if you go direct from pedal to interface
any guitar sound will probably be harsh
and very much so for the distorted and driven sounds

use a small amp and mic setup
or
introduce a speaker amp emulator between the pedal and interface

this can be as simple as a hi pass filter
but
the good ones try to do much more than just that

even so
as good as some of the simulators are
none sound as good as a good amp and speaker and mic setup

just my 2 cents

100% agree with Kev. I'll even go as far to say that recording a small amp with an SM57 in a small less than ideal room is better than most cabinet sims will do. That is if you can get the sound you want with the level under control. I don't play electric guitar very much, but do record them. Sometimes we can't get the sound we want with the gear we have. In that case I use Amplitude.

Thanks fellas, that helps alot. I was thinking of trying to mic the distortion, but was unsure to as to how to do it.

If you are concerned about the actual distortion tone you might want to get a better pedal. The DS-1, even though for the price is a real bang for the buck and works ok for live settings I wouldn't recommend using it for recording guitars. I recommend the Marshall Guv'Nor, it runs about $70-$80 but it's pretty good and very flexible... For about a $100 you can get an Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer which is a popular tried and true pedal with great crunch but maybe not so much flexibility.

Also, what kind of guitar amp are you using if at all?

I'm using a roland jazz chorus something or other. It's pretty old, but it's powerful. I also have a smaller, but much newer, Line 6 amplifier. I think one of my friends actually has a tube screamer that he may be willing to lend me.

Oh by the way, I'm trying to get the distortion to reinforce my guitar chords as opposed to highlighting my guitar solos. I can get solos to sound pretty decent with the ds-1, it's just the chords that sound like crap. Sorry if that doesn't make much sense. Here's a sample of some of our music: http://www.myspace.com/orl maybe that can give you a better idea of what i'm talking about. The recording quality is pretty terrible (hence our efforts to improve our recording techniques) so I apologize in advance.

the jazz chorus can be very bright and brittle
not my first choice for this job

look out !! :shock: wierd old fart stuff alert

try some physical interuptions like towels or a light blanket ... between mic and speaker
get the mic more OFF axis to the amp

we used to use Tea Towels on the snare

I'll duck the flames now
:wink:

I'm back
errr
tilt towards the floor/carpet and bounce to the mic ... soften the sound
acoustic filter thingies ... as above

duck the flames again 8)

' distortion to reinforce my guitar chords '
tricky
again
not my first choice for this job
try an overdrive pedal instead ... ' less is more ' here

experiment

Thanks Kev, that type of wisdom is what I'm looking for (being that I'm vastly under experienced in recording.) What type of mic would you recommend I use for recording guitar? I have a limited selection of mics and an even more limited budget. I've got a few dynamic vocal mics; a sennheiser, an audix and a shure (I don't know the exact model numbers, but I can find them if need be) all three of these mics are good quality. I also have a set of crappy Nady drum mics; condensers, bass drum mic, snare mic.

Shure SM57

but many of the dynamic mics will give a fair result

I have even used small speakers as substitutes for microphones

but just go for an industry standard of the simple SM57
mid speaker cone and a little off axis

then work on the tone from the Guitar/Amp combo

so many subtle changes to sound can be made with mic position and proximity to walls and floors
...
carpet and furnishing and hard floors and walls

this is even before you actually use a room mic

How about using a Pod or a V-Amp? I've never had any problems recording decent sounding distortion with them - and they're versatile enough to give you loads of other effects as well.