Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

How would you describe the differences between Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz?

[Dad3353]

6 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

How would you describe the differences between Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz?

In order : Bad, Worse, Awful.

Over to you, @Leonard Smalls 

Edit : Overdrive = 'Too Loud', Distortion = 'Amp/cab needs repair',  Fuzz = 'Swarm of Killer Bees Nearby'.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Dad3353

[Roger2611]

8 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

In order : Bad, Worse, Awful.

Over to you, @Leonard Smalls 

Edit : Overdrive = 'Too Loud', Distortion = 'Amp/cab needs repair',  Fuzz = 'Swarm of Killer Bees Nearby'.

TBH is difficult to argue or add anything to Dad's description.....if I had to choose, I think I "prefer" Overdrive, and dislike Fuzz the most  but usually go back to a clean sound within seconds of thinking "I am sure Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz will sound good in this song!"

We spend a fortune on high quality amps and cabs and top notch pickups only to make t all sound flabby and crappy by adding something that sounds like your gear is broken!

[Leonard Smalls]

5 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Overdrive = 'Too Loud', Distortion = 'Amp/cab needs repair',  Fuzz = 'Swarm of Killer Bees Nearby'.

He's got it in one!

or: soft clipping, soft clipping plus grit, square-wave clipping...

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 14, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[SteveXFR]

They're difficult to define. Fuzz can be anywhere from a nice smooth Fuzz like on some Muse songs right up to fully disgusting fuzz tones like Sleep or Church of Misery would use.

[SH73]

Overdrive- boost 

Distortion-   Chug chug chug chug 

Fuzz- Jimi Hendrix

 

 

 

[steantval]

Guitars yes.

Bass no.

[Nail Soup]

When I started out in the early 80's I (and the people in my musical circle) only had one word to cover the whole lot - fuzz.

You had a fuzz box, and could play a guitar clean or fuzzy.

After a while I learnt the terms distortion and overdrive.... pretty much with the meanings mentioned by other posters.

[SteveXFR]

59 minutes ago, steantval said:

Guitars yes.

Bass no.

Bass yes

[SteveXFR]

Muse Hysteria (fuzz)

 

Royal Blood - Out of the Black (overdrive and octave)

Cliff Burton - Anesthesia  (fuzz wah)

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by SteveXFR

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

...Cliff Burton - Anesthesia  (fuzz wah) ...

There, at least, I understand the sub-title (Pulling Teeth...). Quite apt, well done. 

(... and we play 'Hysteria' with the bass plugged straight into the amp; it sounds just fine. Just sayin'.   ...).

Edited May 9, 2021 by Dad3353

[SteveXFR]

Hysteria sounds so much better with fuzz. It loses the character with the bass clean. I'm sure Chris Wolstenholme tried it clean before deciding it needed fuzz on the record and live. 

[Dad3353]

11 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Hysteria sounds so much better with fuzz. It loses the character with the bass clean. I'm sure Chris Wolstenholme tried it clean before deciding it needed fuzz on the record and live. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Dad3353

[stewblack]

I have just returned from a rehearsal. Late night for me, and I am delighted to report that in my soul band I used two fuzzes, one overdrive and a filthy distortion. At times I used all three and it sounded amazing. 

[Downunderwonder]

It used to bug me when people put up sound samples and the one they called Clean was definitely overdriven. I subsequently got into effected bass and for rock music I quite like a little always on jùs that goes into overdrive when I dig in.

It more than bugs me when fools make pedals that can't switch clean(ish) to dirty without an accompanying massive volume boost. Then some even bigger fool buys it and posts up a review of his fantastic MOAR sound but neglects to mention the volume hijinks. That really rips my shorts.

[ubit]

11 hours ago, steantval said:

Guitars yes.

Bass no.

I used to have this view but have been converted. I now love an overdriven distorted bass sound.

[SteveXFR]

Some like distortion, some don't. If you don't like it, stay clean. If you do like it the fill yer boots with filthy distortion. 

I'm guessing those who dislike it probably don't like the styles of music most likely to use it anyway. 

I love a disgusting tone. I wish I could get somewhere near Lemmy's tone

[itu]

I am repeating myself :II

Try an OD/dist/fuzz with lo- and hi-Z (act/pass) basses to find the right sound. I tried many, many units and one pedal building friend of mine hinted that the output of the bass affects the sound very much. True. Now I have a fuzz for my lo-Z (active) as well as high impedance basses. It is the same with compressors, too.

Another useful tool for the tight lows and nice buzz can be achieved with a X-over.

[PaulWarning]

as others have said overdrive just adds a bit of sustain and compression without any spikyness, which I use my Zoom B1on for, I only use fuzz/distortion (not sure what the difference is) for Ace of Spades

[Sibob]

All Fuzz in Distortion
Not all Distortion is Fuzz

Si

[Dood]

If it’s any help, my first columns that I wrote for Bass Player Magazine cover the basics of various types of effect pedals. I covered the above, though I only had a page per effect.
You can find nearly all of my articles on the guitar world website too.

Hope they are helpful  

[Dan Dare]

To complete the title of the thread:

... are not big and not clever.

[SteveXFR]

9 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

To complete the title of the thread:

... are not big and not clever.

Come on. Everyone loves a Hail Satan Russian fuzz or a good Proco Rat

You've just got to know how and when to use them. 

[paul_c2]

Overdrive is less gain than distortion. Where the dividing line is, is undefined though.

Fuzz is a distinct type of high gain/distortion, I think its something to do with the electronic components involved in producing it and the resulting sound wave.