Vintage Distortion Pedals

Written by admin on April 15, 2009 – 7:32 pm -

Distortion pedals have come a long way since their early beginnings in the 1960′s, and have continued to evolve throughout the life of Rock’n Roll music.  These distortion pedals helped to create unique tones that have been adopted by some of the greatest guitar players in history and have found their ways onto legendary songs and albums.

Nearly every distortion you hear today is an adaptation of a classic vintage distortion pedal.

Below is a list of a few pedals that have withstood the test of time, and have grown to be some of the most popular distortion stomp boxes in history.

Arbiter Fuzz Face Pedal

The Fuzz Face was designed in London by Arbiter Music, and utilized two transistors, four resistors and three capacitors. The design created a dynamically distorted “fuzz” guitar tone that can be heard in many recordings of late 1960′s and early 70s.

This pedal was initially debuted in 1966, and was made famous by a guitarist by the name of Jimi Hendrix.

Guitarists originally had to tear, or poke holes in their amplifiers to achieve the type of fuzz tones the Fuzz Face could produce.

The fuzz tone has become a staple in many rock bands today like The White Stripes and The Black Keys.

Check out this Vintage 1971 Arbiter Fuzz Face Pedal

Buy Fuzz Face Pedals here: Dunlop Distortion Pedal store pages

Colorsound Overdriver

This distortion pedal debuted in 1972, and really left its mark on the sound of rock music at the time. Jeff Beck used this pedal to achieve his class guitar tones and nuances. This pedal can also create some great Fuzz tones that are reminiscent of the playing styles of Hendrix.

Check out some cool pics of this true vintage distortion pedal:

Here is a  Vintage Colorsound Overdriver Pedal available for sale.

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff

Although this pedal debuted in 1971, it can still be found on many stages today because of its impressive Fuzz tone, sustain and singing tube like sounds. It has truly withstood the test of time, and has become very popular among rock musicians looking for a heavy Fuzz tone from their guitars.

This pedal is currently in Jack White’s setup, and can be heard on many of their recent albums. It provides the thick, heavy guitar sound that defines the White Stripes.

Find the Big Muff for sale in our Electro-Harmonix Distortion Pedal Store.

Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer

This Overdrive pedal for the guitar was made famous in 1980 by by Eric Johnson. This is the definitive Overdrive pedal that many others simply cannot compete with. The Ibanez TS-808 delivers awesome warm sounding distortion that really helps to color your guitar’s sound nicely. It also has plenty of output power and adds a considerably strong upper-mid range boost.

There really is no better Overdrive pedal to use if you are looking to play classic rock, or blues.

Tags: Vintage, Vintage Distortion pedals
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