Is there such thing as a universal guitar distorion effect that isnt patented?

Question

Is there such thing as a universal guitar distorion effect that isnt patented?

Answer 1

I don't know what you mean by "universal".  However, guitar distortion effects have been around since at least the 60's.  In the U.S. Patents generally expire 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the application date, depending on when they were filed.

In any event, any patents from the 60's, 70's or 80's are most likely expired...so those effects are no longer patented.

Answer 2

patents are not granted for anything that is obvious to anyone familiar with the methodology, or for which there is prior art. fuzz box or peak level clipping to generate distortion was around long before the electric guitar was invented, except it was considered a defect. only a musician would want to generate distortion intentionally. the first fuzz boxes were simply cheap amplifiers that were pushed beyond the rated output power.