Kinotone is a relatively new boutique US pedal brand that is grabbing attention for designing unusual and creative compact stompboxes that work well with guitar, synths or any instrument with an output. The Sparks, mostly a filter + distortion pedal, is their second product after the very well-received Ribbons.
The Sparks is a stereo analog harmonic processor with a fully analog signal path, paired with a digital multifunctional processor. In other words, a very peculiar multi-FX pedal.
It starts with a stereo analog waveshaping circuit, offering both soft, warm clipping and more aggressive wavefolding. You can blend between these two sounds with a crossfader and enhance control with a noise gate and blend knob for mixing in dry signals.
Additionally, Sparks includes a 12dB/octave state-variable filter that continuously morphs between lowpass, bandpass, and highpass filters, complete with resonant and self-oscillating controls.
A key feature is the built-in modulation engine, which includes a multi-wave LFO and an envelope follower, both capable of modulating multiple parameters. This allows for creative effects like ducking, compression, or dynamic parameter changes.
What sets Sparks apart is its onboard synthesizer—a 4-voice polyphonic SID chip-inspired synth that delivers gritty, lo-fi tones. You can shape these sounds through the pedal’s waveshaping and filter controls, with options for hard sync, ring modulation, ADSR envelopes, and waveform selection.
Sparks offers six factory presets, plus room for custom settings, and supports stereo I/O, MIDI, CV/expression control, and TRS MIDI compatibility. For Ableton Live users, there’s a free Max for Live device to control Sparks via MIDI.
For an in-depth look at this pedal directly by the manufacturer, you can check out this post.
The pedal is available for preorder here for $399 – or rather was, since it’s already sold out.
Kinotone Sparks Features
Waveshaping and Utility
- Crossfade from warm soft clipping to 4-stage wavefolding.
- Designed for instrument and line level inputs.
- Optional low-cut before the drive reduces bass and adds clarity to polyphonic material.
- Blend knob to mix in or boost your dry signal.
- Gate can be used at high gain settings or for creative effects.
State-Variable Filter
- Sculpt your sound with a musical 12dB/octave multimode filter.
- Continuously-variable between high-pass, band-pass, and low-pass filter types.
- Crank the resonance to create a self-oscillating voice.
- Pair the filter with Sparks’ modulation options to explore a wide range of texture, movement, and rhythmic effects.
Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO)
- Map the LFO to any knob control or to multiple.
- Mapped parameters act as attenuverters, letting you set the intensity and polarity of modulation with a single knob.
- Morph between waveform shapes: sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, sample and hold, and random ramps.
- LFO speeds range from 10 seconds well into audio rate.
- RANGE instantly doubles or quadruples the LFO speed.
- SPIN shifts the left and right LFO channels out of phase to create stereo movement.
- Waveforms can be synchronized to MIDI clock.
Envelope Follower
- Map the envelope follower to any knob control or to multiple.
- Use the intensity of your input signal to create dynamic effects like auto-wah, auto-swell, ducking, and more.
- Classic, Compressor, and AR envelope styles.
- Adjustable attack and sensitivity.
SID Chip-Inspired Synthesizer
- Play Sparks as your instrument using a MIDI keyboard.
- Recreate warm and gritty lo-fi sounds of the SID Chip — the iconic synth engine behind the C64 home computer.
- Switch between waveform shapes: sine, triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and 23-bit Fibonacci LFSR noise.
- Modeling of ADSR envelope, hard sync, and ring mod.
- Controls for bit depth, pulse width modulation, pitch modulation, and glide.
- 4 voices of polyphony with optional mono mode.
- +/- 5 semitone pitch bending.
- Synth voices are mixed with any input audio and can be processed through Sparks. The synth is disconnected from the analog signal path when not in use.
Presets, MIDI Control, CV
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Save your settings with 6 onboard presets, or up to 32 using MIDI.
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Presets can be activated momentarily or latched for performance effects.
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All parameters are fully controllable via MIDI, CV, or an expression pedal.
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Directly compatible with your favorite MIDI controllers — no external MIDI box required.
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Internal jumpers available to switch between TRS MIDI Type A (default), B, or CBA.
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CV control up to 500Hz.
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Free Max for Live device to control Sparks with MIDI in Ableton.
