So you’re sitting in front of an amp that’s cranked to the max for some searing over driven guitar sounds and you’re stuck trying to make the thing sound clean. The worst part is your amp is only a single channel model, so you can’t switch between clean and dirty.

You’ve got two options. I’ll offer the first one as the “easy” way, then the second as the “best sounding” way.

Option 1: Use a Distortion Stomp Box (Effects Pedal)

This is pretty straightforward. Set your amp to get the clean tone you want, then put a distortion pedal in line between the guitar and the amp. Now, when you want distortion, hit the pedal with your foot. Then hit it again to turn it off and return to the original sound.