We all know that Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz effects make our guitars sound great, but what makes them different from one another? Join Colin as he talks headroom, clipping, and sound wave destruction! #overdrive #distortion #fuzz Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk Affiliate Links: Thomann - www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?offid=1&affid=367 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/2mGGg CSGuitars uses: LEWITT Microphones - www.lewitt-audio.com/ Hoffnine Cabinets - www.hoffnine.co.uk/ Hosa Cables - hosatech.com/ Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks - www.dragonsheartguitarpicks.com/ Title graphics and logo by: www.studiosmithdesign.co.uk/ Join the discussion at: Facebook - facebook.com/csguitars Instagram - instagram.com/csguitars/ Twitter -twitter.com/CSG_Scotland

Distortion sounds like Chunka Chunka Fuzz sounds like BSZZT BSZZT Overdrive sounds like the clean note.. but with hair around it.

"In both these cases, careful design of the circuits and tone-shaping elements is made to ensure that the resulting overdrive or distortion is tasteful, natural, and high-quality. ...And then there's fuzz." Best segue of the century.

Yep it's official you make the best videos ...EVER!

I absolutely love fuzz. That lo-fi punk rock grit is my jam. Plus, I play bass and a little fuzz goes a long way when getting a good bass tone.

it is so nice to finally find someone properly explaining the difference with some electrical background as well. this video inspired me to make one of my own on the same topic analyzing these effects on an oscilloscope (when i get the time). thank you my dude!

"AND THEN THERE'S FUZZ"

You know someone is a metalhead when you see how hyped they get when the word "distortion" is mentioned :D

Here's how I see it- Overdrive will get you Iron Man Distortion will get you Master of Puppets and Fuzz will get you Dopesmoker

Scottish Egoraptor is better at guitars than Merican Egoraptor is at games. Also thanks for the informative vid, man!

1:17 "Bastardization of a sound wave" This might be my favorite definition for distortion yet!

I'd just like to add this minor point-a part that you seemed to overlook is that, as the peaks of the fundamental tone reach a brick wall, the rest of the harmonics of a note continue to increase in relative intensity, which is largely what creates the sound we call distortion.

As a guitarist AND an engineer, I really, reaaalllyy, reeeeaaaallllyyyy enjoyed this video. Thank you.

probably gonna be buried but this is EXACTLY what I needed for my electronics coursework!

This so useful, not only does it explain the differences very well, it goes into the science of wavelenghts behind it and what happens inside the amp. Keep it up dude.

I really like how this channel is growing! he's also making the videos become harder to resist when I scroll through my subs. great job making the videos better and interesting in a entertaining way to watch!!

This channel is so good. Keep it up man, you're answering questions that a lot of other music channels don't even bother with.

Hands down the best tutorial I've seen on the subject! Thank you so much for including the schematics of each effect!

This is the BEST explanation of the differences. It really helps to show those wave diagrams and you make it very entertaining! Great job!

I've been watching your videos for a while now, and I feel I've learned a majority of what I know about gear from you, pedal chains, distortion v overdrive, gear history etc. Thank you for making such awesome videos!

Great info Colin, I've been playing for over 33 years. I'm glad to say I'm learning things from your videos and I cannot thank you enough! I'm subscribed and checking out all your instructional videos. Thank you again my friend! Cheers!

I love how fuzz sounds, I never thought of it sounding like a tube about that's about to fail, but it does.

I've watched (and read) many different explanations of this topic over my 20 years of guitar playing. Your explanation here is one of the best! You very clearly and intelligently explain exactly what's going on and what it means with some nice demos. Great job!

Hell Yea! New Video! You got me way more educated on guitar gear than I previously was and its oh so very helpful :D

Once again Colin this was a wealth of information. Thank you again!

Great information as always! Excellent job hitting the main points and ideas without getting overly technical. I'm liking that Plexitroll a lot. I've had one on my board for the last several months and I think it's there to stay.

great video! you answered my questions about pedals better than anyone else I've found, AND explained them so much better!

Appreciate that you don't endlessly ramble in your videos in one take. Clearly, you have thought about what you are going to say, written out your comments, use useful edits, and deliver the information in a concise and meaningful manner. Subscribed.

Amazing video, man! Really impressed by the amount of work you put here!

Thanks! And how would you classify a crunch sound?

You never cease to amaze me! High quality content every time! Love it!

You have such a good way of explaining the information in all of your videos. I subscribed. Thanks for all the great info.

This is so simple and clear to understand! I’ve been on a journey to have a more comprehensive understanding of how guitar gear works. Your videos have been crucial!

Great Video! Really helped understand the difference in sound and the wave diagrams were very helpful!

Thanks, Colin. Very simply. some of the best explanations of guitar and amplification topics one could find. Great stuff.

Hey! i just wanted to tell you that im glad that your videos are now so well produced! Nice room :)

it would be cool to run the signal through an oscilloscope. I'd like to see how other effects such as reverb and s phaser change the sound

You always put just the right amount of nerd in your explanations that it really sinks in for me. Cheers!

Wild. I always thought that fuzz was the least distorted, and overdrive was the most. Interesting thanks for the insights.

I appreciate you showing how the circuitry works. That’s pretty helpful as an EE major playing guitar

dude, great video! Clear explanation and nice playing! :-)

Excellent vid Colin. Well done.

Hey Collin, my name's Mike and I've been watching your videos/reviews for a couple of years now...I'd say about 2 and a half years and I've noticed a significant improvement in the work your doing, the videos got better, became more interesting, the topics are much broader and cover a wider range of ideas. The questions and thoughts we all have in this complicated age where Plug and Play is hardly ever the personal preference or option of any guitarist...we have all this gear to deal with which brings hang ups and problems sometimes and it seems you're doing a really good job to help us all out in answering these same questions. Good job. Cheers. Mike.

This guy is pure entertainment for guitar lovers. Great job man

So glad you make these videos about effects. I don't feel so dumb when checking out or buying gear at my local music stores. Many Thanks!

Awesome info, brudda. Love the micro dark in the back

You finally upgraded your sound/camera! amazing!

Great video! Love the Op Amps diagrams....that clarifies everything :D

Excellent video with a very clear explanation along with demonstrations of the differences with pedals.

Thanks! Great explanation on the theory behind distortion and awesome presentation on each different sound. Finally understand the difference.

Good to know! It's amazing how understanding why something works helps you know how to use it better!

Hey Colin, really raising the bar with this video. Keep it up ;-)

holy fuck dude. ive been watching your vids before i even had a youtube account. And the quality has increased tenfold! goodjob man! keep the great videos coming!

Thank you so much for doing these videos man, very helpful! Cheers!

"In both of these cases, careful design of the circuit and tone shaping elements to ensure that the overdrive or distortion is tasteful, natural, and high quality... and then there's fuzz." Favorite part of the video.

Love the way you explaining it nicely. I smashed the subscribe though I'm not a passionate guitarist, but an enthusiast about audio technologies.

Videos like this are exactly what I need more of in my life. Been playing guitar for 17 years, still don't know that much about gear.

Thanks man!really nice exploration, and demo. Cheers!

Great video! Love your channel!

Colin has done the best explanation of the difference between overdrive/distortion/fuzz that I have ever seen or heard. Whenever someone asks me about the subject I just point them to this video. Thanks again [A self-taught audiophile]

Love the vid Colin! Keep going bro!

You make the best tutorials, info vids, and any other musical videos. You should be much more popular

Fantastic video, love how you included the schematic

Finally an intelligent overview of the three genres that both gives a moderately technical explanation paired with good examples of the genres. Huzzah.

Really excellent idea to put the schematics in your explanation! Thumbs up for that!

Great video and I love how the production has gotten a bit grander! Nice job dude and keep killin' it!

Thank you! Such an amazingly clear and thorough reference!

Excellent video. I love that first riff. I don't know if that is from a song or if it's just improv but I love that dramatic sound. Also cool anecdote about the kinks I didn't know that.

Very informative, comprehensive, and detailed video here.

Thank you Collin for the awesome video! Dat fuzz though is awesome!

Really enjoyed this video, well done!

Thanx alot Colin I really enjoy your videos :D

Great video dude! Makes a lot of sense

Thanks Colin. Excellent info.

I finally subbed.. there's much content and value on this channel

i'm 61 American playing on and off since I was 13 but never really got that much of an education in pedals starting out with an old stereo as an amp and an old French fuzz box as THE effects pedal lol it's nice to travel around the world to your accent zone which adds a lot of color to the education and your damn smart about it ,carry on lad

Your tone and playing were awesome in this video, truely great.

Great video, man!

Thank you for this very informative video. Corrosion of Conformity many moons ago introduced me to the beauty of Fuzz...and Geezer lead me to bass. I just subscribed to your channel. Greetings from the Bay Area, Nor-CaL....

Thank you for offering the explanations for all the things you do. It really helps to know what all these electronic devices we use are actually doing. I have been able to improve my rig's setup with the knowledge I have gained watching your videos. I use a pedalboard with 19 different pedals and a looper/switch to organize it all as well as plugging into a stack (head and cabinet) as well as a combo amp for a stereo sound. My setup has always been fairly complicated. I plug my effects into a carl martin octaswitch but because it only has 8 loops I have to combine so one loop has my OD, Dist, Fuzz, and metal pedal and another loop has all my Modulation pedals. I use the effects loop on my noise gate because it is always on and put my EQ and volume booster in that loop so the EQ is always on and when I want a volume boost I just turn my booster pedal on. I have to change settings and what pedals are off or on before every song when on stage and it gets complicated. I am trying to simplify but still have all the elements to my tone that I have come to rely on. Your videos are helping me with this. Thank you.

I screamed like a little girl when I saw a Little Big Muff like mine :') awesome video

Straight to the point explanation! Great work!

very nice video mate!

great video. Very informative. Thanks a lot.

My God I love guitar science cleaning up all the rumors and misconceptions. Super vid bro!

Amazing vid dude, learned lots of stuff about waveform clipping. The video really helps to understand the difference between Overdrive/Distortion/Fuzz. I have a 6-slot Behringer case/pedalboard with 6 pedals. MultiFX (flanger, chorus, phaser, delay, tremolo, pitch shifter), GrapicEQ, PowerOverdrive, HeavyDistortion, VintageTubeOverdrive and SuperFuzz and i always struggle to explain their difference to non-guitar friends. I bought the Fuzz just for fun, and i almost never use it, but it's fun. Surely, the Compressor/Sustainer would be have been much more useful, but less fun.

Thx for the info. Learned about u thru GuitCon. I just learned more about what’s actually happening w these differences in the past 10 mins from u than I have in the last 10 yrs. lol!

very informative and interesting video, well done.

Precisely what I needed; I just didn't know I did. Thanks a frick ton! :D

Saved this link so I can come back to it or send it to others. Spot on!

Thank you! Those schematics and waveforms helped a lot.

Excellent explanation! I don’t even play guitar.....I’m a synthesizer person and use a shit ton of these pedals. We like the bass pedals because they can handle the low end a synth puts out, and often come with a mix knob.

That's it, buddy. You just gained yourself a new suscriber

This is great, I love this and you've got a new subscriber. I play bass, really new to it and this was very helpful to me.

EE here, did a project SPICE simulating and building these circuits. You can get distortion in the feedback loop of the op amp if you use a diode with a stupidly sharp IV curve (to, you know, clip harder). Blue LEDs were quite something. Also! The germanium and silicon discussion is the same thing for the clipping diodes! Softer vs harder clipping, respectively. Love your videos!

Here's the version I heard: Distortion is the main sound Overdrive is distortion's little cousin Fuzz is distortion on adderall

5:35 stopped video cause i had tears in my eyes....

Informative. I am on a mission to relearn guitar effects and you were very helpful. Thanks.

Thanks for showing the circuit diagrams!

That's the best explanation for effects I have seen.