Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive

I found this at a pawn shop today like new for $39. Didn't buy it, went home and read about it online. Rushed bach to buy it! Watched a YouTube video showing the ease of use- It's basically a TS808 with a blender knob (Clean) which lets you pan between the TS808 op amp (a JRC4558D, like the old Tube Screamers) and a clean boost sound which has it's own different op amp. Simple.

With the single-coils on my 2007 Reissue Gibson Melody Maker, the pedal gives you sounds like SRV or many other classic Strat sounds. I'm no longer considering pickup replacement for clean or dirty sounds. I've got the best of both worlds.

I had bought one of those Vox AC50CP2 hotrods with the EL34 tubes because it was vintage-vibe-cool-looking and they had 60% off blemished items at Musician's Friend Clearance Center ($191 plus tax for a 50-watt, 2x12 Vox with dual reverb controls and EL34 Ruby Tubes!), but I couldn't quite get a really decent sound out of it- UNTIL NOW.

I set up the clean channel of the Vox like an old single-channel amp, with the Sparkle Drive for gain boost and the amp came alive! It growls nicely when you hit it hard, and sings sweet when you lighten up your touch. WOW!! I can hardly Believe it, it sounds so cool.

Blending the clean sound in gives you a hugely expanded palette of timbres to choose from. I remember reading years ago where SRV said he knew it sounded crazy, but he could get better clean sounds with his Tube Screamer ON than when it was OFF. This will do that. You can get a Tube Screamer, but it won't have the Clean blend knob or True Bypass. This pedal DOES.

I don't know about reliability yet, we'll see- It works great so far.

I haven't dealt with the manufacturer, but they offer a 5-year warranty, so they must be willing to stand behind their product.

I'm basing this on the fact that I paid $39 for it. It's well over a $100 new. I still think it's an incredibly good pedal all the way around. I don't know how it reacts with humbucking pickups, but if you play a Tele or Strat, I think you will LOVE the sounds you can get with this. Listen to the YouTube demos, then rush out to get YOURS..!

very straightforward, simply dial in the tone you want

Very nice overdirve; no heavy distortion here, but also almost no background noise as well

3 - Switch broke after 1 year, gain pot failed after 6 weeks...

I also find it very annoying that you have to unscrew it to change the battery - this seems to be either a skimp on production cost in a fairly expensive pedal, or a cheap ploy to sell a transformer. Even my cheap DOD pedals have a decent battery door...

I too, dealt with a rep that must have been the same the "Josh" character, and he was an *incredibly* condescending jerk. Eventually it was fixed, but it took a month. As a result, I'll never buy anything from VooDoo Labs again. They are Evil.

Blues and experimental rock/ambient

15 years - G&L, Danelectro, Marshall JTM, Digitech 2101 LE, Victoria 5112; Moog ringmod, many stompboxes, Pignose...

It's a nice sounding pedal that seems very well made, but isn't nearly as reliable as its appearance would make it seem.

No

Nice sound - when it works

Customer service was the *absolute worst* I've ever experienced.

4 knobs, 1 in, 1 out, & a foot switch. . .

Excellent. I only wish it had some kind of A/B thing like a Jeckell/Hyde so you could bump the clean or overdrive or both.

Like many others, the foot switch went out after a couple of years.

5 year warranty. They were a little slow in getting it done, but fixed it for free even though I broke one of the pots (and confessed) while trying to fix it myself. I was very pleased. This is the kind of company I want to do business with. #@$@ happens, what counts in this world is how you deal with it when it does.

Play blues & rock in cover bands for almost 30 years. Have an assortment of guitars, Strats, Teles, Gibson SG & 335, Yairi & Guild acoustics, etc. Play mostly thru Fender tube amps. At $140, it's not the cheapest stompbox out there but it's worth the money IMHO.

i've owned this pedal for 6 hours.. been playing with it for about 2 hours at most. the switch is acting up.. muting the signal completely when trying to turn the effect on or off. and i'm not stomping hard.. or wearing shoes. completely. effing. useless.

we'll see.. i've emailed them. and i'll happily report back if it gets sorted quickly and efficiently. but this serves as a warning for any people looking to buy this pedal in the meantime.

essentially, buy this pedal knowing the switch will bug out and need replacing.

Relatively simple to use. 4 knobs etc. no doubt there are numerous other reviews to further simplify the dial in.

First, let me say I am a non professional but enjoy better gear and tone. I find my playing enjoyable and fulfilling. I am fortunate enough to have a good amount of gear but my main steady set up is as follows; Bassman Ltd, with a line out to a blackface Vibro-King, then using external speaker line into a Gibson Super Goldtone half stack bottom (2-12s an 2-10inch Celestions. Stomps now consist of a Fulltone Fulldrive, Fulltone Deja-Vibe and for a little extra depth, a Danecho. I play a Gibson 57 RI Goldtop LP with Burstbuckers, Gibson 56 RI Goldtop LP with P90s and a 62 RI Fiesta Red Strat with Customshop 69s. The tone of this setup is nothing short of the voices of Angles with serious attitude and I DO mean attitude. My main pedal (the reason for the review) USED to be a Sparkle Drive. More on that below. Remember the sound rating is for the Sparkle Drive, not my rig.

3 or so years into non pro use, the gain circuit began to fail and sent the pedal in for service. Not the end of the world, **** happens. Hence the 6

Heres where it gets ugly. Receptionist at VooDoo was very polite and accommodating.
I send the pedal back with a clear explanation of the issue. After the obligatory 3 week wait, I am told the "vacations, busy, we will get to it barrage of BS" I finally get the pedal back. circuit is apparently repaired but the volume control is ineffective from 0 to 4, then the climb. This is clearly not the way it worked and I call back VooDoo and request it be returned and properly repaired or replaced, which they agree to do. Thats great, thanks a lot. But to my surprise and customer reward, the "Head tech," Josh decides that I have a perception problem and I am obviously wrong as this is the way the pedal always worked for the last 3 years and cannot understand why I am not happy. After a lengthy and now rudely guided conversation by Josh, he clearly gave in, just to shut me up by agreeing to make an internal "adjustment" this one time. I feel they rude treatment is unjust and not professional. I have been playing a long time, have good gear and preeminent in my professional life. I do not applicate being treated like a fool by some self appointed "genius" who`s previous employment was most likely sucking the farts out of bus seats. Josh, you must learn that what goes around, comes around.

While the Sparkle Drive Pedal served its purpose in its day and got acceptable tone and vibe, the lesson learned here is 2 fold. Lesson 1; The absolutely rude and insulting treatment was enough for me to sacrifice whatever benefit the Sparkle Drive brought into my enjoyment and yank it on principle and feel completely justified to share with the musical community my "delightful" customer experience. Lesson 2; Yanking the pedal gave me the opportunity to audition and acquire the true upgrade to perhaps the best of the best in class, being the Fulltone Mosfet FullDrive. Honestly, if I remove Josh`s suckass attitude out of the equation, the Fulltome is without question a superior pedal, well worth the few extra dollars. In a perverse kind of way, I thank you Josh for guiding me to better tone with the FullDrive. Hence the 3
VooDoo, Give that Josh a raise as he really earned it this time.

Very Easy! Four Knobs... Volume, Gain, Mix (Clean and Dirty Signals), and Tone.

This is a great TS808 clone with the added benefits of a Tru Bybass and a Clean Level to mix a clean signal back in with the distorted signal. Very dynamic with picking nuances. Sounds like a part of you gain stage on your tube amplifier. Works best with EL84 and El34 power tubed amps. Very Quite when engaged.

So far so good! But I have heard that the switch can go if you pound it too much!

I play blues rock. Playing for about 25 years. My signal chain is Fender Strat with Fralin Blues Specials, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, MXR - Phase 90 - Dyna Comp - Classic 108 Fuzz, Boss Tremolo - Dynamic Wah, Maxon AD-9 analog delay, Korg Pitchblack tuner, into a Peavey Classic 30 combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30.

This is the only TS808 clone I will ever play!

Simple enough even for guitar players to figure out! Pretty bare bones. Less is more.

Fantastic. First, keep in mind, what it *is*, and what it *isn't*. It's a TS-808 clone, with an added clean boost feature / mix. It's an overdrive pedal, NOT a distortion pedal. If you've got big hair, pointy guitars, and spandex leg warmers, this may not be the pedal for you. It's also just plain not going to sound very good at bedroom levels - its forte is in pushing an overdriven tube amp. I've owned original 808s, snot green TS-9s, reissues, modded reissues, and for me, this is the best so far. The TS changes the sound so much that the "blend" control is so useful, even out the loss of bass and the infamous "mid hump" in the TS. With the blend control, this offers all the sounds of an '808, with far more flexibilty *and* true bypass, in lieu of buffering. For me it's a great improvement on the original. Sold an original 808, kept the SD. 'nuff said.

Heard problems about the footswitch. Assume this was on earlier models, no problems with mine so far.

Haven't dealt with them.

Overall, I think this one really deserves a "10". I've had original TS, reissues, and a plethora of other manufacturers' takes on the basic circuit - this is my personal favorite. Whether it's a '66 Super Reverb, a Tweed Bassman, or a Marshall (I'm fond of the Blockhead '63 Split Front and THD Plexi, myself), to paraphrase SRV, "use big strings, turn it up, and floor it".

This is an update to my previous review. See "Reliability" section.

See "Reliability" section.

The switch is starting to go bad......as feared, after reading many reviews. I bought my SD used from an eBay auction, so i saved some money; but not knowing what it went through prior to me, i knew i was taking a risk.

I e-mailed Voodoo Lab about it, and i got an encouraging response, which said i can ship it to them for a free fix (i pay one-way shipping.) If/when the switch goes completely, i'll take them up on this offer.

See my 1st (recent) review. Everything i said there still stands; but now that the switch has become an issue, my rating goes down.

The FIRST thing to understand about the Sparkle Drive (SD), is that it IS a TS-808. Pure and simple, it's a TS-808....INCLUDING the venerable "Mid-Hump". If you absolutely don't like the TS-808, you WON'T like the SD. Even WITH its "Clean" pot, you still won't really like it. You can find a way to live with it, but ultimately, you won't like it - it will lose its slot on your board, and you'll sell it.

NOW.... if you DO like what a TS-808 can do with your sound - the way its own overdrive circuit sounds; the way it interacts with your amp; the way your guitar(s) sound pumping their signal through it - then you'll REALLY like the SD, because the SD gives you much added contouring of your sound. The interaction of the Clean pot with the Gain is THE key to success with the SD. (You???ll also find that the "Tone" and "Volume" pots react very differently from your standard OD pedal, depending on how you use the Clean & Gain pots.) There's much to be had sonically in this regard ... from a boosted clean sound, to mild grit, to more saturated grind. Your guitar will retain its character with the SD. BUT.... i say this once more ... you've got that inevitable "Mid Hump" to deal with. (I had been away from TS's for a long time; and that mid-hump jumped out the pedal and bit me in the butt???..OUCH.)

SO.....that's my take on the SD. I like it, and I can live with the mid's. I can feed its signal into other pedals and get some really nice dirt. I can feed a booster into the SD and get some REALLY nice sounds that way. I can EQ it externally and turn it into a different-sounding beast altogether. I can get all manner of grit out of it, with clarity.

In short: IT WORKS.

See 'Ease of Use'.

No opinion, per se. I haven't had any problem with the switch, so who knows?

No opinion.

See 'Ease of Use'.

i got my sparkle drive about a week ago, and i'll say that this pedal is a steal. i sold a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde to buy it. i got it used at a local music store for 100 USD. Mine hasn't been modded and honestly i don't plan on it, ever.

I use a A.S. Fender Stratocaster> 1996 Epiphone Sheraton> Boss TU2> Line 6 DL4> VOODOO LABS SPARKLE DRIVE> Ibanez TS9> Boss Tremolo> 90's Peavey Classic 50. This pedal is possibly the quietest overdrive pedal i've ever heard, even with single coils. i run everything pretty much at 12 o'clock, give or take, i keep it on most of the time, and when i need a little more OD, i stitch on the TS9, which is run.. gain 25%>tone 50%>level 60%.. and its perfect for me, but if i had the cash for two, the TS9 would be sold in a heartbeat... Or maybe just docked for a while. I'll give it a 9 because who knows, there's probably something a little better, never know.

I read all the reviews about the switch breaking, and with that in mind, i thing a little lighter of a foot could be used guys, seriously, don't bash the damn thing.

But yes, I depend on it, and if it ever breaks, I'll send it off, and they'll fix it.

I would use it without a backup any day.

never dealt

I play blues, folk, lighter rock, nothing too harsh, MuteMath, etc.. its beyond perfect for me, a pat on the back for selling the J&H. I've been playing for 7 years, But i've learned alot about tone over the years, i mentioned the gear i have previously. i'd definitely get another one if it were stolen of lost.

I love love love the Clean feature.. The only thing i hate about it is that I don't have two.

I compared this to the Jekyll and Hyde, and Ibanez TS9, nuff said.

I just wish it had a Cloning feature that would at any wanted time clone another one for free. :)

i'll say it helps make music, you can't help but to souund good with this thing.

If you think this pedal sounds bad then I'll personally transport myself to your location somehow and stomp on your foot really hard and spit in your hair..