The MXR Sugar Drive is for players who love the sonic synergy of their guitar and amplifier but want even more of that sound. You spent years chasing it, and now you need a way to make it more focused and more robust. A way to make it that much sweeter. Look no further than the Sugar Drive.

It’s based on a rare pedal that has acquired a mythical reputation among fanatical tone-seekers thanks to its unique circuit design. Key elements of that design are its Drive control and voltage doubler. The Drive control replicates the smooth transition of an amplifier going from clean to dirty by blending the overdrive effect with your clean signal as you turn it up. The voltage doubler increases overall headroom, which opens everything up nicely for a clear and transparent range of tones that you can dial in depending on what you need from your rig, from uncolored boosting to rich, smooth overdrive.

Of course, the designers had to give this circuit the MXR touch. 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 the engineers know there are 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 overdrive pedal to bring out the best of your rig and make it come alive. It’s versatile and it saves space, and unlike the original pedals it’s based on, it won’t cost you thousands of dollars.