TC Spark vs. Mojomojo vs. Vintage Microtubes

[Witch Hazel]

i bought the TC Spark recently and i'm really liking it as an always-on mild overdrive pedal.  i've also got the Microtubes X7 for a more modern hifi distortion, but i'd like something that's somewhere between the two, like a high gain tube sound.  the Spark will do that if i turn the gain up a bit, but i'm looking at the Mojomojo and Vintage Microtubes as well, which seem to be more designed for that kind of sound.  it's difficult to get a real sense of how they feel from Youtube videos though, so... has anyone tried either of those and could compare them to the Spark?  or maybe there's another overdrive pedal i should be looking at?

[dannybuoy]

The MojoMojo is very similar to the Spark, just darker/muffled and higher gain. So if you want something more modern and hifi than the Spark, this is vintage and lofi!

The Vintage… well I could waffle on about it but there’s a ton of demos on YouTube that can convey how it sounds better than I can here! The newer models with the attack switch (the same pre-dirt treble boost the B7K and Alpha Omega have) would be more flexible as the original is quite dark sounding.

 

[electriccheese]

I have this three pedals, and like dannybuoy says, the mojomojo is close to the spark (wich I like more, thinking of replacing the mojomojo with another spark).

 

The Vintage Microtubes is more modern sounding, and I like the sound, but for me colours more the tone, there is a low mid bump that I can't remove with the mid control (I have the microtubes deluxe first version)

[SumOne]

I'd agree with what's already been said but I've been through quite a few overdrive pedals including the Spark, Mojo Mojo and Vintage Microtubes and find that generally it comes down to your setup and personal taste (hence me getting through a lot of pedals to try them out) as it's is mainly 'what's your favourite sound' which is very subjective and quite difficult to compare like-for-like via youtube videos. The reason I got rid of them were: Spark had no mid control and I had another pedal that did similar low gain OD and included mid control, Mojo Mojo was a bit 'grainy/synthy' for me compared to the Blueberry Bass Queen Bee that replaced it for me, Vintage microtubes added a bit of higher frequency 'clank' that I wasn't keen on. 

 

My favourites have mostly included EQ with mid control (ideally sweepable), but those tend to be bigger and more expensive DI/Preamp/OD combination pedals.  A smaller/cheaper OD without EQ (just 'tone' control) that I'm really liking at the moment is the Solid Gold FX Beta - it's similar to the TC Spark style, a bit darker, and a flick of a switch to also have higher gain OD. For a brighter higher gain OD I liked the Way Huge Green Rhino Mk5, it's a tube screamer type OD with useful frequency controls.

 

Personally, I buy quite a lot second hand as they are built to last and they hold their value well so you don't really lose much £ buying/selling and trying a lot out....I suppose that's a bit of a faff but it seems to have become a hobby within a hobby for me!

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by SumOne

[Lozz196]

I’ve just bought a Spark, the full sized one. Very impressed so far. With just the bass in isolation it’s easy to hear the gain/drive on it but in the mix I reckon it will just fur up the sound much like when you hear an isolated bass track from someone such as John Deacon. On the track it sounds big and warm, isolated scratchy & driven. When I’m playing along to YouTube I can’t hear any of the drive at all, and this is exactly what I wanted from it, it stops the sound from being completely clean but retains the actual sound of the instrument. Just like valve amp break-up.

[krispn]

58 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve just bought a Spark, the full sized one. Very impressed so far. With just the bass in isolation it’s easy to hear the gain/drive on it but in the mix I reckon it will just fur up the sound much like when you hear an isolated bass track from someone such as John Deacon. On the track it sounds big and warm, isolated scratchy & driven. When I’m playing along to YouTube I can’t hear any of the drive at all, and this is exactly what I wanted from it, it stops the sound from being completely clean but retains the actual sound of the instrument. Just like valve amp break-up.

 

Not to repeat everything that has just been posted by Lozz... but

 

The way the Spark is voiced in the bass (80Hz from my rudimentary testing) and the voicing of the MID (and the FAT to a lesser extent) settings make it just about the perfect low gain bass drive. It's voiced right where need it to be in terms of the EQ points and adds enough to the overall signal in terms of gain/drive to just about perfectly nail that edge of break up or more valve like furry tone which lets us sit in the mix with enough drive to blend in but not lose the essence of a good bass tone.

 

For about £35 used I'd rate this as one of the best drive/2 band EQ's for bass because it a gives nice alternative to where most bass amp EQ points are set so it can really compliment them and it just makes the bass sound 'better'. The clean boost mode is great too as a basic 2 band EQ but the way the MID is voiced and pushing those 300-400Hz MIDS with the gain up is very pleasing.

 

@Witch Hazel the new Darkglass BK3 V2 has a mid boost button which works across a broad band from 300Hz-1kHz and the tone knob is actually a high roll off (8kHz-3kHz)so it can dial the top end right down and fill out the mids nicely. I am not a typical DG fanboi and don't play any modern/djent stuff but it's a really useful low to mid gain pedal (and more drive as needed). The Vintage Microtubes is a darker sounding pedal compared to the Version 2 B3K. Amos Heller has a good video comparing the 4 DG 'small 4 knob pedals' which is worth a look. I also have a Fender Trapper which is a great low-med gain pedal. I've added a demo below which is a good representation of what it does. Think decent amp drive and the Dist2 channel really lets you dial in the low end.

 

I've just started rehearsing and gigging again and I've been enjoying using the Trapper, the B3K v2 and the Spark in various ways. I also nabbed a new to me Fender Rumble 210 combo so I've had a lot of gain options!! For Low gain I can emulate the Rumble's built in drive (which is really quite decent) with all three pedals but I prefer to use the Spark as an always on sound just pushing as eloquently described by Lozz and then I can switch to either the B3K or trapper for more drive - each providing their own colour and tones. The Trapper is great at the more vintage and amp like while the B3K take it up a notch if needed.

 

I have a new unit arriving soon so I'll be up for shifting some of these pedals soon as I'm consolidating my pedal board