tc electronic Spark Booster

I remember when that pedal cost 3 times as much, so once I saw this price drop I purchased one. It promises 20 db of clean boost but it is not like the mini spark. At the "clean" setting you have to increase the gain to get those 20db, which adds some distortion of the pedal. With the gain at 0 it only rises the volume at about 3-4 db (I m only guessing, in any case very little). At the other settings, the mid can do the ts thing by dropping the bass knob almost at 0, while the fat setting well it seems it's working as the mojomojo, but with much less gain, though it can totally work as a light overdrive.
What I don't like is that it keeps this "airy" quality, in every setting and I have to reduce the treble to get rid of it, but like that the mid setting doesn't get aggressive enough. It works fine but not quite as good as a ts.
So if you plan to use it in front of the amp, you get 3-ish- pedals at one. None of these modes though are as good as the equivalent pedal. If you need it for the fx loop for a solo boost, I suggest the mini spark. For the price it's a 6 star pedal, but price aside, well it's not amazing

I have a lot of different boost pedals so technically I didn't need this one. However, seeing the positive reviews and the great price, I decided to give it a go. The pedal is a swiss knife booster - all 3 modes have meaning depending on your setup (found uses for each of them). Clean is pretty neutral, fat gives a nice girth to single coils and mid is excellent to get a better projection. The 2-band eq is quite effective - I would really like to see a mid control as well for even more fine-tuning but it's good enough already. As others have noted, there is a volume difference when switching between the modes, with the clean being the quietest. If there is one criticism for the particular unit I received is that the bass and treble knobs don't align perfectly, which is a bit annoying to the eye but doesn't affect the sound/functionality otherwise. To be more precise, the bass and treble pots have an indent in the middle of the rotation (where there is neither cut nor boost) and setting the knob to that position, one would expect to see the knob line completely vertical. In my case both are looking a bit to the right. Nothing major, just a bit annoying if you have ocd :P

I had been looking for a good booster to add to my pedalboard, but I wanted a booster which could give you something more, that something extra which you will find useful in particular situations. This TC Electronic Spark Booster is just that thing: an excellent clean booster, but at the same time it can be used to add dirt to your signal, pushing other pedals and the amp that little bit more.

You can tell that there was a lot of thought behind this booster. As regards dimensions, it's a very compact pedal and therefore doesn't take up much space on your pedalboard. There's no way you can forget this pedal on after you're done with your solo as the LED is very bright, insanely bright. Build quality is top notch, knobs and switches have that solid feel and the housing looks like it's really durable.

Battery compartment is easliy accessible by unscrewing the lid with a small coin, but I prefer to power it through the 9V barrel connection. Powered using a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power, I must say that the TC Electronic Booster is exceptionally clean, no hiss or hum or anything else, just the guitar's tone boosted to your liking. And it can be boosted up to 26dB, much more than what's needed to make your solo cut through the mix.

The Gain section can be used to act like an overdrive pedal. You will not get any distortion out of it, but some good overdrive quite similar to a vintage tube amp. I found this very useful. In other words it's basically another overdrive pedal on my pedalboard.

The Bass and Treble knobs proved to be very functional, especially when using different guitars with different tonewoods and pickups. No matter what I plugged into this booster, I easily managed to get a well balanced tone. To further enhance the EQ section, TC Electronic put a little toggle switch which will shift this pedal in three different modes. All three modes are distinct and pretty useful.

In a nutshell, this little pedal is packed with features: excellent clean tone (and plenty of it), useful overdrive, sensitive EQ, three different modes, true bypass, and bright LED, all housed in a very solid construction. What more could I want?

Great value for the money!

I use it at the beginning of my chain.
A very versatile booster, which can color the sound or not depending on how you set it.
Useful by itself or to push an existing overdrive.
It can emphasize and give life to an amplifier with a slightly dead sound.
The three clean fat and mid options are quite useful, and have totally different voices.
This boost can go from a totally clean and crystal clear sound to a moderate saturation, which makes this pedal much more than a simple clean boost.
This is a good alternative to other boost pedals much more expensive, and less versatile.
My only complaints are the switch, which feels not very robust , and the volume disparity between the different modes.
Overall, a positive evaluation.