Is the Spark 40 a Good Purchase?
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Hello all,
I am new to the forum because I've been watching tons of videos on the Spark 40. Obviously there are many videos that speak very highly of the amp, but none of them are longevity tests. They are all snapshots in time, and don't follow up 1-2 years down the road to see if everything is still working.
I currently have a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier Rect-O-Verb 50 Combo amp, which is great, but obviously a terrible practice amp. Even when playing with drums and a bass, I am never close to half volume because it is so incredibly loud.
I signed up for this forum, and honestly, most of the topics are quite concerning for a potential buyer.
I am just in the market for a practice amp and something I can have some fun recording with which is why this amp (or the concept of this amp rather) is so appealing to me.
So my questions are:
Is this amp worth the money?
Do you regret purchasing the Spark 40?
Is Positive Grid's customer service as bad as it seems?
How big of a problem is connectivity (I understand that you can't unlock the potential of this amp without the app)?Thank you all!
-Greg
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@gregthegrey
Depends on what you want. I use mine every day, and it’s a joy to use compared to my Boss eBand-8 that it replaced.I’ve had my Spark 40 for some time now, and have not had any of the problems identified on the GP Forum based on my set-up. I use a PC to perform Amp Updates, and an iPad for the Spark App (when I bother to use it). It has a heavier bass tone that works for me with my guitars; however it’s really noticeable when listening to Bluetooth Songs/Backing Tracks.
Based on my monitoring of the GP Forum since getting my Spark 40, most of the problems relate to the use of MacBooks for firmware updates, Android products for the App and Bluetooth, and non-US (I.e. European style) power related anomalies. GP has a very clunky firmware update procedure, and does a terrible job of documenting the detailed process for users.
I use the Spark 40 solely as a practice amp, and once I set up and saved my four practice Presets in the ‘Hardware Presets’ on the amplifier, I seldom open the app or visit ToneCloud. Both, in my opinion, are more bother than they’re worth. I’m greatly disappointed at their inability to live up to the marketing hype surrounding the App and ToneCloud. They work, poorly.
The biggest advantage of the Spark 40 is the price. It’s the cheapest of the available competitors, and was the best looking of the options available at the time. Yamaha was the only serious competitor when I bought mine; it cost a lot more, and was (is) pretty ugly.
Bottom line, I love my Spark 40 Practice Amp. However given what I know now, I’d probably opt for the new Boss Kitana Air. It looks good and comes from a company with a proven history. It’s more expensive; however the Spark 40 proved to me that you really get what you pay for.
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@dan-lawrence I played one at a nearby Guitar Center and really enjoyed it. I ended up ordering one from Positive Grid the next day after testing some other options out. I am really excited for it to arrive and to play around with the app. I was impressed by the generic amp models that are available though.
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@gregthegrey
Yes, the Spark is worth the money, and really sounds great. I regretted buying it so bad, I gave it to my son, and bought a Spark Pearl for myself.😎 The customer service has been a non issue for me. Although besides some shipping delay inquiries have not needed them. You need the app to really set up your amp tones, and pedals that are available. Then you can save them for future use or assign them to the four available presets. It is an excellent sounding little amp, and a lot of fun to play. -
I just got mine yesterday and it is amazing. Oddly enough, I think this little practice amp is the best sounding amp that I own. I've never been happy with my overdrive sound. Out of the box this amp sounded great.
I'm playing a '79 Gibson ES 335 dot neck, a '52 Tele replica, and an Ibanez MC300 and all of these guitars sound amazing.
I've read comments from people saying that it sounds "muddy". The very first impression of was that it's not in any way muddy. It really sounds great. Later in the evening I was using headphones to practice and it did sound a bit more bassy. So I ended up adjusting the tone a bit.
The initial presets seem to want to show everything the amp can do. So I immediately modified the first clean preset to drop the amount of delay and reverb to a more reasonable level. The 2nd preset is a great overdrive sound. The 3rd and 4th are more metal sounding and I'm primarily a jazz player so I don't use those. I'll be interested in trying to build a John Scofield type of preset for #3 and an ambient preset for #4.
So after 1 day, I'm absolutely loving it. I really am amazed at how good it sounds. Most of my playing is done jamming with friends in a living room or teaching lessons. This amp is more than loud enough for that. I can't imagine lugging a heavy tube amp around any more.
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I have a couple of big Mesas and other amps, but the Spark gets most of the playtime here at home, it's very very cool and once you get by all the initial install and/or update hiccups it really is fantastic, super flexible and has great tone. The extra bells and whistles via the app are just bonus.
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I've been playing mine non-stop now. I love all of the capabilities this thing has. I'm very happy that I went with the Spark 40.
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No. I cannot in good faith recommend this amp. The fact that it is fully dependent on a crappy app to function properly is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Stay far away
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I bought a spark just over a year ago. I was very happy with it until stopped working. Guess what? The warranty is for a year!!! I have repeatedly Emailed post grid and so far no help. They had me jump through hoops just like they do to everyone else. None of the "support" they gave has made any difference at all. I feel like a jackass cause i talked 4 other players into buying one and now this. DON'T BUY A spark AMP!!!!!!
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I bought a spark just over a year ago. I was very happy with it until stopped working. Guess what? The warranty is for a year!!! I have repeatedly Emailed post grid and so far no help. They had me jump through hoops just like they do to everyone else. None of the "support" they gave has made any difference at all. I feel like a jackass cause i talked 4 other players into buying one and now this. DON'T BUY A spark AMP!!!!!!
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If you like a very bassy, boxed muffled sound then yes. The speakers on the Spark are very very low quality. However, if you swap them out everything else is fair.
