How To: Play overdrive effects on an electric guitar

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Getting to grips with guitar effects can be a complicated business and there are so many different types that it can be difficult to know where to start. This Guitar FX video tutorial is a brief introduction to the most common effect.

This video lesson focuses on overdrive. Overdrive is one of the most basic guitar effects, and occurs when the gain (the degree of amplification) of the guitar signal is turned up beyond the point where the circuitry is able to handle it. This causes the signal to 'distort'. We won't explain how it sounds here, though, it's better to hear its effect from the video. See how to play overdrive effects on an electric guitar with a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive Pedal.