The Inspired Story of the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive - Ask Zac 180

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The Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive is one of the best overdrive pedals of all time due to its groundbreaking clean mix control. Released in December of 2000, it could cover the standard TS-type tones, yet also be the finest transparent overdrive due to its ability to mix one's dry signal back in. The ability to mix one's clean signal along with a Tube Screamer circuit allows for in James Santiago's words, "jangly highs, tight lows, and the overdriven midrange from the TS circuit."
Today we revisit this classic effect and also get the full story of its creation from the guys who birthed it, Josh Fiden, Voodoo Lab Founder & CEO, and former Voodoo Lab VP, now UA Senior Product Designer, James Santiago. I also reveal a great setting for using the Sparkle Drive to warm up your tone.
Gear used:
2023 Headstrong Lil' King with 12" Eminence GA-SC64 speaker
headstrongamps...
1955 Stratocaster crafted by my old college buddy, B. Paisley, using a mix of old and new parts. Ron Ellis 50/60 middle and neck, Duncan Twang banger in the bridge.
www.ronellispi...
Affiliate link Seymour Duncan Twang Banger
amzn.to/3QG4vze
Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46
Affiliate link
amzn.to/494qQ1y
Pick:
Pick Boy Small Jazz, Tortoise Shell, 1.00mm
Effects:
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, Amp reverb, and Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay
#askzac #voodoolab #sparkledrive

[@AdamLevyGuitarTips]

When I first met John Mayer, around 2002, he had two Sparkle Drives on his pedalboard. Great pedal!

[@rickriccardi4741]

I got one when they first came out and discovered those settings. After years of stomping the hell out of it in the excitement of live performance, I broke the stomp switch. I called Voodoo Labs to ask if they could recommend a repair technician. They said to just mail it in, and they fixed it free of charge! Love those guys!!

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

I drive past Voodoo Lab every time we take our daughter to gymnastics class. They are about three blocks away from where the Tubbs Fire of 2017 devastated the Coffey Park neighborhood. Great company.

[@michaelshearer3559]

VL is highly slept on, their Analog Chorus is incredible. Sparkle Drive is truly one of the original tried and true great OD's.

[@AskZac]

Couldn't agree more!

[@reminaya]

The Sparkle Drive has been on my board for a decade, and I had the pleasure of having an acoustic singer songwriter give me the pedal, "since I'll never need it" he said. When I was building my board, I knew I didn't want to mess around with upgrading power supplies (again) and talked at length with the Voodoo guy. Mortgaged my house (again) and got the big power supply. No regrets. Great people, great products. Thanks for the videos, Zac!!

[@marc_leblanc]

I love this pedal. It's just as great for a clean boost as it is for overdrive. It's on my board currently.

[@robdavis9711]

same here

[@thedaver8]

YES! The Sparkle Drive is seriously one of my favorite overdrive pedals. Years ago I had one modded by Robert Keeley and it was incredible. I parted ways with it a long time ago, but I still think about it from time to time. Just a wonderful pedal.

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

Thanks for making this video Zac! I cant believe no one talks about this pedal anymore as popular as it was when it came out. Brent Mason used one for a while. Why dont more drive pedals have a clean mix?

[@brianmonroney1059]

Good timing, my Sparkle Drive recently called to me from a storage bin and found its way back onto my board. It was in my touring rig for about 9 years in the early 2000s, along with a bunch of other great Voodoo Lab gear.

[@garyjensen-i2x]

Great video, Zac. Inspired me to breakout my Sparkle Drive that I hadn't used in over 15 years. Your settings are spot on. Set it and forget it, great always-on-tone. I looked at some other videos and none of them set the tone down. That's the secret. It seems they were always at noon or higher... Anyway, glad I never sold it!

[@U_ever]

I only come here to surf the stuff on your bookcase. Man I love Andrew Gold ! Nice nugget.

[@imannonymous7707]

It's a real challenge to describe sound , but Zac, you make it seem easy...thank you

[@schrammguitars]

Thanks for giving Bill a plug. Wishing him all the best.

[@AskZac]

You bet

[@clarkrichardson949]

James Santiago is one of the best tone chasers around, and a heck of a guitar player! Thanks for another great episode!

[@jobogaert8514]

great video that "talked me into" digging out the Sparkle Drive that was in the pedal box. Got it when they came out and it's been on and off my board since forever, replacing an SD-1 (got that one when they came out also!).

[@climbtibet]

Never had much luck with the sparkle but you changed my mind. Tried the settings! You are spot on and I hope every one that can will will donate to Bill and lift him up. 💪🎸

[@thesjkexperience]

Thanks, it makes much more sense knowing the history. Not a TS fan, but as it was designed it’s pretty cool.

[@bradkauder5270]

Zac! The detailed description of the Sparkle Drive is great! I'm seriously considering getting one to put on a pedal board to use with my 'soon-to-be' Crook guitar. And...speaking of Crook guitars, thanks for ending this episode with your heartfelt shout out to Bill Crook and the current GoFundMe that is supporting him! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

[@AskZac]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[@neightmorris]

Great episode! I love this sound and happened upon it with the jhs moonshine v2 by accident. Was just goofing around with the knobs and did the same settings you described, tone down-drive up and clean about 50%. Makes my peavey bandit feel like a dumble :) It has now become my desert island pedal. Might have to try the sparkle drive as well.

[@onenotesolo256]

One of the reasons I like the Origin Effects drive pedals (and their comp) is the blend control. They have really nailed it.

[@ebeep]

I was a Tele fanatic for decades, but once I found a Strat that I finally understood, I never went back, not for lack of trying either. Be careful, Zac, Strats are addictive!

[@MrKevbo82]

had a sparkle drive in the early 2000's playing in an "alternative rock" band, I was using a lot of effects (especially for the time) and doing a lot of ambient swelling type stuff and used the sparkle drive to help push that sound and get some sustain doing that stuff soaked in delays and modulation without being too dirty. worked great, love hearing the story thanks for the video!

[@johnpannella]

Wonderful video Zac. I bought a Sparkle Drive years ago. It's really good and I remember when I bought it I had never seen a control that would blend in the Clean with the Overdrive. I am going to give those settings a try. I would never think to set the pedal that way.

[@danthegeetarman]

Love this Zac! I could watch these every day. Glad to hear any other cool older pedals that sound cool or that were big but not so much anymore. Very interesting

[@Jay-fp4ii]

Thx Zac! Got one as the price started to surge another $50!!

[@z4570]

I have their Tremolo pedal (now discontinued). One of the best purchases aI ever made. It sounds terrific.

[@francoisrousseau7893]

what a great idea, just plugged my old pedal with that setting and oooh boy this is cool - many thanks ! like it - simple and efficient

[@ourlifeinwyoming4654]

Just got mine and tried it tonight thru the Deluxe Reverb, with the settings you showed. Holy cow - I had no idea. I'm loving this tone. Thank you Zac!

[@AskZac]

Enjoy!

[@SergeCeyral]

One of the very rare distortion pedals allowing to mix clean and dirty tone ! A must (and affordable) have... A 52 RI tele, a Sparkle drive, a Maxon delay, a Twin... that’s all folks

[@SergeCeyral]

To be more precise, you get with that pedal (and a 40 or 60 W amp, like a Classic 50 Peavey, or SuperReverb) at low volume, what you got with a full tilt Fender Champ : BUT, you keep the clarity and dynamics, and don't ruin your audience's ears.

[@zachjarrett8730]

I have had mine since 2003 and it usually was used as a clean boost. I love what the clean “channel “ brings to most of my guitars going into a Vox. Or when I need just a little sheen; to my ear it adds just a gentle top end harmonics and a slight bit of what feel like compression.

[@mmatthewias280]

I’ve gone through so many drive pedals to come back to the sparkle drive being on my board full time

[@harrypalmer3481]

I have a Sparkledrive & it's fantastic. Thanks Zak for this video. I was pleased to see that I had been using the pedal in roughly the same way. I had 2 Sparkledrive pedals at one point, the footswitch gave up so I bought another one while I got it sorted. I contacted Voodoo Lab & they sorted it (I'm from UK) with shipping. The service was friendly & superb, could have only been better if they’d given me a personal massage. The Voodoo Lab Tremolo is perfect for me too, it does the soft-wave pulse, that many trem pedals don’t do so well, & has a volume pot to get the balance just right.

[@scottfnelson4858]

The Sparkle Drive has replaced my pedal board for twenty years. I keep it always on,. Wrapped to my Fender amp handle. As the night moves along I make an effort to move toward the cleaner mix. I appreciate the review!

[@edgarmezavids]

I got mine second hand from GC after I read Martyn Casey used one on his bass. The clean knob was acting up so I mailed it in to get fixed. There's still a bit of noise on the clean when I stack it with other drive pedals but on it's own it's very satisfying.

[@m0j0b0ne]

Thanks for sharing; particularly the Reggie Young setting!I'm a Sparkle Drive Mod owner/enthusiast and can heartily recommend it as having four times the flexibility as the original.

[@brianwood7237]

Hey Zac! First off, Happy Holidays! I live in Northern California not far from where Voodoo Labs has their headquarters. I do not currently own a Sparkle Drive, however one of my favorite pedals of all time is their Voodoo Labs Tremolo pedal. For those that don't have on-board tremolo on their amplifiers I have to recommend this pedal. It is so versatile and so cool

[@samizdat113]

I used a Sparkle Drive on a high gain metal rig for a few years. I used the clean blend to vring back just a little bit of the loose low end on a Dual Rec.

[@clysher]

I always wanted to try one. Completely forgot about it until now.

[@rtann60]

Sparkle Drive getting some love! I've had one on my board since probably 2003, and I've tried to replace it but I just can't. I actually got the old Robert Keeley mod done back when Keeley was mostly a modding company, and it just has this nice mid bump that I haven't beaten with any other Screamer or Klon type since. And I've tried to find something a little smaller! It complements my Godin super well and just sounds like me at this point.

[@drkix]

Another great vid, Zac. Maybe you could do a look at the Alembic Stratoblaster. Both onboard and buffer/boost pedals.

[@33shoobs]

Cool jacket. Cool pedal

[@jamesgarcia7252]

Love your show! Always enlightening! Thank you Zac!

[@vitalogy62389]

What a sound on that intro. Great playing and tone man, I’ll definitely try and grab some of that sound with my Strat next time I bust it out!

[@stratjed]

I am still in love with my Truetone Rt 66 ! It has a CLEAN BLEND compressor. That you can take the tone completely out of the circuit. Two different (Highly usable) voiced overdrives, With a CLEAN BLEND ! Separate bass and treble ! A killer switchable noise gate. Switchable buffers or true bypass for both. An effect loop built in ! Its da bomb !

[@AskZac]

Fantastic pedal!!

[@admarhermans1]

Loved it for bass too!

[@AskZac]

YES

[@jfinester]

Great episode, Zac! I’ve generally used channel-switching amps or multi-FX units, but that Sparkledrive gets a sound that I’ve been trying to get for years, and I’ve never been able to get any of my setups to do it. I’ve had my eye on the Truetone Route 66 since they came out, and since I don’t have a compressor currently, it looks like I’ll have to spend a few bucks to get my rig in shape! (and spend some time getting my chops back in shape!)

[@markhammer643]

The Maestro FZ-1S was, as near as I can tell, the first drive/distortion/fuzz pedal to employ a clean/distorted blend control. Rather than a blend/balance pot, as on the Sparkle Drive, the FZ-1S employed a dual-ganged reverse-wired volume pot that turned one version of the signal *up* as it turned the other one down, such that it was possible to get ONLY clean or ONLY fuzz, rather than the simple more-of-one-than-the-other in the Sparkle Drive. I ended up having to build a clone for myself after a rehoused original board I loaned to a fellow disappeared. The Gretsch Controfuzz also blended clean and dirty, albeit for a different kind of effect (and something to be discussed at another time). That's not a criticism of the Sparkle Drive, just a confirmation that it was, and remains a good idea that has occurred to many in various forms. If memory serves, at one point, Jeff Beck was using a dimed Princeton, in tandem with a Twin to get dirty mids and top, combined with a clean bottom. Same basic principle, just done with amps rather than the design of a pedal.

[@AskZac]

Thank you for the historical info, Mark. I knew you knew!

[@markhammer643]

@@AskZac And thank YOU for the inspiration. Motivated by your demonstration, I felt compelled to dig up a schematic and built one of these for myself today. VERY nice pedal, for those times when you want just an undercurrent of grind. I added one mod in the form of a (selectable) modest treble-boost for the clean signal, for those times when you want the clean to "sparkle" a little more. That said, it's a fine pedal/circuit, just the way it is. Glad to add it to the arsenal.

[@saywhat445]

Great video. Thank you. Had a few of these but kept falling apart. Brought me to VS Route 66 v3. Clean blend!

[@AskZac]

That's a killer pedal!

[@Jeff-11_354]

Even the simple details... there aren't many TS pedals with top mounted jacks and true bypass. Killer pedal!

[@Les537]

I've got an EH Operation Overlord with a clean mix. It sounds as good as it cost (cheap!), but it's kind of neat here and there. I found the Keeley Super AT MOD (blues driver hack) when it came out and it totally replaced every other dirt on my board. I was a Klon Clone kind of guy, but the AT is really out of this world for dynamic drive. Totally recommend a try. It's the first dirt to feel like home after 30 years of buying pedals.

[@frankmeyer9417]

It is one of my first choice pedals . Gain 3 o clock, Tone 4 o clock, Clean 1 o clock with a S-style.

[@mrmoa]

Zac - you are the best. A super underrated Voodoo Lab pedal is their chorus (now discontinued due to lack of key component). I had one and sold it and soon regretted. Just got one for twice what I sold the original 😂

[@ronmorey3475]

Yes! I have one of those. It is a great chorus pedal.

[@robertmitchell2178]

Great video Zac. You are helping us all still learn from Reggie Young.

[@AskZac]

I appreciate that!

[@TheTurkey79]

I have a Boss Bass Driver BB-1x and a EH Bass Big Muff Pi, the ability to blend in a clean signal with the drive/fuzz for bass players is super important B) Thanks Voodoo Labs for pioneering it! B)

[@ciclosonico]

Oh man. Now I'm going to get my Sparkle Drive off the shelf and try to use it into the UAFX Woodrow, as a tribute to James Santiago. LOL Tonight I started off with your video on James Burton's paisley, then the one on his '52, and ended up here to hear what you have to say about this poor forgotten pedal that I've had for 20 years, and which even I've probably never used in the smartest way, as you're teaching me. Time to give it yet another chance, in 2024. I've always kept it, I was sorry to sell it because I always thought it was a unique pedal. Moving on, it's double-James day. Ah, and you have a new subscriber, Zac :)

[@kutsbothways]

StiII have mine, it's probabIy around 23 years oId. Used it for country earIy on and blues after that. It's no Longer on the board, trying out some newer stuff. Friend of mine uses his to this day and he sounds good using it.

[@Strumbum01]

Just picked one up, couldn’t help myself. Gonna put it between my compressor and RC booster and see what it sounds like. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving, Zac!

[@AskZac]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

[@jeffgerndt2813]

Thanks Zac! I still love my Sparkle Drive.

[@rickriccardi4741]

I have a Plimsoul pedal that really opens up at 14 to 18 watts. If Sparkle Drive had that feature , it would be surreal!

[@Tonetwisters]

Ahh! You finally got a REAL guitar!! 🙂 And it's a beaut! And I have a Sparkle Drive!! First overdrive I ever liked!

[@chrisquinn9104]

I ran mine with the boost almost all the way up, which I didn’t find out until later that it basically took the screamer out of the equation. I used it with an old 100 watt Hiwatt and SG Jr. clear punchy and versatile. A Breaker version might be cool

[@vayabroder729]

Wow! Townshend time! Bet that combo sounds headenly!

[@chrisquinn9104]

Unbelievable. Nothing like it. The only problem is if you need a great Marshall type distortion, I never found a way to get that I was happy with and believe me I’ve tried!

[@vayabroder729]

@@chrisquinn9104 Townshend ran his amps very loud and used a fuzz unit but he could run the whole gamut from acoustic like cleans to full on roar by manipulating his volume controls and the fuzz unit.

[@chrisquinn9104]

Yes. PT’s tones were breathtaking and while I definitely had my own thing going on with the Hiwatts (I do still have them) there was a little overlap in areas. They project a tight low end like nothing else. There’s just a certain kind of distortion they don’t do. They are very clean. If you haven’t already, I hope you get to play one with the proper Fane speakers someday

[@carlBigSpoonjohnson]

Another good video/story! Thanks ZC

[@allstopblue5717]

I’ve had one of the mod version for many years now and never use it. I need to get it back out and have another go with it

[@darinpetty3741]

I've always loved that pedal good clean and dirty sound

[@darinpetty3741]

I know I'm old lol

[@Candlepinman]

I surprisingly use it for bass fairly often! It sucks some low end but sometimes thats what I want but i can also add in a bit more with the Amp EQ

[@TheBigGuppy]

Great video. I love my Sparkle Drives.. Its currently not on my board because I'm using the Route 66 V3 to kill two birds with one stone. But I love the clean blend drive. The Route 66 is based around the Reverend Drive Train but It still gets me my Sparkle Drive thing.

[@timscarrow9151]

Looks like a fun project. I have clones of Ts808 klon nobles, etc.. The 808 and nobles sound good going into the klon. Sparkle, positions 2-4 a little compressor. Nice sound Zac.

[@bobk7118]

Wow GREAT VIDEO! Of course I ordered a sparkle drive…….THANKS ZAC……….

[@blaskode]

I do not have a Sparkle Drive, but the Ibanez "Nu-Tube" Screamer also has a blend control. I'll see if you can do the Reggie Young with that too!

[@thebrysmith3]

So aside from mad skills and knowledge, Zac also has the power to heal old pedals over the interwebs! 😮 I have an old Sparkle Drive that I got back before I stopped playing for some years. Got back into playing during The Great Shut In, but sadly my Sparkle Drive didn't want to play no more. No light. No sounds. Nada. Maybe a little scratching when I moved the knobs. So anyways, watchung the video I figure what the hell and put in on my board and Praise Be It's Alive!! Well it's not 100%. There's a lot of background noise and hiss that varies when I twist the knobs. Also not much happens with the tone knob, but it making sound again! Thanks Zac!

[@AskZac]

Fantastic!

[@richardellis8808]

My Sparkle Drive has Monte Allums mods, and it's an amazing pedal.

[@crazywisdom2]

What was that tune you were playing. Great vibe. Would love to hear you do this tune on a tele !! Thanks Zac !!

[@AskZac]

Something I made up for the episode

[@snörre23]

I love their superfuzz. Though its not a superfuzz but a jordan with a tone control.

[@cwyld5278]

I’m going to try this with my Jam tube dreamer

[@chrisquinn9104]

Well you that Zac is sort of a Strat guy now. I guess I need to pull out my SD now. I bought it when they came out. I’m old!

[@thelawnmowertapes]

It took me a minute. I heard some Jackson Browne . I played the heck out of that cassette in 1980.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Dude! SSSHHHHHHHH!!! That’s my secret weapon. Been on my board 16 years. 😂❤

[@albertjabberin739]

Great video. Seems like SD and Klon are based on similar concepts, how did the Klon overtake SD as the big “clean boost” always on drive? I noticed also Klons (ktr) do a similar thing when you crank the gain and lower the tone.

[@AskZac]

The SD is much more controllable than the Klon.

[@gregmize01]

Some of the fist KZbin videos about guitar pedals were done by VL and James Santiago!!!!!🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@brianrollins7275]

I’d never heard of that pedal before. Thanks for the information on it, appreciate it. Just curious if you use a compressor or not? Thanks

[@AskZac]

Just the SD pedal

[@kevinday2283]

My favorite od sound-wise but sold both of mine due to the consistent issues with the bypass switches.

[@rickriccardi4741]

I called and sent mine in and they fixed it free of charge.

[@RedMercuryBluesBand]

Hilarious! I had that pedal for 15 or more years and NEVER could make it sound right.....might have to try one again....LOL

[@vayabroder729]

Got one in one of my pedal boards.

[@gregdoran5850]

Sold!!!

[@jeremycusick5399]

I wish they'd bring back their Octavia fuzz pedal! I had one once, but stupidly sold it.

[@frankstabler1920]

I still have my Keeley modded Sparkle Drive on my pedal board.

[@victorbeebe8372]

Aloha and Mahalo Zack. Great story

[@AskZac]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Jon-j1m]

The pedal's drive sound is bad, but there's magic inside this thing. The clean control is where it's at. Everything sounds better with the pedal on. If only the drive sounded good. Like maybe a wampler belle with the voodoo Lab sparkle clean blend circuit.

[@widmer64]

I love mine, modded by Keeley

[@bartboop]

I never used mine as the pedal was brittle. I will try it again with the tone turned down.

[@sgholt]

Hmm...do I need another pedal ? sheesh Zac why you putting this bug in my ear :) Thanks Zac

[@AskZac]

Sorry!

[@jeffmazzei8520]

Once again Zak the pedal was passed up by the Nobles, and Zendrive !

[@waynegram8907]

Is the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive CLEAN signal BUFFERED Clean? because James Santiago used a Buffer pedal for his cleans to get more sparkle

[@AskZac]

yes, when on. It is true bypass when off

[@waynegram8907]

@@AskZac Because a normal ibanez TS9 doesn't use a buffer circuit when turned ON only the buffer circuit is when the TS9 is turned OFF

[@None-lh5mx]

Zac, can you do a Nobels vs Mostortion video sometime?

[@jips123]

And include a danelectro roebuck

[@AskZac]

Why not?

[@mamulcahy]

I loved the idea of it, but the pedal I got was all f’ed up in the switching. I sent it back to them twice and they didn’t fix it. It ended up in the shit can rather than wasting more time on it.

[@perrysantoro5901]

Yo Zac, what strat u playing

[@AskZac]

A Brad Paisley built 55-style Strat. He and I went to college together, and he was kind enough to build, finish, and age it for me.

[@jonathanwapner6262]

Does Clean signal run through the Tone circuit?

[@AskZac]

No

[@howardskinner4916]

I still use a Voodoo Lab power supply.

[@Jon-j1m]

My pedal power 2 is 20 years old, and it's still like new. Great product

[@brandonleroux6059]

but you didn't play with it on or off and if that was in teh beginning how must I know that.

[@AskZac]

It was on. I have 3 of them

[@stevenwpierce]

Anyone have JM settings. Have had it for years, a little noisy.