Hey all! I play blues and country and I am looking for opinions and information on the voodoo lab sparkle drive. It looks cool. Should I buy this, or save my nickels and dimes for a fulltone fulldrive 2? I love overdrive, and hate distortion.

Mojoman

I heard the Sparkle Drive recently and it is really sweet.I know someone who owns a Fulldrive and I am not crazy about his sound.I either want the Sparkle Drive or the Maxon OD808 reissue.I compared them both side by side and the Sparkle Drive was very close to the Maxon's tone,although slightly less compressed and a bit more gain.Both use that JRC4558 chip in them.I just want to hear which pedal sounds better with my Strat and Marshall setup.Any opinions between the Maxon or Voodoo Lab?

if you like the basic tubescreamer tone (i don't) you'll LOVE the sparkledrive....the ability to blend back in the clean signal really makes it something better then the rest of the tubescreamertype pedals....i really don't like the sound of tubescreamers with british style amps, but the sparkledrive might just be the one i could make work......it's the one i'd go for if i liked that sound, heck it was so cool i almost bought it and i don't really like that sound.....

take care
dave

I own both the Sparkle Drive & The Maxon OD808. In general I prefer the Sparkle Drive,but I can still find a use for the Maxon. It seems to be geared toward more of a trebly tone than the Sparkle Drive. The Sparkle Drive makes my tweed Deluxe roar,when the amp is turned up. I like the clean boost blend feature. You could set the Overdrive portion to whatever sound you like & then add or subtract the amount of "sparkle" you choose. At full on,the boost is clean & strong. With the boost fully off,the drive is pretty darn gutsy. It's entirely up to you to decide how much Sparkle you like with your Drive.

fyi the fulldrive has the 4558 chip also. the sparkle drive is a great pedal. just got mine. goes great with a quality fuzz pedal too.

How is the range on the tone control of the Sparkle Drive vs. the Maxon OD808?Also,I borrowed my friend's OD808 and compared to the DOD 250 reissue I had,the Maxon had a very quick attack time where the DOD you had to fight with single note lines.The Maxon was more flutey with my single coils.Do you think the Sparkle Drive might have that same type of feel?

Let me do a little A/B thing with the Sparkle Drive & the Maxon & I'll get back with you. I'll listen for a "flutey" tone,as well as for the tonal range. It sounds like you may already like the Maxon. I prefer the Sparkle Drive myself & it is less expensive. They're both pretty nice though. I hate to say things like "That pedal sucks" or whatever. Let's say I was very pleased with the Maxon until I got the Sparkle Drive. I know that it helps to have a good amp to begin with.

Hi,I still have not been able to hear the Sparkle Drive through my 50watt Marshall plexi,but I did hear the Maxon which I liked,I tried a used Sparkle Drive at the music store against the Maxon and thought the Voodoo Lab sounded better but through their amp,and the pedal was sold the next day.Also,what do you like better about the Sparkle Drive vs. the Maxon? Is it more organic?

Last night,when I got home from work,I A/B'd those two pedals,using as close to your setup as I have. I played my Fralin equipped Strat into a JMP 100 watt master volume Marshall,into 2 1x12" cabs w/Celestion Classic 80's,maybe more info than you need. At that time I couldn't honestly tell the difference,but I was tired & not really tuned in myself. I just tried them today,with a fresh set of ears,& the Maxon sounds a bit more rough,which can be a good thing. I left the clean boost of the Spatkle Drive completely off,to judge the overdrive side of it. It was more smooth to my ears,but you could tell that they were both trying to imitate the same pedal. With the knobs in the same positions,the two pedals sounded very similar. That surprised me,since they are from different manufacturers. I would say that if you could afford only one,go with the Sparkle Drive,as it is less expensive,offers the great sounding clean boost feature,is true bypass,& is an American product,if that sort of thing matters to you. The Maxon is very capable of getting a cool tone,even a bit more on the raunchy side. For curiosity's sake I A/B/C'd the two against my Hotcake. The Hotcake sounded better with a Marshall to me at that moment in time,as far as the raunchy toned stuff goes. I'd at least listen to the sound files on the Hotcake before buying anything. Musictoyz sells them & has the soundfiles. I didn't learn of Musictoyz until after I had already purchased my Hotcake through the manufacturer in New Zealand. He's a cool guy,used to play in a band called Split Enz I believe. That's a bit off the subject. I hope my little opinions help you decide which pedal you'd like to purchase. I have enjoyed reading other people's opinions,& have learned of some interesting gear through this board. Thanks to all who contribute.

Thank you SPD and by the way my Strats are Fralinized too!

Cool! I use the Blues Specials with a reverse magnet stagger,& I really love the tone. Which Fralins do you use,just curious?

I have the vintage hots.I had the blues specials but they were a little dark which is good because I am a Blackmore fan.

I guess the vintage hots had a tad more treble which I wanted at the time.Most of my friends have Fralins and the blues specials do sound great.I also have the basplate option.

I have a maple fingerboard,so the Blues Specials don't sound too dark to me. I actually have them in the neck & bridge positions,along with a Duncan Little'59 in the middle. I have the switch wired so that in the center switch position I have the (RWRP)neck & bridge together & the humbucker is in the switch position usually thought of as the bridge position. Basically I just swapped the lead wires of the bridge & middle pickups. I also have the Fralin blend pot which allows a blend of the neck & middle pickups. I can get most of the regular Strat tones,plus I can blend in the sound of the humbucker. It's kind of cool.