SUGAR DRIVE
The MXR Sugar Drive is a versatile overdrive pedal delivering transparent tones, from boost to saturated distortion, inspired by a rare and highly sought-after circuit. Featuring a unique Drive control for blending clean and overdriven signals, plus a voltage doubler for increased headroom, it offers a wide range of tones in a compact, pedalboard-friendly design. It features true bypass, with a switchable buffer mode. The simple three-knob interface makes it easy to dial in your sound, offering a premium overdrive experience at a fraction of the cost of the original Klon inspired pedals.
What MXR say about the SUGAR DRIVE
The MXR Sugar Drive Pedal provides a diverse range of clear and transparent overdrive tones, from sauced up boosting to blown-tube distortion. It's based on a rare overdrive pedal that has acquired a mythical reputation among fanatical tone-seekers thanks to its unique circuit design.
The key elements of that circuit design are the Drive control and something called a voltage doubler. First, the Drive control on this pedal doesn't just increase the intensity of the overdrive pedal. It starts with your clean signal and then blends it with the overdrive effect as you turn it up, replicating the smooth transition of an amplifier going from clean to dirty. The voltage doubler increases overall headroom, which opens everything up nicely.
Of course, we had to put the MXR touch on this circuit. If you're all about true bypass, then you're in luck—this pedal uses it by default. The original used buffered bypass, though, and we know there's a lot of players out there who don't want to fix something that isn't broken. They're in luck, too—just flick the Buffer switch on the side of the pedal to enable buffered bypassing.
With a simple three-knob setup and an MXR mini housing, this is the go-to overdrive to have on your pedalboard. It's versatile and it saves space, and unlike the original pedals it's based on, it won't cost you thousands of dollars.