Shred heavy riffs on an interactive fretboard. Click frets or use your keyboard to play crunchy distorted tones, stack power chords, hit Play for a built-in song, or build your own riff — right in the browser, no download required.
Distortion is the sound of rock and metal — that thick, overdriven crunch that gives electric guitar its aggressive edge. From the accidental discovery of a slashed speaker cone in the 1950s to walls of Marshall stacks at stadium shows, distorted guitar has powered some of the most explosive music ever made. Our free virtual distorted guitar lets you tap into that raw energy right in your browser, with no amp, pedals, or real guitar required.
This free online guitar is part of ButtonBass, a music platform that has been helping people make music in the browser for over a decade. The distorted guitar joins our family of string instruments alongside the acoustic and electric guitars, the bass, and the banjo — all playable the same way, with a clickable fretboard, keyboard support, animated strings, and built-in songs.
Click anywhere on the fretboard to hear heavy, crunchy tones that respond instantly, or use your keyboard keys to play notes. The interactive layout shows every note position across the neck, so you can experiment with power chords, riffs, and lead lines. Animated strings add a visual dimension as you play.
Pre-loaded songs are ready for instant playback — just hit Play. Use Stop to halt playback, Next and Previous to move between songs, and Clear to empty the note box. Sequence notes across the neck to build your own riff, and adjust the tempo value to speed things up or slow them down so you can nail a part at your own pace.
Distortion began as a happy accident — early players found that pushing tube amplifiers past their limits, or even damaging speaker cones, produced a gritty, sustaining tone. By the 1960s artists were chasing that sound on purpose, and fuzz boxes and overdrive pedals turned it into a deliberate effect. From blues-rock and hard rock to punk, thrash, and modern metal, distortion became the defining voice of the electric guitar.
Technically, distortion works by clipping the audio signal, adding harmonic overtones that thicken the tone and let notes sustain. That's what gives power chords their wall-of-sound weight and lead lines their singing, aggressive edge.
Power chords — just the root and fifth — are the building blocks of rock because they sound huge through distortion without the muddiness of full chords. Riffs are short, repeated note patterns that drive a song forward; many of the most famous songs in rock are built on a single unforgettable riff. Lead lines and solos use distortion's natural sustain to bend, slide, and hold notes expressively. You can explore all three on the virtual distorted guitar by stacking frets, sequencing notes, and varying your timing.
Start with two-note power chords to feel how distortion thickens the sound, then string them together into a riff. Lower the tempo on a pre-loaded song and watch which frets light up so you can connect the keys to the notes. Use the keyboard rather than the mouse for faster, more rhythmic sequences. Because everything runs in your browser, you can test riff ideas instantly with no amp or pedals — on desktop, tablet, or phone.
Beyond the distorted guitar, ButtonBass offers a growing library of browser-based instruments and games. Strum the acoustic and electric guitars, the bass, or the banjo, play virtual pianos and synthesizers, mix loops on 3D cubes like the Dubstep Cube 2, jump into the multiplayer Jam Room, or try rhythm games like Beat Slicer and Piano Drop. Every tool is free, works on any device, and requires nothing more than a modern web browser.
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