My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

[CapoFirstFret]

Alright...I just got it in and plugged it in..and I haven't played a note on it yet, but wanted to build up the anticipation by posting here and saying that it IS in my hands ....er, on my pedalboard...and now to give it a quick run through!

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

DAMN this thing has bigger balls than a freakin African Elephant with a swollen gland problem!!! oh my god I'm having to really work this thing to tame it a bit...find where I like it...incredible job with it John...it does everything now...it's got a LOT of firepower now! Thanks man!

 

[chcjunior]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

Who did what to it?

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

John Spina (STRATDELUXER) modified it a bit, giving it more bass and a lot more gain....also fixed the switch that was giving me issues and put in a TS808 chip instead of the stock Voodoo Lab one...oh MAN this thing screams!! I have to keep it tamed down or I can't control the fury that it'll unleash...it's got so much more power than my tube screamer....I am not sure if I wanna ditch the TS9 or just use them both..I may just use them both and dial up the sparkle drive for a great mix of clean and dirty with it's "clean" knob and then use the tube screamer as a pure overdrive scream pedal ...either way, John is amazing

 

[Old Ghost]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

Congrats CapoFirstFret! Sounds like John did it again! My DS-1 is on it's way to John for the, should i call it his famous "JCM800" Mod Can't wait :dance:

 

[TheJangus]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

Congrats CapoFirstFret! Sounds like John did it again! My DS-1 is on it's way to John for the, should i call it his famous "JCM800" Mod Can't wait :dance:

Preach on brutha. Sent my DS-1 on Friday. It's like countdown to Christmas.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

DAMN this thing has bigger balls than a freakin African Elephant with a swollen gland problem!!! oh my god I'm having to really work this thing to tame it a bit...find where I like it...incredible job with it John...it does everything now...it's got a LOT of firepower now! Thanks man!

Cool...Glad the pedal still works! LOL.. :smack:
So I guess it's what you wanted out of it right? More lows,more gain,but leave the eq of the mids alone? I'm really happy if you're really happy... :dance: The pedal is new to you so make sure you spend alot of time with it and give us all a fair evaluation of it...That was your's and mine's first SD modded so we need to use your ears for likes and dislikes....

Well get playin damn it! :burnout:

John

 

[Quencho092]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

so what pedal is this based on, and what was the objective for your modifications John?

'pre-show' interviewing...lol.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

so what pedal is this based on, and what was the objective for your modifications John?

'pre-show' interviewing...lol.

The Sparkle Drive is a Tube Screamer for all intents and purposes but it has a clean knob on it that allows you to run the pedal "clean" at high pedal volume settings "or" you can mix the clean tones with the overdriven tones...The further you move the clean knob toward 0,the more overdriven the pedal gets...If you turn the clean knob to 0 or off,you then get full gained overdriven tone with compression...

Phil wanted his pedal to have alot more gain on the high drive settings and also have more lows or lowend balls...This makes the pedal sound stronger,rounder,and fuller,and pushes your amp's preamp harder...We upgraded caps and we put the JRC4558D chip into his pedal with a chip holder...He can still use the original chip if he likes,all he has to do is pop the one chip out and press the other chip back in...

Some metal film resistors were installed to knock down some noise as well as giving his pedal the extra gain he wanted...

John

 

[Quencho092]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

pretty slick john. Since you voiced my TS9 for more thickness, it sounds really really good with the drive at almost 0 and the tone at 2 o clock. That tone really complements my blonde bandmaster niceley, and it interacts amazingly with my d130f to get a great SRV tone.

Do you improvise your pedal designs according to what people ask for in their mods? It's pretty amazing how you can achieve all the sounds people request so well with a couple of tweaks.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

pretty slick john. Since you voiced my TS9 for more thickness, it sounds really really good with the drive at almost 0 and the tone at 2 o clock. That tone really complements my blonde bandmaster niceley, and it interacts amazingly with my d130f to get a great SRV tone.

Do you improvise your pedal designs according to what people ask for in their mods? It's pretty amazing how you can achieve all the sounds people request so well with a couple of tweaks.

I've been modding not only pedals,but tube amps for many years...I've done alot of the same type of pedals(Overdrive and distortion)and so I've learned to trust my ears and my instincts on what works...I have a basic Tube Screamer mod that everyone likes,but once in awhile someone like Lew comes around(Another guy with great ears) LOL and throws me a curve ball...Most guys want their Tube Screamer to be fatter and have more gain and less mids...Lew sends me a pedal and tells me to make it more transparent,less jaded or less of the hidded tone and more of a natural tone...Them I'm like WTF,am I going to be able to even get close to what the guy wants? :burnout:

I've been doing pedal mods for a long time and I've learned how alot of the circuits work.Most are copies of another circuit that has been used and lots were sold to players etc...Sometimes I open up a pedal(Like the Sparkle Drive)and I see all the familiar cap values,the same diode locations,same amount of diodes,same tone stack values,same opamps,smoothing caps etc....It's not all coincidence! LOL...

I just don't have the time and I don't charge enough to go completely nuts making a pedal true bypass or adding switches and extra LEDS and stuff....I just do basic stuff and try to give a guy great tone...If you find one very inspiring tone out of any pedal you own,you're in good shape..Once you find a setting you love,you aren't going to stray from it much....

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

oh man the difference in this thing is like night and day!!! while yeah, it's got an INCREDIBLE amount of more gain, I don't really use it like that...right now Iv'e got it set to:

gain: 12 o'clock
tone: 2 o'clock
clean: 2 o'clock
level: 11 o'clock

MAN this thing is AMAZING now...gives a lot of definition to my clean tone with just the right amount of grit (I always love a little grit in a strat's clean tone)...it's blowing me away how good this thing sound. You're great John..I appreciate it! This thing is SO much more versatile...I can use it like this as a tone buffer, or I can pull down the clean and crank the gain and get INSANE overdrive tones bordering on unadulterated distortion!

 

[Mac-P]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

Yes, the Sparkle Drive in it's original version is a GREAT pedal. I'd really like to hear a modded one.

What is the difference between STRATDELUXER97's mod and the Keeley mod?

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

well this was the first time that John (STRAT DELUXER) had done a Sparkle Drive mod...he basically boosted the gain, and he adjusted it so that you don't lose the low end..basically the same thing that he does to a tube screamer, but he added a new switch to mine since Voodoo Lab uses some crappy switches ..it's already true bypass, so he doesn't have to do that, but he changed the chip out to the TS808 chip, which sounds amazing....but he left the EQ and the Clean functions alone, just messed with the gain. I'm not sure how it differs from the Keeley, but I'm amazed with John's work..he's also modded a TS9 for me, and I LOVE it...he's amazing

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

Yes, the Sparkle Drive in it's original version is a GREAT pedal. I'd really like to hear a modded one.

What is the difference between STRATDELUXER97's mod and the Keeley mod?

I've not heard any of keeley's mods and I wouldn't need to unless I heard someone else's modded pedal...I Mod my own pedals and I have my own ideas on things and so I wouldn't buy a Keeley modded pedal.... :wink:

I did try his SEM mod years ago on one of my own DS1s and I hated it...LOL It was harsh,sterile,and too hi fi sounding for me.... :smack:

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Sparkle Drive is HERE!! Thanks John!

well this was the first time that John (STRAT DELUXER) had done a Sparkle Drive mod...he basically boosted the gain, and he adjusted it so that you don't lose the low end..basically the same thing that he does to a tube screamer, but he added a new switch to mine since Voodoo Lab uses some crappy switches ..it's already true bypass, so he doesn't have to do that, but he changed the chip out to the TS808 chip, which sounds amazing....but he left the EQ and the Clean functions alone, just messed with the gain. I'm not sure how it differs from the Keeley, but I'm amazed with John's work..he's also modded a TS9 for me, and I LOVE it...he's amazing

Thanks for the kind words Phil and glad the SD is working out great for ya! I'm going to have to pick one up for myself(Probably after my vacation)... :burnout:

I didn't even know Keeley did the Sparkle Drive? I guess I need to go on his website and see what he's been up to? I Know his prices are not the same though!