Active Band Man Chats - Let’s Think of Different Ways to Say Gain

So, what are we talking about today?

Gain...

?

What is gain...?

??

Gain...?

What’s going on!? I don’t know the cause, but focus!

Nice!

It’s not that great, you know. Anyway, let’s get back to our usual pace.

Thanks. Um, you like distortion pedals, right?

Uh, yes, well... What’s this about all of a sudden?

Distortion knobs, right?

Yes.

They’re usually volume, EQ, and gain, right?

Let me explain. The ‘gain’ we’re talking about here is the amount of distortion.

Right, right. And for distortion amount knobs, most of the time, they’re labeled Gain or Drive.

Yeah, that’s pretty common.
Darkglass Electronics / Microtubes X Bass Distortion

It feels a bit too standard, though!

Uh, yeah...

Don’t you think there should be other ways to say it?

Really?

Exactly! Technically, it should be Overdrive!

It’s getting heated today...

The legendary BOSS OD-1 pedal has the label ‘Overdrive’ on the knob!

Well, yes...

For today, I read a special issue of The Effector Book on distortion pedals! Ha!

Uh... is that good?

While most distortion knobs say Gain or Drive, distortion pedals might say Dist., and fuzz pedals might say Fuzz. With the Big Muff, it even says Sustain, which really hits you right in the feels.

Yeah, I see...

But I want something more unique!

And so, you’re going to come up with your own ideas? Wait, is this the setup? This is long.

Exactly! So from here on, my imagination will take the lead!

You’ve made it clear! So, what would you call the distortion amount knob?

There are some unique ones out there, like Anger.

Anger, huh. I get it... sort of.

How about Guts?

Guts, sounds powerful.

As the distortion increases, the rock intensity rises, so names that imply energy, intensity, and strength would be fitting.

That makes sense.

Then how about Power!

Right to the point!

Okay, Powerful!

No, that’s not it...

Attack!

That sounds more like a compressor. Uh, maybe ‘time before compression starts’?

Right! How about Emotion!

Ah, so it appeals to the emotions.

How about Dirty or Destroy?

Sounds like something you might find. Definitely fits the distortion vibe.

Or words that express heat, like Hot!

That’s hot.

Fever!

That’s really hot (laughs).

Fire!

It’s really hot.

And then even hotter! Bomb! Volcano!

A volcano, huh...

Explosion! Supernova!

We’re getting bigger and bigger with the scale... By this point, I feel like we’re moving away from distortion vibes.

Let’s stop here... (it can’t get any bigger).

Next?

Music genre names could be cool too. Rock!

Straightforward.

Blues!

Maybe one that doesn’t distort too much?

Metal!

Definitely a heavy distortion.

Punk!

Right.

Anarchy.

That’s out of control, huh? There are pedals made to do just that.

Press it and it buzzes, Buzz!

Hope you get more followers... But personally, I find it hard to buy a distortion pedal that limits you to a specific genre...

Let’s keep going! Tube.

There are many pedals that replicate tube amps.

Clip.

Kind of the same meaning, right? The tube amp clipping?

How about words that aren’t just strong and intense, but also bright?

For example?

Well, Love, of course.

Like a commercial!

Then Glory or Triumph.

Ah, they’re bright but also convey strength. Though, I can’t really picture the character!

Exactly. And then... Try, Challenge, Adventure! Revolution!

Oh, it’s kind of positive, though.

It’s like musical exploration, right? And then, Will or Hope would also work.

Yes.

What about Party?

That got soft all of a sudden!

Or Tasty?

Are we talking about food now!? At this point, I’m not even sure if this is still about distortion.

Also, if you think about it from the pedal’s perspective, maybe passive forms would be better?

Aren’t you being too imaginative?

Driven, Distorted.

Hmm, using past participles.

Yeah! By the way, the Ross distortion knob is unusually labeled Distort, I saw it in The Effector Book.

I see. It’s like an English class.

Heh, I thought it might be labeled Drive, but it was Dive. That would be interesting.

Mosh & Dive, like getting so hyped that the crowd dives.

Yeah! Or maybe make it a command: GO!!

That could get you pumped. The pedal’s saying, “Go!”

By the way, even though most pedals use English labels, I think it’s cool to have pedals in different languages.

That’s... probably because English labels are understandable to most people no matter where they’re from...

When I translated ‘distortion’ using a translation site, it came out as ‘Souche’ in French and ‘Sforzo’ in Italian.

Sounds cool, though.

You could even use the kanji ‘歪’! Or words like ‘愛’ (love), ‘騒’ (uproar), ‘乱’ (chaos), ‘氣合’ (spirit), or ‘無常’ (impermanence).

So many ideas... You sometimes see kanji on pedals, but when you get to things like ‘氣合’ or ‘無常’, it’s hard to tell if it’s distortion... ‘氣合’ would be a booster and ‘無常’ could be... mute?

Orange Amp uses illustrations! I think... a clenched fist? That might be the ultimate.

Got it! Maybe it’s universally understood.

Exactly. Because everything?

Is for love!