Parallel Drive Pt1: Stacking vs Blending Overdrive, Distortion & Fuzz

Part 1 of our series exploring parallel drive.

If you’ve ever put an overdrive in front of a distortion pedal, you’ll know that combining gain pedals can take you somewhere neither pedal reaches on its own. A boost can push a drive harder. An overdrive can tighten a distortion’s low end. A fuzz followed by an overdrive can take on a completely different character.

But what happens if, instead of feeding one pedal into another, you let them process your guitar separately—and then blend their sounds together?

That’s the idea behind parallel drive. With a parallel mixer such as the Parallelarator, you can explore it using pedals you already own. Here’s how it differs from stacking, and how to try it for yourself.

How series stacking works

In a conventional pedal chain, effects run in series. Your guitar passes through the first pedal, then its output feeds the next.

For example, with an overdrive before a distortion, the distortion receives an already altered signal. The overdrive’s level, EQ and clipping all affect how the second pedal responds. Turning up the first pedal’s output can push the second into heavier saturation rather than simply making the final sound louder.

Pedal order matters too. An overdrive feeding a fuzz may sound quite different from the same fuzz feeding the overdrive. The later pedal processes everything coming before it, shaping the combined result with its own frequency response and gain characteristics.

This can be exactly what you want: more compression, a tighter response, or a lead sound with extra sustain. Series stacking offers plenty to explore. Parallel routing gives you another way to combine those same pedals.

What changes in parallel

In a parallel setup, your guitar signal splits into separate paths. One path might feed an overdrive while another feeds a distortion. Their outputs then come together in a mixer.

Both pedals receive the same starting signal. The distortion isn’t being pushed by the overdrive, and the overdrive isn’t processing the distortion’s output. You adjust how much of each finished sound enters the blend.

Imagine setting an overdrive for a light crunch, then blending in a more saturated distortion. You can hear the character of the lighter path alongside the heavier one, and choose which dominates. Changing the blend gives you a different balance of those textures without changing either pedal’s gain setting.

The paths still interact when mixed. Their EQ, phase and levels all influence the result, so parallel drive doesn’t automatically guarantee more clarity or a bigger sound. The appeal is the opportunity to shape a tone by balancing different voices.

Three combinations to explore

Overdrive and distortion

Start with an overdrive that gives your picking some definition, then add a distortion with more saturation. Bring the distortion in gradually and listen to how the attack, body and sustain change.

You might prefer the overdrive as the main sound with just a little distortion underneath. Or you might use the distortion as the foundation and add enough overdrive to change its edge.

Overdrive and fuzz

Fuzz can have a strong personality. Blending it with an overdrive lets you explore that texture at different levels, from a subtle roughness to a dominant wall of fuzz.

Try a relatively restrained overdrive alongside a more extreme fuzz setting. Listen for the point where the fuzz adds something interesting while the overdrive still contributes to the note’s definition.

Two contrasting overdrives

You don’t need huge differences in gain for parallel blending to be useful. A mid-focused overdrive alongside a fuller or brighter drive can produce an interesting combined response.

Try setting both to modest gain, then move between them using the loop levels. Their tone controls become useful tools for deciding how the two sounds fit together.

Try parallel drive with the Parallelarator

For a first experiment, use two mono drive pedals and one amp. Keep the setup simple so you can concentrate on what the blend does.

1. Connect your guitar to the Parallelarator’s Dry In.

2. Connect Loop 1 Send to your overdrive’s input, then the pedal’s output to Loop 1 Return.

3. Connect Loop 2 Send to your second drive’s input, then its output to Loop 2 Return.

4. Set both loops to mono and connect the Parallelarator’s Left Output to your amp, leaving the Right and Centre outputs unused.

5. Turn Dry Mix fully down and keep the unused Loop 3 level down.

6. Start with moderate gain and pedal output settings, then bring up Loop 1 to hear the first voice on its own.

7. Turn Loop 1 down and listen to Loop 2 separately. Then bring both into the mix and experiment with their balance.

Keep both drive pedals engaged during this experiment. Use the Parallelarator’s loop controls to adjust their contribution, rather than bypassing one to remove it from the blend.

Adding a second path can increase the overall level. When comparing sounds, adjust the blend or pedal outputs to keep the listening volume reasonably consistent. This makes it easier to hear whether you prefer the texture, rather than simply the extra loudness.

Once you have a blend you like, try adding a little Dry Mix. With your guitar connected directly to Dry In, this adds the clean input alongside the drive paths. Listen to how it changes the attack and feel. You may prefer a small amount—or none at all.

A few things to listen for

Bypassing a pedal usually leaves its path audible. Most drive pedals pass the input signal through when bypassed. In a parallel loop, that means the path becomes a clean contribution rather than disappearing. Turn its loop level down if you want to remove that contribution during your initial experiments.

Phase can change the blend. Some pedals invert polarity, and their filters can also affect how different frequencies combine. If two sounds work well individually but become thin or lose level together, their phase relationship may be involved. The Parallelarator has a phase switch on Loop 3, which you can explore by moving one of the pedals into that loop. We’ll look more closely at phase in part two.

Some vintage-style fuzz pedals prefer a direct guitar connection. These can respond differently when fed by a buffered send. One option is to put the fuzz before the Parallelarator, but its output then feeds every loop and becomes the signal blended by Dry Mix. For your first parallel experiment, a fuzz that works happily after a buffer makes the setup more straightforward.

Combining series and parallel

You can also stack pedals within a parallel path. Try an overdrive feeding a distortion in Loop 1, with a separate drive or fuzz in Loop 2.

The first loop gives you the interaction of series stacking. The second adds another voice alongside that complete chain. You can change the balance between them without altering the order or settings of the stacked pedals.

This is a useful way to build on a sound you already enjoy. Keep your favourite stacked combination, then experiment with another path to add a different texture.

Start with two pedals and listen

Choose two drives you already own, get each sounding good individually, then slowly bring them together. Try different balances before reaching for more gain.

Small adjustments to level and EQ can be just as revealing as changing pedals.

There’s no single correct blend. You might find a subtle combination that becomes your everyday sound, or something unusual that suits one particular part of a song.

In part two, we’ll explore how to change those combinations while playing, using the Parallelarator’s existing Loop 3 footswitch and phase control—and how Nexus-X1 expands the possibilities with additional loop switching, phase options and momentary control.