Amplified guitars appeared in the early 1930s. In those days, however, early recording artists strove for clean, orchestral sounds. In the '40s, DeArmond manufactured the world's first standalone effect. At that time, amplifiers were valve-based and bulky.The '40s to the '50s saw competitive individuals and bands frequently turning up their amps to overdrive levels, and distorted sound became increasingly popular. In the '60s, transistor amplifiers became available, with the Vox T-60 appearing in 1964, to further achieve the distorted sound, which by then was very sought after. This is when the first standalone distortion effect was born! Analogue and digital processing of music signals can provide new sounds, and active overdrive effects now recreate the overdriven clipping of those early valve amps.
展开▼
