The Best Overdrive Pedal [2023 Buyers Guide & Reviews]

How to Choose the Best Overdrive Pedal for you

There are many factors that can help you determine whether or not a specific OD product is right for you. In this Buyer’s Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the different types of OD, the portability of devices, their controls, the nuance behind bypass effects, whether stereo or mono is more important, and much more.

What is Overdrive, Anyway?

OD is an effect used to achieve heavier sounds without having to turn the volume up significantly. Though misinterpreted to be separate things, OD is actually a type of distortion. The difference between the two, though, lies in the approach.

OD is meant to emulate real-world examples of tube amps, typically using gain to achieve the warm sounds that are experienced when a vintage tube amp is turned up louder. The goal is to replicate a real, analogue effect, naturally distorting the sound as the volume goes up. Products such as the Joyo JF-02 device (reviewed later in this article) highlight this aspect of an OD product, focusing specifically on emulating analogue sounds over anything else.

This is much different than distortion, which is meant to play up the effects that come with gain. Distortion is typically achieved through more artificial means, getting a much harsher sound than OD. Distortion sounds will also add more harmonics to the tone, making their general amplitude greater, bringing on a much dirtier sound than OD.

Why Use OD, Anyway?

Those who seek out OD effects are typically more interested in a smoother type of distortion than what is offered with Distortion or Fuzz devices. Instead, OD adds less additional harmonics to the tone, offering a much more refined and clean sound.

Two examples of OD being used in popular music are The Microphones song “The Glow,Pt. 2” and the Metallica song “Seek and Destroy”.

The Different Types of Overdrive

One of the great things about OD is how flexible it can be. Though there are different types of OD devices, it isn’t so much about having a different type of OD as it is having a different approach. Because OD is all about emulating what is essentially an analogue sound (an amplifier being turned up much louder), all devices start in the same place. What makes them differ, though, is the level of nuance they give in the settings.

For example, the aforementioned Joyo JF-02 gives you a very standard type of OD, not allowing you to change many of the settings. Products like the JF-02 give just options for gain, tone, and high/lowpass settings, allowing you to have some say over how everything sounds, but not a huge difference from the standard. As a contrast, a more upper range product such as the Fulltone Fulldrive2 MOSFET OD/Boost will allow you to adjust settings such as the Boost, Compcut, and the Mosfet, while also giving you extra options for boosting the OD and the overall tone.

This video from Howcast goes to great lengths to analyze the difference between various types of OD settings, even highlighting the Fulltone OCD as a great example.

Your Budget

Thankfully, getting a decent OD sound does not require digging deep into your wallet. However, as hinted at in the previous section, it’s worth noting the different levels you’ll have access to depending on which price point you’re aiming for. For example, an entry-level product such as the aforementioned Joyo JF-02 will give you a standard sound, but you won’t be able to customize it much.

Overdrive and Your Musical Style

OD is a type of effect that goes well generally with any form of amplified music. Because of its origin being focused on the sound that happens when an amplifier is turned up too loud, it naturally has associations with blues and rock music. As a result, these are two types of music that still go well with OD devices. However, since then, any type of subgenre or offshoot of the aforementioned genres (such as metal, punk, indie, etc.) also use heavy OD effects. For example, both of the musical examples we linked above are outside of traditional rock and blues genres, giving you an idea of just how versatile the effect can be.

In recent years, OD has even gotten into certain types of techno and Electronic Dance Music (EDM), showing that using OD products doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to guitars either.

This doesn’t mean that OD is good for every type of music, though. For example, singer-songwriters that focus on acoustic music don’t often use it even when they amplify their instruments, as it does not blend as well with the music. You’d also be pressed to find a lot of OD effects used by jazz guitarists.

Size, Weight, and Portability

The versatility of OD products is also a result of their design, due to them commonly not being too large. This means that not only are they portable, but they can quickly become an integral part of anyone’s setup without taking up too much room on any given pedalboard.

Most OD products with the basic settings (Volume, Drive, Tone, High/lowpass) will be about the same size, being relatively small devices. They’re also all usually the same weight, being pretty light and portable. This makes it easy for them to fit easily into any type of setup. The only difference that would make a product slightly heavier is if it has a larger foot product instead of simply a knob, such as the Ibanez and Boss devices we’ll be reviewing later in this article.

However, if you’re interested in getting a higher-end or premium product with more nuanced customization options such as the aforementioned Fulltone Fulldrive2 MOSFET Overdrive/Boost device, it will be approximately twice as long in width as the other products and therefore require more space on your pedalboard. This is also a heavier product, meaning that it is likely better for studio or home usage rather than having to carry it around to each show you play.

In terms of accessibility, all of the products we’re reviewing in this article aside from the Fulltone Fulldrive2 are all products that work well with travel and are able to be used just as easily by bedroom players as they can be by gigging amateurs and professionals. The latter two categories might prefer the nuance of the higher-end product, but even then it’s more practical to use in a studio than on a pedalboard.

Controls

The controls of the OD products depends on the level of customization offered. 3 of the products we review later in this article follow standard procedure, giving you options to toggle the Volume/Level, Gain, High/lowpass, Bypass, and the Tone of your OD. The quality differences between each device largely revolve around how effective each control is, but all of the controls are the same.

This can get more complicated with higher price point devices, such as the aforementioned Fulltone Fulldrive2. This product adds in the options of CompCut, Mosfet, and Boosting the OD itself, all features that give you more control in different areas.

Though there is a recent trend of having many products sport onboard editing features so you can dial in specific settings to avoid having to remember your specific setup each time, this is not as common with OD products. With a setting as basic and easy-to-configure as OD, it doesn’t make much sense to shell out for these premium price products when you can instead put that money towards a better sounding product.

However, a recent phenomenon that is worth mentioning with regards to OD devices, though, is the types of products that allow you to edit settings independently via a computer or mobile device. The Source Audio L.A. Lady we’ll be reviewing later does this well, allowing you to download an app to control the effects.

When dealing with OD, unless you are specifically after a very nuanced version of the effect, it doesn’t make much sense to have a product that has a ton of nuanced customization options. This is because it can be difficult to navigate during live situations—products that have onboard editing become more complicated in these situations, not allowing you to easily switch between settings.

For those who do want to control preset settings for a device, though, using a product that can be edited via an app can be helpful. This is because a phone’s screen is more adjustable than the more pixilated screens used in products, making it more reliable to see in dark situations and change on the fly.

True Bypass vs. Buffered Bypass vs. No Bypass

Put simply, True Bypass is a term used to describe the method with which a guitar’s signal is able to travel through a product with no lingering effects or loading processes interfering with products in-between. When one is using a True Bypass product, they can expect the instrument’s signal to go directly from the guitar to the amp, giving a stronger body to the natural, original tone of the instrument. The Joyo JF-02 on this list is an example of a True Bypass device.

However, not all products (in fact, most) you’ll find are True Bypass. This is because a multitude of problems can be introduced when using a True Bypass product, such as the noise being switched and creating inconsistent sounds when the instrument is particularly loud.

Many guitarists get around this limitation by employing the use of a Buffered Bypass, a type of product that uses a buffer (a type of preamplifier) to drive the sound. Though buffers let you use longer cables and setups without worrying about the noise switching, the signal buffers before reaching the amplifier, changing slightly the tone of the instrument.

For some, finding a product that has No Bypass at all can be a way to address the aforementioned issues, but then you run the risk of the guitar not being connected to the amplifier at all.

Most of the products you’ll find that give good OD are Buffered Bypass, largely because of the necessity for a Buffered Bypass to regulate the sound and process the effect before reaching the amplifier. Products such as the Fulltone OCD mentioned later in this article have this type of setup, allowing you to get a rich, full sound while compromising some of the signal’s connectivity to the guitar. The type of bypass that you want for your product depends not necessarily on the sound that you want, but instead the type of setup you want. If you have a long string of products on your pedalboard, then perhaps using a Buffered Bypass is best, but if you just want to connect directly to the amplifier, a True Bypass is almost necessary.

Stereo vs. Mono

In the context of guitar products, Stereo vs. Mono refers to the amount of channels a product can output. For example, if you use a Mono product, then it will only output one channel. In contrast to this, Stereo products will be able to output two channels, giving you a larger depth of sound. This is by using two products a product can filter frequencies into different channels, allowing to separate the sound into different portions that gives more clarity. With Mono, you can still have incredibly detailed setups, but sometimes you run the risk of frequencies being conflated with each other.

It should be noted, though, that it is possible to utilize both Stereo and Mono products within the same chain and retain their effects. To achieve this effect, though, you have to place the Stereo products at the end of the chain. If you don’t, one of the channels on your Stereo products will be ignored, causing only half of the sound to travel. As for the mono products, though, you can choose which channel to direct the mono mix to, allowing for greater customization with your sound.

Other Connectivity

Another way in which OD products can be controlled is by MIDI. This allows you to essentially pre-program your device through a Digital Audio Workspace (DAW) and use it during a performance, controlling the device through MIDI input as opposed to manually. For many, this can be a helpful way of getting more nuance out of your sound, not having to worry about the OD during a performance and instead being able to focus your energy towards other parts of your setup. The Source Audio L.A. Lady product that we’ll be reviewing later in this article allows you to do this with the additional purchase of a Neuro Hub, a worthwhile investment for those who want more flexibility with their OD sound and setup.

You can also connect many OD products with an expression device to specifically alter the prominence of OD in your sound more efficiently, but none of the pedals on this list are compatible with this form of connectivity.

Using Your OD

OD pedals are some of the most versatile and flexible out of all effects devices, so there isn’t a situation in which you can’t use it. They’re compatible with all guitars and are easily employable in any situation. The only hesitation you might want to keep track of is whether or not they’re worth using in certain scenarios, as we highlighted in the “OD and Your Musical Style” section.

A Brief History of OD Pedals

OD is an interesting effect in that it was originally thought to be an accident. When blues and jazz musicians in the 1940s and 50s achieved the effect by turning up their amplifiers, creating a heavily distorted sound. People thought this extra distortion was a mistake, leading to people dismissing it as not a valid guitar effect. Early uses of OD were also typically achieved by broken tube amplifiers, therefore cementing the effect’s label as an accident.

However, once louder forms of music such as rock and punk music began to take hold, having a grittier sound became essential to the setup of many bands, prompting the development of OD products. Since then, they’ve been specifically engineered to allow players to achieve the accidental distortion in turning up a tube amplifier significantly, embracing the incidental for one of the most unique effects that is no longer an “accident”.

Are OD Pedals Worth It?

For any guitarist who is looking for an authentic, distorted sound, OD products are certainly worth it. If you are in-between choosing a normal distortion and an OD, I would recommend going with the latter simply because the warmer sound is more fitting for many types of music and not as harsh on the ears. There are also typically more customization options included with OD products, making them a more logical choice for a nuanced effect. Unless you are a jazz or folk guitarist who will not be making much use of the device, it’s a worthy investment to have in your rig.