My personal experience with the Positive Grid Spark Mini amp.
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- čas přidán 15. 09. 2022
- Ahead of a vacation, I picked up a Positive Grid Spark Mini so I could bring along my electric guitar. In this video, I talk about my experience with the little amp so far, give a demo of how it sounds, and say whether I recommend it or not. Stick around till the end for my final thoughts.
- Hudba
Just realized I made a mistake in the video - the headphone jack is actually a 1/8” jack, not a 1/4”. My sincere apologies for any confusion.
Nice review and explanation. How’s the sound quality of that output? I’m thinking if I ever get lazy to bring my huge pedalboard, I might juts use this mini on stage. The patch can be switched via 3rd party footswitch? Thanks!
@@onzkicg The sound is pretty amazing for the size I must say. But I'm not sure how it would do in a live setting like that. I feel like it's a great practice or small performance amp/small to mid-sized room, close up type of thing. I would probably recommend the bigger one if you wanted to do that, and it would likely need to be mic'd or jacked into the sound board. Hope that helps.
@@johnathanschaaf8731 he was asking hows the sound quality for the headphones… hardly going to gig with this!
@@wenlambotomy6231 My mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. I haven’t really used headphones with it very much, but it sounds good. I’m sure quality of headphones would mater most there.
Just picked one of these up this weekend because, being in the Midwest, the weather is turning way too nice to be sitting inside. In the past, I'd bring out a 1x12 and a multi-effects pedal, chords, extension cord, the whole mess. This year, i watched several vids about these mini Bluetooth amps and decided to give the Spark a shot. Found one local for $160, and got the Bluetooth foot pedal to go with. I really like the sounds I'm getting despite the size of it. I haven't checked how loud it can go because I found a volume level that works for me. I haven't played my full-size rig since i got this because i can play in front of the TV now lol. Foot switch was $109 but was a must-have for me. That was one of the major selling points since i haven't seen any others have the foot pedal option. And if the battery is dead, you don't have to wait for it to recharge to play it - just plug it in and it will power up while recharging.
Great! Thank you for helping me make up my mind on which amp to buy. This will be perfect for travel and camping.
Glad I could help! ;) Yeah I’m pretty impressed how well the sound carries even while outside. It’s a pretty cool little amp.
Thanks for the honest review Johnathan think i will be making a purchase soon .
Great video thank you! Ended up picking one up on Amazon on a Black Friday deal after watching this. Liking it so far.
That’s great! Glad you snagged a deal on it. I’m still enjoying mine too and having fun exploring all it can do. Great little amp. Thanks for watching the vid. :)
Thanks for your honest review.
Picking one of these up and going straight to the beach.
I just got mine last week - took it Sunday to a Blues meet where I usually take my acoustic - it was awesome - I love this little amp - I'm so happy with it. The drummer was loud - but I could still hear my guitar.
Ok - first. Thanks for this… considering one for playing on the patio.
Second - love the Star Wars in the background!
Third - HELL YEAH some Queensryche!
Take care and keep playing.
Aloha Braddah , sounds great! I have one on layaway at Guitar Center and had to see another review to remind me why I put it on the side for purchase. Portability Brah….that is the key on this one for the size and the KO punch it provides. Mahalo nui loa for sharing your time!
Glad the vid could be of help. I’m still loving mine. I’m very impressed with the sound and I love how it connects to your phone through the app - you can dial in your own settings or download a tone someone else already made. The battery life is pretty good too. Like you, I’m all about the portability (why I chose this one over the larger one).
Bought one about 4 months ago. Just love it. I use both my Fender modelling amp and mini. If you have a regular amp get the mini. It’s totally portable and charges quickly. If you’re away just get a portable charger and you’ll never be without sound. Worth the money.I’ve even recorded with it. You can alter all the effects as you said with your phone. Sound is great. Nice and loud too. Oh yeah got $50 off though Positive grid. If you don’t want cords just buy some wireless plug ins. No more cords.
I have been flip flopping between purchasing this amp or the next, larger sized Positive Grid amp. And after watching this video my mind has been made up. I thank you sir for taking your time to create this video and helping me decide :D ( you are right, this amp and some of the other amps this company manufactures truly are inexpensive)
Thanks for watching & for the comment! I hope you have as much fun with it as I have. For me, it all boiled down to portability (the larger one is powered by cord). Admittedly, I’m still tempted to get the bigger one too (at some point anyway) - especially with some of the discounts I’ve seen. But this little one sounds great for a little practice amp & Im still very happy with it. Thanks again.
Thank you for the time you took to produce this review, very helpful! As to the folk who do not like the complete explanation, I say two things…. You can either hit the fast forward button or simply move on. Really no need for any negativity SMH
Thanks for the kind comment - I really appreciate that! Yeah - I try to ignore the negativity - I never really meant the vid to be an exhaustive review - and it was also an update vid to regular viewers of my channel. I planned to make a more thorough vid after playing with the amp a lot more. Thanks again.
Mackinaw is just down the road from me!! Great Review!! ~cheers
That’s awesome! :) Yeah, we were in town for the bridge walk on Labor Day.
@@johnathanschaaf8731 nice. We just missed you. We were heading home from Marquette on the Sunday before.
Nice review doode
Thank you very much - I appreciate that :)
Thank you for the review! I bought the big one three years ago, as a early bird buyer. I waited like ages to finally get it and I had to sell it one year later. Honestly, my amp was to heavy on the bass. Even the bass turned to zero, it felt to "thick". At this time the app was also new, and had a lot of bugs and crashes, I think this problems is now solved. And yes, it was a small amp, but for business trips still a bit too big to drive around in the car. But this small one looks just perfect for me 🎉😊
Sorry for my late reply. Bummer you’ve had those issues with the bigger amp. After nearly a year with the little one, I’m still enjoying it quite a bit. It’s such a great little practice amp (if you’re not after totally perfect sound - just a way to plug & play whenever you want. I love the way it connects to your phone & you can change settings, play over songs & even tune with it - not to mention using it as a Bluetooth speaker. I haven’t had any technical problems at all really. I considered the big one - but my favorite thing about this one is that it’s totally wireless (I can drag it anywhere). Can’t do that with the big one Thanks for the comment!
@@johnathanschaaf8731 no worries! Yes, that's the main reason I consider buying the small one, the size and battery use. I can imagine how the small amp sounds in real life, mine was fine so far (the space or reverb it created was amazing!). I just need a really small practice amp for travelling and I think this is the right choice!
what's the name of the piece you played on the Rhythm Preset?
Beautiful place!!!! @13:25
Thanks! Yeah, that was a great vacation rental in St. Ignace Michigan that we went in on with another family. Figured it was the perfect setting to showcase a portable amp like this. :)
Well thankyou sir...i think your review just cost me £250 😂😂😂
Seriously though i think with the wife and kids and a small house and little time to get all my gear out and set up, this will fill all my needs for a quick blast on the tele. Cheers
Can someone recommend some speakers that would be much better than the original ones? Because it's great, but I find the speakers are just the weak link.
Are you a Yooper or a Troll? Great review. Thank you!
Thanks! Sorry for my late reply. I live near metro Detroit - but vacation up that way regularly. :)
@@johnathanschaaf8731 I am from the Sault. Thank you for the great content!!
Is the app free? Do u have to pay anything additional?
You can download the app free of charge.
Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, as @Gildertastic said, the app is a free download. I have an iPhone, but I assume there is also an Android version. Thanks!
Shout out to Mackinaw!
Does that coffee really taste better than Folgers?
Ha ha! Yes, it absolutely does. :)
His little brother in crime
30 bucks more for the spark40. 229 also can buy you a Boss Katana mark 2.
Very true- I am still super tempted to get the bigger one also. But for me it came down to portability (the small one is battery, the larger you have to plug in). I don’t know much about the Katana - but this Spark Mini is so fun the way it pairs easily with your phone (controlling it, playing along with stuff through the speaker, customizing & downloading extra tones. Thanks for the comment. Have a great day. :)
yeah but the mini is super portable and rechargeable
Not a fan. It sounds boxy and muffled. Too muddy if you tune down.
Totally respect your opinion. I've had mine for about 10 months now and I'm still really digging it. Have you tried to demo one in a store (in person)? The muddiness could just be my crappy recording set up. I'm literally just using my iPhone. lol. :)
You could had more fun if you did not get married
Lol. Maybe. A matter of opinion though. My wife is pretty awesome. Best decision I ever made marrying her. :)
Americans talk too much. 5 minutes in and still waffling.
Too. Much useless talk. Get to the point, I'm growing old waiting for the review. Sorry!!
Thanks for checking out the vid. Sorry if you found the conversational stuff not to your liking. These vids are more of a creative outlet for me and a way to give back to the guitar community that I love so much. As said in the vid, I wasn't paid for the review (or given product) - just my personal experience with it. Thanks again for the feedback though - in the future maybe I'll have a "skip to review only" link or something. :) Have a great day!
Richard meant well you know Jonathan...we are old experienced guitarist but missed out on the technology part..so if someone can help...get to it.
Richard. Personally I think that Johnathan’s reviews are meant to be conversationally educational. He delivers a sweet review without sounding super formal, which I love. If you do not like it then watch a different review. Love what you are doing Johnathan, was in the market for a portable amp and this review helped me make up my mind :)