Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive

Easy as a Tube Screamer with one added control.

I use SG's and strats through a Rivera made Fender Concert and a Fender Blues Jr.

This is basically a TS-9 tube screamer with true bypass and an added control to dial in a blend of pure clean sound. It is fantastic. You can add just enough to bring some definition and clarity to the tone, which is already excellent.

In my opinion, this is the single best overdrive pedal ever made. What a fantastic idea. I cannot believe that no one had ever though about this before. The added clean control brigs a deep, big clarity to the distortion sound. It reminds me of Stevie Ray Vaughan a lot. Of course there are many ways to use the pedal. But the bottom line is that if you have a great guitar and great amp, and you are tired of overdrive pedals that mask the sound of your guitar, then THIS is your pedal.

Keep in mind there is NOT a lot of gain on board. It is very much an overdrive, NOT a distortion box. Compared to my Maxon Tubescreamer (with true bypass), the Sparkle drive sounded ALMOST identical when using just the overdrive side. The SD has a bit more low end and warmth though. Compared to my vintage Boss SD-1, the Sparkle has a bit less gain and crunch, but much more low end in the overdrive side. And as soon as you kick that clean side in there, the sound fattens up AMAZINGLY well. Provided of course, that you have a good fat clean sound to begin with. This is the type of pedal for people who have great tone to begin with, becasue it doesn't mask your tone.

I'll say it again: this is quite possibly the best overdrive box ever made. Forget about the Tube Screamer. This is the pedal. Man I love this box.

It looks like it was engineered great like all Voodoo Lab stuff. These guys are at the top of the game right now. Get their stuff while we are in the "golden age" of it. Mark my words.

I dalled them once about something completely different (a Micro Vibe...another great pedal) and they were REALLY nice at chatty. Very sweet and warm. Ane they know their shit too.

This pedal is great. If you want more gain which I can understand people wanting (this pedal has EXACTLY the same amount as a Tube Screamer, and a little less than a Boss SD-1 Super overdrive), Keely Electronics does a mod that boosts the gain. Sounds interesting. I was thinking of getting a second Sparkle Drive for a higher gain thing and keeping one more vintage. That's how good this pedal is. I'd buy two.

my only gripe is that the knobs are hard to adjust in the middle of a song and they are very easily moved if it is accidently bumped. the battery is a pain to get to, but i usually wall-wart it anyhow. otherwise, its my favorite & most used pedal

my usual setup is: american strat-sparkle drive-marshall BB2(sometimes)-RI super reverb. I like it simple & uncluttered. occasionally, i use a les paul loaded with duncan '59s but with this setup the strat sounds better IMO. anyway, the sparkle drive gives many different sounds depending on how its set. i like to adjust it so the notes sound clean but when they sustain they get a smooth overdrive as they decay. its perfect for the music i play.(blues & stuff like that). this pedal pretty much gives the super reverb that "edgy" SRV type tone, yet still manages to let the real tone of the guitar and amp come through. when i play through this pedal i usually just set it, kick it on & forget it. true bypass when its off is a nice plus. very transparent.

its built strong but the switch is mounted directly on the PC board. i'm pretty easy on my gear so no big deal to me but i've heard of problems with this from others. its USA made & all analog so in my book it gets huge points. i never worry about whether or not this thing is gonna work. i've had it almost a year & never a problem.

never dealt but voodoo lab has a cool website with soundbytes for their products

overall this pedal kicks ass. totally gives me the sound i need. i also plug it into smaller tube amps when i'm practicing at home & it still delivers the "edgy" type sound. i used to have a behringer solid state & with that amp it sounded a bit different.(still good) i could here the "two amps in one" description that voodoo lab gives, but when its driving a tube amp it takes the natural breakup of the amp and basically enhances it. another nice feature is when the drive is down & clean is up its a completely transparent boost pedal. i personally think its a little on the pricey side but it does do a great job. still, under $100 would've been nice. (this costs about $130 new).

This pedal is just like a tube screamer with the extra clean setting.If you turn the clean all the way down,it works like an original tube screamer.You get a boost with varying amounts of gain depending on how you set it.You also lose some bass,just like a ts.The cool thing aout this pedal, is that if you turn the tone and gain knobs all the way down and the clean to between 2&3 o'clock and the level to the amoont of boost you want,you get a real nice clean boost without losing any bass.There are also lots of settings in between to play with as well.

Sounds good.If you like the original tube screamer you'll love plus you get other options.

Bought it used, for around $60 at Guitar Center, used. Every once in a while they let a good deal slip through.

4 knobs. Simple. Mixing the clean & overdriven sounds is nothing more than listening for what you like..

I use this with a variety of setups. American Dlx fat strat, Roland Cube 100 (what a tank) at rehearsal and Line6 60/100 amp for gigs (forget the model) with a 90watt EV.

The best thing about this pedal is the way it works in series with other overdrive pedals, like a TS9, a Blues Devil, an orange Fulldrive, all of which I use depending on whatever.

With two overdrives in series, the Sparkle Drive adds the edge to a clean rhythm or pushes the overdrive over the top when the 2nd is kicked on. I set the Sparkle Drive at one level, the other overdrive for slightly more, or slightly less, depending on whatever. The two pedals give me four possibilities. off/off. off/on. on/off. and on/on. Each its own sound.

The SD is quiet.

I do blues mostly, and some classic rock / southern rock stuff. I want to hear the guitar's own tone, not just distortion. The SD is a great pedal for that.

On its own, it's not really a "lead" pedal. It's a little thin. And with the gain higher up, it becomes a little harsh. This pedal is at its best used in moderation.

Where was my sound going? It was cutting out now and then, then coming back. Cables? Power? Nope. Just last weekend I figured out what somebody else did here. The footswitch has a "problem." Haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I saw another Voodoo Labs pedal for sale on eBAY today that had replaced the "crap" footswitch with a good one. That might be the next step. I like the pedal. It looks indestructible, but it seems not to be. And the footswitch, if it's the problem (it is, 99% sure), has self-destructed because I'm easy on stuff. The pedal sits on an SKB pedal board and gets no abuse.

Haven't called them.

Might replace it, or I might try some other pedal, depending on whatever came along.

This thing makes my Twin Reverb sceam. "that's a good thing". The sounds are easy to get set the way you like.The manual is just a single piece of paper explaining very little.But then there is very little to explain.Simple is good!

Sound quality is good-great depending more on which amp-guitar setup you are using.The Fender Ultra with lace sensors is thick sounding with this.
The Reverand Slingshot Custom's P-90's are thick as well. The Telly is a little lighter but that's understandable. The Gibby's humbuckers are into superdrive with this pedal. In short it works well with any of the above .I have tried for years to get by with no pedals because the darn things just sounded fizzy to me. This unit doesn't. It will give you a boost either clean or with additional grit. Grit is the key word here. You can always hear your guitar notes just with a little more flavor.This is true whether you're a tube hound or a solid state kind of guy.

It seems to be solid. Most of my stuff through the years has held up so I must be fairly easy on it. With it being a fairly subtle device I could probably just keep on going without it as I am used to just plugging in straight anyway.

Never had a word to say to them as of now.It works!.

I play a little of everything. Light Rock, Some blues. Older country. Whatever. It will give me the grit I like without the LOUD volume.That's a definite plus.
I've been playing for 30 years off and on and I own too much gear!Mainly using this through a Fender Twin Reverb-Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket-Fender Vibrochamp or a Princeton Chorus." If it were swiped I'd probably check out a Reverend Drivetrain II. Chances are I'd be used to the Sparkledrive by then and would replace it.
I love the way it let's my "limited" lead stuff come out clear with just a little grit to it. I'd like to see the knobs recessed for their own safety. I like being able to add the clean boost into the overdrive.That's the reason I gave it a go in the first place.
I didn't like the other stuff I tried. Too numerous to mention over the years.
I would like just a little more gain but I'd probably use too much then.Better leave it alone.
Oh yeah! My wife said it sounded much cleaner than my main amps overdrive. Said it was a lot clearer.That's gotta be a first around here.I've only used it for a couple of weeks but if the sound's there it's there!This one stays here!

Very easy to use. I love it. It does exactly what I want it to do.

Great sound. Doesn't color my sound too much. I use two channel amps. I like the rhythm sound clean and use the overdrive of the amp for solos. Sometimes I need a little dirt on my clean sound. This is where the Sparkle Drive comes in. I use it to dirty up my clean sound without adding volume or color. I use other pedals for dirtier rhythm.

I've only had it for 5 months, but I haven't had any problems.

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it is really super simple.Turn the clean up for a nice boost that will add some some punch to your sound. Turn the gain up for... well... gain. COOL PART COMING UP IN SOUND QUALITY
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I have a Epihone les paul and a custom strat going to > danelectro cpmpressor > original crybaby > Sparkle drive > boss metalzone > Dod chorus> danelectro pscho flange> Marshall AVT50. Overall if you are looking for a cool overdrive that sounds really really nice and smooth and gives you punchy sustaining solos, go with the Ibanez tube screamer. It is a little bit better than the sparkle drive. BUT... If you want a pedal that not every single person has, one where you can mix the gain and clean (you can hear both sounds seperate from each other it is GREAT for adding a little snap to your solos.) Don't get me wrong it stills sounds really warm, really vintage, but the tube screamer just has a little something extra. If you wondering why I didn't get the tube screamer, its because is didn't react well with my amps overdrive. You have to hear this clean gain mixing. Its awsome!!!! This pedal has silent switching, and true bypass. I am pretty sure its analog too. GO TO GUITAR CENTER TRY THEM!!!!!!!! AND THEN WHEN THE COUNTER GUYS AINT LOOKIN' STUFF THEM BOTH IN YOU PANTS AND WALK CASUALLY OUT OF THE STORE.

seems super solid

This pedal won't give you metal if your looking for that.
Try the tube screamer as well.

The pedal is very simple to use. Plug n play.

I use it as a pre-amp to hit the front end of my Marshall DSL201 combo or Marshall stack, or Fender Super Reverb. It sounds great in front of any of them. It opens up your sound, making the amp more harmonic and responsive to your playing. I think it is the easiest pre-amp out there, turn down the overdrive and turn up the clean output for the clean boost you want to get the strat singing or the Les Paul crankin'.

The mail order company sent it with the wrong power adaptor and it fried it. Not Voodoo Labs fault. The mail order company sent me another one with the correct adaptor and its great.

Never spoke to Voodoo about the power supply issue, it wasnt'their fault.

Works great, sounds great, easy to use. Everyone uses a pre-amp to hit a tube amp to get better tone. Get a Sparkle Drive and live.

This Pedal Rules! for specs and sound samples go to musictoyz.com

I use this pedal in front of a fender pro reverb and a G&L Legacy and this is te sound I've been looking for, ths will give you SRV, Hendrix, trower and much much more, You can dial in a clean sound with the distortion, it's like playing through two amps, simply the best pedal I've ever heard,I traded in a Fulltone for this puppy w/ no regrets

Just got it, don't know

?

I've been playing for 40 years plus and been through every piece of gear out there, some I wish i never got rid of & could find again.Been through all the Amp modeling gear, line six, Tech 21, johnson etc.and it's gonna be a long time before they come even close to a good tube amp with a good stomp box. I've bought the Voodoo Labs sparkle drive, super fuzz and analog chorus and they are "BAR NON" he best sounding pedals I have ever heard, and guess what, they are
inexpensive considering the price for value ratio
traded a fulltone which sounded good, but for my tastes the Vodoo Labs rules, if these pedels were lost or stolen, I would instantly replace them after I hunted down the dirty rotten scoundrels who stold
them and....well,i don't want to think about losig them.
Cheers!