TC Electronic Spark Mini

TOTAL GUITAR APRIL 2019
T
he humble boost pedal is
pretty much the simplest
guitar eff ect there is, but
even within the myriad
options out there lurks a great
deal of variety, and a wealth of
possibilities. First, there’s how
much boost is on tap, with 20dB
or more not being uncommon.
Then there’s the circuit topology
– is it based around an
operational amplifi er, for a
cleaner tone, or JFETs, for a
warmer, thicker sound? Finally,
there’s the EQ profi le to think
about. The reason that so many
players use overdrives with the
drive rolled off as boosts is
because they tend to have
decent EQ profi les, if not good
tone controls as well. We’ve
rounded up a diverse group of
boost options to cover all these
bases, so let’s jump right in and
warm up those tubes...
BOOST PEDAL ROUND-UP
106
T
he Monty’s More! is based around two
discrete JFET boost circuits, each off ering
a tidy 15dB of boost on tap, with an
eff ects loop in between, so you can boost your
pedals and your amp. The nifty nut-secured
pots for the boost level also ensure that your
feet don’t knock the controls for six onstage.
Into a clean amp, there’s some serious spank
with a bridge pickup, and not too much mud
on the neck. Moving to a distorted amp, it
makes the amp drive even more characterful,
injecting more fun into our jam session –
although the two circuits need careful output
balancing to be useful together.
T
he Spark is a go-to for a reason, and
cranking it up to about 2-3 o’clock on a
clean amp, it’s easy to see why. Tele
single coils are fatter, and the higher-output
pickups of a Les Paul are chunky without
being overbearing. It’s thick, yet pretty
modern, with some ‘air’ being added to the
top-end. Into the gain channel of our test
Marshall, we fi nd bridge pickups quickly veer
into metal territory, while neck sounds are
still punchy, yet warm enough for snappy solo
work. Rolling back the guitar tone delivers a
bluesier feel, showcasing a broad sweep of
possibilities from a pedal with a single control.
Monty’s
More!
MONTY’S MORE! IS MORE
TC Electronic
Spark Mini
SPARK OF GENIUS
£39
TH
E G
AS
S
T
A
T
I
O
N
£150
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
TGR317.gear_pedals.indd 106 28/02/2019 10:46