Why I Believe the Perfect Overdrive Pedal Is a Myth

Lurking in my guitar room are 13 overdrive pedals. I also recently moved countless others to the basement to free up space. Oh, and there are five currently on my pedalboard.

I’m the first to admit that it’s too many and unnecessary.

Last week, while tidying my desk (badly), I found an old pedalboard plan from a 2011 tour.

I was amazed by how much time and energy I spent trying to solve one problem:

My overdrive sound.

There were countless pages of scrawling. The book is filled with brain dumps, signal chain diagrams, and in-depth explorations into my favorite artists’ gear. It read more like a psychopath trying to break free from prison than a guitar player trying to crack the code for the perfect overdrive sound.

I was desperate to find a tone that made me sound like the greats, thinking that was the key to standing out.

No one has bought more signature pedals than me. Each time, I fall for the marketing and that dream of plugging in and sounding just like [enter player of the moment name here].

But, it doesn’t work like that.

There is no magic overdrive pedal.

No miraculous turning point.

No rays of heavenly rock’n’roll sunshine pouring through clouds as I discover the holy grail of tone.

Over time, my overdrive dreams have mostly faded away in favor of a more productive overdrive attitude.

The irony of it all?

It was all rubbish anyway.

The tone I wanted from the overdrive pedals I bought was impossible.

Tone is so far removed from just one or two steps in the signal chain. It’s a culmination of hundreds, if not thousands, of things. And many of these are human aspects, such as touch and feel. All the money and effort I put into sounding like someone else was wasted because I didn’t know the truth:

If I plug into Andy Timmons’ rig, I will not sound like Mr Timmons.

No way. Never.

It’ll just be me again.

Every pedal I use still and always will sound like me.

We can’t beat this. So instead, I say, embrace it.

Overdrive is not a one-time purchase. It’s an evolution.

Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Overdrive is like that. As you build your pedalboard and develop as a player, you’ll twist and turn through so many ideas and sounds that trying to predict the end is pointless.

My advice is to follow your curiosity and learn to use what you already have—really, really well.

I’m a firm believer you can get a great sound from pretty much any overdrive pedal (cheap or expensive). It won’t be Van Halen’s sound, but it will be decent.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Plug in.
2. Turn the gain to zero.
3. Set tone and volume to 12 o’clock.
4. Gradually, I will turn the gain up and tweak the tone until I have a sound I like. This point normally happens sooner than you would expect.
5. If you have more than one, try mixing them and seeing how they sound stacked into each other.

It’s easy, and it works with almost every overdrive pedal.

My point here is not to stop you from buying new pedals or even signature or artists’ pedals—that would make me a huge hypocrite. But it’s to set realistic expectations and be prepared to put in the effort and exploration to find a sound that makes your guitar tone sound like you but kicking ass.

To make a relationship work, we fight and work hard to keep learning and adapting to each other. The same is true for overdrive pedals (and all pedals, actually).

So, whether you have one or hundreds of overdrive pedals, here’s a challenge to try.

Don’t buy anything new this week.

Take one, two, or three overdrive pedals you already own.

Experiment until you find a sound that makes your guitar playing and tone sound awesome.

It doesn’t have to sound like anyone or anything else you’ve heard before.

It just needs to sound great to you.

Once you get there, play around and enjoy it for a while. Experiment with some new riffs and see what flows out of you.

There’s no pressure here.

It’s just you and the guitar.

And in the future, if you ever find yourself worrying about your overdrive tone, remember:

This is not a problem you solve by buying more pedals.

It’s a problem you solve by experimenting and understanding what you already have.

I hope this helps,