Overdrive (music) - Citizendia

For other uses, see Overdrive.

In rock music and related genres, overdrive is a term used to describe the sound of an amplifier running at high gain, usually deliberately, to the point where distortion (clipping) is clearly audible in the output signal. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. An instrument amplifier is an Electronic amplifier that converts the inaudible electric or electronic signal from musical instruments such as an Electric guitar A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic of an object image sound waveform or other form of information or representation Clipping is a form of Waveform distortion that occurs when an Amplifier is overdriven which happens through attempts to increase the voltage or current This distortion may range from a slight added "growl" or "edge" with some increase in sustain, up to a thick, distorted fuzzy sound. Sustain is a Parameter of Musical Sound in Time. As its name may imply it denotes the period of time during which the sound is sustained before

History

In the early history of instrument amplification, the effect was caused by the final amplification stage of a tube amplifier being driven beyond its linear range (literally, "over-driven"). A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of Electronic amplifier that make use of Vacuum tubes instead of solid-state Semiconductor The linear range is that range of input or output values for which an electronic Amplifier produces an output signal that is a direct Linear This required the amplifier to be run at high volume, so amplifier manufacturers soon began adding an overdrive ability to the preamplifier stage. A preamplifier (preamp or control amp in some parts of the world is an Electronic amplifier which precedes another amplifier to prepare an electronic This allows the user to select any degree of distortion, whilst the overall volume may be controlled independently.

Overdrive is predominantly used with an electric guitar. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder In the 1960s, bands such as the Beatles used overdrive with the bass guitar to create "fuzz bass. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the " As well, keyboard players used overdrive with the Hammond Organ (played through a Leslie speaker) in the heavy metal bands of the 1960s and 1970s. A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a Musical instrument, particularly the piano The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/ Loudspeaker used to create special audio effects utilizing the Doppler effect.

Types

The sound of an overdriven tube amplifier is usually considered more acceptable to the ear than the distortion which most hi-fi audio amplifiers create when overdriven. An audio amplifier is an Electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power audio signals (signals composed primarily of frequencies between 20 Hertz to This is usually attributed to the fact that the transfer function of a typical single-ended class A amplifier topology is asymmetric. An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power and/or Amplitude of a signal. This leads to generation of even harmonics, which are perceived as more musical than the odd harmonics that a hi-fi amplifier will produce. In Acoustics and Telecommunication, the harmonic of a Wave is a component Frequency of the signal that is an Integer

In the 1970s and 1980s, most guitar amplifiers began including an overdrive circuit, to provide a real or simulated tube overdrive sound. As well, many musicians use separate effects units to obtain an overdrive sound, often in guitar pedal or bass effect pedal form which is separate from the amplifier. An effects pedal (or a " Stomp Box " is an electronic Effects unit housed in a small metal or plastic chassis used by musicians usually Electric Bass effects are electronic devices used to modify the tone pitch or sound of electric bass guitars or more rarely amplified Double basses Bass effects can be housed

History

Types

See also