Is overdrive NOT distortion?

[Bushy]

This pedal is marketing both as separate things therefore sold as a 2-in-1:

MXR Custom Shop CSP037 Raijin Drive Overdrive/Distortion Effects Pedal

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

Different circuits produce different alterations of your guitar's original signal.

Over time, products producing slightly smoother or more-transparent-sounding alterations (simulating a milder push to the front-end of the amp) have been described as "overdrive" in their marketing materials; whereas products producing thicker and grittier flavors of sound have been described as "distortion." This has gradually become the common convention among manufacturers of pedals. (After all, you need some way to help the buyer know what kind of pedal he's buying!)

I've no idea what circuit types that pedal happens to use. But even if it were using something like digital modeling, they'd probably still mark that switch in the middle as either "DIST" or "OD" in order to communicate to the user the difference in the "flavor" they'd get from different switch-positions.

 

[Anthony76]

Overdrive and distortion are two very different things/sounds. Try the googles, enough to read for days.

 

[jefferski]

Overdrive and distortion are two very different things/sounds. Try the googles, enough to read for days.

True. And in the case of any one pedal, it could be that it does both. I'm not familiar w/ the one in the OP.

Or it could just be marketing - putting both in the name makes it show up in searches for either term and covers more people >> more sales.