What makes a distortion pedal "Dynamic" and with great "feel" ?

[Vivek]

What makes a distortion pedal "Dynamic" and with great "feel" ?

Is it basically the concept that there should be a sufficiently large range between

A) input signal level when distortion is first noticed.

and

B) Signal level when the distortion seems to be maxed out and further larger signals do not lead to more noticeable increase in distortion ?


Does this basically boil down to "Add compliance resistors in front of clipping diodes"

or does it also depend upon having multiple stages, each with different filter and different clipping levels, so that the output seems to be more varied depending upon input signal level


or are there more design tricks to make an Amp / distortion pedal more "dynamic" and have greater "feel"?

[11-90-an]

umm... for me, depends on the player/user of the pedal? 

[Fancy Lime]

To me, what makes a distortion device have "good feel" is the quantitative and qualitative change in harmonic content with changing input volume as well as the ability to let the input's "sound" shine through to some degree despite the distortion that is going on.

Andy

[DIY Bass]

How large a sponsor of the reviewer's publisher the manufacturer is.

But I may be a touch cynical.

[thomasha]

Just to add, it has to do with the gain stages, how many you are using and how.
If you play with the volume of the guitar and you can get some clean through, it will also respond like that when you pick in a more gently way. When you play harder, it will distort harder, so you can have a better response to our pick attack. Something that always distorts to the same level will not respond to the dynamic way the player is playing.

[Vivek]

Please name some distortion pedals that you think are very "dynamic" and have great "feel"

[11-90-an]

Please name some distortion pedals that you think are very "dynamic" and have great "feel"

Bazz fuzz (in my opinion... )

[LightSoundGeometry]

i like a wetness, with a zippery feel (valve tone like) ,has to work with single coils(transparent), break up graceful, without a fake plastic mid

[Steben]

Fuze face.. again. And it does not have many stages...

[Vivek]

Fuze face.. again. And it does not have many stages...

Is that because there is a big difference between what it does to 20mv signals versus what it does to 500mv signals ?

[bartimaeus]

i always thought the boss od3 has pretty good touch sensitivity, which i've always assumed is due to the multiple gain stages?

[Steben]

Fuze face.. again. And it does not have many stages...

Is that because there is a big difference between what it does to 20mv signals versus what it does to 500mv signals ?

Of course.
Mind you,  different circuits can be "dynamic" in different ways. I just picked FF as a very typical outsider. Completely different from a compression dynamic ac30 power stage.

[jfrabat]

Please name some distortion pedals that you think are very "dynamic" and have great "feel"

Would you count the Big Muff as distortion or OD? 

[Fancy Lime]

Please name some distortion pedals that you think are very "dynamic" and have great "feel"

Would you count the Big Muff as distortion or OD? 

Fuzz

[digi2t]

How large a sponsor of the reviewer's publisher the manufacturer is.

But I may be a touch cynical.

umm... for me, depends on the player/user of the pedal? 

i like a wetness, with a zippery feel (valve tone like) ,has to work with single coils(transparent), break up graceful, without a fake plastic mid

I always get a kick out of these threads....

I agree with all of the above. Words like "dynamic", "feel", "touch sensitive", and a myriad of other adjectives are completely subjective, and in the end, nothing more than what Guthrie Govan would classify as "hippie poetry" designed to try to convey an intangible.

At the end of the day, instead of relying on words to define sound, we should always rely on the sound itself. Sorry if that reasoning blows, but let's face it, how many here have fallen victim to the following scenario;

"Yo yo yo duuudddde, you gotta get this (insert name of effect here). It's ammmmmmmaaaaaazzzzing! Soooo dynamic! Such feel! So touch sensitive!"

"Dude" gets sucked into building/buying it. Plug's it in. Results are not what was expected. "Dude" is disappointed. Time/money lost.

How many? Hands up. My hand is up. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Tone chasing quests have a price, and this subject matter is simply a catalyst.

Sorry to muddy the waters, but expecting to qualify sound with words, is about as realistic as expecting your Youtube video recorded with your cell phone to convey uncompressed, open, and pristine studio quality sound. Ain't gonna happen.

Just my two bits. Carry on.

[Vivek]

Words like "dynamic", "feel", "touch sensitive", and a myriad of other adjectives are completely subjective

Thank you for your inputs. I agree.

I wanted to know if AIAB / pedal designers go out of their way try to increase dynamism of response in their Amp in a Box or distortion pedal designs

For example, by attempting to maximise the ratio of THD with 500mv signal versus THD at 50mv Signal

or some other metric by which "Dynamic" can be measured

[idy]

One of the simplest ways to keep an overdrive dynamic is asymmetry. You get some dirt when playing moderately hard, but one travel is not clipped at all, and keeps growing so it can clip later stages, like the amp. So you keep "1/2" the character of your guitar even as dirt begins to pile up. Eventually side two clips and it sounds like "something else" kicking in. It's much discussed, but I don't hear people describing it like I hear it.
The multi stages can be in one pedal. As you pick harder "something else happens."

[daeg]

One of the simplest ways to keep an overdrive dynamic is asymmetry. You get some dirt when playing moderately hard, but one travel is not clipped at all, and keeps growing so it can clip later stages, like the amp."

That was noted as a characteristic of the Fuzz Face and that combined with low-input impedance is probably why it gets put in that category of 'touch-sensitive' or 'dynamic'.

[daeg]

The key to this dynamics question is the players expectations.

The way I see it is distortion effects convert amplitude into harmonic content. The comparison to harmonic has been used over the years; you blow twice as hard, the harmonica only gets 1/4th louder but yields rich overtones that changes the timbre.

Likewise guitarists anticipates that 'digging in' is going make a certain change. If it responds the way the player expects it to, they think 'wow, dynamic, expressive, touch responsive, an extension of your guitar / amp'. If it doesn't, they reach into their bag of adjectives and pull out words like "stale, lifeless, overly compressed, one-trick pony".

[Steben]

The key to this dynamics question is the players expectations.

The way I see it is distortion effects convert amplitude into harmonic content. The comparison to harmonic has been used over the years; you blow twice as hard, the harmonica only gets 1/4th louder but yields rich overtones that changes the timbre.

Likewise guitarists anticipates that 'digging in' is going make a certain change. If it responds the way the player expects it to, they think 'wow, dynamic, expressive, touch responsive, an extension of your guitar / amp'. If it doesn't, they reach into their bag of adjectives and pull out words like "stale, lifeless, overly compressed, one-trick pony".

Yes, but thanks to mojo mechanism this can be turned into anything.
I find a Big Muff a very lame pedal. But it is praised for its "thick sustain" which "does not interfere with vocals". In other words: lacks mids and dynamics.
Always found the "Time" solo such a powerful sound compared to "Comfortably Numb" which is a brilliant one with good reverb etc but IMHO muffles Gilmours expression....