Where would I start/What parts do I need to buy to produce an MI sounding overdrive pedal? What stuff do I need other than just a soldering tool[I have a torch with various heads]? I'm eager to sit down and start making my own brand of pedals and things to experiment with different types of effects I can make.

Do you mean changing the size and power of the capacitor/resistor?

I get you for the most part. But when you say change the values, how would I do that? Meaning what kind of parts am I going to need to change the distortion?

Anyone know how to mod the gain/distortion circuit to achieve hi gain output instead of sloppy over-mud?