TC Electronic Spark Mini

The TC Electronic Spark Mini is a small analog boost pedal that gives you up to 20 dB of clean gain from a single Level knob¹². TC Electronic describes it as "a great clean booster" with "a completely clean boost with some serious tone enhancement under the hood once you really start cranking things," built on a discrete, fully analog circuit in which "each part of the circuit is carefully selected, from transistor to capacitor and from resistor to diode"³. The maker promises "sweet, pure tone in all of its glory in an unparalleled clarity with zero coloration," letting your core tone shine through unaltered³.

Its party trick is the PrimeTime footswitch: the pedal works out for itself whether you want it latched on, or only active while you hold the switch down³. That makes it as useful for slamming the front of a tube amp as for punching up a single phrase.

One knob and the PrimeTime footswitch

The control surface is about as simple as a pedal gets. One Level knob sets the amount of boost, up to 20 dB¹. On That Pedal Show, the presenters summed it up: "it's a very simple design. One knob."¹

The footswitch is where the Spark Mini earns its keep. RockBoard's PedalPedia calls it PrimeTime: "SPARK MINI BOOSTER instantly understands whether you want the pedal to be on permanently when you hit the footswitch, or" only while it is held down³. Guitar World's buying guide describes it as a soft-touch switch that "can detect whether you want the switch latched or momentary depending on whether you hold it down"². In latching mode it behaves like a classic stompbox on/off; in momentary mode the boost is on only while your foot is down, which guitar.com's Cillian Breathnach notes "lets you accent certain phrases or short solos with ease"⁸.

A clean boost with up to 20 dB of gain

As a boost, the Spark Mini's job is to raise the level of your signal without adding clipping of its own. Twenty dB is a lot of clean gain, enough to push a tube amp into breakup or simply to make a solo cut through. Guitar.com's buying guide calls it "a high-headroom op-amp architecture," "ideal for matching guitar outputs or kicking in a pure solo boost"⁸.

Because the input and output jacks are on the sides of the compact die-cast enclosure, Guitar World's writers advise using pancake-style patch cables to keep the footprint tight². They also found the build solid: "The die-cast metal chassis feels like it could survive being thrown down the Stairway To Heaven."²

On voicing, Guitar World's Ross Holder and Alex Lynham found it "relatively open, getting more compressed as you raise the gain," and concluded it "works best smashing a tube amp rather than coloring a guitar signal"². Not every reviewer heard it as perfectly clean, though. On That Pedal Show, discussing the pedal's 20 dB of boost, the presenters said: "there's 20 dB of what they say clean boost, but there is sizzle in there."¹

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In the video, the That Pedal Show presenters walk through the Spark Mini's single-knob design and its up-to-20 dB boost, noting that despite its clean-boost billing they hear added harmonics and sizzle in the signal¹.

History: a smaller version of the Spark Booster

The Spark Mini is the compact sibling of the full-size TC Electronic Spark Booster. The original Spark Booster arrived in 2012, offering 26 dB of boost along with tone controls, including a Mid-boost switch, and a mini-toggle with three tonal options that Guitar World's Paul Riario found added "spot-on flexibility"⁹¹⁰. TC Electronic's Tore Mogensen pitched it as "the perfect tool for enhancing existing sounds and highlighting solo or rhythm parts"¹¹¹².

A year later, in 2013, the Mini arrived. Guitar World's buying guide jokes that "overstuffed pedalboards everywhere were relieved when the Mini was introduced"². The launch announcement said the Spark Mini Booster "combines the very best qualities of the original Spark Booster with a miniature footprint," and that its "small exterior ensures it fits on any pedalboard"⁵¹³. It became available in August 2013, at a US price of $79⁷.

The Spark line has stayed in TC Electronic's range ever since. Guitar.com's boost-pedals explainer describes the Spark and Spark Mini as "some of TC Electronic's most well-regarded, up there with the Ditto as very long-standing, standard parts of the range," and says of their sound simply: "they're just reliable, loud and clean"¹⁴.

Spark Mini versus the full-size Spark Booster

MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown framed the Mini as "one solitary knob that controls 20dB of boost," rather than "the full-sized Spark Booster's 26dB of boost and tone controls"⁶. MusicRadar's editors noted the trade-off plainly: "While players may miss the bass and treble controls of the full-sized Spark"¹⁵. If you want to shape the boosted tone, the full-size pedal is the one with the EQ; if you want the smallest possible clean boost, the Mini is it.

What reviewers said

Published reviewers have been positive about the Spark Mini, with a few caveats.

• MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown found it tonally transparent, and reported that "The PrimeTime switching works like a charm, too," adding that the pedal always behaved as wanted no matter how hard it was pushed⁶.
• Guitar World's writers found the voicing relatively open, getting more compressed at higher gain settings, and best used to hit a tube amp hard rather than to color the guitar signal itself².
• That Pedal Show's presenters heard added harmonics and sizzle despite the clean-boost billing¹.
• MusicRadar's editors flagged the missing bass and treble controls from the full-size Spark as the main thing players give up¹⁵.
• Guitar.com's Cillian Breathnach called this "$50 micro-pedal from TC Electronic... a steal"⁸.

The pedal has found its way onto pro boards. Guitar World's Daryl Robertson notes "the likes of Sabbath's Tony Iommi and Anthrax axe man Scott Ian relying on this tiny boost to make sure their signature" sounds cut through on tour¹⁶.

Price over the years

At launch in August 2013 the Spark Mini Booster carried a US price of $79, with UK and EU prices of £69 and €79⁷⁵. By May 2026, Gearnews listed it at $41.00, £38.00 and 44.00€¹⁷, and guitar.com's October 2026 buying guide called it a $50 pedal⁸.

Videos

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Questions