NAMM 2018: MXR Sugar Drive Overdrive Pedal

MXR make some of the most iconic pedals on the market. I was excited to hear that this year at NAMM they've added several pedals to the line. Addmittedly, the pedal I most excited for is the MXR Sugar Drive. I'm a sucker for a transparent overdrive and this one seem to fit that description to a tee. In fact, several times, the guys at the MXR booth stop just short of calling it a Klone clone by name. So, if you like your pedals tiny and you are also a fan of MXR, then this is right up your ally. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some other pedals strikingly similar to the MXR (Tone City Bad Horse) but the MXR does have a bypass-able buffer, so there is that.

More Information:


This year, MXR is releasing its own take—dubbed the Sugar Drive—on a rare, beloved circuit from the '90s. Packed into a pedalboard-friendly mini chassis, the pedal provides a wide range of tones, from driving boost to lush overdrive.
The pedal's interface is clean, with only three knob controls—Tone, Drive, and Volume—and an on/off footswitch on its face. Despite its simplistic aesthetic, the pedal's finely tuned circuitry is a bit more dynamic than it appears.
Instead of a Drive knob that simply increases the pedal's intensity, it actually grabs your clean, unaffected signal and blends it with the overdrive as you turn the knob. Then, the pedal's "Charge Pump" increases headroom by increasing the operating voltage. This makes for a deeper, more progressive move from clean tone to affected dirty tone and allows your sound to open up more naturally.
On the side of the chassis, you'll find a selectable switch and corresponding LED indicator for choosing between true bypass or MXR's buffered bypass.

Did I Cause Wampler To Make A Deluxe Tumnus

Today, I am a proud papa, metaphorically, I've been a father for several years now... But what I am talking today is the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. You see, All the way back in October of 2015 I predicted this day will come. Yes, it was a stab in the dark, but it makes it no less true. Check it out if you don't believe me. The date of that post is from over two years ago. The Deluxe Tumnus features a three-band EQ, bypassable buffer, and switchable gain boost. This is a humble blog, so I don't think that I really influenced Brian Wampler to develop a new Tumnus pedal, but then again...

He Has Read My Blog

No really, He has even commented on posts before. Brian is very engaged with his audience. He is active on YouTube, social media, and forums. This is the formula that has made Wampler the brand that we know and love. Either he is a builder that wants connect to the users of his product, or he is an egomaniac that can't help Googling his own name. Given his demeanor on his YouTube channel, I believe it's the former.

He Basically Told Us He'd Do It

Back when the Tumnus was released, Brian told us that if he had put the Tumnus in a larger enclosure, then he would have been too tempted to mess with the circuit. So many people asked him to make a faithful reproduction of the Klon Centar that he didn't want to go modding the original just yet. Now that the Tumnus has become a respected pedal in its own right, a deluxe version is more sensible.

It's Still Pretty Risky

Sure, it sounds good in theory. First, give a Klon, then give us a Klon Deluxe. Deluxe must be better right? Well, we have to look at why we like the Klon in the first place. It's a simple transparent overdrive. Personally, I use my Klone to hit the front end of my amp (or another dirt pedal) to get it a little bit of crunch. I use the Treble knob to make everything just pokey enough. Season to taste using the Gain and you're done. However, a three band EQ on a Klon circuit might just be too much for some people. I know what you might be thinking, "More knobs = more better". The original only asked us how much treble we wanted. Too much? Turn it down. Not Enough? Turn it up. Now we can boost or cut Bass and Mids. In doing this, Wampler has given us the freedom to find a wide range of tones. Some of those tones are going to be crap. Now we have more rope, we can find a way to hang ourselves.

Conclusion

I'm excited about this. I mean, I did call it. Totally called it. Other than that, this is the first kind of progression. We've seen Klon circuit paired with other circuits. We've also seen transparent overdrives with fun little mods. But, to my knowledge, this is the first direct clone to get an update like this. I look forward to posting a full review soon. I wonder if other builders will follow suit. Will there be a Soul Food Deluxe, or an Archer Deluxe?