Prelude: What started this whole thing is that I got (and probably still get) knocked for using effects.  This was coming from "purists" who are probably younger than me so, yes, it doesn't mean much.  We'll look at why being "Purists" is fundamentally flawed and why playing with distortion is really useful.  Hopefully, by the end of this whole multi-part schpiel, you'll see it's good to not be stuck back in the 50s.

History lesson:

• The electric guitar pickup was invented because arch-tops and resonators weren't loud enough.  Pretty basic.

• Solidbody electric guitars were invented so the volume could be loud without the feedback.

• People liked the sound of distortion and fuzz so much they would slice the speaker cone with a razor blade to simulate distortion.

• Maestro fuzz tone came out because of of razor blade shortage of 1963.

• The world became a better place in 1977 when the Boss DS-1 was commercially available.

What exactly distortion do to the guitar signal?  One, it clips the signal, creating a pseudo-compressor effect that does decrease a note's decay.  To me, that's more accurate than saying it creates sustain.  And at the same time, brings out extra harmonics that you wouldn't notice with a clean signal.  To me, it's plain pleasing.

The average Purist's thinking of distortion as cheating to hide bad playing is pretty retarded - the main point being that when everything is distorted, it's more like being under a microscope.  Bad notes only get worse, but the good notes get better.  Give a Purist a distortion pedal and you'll enjoy the hours of fret noises, string noises, and other fun humming and squealing since they never learned how to "tame the beast".  That's why I find heavy metal players underrated, especially the rhythm guys - very articulate, precise and "clean" while having their gain at pretty high levels.  That brings me to my new, favourtie line: "Heavy Metal - I just like the sound of it".

So loads of distortion should help technique whether you play all out or super clean.  It should help with picking as well.  When you first start playing with loads of distortion, the front pickup will sound gooey.  Practice your picking and you should be able to get bells out of the goo.  Then go play clean - you'll be even cleaner because of the good habits acquired from playing with oodles of dirt.

I think Billy Gibbons is the guy to look to.  Some of the best distorted tones ever recorded were from him, and I'm talking from 1994 and up.  Billy evolved and so should everyone else - and he's an honest player.  But a Purist doesn't evolve like their mentors tried to - missing the point completely.  Kids, this is very important; keeping tradition is nice sometimes but it can be self defeating.  Why is Jeff Beck one of the best players around?  Because he didn't stop.

To end, I know that distortion isn't for everyone but that's because it's personal and not from a principle.  This goes for everything: don't limit yourself by trying to please other people. 

So kids, don't be a "Purist", go out there and make your own thing.  It is 2009, not 1959, so enjoy technology even if it's a convenient pedal form.

Oh, this is for the Purists: put on Albert King's Personal Manager.

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