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If, like me, you don’t have the time, finances, or expertise to finely tune a guitar sound via the amp or a big grand pedal board, this is where the Spark range truly comes into its own. Spark App Core Features: Smart Jam (4 Drummers Included), Auto Chords, 50,000+ Tones on ToneCloud, Video Recording, Tuner, Scenario EQ However, established knowledge suggests that an 5W amp with a 2-inch speaker isn’t going to produce sound worthy of your guitar playing expertise. It goes without saying there will be trade-offs, but can the Spark Go hit the sweet spot between ultimate portability, functionality, and good-enough quality sound? Positive Grid says that the battery is good for eight hours of use on a full charge, and while it might not have quite got there on our tests, it was more than enough to enable many hours of playing, listening to music and recording.
While this is definitely improved by pointing the amp in your general direction, we do find ourselves regularly hearing the ‘cuh-chunk’ string mute noise that signals you’ve got the guitar volume up to maximum when using some of the cleaner and more low-output signal chains. It’s still plenty loud enough to enable its likely primary use as a bedroom practice tool, but if you’re struggling to be heard in a noisy environment, might we recommend headphones? Yes we know, for many guitarists using headphones to play guitar is a complete anathema, but the GO is one of the most impressive headphone amps we’ve encountered – and a real step up on the Mini. With plenty of volume and a directness of sound that makes you feel less like you’re listening on cans and more like you’re standing in front of an amp, it’s a very viable option – even if you usually wouldn’t countenance such a thing. And with up to eight hours battery life from a full charge, you’ve got the freedom to take it out and about. While the rechargeable internal battery of the Spark Mini freed players up to choose where they wanted and needed to play, the GO takes that idea further. Because it's so small and ruggedly built with its grippy rubber casing, it's easy to take with you in a gigbag but it also affected how we used it in the house compared to the Mini and Spark 40. Let us introduce the concept of… the leg amp! In terms of on-board controls, this version eschews almost all buttons to bring the physical controls down to the bare bones. Just like the Spark Mini, there are no dials for bass, treble, delay, reverb, etc., which you’d see on a traditional amp (or the Spark 40). Just like the middle child, the Spark Mini, the new Spark Go amp does all of that, but without the need to tether to the mains. It has a rechargeable battery, making your amplified guitar playing truly portable. In this case, even clipped to your person. However, the amplifier used (think Marshall, Orange, etc.), the settings on the amp, and the effects pedals (delay, distortion, reverb, etc.) used are the other key factors, and that’s what the Spark app’s tones attempt to replicate.This is the first Spark amp that can be positioned in two distinctly different ways for varying response It’s not that important as you can adjust these settings on the digital amp and pedals within the app. However, it does make the Go less useful if you don’t plan on connecting through the app every time.Remember, you can always save your four favourite tones to the amp so you don’t need the app at all. The Spark Go is an ultra-compact amp that's going to surprise a lot of players with how big it sounds. The tones we experienced are expansive and rich in ways an amp this tiny should have no business delivering."— MusicRadar
I found it helped me with my timing a lot. When you’re noodling away on your own, it can get a bit all over the place. This kept me disciplined and in rhythm with the drummer. The Spark Go isn’t anywhere near as loud as the Mini and again, the limitations of the smaller speaker become more noticeable in its smaller form factor. However, I think the Spark Go makes the Mini a little redundant. It’s much, much smaller, has the same battery life and access to smart features.Despite the small size, it doesn't skimp on any features, sharing the exact same amount of hardware presets, practice tools, and Bluetooth connectivity as its bigger sibling the Spark Mini."— Guitar World The temptation with the GO is to ask, ‘Well how small is next year’s model going to be?!’ and maybe Positive Grid will surprise us again down the line with something even more compact and remarkable. But that shouldn’t detract from what a remarkable achievement the Spark GO is – a truly go-anywhere amp for electric guitarists that feels as rugged and durable as any bluetooth speaker, with a sound fit for an amp 10 times its size. For the price, if you don’t already have one of these in your gigbag, what are you waiting for? Key Features
Personally, I’d buy the Spark Go over the Mini for that added portability, and the ability to play with the amp on your person (more or less) wirelessly. You lose sound quality with the smaller speaker, but I think it’s worth it to not notice carrying an amp with you.
About Positive Grid SPARK
On the other Spark amplifiers, I preferred using the tablet version of the Spark app, but that’s against the spirit of the Spark Go, which is all about portability. Things are cramped and fiddly on the smartphone, but not annoyingly so. The Spark Go does a decent job of maintaining consistent design language with the replaceable speaker plate matching the other two models. Positive Grid also gives you an alternate option in the box. But if you do you gain a lot; not just the ability to tweak your amp and pedal models, but headline practice and learning features with Smart Jam and Auto Chords to dip into whenever you want. There's a lot going on with this little amp. Specifications In addition to the same array of models as the other Spark amps, all of the Positive Grid Spark app features are accessible with the GO; it's processed via your smartphone so that's no surprise. But I'm especially pleased to see four presets that can be saved to the hardware itself – just like on the Spark Mini. It could be Slash’s reverb-lased Gibson Les Paul solos, or a beautifully clean John Mayer-like tone. Either way, the Spark amp will have a solution that seeks to replicate the set-up of those icons, from amp models to the effects pedals.
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