I just finished this one up and I'm impressed.

I used the nearest standard 5% resistors I could find, had to replace the MPSA18 with a 2N5089, replaced the bypass with a standard dpdt true bypass and did use the specified op amps.

With the balance control all the way to clean there is a nice, undistorted boost available. Balance all the way the other way gives a good, if generic overdrive sound. In between are nice shades of clean and dirty mix. It does sound like a mix, not just like turning down the gain. I particularly liked the settings with the gain knob up and more clean than dirty in the mix. It was quiet at all settings, impressive since I haven't boxed it yet. I couldn't hear any effect of the tone control on the clean sounds, it did work effectively on the overdrive side and, of course, the gain control only affects the overdrive.

I've also built the "Sprinke Drive" version of this pedal and (with due respect to the designer of the Sprinkle Drive [I certainly can't claim to ever have designed anything]) I think I prefer the Sparkle Drive.

Congrats.

How does it compare to the PAiA Axe Grinder?  (I'm naively assuming here that you've made one)

I own an original and have cloned one from the recently posted schematic.
To copy the exact feel of the dual ganged "Clean" potentiometer, it has to be a dual Audio taper pot, not linear as indicated on the schem.

Mark, I haven't built everything yet but I'm working on it.  :lol:  I haven't built the Axe Grinder yet. I don't think I've even seen the schematic.

did you find a layout for the sparkle drive ?

perf ? or pcb ?

C

I built it on perfboard. I really have to get a scanner up and running so I can post some of my perf layouts. It would be nice to contribute something back to this place that has provided me with so much.

Where is the schematic? I have a layout for the Sprinkle drive.

Tonewise the main difference is the sprinkle uses a low-pass tone control whereas the sparkle uses a ts-9 tone control variant.  So when you have the  thing set to drive only (ie. no blend, making it pretty much a TS-9) do you prefer the sparkle? or is this mode a minor difference?

The clean blend and clean boost is better on the sparkle - that was a known issue on the sprinkle (I think you posted that on the old forum a while back).

I haven't had a chance to compare them directly (my Sprinkle is buried somewhere among a hundred or so other pedals) but I don't remember being particularly blown away by the overdrive sound of the Sprinkle and likewise with the Sparkle. Both are fine but not so good as to be memorable. I'm also a bad person to ask about distortion quality. I think I can distinguish real good from real bad but the inbetween stuff is just different, not better or worse to me.

I do seem to remember trying to high pass filter the clean sound on the Sprinkle to improve the blend and was never really happy with the results. The Sparkle sounds great the way it is.

Thanks Rick.   I suppose it's hard to be blown away by any light overdrive - unless it sounds like tubes .