Positive Grid Spark Mini Review: Best Portable Guitar Amp

Acoustic guitars are a ache within the ass to journey with. They’re greater, frailer, and sometimes costlier than their solid-body electrical guitar counterparts—and so they make us look lamer too. So why do many people lug them on airplanes or toss a tough case at the back of the SUV for a tenting journey? Volume. Ain’t no guitar amps in resort rooms or the woods.

But, like … what if there have been? That’s the place the brand new Positive Grid Mini is available in. It’s an app-controlled Bluetooth speaker that allows you to play your favourite tunes and your favourite axe on the similar time. It has USB-C recharging for straightforward juice-ups, and it even comes with buttons for a guitar strap, must you need to play on the transfer.

As far as transportable guitar observe, efficiency, and even recording goes, the Spark Mini is a one-stop store for non-studio jams. Bring alongside a beater solid-body electrical guitar (or bass) and an instrument cable, and you can also badly imitate Eddie Van Halen wherever.

Positively Simple

The Spark Mini has a ton of performance accessible inside Positive Grid’s app, however the gadget itself may be very plug-and-play. Unbox the 6-inch dice, cost it up, and the small amp (which actually does appear to be a shrink ray hit your favorite Marshall) is able to rock. Much like its predecessor, the full-size Spark (8/10, WIRED Recommends), it was designed for observe and recording use in bedrooms and small studios. This newer model is smaller and has a battery.

Press an influence button on the again and maintain the Bluetooth pairing button to hook up with your cellphone. Now you’ve bought your self an awesome little stereo Bluetooth speaker, with quantity managed by a knob on high that is labeled “Music.” Plug your guitar into the quarter-inch jack on high, decide between certainly one of 4 amp presets, and you’ll play alongside to your tunes, utilizing a “Guitar” knob to match the music quantity. It’s a easy, elegant system that can have you ever enjoying in below a minute.

The little amp has toes to regular it and guitar strap holders on both sides to tote it round, with something from a string to an precise leather-based strap. It is available in white or black, which is a pleasant contact for matchy-matchy folks with white guitars. You may even swap the usual gold and black speaker grill for a pink one if you would like it to look a bit extra metallic.

Beyond that, it doubles as a guitar interface for recording, through the USB-C port or line-out jacks on the again, which is massively useful for sketching out track concepts for those who’ve bought a laptop computer in tow (see under for some primary recordings).

Tone Zone

Ten watts of solid-state amplification push sound to 2 small angled drivers, aiming to provide you respectable stereo results even while you’re sitting fairly near the amp. The 4 fundamental presets linked to the far left knob (Custom, Solo, Lead, and Rhythm) supply primary sounds with numerous quantities of crunch, reverb, and delay, however you’ll actually have the ability to get probably the most out of the Spark Mini through the use of the Positive Grid app and customizing your tones in there.

Inside the app, you’ll be able to select between (and edit) hundreds of various presets, with tons of simulated amps and pedals, for actually any guitar tone below the solar. You can map new sounds to the preset knob, which makes it tremendous straightforward to change between rhythm guitar and lead tones for soloing. You simply want a free second to twist the knob. Positive Grid additionally makes a footswitch, however at $100, I’d save the money until I used to be enjoying stay rather a lot.

The app additionally permits you to play together with songs, and it could even detect chords for those who’re struggling to determine easy methods to play one thing. These are options I do not actually use, however if you’re a beginner they may very well be useful. It’s good that they are simply bundled without cost. You also can tune your guitar utilizing the lights on the preset knob, however to be trustworthy it is fairly tough, and it will not inform you for those who’re tuned to the improper observe solely. Stick to a headstock tuner or an app in your cellphone.

I’m extra impressed with the sound itself. It’s wonderful how far guitar amp-style digital sign processing (DSP) has come prior to now decade, and the Spark Mini is a shining instance of the leading edge. I personal and recurrently play by way of classic Fender and Roland guitar amps, and the Spark Mini does exceptionally properly at replicating these tones—albeit with a bit much less oomph than I hear out of two 10- or 12-inch audio system.

Out and About

As the climate has been getting nicer right here in Portland, Oregon, I’ve taken to enjoying with the Spark Mini out on my patio towards the top of the day. It’s a welcome respite from the windowless room I often observe in. A change of place can usually be the important thing to ending a track I’m fighting, or for letting go after a protracted day on the keyboard. Having cool electrical guitar tones (and precise songs to play alongside to!) makes me really feel a lot much less like a poor man’s Jack Johnson.

Bass gamers will like that this can be a stable choice for them, too, although low finish from the small included woofer is considerably restricted. Still, it’s adequate to listen to your self (and has respectable tone at decrease volumes).

As an interface, it provides stereo outs, and the recording high quality is stable. For studio classes, I’d nonetheless attain for my Universal Audio OX and an actual tube amp, however lead strains or single-note stuff from the Spark Mini may completely make it onto a closing observe. I’ve included just a few sound samples so you will get an concept of what I imply. (Pardon my noodly blues enjoying and out-of-tune barre chords, I’m a drummer first!)

For below $200, it’s actually robust to call a guitar-playing software I like extra. I want that it bought greater than eight hours of battery life, however in any other case I can’t discover a lot to not love. If you want enjoying electrical guitar alone (or with a small band) exterior of your bed room or studio, that is the way in which to go.