Distortion

Well, there is not a whole lot to be said about distortion. It distorts. You pretty much need it if your playing any type of rock music. However, there are a couple of points to keep in mind to get the most effective use out of it.

One of the biggest problems with distortion these days is too much distortion. Distortion is commonly used to compensate for poor tone, lack of sustain, and for lack of technique. The problem is, too much distortion will muddy up your tone. If you play lead, there are even more problems. Try turning up your distortion all the way, then play a fast arpeggio. What did you notice? The notes seem to blend together. Further more, it will make your overall sound sink back in the mix.

It is important here to understand that for the matter of effects application, rhythm guitar and lead guitar are VERY different. For rhythm guitarists, you just need to make sure there is not so much distortion that it causes the chords to bleed together, make sure all notes ring true (there is probably a lot more to it than this, but forgive me, I play lead, and have for the past several years, that is what I know).

One thing that playing lead has taught me is that many times, less is more. Like I said, too much distortion will cause your notes to blur together, and that is not a desirable quality (unless that is what you are going for, but...). Don't use the distortion to cover up other sins, resolve the other sins.

If your lead tone is thin, look to the E.Q. for help before turning up the distortion. Or maybe you just need to use the neck pickup instead of the bridge. Try to pinpoint exactly where your tone is thin, maybe it needs more low end, maybe more mids. The goal here is to be able to have a thick tone with little or no distortion. Just look at jazz guitarists. Many have tones that are so fat, you wonder if their guitars area at risk of cardiac arrest. But they use almost no distortion, if any at all. If you can have a fat tone running clean, how is it going to sound when distorted? Answer: beautiful.

If sustain is the problem, then distortion will help, but a way to increase sustain with less undesirable side effects is the effective use of compression.

A while back I was at a Battle of the Bands. Before it started, I heard two lead guitarists warming up. One was playing through a double coil humbucker and distortion pedals. The other just had single coils and the overdrive on the tube amp and used a compressor to add sustain.. Their amps were comparable size and power, Side by side, playing without a back line, the guy with the humbucker and stomp boxes had a tone that sounded extremely nice, where as the guy with the single-coil sounded thin and harsh. But when they played with the band, that the humbuckers and pedals guy was buried in the mix, and the single-coil guy rang true. Remember that what sounds good on its own may not sound good in when mixed with everything else.