History Of Guitar Distortion

[@PhreddCrintt]

Hi Josh. I am 73 this year (2020) and despite our band mutually folding after 50 years, I still play every day. Played some big venues and crowds in my day and, following your channel of late, you bring back soooooo many memories with your wonderful, factual comments and opinions. This one - in particular (of all such-related subjects) - is particularly fantastic and I thank you so very much because... you demonstrate so much of what I try to tell younger muso friends. Especially the youngsters!! (LOL!) You have a new fan my friend - and I am spreading the word! Good luck going forward Josh.

[@imunderarrestfortaxinvasio35]

Bot

[@dewdop]

@@imunderarrestfortaxinvasio35 lol probably not

[@bonnibloop_]

@@dewdop fr like it's a 10 year old channel I doubt it's a bot lmao

[@HentaiTrapLord]

@@imunderarrestfortaxinvasio35 no

[@HentaiTrapLord]

@@imunderarrestfortaxinvasio35 u

[@boywomack]

I got pumped for the shirt, then realized this video is over 2 years old

[@davebourque7895]

Lmao me too

[@coltonmuri3672]

It's for sale on the website

[@heyjarrod]

Oh, I didn’t even check the date. I just started watching this guy recently. I was watching the video the other day when he came up with that funny saying. I didn’t realize I was so far behind. But yeah, I saw someone wrote earlier, he still has those shirts on the website. I dig that phase pedal shirt too. 👍🏻🎸😎🇺🇸🤘🏻

[@JC-11111]

And it's still available in July 2021

[@TheFredster-dk1bi]

Same

[@felixdeschambault5648]

so guitarist stole fuzz from us bassists. marshall made his amp based on a fender bassman. and when i distort my bass they say it sounds like a guitar... damn you all guitar players!

[@tysonrinker5958]

How did you get that from this.

[@felixdeschambault5648]

Read it

[@sublyme2157]

A bass player first introduced me to guitar, and taught me power chords!

[@skyleranderson1984]

I read this in a caveman voice in my head

[@justharry2190]

checkmate bassist!

[@mikeoverton2536]

I love how he owns a pedal company but still pushes (in a good way) other pedal companies. I have two JHS pedals. They have had beer spilled on them, gigged, stomped on etc and they still work all the time, everytime. JHS is the best pedal company out there in my opinion.

[@jirehguzman7319]

Yeah like he's a pedal company owner but still a fan boy to other pedal manufacturers. If it wasn't for these guys maybe there won't be JHS Pedals that we know today.

[@sunny_disposition]

If he was struggling to make ends meet he might act differently. It’s less of something to admire and more a sign of their success IMO

[@smithfactory]

@@sunny_disposition He still doesn't have to do it, regardless of success. Nothing wrong with giving admiration when warranted.

[@Big824John]

I really respect Josh that he does this. He seems to be all about pedals, whether they're his or another company's. He is a true pedal fanatic. The pedal, the box, all the swag inside the box. 😀😀😀😀

[@SteveStevens-uv2px]

It's almost like they pay for their product placement and like he almost sells the vintage pedals he is discussing and almost promoting. It's almost like a giant marketing device so he can make money. Almost.

[@jamesburba1995]

I'm 71, and still play my Ric 4001 through my Fuzz Face. Best bass noise ever !

[@eeshsinger]

wow are you a motorhead fan?

[@hailuberbeast8892]

aw hell I love overdriven bass especially Rickenbacker. Check out a track called LSD off Hawkwind's Electric Teepee album. 2nd half of the track especially theres a very interesting overdriven effect ive been trying to duuplicate

[@epiphonium]

Rock on man !

[@josepablomartinez6253]

Which fuzz face do u use, germanium or silicon?

[@BenedictHarris]

Aw hell yeah dude

[@joshuadramsey]

19:22 is the best advice ever. The sound you're looking for is often just a few degrees on a knob somewhere in the chain you already have, whether it's your guitar, pedals, or amp.

[@michaelsnydermusic]

Best fuzz tone for me was The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream. Layering several big muff guitar tracks isn’t easy but Corgan made it epic.

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

I don't think he stacked the pedals, just a ton of overdubs!

[@michaelsnydermusic]

Joey Jo-Jo Shabadu I used the wrong terminology. Yes he overdubbed them so he layered them rather than stacked them. There’s a great EHX video he did and explained his use of the big muff. I’ll edit my comment , thanks for the input.

[@bloodredsun1]

That was the ‘78 Muff he used that EHX just reissued in the past two years and colored like a pumpkin. That was before the IC switch that bypassed the mid scoop was added.

[@KevyNova]

I was just thinking about how great Billy’s sound was on that album and then I click on this video and your comment was at the top! “Hummer” has his best guitar sounds ever, imo.

[@michaelsnydermusic]

Kevy Nova what’s so great about it (in my opinion) was the uniqueness of it. I’d never heard anything so big in my life. And I love how rare it still is.

[@BobCraigmile]

as someone who has distortion pedals and is a librarian....I love this.

[@TaylorSmith-godbucket]

In my pre-teens I spent all my money, never had any cash for anything, and nearly bankrupted my poor parents... in search for the tone on Metallica's 'And Justice For All'. There was no internet back then, all I knew is they used Mesa Boogie amps which I clearly could not afford. I must have bought/sold/returned every amp made between '88-'90, trying to get that sound. Now I'm 42, play blues, and plug straight into a Peavey Delta Blues, lol

[@gamesandguitars3901]

Taylor Smith can barely get that album tone with boogies lmao

[@scottanderson4175]

Taylor Smith i’m currently Fender Blues Junior

[@aaebsssb9914]

You can get those early Metallica guitar tones with computer programs like Bias Amp 2 or Amplitube or some others. I myself have an almost identical ...And Justice For All guitar tone

[@Swampster70]

There's no amp setup on the planet that will get 'that' Justice sound... ... but the little Mesa Mark 5:25 and it's little EL84's get pretty damned close to Master and Justice goodness.

[@joejones9520]

I was obsessed with distortion but didnt know anything and kept buying amps that didnt have it built in, it was like a quest I couldnt succeed at, I didnt know about pedals, finally I bought a Peavey Decade and my dream came true! Some idiot friends stole it from me in the 80s but I have a cooler one now, my Fender Champion 20 watt with tons of effects at the turn of a knob. My giant Peavey Classic makes a good piece of furniture but stopped working yrs ago.

[@bdduke1]

Jesus and Mary Chain's PsychoCandy blew my mind in the 80s. Most of the album is skillfully drenched in fuzz and reverb and some individual guitar tracks are mostly feedback.

[@matthewtop]

Lol very cool band. I get their tones by cranking a Dwarfcraft Necromancer into a Naga Viper treble booster and a ton of amp reverb

[@theWARMJET]

They said they made their carreer thanks to a broken Shin Ei fuzz

[@brandonroebuck504]

“Distortion is the heartbeat of the guitar” *jazz guitarists sweating*

[@andrewvatavu2155]

@skbzk explains the out of key half notes

[@44marek21]

Univibe

[@FransditoWicaksonoAdhi]

too many notes and boring at the same time.

[@Sub4-k7u]

"Yes, too many notes, m'lord." 😂

[@Hyperlink1337]

jazz guitarists use distortion too dude. don't be weird

[@noahhenson1089]

Mad respect for this dude incorporating other pedal companies into his presentation! That’s good sportsmanship! There’s enough work to go around so no need to be overly competitive. People like this are what continue to make the music industry a pleasure to be in! Kuddos JHS! On another note, my favorite driven sound of all time is still my Modded Boss SD-1. That pedal gets used 80%-90% in my studio.

[@kingslaphappy1533]

Loud is more good except when you wind up with Tinnitus which is a constant ringing in the ears. I have this for life now and I dont enjoy it. I still love distortion and i play music every day...watch your loudness levels, protect your ears with plugs.. it can happen to you. 👂

[@danieltorrez3710]

What?

[@vberga]

Same problem here...

[@evanphi]

Agreed! I'm a bass player and an Audiologist. I have tinnitus from not protecting my hearing, and I'm only 30. YES Loud is More Good, but in appropriate dosages. ;)

[@colbythornton5152]

Sadly, it was Jackyl. that was the cause of my 30 years of ear ringing. Couldn't hear properly for a week, afterwards. Have used hearing protection in any loud environment, since. The ringing drives me crazy. Have to have a fan and TV going to be able to sleep. Sux

[@Tonetwisters]

Very apt warning ... I am right there with you. Not a happy camper.

[@thestadiumshoppeonrazorbac7150]

The Rocket 88 story being told at Sun Studio in Memphis is that the amp fell off the car and busted the speaker. The guitarist put newspaper in the hole and the fuzz was the result. The band thought this ruined their chance at a hit. But instead, it worked out. They even have an amp, supposedly THE amp, on display in their museum.

[@mj99a]

i read an article back in the 70s saying that r&b and rock and roll guitarists through the 40s 50s were "jealous" of the energy that sax players could create during their solos, and wanted something that would give their instrument, which traditionally had a relatively clean sound, more punch and energy like the sax.

[@d.j.ashley]

mj99a sounds like it was written by a sax player

[@RickyHarline]

@@d.j.ashley saxes actually really can growl and dirty up their tone. It actually makes a lot of sense that a guitarist with only a clean tone would be envious of that ability to change tone inherent to the saxophone.

[@d.j.ashley]

Ricky Harline obviously. It's a joke.

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

You think that’s why the P-Funk guitarists loaded up with enough Marshall stacks for 50 Jimi Hendrix Experiences?

[@alanhyt79]

Everyone's jealous of sax players.

[@TheSaintedOne]

Aside from selling my Mesa Dual Rectifier, losing my Boss Metal Zone is one of my bigger regrets. Oh, and selling my DBZ Thoracic X signed by Dean Zelinsky is my number one biggest gear regret. Heroin.. not even once, kids. Clean and rebuilding the armory as we speak.

[@mauroslu]

Keep up the good work champ!!

[@rebelfriend6660]

Right on man

[@orelseodin]

Working on not losing my 3 american fenders and track board to the pawn shop....fml

[@chriszammit9967]

@@mauroslu xl mo l

[@chriszammit9967]

@@mauroslu n mhm Lin l my ok know Ooooooo on Benny Ooooo ln kill loop knock ml look k

[@dronehymns]

Favorite Distortion Tone: "Funeralopolis" by Electric Wizard

[@aleksr2329]

dronehymns hell yeah!

[@mcformaggio5040]

Daaamn

[@amandacapsicum686]

YES.

[@fionaur5933]

Da FZ-1

[@Bartman61911]

@@fionaur5933 FZ-2 actually. And if you buy yourself a behringer SF300 it's and exact clone in a plastic box only 50 bucks get it put in a metal enclosure and you've got yourself a $300 pedal for $130.

[@jabulanijonny]

11 - my level of disappointment that I cannot order this shirt now. Re-release oh please ? Great episode by the way. I love hearing the history of these circuits!

[@Bietel]

LINK WRAY was the one who stabbed the tweeter of his Premier amp. Ike Turner used an amp that was simply broken from falling from a truck - which sounded amazing, but happened by accident.

[@protestssopeacefulweneedad2017]

Wray is severely underrated

[@recycology5468]

@@protestssopeacefulweneedad2017 By who? Pretty sure almost every guitar player in Los Angeles doesn’t think that. And that’s only in Los Angeles.

[@protestssopeacefulweneedad2017]

@@recycology5468 Fuck Los Angeles.

[@karenhellyer3826]

Yes! "Rocket 88" was one of the first songs to use distortion in 1951. Sam Phillips, of Memphis Recording Service/Sun Records stuffed some napkins in the torn speaker cone and noticed how cool it sounded! The band was called "Jackie Brenston & his Delta Cats" (Ike Turner was the band leader) and the amp dropped when they got a flat tire and were looking through the trunk of their car for the spare. They were driving up to Sun to record for the first time (B.B. King referred Ike to Sam.)

[@guitarded71]

Ike Turner played piano on Rocket 88, not guitar. The guitar player was Willie Kizart.

[@chris-thumper7205]

Just discovered this channel. And yea, I'm a guitar player of 30 years! Anyway, I love the un-biased pedal reviews of this and Behringer and others... That's what makes a great company spokesman. Think I'm looking into JHS pedals now, just because of this.

[@chuckelator]

No Boss HM-2??? You've just offended the entire country of Sweden hahah!

[@jasonflaherty8364]

I had one of those. At least I'm going in not expecting it. Thanks!

[@nazderinkalyoncu1297]

NOT JUST SWEDEN...THE WHOLE SCANDINAVIA...

[@johnorlitta]

I used to run an Ibanez Sonic Distortion through a Boss HM-2. It was insane.

[@Bartman61911]

@@johnorlitta Awesome and ear bloodning.

[@gsxerwhite]

That was my first ever pedal back in the late 80’s. I loved it.

[@joshdrewpic]

Gotta say Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum. Such a classic fuzz jam

[@goncaloferreira2216]

I am always amazed by the distortion sound of Tony Iommi’s guitar in the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage albums. Symptom of the Universe has to me the nicest distortion sound of that era.

[@maxwattage6631]

How do YOU say what my mind has tried and failed? da da dundunda bum da bum da bumbum rum

[@grokness]

Any idea/links for how he created that sound?

[@connormartinson7619]

@@grokness gibson sg though a layney

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

modified Dallas Rangemaster is the secret weapon.

[@SaxonChronicles]

I was just thinking how much I liked the distortion on children of the grave

[@fernfawkes]

I still remember the first time I heard Dream Theater's album "Images and Words" on the local rock station. It was featured on their weekend "CD Feature" where they played select albums from start to finish. I was only half listening when the first song "Pull Me Under" started playing but when those heavy distorted guitars came in I was floored. I listened to the whole album with my jaw on the floor. To this day, the distortion sound on that album is my favorite distorted guitar sound ever. I've spend a small fortune trying to recreate it.

[@matthewenriquez8729]

Jimi Hendrix Machine Gun Band of Gypsys self titled item Kinda cheating because it’s distortion/modulation but I love the fuzz/uni-vibe combo

[@CMHobbies]

I’m a big fan of the untamed Ride the Lightning “hot rodded marshal slammed with a tube screamer” tone that James Hetfield achieved. That distortion is so epic even today.

[@jamesha175]

imagine having all of those pedals behind him and only one 9v battery

[@truckercowboyed2638]

Or having all those pedals but u only got 3 shark cables to connect them into a chain........

[@ericlayton8888]

Or having all those pedals but only one guitar lead

[@steveanderson7536]

And the one battery is just about dead.

[@MediHusky]

But it's rechargeable so you just have to wait 3 and a half hours and you're ready to go again.

[@kevinbnewsomemusic]

November 22, 2020: I am citing this video for a master's degree research project. Thanks JHS!

[@xbluesy2]

One of my favourite distorted sound is Billy Gibbon's in ZZ Top. Also Clapton's in Cream. In my present rig I have 3 pedals: TS9 by Ibanez, Tube Marker by DV Mark and a Suhr Riot clone. I use them in combination depending on the sound I want to obtain. A few years ago I was in love with the Metal Zone by Boss which I found quite versatile provided you spend a few days fine tuning the box... Thank you for the nice and instructive video!!!

[@dylanownskyle]

I love Boston's distortion tone. Tom really put alot of work to achieve it

[@drdre4397]

Tom Scholz really blows me away. Look I know he was known for being hard to work with and a bit too over bearing on other member's at some points but... The man is a rock legend. That first record was recorded in his basement with equipment he made, he was able to make the sounds that he heard in his head. Fun fact hysteria by death leopard uses the rockman a ton... Every single song on that first boston record is amazing, every single one. Foreplay/long time is just mind blowing... Shame about Brad Delp, what a voice.

[@Ryan_Q3L]

@@drdre4397 DEATH LEOPARD or Def Leppard. One will win this fight.

[@escobar64]

This video is really, really cool! Highly professional and very well documented, especially I loved the guitar demos of those historic boxes! Thanks

[@douglasjarnagan3835]

I've messed around with so many distortion pedals that I can't remember them all, but I never really liked any of them. Now going right into the amp has almost always made me a happy man.

[@seanhershey3390]

No mention of Link Wray's 'Rumble"?...I Really enjoyed your visit on That Pedal Show..good chemistry with those guys....Cheri Knight " the Knitter".. Eric Ambel's guitar tone on that album is amazing....I'm a deluxe reverb / tele guy...RAT, TS9..& the MXR DISTIII...are faves...:)

[@jhspedals]

I talk in length about Link in my clinics but these videos have to be a little more compact.... SO MUCH amazing history!

[@seanhershey3390]

True!.....we opened up for him a while back and our guitar player set up his old yamaha electric he was using... he was so grateful.... ...@@jhspedals

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

Link Ray!!!

[@brandonio_granger]

@@DaisyHollowBooks That's Link Wray you mean.

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

Brandonio Granger Yep. My bad...

[@thomasaquinas601]

Amazing how the first two "distortion" pedals ever made, sound better than half the distortion pedals in the market today.

[@dethsyndrome]

Finally the explanation for jcm 800, 900, 2000! I dont do forums

[@jeremybaird509]

Unfortunately, it doesn't hold true to the 2000 (the DSL and TSL) because they first came out in the late 1990's (I think it is like 1996 or 1997). Although they are some great amps. I have one.

[@robertdrozak4091]

I would like to thank you for all these types of videos that you produce for KZbin. I really do appreciate your knowledge and the seemingly tireless studying of music and the making of it by those colorfully epic stomp-boxes.

[@modularmind-co6845]

Favourite distortion: Hmmm That's hard. My first thought was "Everlasting Gaze" by Smashing Pumpkins. But FILTER's Title of record album is pretty hard to beat for massive tone. The Edge of U2 is underrated when it comes to distortion, but i think he has some of the coolest distortion pieces ever. U2 - Discotheque or Numb. The Edge uses a lot of effects and uses them all as part of a sonic palette, i think his use of distortion really stands out when he does use it. My rig: Guitars: Fender blacktop Jazzmasters and others. Current effects rig: Boss TU3 Tuner > Ibanez TS9 > Yamaha magicstomp > Lateral sound thermite > DVK Silvertop > MXR Sub machine > Boss GT-1000 (stereo out) > Line6 Verbzilla > Line6 DL4. Amps: Stereo out to Blackstar HT5 & MesaBoogie

[@Stubz_Perez]

A few of my favorite distortions on some of my favorite albums: Van Halen - Van Halen Mastodon - The Hunter Tool - Lateralus Alice in Chains - Dirt Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage Metallica - Ride the Lightning

[@zenistermister9695]

Which distortion is on which?

[@FK-ee1qm]

All I want for Christmas is just like every JHS pedal. C'mon santa it's not that much...

[@FK-ee1qm]

I agree on you there

[@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup]

I want the JHS/Boss Angry Driver for my harmonica!

[@nikolajihlemann8194]

Van Halens distortion on their first album is just unbeatable..

[@jeffdubuque5622]

i distortion on vh 2 song DOA is killer also.

[@Guitarburt]

People tend to forget that when the first VH album came out and all us guitar players couldn't find our lower jaw for about a month or so ... we were all just as baffled by that TONE as we were with those CHOPS. Meta Chiba --- there's a story about the "brown" tone that many of us probably already know. Eddie got his distortion through using a "Vari-AC" ("Variable Alternating Current") which was basically a dimmer switch that allowed him to provide his amp with more or less voltage than the standard 120v. Rumour had it that he was pushing too much current into the amp to get it to distort more. The truth is that he was STARVING his amp, giving it LESS than 120v... basically "browning" it out - hence the name "brown tone." A lot of players (so I've understood) ended up damaging and even destroying their amps trying to do the opposite.

[@jeffdubuque5622]

@@Guitarburt yes he ran his amps at 59 volts to get that brown sound.

[@4evasoundgarden]

1.Best tone: Eric Johnson-Cliffs of Dover 2.My favorite distortion rigg: 65 reissue Twin (Cranked to 5 or 6), Fender Strat 57 into-Eric johnson Fuzz Face-BB Pre-amp-Voodo Lab Giggety-Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay:))

[@capablanca4984]

The first time I really took notice of distortion was on the Beatles song Revolution. (the hard version from the B side of Hay Jude not the one on the White Album). I was 8 years old and it really got my attention.

[@markhoffman2237]

Nice history of distortion! As you mentioned, Howlin' Wolf's guitarist, Willie Johnson, was one of the first guitarists to get distortion from a tube amp during a recording, on Wolf's first single, "Moanin' at Midnight." Willie Kizart was the guitarist on "Rocket 88," the other great distorted-guitar song of 1951. "Rocket 88" and "Moanin' at Midnight" were recorded within three months of each other in Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis. Despite the story about the damaged speaker cone that Ike Turner told, I suspect that Kizart really got his fuzz tone from listening to Willie Johnson overdrive his speaker. Wolf's band was by then the top band in the Memphis/West Memphis region, and Kizart and Turner would've heard Wolf and Willie Johnson many times by then and probably would've lifted a few tricks from them. Willie Johnson played and recorded with Wolf for years, both in Memphis and Chicago and was sadly underrated as a guitarist. He played the lead guitar lick on Wolf's great "Smokestack Lightning" in 1956 while Hubert Sumlin played second guitar.

[@patrickfoster4586]

Great post. Willie Johnson's "Smokestack Lightning" riff is one of the greatest guitar parts ever put to tape! Cheers!🤘🎸

[@starcloud4959]

What about Guitar Slim? I heard Guitar Slim had the first distortion sound in the early 50's, by slashing his speaker?, but i can't find the scource of that info. mm ok so it must be Williie Johnson i guess.

[@starcloud4959]

@Brazilian Atlantis wow thanks , so guitar distortion goes back even before Willie Johnson("one of the first"), so i wonder who the other ones are, apart from John Lee Hooker ?

[@77Cardinal]

"Street Fighting Man" by the Stones. It opens with a distorted acoustic guitar played by Kieth Richards in an open room onto a cassette tape recorder in 1967. Overloading the electronics and saturating the tape created an amazing distortion effect. Richards said, "The basic track of that was done on a mono cassette with very distorted recording, on a Philips (tape deck) with no limiters. Brian is playing sitar, it twangs away. He's holding notes that wouldn't come through if you had a board, you wouldn't be able to fit it in. But on a cassette if you just move the people, it does. Cut in the studio and then put on a tape. Started putting percussion and bass on it. That was really an electronic track, up in the realms." Not only distortion, but speed errors and tape drop outs create a sharp n' dirty sound.

[@SrNeira]

That apparition at 14:29 was stellar hahaha Dude, I'm addicted to this channel. So educational and yet entertaining. Keep up the good work, Josh! Love from Spain!

[@brianwilkey5691]

Favorite recorded distortion tone: Boston's "We're Ready" from the 3rd Stage. He uses a lot of range of distortions on that song, all very heavily textured. My rig: I'm using various hollowbody guitars, all with humbuckers, sent through a TS-9 and a Digitech RP-1 (multi-effects processor), played through a Crate Vintage Club 5212.

[@dcdno_one2393]

Those were all Scholz R&D Rockmans

[@Zevonfan524]

I’ve always been really partial to the fuzz tone on Revolution by The Beatles. My distortion tone at the moment is a Gretsch plugged straight into cranked AC15 with a micro amp booster for cut

[@StatusMusicDesign]

ICYDK, that's a direct-into-the-console kinda fuzz. JHS's Color Box would be ideal for that, but their Crayon would get you there too, I think. If you want something cheaper, the ModTone Fuzzer claims to have this sound too. While maybe not as 100% accurate as the Color Box, I would say it is still quite pleasant and in that ballpark.

[@megadethmofo2001]

I never cared for that tone....sounds like a kazoo.

[@drdre4397]

@@StatusMusicDesign I'd ask Chris Buck, he nailed the tone exact.

[@rebeccabailey527]

Yeah that was literally the guitar plugged directly into the mixing console, and ran it into the next channel, and into the next channel and so on. Robbie kreiger did the same thing on when the music's over.

[@GuitarFood67]

Have another great variation of distortion: Im 53 (thousand) years old. When I first started playing electric, Back in Black had just been released. I had a JC Penny Les Paul copy as my first electric. My dad who was an engineer, built me a homemade amp. It had tubes, a Vol and Tone knob, and a Radio Shack 12" 'Realistic' speaker. The amp was open backed. My dad was a pro Jazz Bass player at the time, so he didn't give a shit about distortion, but one of my friends at the time told me to lay the little amp face down on a pillow, with both knobs turned to 10. It worked! AC/DC back in Black. Now, 1000 years later, I have a Line 6 Helix, and all my amp tones are dialed on a JCM-800 model (which they call the Brit 2204) Rock n Roll! Good job on your video!

[@davidthayer3258]

My uncle found a SD9 at a flea market for $5, only needed potentiometers cleaned out

[@TheJMan1K]

Was it vintage?

[@davidthayer3258]

@@TheJMan1K yep, and surprisingly has all the desired stock components people usually want in them. It's pretty beat up but works perfectly.

[@flhusa1]

@@TheJMan1K yes it is a original first version. i am the one who got it for him. watched youtube video of one apart and wow was i surprised at what i had to give to my nephew.

[@david.leikam]

One of my all-time favourite distortion music tracks... I Heard Her Call My Name by The Velvet Underground. I use a Vox tone bender and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff currently.

[@JGerstad]

I love your page ! But I wish that you had included two things though: One: Single tube amps (push) and two tube amps, (push-pull), and Second, FET, (Field Effect Transistor), and the difference between that and MOSFET distortion. Great History ! Great job ! Just wish you would give us more technical information.

[@arocker23]

This is a great history. I learned so much! Kalamazoo MI has seen so many firsts. The first adjustable truss rod, the first adjustable height bridge, the first commercially available electric guitar, the first commercially available fuzz pedal, the Pro Co Rat. So rad.

[@jorgemonge8082]

Really loved this episode, it trully felt like a walk on the history of everybodys favorite savage pedal. My new favorite distortion pedal is the angry driver...of course...

[@frankspikes4867]

A walk through the history of distortion. All the pedals were cool. The guitar through the loud amp gave me the warm and fuzzies. Lol. By the way, I'm a drummer.

[@lionellonardon4222]

My favourite recorded distortion tone is in Meddle, the slide guitar in "One of these days" played by Gilmour is the winner for me. For my go-to distorted tone, I use a Super Badass Variac Fuzz in my JCM800. Whoooooooooo.

[@attilajozefik1625]

Got to be careful if you're using a variac on a valve amp mate . If you limit the voltage at the primary winding of the power transformer, the heaters are not at working temperature. You could be stripping the cathodes in dem toobs .

[@lionellonardon4222]

@@attilajozefik1625 Thank you for the infos, but I think that you are talking about a real variac, I use the MXR Super Badass Variac Fuzz, that has a variac INSIDE the pedal to replicate the effect of a dying, overpowered or normal 9v battery. Check out the official dunlop demo :)

[@finnishline1233]

The first song I think of with good distortion is Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower.

[@kariabspoel2483]

My favorite ”original” dirt sound is by Ty Tabor from King’s X gretchen/faith, hope, love -era. When those albums came out, nobody sounded like that at all! In my books, he is right up there with Eddie and Jimi.

[@djmalecki7723]

Tys sound is to die for. My absolute favorite. the tones on the album with black flag is also beyond tasty.

[@Patrick-857]

Not even Ty can recapture the Gretchen tone. Lighting in a bottle. I put it in the category of unobtainable tones.

[@vicferrari89]

"You Really Got Me" got me onto R&R at 7 years old. It had everything to do with the distorted guitar (and the heavy drum beat). I was changed forever.

[@thedaver8]

My all-time favorite distortion tone is from the AC/DC live album-incredible. Of course, it’s a cranked Marshall sound, but their tone is always less distorted than people think, and there’s a lot of clarity in their sound. My personal distorted sound comes from my Helix with a Matchless DC30 pushed to breakup, with a Timmy Overdrive on top. Heaven!

[@ericburns1887]

Check out wizard amps my friend. Pretty sure they were using those for the razors edge tour. Not sure how to add the link but check out Scott Ian playing Angus Young's guitar. Happy holidays!

[@ericburns1887]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6W6o3SooNulqaM Figured it out lol. A tasty sound if you haven't heard it.

[@nswhorse]

Yep. AC/DC is all about volume, and cracking up just enough to sound dirty.

[@nswhorse]

Yep. AC/DC is all about volume, and cracking up just enough to sound dirty.

[@JohanSegeborn]

Thanks! Great video and tones!

[@Guitar88]

I love my boss mt2, I have it for about 13 years and even Since I started playing guitar I started With the boss mt2 clone from behringer, the UM100, the I still sold it and got the UM300, and finally sold it and got the metal zone, as good as the amp distortion is I allways get back to using the boss mt2, I can't play anymore without it, maybe I just got used to that sound! My favourite distortion tone on a record, that's tough one, but for many years it has been the tone from "And Justice for All".

[@gainonten4031]

metal zone sounds good in my amp kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJC8fGCfrLZsjNE

[@CosmicHippopotamus]

Wicked Annabella by the Kinks. Sounds so mean, two dirty basses, fuzz guitar, great vocals, acid outro. The Kinks were perfect from ‘66 to ‘68.

[@Hal_T]

"Loud is more good"? Very poor grammar. Should be "loud is more gooder".

[@hudson1927]

5 out of 5 drummers agree

[@Novaking1975]

Loud is greater

[@carsonhorne7302]

Loud is much more betterer

[@williamhogarth6866]

You're grammer is more wurser than myne.

[@anthonydavella8350]

@@williamhogarth6866 always a no it evrything

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

I don't like Fuzz. It's coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere.

[@maxwattage6631]

Just like "the fuzz"

[@PurpleLightning6was9]

None of your Business From my point of view, the distortions are evil

[@maxwattage6631]

@@PurpleLightning6was9 maybe you just rock?😉

[@PurpleLightning6was9]

Max Wattage r/woooosh

[@maxwattage6631]

@@PurpleLightning6was9 sorry bro, i edited it, i missed the plane, GOOD ONE.I read it again with my cap on my head, which is now dislodged from my ass. Your answer to him was interpeting his statement, and not your opinion, I read it again , still confused OR do u really think distortion is "evil" ?

[@mtm105]

I pined for years for the tone of Kink's Low Budget thinking it was the absolute best recorded tone ever. I resigned figuring I'd never really own a Plexi. Until I saw vid from the 80's of Ray playing through Peavey Deuce. I Facebook messaged Ray and he replied yes, the tone is in fact two Peaveys through a Heritage LP. In other words, I had had the Peavey Deuce for 2 decades and I already had had the tone I was searching for. smh My fav now (after 30 years of building after last night...smh) is Tumnus near dimed cascaded into Tonebone Classic set on 9 or 10 o'clock which lifts and delifts OD giving it organic tube crunch.

[@phillipjashcroft]

Josh, I would say the best sounding Distorted guitar I heard was from Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells in 1973. Supposedly he used something called a Glorfindel box to get his distorted tone (that I hear was home built). I just love the way it sounds. It so rich and has great thump to it. You are a pedal genius, maybe you could answer what it is. As for my rig I am using a Carvin V3M 50 watt , retubed with 12AT7 in channel 3, and 2 x 12AX7 in channels 1 & 2., Running through 4x10" Celestion cab. As for effects, I am using multiple distortions and OD's on my board including a ProCo Rat, Digitech Metal Master, EHX Big Muff Pi, a JHS/Boss Angry Driver, Boss DD-200, and a True Tone Jekyll & Hyde. Got a few OD's in there too, including Visual Sound Route 66, EHX Soul POG, and a paid of Joyo's Tauren and Taichi. As for Guitars I am running a Les Paul equipped with Seymour Duncan P-Rails, a Fender Strat equipped with Evans' Eliminator pickups, and a Joe Barden equipped Tele. Been putting together my rig for over 20 years. I actually posted it recently in the JHS pedal users group on FB. Check it out. Thank you for all that you do in the world of Pedals, you are very educational, and make some amazing pedals. Kudos to you man !

[@boomanchu78]

The Rat is definitely on of my favorite distortion pedals of all time. I had a Supra Distortion as well. Although not the Extreme model. But my all time favorite will always be a JCM 800 with a Tube Screamer.

[@Datanditto]

Best riff and overdrive sound: Cant You Hear Me Knocking Kieth Richards 2nd place: pete Townshend: Live At Leads

[@eveanna2433]

Good I though I was the only one that thought Can’t You Hear Me Knockin has some of the best recorded guitar tone period.

[@ricksvintageguitars]

It's Mick Taylor , not Keith, on "Can't you hear me knockin"

[@eveanna2433]

@@ricksvintageguitars Well, they both play. Keith is the right guitar track, the one that starts off the song. Micks is on the left and in the second part of the song you hear mick louder in the mix than Keith before Mick takes the solo

[@tomp538]

1965, me mid teens, heard Satisfaction for the 1st time. Hearing the opening riff WAS mind blowing and made me an instant Stones fan for life... Then, over 50 years later, I discover that opening riff was not a saxophone! DOH!

[@doctorpatient519]

most certainly! "Satisfaction " was one of those super important songs setting a standard, introducing a new element into rock ... if you listen closely (after the 1st verse, I think, "... and I try") you can actually hear that distinctive pedal switch sound when Keith stomps on it to deliver the famous riff

[@juanjan__]

I love how all songs by Marty Robbins have under 100k views and the first hit of this one has almost 2 million (2022). I'm one of them. Two actually. Well done, Josh

[@sam4667]

The Keith story about the fuzz being a place-holder for a horn part is a really good example about the importance of a really good producer/engineer/manager who can point out when musicians are blatantly wrong about their own music! The Otis Redding version of Satisfaction is a much less distinctive song. It's pretty slight without the fuzz hook. And that isnt a reflection on Otis. It feeds in with one of my pet theories about records being a snapshot in time for a musician and yet for the listener we approach them like the apes to the monolith in 2001. It is why we get disappointed when the Stones play live and Ronnie or Keith solo all the way through the riffs - respect the riff!

[@kevinr.3542]

So true though. Musicians can be so flippant about their achievements. John Lennon hates all my favorite songs of his . Robert Plant acts like Led Zeppelin was just a one hit wonder band during the height of 70s overindulgence. He's almost embarrassed by some of their stuff including Stairway. It's odd because their own perceptions are actually LESS pure than ours because of their own personal bias. We can hear them without remembering all the weirdness, egos, personal hangups and bad times. We just hear the music. For example, Robert plant hears it all, the good and the bad. His son died in Zeppelin, his friend/drummer died, he was in a car accident and almost died, there was debauchery, addiction, etc. That stuff probably effects his opinion.

[@sam4667]

@@kevinr.3542 100%. And to him When the Levee Breaks is just some long tune they threw out on a wet Wednesday afternoon in a cold country house. He remembers the shitty breakfast they had and the argument about the vocal mics. We just hear the result with none of this input to colour.

[@everydaybrian]

This is a really, really good video. Damn good. Thank you! Fav distortion tone on a record? The Bends, Radiohead. My distortion tone: Strat > Boss ST2 Power Stack > Fender Deluxe or Vox AC10

[@maineguitars3475]

My favourite recorded distortion is the fuzz tone on the intro to Spirit in the Sky. My favourite way to get distortion on my rig is the gain channel on a Peavey classic or the Pantheon by Wampler.

[@midnightrambler6227]

I had a 1950 Fender Pro Amp with a 15 inch speaker in the 70's. When I turned the volume all the way up, it had the best over-driven sound ever, and if I turned my guitar volume down, I could still get a clean sound. One time I was playing loud and it literally started to smoke and some of the wires got burned. Year later, I was looking for someone reliable to fix it, but got stolen and I never got it back.

[@LostPlanet2024]

Thanks for giving props to the humble Rat🐀! 35 years of using them and I feel like I'm still 18 when I do.... God I love music!!!

[@jhspedals]

The RATs are so good

[@modularmuse]

That bit of psychedelic distorted feedback at the beginning of 'Magic Carpet Ride' is pretty cool, sounds like the amp is about to blow up.

[@alexandercabrera6319]

Trying to figure out what pedal he used?

[@modularmuse]

Or method. Sounds like a fuzz but it almost sounds like a torn speaker as well. An amp on the edge of feedback and a fuzz I reckon.

[@andreweargleful]

Link Wray jabbed pen holes in his speakers for distortion years before the kinks. Listen to the song rumble and check the date date in the release.

[@borbetomagus]

i wonder if Link Wray ever heard 'Rumblin' Man' (1970) by Cactus, which was obviously inspired by 'Rumble'. /watch?v=NpILCziZjFQ

[@user-gb5mb1rv7f]

So did Ike Turner!

[@lueyteledeluxe7457]

Actually i have heard something like that, now that you mention it... "Rumble" is what i remember. And something about the radios banning it from fear of inciting riots...)

[@Bietel]

@@user-gb5mb1rv7f No, Turner used an amp that had been dropped a couple of feet when unloading, and that gave the amp a distortion was not intentional (but obviously very useful). Link Wray deliberately created the distorted sound by stabbing the tweeter of his Premier amp, 'deliberately' being the key word here.

[@Bietel]

@@lueyteledeluxe7457 True, Rumble was banned from the association with gang violence (both fropm the title and the whole atmosphere of the song). Plus, some radio stations banned it for being 'too sexual in nature' - which is pretty cool for an instrumental record.

[@1000mg.]

Quite a few years ago, I bought a Digitech DF-7 distortion pedal. I have used it for about 17 years now. They call it the Distortion Factory. It has 7 settings that model various pedals. My favorite right now is the Pro-Co Rat model, before that, it was the Metal Zone model I liked best.

[@brianjordan4351]

Favorite recorded distortion tones; Queens of the Stone Age, "Songs For The Deaf"...... My rig: '64 Fender Bassman, Analogman Prince of Tone, Bad Cat 2-Tone, Les Paul Standard... But my FAVORITE distortion/overdrive tone that I get, is just cranking my Bassman up near 10. No pedals needed in that case.

[@tolvajakos]

BOSS does NOT make bad pedals. DS-1 and MetalZone are getting all the hate because they are fairly inexpensive (there are tons of them out there, you can get them for buttons used), and they are often the first ever pedals of amateur players, often kids, who got a cheap Chinese strat replica and a no-brand, crappy sounding "practice" combo with an 8-inch speaker, and they are dissatisfied with the sound and they put one of these pedals in front of the amp to help it. Well, guess what, it's not going to sound like a Gibson Les Paul through a JCM800 and a 4x12.

[@Kylora2112]

Have you checked out Ola Englund's MT-2 video? He puts it in front of the amp and it sounds like shit. Then he runs it through the effects loop and it sounds awesome. The problem with the Metal Zone is because it's rarely used properly (see CS Guitar's video on how to [not] dial in a metal tone). You have those same guys trying to get a good bedroom tone in a live setting, so it sounds like a can of bees.

[@That_One_Guy_In_A_Band]

My band's bassist sometimes uses the lead guitarist's Boss DS-1 as his only pedal, and it sounds pretty good. It give his bass a thick, sludgy tone that we liked quite a bit, especially considering we play punk. He also has a multi-effects pedal, but I think the DS-1 is better. I myself use an EHX Soul Overdrive pedal, and I love that pedal.

[@wesleyAlan9179]

If you know how to use a DS-1 it can sound really good, i use one on low setting as a boost it works really well for that

[@tolvajakos]

@@That_One_Guy_In_A_Band Some of the EHX stuff is not so good, but the soul food is pretty darn great. There is a bass version as well, worth checking out, I think it would be great for baritone guitar as well (there is a video on youtube where they use it for just any regular guitar, sounds pretty good too).

[@xXEmbracetheMetalXx]

Ákos Tolvaj The Metal Zone pedal CAN put out a good distortion, you just have to tweak the pedal settings until you get it. It’s tricky, and a lot of people just give up on it early. I played on stage in a metal band using the pedal, and I got plenty of good praise for my sound. I dont know that I would necessarily recommend it, but it can be done! Knowing what I know now, I would have gone with a different pedal. But for someone that already owns one, it can sound good. Ive also heard of people using it for an overdrive of sorts.

[@alanscharrer5255]

Bass solo and entire song, NIB with Geezer Butler. G+L 2500 through Acoustic C100 with overdrive channel cranked then through Way Huge Pork and Pickle..ear bleeding good. And yes, I am a bass player

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

i think his fills behind the solo's made the band stand out and last long.

[@stanislavmigra]

Overall there is very little (nothing?) about Black Sabbath. I thought, they are universaly considered the first true user of distorted sounds.

[@jamjar142]

I've always used a Boss distortion on my bass

[@Mark_of_the_Bear_Studios]

Ok, so you did it. You changed my mind. Years ago I tried a DS-1, and being relatively new to playing guitar at the time, could not stand the sound, and I was very ignorant about the tweakability. But you’ve repeatedly touted this pedal’s merits, so I recently decided to pick one up - it was a steal at $35 with shipping. I maxed the Level, put the Tone at around 9:47, and the Distortion at around 2:00. The tone through my DSL20 was so thick and rich it was almost ridiculous. I got rid of my other distortions, and even thinned out my OD’s. Just like that. Great episode, by the way! I’ve probably watched this or listened to it in the road 3 or 4 times!

[@jackburton7483]

Had an Ampeg VT60 head with a Metal Zone through the effects loop. Face melted.

[@mattboucher3489]

Tony Iommi's tone on Lord of This World off of Masters of Reality....

[@connormartinson7619]

i prefer into the void

[@kylemcintyre4182]

Masters of Reality is hands down Sabbath’s best album

[@mattboucher3489]

@@kylemcintyre4182 imo, it was the first top to bottom metal album.

[@Gitfiddle]

The DS1 gets a lot of flack and I don’t understand why? It’s so damn good if used properly. You want to know the trick to the DS1? It needs to be loud! That pedal loves to be cranked. Get yourself a relatively low wattage amp. Run it in front of the amp. Turn the volume up on the amp. Enough to get the juices flowing. Crank the level up on the DS1 and enjoy. Everyone says the pedal is too bright. But something happens when you run it into a hot amp. It takes the edge off the top end. So good.

[@bobs.stevenson9704]

it sounds alot like nirvana though no matter what you do.

[@iunnox666]

Always sounds boring and lifeless to me.

[@ttestates1]

I've owned an original DS-1 for 30 years, I think it one of the best pedals ever made. I have a Vintage TS808 & TS9 I love them all, but for years, I chose the DS-1 for solos with my Groove Tubes Trio Deluxe, or any amp I was using. Like the Tube Screamers, added to a good tube distorted amp, it's perfect!

[@SwordAgainstChaos]

Gitfiddle 7766 I run the DS-1 through the Loop In like a preamp on my cheap Crate head. You wouldn't believe it.

[@skillracoonful]

I always thought it sounded good even through an SS amp. It has this compression-like quality to it. However, I only played it through single-coils, so, I don’t know it would sound with humbuckers but I imagine it would sound a lot better. It also sounded good through my audio interface it replaced the digital-sounding distortion pedals that came with my amp sim. Since I found them too digital-sounding for my taste.

[@lundsweden]

Some of those early pedals are pretty crude, simple devices, but each has its own personality, awesome pedal history!

[@RJRonquillo]

This is great info.

[@bigpapachance]

R.J. you are the man. Love the life on the road vlog. Really fun to watch. Cool to see you watching Josh's stuff. You need to hook up with Dan and Mick at TPS. That would be epic

[@justingarcia7722]

First. Thanks for your content man, watch all you musician vlogs and they have REALLY helped. This year I did my first international gigs and long travel gigs and I really appreciate you sharing your experiences, you are doing an excellent service to the community. Second, not sure if you have but the TPS episode with Josh last week is must viewing as a companion to this IMO. Cheers man, keep killing it!

[@jhspedals]

Thanks man! Love your videos as well!

[@celticfury7328]

RJ, you are pure rock and fuggin' roll!

[@mckinleymorton]

Favorite distortion tone is probably Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps album. Its has a dark, brooding quality, hulking in the shadows, far from light. Im a big fan of Radial's Tonebone series. I have their Hot British model. I just began to put it before my Beetronics Swarm and a crappy Amoon pod rip off. I kind of use the Tonebone to dial in the tone of the Swarm, then the Amoon adds other stuff, if needed.

[@nahnope8581]

I've been trying to recreate that hey hey my my tone for what seems like forever, so thick on the chords yet so clear on the high end, its perfect

[@mckinleymorton]

@@nahnope8581 have you read "shakey"? That boom gets into some of the nuts and bolts. Im just thinking of the first chord and beefy and dark sounding it is...good stuff.

[@fenderbender115]

I've always loved Frank Zappa's fuzz tones. He was a Big Muff user if I'm not mistaken. For those not familiar with his sound, I always say to check out his solo on "Montana" from "Overnite Sensation". One of my all time favorite solos. Second would be "Pick Me I'm Clean" from "Tinsletown Rebellion" and third would be "Rat Tomago" from "Sheik Yerbouti." For my distortion tones, I'm using all pedals these days. For fuzz, I like to use my Empress Fuzz and I'm using my Angry Charlie as a dirty pre-boost. That combination, in that order, sounds epic! For traditional, hard rock rhythm and solos I like to use my Angry Charlie or OCD and boost with it with my Tube Screamer. I also have the AT Plus just in case! My amps are a 50 watt Marshall JCM900 and a 60 watt Fender Super Sonic. Two Fender Strats and a Tele plus a Gibson Les Paul and a SG. All the pedals sound great. I love 'em all!

[@goodun6081]

Fender Bender, the solo on "Son of Orange County" from the Roxy and Elsewhere live album is a real good example of Frank's playing. The instrumental break (title?) from the Apostrophe record has some deliciously fuzzy guitar. "Inca Roads" shows another cleaner side to Zappa's style, and lately I've been replaying that entire tune, along with "Florentine Pogen" , in my head ----for days. Brainworms all !!!!! I also remember annoying the heck out of a decade younger guitar-playing co-worker at the hifi store we worked for by playing "Black Napkins" --- the kid thought that Def Leppard was the best band in the world and went on and on about how "awful" Zappa was.

[@SockbatReplicaOne]

Rat Tomago is my favorite Zappa solo! However if we're talking just the guitar tone I love the early Mothers tones he got by simply overloading the tape machine. Hungry Freaks Daddy and Lonely Little Girl for example.

[@fenderbender115]

@@goodun6081 How could anyone be annoyed by "Black Napkins?!" Unbelievable! Rock on brotha!!!

[@fenderbender115]

@@SockbatReplicaOne Yes. So much good stuff from the early Verve Label recordings from the 60's!

[@fenderbender115]

@Trevor Crawford That makes sense. He had to be using some sort of fuzz while touring prior to the emergence of Electro-Harmonix. I know next to nothing about the effects and amps he was using prior to 1972. Coo to know. Thanks for the info!

[@cleekersneaker]

I’m adding every song in this video and the comments to a playlist! I’m listening to Jimi Hendrix live at the Miami Pop Festival while I do the morning dishes because of this video.

[@perfectfan2006]

back in the 60s like 65 or 6 when i was young my brother did not have a guitar amp at home so he wired a guitar jack up to where the needle went to our record player and plugged the guitar into the jack and it sounded just like satisfaction and he could get that at a pretty low volume then he started to plug the record player into an amp and it was even better and he had more control over the loudness factor and then people could actually hear the singer with the pa systems high school bands had back then everyone thought he was a genius no one had his tone and sound back then he invented this really hard fast sound they called acid rock a few years later we heard the same kind of thing with some underground bands but they called it punk rock we all just looked at him like wow they stole your whole sound...

[@jhspedals]

Amazing

[@YooTooobJeff]

I'm sure that's true, all us kids back then did some crazy stuff with electricity, sound, recording, everything was exciting... we did the same thing your brother did! We just didn't continue with it, it was a process of discovery

[@perfectfan2006]

@@YooTooobJeff yep that and the fact that back them most of them pedals were custom made very expensive super hard to find if you did not know some science guy to build you one. the very first commercial pedal he ever got was one that was called the electro harmonix ultra linear the switch sounded like a guy knocking a baseball out of yankee stadium like ,,,crackkkk. it would pick up cb and police radios in the middle of a song that's how we knew the cops were coming to bust up our parties lol you here 1313 maple drive and know they were close any kind of neon or fluorescent light would make it buzz so loud sounded like a transformer on a phone pole was about ready to explode lol his record player and later tape deck boxes he built himself were better....wow i miss them days he was the coolest brother a girl could ask for rip john james i was so lucky to have you as my brother tommy and him were just so much fun and so sweet to me the tag along kid lol...

[@YooTooobJeff]

@@perfectfan2006 he was privileged to have sister like you, who remembers his experiments and growing into the new technologies while having fun...

[@perfectfan2006]

@@YooTooobJeff wow thank you that was a wonderful and nice thing to say...my brother john and our cousin tommy were my heros as a girl i idolized them two my girlfriends used to drive me nuts wanting me to try and fix them up with one of them or both ..thanks so much for your kind words jeff you are a talented and nice guy just like my brother and tommy god bless you oxoxo

[@TheRocknrolla12]

Can you please do an episode on famous / classic distortion pedals, how to use them effectively and which amps goes well with these pedals, 1. MXR Dist+ 2. Boss Metal Zone 3. Boss DS-1 4. Big Muff 5. Clon Centaur In this age of excellent Distortion pedals/preamps which sounds awesome direct in like Rev G, AMT etc these classic pedals are way to hard to use.

[@Tech-xm8vg]

My favourite distorted guitar tone is from "Cherub Rock" or any track from Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins (and I saw them play live last month at Wembley Arena and it was........I don't think there's an appropriate word that describes just how good it was!! Incredible, Fantastic, amazing - Fancredizing....the new word for things that are just too damned good for regular words!) My rig for my favourite tone goes like this - 2018 Japanese Hybrid Strat in Burgundy Mist Metallic into Boss TU-3 for tuning and buffer, Chase Tone '68 Red Velvet Fuzz, Angry Charlie v2 (actually I think it said v3 but it's the one before the @ - whatever, it's awesome), MXR Phase 99, Boss DM-2w, Strymon Deco (tape saturation makes for great distortion and boost), Mooer Trelicopter, TC Corona (will be replacing with either JHS Emperor &/or Boss DC-2w/CE-2w sometime though, when I can afford it- might sell my VB-2w and get Emperor) and finally TC Hall of Fame. All going into a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 running into a Marshall 1922 2x12 (early 90's model) with TU-3, CT '68 RVF & JHS Angry Charlie into the front with the rest into the FX Loop and almost always using the lead channel with the gain set at 2 o'clock. I missed my old 1977 Marshall 100 watt MKII Super Lead at first but after spending some time getting my H&K setup properly and using the Angry Charlie for the Marshall tone I can honestly say that I'm really happy with the tone I'm getting and besides the obvious earth shaking/tinnitus inducing volume difference it's hard to tell the difference most of the time. And my neighbours don't hate me and anyway, I spent some of the money on the Strat so it was like The Circle of Life, but with guitars.

[@wesleyAlan9179]

Right on! I love th' pumpkins... Theres nothing like that Siamese Dream tone!!

[@xXEmbracetheMetalXx]

Tech72 FANTASTIC album!

[@ryanteacher8134]

That song made me buy a fuzz pedal back in the day haha

[@wesleyAlan9179]

I built a homemade strat out of a cheap as fuck strat copy from a pawn shop 10 years ago and put really good parts on it and the Billy C. pick ups in it by Dimarzio..and it modded out the ass.. I got about 600 bucks in it and its a beast!!

Siamese twins. Yes!

[@SoloDallas]

Josh, Thank you fo this excellent video! It made me realize that the Schaffer-Vega Diversity System wireless was the first use of the LM308 for distortion. Released in 1975, it predated the RAT by 3 years. However this was a complete accident, since the output with the LM308 was supposed to be a monitor out. Guitarists like Angus, EVH, Gilmour and Santana quickly discovered the heavy saturation achieved by cranking the volume knob and running a cable straight from the “monitor out” jack. Just one of many misuses of electronics that got us where we are today!

[@axnyslie]

RAT is my favorite for sure. So many versatile tones and killer sustain. My favorite recorded distortion? i still remember the 80's I was record shopping and they were playing "The Thing That Should Not Be" by Metallica on the store system and I was mesmerized then thinking it was the sickest sound I ever heard.

[@petejt]

Which was a Mesa/Boogie MarkIIC+ run through the power amp section of a Marshall JCM800. Double-tracked twice, extra equalising, in standard D tuning. Absolutely crushing. No distortion pedals in sight.

[@rickkillian2378]

I like the sound of the 60's. The song by Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" has an awesome sound

[@jacksprat3009]

Always thought somebody was farting into the mic. ;-])

[@jaersee]

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray, Jr., "Rumble", 1958

[@jhspedals]

I talk about him in clinics all the time. A really great story! So little time :-)

[@chrisbardolph]

It's funny to think that, as amazingly juicy as a little tube amp sounds turned up into breakup, people used to think of that sound as "incorrect."

[@russl9029]

Finally some Metal Zone love! The first time I ever got a compliment on "my tone" I was using that pedal through an old Sunn stack...actually it was an amplified pa mixer with 2 4x12 cabs. It sounded HUGE. I love that pedal! :)

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Too many people crank it to the max. In a case in which “less is more”, you can dial back the gain between 3 and 4, set all four EQ parameters just right of noon, choose your volume level of choice and pick any number of Boston, Queen, Ozzy or even Steve Lukather riff.

[@dirtbagdan5324]

the sunn model T is probably my favourite amp of all time, that cranked is a sound like no other.

[@zachielawless7035]

My first band in high school, a nü metal act, I played an Epi Les Paul through a Peavey Classic 30 combo and had it connected to a Crate 4x10. How did I get my bitchin' metal tone out of that you ask?! Boss Metal Zone. On a side note, Mr. JHS himself is the reason why I got back into music. I now have close to 100 pedals and my main kick is collecting "metal" pedals which include EVERY Boss metal pedal. Thank you @JHSPedals for that.

[@cinemavennus]

My favorite distortion tone: The White Stripes - "Fell In Love with a Girl"

[@ericlayton8888]

Maybe it's cos I was born in 2000 and grew up listening to White Stripes but as far as I'm concerned some of the absolute best guitar tones EVER are from White Stripes tunes

[@holderrrrname]

No they’re just great with tones

[@its1110]

I just remember playing a __old__ all tube (including diodes) Gibson pure class A. It was only 10 watts... but turning all the knobs to the right was awesome. DAY-UMMM!!

[@lrvogt1257]

Rocket 88 was by Ike Turner's band though Jackie Brentson was credited by the label. It was recorded at Sun and Sam Phillips claims the amp was damaged from being dropped and newspapers were stuffed into it to keep the cone from falling out. They liked the result.