The Cornerstone Sparkle is an overdrive pedal from Cornerstone Music Gear, handmade in Italy. The maker designed it, in its own words, "out of a need for a super touch sensitive overdrive that could exactly follow the playing of the guitarist without turning any knob during songs." The idea is that picking dynamics, not knob turns, shape how much drive you hear, so the pedal can stay set throughout a set.1
Controls and how it works
The Sparkle keeps its control layout simple, with three knobs:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Acts as a master output level control1 |
| Bass | Tone shaping; at noon it contributes to a flat frequency response1 |
| Treble | Tone shaping; at noon it contributes to a flat frequency response1 |
The noon setting is worth knowing as a player: with both tone controls at noon, Cornerstone says the Sparkle creates a flat frequency response, so you can start from a neutral baseline and shape from there.1
Power and headroom
The Sparkle requires a standard 9V DC negative power supply only. It also offers an 18V mode: Cornerstone says that in 18V mode the pedal offers a lot more headroom than the standard 9V, which it describes as extremely useful for guitars with more powerful pickups. More headroom means the circuit can accept a hotter signal before it compresses and clips, so players with high-output instruments have more room before the drive saturates.1
The pedal runs from a 9V DC negative supply only. The 18V mode is a feature of the pedal itself; check the included user manual, which Cornerstone offers as a download on its product page, before choosing a supply.1
Background and related pedals
An earlier pedal carrying the Sparkle name came from Smallsound/Bigsound: the Sparkle Motion, a Rangemaster-style circuit. An independent technical analysis published in April 2013 noted that "the added controls and circuit modifications keep the original tones of the rangemaster and expand on them."2
Cornerstone's overdrive range has since grown around several drive designs, including the Cornerstone Colosseum dual overdrive, the Cornerstone Antique screamer-style drive, and the Cornerstone Gladio SC preamp-style overdrive.
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Questions
What is the Cornerstone Sparkle?
The Sparkle is an overdrive pedal made by Cornerstone Music Gear and handmade in Italy. The maker describes it as a super touch sensitive overdrive designed to follow the playing of the guitarist exactly, without needing to turn any knob during songs. It offers Volume, Bass and Treble controls and an 18V mode with more headroom.
What does the 18V mode do on the Sparkle?
According to Cornerstone, in 18V mode the pedal offers a lot more headroom than the standard 9V operation. The maker says this is extremely useful for guitars with more powerful pickups, which can push a lower-headroom overdrive harder. The pedal still runs from a standard 9V DC negative power supply.
What do the Bass and Treble controls do at noon?
Cornerstone says that with both tone controls set at noon, the Sparkle creates a flat frequency response, meaning it neither cuts nor boosts bass or treble. That gives players a known neutral starting point before shaping the tone to taste with the two controls.
Sources (2)
- Sparkle | Cornerstone | Handmade in Italy Music Gear, Cornerstone (www.cornerstonegear.it)
- Guitar FX Layouts: Smallsound/Bigsound Sparkle Motion, tagboardeffects.blogspot.com, 2013-04-06
