How to Make Overdrive Pedals sound GREAT!

[@frankadams4586]

I worked in music retail for many years. The following is just my opinion based on years of helping people with their gear - please take it with a grain of salt - I'm not the Chief of The Tone Police :) Disclaimer: I'm talking overdrive and not distortion. I must have spent thousands of hours helping customers with their tone - a lot of time spent on OD pedals. I sold everything from the humble Tubescreamer to high-end boutique pedals, guitars and amps. A common theme I found was that many players were trying to use the pedal to get their tone before really spending time on getting the best tone from just the guitar and amp themselves. In my experience, finding a great overdrive sound was easier when you were using the pedal to compliment an already good base tone - NOT using the pedal alone to establish the sound they were going for. Also, many players used WAY more gain than necessary. Too much gain squashes tone and covers up nuances in your playing. Also, I found that many players used their eyes instead of their ears when trying to get their sound. A lot of players looked at the knobs on the amp and pedal and turned them to where they THOUGHT they should be rather than listening to what was actually coming out of the amp. Main mistake? Too much treble. The guitar lives in the mid-range and lower mid-range. Boosting frequencies that are not naturally inherent to the electric guitar is never a good tonal solution - too much bass and too much treble are the enemies of a good overdriven tone. Lastly....use your ears and not the knob settings to get the sound you are trying to achieve. Sometimes it's cutting frequencies instead of boosting. Sorry for the book......I have PTSD from nearly 30 years of music retail! Happy playing to you.......

[@JuanReyes-ht1bd]

Thanks! Having said all that😂, do you have one or two favorite od pedals? Peace ✌️

[@smelltheglove2038]

This is why I love my Timmy pedal. The bass and treble knobs cut the frequencies rather than add and makes it super easy to dial in. Easily my favorite drive pedal.

[@smelltheglove2038]

@@JuanReyes-ht1bd check out the post I just made. I’ll also add in the JRockett Archer IKon. It really livens up your amp. I put it at the end of my signal path. The Timmy/archer stack sounds so good through my vibrolux reverb amp and my lowly blues Jr. That’s with humbuckers.

[@rebeccagarner2576]

Thank you for your useful comment…😘✨

[@adipopa5323]

Finally someone who makes sense, explaining the workflow with an OD pedal.

[@ronkresch9228]

I said it before and I’ll say it again……you are a Great teacher! As well as guitarist!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx, Ron!

[@slackandsteel]

One easy way to match the pedal with the amp is to use a looper and play the loop and switch pedal on and off and adjust as needed. This is to match the clean tone for unity

[@oliverchapman51177]

But then the feel is gone. No I disagree. The best pedal, is no pedal

[@PabloMars99]

@@oliverchapman51177 yeah, no.

[@periloustemple8290]

I learned a lot and am so glad to know about those cats at WestCoPedals. What a great "survival tool - army knife" drive!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad to hear it!

[@VonBluesman]

G&L makes some really cool custom shop colors, they do their own in house painting and glitter work that looks phenomenal. Andertons made a video with them a while back touring their shop and showing how they make guitars. They even showed Leo Fender’s original office, tools, and some schematics. Thanks Corey.

[@richardsali1954]

I’ve never had anyone explain the nuances of setting up an overdrive pedal befor other than just play around with it, now when I’m playing around with it I have a better idea of what to shoot for to get the results I’d like. Thanks for another great, and straight forward lesson and explanation.

[@coreycongilio]

Appreciate that! That was definitely the goal, Richard!

[@ianmartens5286]

Learned a lot. I never seem to like my tone so hopefully this will help. Great playing and great tone.

[@coreycongilio]

Glad it helped!

[@blainethemono19]

I got an SD-1 mainly to boost my clean chanel on my 5150 Iconic. Recently realized I can also use it for added sustain on my red channel if I dial the red channels gain back with super subtle controls. Overdrive pedals are just so versatile and you did a KILLER job here man!

[@westcopedals2617]

Hey Corey! Thank you so much for featuring the Blue Highway! Love your clear explanations and sick playing! ❤ For those digging into “clean bleed” on any pedal - that also really comes in handy when you’re stacking overdrives. Specifically, when you’re hitting the input of your overdrive pedal with a lot of volume from a previous gain stage.

[@johnfritzenjr.1240]

Sounds amazing

[@coreycongilio]

Was my pleasure!

[@gunnerdee84]

There are a lot of videos of how to use a overdrive pedal but this is by far the best. I learned some much and now I know how to setup my overdrive with my amp much better. Thanks Corey!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx! My pleasure!

[@southpaw335]

Been following for a while, currently working my way through your youtube dom7 arpeggio lessons. Honestly i get so much from your videos/lessons and just watching your playing etc i just shake my head when i see that so many on youtube are missing out by not being here. That G&L sounded awesome in the intro btw.

[@coreycongilio]

I really appreciate that. We'll get there!

[@thisdyingsoul76]

Great advice. This all works no matter the sound you're after. I have a clean pedal platform amp and amps I like to use dirty. If you want to use the pedal as a lead boost, all this still applies. I also sometimes like using a pedal in front of my clean amp for a saturated dirty sound and then another set for a light overdrive to boost it farther or even just as a tone shaper to add something different.

[@troymckibbin528]

Greatly appreciate your commitment to giving us your take on how all this stuff works and how to use it to craft our own tones and creativity.

[@coreycongilio]

My pleasure. It's fun!

[@stoneglad]

These how to use an “X” type pedal videos have been so incredibly useful and helpful to me! Please keep them up!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad they’re helpful. Most of my pedal vids are in this fashion.

[@cwyld5278]

This is why od pedals with blend knobs are so great imo. It’s kinda like how you’d approach mixing wet effects on a DAW.

[@EricksonSoundLabs]

So glad West Co is being repped like this!! Wonderful playing , pacing and words 🙌

[@coreycongilio]

They're great playing. Thanks for the kind words

[@onehotrocker99]

Corey, excellent job explaining how instruments/amps are recorded and heard in the digital world. I agree, you can make a tiny, little practice amp sound HUGE on the internet.

[@coreycongilio]

Thx. I really appreciate you pointing that out.

[@gabrielescobedo3720]

As someone getting into pedals, this is extremely helpful. Thanks you!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CarlosMontanez]

Great video. Thank you so much for the clarification of how to use a drive pedal, I really needed it.

[@gergemall]

Blue Highway sounds great!!!!

[@vestebansbloodbox3130]

This was insanely useful. I have a Buckshot Audio overdrive pedal from the 2000's that has roughly these same controls, but never really understood what they all did. This made that pedal useful again for me!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@veljkosimovic2302]

I've watched a ton of "how to use overdrive" videos and this one is by far the best one. Thank you very much for doing this. :)

[@letterli]

Honestly: YOU are the best inspiration here on KZbin! Always fun listening / watching your vids! BIG THANKS!!!

[@coreycongilio]

That’s very kind of you. Thx for that 😊

[@coreycongilio]

Enter to win the G&L Fullerton Deluxe ASAT Classic kingsumo.com/g/1edbip/win-a-gl-fullerton-deluxe-asat-classic-presented-by-corey-congilio Get over 50 hours of lessons for $9 a month with this sale coupon. 14 Day Free trial! working-class-guitar.teachable.com/purchase?product_id=4024248 Get the Track Here working-class-guitar.teachable.com/courses/best-of-corey-s-youtube/lectures/43373304 More info on the G&L ASAT Classic imp.i114863.net/asatclassic3tone Check out the West Co Blue Highway - Get it on sale for $249 with the code BH249(For in stock units only) Use code at checkout www.westcopedals.com/product-page/blue-highway Get my FREE KZbin COURSE with Tracks and TABs! www.workingclassguitar.com/courses/enrolled/1792849

[@fin.d7725]

This is the tele style I was already looking at purchasing!

[@thisdyingsoul76]

One thing that is a big misconception is the amount of actual saturation in the dirty sounds of a lot of metal musicians. It may be more than a dirty blues or a heavier classic rock tone; but for most it's more about the EQ setting or voicing of their amps and the way they play.

[@jjboogie1]

Love how you snuck in the LP in that intro! Ooh weee! It rips bro!

[@coreycongilio]

Tough to beat!

[@alguitarchristie]

That's so true what you said about guitar sounds in the digital world! Especially when you are using pedals! Most amps you can get in the pedal platform zone and have a neutral clean that will work! I will send this to my students :)

[@coreycongilio]

Appreciate that, Al!

[@MrLespaul2000]

Great video. I have a bunch of overdrives, Nobels ODR-1, Ceriatone Centura, Keeley D & M Drive and few others. After watching this it's made me think a lot more and try to have a better understanding of what I have and how i'm using them. Thanks again from UK.

[@thisdyingsoul76]

My favorite pedal for the last few years is one by a local builder to me who has has since closed shop. It was a dual pedal with a klone circuit into a KOT style circuit. He made 3 versions of this, each an upgrade from the previous version and I bought the first two. Unfortunately, when the MkIII version came along, I was in the middle of a divorce, so I couldn't justify the cost due to my legal bills.😢

[@kevinsoney3051]

Very cool. I'm not much of a player, I make noise. But it's fun. I diddle the dials with wild abandon because I don't have clue. Now I have more of a clue. I have a better idea of what the dials do. This was very informative. The volume matching was a new idea that will help hear what I'm doing when I diddle the dials. This was my first video of yours I watched, I'm going to watch many more for them. The instruction was clear and understandable to me. I don't know all the terms, jargon, and tech speak, so I get lost in other videos. Well done, well done.

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks for that, Kevin!

[@thisdyingsoul76]

I like when pedals offer some way to mix my clean tone back in. It helps bring back some clarity to the dirty tones.

[@coryfraser7554]

Holy shit that blue highway pedal 😮

[@BradRocker]

You have got me sold on the Blue Highway drive. very versatile

[@coreycongilio]

They just offered a sale code! Check out the West Co Blue Highway - Get it on sale for $249 with the code BH249(For in stock units only) Use code at checkout www.westcopedals.com/product-page/blue-highway

[@ClairaudientSound]

Ive had mine on my board for 4-5 years now. Nothing has taken its spot. One of my all time favs!

[@TheRezus35]

Great stuff. It would be nice to se some tips how to get good sound from tube amps at low "bedroom" level.

[@JimmyDel]

Great video! Thanks Corey! I always see guys running the drive lower than the gain on drive pedals. I seem to be in the minority who does the opposite. Works best for me since I use a total clean amp. There's always some fine tuning balancing the level to get the volumes matched.

[@boatingforbeginners7949]

Awesome video & Fab tones too, I learned a lot from it, ThankQ

[@msanguin1989]

Great Lesson! That pedal seems to be awesome

[@MrBallynally2]

If u want transparent overdrive use a hard clipping circuit. Less EQ curve change. Also, another trick w OD is to put unity gain on the pedal when you roll back yr guitar volume to about 8. You get a cleanish sound but a killer one when you roll up to 10. That is a..supercut.

[@johnfritzenjr.1240]

Pedal sounds amazing

[@hearpalhere]

Fantastic sounds and playing Corey! Man that is a luscious guitar, thanks for the chance of winning it and congratulations on hitting 50k soon! The pedal sounds awesome, your friends did an awesome job on it. I think it looks cool too.

[@coreycongilio]

Thx so much!

[@kevinkrause7900]

Great guitar and great video, Corey! I love your sound so these videos where you show how you dial sound in are great!

[@coreycongilio]

thx, Kevin!

[@alicanozturk1360]

Brilliant vid, you should do compressors next for us funk and jazz guitarists!

[@slackandsteel]

Great video. That Tele sounds incredible!

[@Nowandthen-zen]

One of the best pedal demos I’ve seen 🎸🎶🍺

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks, DB!

[@Nowandthen-zen]

Great ear man, even sounds good on KZbin and my mediocre device

[@Wermode]

Great stuff as always, Corey. Have a killer weekend, my dude!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx Stosh! Got some new ideas inspired by you coming soon!

[@gisellechacon7081]

Super tutorial Corey, thanks! Too bad I can't get that incredible pedal. But I'll keep my eyes out for it! Keep up the great work, love your channel!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx!

[@kostisk8914]

Love ur feel and how u sit in with the beat.

[@coreycongilio]

Thx!

[@climber7565]

Corey, thanks man! You are amazing! This was fun!!!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mykneeshurt8393]

a Red SG Junior is the next guitar on my list... Great video Corey.

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks!

[@ainahmaerivera]

Amazing guitar skill as always

[@saxonsteve]

Yo Corey! It’s your friend Steve from Boston! Dude! What year is that Marshall head behind you! You definitely have some great equipment! Great Sounding Pedal!

[@coreycongilio]

It's a 73. Killer amp!

[@josephmckenna4068]

Very informative and easy to understand. Thanks!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ultrakool]

"cleaner overdrive" and "piercier" reduced hi cut has entered the overdrive lexicon 😆

[@lonecrow1577]

Really well done presentation. Thank You.

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks, lonecrow!

[@kostisk8914]

Geez! Crazy intro man! 🔥 playing!

[@coreycongilio]

Glad you like it!

[@PeterKertesz2013]

Beautiful guitars. I only have a Cry Baby and a Big Muff but barely use them. And an RC5 that is essential

[@coreycongilio]

Those are pretty specific pedals. Perhaps a light overdrive is in your future!

[@PeterKertesz2013]

@@coreycongilio thank you Corey,I will keep this "light overdrive" idea in mind.

[@keithpennington6141]

If you want to give overdrive a try, you can’t go wrong with something like a NUX Horseman. They’re around $70, but it’s a great first overdrive pedal and it’s based on probably the most famous overdrive pedal of all time. You could also try some Joyo pedals, they’re very budget friendly and sound really good overall.

[@eug_rock]

The thing I liked the most about this video was your rock liks, always different and original. Were they all in the key of E? Have you thought about the possibility of taking a lesson to teach us some? Thanks as always. 👍🎸

[@coreycongilio]

The intro song is in the key of C actually

[@richg1746]

Sounds very nice.

[@LeoAmuedo]

Awesome pedal !!! And great playing 8)

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks a lot!

[@michaelsaul1346]

Lots of great info Corey! Thank you. Nice shirt. Better call me😂

[@coreycongilio]

haha thanks!

[@gumpymcbarfbag3884]

I have a g and l asat classic, best guitar I have.

[@davidthomas3725]

You make great vids!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx so much!

[@jerrybattista6952]

Cool shirt!

[@coreycongilio]

Thx!

[@runrjk]

Helpful advice!

[@coreycongilio]

👍🏼👍🏼

[@thomasjamesguitar]

Just stumbled across your channel. Great content!! Great playing and great tones. Subscribed :)

[@coreycongilio]

Thx so much!

[@deanallen927]

I can't do the "pedal platform" thing (ugh!). I have to have some amp overdrive to start with before stepping on a pedal.

[@David-beargrizzly]

J'aime beaucoup ton jeu, touché 👍belle découverte en ta personne 🙂 un abonné de France

[@coreycongilio]

merci beaucoup

[@David-beargrizzly]

@@coreycongilio 🙏

[@nelsonw2096]

Well done. 👍🏼

[@coreycongilio]

Thank you! 👍

[@baronhead]

Love the shirt Corey

[@PerryCodes]

Someone needs to make one with the same logo, but say "Better Play Soul" :D

[@stratman9449]

ha...great stuff Corey...and you've made this video only (really) to show of all your great guitars.....😂

[@coreycongilio]

HA! Um...not so much haha!

[@tbone2451]

Man single coil pickups sound the best with over drive pedals

[@donppricemusic9285]

This guy knows his crap !

[@joshuawong_]

hey corey ! great tutorial ! but when you set “unity” gain, do you compare it with the attack of the chord when you engage the pedal or are you listening to the mini boost when you engage the pedal ?

[@bgrierofficial]

Wouldn’t you want the overdrive to add volume sometimes, like on a gig where you are soloing?

[@coreycongilio]

Sure that's certainly something I do. This was about really hearing what the pedal does and establishing a starting point.

[@digitalslw]

Trying to find "unity" is a great way of figuring out what a pedal does. Ex. Most Tubescreamers can't be clean even with the drive all the way down. So starting with a neutral sound teaches you the full range of a pedal.

[@stevebeaudoin7234]

Great video.. is the G&L still up for the give away. This is the first time I've seen the video

[@coreycongilio]

Thx! No unfortunately. We had a lucky winner of that!

[@shawnladd9879]

Great tutorial! With your amp volume set to 3, is your guitar volume and tone at 10 before you set up the pedal?

[@smelltheglove2038]

That’s how I do it. I’ll tell you why, because when I want to solo, I’ll crank the volume on my guitar to get the full drive. Well, also, because I’ll keep my overdrive on always. Anyway, it’s just how I do it.

[@smelltheglove2038]

Another thing you could do, is set it that way for your bridge pickup, and set it at a lower volume for your neck pickup that way you can use your bridge pickup as a boost. A good thing to keep in mind is that there aren’t any set rules really. Just use this video as a guide line then find out what YOU like. Edit to add: this idea doesn’t work so well on a strat or something like that, you need a four knob set up like a Gibson.

[@robbo4858]

That was a great video! Maybe I missed, but what are guitar settings when adjusted? Im guessing , everything dimed and on neck pickup?

[@coreycongilio]

Yep, neck pickup with no knob adjustments on the guitar

[@shaylee2b]

cool G & L giveaway

[@coreycongilio]

Thanks, Stanley!

[@GerryBlue]

I won't rest until I have this lick down 0:40

[@dannyprasetya2496]

It's all good man 🤣

[@joebubbit]

Hey Corey, You put up a "SHORT" video toi give away the G&L, but there is no link to provide my email on short videos. You can't comment or anything on shorts. Thanks

[@coreycongilio]

Hey Joe. You’ll find the link in the description. Here it is as well. Good luck. kingsumo.com/g/1edbip/win-a-gl-fullerton-deluxe-asat-classic-presented-by-corey-congilio

[@leurnefpv4490]

Hi Corey! just a quick question not related to the video (but like that it's making a comment and for youtube algorithm... xD) I would like to know your advised regarding the lesson on your website. I have the subscription, started with beginner rythmic guitar and in parallele with blues volume 1. But I feel the gap a bit high. Should i use another lesson before volume 1? Like pentatonic or arpeggio? Do you have a list of the order of the lessons to follow? thanks!

[@coreycongilio]

Hey! I would go to Intermediate Blues Rhythm maybe before V1.

[@leurnefpv4490]

@@coreycongilio ok and thanks for ur answer! and arpeggio + pentatonic, would you follow them in parallele of blues rythm? Last question, i never really care the pedals, in fact i discovered this univers through your video... For a beginner as me, what would y ou advised as first pedal to go? I'm in china so it might be hard to get them xD and thanks again for your reply! You are really a great guitarist and instructor!

[@carlor.s.4742]

Corey, what do you think about multi effect rigs like StompLab?

[@coreycongilio]

Haven't played it but, the theories in this vid would apply to any pedal sound in a multi fx box

[@Brudnlaw67]

I also have a Princeton. How are you dialing it in before engaging the pedal?

[@coreycongilio]

I generally start with the Tone knobs at 5. Volume around 3

[@guitarandotherthings6090]

I got my overdrive down, but I can not find a pedal between Overdrive and Distortion. Something with enough sustain to do singing leads like Journey, but not a "chug chug" sound. Any suggestions?

[@coreycongilio]

There's so many to choose from. Shoot me an email at [e-mail] and I'll send you some options!

[@oliverchapman51177]

Volume knob. Get a really good dynamic amp. And slam the front end with a Timmy or RC boost to cook the tubes. What amps you prefer? Ken F. Trainwreck will do it. Mesa Cali blonde. But then again I don’t like distortion boxes. The Fb2 from fulltone used to Destroy AC15

[@guitarandotherthings6090]

@Oliver C I just got a Fender Deluxe Reverb and tbh I hate boost pedals. I think the Wampler Pantheon will do great so im gonna try it. Thanks!

[@Mpcoluv]

I thought the pedal and Corey sounded great. I went to try and buy the pedal and it’s $285. Wow that is pretty expensive.

[@coreycongilio]

They're definitely more expensive than some pedals. Hand built in California definitely contributes to the price.

[@westcopedals2617]

Yep - I build them all myself here one solder joint at a time! I just can’t stomach the idea of going to mass manufacturing. There’s plenty of that out there already. But thank you so much for checking out the site and the pedal!

[@jonchi5783]

Worth every penny

[@westcopedals2617]

@@jonchi5783 Appreciate the support, Jon! 🎸💸

[@andreapurif]

Residents of Taiwan, South Korea, Portugal, Italy, Austria, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Greece, France, Japan, Spain, and Czech Republic are not eligible to enter or win. So sad :(

[@coreycongilio]

Sorry, Andrea.

[@leehenderson8132]

Why o why can't G&L change that hideous headstock?really.its awful.hears my rule a little bit o dirt in your amp.before switching on a box.Any box.

[@charliegillis5399]

I hear but don’t see

[@coreycongilio]

Hmm

[@jagpessoa]

Contest to US only… what a pitty…

[@coreycongilio]

Sorry about that

[@BlueberryStinkFinger62]

You can't tell a guitar player how to dial in their Tone

[@PabloMars99]

They’re just suggestions, mate. Chill.