To put it simply, which do you prefer - OD or distortion?

Years ago I realized that especially when recording guitars, it usually pays to play with as little drive as one can just about get the kind of the sound one wants, because after micing, mixing with the others and compression layers it will be hugely more distorted than it sounded when playing.

It always results in much more clarity and also live I play with so little drive it is sometimes almost uncomfortable to play, i.e. the saturation hardly carries on the wailing etc. but I always get great comments and questions on how do I get such a clear yet very driven sound.

Myself I prefer OD always; live I use an 18W type all tube head which I drive hard with EMG pickups plus a compressor and sometimes even a clean boost - never ever use any distortion, but sometimes I've used an OD pedal like a Tubescreamer, OD-2 or lately Marshall Jackhammer on OD mode.

So which is your preference?