Positive grid spark amp

LuttiS

This has been quite aggressively thrust in my Facebook reading face recently and i relented and actually had a look..

https://www.positivegrid.com/spark

Now i actually have an ember of temptation growing.. 


Any thoughts?

PolarityMan

I'm guessing this is bias in a box...I personally dont like the sound or feel of bias though so its a pass for me. 

guitargeek62

I saw this the other day too, looks really promising. I used to use the JamUp app a hell of a lot for guitar practicing at home, and would be tempted to replace my Katana with this for home-use as long as it's got footswitch support in some way or another for channel switching.

hollywoodrox

guitargeek62 said:

I saw this the other day too, looks really promising. I used to use the JamUp app a hell of a lot for guitar practicing at home, and would be tempted to replace my Katana with this for home-use as long as it's got footswitch support in some way or another for channel switching.

Footswitch support is a definite must to make stuff like this really useful

DrBob

Why is the guy with the Jazzmaster wearing a hat in his living room ?

Sassafras

DrBob said:

Why is the guy with the Jazzmaster wearing a hat in his living room ?

Some people go out of their way to look like twats coz they think it's cool.

stickyfiddle

guitargeek62 said:

I saw this the other day too, looks really promising. I used to use the JamUp app a hell of a lot for guitar practicing at home, and would be tempted to replace my Katana with this for home-use as long as it's got footswitch support in some way or another for channel switching.

Yep, I’m a big Jamup fan too;  I haven’t used it much lately but that’s more down to faffing with cables than it is quality of the sounds

This looks properly excellent, and cheap enough to be worth a try, I reckon.

LuttiS

Might have pressed ok on the super early bird offer... 

guitargeek62

Just had a thought - although the amp doesn't seem to have any footswitch connectivity, it looks like PositiveGride make (made?!) a bluetooth MIDI footswitch that probably connects to the Spark app, and from there to the amp? 

DiscoStu

I just saw this on Facebook too and was away to start a thread.
Without real sound clips the jury remains out but I have to say that the concept makes it almost the perfect practice amp. It looks THR size, effectively has a Trio built in to it, and the app looks really useful. An all in one solution but sorely lacking a footswitch.

grungebob

Right first off, JamUp bias and bias fx are really good apps that I use and enjoy a lot. 

Don’t pre order anything from positive grid. 

I pre ordered their Bluetooth  midi pedal, took and absolute age to arrive and didn’t perform how they said it would. They wouldn’t even let me return it for a refund and DSR’s didn’t help as their American and I paid months in advance. 

I did manage to sell it for a profit quite quickly though. 

I like the idea of the spark but would want to try it first. Actually I just like the fact it’s bias amp in a combo, I can do without all the other gubbins 

LuttiS

grungebob said:

Right first off, JamUp bias and bias fx are really good apps that I use and enjoy a lot. 

Don’t pre order anything from positive grid. 

I pre ordered their Bluetooth  midi pedal, took and absolute age to arrive and didn’t perform how they said it would. They wouldn’t even let me return it for a refund and DSR’s didn’t help as their American and I paid months in advance. 

I did manage to sell it for a profit quite quickly though. 

I like the idea of the spark but would want to try it first. Actually I just like the fact it’s bias amp in a combo, I can do without all the other gubbins 

Damn!

Hopefully will turn out slightly better this time..  What was up with the pedal?

stickyfiddle

I tried to preorder but they don’t ship to the UAE, so, for now, I’m out.

LuttiS

stickyfiddle said:

I tried to preorder but they don’t ship to the UAE, so, for now, I’m out.

People of FB a bit annoyed about that - not UAE specific, but they had been going on about shipping worldwide.. then it turns out worldwide meant about 24 countries.. including UK but not even Ireland!

DiscoStu

Reading the comments on Facebook, there isn't a line out and Positive Grid have confirmed that when plugged in to a DAW you can't transfer the drum tracks. The line out isn't essential but would have been nice, but what a pity you can't record the song you've created with their system. 

grungebob

LuttiS said:

grungebob said:

Right first off, JamUp bias and bias fx are really good apps that I use and enjoy a lot. 

Don’t pre order anything from positive grid. 

I pre ordered their Bluetooth  midi pedal, took and absolute age to arrive and didn’t perform how they said it would. They wouldn’t even let me return it for a refund and DSR’s didn’t help as their American and I paid months in advance. 

I did manage to sell it for a profit quite quickly though. 

I like the idea of the spark but would want to try it first. Actually I just like the fact it’s bias amp in a combo, I can do without all the other gubbins 

Damn!

Hopefully will turn out slightly better this time..  What was up with the pedal?

They said the latency was less than it was and that it was capable of working with a few other apps that turned out to be untrue. It was built well though and I git twice the price for it. 

JohnS37

DiscoStu said:

Reading the comments on Facebook, there isn't a line out and Positive Grid have confirmed that when plugged in to a DAW you can't transfer the drum tracks. The line out isn't essential but would have been nice, but what a pity you can't record the song you've created with their system. 

I guess you could always mic it up and get the whole sound . . .

hollywoodrox

A Roland micro cube  or an ID core 20 if you need footswitches should be an alternative . I just realised I really like to practice with a footswitch  

Barnezy

It's £70 more retail vs the pre order price. Personally I'd be happy to pay this premium just to have the confirmation it's any good before buying, especially if it's a headache to return.

I'm always a bit skepticacle of these pre-order offers with no release date. Are they just trying to raise funds for a product they haven't fully developed yet? What happens if they need more funds to complete it or they go bust? 

Anyway the concept looks good, but the proof is in the eating. 

RaymondLin

With no demo, no online manual, I am out.

PhilW1

Missed out on the super-early bird offer but decided to go for the pre-order offer today as it was still a good price- 30% off,,went all the way to confirm payment and noticed they’d added $40ish tax onto the price at the last step.
 That took it out of the being worth a punt area for me.
 It’s annoying that wasn’t  shown from get-go like vat but I think that’s the way the US works.