Last year, TC Electronic released a line of sleek dirt boxes—the MojoMojo, Dark Matter, and Röttweiler—in the same unique type of enclosures used in the company’s Tone Print series.
Last year, TC Electronic released a line of sleek dirt boxes—the MojoMojo, Dark Matter, and Röttweiler—in the same unique type of enclosures used in the company’s Tone Print series. The tones were plentiful and superb, and they helped pave the way for the latest addition to TC’s crunch spectrum—the Spark Booster. Chock-full of tasty tones and control options, the Spark can clean up or dress down your tone for any musical occasion with a flexibility that might just enable you to streamline your pedalboard a bit, too. It’s also capable of up to a whopping 26 dB of boost.
Smooth Lines, Dirty
Soul
Like its predecessors, the truebypass
Spark Booster is housed
in a rugged, low-profile enclosure
with some very thoughtful
design elements. For instance,
accessing the battery compartment
simply requires a coin (a
flathead screwdriver or a beercan
tab will do, too) to unfasten
the single screw on the undercarriage.
A 9V barrel adaptor
will also power the unit.
Four knobs—gain, level, bass, and treble—give the Spark impressive flexibility that belies the straightforward design. Gain yields crunch and compression in varying amounts, while the other knobs enable you to flatten out the Spark’s active EQ (say, if you already love your amp’s character) and raise the level for increased tube saturation.
The cherry on top is a 3-way switch that allows you to toggle between frequency settings. In the fat position, the Spark rounds out your sound for booming rhythm tones or a girthier lead. Clean mode boosts all frequencies equally, and mid mode focuses on midrange frequencies that can help you scorch through a mix in a live situation.
Got a Light?
A ’65 Twin Reverb reissue was
an excellent starting point to
test the Spark’s clean mode.
Coupled with a Fender Jaguar,
it delivered a very transparent
volume spike with all four
knobs set at noon. Getting
clean, Ventures-style leads over
a loud band—where single
notes are both loud and the
Twin retains its clear voice—is
no problem at these middle-ofthe-
road settings. And getting
dirtier is as easy as giving the
gain knob a clockwise twirl.
Ratings
Pros:
Transparent but versatile, with great EQ
options and plenty of boost power.
Cons:
Fat mode can get muddy with humbuckers.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$129
TC Electronic
tcelectronic.com
If your single-coils aren’t quite burly enough, fat mode will make a world of a difference. You can dial-up a portly dish of low end that’s great for muscular blues-rock chords if you keep the gain up, but it’ll stay very clean and round if you dial gain back. Guitars with humbuckers will typically require lower gain settings in fat mode, though, as the tone can become a bit lost when playing with a full band.
The Spark Booster also works very well with amplifiers that have a lot of their own natural gain, and it’ll help bring out the bite you want at much lower volume levels. A Fender Bassman, for instance, found its inner garageband voice at half of the ear-splitting volume usually required to generate that kind of grit. And moving gain to its nethermost regions even yields convincing British overdrive without getting too fuzzy. The Spark works great with other pedals, too –– throwing it after your favorite overdrive or fuzz can add additional character, EQ versatility, and a volume boost.
The Verdict
Many boost type effects
keep a simple circuit design
with minimal control (usually
just a gain knob) for easy,
out-of-the-box use. That’s all
well and good—it suits many
playing styles—but if you’ve
found yourself needing a bit
more control over that basic
approach, the Spark Booster
will expand your EQ-tweaking
capabilities significantly. And
with all those knobs within
reach, you’ll undoubtedly
uncover uses that may find you
replacing your old boost—and
potentially a few other pedals
in your chain as well.