MXR Sugar Drive - Why Buy A Klon When This Sounds So Good!

[@Jake_Sachs]

I love my Sugar Drive. Affordable, sounds great, small footprint, and the physical color itself is really nice too

[@Dperezer]

Been using the Sugar Drive for years. Affordable, small enclosure, great sound. I've tried other Klones but kept coming back to this one.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

A Klon is a boost pedal and OD in one pedal where the boost drops out at 9 Oclock and the OD kicks in . Yes there is a short cross fade between the two. It is done by stacking 2 knobs on the gain. The secret sauce is in the Boost section where you get a glassy chimey sound. Clones screw this up about 95% of the time. Once you get around 12 Oçlock copying the OD sound can even be near perfect. So I check the Boost part first. No chime and I pull it off my board immediately. The best Klon I have heard is the Hardby Pedals Centauri. The boost is spot on as the maker uses the identical NOS parts. The pedal comes in unassuming standard Hammond "B"box painted white and sells for only $150.00 USD ;-)

[@JohannesLabusch]

Wow, you sound like a Klon specialist. What do you think about the Ceriatone from Centura? What do you think about the Tumulus? Thanks!

[@LeviBulger]

I guarantee they don't use exactly the same NOS parts. In fact I know they don't. Klones are Klones and they only differ by the various resistances and capacitances that occur at various spots in the circuit, and that even holds true between two actual Klons. But by and large the actual circuitry is exactly the same between them all. Otherwise they wouldn't be Klones. What makes the most true to original Klones so expensive by collectors is the proper germanium trannies which are impossible to find and if you do find em like Brian Wampler did, your pedal will be worth way more than it should be just because of that. The other thing that will make a Klon a Klon is the buffer circuitry. If pedals don't have it wired the same way or at all, it's not going to sound like a Klon 100%

[@guilletjean-jacques5107]

@@LeviBulger quelqu un qui modifie les pedales a fait cette modif avec la soul food , la meme modif qu avait fait JHS , et de son avis , cela ne vaut pas la peine , la difference est a peine audible !!!

[@bretspangler8717]

For a Klon tone, I use a Boss OD-200, it does most types of overdrives with a 3-band eq.

[@DBMorris]

That's what I'm using right now as well. It does so many different OD types and it does them well.

[@marksanders2784]

I happened to look away at the first comparison, didn't realise James had switched the pedals! What a great pedal for not a lot of money, think what pedals you could get for the price of a KTR. Great stuff guys, always enjoy your videos!

[@33shoobs]

I use my mine as a low gain headroom boost at the end of my overdrive chain. I play from a fender. The amp these guys are playing through is very high gain. The sugar drive doesn’t sound anything like this on a low gain amp. But in my rig It’s generally always on. It is absolutely clear and sounds as if it emphasizes the pretty parts of the pedals before it. It may not be a replacement for one of your pedals but it will pair very well with them. It’s a gem. Bright glassy and articulate.

[@betterthandeadohyea4500]

He sounds the same no matter what pedal he's using. Watch their other videos.

[@456or7strings]

Looking forward to more ToneX captures - your Independence is my favorite amp across all platforms at the moment (Kemper, QC, AxeFx 3)!

[@dmac3316]

Sugar drive is a great pedal. One of the best I own 👍 highly recommend

[@TJauernigElectronics]

The first version of the Archer is actually a Klon. Bill Finnegan was even involved initially.

[@Grant_Ferstat]

Is that right Tim? I thought it was that Rockett started the manufacture of the KTR but then they had a parting of the ways and the Archer resulted? I could be wrong, but that was my memory of it.

[@hellbillygoatboy]

Love mine. My board is the orange terror stamp, the sugar drive and a simple delay and reverb. It’s tiny and brilliant. The Sugar Drive sounds awesome to me; clone or not. $ is right as is the tone.

[@Sir_Gonzo]

I got one of these Sugar Drives recently for my DSL40CR. Its amazing. Took the tubescreamer off the board.

[@vr750]

really amazing comparison... have you try NUX Horseman? it cloning Klon Centaur too.. but the price cheaper than MXR sugar drive.. great videos..

[@organjoe]

Good demo. Wanted more low/mid settings but still appreciated.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

I didn’t know much at all about the Klon for a long time, other than it was really expensive, and then KZbin vomited Klon videos everywhere. I got the fever and settled on a sugar drive I don’t have any experience with any other Klon type pedal but the sugar drive has become my main pedal, and it’s always on. I like to stack it with another overdrive and it really livens up my tone; makes my amp sound a lot more harmonically rich! I like how versatile it is too, being able to be boost, really good overdrive, and then blend the two.

[@GundogJake]

Decibelics Golden Horse for the win, best I’ve heard along with The Reverend fuzz with a “special” setting. Handmade in Barcelona get on the build list👌

[@TheSaintBrad]

I have the MXR Timmy, which I love. I think I'll get the Sugar Drive this weekend

[@budgetguitarherogeartv4143]

Budget klon clone , moskey golden horse into crunch channel on boss katana mk1 head into 4x12 cab . What a tone 👌

[@ottobakai]

Whatever you try out, it always sounds good

[@AdamCox2010]

Best thing about this pedal is that it has that built in buffer you can turn on and off depending on the here it’s in the chain.

[@Nightwinflyer]

Another pedal to consider is the TC Electronic Zeus. Very affordable, sounds fantastic.

[@Aszweezer]

It's already posted by Studio Rats.

[@Nightwinflyer]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[@danielmarti]

The sugar drive klon is fantastic! I use it stacked with the Danelectro Roebuck mod II and the Euphoria Wampler overdrive in open mod. It doesn't get much better than this! 💯👌

[@TheStudioRats]

Sounds great!

[@BradRocker]

You guys make um both sound so good !!

[@pauldncn1]

Another slightly connected comment Being a new user of the Katanamk2 and not being able to play or tweak daily mainly due to arthritis , your patches are a perfect solution and a great starting point to build on Thank you guys Much appreciated

[@pauldncn1]

Thanks .. what reverb were you using on this guitar here it’s p lovely

[@LunaWorldcast]

We've been preching this!!

[@carsgunsandguitars]

Sold. I'm buying one today.

[@LightWingStudios]

The Super Drive REALLY reminds me of my EH Big Muff pedal from the 80s! :)

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

It’s a pretty awesome pedal. I bought the Fat Sugar pink version as I don’t like the small pedals. I bought the MXR Super Badass Dynamic OD soon after and that’s awesome too.

[@chadhagene7665]

Same here.

[@plantagenant]

Far too many pedals that all sound very much the same. It's ironic that the great classic rock sounds that were created in the 60s and 70s were done with very few pedals or none at all. It's turned into chasing Unicorns.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

The amps were pretty nice back then though!

[@andyhamlett8814]

It’s all cork sniffing to me 😂

[@jazznotes3802]

@@andyhamlett8814 Cork sniffers love their tubes/valve amps, then they put a transistor drive pedal all over their tone 😂. It’s funny how tube overdrive pedals sound like shit compared to one’s with op amps and Jfet’s. Solid state for the win 🥇 lol.

[@0megalul309]

@@jazznotes3802 cork sniffers don't even use pedals, cheap low headroom solid state ruins tube dynamics

[@kevinbirge2130]

You had a guitar, you had an amp, you had a sound. Chris Britton, The Troggs.

[@FGg503]

Listening to this, there's no question that value for money lies with the Sugar Drive. It's great all around. The only difference is when the Klon drive is cranked to the max, it's slightly "fuller". Thats it!

[@jamiebriggs8277]

Nice comparison. Between the two I'd definitely go with the Sugar Drive. However, I picked up a Mosky Silver Horse klon clone a couple years ago for $28 USD, and it sounds as good as any klon clone I've heard (and it has a mode switch for extra variation). I'm cheap, so if I can get a ~$30 pedal the does the same thing a ~$130 pedal does...I'm getting it :D Mostly agree with you on the use of the klon style pedals, though I do occasionally get the sound I'm after with the higher gain settings. But more often I get the sound I'm after in that vein with my cheap King of Tone clone (JOYO King of Kings, ~$60)... Would love to see a similar video for MXR's new (ish) Duke of Tone that they made in collaboration with Analog Man.

[@nedim_guitar]

I was thinking about that Mosky, I saw one use once, but I didn't felt I needed it. It was pretty stupid because it was practically free haha!

[@keithb5612]

It would be great to get your impressions on the Kernom Ridge pedal Paul. It's a big bit larger and in a different price bracket than the Sugar Drive but seemingly has some very good tones available. Cheers

[@richardo6357]

I agree with the other guy, chasing unicorns. I have a pile of them in the corner and just plug into the amp and turn it up now a days.

[@supercocomonsters6522]

Please do the MXR Duke of Tone vs the reissue Matshall Bluebreaker pedal too. Cheers! 🍻

[@davidwoods358]

While they do sound slightly different I can't say that one sounds better than the other. I'd be curious to put the Sugar Drive in front of my little MX5 and see how it meshes with everything else in the box. It just might save me a foot switch.

[@scke3717]

Driving a tube amp is something that can be done in a zillion ways, even an equalizer pedal can do the trick.

[@ronaldj.glaser9701]

with the KTPR, and the MXR sugar, drive; my question would be, can you obtain the gold, and the silver modes with either of these and if so, what are the differences between those two modes. Using these clans.

[@JohannesLabusch]

All you need to know to buy a Sugar Drive are three magic words. 1. Christone. 2, "Kingfish", 3. Ingram.

[@jessefillmore]

I bought my KTR in 2017 for $380 kicking and screaming . But any drive pedal I compare it too , the KTR sounds better . In some case it's 5-15% better . But that 5-15% is mainly where most of us live .

[@nigeldaddyo]

What are the odds? I did this very shootout against my friend's KTR and I like my Sugar Drive better...and money was not a factor. I'd previously been using a J Rockett Archer pedal for years and then I went down the Helix path and sold off a lot of my pedals as I don't like keeping stuff if I'm not using it. At some point later I decided I wanted to build a small "conventional" board for the occasional break from the Helix and decided to give the Sugar Drive a shot after hearing good things about them. No regrets! Side note- J Rockett was the company that made the KTR pedals for Finnegan. Perhaps that's why in all the Klon Klone shootouts that feature many Klones, the Archer always wins?

[@partriotsfight5039]

You gotta try a Richie Kotzen RK5 pedal from Tech 21. Oh and if you’ve never tried a Richie Kotzen Fender Tele you NEED to ASAP

[@Rockstarwilliam]

Not sure if you covered it but curious what type of amp you’re using on that clean sound which sounds like a almost slightly edge of break up

[@stuart5466]

What were you guys using for the clean tone? Sounded great.

[@corymillen9824]

How do you never get a bad tone on anything you play thru? I’d really like to know what your recording setup is cause it sounds awesome!!!

[@ernielamprell6765]

They never seem to answer questions like this. Odd.

[@guilletjean-jacques5107]

je n avais retenu que 2 pedales , La Warm audio Centavo et la MXR sugar drive , et j ai acheté la Centavo , vous devriez dailleur , si vous pouvez l avoir en test , la comparer a votre KTR , je penses que beaucoup de monde seraient interressé par ce comparatif .

[@garywaddell6309]

What a great little pedal. Wondering how you use your ToneX with these kinds of pedals a does the gx 100 play a part in any of this, meaning you skip the amp models and only use effects?

[@tomusic8887]

Finger blocks the mxr light...😁🤟

[@pauldncn1]

What reverb were you using? I loved the tone Looking for a time like that but with a touch of phaser for a song Sugar drive is impressive

[@mightymikeamps9317]

So is this signal path guitar>pedal>Matchless>Torpedo Live>Apollo>computer Or pedal in front of the AXfx?

[@G-NutZ]

What amp are you using?

[@mikebarnard2689]

Cmon, try Decibelics Golden Royale... the business !!

[@DeloreanDave]

Hey Paul, is the xotic sp the best compressor for a tele to take away some of the brightness?

[@TheStudioRats]

Hi Dave, it’s a great compressor but it’s not going to take away brightness, it will soften the initial transient if that’s how you want to set it.

[@DeloreanDave]

@@TheStudioRats ah okay! I thought u used it for brighter guitars and the keeley one for darker! Im wanting to buy one for my tele but not sure on best!

[@TheStudioRats]

@@DeloreanDave are you eq’ing your amp for a humbucker guitar?

[@DeloreanDave]

​@@TheStudioRats Using a JCM2000 if i'm using the Tele do i just lower the treble and presence? its mainly alternative rock im playing. Like maxing the mids

[@tippss3332]

Warm Audio Centavo is spot on. Best of the clones

[@Nowandthen-zen]

Or a tumnus mini

[@rogerYT69]

love the sugar drive ...other good k clones in my opinion are ...way huge conspiracy theory and the centavo 😉

[@JakeAikens]

I've seen a bunch of videos like this and the clones sound just like the real thing. Why someone would spend $7000 on a Klon I can't understand.

[@Dwoed]

This or the Rawdog?

[@davidhamilton7780]

Also from the House of Dunlop, the Way Huge Conspiracy Theory is well worth consideration. Not such a fan of fluffers myself

[@theWARMJET]

I guess the soul food does it pretty close too

[@Adventuresingearland]

Cracking little unit isn't it!

[@garyslash7552]

Have you tried the Warmaudio Centavo? Would be intersting to hear what you say

[@giovannibonapace4250]

It's so funny ... I've just received a sugar drive but i cocked up as i meant to get an Mxr timmy ... The truth is .... I'm glad i made a mistake as the sugar drive is brilliant ... Sometimes things are meant to be ahaja

[@TheStudioRats]

Right on

[@redcomn]

What amp did you guys plug this into?

[@TheStudioRats]

we use a capture of my matchless on a TONEX pedal

[@stringlocker]

Haha all overdrive's pretty-much sound the same.

[@ditchgator1]

😉👍❤🖖

[@bischteinjohn5998]

Is not Josh who wants...

[@truthfactreality6814]

The nux horseman is better

[@DBroce]

Sure, but it doesn’t look as cool as my fake on my pedalboard.

[@ces69]

Saves a lot of space though!😊

[@chickenlickin3820]

When you say here's the clean tone why is your guitar drenched in the shit? and yes i mean reverb and delay!

[@TheStudioRats]

Let’s sort the question you basically answered. Its my guitar, it’s my guitar sound. If you don’t like reverb I’d look elsewhere.

[@ronmoes42]

dear guitarists, I want to share my honest opinion about pedals in conjuction with your amp being a head or a combo or even on your pc via simulation. You know when they say ''don't judge a book by it's cover'' well since everyone gets excited by just the look of a pedal and see it as a means to an end, or miracle work, it is just a patch job in my opinion. It just is gain staging at best with some exaggeration in the mid frequency range or highs. See it just brings out the lead or crunch of how your amp is sounding.. There is no point in buying expensive boutique pedals if the job can be done with a cheaper sollution. If guitarists just could be content with a clean, crunch and lead tone of their amp, you really just need a few pedals.. More so it is all about where you place the pedal and how you use it than what you use in my opinion.

[@DBMorris]

It's ridiculous to me that anyone would pay the price for a Klon when there are so many pedals out there for around a hundred bucks that will do the same thing and more, with a much smaller footprint on the pedal board.