Is the Spark Mini any good? A pro guitar teacher's view...!
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- čas přidán 23. 06. 2024
- A full demo and review of my @positivegrid Spark Mini amp. All audio clips were played with a guitar plugged straight into the amp (no pedals!) and recorded using the camera mic in the room.
00:00 Intro jam (clean with Strat)
00:49 Introduction
02:23 Humbuckers and crunch
03:15 How does it sound?
04:23 Active pickups and distortion
04:46 How loud is it?
05:22 Problems at higher volume
05:29 Bluetooth speaker
05:52 Strat with chorus
06:33 It's not like a normal amp
07:26 Jazzy clean sound
08:08 The Spark app
09:00 Strat with flanger
09:54 Backing tracks via the app
11:12 Jamming to a blues backing
12:41 How heavy is it?
12:59 Strat with Plexi
13:33 Battery life
13:59 Country sounds!
14:20 Strat with overdrive/delay
14:51 USB interface - latency!
16:24 AUX in - latency!
17:25 Humbuckers with Vox amp
17:52 Any regrets?
19:40 Rock jam!
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PATREON / andywatt - Hudba
I ordered one this morning & this video helped put my mind at ease that I made the right decision. For a moment there when you were playing to the blues backing track I thought I was listening to Robben Ford.
Any mention of Robben Ford is a massive compliment, thank you! Glad you found the video useful 👍🏻
Nice review 🤘🏿
Versatile, player & mini! Well done.
Been umming and ahhing about one of these for a while now. You've helped make my mind up so thanks 👍
😎👍🏻
Great review and playing - the timestamps are handy. Thanks.
If only all gear demos were this good! Here we have a real person, not sponsored, who can actually play guitar really well, and who uses a variety of gear including non-snobby options like the Squier, and perhaps most importantly lets you hear what it sounds like in the room without any kind of recording interface BS. So thank you!
And one question - the noise issue at higher volumes has been the only thing holding me back from this purchase, but some of the sound samples you kindly provided, especially the Strat with the plexi, sounded really loud and great. I can’t imagine needing more volume than that. Can you tell me how high you had the volume up for that and would it be fair to say that that was pretty loud in the room without experiencing any of the noise issues? Sorry for the long-winded message, but thanks again!
Glad you found the video helpful! The distortion issue only happens for me at the upper range, well beyond what I would use at home. I've only noticed it when trying to compete with other players who are playing through much louder amps. I also haven't seen any other users mention it, so it could just be mine...!
@@AndyWattGuitar It’s definitely not just yours - from everything I’ve read it’s pretty much the only strike against these amps. Thanks again for your response!
@@Hoodrio it's a fantastic piece of gear for practicing. There is no better, I have both the spark mini and the katana go and the spark is so much more fun - with song tutorials and backing tracks its just perfect. The only thing missing is that dynamics are not realistic like on a tube. Battery duration is great, it's super portable. I use it without cable, even more convenient
Sounds great , i have an blackstar fly 3 for about 4-5 years now , its maybe not as good sounding as the spark , but for practice its good enough for me , its crazy how good these little practise amps can sound .
Blows the Fly away.
Thank you for the video. For this video setup, how is mini mic'd up (or is it hooked up through USB)? I've been trying to judge volume of the spark mini over acoustic noise of playing an electric guitar when practicing. I'll probably just have to get one and return it if I don't like it. :) I like the way it sounds in this video but other videos it sounds so quiet so it is hard to tell.
How can i assign a download preset to one of the physical knob ? maybe the custom one
TBH, the Katana Mini and the Blackstar Fly are the way to go for a small practice amp. Less options but no latency and the modelling is just better.
I got the blackstar fly and it was more wasp vs fly in a jar when cranked.. Got shut of that pretty quickly ... I have a boss katana but that became largely redundant when I bought the spark mini.. The spark mini blows them both away in terms of versatility and portability due to it being a rechargeable battery operated unit...It can also be turned into a 140 watt powerhouse gigging amp if you buy the spark powered cab.
I disagree. The mini is more stable, the boss katana ever so often loses connection with a tablet and the sounds are just not better, many more on the spark and also a lot of unusable sounds. The saving options are also less practical on the boss. I like both, but the spark is more inspiring for sure
Ive had the Boss Katana and the Fly (as well as the Roland Micro Cube). They don't come close to this in terms of sound, versatility and connectivity.