Positive Grid Spark MINI 10W Portable Smart Guitar Amp & Speaker (Pearl)

I resisted the spark in favor of my Katana Mini for a long time. My main problem is: I want to just plug in my guitar and start shredding and not spend a ton of time on an app. But the main problem with the Kata is: no rechargeable battery (remembering to charge AAs is a pain!). I needed a bluetooth speaker anyway, so I decided to give the Spark Mini a try. First off: it's louder than the Katana Mini. Both the Spark and Katana can get louder than I would ever want from a mini practice amp (and both of them start to sound a little funky if you really crank 'em). The Spark has more bass which, again, is not surprising being as how it has 2 speakers and acts as a BT speaker as well. Tone-wise: man they are both good. The Katana has its' own sound, whereas the Spark is trying to sound like other amps. Pound for pound, I think the Katana has a more interesting/unique tone but the Spark more than makes up for it with versatility. Controls are really easy to use. You can save patches over the hardware slots and then never connect to the Spark with your phone again if you want to. That's a key piece for me because, again, I just want software that feels more like a real amp / hardware. This really does a good job of that. And I found myself having more fun with the app than I thought I would (for example, the "jam along" tracks are actually really fun!). I like the simplicity of the controls too. I don't ever want to be in an amp modeler and choosing between an SM57 or a different mic and placing it in a virtual space next to the speaker cone. That stuff doesn't ACTUALLY sound like placing real mics anyway, and it's everything I dislike about modelers. I just want simple controls that sound good (which is why the Neural DSP have been the only plugins I have used long-term on my PC). You can choose a gate, comp/wah, drive/fuzz, amp/cab, mod/eq, delay, and reverb. They all are easy to use and sound good. As a bluetooth speaker: man this thing sounds GREAT for music. It's a bit high in price if you're just buying it as a speaker, but the fact that it does double duty makes it a no-brainer if you're a guitar player. I've honestly used it as a BT speaker about as much as I've used it for guitar. It's so good. Overall, this is something I would buy again. If you're looking for a great practice amp and a bluetooth speaker, this is an awesome choice!

This is a great practice amp. The sound is surprisingly full and deep. I like the app that allows you to adjust the tones. Good stuff!

Before I bought this, I watched nearly countless review videos to build a general opinion. When I bought and received this product, I got to admit I am very impressed. It's easy to use and packed with MANY features that can be used in a multitude of ways with a bit of creativity. Given the small size and built in battery, it doesn't generate much power drain if energy usage is your thing. It can become very loud and very quiet. There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack in case you don't want to blare the speakers, perfect for exploring the sounds and how to adapt them to your skill level. I personally like the fact that I don't need to lug around a bunch of cables and pedals to generate a neat effect on the guitar. There is a wireless pedal that compliments this product, which I will be investing in later down the road. I DID run into one MAJOR PROBLEM, though. And I feel the need to echo it and my findings here: I had been experiencing the Spark app crashing on my phone after a few minutes of playing with it. It really killed my experience and I nearly formed a poor opinion about the PositiveGrid group. I am happy to report that this experience is a unique issue that happens on "high end" phones that have a refresh rate above 60fps (e.g., if you have a 120 Hz "smooth display"). Apparently the devs of the app didn't consider that their app would run above 60fps, which causes the app to crash. While PositiveGrid [hopefully] works on this, the best workaround is to enable "power saving mode" on your phone, which would likely lock your phones refresh rate at 60fps, allowing a crash-free experience. After learning this, I haven't had a single issue with my experience with this product and it's proprietary app. This is a great product if you enjoy guitar playing or if you know someone who likes to play the guitar but YOU, yourself, know little about guitars.

Awesome little practice amp! The app is amazing. Their use of AI is incredible. The amp sounds great and the app will map out chords on any song. I can't say enough good things. I ordered from Sweetwater and they are always the best!

Solid well designed and built little amp. The form factor is great. It can go anywhere and produces a big sound with a battery that lasts a long time. Once I went through the long process of configuring presets for optimal sound with my instruments (acoustic guitar and dulcimer: both with pickups) the sound was good, natural and as loud as needed. I also updated the firmware which was a bit of a pain. The jam feature seems gimmicky though I haven't played with it much. Overall, the presets, quality of effects etc are pretty good. As a bluetooth speaker it's okay. The sound is reasonably balanced though it lacks true fidelity e.g. good sound stage, crisp clean high etc. I suspect part of the reason is a cheap SBC bluetooth audio codec. Codecs can make a huge difference. The should have at least used Apt-X which would produce better sound. Overall, it's a piece of quality gear for those who want a solid practice amp in a tiny go anywhere form factor. As a bluetooth speaker it does fine but don't expect high fidelity. EDIT: changed rating from 4 to five stars. Bluetooth audio now sounds great. The problem was not the Spark mini but rather a codec issue. If you're playing audio from a late model, Android phone. (I have a pixel 6)) then you need to go into your settings and turn on "disable Bluetooth A2DP hardware offload". You can Google how to do this. It's not that difficult. Once done, you will get crisp clear audio on the spark mini and on any other Bluetooth devices that use the SBC codec.

Positive Grid’s Spark Mini Review: by my Hubby really fun little practice amp. Amp 4 stars Portability 5 stars Sound Quality 4 stars Versatility 4 stars The Spark Mini is great for limited space. Like a home office and it is pleasant enough to look at that if your married it doesn’t look out od place on a bookshelf etc. It also can be a cool little Bluetooth speaker. It is supposed to get about 8 of play at a 3 hr. recharge. Speaking or ports & knobs it has It uses a 3.0 usb ports it has a stereo line/out, a aux in a power & a pair button. I has 4 main knobs the first one is the preset know with 4 settings : Custom. Solo, Lead, & Rhythm. Then there is a guitar volume knob and also a backing track or auxiliary volume knob marked Music, ten lastly a input jack. It a very cool little 10-watt personal practice amp that is portable to take to beach or out in nature. Tho amp is however not powerful enough to keep up with other instruments in a jam session unless acoustic or going line out of mic-ing through a PA system. In order to use a lot of features you will need access to Bluetooth/Wi-Fi as well as a tablet of some sort. Related to volume I would recommend 70% otherwise speakers can’t keep up and it is also tailored to more bass response. As it is designed to also be used by a bass player for practice. you are able to save and store 4 presets in the amp by using the ToneCloud to sync with your amp. The Digital modeling software is based off of their “BIAS FX 2”. Is sounds great to me but I am not a professional or sound engineer. But its enjoyable and tweakable. It has 33 simulated amps & 44 digital effects Speaking of tweaking and adjusting, unless you have a lager phone it can be hard to adjust the dials/ settings on the Software.as currently it does not support landscape mode in android phones??? I do not know if this is same with an iPhone. Software is currently iOS & Android “TABLET FRIENDLY” (not currently set up for Mac/PC Windows platforms. Would be great for Positive Grid to have a Mac & PC Software version as well as portable software versions of their so you could run it off a laptops or desktops from a thumb stick. Like their Popular software suites & D.A.W.’s (digital Audio Workstations) The need of a tablet for ease of use is based on a screen LARGE enough that you can see the amps & pedals and all the knobs that are easier to manipulate & adjust. Speaking of pedals, they do offer a physical pedal currently as of the writing of this for about $110.00 plus tax as of 3.22.2023. This pedal basically switches the 4 factory presets or the custom settings you have or saved through the ToneCloud, but there are more options on the way? As it is supposed to be expandable more future proof. You can also use it to toggle on /off effects or start & stop music backing tracks as well as access smart jam where you play it analyses what you did and then generates a band to play along with. If you don’t like what they did you can select others already generated by your recording that got analyzed. There is a tuner built into amp bhut the software version appears to be a little clearer, the 4 LEDs on the amp. But I have not or compared to a well calibrated standalone tuner, but it should at least get you in the ballpark. the company website is nice looking but this is only my very limited opinion so take it with a grain of salt, but they seem to be evolving their brand and not yet gotten all the bugs worked out. But great start would love to see their spar k become a flame and really grow. I hope this review has ben helpful. There are many reviews on YouTube. Btu I also know they have been given or loaned the merchandise by the companies. For free advertisement etc. and perhaps some r & d?? I am no way affiliated with them and paid my own hard earned cash for my amp, no freebies here. Speaking of freebies, I hear these go on sale from time to time. I missed out on the last one because I was debating and cost me about $30 dollars. So my free advice is watch and when it seems good buy low sell hi. Hahaaha Good luck I am a very new owner so I may do a follow up revie after about a year or so. Enjoy & hope this helps. Bottom line who is it for? Anyone who wants one and can afford it and has the Desote to jam and practice and play. But ideally they have a tablet to have an easier go of it. But ia m happy with mine so far. I also enjoy gadgets. But I do think it is a cool idea and it has potential. But be on the look out they are now making an even smaller personal practice amp a Spark Go! I might be doing another review soon, lol. I have an suspicion. Good luck. My wife will roll her eyes but she will be cool with it. Laterz

I really love this amp! It is small, very portable and versatile. Sound quality is amazing for its size, and ability to use almost any tone you need by creating your own or by downloading it from ToneCloud is very useful, especially if you'd like to get as close to the original song you're playing tone as possible. And you can even customise its outlook - Positive Grid can make a custom grille of your own design. And it can work as a bluetooth speaker as well! It has some minor downsides: the application isn't really good on a phone - too small controls, - so you'd better get a tablet for it. And Positive Grid doesn't have an app for PC/Mac. The latter isn't a big deal though because you can use the free (open sourced) Soundshed app. It also has its own flaws, especially with ToneCloud support but it allows you to use your Mac or PC to control the amp via Bluetooth LE (BLE) (not a USB cable), including saving presets into the amp, which is good I guess. So in overall this is a really good device for practice or small home parties.

This thing is amazing. Such fun to use. Great sound

So far, so good…works as per specifications.

Sono rimasto davvero colpito dalla qualità sonora di questo amplificatore. Nonostante le dimensioni molto contenute, restituisce un suono pieno, convincente e soprattutto estremamente divertente da suonare. La cosa che mi ha sorpreso maggiormente è la resa dei suoni distorti: la saturazione è ricca e progressiva e non dà quella sensazione artificiale che spesso si percepisce nei piccoli amplificatori digitali. Aumentando gain e volume si riescono inoltre a ottenere fischi, armonici e feedback controllabili, con una risposta molto naturale al modo in cui si suona. La versatilità è probabilmente il suo punto di forza maggiore. Attraverso i diversi modelli di amplificatore e gli effetti disponibili si passa facilmente da suoni puliti e cristallini a crunch, lead molto saturi e sonorità decisamente più aggressive. L'app amplia ulteriormente le possibilità e permette di costruire e salvare moltissimi setup differenti. Il sistema Spark offre infatti numerosi modelli di amplificatori ed effetti configurabili. Molto convincente anche la dinamica: volume della chitarra, intensità della pennata e tecniche diverse vengono percepiti bene dall'amplificatore, rendendo piacevole anche semplicemente improvvisare senza perdere tempo nelle regolazioni. Considerando inoltre che è compatto, alimentato a batteria e utilizzabile anche come speaker Bluetooth, trovo incredibile quante possibilità siano racchiuse in un oggetto così piccolo. Per studiare, improvvisare e sperimentare nuovi suoni è diventato rapidamente uno degli amplificatori più divertenti che abbia utilizzato.

Calidad de sonido en tamaño mini. Sus 10 W de potencia mueven con alegria el diafragma de los dos pequeños altavoces . Ideal para practicar en casa o en viajes.

I remember back to when you had to buy a guitar tabs book from a music shop if you wanted to learn a song. Then the Internet came and with it the guitar tabs app. This has taken it to a whole new level. Search a song and play along to a video whilst the chords appear on the screen! If it's an unusual song not on the app yet, the built in Ai will work out the cords for you. Its pretty impressive... Then you have the multiple different options for sound effects and settings, the jam along mode, various other bits n pieces ive not even looked into yet All from a tiny battery powered and mobile speaker that sounds great. Best purchase ever I almost got the spark2 but just needed it for practicing indoors. The mini was the perfect choice

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