Members whowasthursday Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 So my main od for the past couple of years has been the Sparkle Drive, and I recently got the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde (based on minimal play time... mostly because I wanted a chunkier second od and also I liked having the distortion on tap for the rare times that I need it). The thing is, even though the Jekyll side is a tubescreamer clone, just like the sparkle drive, I can hear a world of difference in tone between the two. The sparkle drive is more, well, sparkly... it has a rather high-voiced mid hump with very harmonic tendencies and very smooth top end. The Jekyll, on the other hand, I find a little bit more harsh, even with the tone knob all the way down. I suppose it is more transparent than the sparkle drive, but I'm beginning to wonder if I prefer less transparent overdrives. I feel like I have good ears, but my technical knowledge is not as advanced... does anybody with experience with these pedals have any input as to what the difference specifically is that I'm hearing? Is the sparkle drive more compressed? I'm trying to figure out how I can classify what my ears like in an od (I know that simply sitting down in a shop is the best way to do that, but I have serious time and transportation issues... can't do that right now). Sorry for the long post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W.Kyle.C Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I've have never used the Sparkle drive, but i have a jeckyll and hyde(red) and love it. I wouldn't decribe it as harsh at all. Have you played with the bass boost at all. I think when the bass boost is on it smooths it out a little and when it is off the tone is more standard tubescreamer-ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Doesn't the Sparkle Drive mix in the clean sound along with the overdriven one? Thats probably the difference you're hearing if I had to take a guess. Its supposed to emulate the sound of running an overdriven amp and a clean amp at the same time or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inscho Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I have a JH as well i have it set at 8-9 o'clock on the drive and tone maxed and its not very harsh at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Originally posted by inscho I have a JH as well i have it set at 8-9 o'clock on the drive and tone maxed and its not very harsh at all I don't find it too harsh either, as long as the drive isn't set too high. If anything, the thing gets too bassy when the hyde side is activated. I have the silver version though, so that might not be as much of a problem on the newer one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whowasthursday Posted May 3, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I have the clean knob on the sparkle drive set at about 9:00, but the tone I'm referring to is the tone of the drive-- it's the most pronounced when the clean is at 0. Perhaps is the wrong word. I don't mean harsh as in too exclusively top-end. It has pretty good bass response (although with my blues jr. I think it sounds too farty with the bass boost on). I'm just saying that there's a certain high-end bite that it has whereas the sparkle drive seems to roll off the very top end, which I think I prefer. Also, they are voiced differently. I think it might just be that the Jekyll sounds more like my clean tone (which, I'm not sure if I actually like). I am playing a double-humbucker guitar right now, but I play more of a single-coil style, and when I get my strat I will see how things differ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Originally posted by whowasthursday I have the clean knob on the sparkle drive set at about 9:00, but the tone I'm referring to is the tone of the drive-- it's the most pronounced when the clean is at 0.Perhaps is the wrong word. I don't mean harsh as in too exclusively top-end. It has pretty good bass response (although with my blues jr. I think it sounds too farty with the bass boost on). I'm just saying that there's a certain high-end bite that it has whereas the sparkle drive seems to roll off the very top end, which I think I prefer.Also, they are voiced differently. I think it might just be that the Jekyll sounds more like my clean tone (which, I'm not sure if I actually like).I am playing a double-humbucker guitar right now, but I play more of a single-coil style, and when I get my strat I will see how things differ. Well it sounds like the Sparkle Drive is working for you, so just stick with it. You could probably play 100 different OD pedals and they'll all sound different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whowasthursday Posted May 3, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Oh yeah, I'll definitely keep the sparkle drive. The first pedal I bought, actually, 2-years used from a friend for $60. The screwy thing is, though, I haven't played though an actual ts808, so I'm sort of lost without a reference point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitArtMan Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I don't find the Jekyll syde of the J&H harsh either. I remember years ago doing a head to head between the Jekyll side of a J&H, a TS9 modded to 808 specs and an orgiginal TS-808. The J&H and modded TS9 were amazingly close in sound, with the J&H having just a tad more gain avaialble. Both were amazinly close to the orginal 808 as well - in fact I prefered them to the 808! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Originally posted by whowasthursday Oh yeah, I'll definitely keep the sparkle drive.The first pedal I bought, actually, 2-years used from a friend for $60.The screwy thing is, though, I haven't played though an actual ts808, so I'm sort of lost without a reference point. I think the J&H is a pretty decent representation of what a TS-808 would sound like. Its really not the end-all-be-all of OD's like it seems. There are tons of boutique overdrives that have outdone the TS in every way. My favorite is the Fulldrive II, and I think for versatility the Foxrox ZIM can't be beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whowasthursday Posted May 3, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I have played the fulldrive and it certainly was awesome... But that was for four minutes with somebody elses rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loosegroove Posted May 3, 2006 Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 Do you have the newer Red version, or an old silver one? I had an old silver one and I thought the tubescreamer side sounded a little "harsh". But I thought the newer red one sounded great, with nice sustain and that smooth TS tone. I actually liked the new one better than the Sparkle Drive I owned, though I think the old one ranks as my least favorite among the the three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whowasthursday Posted May 3, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2006 I have the new red version. I have even wondered a little bit if what I have is the result of a failed mod attempt, as I bought it used. The guy I bought it from seemed honest, though. It's true that if I bring the gain down it loses that edge... the only problem is, to me it seems to have poor bass response if I bring the drive down much past 11:00 (this is with the bass boost off. I think it's a little too bassy with it on). And besides, the whole reason I got this was to have a heavier od to go with the sparkle drive. Really, I wouldn't be saying this at all unless I were playing it right alongside the sparkle drive. It's ONLY in comparison to the sparkle drive that it is a little bit crunchy (as opposed to smooth) for my taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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