MXR M294 Sugar Drive

MXR M294 Sugar Drive

Based on a rare and elusive circuit, the MXR Sugar Drive Pedal provides a diverse range of clear and transparent overdrive tones, from sauced up boosting to blown-tube distortion. 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.

If you’re all about true bypass, then you’re in luck—this pedal uses it by default. The original pedal that the M294 is based on used buffered bypass, though, so for those who want a sound truer to the original, 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.

At Riffs & Licks Music, we think the MXR M294 Sugar Drive is a great low-footprint drive pedal that's perfect for everything from transparent cleans to full blown-tube distortion.