gnarly dirt on your voice frome time to time and assumed it was your choice. Interesting, I thought. Then I realised I have 2x ChromaGlow and 2x CHOW tape doing their jam in the background and randomly spitting hot fuzz 🤦

[@Pandamasque]

0:26 What's that lead tone? Square wave tremolo into slapback delay? With a bit of whammy at one point? So tasty!

[@CyberattackWorld]

It's none of those things, but I explain exactly what it is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXuxqqOJnbaDZpo

[@Pandamasque]

@@CyberattackWorld Thanks!