Positive Grid Spark Go

[bobio]

Positive Grid just announced a new Spark Amp, the Spark GO

Spark GO Portable Smart Guitar Amp & Bluetooth Speaker - Positive Grid

Spark GO is an Ultra-portable Smart Guitar Amp & Bluetooth Speaker that allows you to play guitar anywhere. Tap into the Spark Universe of 50,000+ tones, Smart Jam, Auto-chords, and more - anywhere!

www.positivegrid.com

Tiny, but still has the full power of the Spark App.
I just signed up to be notified when the wait list to Pre-Order one starts.



The app is what makes all these Sparks attractive to me, I can create my tone in the app and have it available in any of my Spark amps. That is my one and only gripe with my BOSS amps, the Katana and the Nextone have seperate versions of Tone Studio, would be nice if they could make one version that supports all their amps, a fully supported mobile app would also be nice.

 

[DocScotter]

I have way too many small practice amps including a Pignose Legendary 7-100 which just arrived a few days ago. So, naturally I signed up to be notified as well! My wife has the original and keeps it here on the left coast and has the Mini set up in our second home on the East coast.

 

[sirshackleton]

A good friend of mine has one of the bigger ones...I believe it has two speakers, but I don't know the model. I had heard good things about them, but was really impressed how it sounded given its size. In terms of functionality I'm not sure it's really my thing, but I think what Positive Grid is doing with these is pretty cool.

 

[Pointmonger]

What is this? An amp for ants?

 

[Dismalhead]

Friend brought over a Spark Mini a couple of weeks ago. I've never heard one before. He dialed in a killer sound for me from his phone and I whaled away for a while. It was pretty awesome. Loud too. I believe I need one now.

 

[bobio]

What is this? An amp for ants?

View attachment 1099828

The Fender Mustang Micro is probably closer to their size

 

[dinomike77]

I bought the Mini and ended up returning it. I really wanted to like it and I STILL want to like it because what it does well is incredibly cool.

My issue was that, when you stripped out the compression and ambient effects from the presets, the speakers buzzed noticeably at anything above halfway on the volume knob.

For all the talk about how loud it can get, the advice from the forum was “don’t play that loud.” The suggestion from the company was “turn on the compression and don’t play that loud.”

However, it only exhibited this behavior when used as a guitar amp. As a Blue Tooth speaker, the sound only fell apart in the last 5% of the volume knob, which was quite loud indeed.

As I seem to be in the minority, but by no means the only one who has said the same, I wonder if I just got a lemon.

I’ve been tempted to try another unit, but I’d like it be at the price they were offering direct during Christmas, $180.

 

[JeffBro]

I have the Bias Amp on my PC. Does this come with all the Modded Amps and special Jimi Hendrix stuff that cost 100s more?

 

[Blrfl]

Wow, that thing is... cute, and I mean that in a good way. At that price point, it's fair competition for the Pocket GT with some give and take on features and will probably solve the low-latency speaker problem. Given the amount of speaker and battery in that thing, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a Mustang Micro-style headphone amp in the future.

The app is what makes all these Sparks attractive to me, I can create my tone in the app and have it available in any of my Spark amps. That is my one and only gripe with my BOSS amps, the Katana and the Nextone have seperate versions of Tone Studio, would be nice if they could make one version that supports all their amps, a fully supported mobile app would also be nice.

It's funny you mention that because I'm starting to look at upgrading to a higher-end modeler and that's one of the things pushing me away from BOSS and toward Line 6. BOSS could do a big unified thing where you can take patches up and down the product line, but I just don't see Roland getting into that mindset anytime soon.

 

[bobio]

It's funny you mention that because I'm starting to look at upgrading to a higher-end modeler and that's one of the things pushing me away from BOSS and toward Line 6. BOSS could do a big unified thing where you can take patches up and down the product line, but I just don't see Roland getting into that mindset anytime soon.

I have been down the Line 6 road and even with the faults of Tone Studio, I am solidly in the BOSS/Roland camp.

A unified Tone Studio would be awesome, but I have found that I do things just a bit differently for the Katana and the Nextone so it hasn't been as big an issue as I may have made it sound as I probably would make separate patches for each amp anyway. It would just be nice to not have to have multiple installations of Tone Studio. It would be even nicer if Tone Studio were ported to mobile devices.

I will keep pestering BOSS/Roland, might help if others also did the same if they too want to see a unified editor and mobile app for all BOSS/Roland amps.

 

[JIMMY JAZZMAN]

I have the Spark, and like others said, the app can make any sound imaginable. They're
just fun to try different tones without 18 pedals to deal with. My problem is when I get a
sound, I want to re-create on a fuller scale, I will need those 18 pedals to do so. Ha. ha.

 

[ruger9]

Having gotten one of the first Spark Minis, loving the sounds, and "getting over" having to use the app for it, I am very very interested in this, for travel. The mini is small and great, but if this GO version sounds almost as good as the Mini, and fits in a gig bag, I am SO IN...

And I don't get the complaints about volume? Or about super-versatility? These are PRACTICE/travel amps... I only use the mini when I need to be QUIET... it's not meant for loud volumes, gigs, or even jamming... the bigger Spark can do that, but that's not the design function of the Mini and especially not the GO.

 

[RomanS]

Just pre-ordered the GO - I already have the Spark 40, which is by far my most-used one of all of my amps (just for reference, I also own a Carr Rambler, a homemade 5E3, homemade JTM45, homemade PR, a VHT Special 6, a ZT Lunchbox, and a couple of bass amps - nothing sounds as good at apartment friendly volume levels ar the Spark; I used to own a Yamaha THR10 - and immediately gave it away after getting the Spark, it's like 10 times better...).
The GO seems like a super-handy thing to take along on vacation, and unlike the Spark 40, the headphone out can apparently be switched to a mono line out - which makes me wonder how it would fare for plugging directly into a PA...

 

[ruger9]

Just pre-ordered the GO - I already have the Spark 40, which is by far my most-used one of all of my amps (just for reference, I also own a Carr Rambler, a homemade 5E3, homemade JTM45, homemade PR, a VHT Special 6, a ZT Lunchbox, and a couple of bass amps - nothing sounds as good at apartment friendly volume levels ar the Spark; I used to own a Yamaha THR10 - and immediately gave it away after getting the Spark, it's like 10 times better...).
The GO seems like a super-handy thing to take along on vacation, and unlike the Spark 40, the headphone out can apparently be switched to a mono line out - which makes me wonder how it would fare for plugging directly into a PA...

Woah... that's some serious crap! The Yamaha is easily considered one of, if not the, best of the "practice/portable" amps!

I'm selling my Microcube since I got the Spark Mini. But yeah, I also pre-ordered a GO...

 

[ndcaster]

A friend of mine has one. It sounds like an excellent recording on a small system.

 

[RomanS]

Woah... that's some serious crap! The Yamaha is easily considered one of, if not the, best of the "practice/portable" amps!

I'm selling my Microcube since I got the Spark Mini. But yeah, I also pre-ordered a GO...

I play mainly with clean and semi-clean/edge-of-breakup tones - and IMHO these types of tone always seemed super cold and lifeless on the Yamaha, seems like it was geared more towards higher gain tones.
With the Spark I can easily get super-nice warm vintage cleans, and convincingly tube-like dynamic low gain OD.

Also, with the Yamaha it was very difficult to use the effects - they were very over-the-top/exaggerated - hard to dial in a reverb that didn't sound cavernous, but just added a bit of room; and setting a nice single-repeat rockabilly slapback echo was almost impossible - you needed to tap it in every time, because there wasn't a stock option for that; tweaking the effects required connecting the Yamaha to the computer with an USB cable, and working with a program that looked like its interface hadn't been upgraded since the early 1990s...

With the Spark, I just store 4 tones I like on the amp, and use the amp controls to fine-tune EQ, gain & effects settings; and the effects are WAAAAAYYY more useable, really nice rooms and tape echos; and even if I wanted to delve more deeply, I'd just have to open the app on my phone and have everything at my fingertips, instead of needing to start my computer, find the right type of USB cable (the Yamaha needed that weird old type with the square-ish plug on one end), and time-travel back to the times of Windows 3.1.

 

[bowman]

I like the Spark amps, and I’ll probably get this new tiny one. I have found some great presets in the app, and tweaked them to be even better. (and like any modeler that ever existed, there are some presets I’d never use) I’ve used some of the ones I like on my home recordings and they sound really good in the mixes. If I told someone it was an expensive amp and expensive pedals they’d probably believe me. I don’t mind giving Positive Grid another 100 bucks. So far I’ve been happy with their stuff.
Edited to be say that when I record the Spark, I’m actually micing the speaker - not going direct. Maybe it feels like it’s making a digital amp sound more organic? I like it better, whatever the reason.

 

[Tim S]

I have a Spark 40 that I use as a bedroom amp. I managed to avoid getting the Mini, but this Go looks interesting. I’m waiting to hear if its battery is user-replaceable. If so, I think I may be in. But if it’s not, then I’m pretty sure I’m out. I don’t like the idea of disposable amps.

 

[ruger9]

I have a Spark 40 that I use as a bedroom amp. I managed to avoid getting the Mini, but this Go looks interesting. I’m waiting to hear if its battery is user-replaceable. If so, I think I may be in. But if it’s not, then I’m pretty sure I’m out. I don’t like the idea of disposable amps.

Me either, but damned if that's not the way everything seems to be going these days... phones, iPods, amps, cars (because you can't AFFORD to replace the battery in it!!)... even when the battery IS replaceable, it doesn't mean it's an easy DIY for everyone (like the iPod)... I had my last laptop long enough that the battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore, I did DIY the battery myself, and it worked great, but I am a DIY person, and good at fixing things, so I had little fear in trying, once I saw it could be done (on YouTube).

 

[craigs63]

I ordered it last night. I refuse to say "pre-ordered".
I already have a Microcube, Vox Da-5, little Marshall, Vox, Danelectro Honeytone and the 90's amp in a case, Smokey ...