No Cell Phone
-
Hello!
More accurately, my cell phone is just a basic flipper, all it's good for is making phone calls. So my questions are, and I should have asked them before I bought a Spark, but I didn't so... First off, is the Spark compatible with my Windows 7 computer? If not, is it compatible with my girlfriend's Windows 10 computer? If not, my last option is an Amazon Fire 7 Tablet. If none of these devices are compatible with the Spark, what can I do without the software?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
That's all, folks!
PS, your forum wouldn't let me login with the account I created on your website, so I had to use my roommate's Fakebook account.
-
@james-boyd
The Spark App works with recent iOS/Android devices, phones or pads/tablets. I don’t know of a way to emulate this on a Windows 10 PC. Without access to the Spark App, your Spark should work as a stand-alone amplifier, with access to any of the factory loaded/embedded Presets. I purchased my Spark 40 as a table-top practice amp; so once I established my favorite practice Presets, I seldom load the Spark App; so depending on your use, it my not be as bad…If you purchased a Spark 40, you should be able to use any of the default Presets loaded into the saved LED locations, or the Presets loaded into the left-most selector knob (I.e. Clean, Crunch, etc.). You can sculpt these Presets with the other knobs. I think you can permanently overwrite an LED Preset with a sculpted one by pressing and holding the LED; however I’ve never tried it from the amp itself. It’s more convenient to sculpt from the Spark App; however holding the LED works the same.
I don’t own a Spark Mini, so I can’t comment on its stand-alone capabilities. Looks like the Mini is much more dependent on the App for flexibility…
-
@dan-lawrence Hello Dan,
Thanks for the fast reply. Much faster than the delivery of the Spark 40, unfortunately. But I only ordered it last night.
If the app will work on my Fire 7, I'll be good to go. Or, a thread I read here had some posts about an Android emulator called BlueStacks that whoever was talking about it said could get the app running on my computer, which for me would help me greatly as I am almost blind. Not quite 100%, but unfortunately I most likely will be within a few years. My tablet would work, but it only has a 6.5" x 3.5" screen and had very basic accessibility features.
There was also a post about something called Soundshed, which I don't remember what that is right off, but it should be easy to figure out.
But even if I can't use any of the online features, this amp will be vast improvement over my current one, which is a Fender Champ. Even though it is only five watts and is very basic even by old school amp standards, with my my old pedal board it has been adequate for tiny house living in a neighborhood full of old people. But I never could get the sound I wanted out of it. I'm hoping the Spark will fix that. I don't need much more volume, but this rig really lacks versatility I became used to with a more professional rig I used to have, but my girlfriend said "You're NOT bringing that thing in here!" to setting it up in our tiny livingroom.
-
@james-boyd
My Spark 40 is on a lamp table next to my recliner “practice seat” for the same reason. I use an Xvive U2 wireless for my guitar chain, and Tascom TH-200X headphones for quiet practicing. Minimal living room footprint.You might think about picking up an older, less expensive iPad to directly access the Spark App and ToneCloud. Based on forum issues and questions, it seems to me that Positive Grid products have far less issues when using a PC for amp updates, and iOS devices for the Spark App. A large proportion of issues seem to relate specifically to Android interface problems.
If you’re looking for “that sound”, you’ll likely end up modifying someone else’s Preset(s), or building your own. In a tight space, it’s a lot easier from a tablet. Another plus is I can play and control backing tracks from an App on the same tablet…
-
I am a little worried about it not working with my computer or Fire 7 tablet. But if it doesn't, it's still most likely going to sound better than my Fender Champ. That amp sounds great for a little five watt amp, but for the stuff I like to play I need a signal processor or new pedals for my pedalboard. Since I just play at home, no more playing in a band for me (my health says no way to that now days) I bought a low budget signal processor last year, but it's nowhere as good as it was advertise to be. I have my old pedalboard from my band days, but my chorus is messing up, so I use my flanger as a substitute for it's not necessarily a good one. In fact most of my pedals have seen better days. So when I heard about the Spark, I wanted one immediately. I just wish I had done a little more research first before I bought one. But if didn't so if it doesn't work out, it's my own fault for being impulsive...
-
@james-boyd
Given your background, it will be interesting to hear your first impression of the Spark 40. -
@dan-lawrence I'd love to tell you, Dan... But the forum doesn't seem to want to let me speak my piece. I keep getting this error message saying Forbidden.
-
@dan-lawrence Wow... It worked that time. So let me try this again.
My first impression is that after all the negative stuff I've heard about Positive Grid, I must say that does not apply to their shipping department. When I ordered the amp, the website said it would be delivered sometime after 11/15. Two days ago I got an email saying it had shipped from Houston, Texas, and this morning I got one saying it would be delivered today, between 1:00 and 6:00 PM. UPS, who never shows up here before 7:00 PM came at 11:00 and the guy actually knocked on my door and waited for me to answer, which they never do. They typically don't even knock, they just drop the package on the porch and leave. If I don't hear their truck, I may never know they came. Because the "Porch Pirates" around here are bold and fast.
So I put "PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE PACKAGES ON PORCH!" in the second address line, but most people ignore that totally. This guy actually knocked and waited. So I told him thank you for not leaving this on the porch. He says "I know that's a guitar amp, and I would never leave a guitar amp on the porch, regardless of what UPS says. Besides, I want one of those..." Anyway, the amp was delivered at least 12 days earlier that the website said it would be.
My first impression of the amp (even though I haven't plugged in yet) is for an old man like moi that is in poor health, this this is rather heavy. Secondly, PG is definitely serious about cell phones. In order to download the software, I have to be able to scan one of those square things, which I don't even know if my tablet will do.
More importantly, since the early 1990's I have considered the world to be in the Age of Modern Technology. And if it wasn't for the fact that this amp doesn't even have PC capabilities, I would say this is a prime example of that. But it doesn't. Not even through Bluetooth. What's up with that? This is 2022 for God's sake!
Then there's the app. Apparently my Fire 7 can't run it. So that leaves me with two last rays of hope for getting access to this ToneCloud, using BlueStacks to download the app on my Windows 10 laptop, or hopefully another Windows 10 computer I just happen to know my girlfriend bought me for Christmas, or using Soundshed on one or the other.
Failing that, I hope this amp sounds good without the app.
Oops... I almost forgot to ask, why does the green light on the power supply stay on when you unplug it?
-
@james-boyd
Glad to hear that your Spark 40 made it safely to you, ahead of schedule. My guess is that, with the popularity of the battery powered Mini, that they’re over-stocked with 40´s.The Power Supply green light is normal on many power supplies. There is likely an capacitor in the charging circuit that discharges when the supply is unplugged. Since LEDs don’t draw a lot of current, the capacitor takes a while to discharge. Same thing happens with my Dell PC supply.
Sorry to hear about the ToneCloud issue, and was afraid that you might have to register the Spark through the App before you could use it. I would open a Support Ticket through the website. I would have thought it would work as a stand-alone amp right out of the box. I haven’t accessed the Spark App in months, and I literally use my Spark 40 daily. I don’t remember seeing anything in the promotional materials indicating that you need App Access to make the amp usable out-of-the-box.
It appears to me that PG has heavily tied their software/firmware security directly into the App access and functionality. This is abundantly clear given the access problems forum members experience when selling, gifting or buying used PG hardware. It requires a Support Ticket to eventually sort it all out…
True first-time user video from the Spark Amp Lovers Forum. He appears to have stand-alone access out-of-the-box: https://sparkamplovers.com/kb/unboxing-positive-grid-spark-practice-amp/
Given your interest in a very specific tone, I think you will quickly find that an inexpensive, compatible tablet is lurking in your future, especially if your “BlueStacks” solution doesn’t work, or is overly inconvenient… I LOVE my Spark; however it’s definitely not my tube-amp tone; so sculpting your own custom Preset is your best option.
-
Glad to hear that your Spark 40 made it safely to you, ahead of schedule. My guess is that, with the popularity of the battery powered Mini, that they’re over-stocked with 40´s.
Yeah, and if I had waited a few days I could have got one for $40 off. But at least I save $20...
Sorry to hear about the ToneCloud issue, and was afraid that you might have to register the Spark through the App before you could use it.
I got it registered ok, I just couldn't install it on My Fire 7 tablet, I have no idea why. If what I read somewhere is correct, it has to be running on Android 8.1 or later, and the Fire 7 I have has Android 9. It might be a Google Play problem, but I can't see the tablet well enough to be able to read the error message.
I don’t remember seeing anything in the promotional materials indicating that you need App Access to make the amp usable out-of-the-box.
It should work fine. As soon as I get into town to get a new cord. Since I hadn't been playing much I loaned my "Monster Cable" cord to my neighbor, and his dog thought it was his homework. (In other words, he chewed it to shreds.)
Given your interest in a very specific tone, I think you will quickly find that an inexpensive, compatible tablet is lurking in your future...
Actually, you may be on to something there. My girlfriend love's shopping at Kohl's, and it's that time of year for Black Everyday sales. Since corporate greed dictated that the Christmas season starts in August now, why not make Black Friday into a month long sale? LOL Anyway, I was looking at tablets, since that's where my Fire 7 came from. But before I do that, I going to have her look at Google Play, which was ready to install the app yesterday, and see why it isn't working.
This has got to be the weirdest forum software I have ever seen, and I have ran many forums...