It seems there are quite a few disappointed customers of the Spark Go. I'm enjoying mine, despite the lack of volume. Aside from the lack of volume, the problems mentioned in this review can be worked around. Here is a short video on how to resolve them. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mAByjOJo40U.html
Yeah they could tell you they didn't finish it at the factory, thanks for the $120, sucker. I'll never buy anything from this company ever again. "Hey, here's a new car, but you have to go find an alternator for it before you can drive it." Worthless. Absolutely pitiful.
I used it for lead guitar playing a Santana song at my Cottage and my neighbours thought that was Santana playing and it was loud enough for her to hear it through my screen door and 30 metres away. I think I'll make an example and play that Santana song again so people can hear what it sounds like
Finally an honest review of this amp! I swear, every other review I've seen has reviewed it ONLY with headphones plugged in. That literally tells me nothing! I can plug headphones into my Spark 40 and hear the exact same thing. I appreciate that it's not really possible to convey in a RU-vid video how it will sound live--but you did a great job, and hearing your subjective opinion is all I was after anyway. I agree--a micro plug-in dongle thingy with a headphone jack would have been better. Thanks for the excellent review!
Thanks. I hate it when reviewers take tiny amps and mic and mix them. This thing sounds fantastic mic'd with an SM57 offset and an inch away from the speaker. You would think it was the best sounding mini amp ever. But that's not how it sounds in a room. Years ago I watched a video on the Danelectro Honey tone. They had it mic'd and it sounded lovely. Naive me jumped on Amazon and spent $22 on it. When I got it, I was quite disappointed. It was only $22, but it was the principle of the matter and how I felt deceived by that video. That thing was a POS.
Have it permanently attached to the strap of one of my guitars and pretty much always play it through a pair of Bose headphones (for which it is plenty loud enough). Great for playing outside or in the lounge room. Two years ago I chose the BOSS Katana over the orinigal Spark 40 (which I did NOT regret). Now I have the best of both worlds and a great portable amp I can play anywhere. And when I'm after high quality sound, I also have a Fender Princeton. But for the last few weeks (since it arrived), I've probably done close to 70% of my playing through the Spark GO, and love it for what it is.
I love the 40, but it seems I rarely play it. The Katana is my go-to. I've been enjoying the spark out on the deck. Sounds amazing with good headphones.
Paired with the Headrush or my JBL Partybox 310, this amp is a real killer. I have the Spark Go and the Mini, but honestly, I would have loved to have this when I started playing guitar over 15 years ago, instead of the bulky amps I had back then. A minimalist setup like this one not only completely satisfies me, but it also sounds better than what I had in the past. I recommend it to everyone. With modeling, what people need to understand is that the sound system makes all the difference.
Paired with just about anything will sound better than the tiny speaker at full volume. But 30 years ago my first amps were steaming piles of garbage. I would have loved to have this kind of modeling of this back then. That Partybox must pair excellent for portability and busking.
Hey body, when you wrote paired with another speaker what do you mean? Let's say I would like to amplify both the guitar sound and the bt sound from my ipad coming out from the spark go. Would that be possible with another speaker? latency issues using the line out? I know the mini would be more suitable if bigger sound is wanted but the portability of this little amp is very appealing.
@@cristopherlopezpaniagua3112 Hello, how are you doing? I wanted to share that connecting my guitar to the JBL PARTYBOX 310 is incredibly simple. I use a 3.5mm jack plug into the speaker's headphone socket, and this method works well with any speaker that produces good sound. However, if you connect it to a very basic hi-fi system, the sound might not be as good. I also have a Roland Micro Cube, and it functions perfectly when I use the headphone output with an adapter. Another advantage of the JBL PARTYBOX 310 is its availability and versatility. After playing my guitar, I use it for playing music around the house and watching movies. This approach works wonderfully with any modeling amp that has a good sound and a headphone jack. For instance, the range of Fender Mustang LT or GTX amps pairs extremely well with this setup. I hope this information helps!
I got mine for $109 and that price should be closer to the final selling price they have now tbh. I keep a guitar plugged in to it because of how easy this is to use and how convenient it makes practicing. I also travel for work (40 weeks a year on the road) and it fits in my gig bag. If your electric guitar doesn't leave home there is no reason to buy this... but if you travel a lot this makes a TON of sense to buy.
I concur, especially on the price statement. But I do enjoy using mine on the fly in my music room when I just want to plug into something quick because I want to try something out and don't feel like messing with my Katana or 40.
I've been using it with headphones and it sounds just fine. It also works fine as an interface. For the last week or so I've been using it instead of my Focusrite (which still gives me clipping issues with active pickups even though Focusrite says they've fixed that). The only problem I'm having with the Go is that the app doesn't want to connect sometimes. I'm going to keep it.
I agree with the assessment. In the room... these things are not impressive...but not horrible for the size. The practice tools are still awesome, and the portability is nice. Works great with headphones, acceptable but frustrating on its own. Seems sturdy, controls are simple and effective. Underwhelming at $149, unless you get a lot of use out of the practice tools in the amp and need a "pocket sized" amp.
I’m loving mine that I bought at launch. I like finding cool stuff to plug it into. I plug it into PA systems regularly, it’s pretty versatile for what it is, cheaper than a lot of single pedals too!
Great review. I bought one a month ago. Speaker sounds decent for what it is but I mainly use it with headphones.still a very impressive piece of kit and the app is amazing
I've got one of these, it kept disconnecting, you need to set your refresh rate off your screen to 60hz to fix it. Weird issue but it works. The amps great though, and sounds great for what it is!
Brilliant! THANKS Guitarnivore - for telling the truth! As a boutique/desktop/mini amp developer myself (Search "Crazy Jack Amps"), I've watched load of RU-vid reviews on this Go product and, yes, it seems you can get a great sound... if you mike it up! And, yes, in a small room, with no background noise (and no-one talking/breathing) I'm sure it sounds great but... "fill a room?"... Hmmm. I have been doubting that claim, so it's great to hear someone (like you) speaking the truth on this. Useful vid. Thanks man.
I find it to be a so-so bluetooth speaker- dedicated BT speakers sound better. BUT- I like it as a little travel amp. You can throw it in the gig bag or guitar case and take it wherever. Sure, it's only 5 watts and a tiny speaker... it is not meant to be a gigging amp. What it is though is a pretty damn decent sounding little practice amp. We've all had the little tiny Marshall stack or Fender Twin things and they were a joke- cool looking but crap sounding. This thing is pretty cool for what it is. To be able to kick back on the porch or patio (or the break room at work) and make noise that sounds like something other than noise is pretty cool- admit it. Run a 3.5mm stereo to dual-RCA patch cable into the back of a decent AVR and you get big sound. Run it into a powered speaker, an FRFR or whatever you have. Or spend more money and get BiasFX, an interface and a computer to run it- and still have to connect to speakers. We have WAY more and better choices than we had when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s!
When you have to turn away because of string noise and you can STILL hear it. LOL Glad I stuck with my NUX Mighty Plug Pro through my JBL flip 4 for a practice rig.
Well, string noise was inevitable recording with the camera mic. Even when I've played the Spark 40 with that mic, string noise creeped though. My heavy hand doesn't help either.
It's not a practicing amp, it's "go" suggests to take it outside like either camp fire situations or a little boost in sound when busking and that's also the reason for the strap thing on it.
I bought the Go as i'm a condo dweller. I also have a Marshall tube head and a Marshall cab 2×12 slanted for when im playing at a friend's house. I've been playing guitar and buying gear for 45 years. The Spark Go is an amazing piece of gear for the price. I've spent way more for one pedal. You have 50,000 tones from the cloud. It has a good noise gate. Many amps and cabs and stomp boxes to choose from. And you can put them anywhere in your signal chain. You can use it as a pre amp or hook it to the send on your favorite amp and use your amp as a speaker cab. Or the best thing is to get the Positive Grid power cabinet at a very reasonable price. The sound is nothing short of excellent. It has the same soft wear of the 40. People who dont like the Go, it's probably because they dont know how to use it. It is the best piece of gear that has come out in a long, long time. 129.00 for the Go, 289.00 for the 140watt power flat response cabinet that can do many things. Tell me what more bang for your cash and sounds better than that. And dont forget it teaches you the cords to any song. Has many backtracks to choose from. Has A.I. to make your own songs. You can sing thru it while playing guitar with a backtrack. And it sounds great. Who is kidding who. The Spark Go, along with the Positive Grid powe amp, is all you'll ever need. And a Strat or a L. P. I'm telling you it's a game changer.
At last, a real review hehe. I'm a fan of positive grid products. I've got the 40 and the mini. The Go is not for me. The volume and the sound quality was a deal breaker for me😒 Thanks for the honest review 🙏
I love the 40, but I don't use it enough and thought the Go would be great and it has come in handy. I think I use it more as a blue tooth speaker than anything. I just wish it sounded a little louder when playing guitar. Maybe I should have gone with the Mini instead.
@@Guitarnivore I had the same hope with the Go. I wanted to have all my sounds in a small device in my bag. Unfortunately the volume is very low, even if you use it with an headphones. Maybe the next product will be better hehe
I just ordered one it will be here on Monday. I got it to play with pedals. I'm new and learning. I don't need loud. I keep our house amp on low volume so that isn't going to be a problem for me I don't think. It seems very cool and can't wait to play with it.
agree. I don't need loud right now but I am really interested in playing with sounds and settings. I'm new only been playing a few months like 3.5 and am self taught so I am super interested in playing with this.
It comes with bullshit. I just got mine today. Straight away I need to update firmware. I don’t have a computer to do this and firmware cannot be updated by Bluetooth, iPhone or iPad. What the F??? I now have to buy a computer to update the firmware????
@@someoneelse6934 I’m not trying to be a bitch… Only trying to give people a heads up that I received a product that needs a computer, it’s seems misleading that this firmware needs to be done right away and why it cannot be updated by Bluetooth, iPhone or iPad. No, I actually don’t have access to computer here. It was intended for travel but I have my other headphone amp I’ll use. I have friends in Phoenix who can help me out in a couple months when I’m back for firmware update. Do you have this product and any comments on how you like it?
Go hit up a local library and get a lib card for free and mostly all libraries have computers to use. Or you could find an ugly bitch on tinder and hit her up, set up a fuck sesh and just go over ask her to use her laptop quick and then maybe not even have to stick it in her lmao. I've done that before, honestly lol. I had a DAC I need to update firms on and I was poor as shit living in a new city. She was cool and let me hook it up and do the update. Then she just blew me and told me thats it , I can go lmao.
I have recently purchased this little thing and I absolutely love it. It's crazy how many features it has and how it sounds considering the size. A very cool small thing for a touring musician or for people who are always on the move. I also own a Yamaha THR10II which is obviously better, but it is not that portable. I think Spark Go is very good, but it depends on what you expect from that.
@@nilaychhasatia6048 Hmmm unfortunately not yet, I was not smart enough to think about it :D It's a great idea, thanks!!! It should work, Positive Grid state that it is possible to use a Go with an external cab/speaker. Will try today and let you know.
Fair review. The Speaker is horrible, and can not be tweaked, no matter what anyone says. . Guitar or bluetooth, it sounds terrible, as should be expected. Run it through phones, or an effects loop, and it becomes fun. The App has some cool features, which makes it worth the intro price, as something to just toy around with. Do Not believe the Preview Hype video reviews!
I've enjoyed mine, but yeah, I wish it was louder. I mainly run high output pickups, so before i learned how to turn on Hi-Z mode, it was making all sorts of noise.
Ok. I've been on the fence just because I travel for work and use the Traveler guitar with Boss Waza Air headphones. It would be nice to not get hot ears and enjoy the sound. Sounds good, not great but what's to expect from a very small practice amp.
@Guitarnivore that's exactly my thoughts. Great balanced review. Really made the questions I had make sense through a realistic series of answers. Thank you.
Good review, always go with the unsponsored reviews. I just got my GO today, and it sounds terrible, worst blutooth speaker I own. No bass, sounds like a 30 year old portable radio. No bass, tinny sound, laughable for guitar with anyone listening. Maybe if you run it into a PA or real amp, or use it with headphones, but sorry, I have the 40 (love it) and the Mini (like it), this thing is going back, not worth the $120. I have a very old exogear blutooth speaker that's the same size and sounds 3 times as big. And it's waterproof and floats. This review is a pretty good representation of what it sounds like. Tiny, tinny, zero bass, kind of one of those tin can and a string telephones we used to make as kids. Ridiculous for the price. Unless you use the headphones out. Want portable and somewhat good sounding? Get the Mini. To me it's fine to use on the patio or take with on vacation, other than that I use the 40, miles better sound. Sorry PositiveGrid, this one is not a winner. And other negative with the GO, you can barely see any of the controls unless you're in a very bright place, in semi dark or dark you can't see any of them, close to impossible to even find the volume button. It's all a black blob with no printing on it. I did have no problems doing the update using my 10+ year old Mac, just had to install some other software to make it work, but it was all just click here and go. If this sounded anywhere close to a Bose/JBL/Exogear/Marshall blutooth speaker I'd keep it, this thing just sounds so bad that I'll never use it. For my use. Bring an acoustic guitar to the campfire and safe your money here. Good review!
I've enjoyed mine, granted I do wish it was louder, but if I want to grab and go to the deck to play or listen to music while having some drinks on the deck without waking the neighbors, it works well. I have the 40 and a battery pack that I used on the deck before I got the go and I still use that as a bluetooth speaker, which as you know, sounds fantastic. I don't understand why they couldn't have taken one of those speakers and put it in the mini instead of those two tiny speakers.
@@Guitarnivore I'll just use the mini for that or plug the 40 in (if I want to play myself) or just use my Bose or Marshall blutooth speakers for just music outside. Sound quality of this little squeak box is just disappointing, compared to similar speakers I have had for many years. I expected better, not a couple steps back. Zero bass.
@@Guitarnivore I'll just use my just a tad larger Bose speaker for music on the patio, if I want to play I'll grab the Mini. This GO just doesn't have any punch, no bass compared to any of my blutooth speakers, including the tiny Bose Micro. Let alone my old soundlink or the newer Flex. There's just zero bass there, in comparison. Of course, just my taste/opinion, worth as much as any other person's, but my GO is going right back, I'd never use it. I can't stand playing with headphones and would never plug it into a computer, I just jam around for fun. And expected a bit better sound, since that tech has been around for a long time now in small packages. It's just not in the GO. Everybody has a different use scenario, I'm glad you like it for your purpose and the review video was great, it's just not for me. And all the early ad and promo/iinfluencer videos were pretty much a fraud, none recorded with an in room mike, all plugged in, upping my expectations. Do better Positive Grid, this tiny box is not room filling unless we're talking a broom closet and you don't like bass in your music ;-)
I have had the spark 40 since sept 2020 and it is brill! I have ordered a spark GO as i haven't the room on my motorcycle for camping trips to take the spark 40 and a generator to power it 🤣 so with my 3/4 size Harley Benton strat thrown on my back with the Go packed away it will be brill for campfire fun..2 of the guys i ride/camp with play guitars, so perfect size amp to have fun with a few beers 🤘😁 new sub from the UK 👍
My next door neighbor plays solo acoustic guitar gigs for various sized events/partys. He often is asked not to use an amp at smaller venues. But he likes a little reverb and/or delay and thinks that this Spark Go might be 'just the ticket' for an acoustic guitar needing a little volume boost and some mild effects. What do you think. Price is now $129 at Sweetwater.
I don't think most people want it loud. Just a little louder. I've got gear for loud. I did cover the line out thing in my second video on it. I really like how you can change it from stereo to mono.
I have the Nux Mighty Air, which sounds awful, but at least is wireless. I can't imagine an even smaller amp sounding better. At this point, I'm back to using my trusty old Micro Cube. The Mighty Air is rapidly turning into a dust collector. Maybe I'll invest in a wireless set instead.
Thanks again for this review. Honest and very clear. The main reason to buy the Go is that I want to connect the Go to my audio interface and use the presets. After I made my song in Cubase i'll take the Go to the practice room and connect it to my guitar amp so I have the same sounds as on my recordings in Cubase. Will it work like this?
Yes, you can do that. If you're amp has a power amp in, that's where I would plug the Go into. You should also change the settings in the amp to Line-Out for the headphone jack. You do that through the app.
@@Guitarnivore Thanks!!! I have a Boss Katana MK II 100/212 which has an power amp input.... The last part of your reply I do not understand because my output is going through record out to Cubase
@@alfonso6365 You can use the Spark app to set the settings on the Go and save it to one of the four presets on the amp. Then when you run it to your amp or through your interface to cubase the settings will be the same from the Spark Go regardless. To plug the Spark Go into your interface or the Katana (great choice, BTW), you need to change the settings on the Go through the Spark App to line out. So why not just use Boss Tone Studio to create presets on the Katana to record to Cubase? You can get some amazing tones from the Katana with Tone Studio. If it's a lugging around that 212, then I totally understand. I know how heavy that thing is.
@@Guitarnivore I am very happy with my Katana and I have Tone Studio but I cannot find the right presets. If I would have some good presets I would be very happy. Also because my Boss GA-FC has the possibilty of using 8 presets instead of 4 on Spark Go.
In do have Guitar Rig 7 from Native Instruments. Great plugin but not for using in a live set. In my opinion it is complicated and risky to be dependent of a laptop.
I got the Spark Go a couple of days ago and am very disappointed with the lack of volume. I could live with that but I just found out that the Go isn't eligible for the free Presonus Studio One download. They fail to mention that in any of the promos
The free version of Studio One sucks anyway. Cakewalk is free and works well. But yeah, the volume is disappointing, especially with high gain presets.
A review that i don't have to listen to someone playing 90 percent of the time. Some actual information to work with. Unfortunately a little short on content as far as other video's to check out unless you have a Katana amp. But i will subscribe and see what happens at least i know I won't have to waste my time watching someone just showing off. Lol
So in your first review you were overselling it and now you're sounding that negative because of a few minor issues? Hmmm... I don't think the Spark Mini or the Mustang are really competing with this
I never said the Mini or Mustang were competing with it. I stated if you have the Mini, stick with it and maybe they should have simply made something like the Mustang Micro. I just want people to know what to expect. In the original video I stated the same pros and cons, but I didn't like the way I delivered it. This is called an impartial review. I stated the good and bad things about it, and my personal opinion that I wouldn't pay the $149 retail price. The rest is up the viewer to make the decision based upon what I have laid out.
@@Guitarnivore okay, fair enough. But then please tell me what a better product would be if I'm interested in getting a portable amp that fits into my gig bag and can also be played without headphones (for example in a campfire setting instead of an acoustic guitar) and has some custom presets to play around with. And maybe virtual band. Is there any? Honest question.
@@benhenschel145 This would be it. Don't get me wrong in this review. None of the "bad" things I mentioned can't be worked around. The bugs I mentioned might be worked out with future updates like they did with the 40 and the mini. If not, they're fixable. I've only used this as a blue tooth speaker around the campfire, but you could certainly use it. Also, if you need a little more volume, have you ever placed your phone in like a plastic solo cup so it sounded louder? Drop the Spark Go into a plastic bucket I just tried it and it made it sound bigger! I'm not telling anyone not to buy it. I'm just saying, I, personally wouldn't spend $150...but I would have if that was the preorder price because I really wanted to try it. I would have just been a bit disappointed with the volume. As far as presets, there are a ton on the tone cloud and you can easily create your own and the amp has a bunch of jam-along features.
@@Guitarnivore Thanks man, I appreciate you took the time to reply. Seems like it's the right product for me then, I don't really care if it's 100 or 150 if it's what I want
I want a recording studio so I know a lot of little tricks on how to make little amps sound better. But you're wrong it is loud and it does fill a room. You just have to change it frequencies i'm going the and boosted it's pretty d*** loud
Would you think it would still be loud enough, if for example, I was playing my electric through it while someone was singing and/or playing an acoustic guitar, or maybe a bass?
Yeah it's totally *not* room filling, unless they mean a bathroom. It's OK though, I got it so I can play at 3 am and not wake anyone, no chance of that happening.
The app is free. The only thing you would have to pay for is the add-ons like the Jimi Hendrix pack. I think there might be a Paul Gilbert pack now too.
Due to a 404 error code I could no longer respond to the chat we had. Now just a separate message: By the way, I am familiar with tsl files for the Katana. Do you know any good sites with presets?
Bosstoneexchange.com , guitarpatches.com and there are a few Katana Facebook groups. It's good to learn to dial them into tone studio as well. The Parametric EQ is the game changer in the Katana.
I have a 40 and recently got a Go. The Go build quality is excellent. It worked fine with no issues. I am however returning it to get a mini. For my use I need it to be a bit louder and fuller sounding. I tested it next to the 40 which is more bass and muddy sounding. I hope the mini hits the sweet spot in the middle. I basically want a in house practice amp that I can easily move from room to room. The 40 is too loud and has to be plugged in. Remember your not just paying for the device but also the excellent software so I think the price is fair. I’ve paid a lot more and got a lot less with other purchases. The Go is cool but really is for maximum portability. It looks to me like Positive Grid will be able to make a device similar to the Fender Mustang Micro head phone amp but with the great software. That would be cool.
I love the 40 and I enjoy this as a grab and go or just a quick plug in in the morning before work. I have a battery pack for the 40, so that is semi portable, but a bit bulky than I like. Sounds great as a blue tooth speaker, but the Spark go not so much. Positive grid should definitely do the micro amp.
I got my Mini and it is better than I expected. Really great for practicing alone. I put it about 5 feet away on a table and have it pointed at me. About same height as the guitar. Sounds like the tones are coming straight out of the front of the guitar. So much better sounding than the GO. I also think it sounds better than GO and 40 as a Bluetooth speaker. My dog likes it better than the 40. The extra bass bothered her.
@@iowaal7671 Good to hear. Makes me wonder if I should get the Mini some time. I played the 40 on my deck this last weekend and I enjoy the sound a lot more than the go. I've never had an issue with the bass.
I've got to say that you're very wrong in one respect. It very much fills a room. So much so, that my neighbours closed their windows and grumbled about the volume. Not everyone owns cavernous spaces like can be found in middle class north American countries.
Positive Grid makes cheap unreliable sh--! Its going to brick out on you and good luck dealing with Indian call center posing as their customer service. I got the complete runaround.
