Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive

It's easy to dail in the tone you are looking for. After playing around for my first 20 minutes with this pedal, I was able to find 2 or three nice settings with some simple knob turning.

My guitar of choice is a G&L hollow ASAT (Tele style) with dual humbuckers installed. I feed the signal through a 120watt Crate Vintage club head on top of a 2x12 loaded with a Vintage 30 and an Eminence Legend.<br>
I mostly set the clean fairly low and the gain up around 2 or 3 o'clock. My tone setting is set around 1-3 o'clock. This gives me a great hot 'n balanced attack that reminds me of a Keith Richards, Joe Perry, or Tom Petty rhythmn sound.<br>
The response is very even. The clean boost really helps the treble sing and to bring out each note when playing individual strings. When compared to a TS9 TS808 (which I sold after being pushed off of my pedal board by the Sparkle Drive) the bass response is fatter and the mids less harsh. It's quieter too. Same goes for the Boss DS or OD pedals (a couple of my buddies on more of a budget play these) You can't beat the high quality analog circuitry of this pedal.

No issues at all after a couple years of use. The switch and knobs still operate like new, and the durable case seems to be very resistant to wear.

Never had to deal with customer support. The packaging and simple manual is nice and their website is sensible and useful. Judging by that, I would guess that their customer support is rather adept as well.

I play all types of rock music from classic to more modern, but mostly rock in the style of the Ramones, the Jam, or U2. Sometimes I play Beatles, Stones, and Zeppelin style rock. I mainly play bass, but I record some rhythmn guitar tracks as well. This pedal is versatile enough to work quite well for pretty much anything I play that requires a bit of a harder edge or requires more of a hard rock vibe. It can do both very well. I haven't done too much experimentation with a straight clean boost and less dirt, but it works very well at doing what I require it to do.<br>
I would [i]highly[/i] recommend this pedal to anybody who might be considering an Ibanez or Boss pedal. The price is higher, but the sacrifice in dollars is really made up for in quality and depth of tone.

It's very easy to use its just got so many possibilities in terms of setting. Not at all an "all knobs on 11" type pedal just cuz' thats not its thing, but also engaging the clean all the way will make it into a clean boost only.

I have to rate this a 10. Silly it seems but i've been without an amp for quite a while and just was reading these reviews and remembering how much fun this thing is. It definately has a tube screamer sound but idk, it's hard for me to just call it a "clone screamer." When i had amps i had a Marshall DSL 1x12 combo and a little 10 watt crate practice amp. I'd say that overdrive at about 3o'clock and clean at about 9-11o'clock was my favorite setting, i liked its tube screamer sound with the clean added in to add some bite, like real complexity to the sound.
My cousin (old enough to be my uncle with kids my age) happened to score an amp off an old lady. It was broken as far as she knew, and he didnt and doesnt really know amps (counrty music guy all acoustic) so he bought it off her for 100 bucks. Its only problem was the power cord needed to be replaced: IT WAS A VINTAGE BLACKFACE FENDER SUPER REVERB!!! He lent it to my dad to play around with a bit and when i plugged the sparkle drive into that bad boy GOOD LORD! Instant SRV i kid you not lol! My dad played with it more than i did when i did this, he even liked using it for country and kicking it in for quick little solo runs when he and my cousin and their band (all related) played out... borrowing it for days at a time and once in a while forgetting it at my cousin or uncle's houses...
Oh btw almost forgot a word on guitars:
Fender Jag-Stang with stock neck and Seymour JB, sounded good nice rock feel throught the DSL and was the first way id experienced "Stevie" in my kitchen with my dad and the Super LOL(i was the biggest nirvana fan at the time)
Washburn Bt8: stock: marshall: again a good sound with humbuckers driving it tho this guitar still needs to be fixed as the bridge cuts out.
Cousin's American Strat: Super:WOW! read above! this was awesome, for me it was damn near religious lol.
I played all these guitars with the pedal through the crate too, it did its thing well enough at bedroom levels but it shined with just a little more push from the louder amps.

Well i can't really give an opinion here. I never gigged with it tho my dad did and it held up well. I'd heard bad things about the switches even when i bought it but its been without batteries in the bottom of a milk crate collecting dust for quite a lil while unfortunately.

Never dealt with them.

Man i loved this thing. I play rock of all sorts and i love the blues. For a blues style this thing is killer, and my dad even liked it for his country. For rock or harder rock (i liked bands like Nirvana, Foo Fighters and a bunch o' punk guys at the time tho havin a country guitar playin dad my tastes were always broad)its good for a mellow sort of feel. I've been playing about 10 years now, and i have a bunch or crunch pedals. I have a Hot cake, a Rat, a Sustain punch creamy dreamer and they are all just different animals. As i said i've been between amps for quite a little while. At one point i stopped playin little shows with my friends and since they all had one amp or another (most louder than my little Marshall dsl even if i loved that thing) i figured what the hell i need money for my student loan i'll sell it and just use ev1 elses amp. The crate was my sister's boyfriend's who became her ex-boyfriend: bye bye practice amp. And the Super Reverb as never mine to begin with tho i had more than my fun with it.
And that brings me to the big point and the reason i wanted to "Gush" on this pedal after having it for so long: FUN. Playing with this pedal was so much fun wish i had an amp just so i could break it out again. It has alot of range and the mix of sound is pretty wide, tho its not a do-all pedal like the hotcake which can go unbelievable clean boost-crunch-distortion-raging wall of fuzz. And this thing, i dunno how to say it. It doesnt make your gear sound like your gear, it makes it sound like your gear played through THIS pedal, tho thats kinda any 808 Tube screamer in my experience.
anyway to me this pedal was alot of fun and i recommend it to any1 looking for a ts808 ts9ish sound, or just lookin for a "Stevie" sound. LOL! Cyall later

Pretty straight forward- level,tone,drive,clean--the clean option is a nice idea but it should have it's own tone control.

You can get good sounds out of this pedal but when compared to my TS-10 and Boss OD-1 it sounds ordinary. It has a very hard, uncompressed solid state sound to it. I have two Warmoth guitars(Strat w/Van Zandts,semi-hollow tele w/Fralin P-90&PRS McCarty humbucker)I play through a modified 66 Fender Bassman head/Peavy classic 4x10 w/mojotones A/B'd with a modded Peavy classic 30/Mesa 2x12 w/greenbacks. Effects go Sparkle Drive-TS10-Deluxe Memory Man-Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter-Maxon AD999 delay-Boss DD-6-Digitech Digiverb.I am not using my OD-1 because it needs a new switch. What really seems to help the Sparkle Drive for me is running it after my TS-10. However this takes away the clarity of the TS-10, so I have no choice but to put before the TS-10. I set the clean at 9o'clock,Drive at 10o'clock and use it as little as possible.

No problems yet but I don't use it much-I've read many reviews where people have problems w/ the switch. I plan to sell it when my OD-1 is fixed.

I play alot of different styles of music-blues,jazz fusion,funk,prog-rock,prog-metal,celtic folk rock,etc.I play out regularly and record alot at home. This pedal acually sounds better when I'm recording at low to medium levels at home w/ a smaller amp. With my live setup I find myself wearing out the switch on my TS-10 and I miss my OD-1 dearly. When I bought this pedal I tried it through a Mesa Nomad,a Vibrolux and a Traynor and it sounded pretty good so maybe it just doesnt like my setup. I just think there are much better pedals out there for the price. TS-10w/JRC4558-$30 used.Boss OD-1w/JRC4558-$60 used. These are over 15 years old and I've only encountered one malfunction w/them.Acording to the reviews it seems the Crackle Drive only lasts for about 6 months before you have to replace the switch after moderate use. You can mod it but that would put the overall price around $200-not worth it in my opinion. If you you have that much $ to spend on a OD pedal get a Durham Sex Drive or 3 or 4 used TS-10s-not that the TS-10 is a great pedal but even the ones w/ the cheaper op amp chips have a more natural tube like tone than this pedal.

very easy to use..i found my "sweet spot" and have marked the setting.

I have a number of good OD pedals incluning TS808/TS9/Analogman and Keeley modded ts9/fulltone etc and this is as good as any. Its real strength is the clean boost which sounds extremely sweet and you can dial in just enough dirt to juice it up without losing jangle and ..well sparkle in fact!..the tubescreamer style dirt is good and in same league as the other pedals mentioned above.cleans up beautifully on turning down.used with cornford hurricane and BF deluxe and super reverbs.

well main reason for writing is to confirm the switch problem but also how well voodoo lab help out...I bought this used and have no idea how old it is and i told them so..despite this they were very helpfull and mailed me a replacement switch all the way to England..HOWEVER ,...ive now had the replacement switch go wrong as well ...and i dont mistreat them honest!..fitting the switch is a DIY job if you are careful but you need to carefully destroy the old switch so you can desolder its six contacts from the board so you are not going to do this in the pub,in the dark,between sets,after 3 pints of lager while chatting up the drummers girlfriend [nb bad idea anyway...drummers like hitting things!]

see above ..best service ive ever had..mind you the most times ive ever needed to contact a manufacturer.

This is an excelent pedal which is as good as any pedal of its type that ive come across.Its great for that singing sparkly just breaking up tone and works really well with a nice clean valve/tube amp.cleans up well and has something unique with that lovely clean sound to blend with the dirt.Guitar player magazine I think gave this an editors pick and they were right!..However there is clearly an issue with the switches breaking at regular intervals for some reason ..pedal is good enough to have a spare and replace the switch every so often...Id definately replace it if stolen..essential.

4 knobs...come on now.

this pedal is fantastic. if you have a blackface setup, this is it. i've done the whole maxon, ts808, sd-1...the whole gamut. this and the original marshall bluesbreaker and maybe the visual sound pedals are my favorites. it has a little less mid hump than a 808 and a bit more fidelity to the gain. this pedal sounds great low gain, boost or dimed out. I almost want two...but i use a cheaper pedal for the boost.

i have some quality gear and this is it...very good pedal.

Because of the massive versatility and array of tones on offer you may find yourself twiddling the wrong knob to find a rare and fresh sound, though getting a basic crunch or overdrive is pretty simple.

I'm using an Gibson SG standard and a Fender Blues Junior.
It produces anything from a clean boost to a rock crunch. Each note on my guitar seems to cut through. The pedal sounds a lot like a BOSS OD-1 (which is a quality overdrive), though the sparkle drive has more sounds on offer with it having a tone knob and clean knob. Also this pedal is true bypass and it works 100% great.

Built like a block of iron.

I hear VOODOO LAB are great with customer support though I haven't needed it.

I got it off Ebay for a bargain price though if it were lost I would by one new straight away, full price. It's a fantastic overdrive with millions of tones on offer and the true bypass makes it all the better. I recommend getting one if you are looking for a lifetime overdrive.

I've reviewed this pedal before, love it, read down for what I've been wanting to add...

Great, a little smooth for some tastes maybe, but that also depends on your amp and guitar....

so here's where I just wanted to add a new note...I'd had the pedal for about a year and a half or so, and the engage switch started wigging out...the "on" light would flare up, but my sound would just vanish...if you jiggled it, eventually it would come back on, but clearly I had the same basic faulty switch problem that everybody has had...bummer, but read on....

....so I called them, very friendly guy immediately answers the phone, I never registered this thing, they have no history on me or when I bought, and there going to do the repair and send it back to me for free....super helpful and nice. this is really important, because no matter how well your gear is built, and the sparkle drive is built as well as anyof them, the excrement is going to hit the appliance periodicly and your going to need it fixed...voodoo labs is the most helpful company i've ever interacted with. highly recommend their gear.

jazz, noisy fusion, indie rock, etc......for six years or so.
would def. buy it again.

Plug in and turn the knobs,You wont find a bad sound here

Ive been seaching for the ULTIMATE boost for solos,THIS IS IT!I have a Mesa Dual Rectifier ,Marshall TSL 2000,and 50watt JCM 800.This pedal KILLS on the Boogie.Adds great sustain without changing the sound of the amp.Very subtle,transparent and makes notes "jump" out of the cabinet.Ive tried many OD and boost pedals but this sounds the best by far.With the TSL its a little noisey,but still great.On the 800,which is a lower gain amp,it sounds good but ,like other reviewers stated,this isnt gonna change a lower gain amp into a screaming metal amp.But if your a metal player with a great high gain amp and an ear for great tone,this pedal will take solos "over the top"

seems tough enough,but I always seem to have problems with these type of switches,we'll see...

N/A ,havent had to deal with them

My only negative comment is that the knobs are close together and have a "loose" feel,they could easily be moved with your foot during a gig,havent giged with it yet,so I'll have to see..I own or have owned a Boss od-3,Boss super od,Ibanez ts-9,Boss graphic eq,Boss blues driver,Dunlop zakk wylde,dod yngwie,MXR micro amp,marshall guvner,proco Rat,and others and if you lookin to just give your amp a natural sounding "boost",this pedal is the best ive tried.

very easy. set your gain and tone then blend in clean or (articulation) as I think it should be called.

setup as follows.
gibson sg standard
sparkle drive
fulltone clyde deluxe
boss dd-6
boss ce-2
boss tu-2
eh holy grail
Orange rocker 30.

I prefer the sound of my dirty channel on my amp by itself. I use the sparkle drive to bring out my effects more. My amp is really stripped down and doesn't have a loop. because of this the Wah especially doens't sound as good by itself without the overdrive in front of it. I was using a tone sucking stock boss super-overdrive which actually sounded great with the wah, but nothing else. Anyway, long story short this pedal if more than i had hoped for. I find that i'm leaving in on all the time. it really breathes extra clarity and complex harmonics into your sound. sometimes i use it on my dirty channel to push me into the zakk wylde range. I'm glad I got this instead of the fulltone I was looking at. double the price.

Only had it for a couple of days now. seems solid. high quality parts throughout.

I've dealt with these guys once before. Awesome. I needed some different cables for my pedal power 2. they called me back within 5 minutes and sent me the stuff i needed for free. couldn't ask for more. Much better than Fulltone.

exactly what i was looking for.

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I submitted a review about a year and a half ago. I love the Sparkle Drive and use it primarily as a boost/light overdrive. I got the Keeley mod which perhaps gave the sound a little bit more gain and articulation, but IMHO it didn't change the sound as drastically as some reviewers said.
Anyway, the main reason I'm writing is because I'm mighty impressed with their customer service. The footswitch became faulty (intermittent) after about a year. I called Voodoo Lab and left a voicemail message - they called back in about 15 minutes. I sent the pedal in, and as it was still under warranty, they replaced the switch for free and got it back to me within a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, the switch went again after a few months. No, I don't weigh 300 lbs. or abuse it!!! I called Voodoo Lab earlier today and again they got back to me in 15 minutes. Even though the unit is no longer under warranty, they are still going to fix it for free!!! As I have had terrible customer service experiences with other companies (Zoom and Steinberg immediately come to mind), it gives me hope in humanity when a company actually cares about it's customers.
I hope no one takes this as a knock against the quality of the footswitches that Voodoo Lab uses. I haven't read the hundred or so reviews so I don't know if this an issue, but shit does wear down and break in this here universe. Point is, they are going to fix it for free, and I didn't have to wait 2 or 4 weeks (or never) for a response and deal with any attitudes. Thanx Voodoo Dudes!!!!!