It's cool that you're using a Squire, and not a super expensive Fender or Ibanez like some other channels. You're using a guitar that many beginners could be using when they practice with this amp.

In every one of these videos I hear people say the same thing... "It's too Bassy." It ain't rocket science people! If it's too bassy, as the old saying goes "Put a sock in it!" Pop the grill off, and you'll find a hole about an inch wide in between the speakers. That's the Bass Port. Stuff a pair of socks or something similar in it. It can be some kind of cloth, foam, etc. The more you stuff in there, the less bassy it will get. _Just like every big speaker cabinet I've ever seen._

Really cool review. Thinking about buying one of these. You make such an important point, if it makes you pick up the guitar more it’s a win.

Thank you for the honest review! I love mine.

Thank you for the very easy-to-understand commentary and the wonderful performance. I am a Japanese guitarist. I bought this amp the other day and uploaded a video to my KZfaq channel. I still have a lot of things I don't know. Watching your video I've done a lot

Interesting review, thank you. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Spark in just a few days 🙂

Nice Job! Thank you for this evaluation!

Great demo. Thank you.

Thanks best review I've watched brilliant 👏

Love the the Spark Amp!

BIG D! I've actually been considering the Spark for a few months now. Great, no-nonsense review. I think you've convinced me to hold out and go all valve though!

Nice review! You answered some of my concerns about the amp. BTW, I have the same Fender pick-shaped Stratocaster sign displayed behind you!

Fantastic video Derek, really well articulated points, very curious to see where this kind of innovation leads! All the best!

Very helpful. Got the Spark Amp as a gift but never used it much with my electro-acoustic. I tried playing along with some of the KZfaq backing tracks but the selection is overwhelming and I kind of gave up. Just got an electric so your video was eye opening. Although I knew it could do pedal and amp effects I did not know the app allows choosing canned setups for songs/artists. Very cool. Thank you.

What a wonderful review. Honest and beautifully put together. I might have to try one of these, but I do prefer a more traditional amp that doesn't require apps....

What’s up Derek! Been watching your vids today. Great to see your stuff! I thought about getting this amp a few times as well. Heard about the bass boom from other reviews, so it’s good you confirmed. But I love the wide reverb concept, and the samples sound awesome. Nice work as always 😎👍🎸

Nice to see the ol' Hendrix thumb grip there. Definitely has its appealing qualities and the design is excellent. I get why so many people rate it. I'm, like you, more into messing about with pedals and getting my own sounds. Great review btw 👍

It's a spot on amp period 👌

Congratulations on 10K, mate!

Useful review thanks. I’m a beginner so I think this will be ideal.

Sounds gd 😎. Really underrated in my opinion.

Thx for your video on the Spark. I ordered very early and some issues I found were the carry strap broke after a few months and the headphone jack is playing up. Overall I really enjoy using this amp. One thing I would of liked to see is a couple USB charging ports.

I got it so I could instantly dial in the tone to whatever song I was learning and easily play along with records (well mp3s nowadays). Plus the auto drummer feature. It's great for that. They've added a new eq in one of the recent firmware updates that helps with the excessive bass and muddiness. Still too bassy but not nearly as bad as at launch.

I've had mine 18 days now and Today is the first time I've turned on my Blackstar/Fender wet/dry amps. I still have my pedalboard engaged so my old favourite tones are still there when I want them. Working with headphones or BlueTooth earbuds, I can rock away into the night without annoying the neighbours. 👍 Gripes - Although they Have added two EQ pedals that can be used to address the Bass heavy tonal balance, those EQs take up the Modulation slot in the FX chain. The chain needs another slot or the firmware needs a Tilt EQ control. FX Slot reordering would be a nice feature also.

Pre ordered one of these when they were first advertised took about 10 months to arrive. I have to say I really do like it at first I have to agree about the bass, it doesn’t seem so bassy now though not sure if it’s to do with the firmware update or that I dial in better tones having got more used to it. It’s alsways compared to the THR of which I own two of the first model. I have to say I use the Spark a lot more as the vast array of amps and effects plus all the features on the app make it more fun than the THR the only thing it lacks in my opinion is a battery feature which is a big plus for the THR. Also it’s nice to see a review from someone who actually bought the amp, maybe that’s why I initially waited so long as Positive Grid were too busy making them and giving them away to ‘big’ name KZfaqrs

Derek, great video review thank you! How do you like the amp a year later?

I've had mine since the day it came out and I use it a ton over these couple years.The only gripe is that is a little bassy like you said.50% of the time I use headphones when everyone is in bed and it is the greatest sounding amp with headphones hands down.Try the headphones if you haven't you will be blown away.

Try rolling the volume off for wind cries may. One part of hendrix sound was rolled off volume into cranked fuzz face

Great video! if you do have the time, you mention it can be used as an interface/bluetooth speaker. Does that mean I can play spotify from my computer/phone and not be playing guitar? aka, just have it as my home speakers. Can I even watch netflix on my computer and have the audio run through the Spark amp?

Thanks for the review. It's nice to see one from someone who actually spent money to get the amp. That's my only issue so far. The company doesn't correspond with customers. I ordered one 8 days ago. So far I have no idea on whether they are going to ship it to me or not. They showed that it was in stock and took my money right away but shipping status still shows "Awaiting Fulfillment". I have no idea what that means.

I've been using mine for about 4 months now and can honestly say it is easily by far the best practice amp I've ever used and I've had most of the popular brands. Was slightly heavy on the bass when I first plugged it in but very easily adjusted so can't see what the fuss is about the bass, surely it's better having a practice amp that has some bass and can be turned down than a thin sounding amp that has none and can't be turned up. Seems like a bit of a Marmite amp to me or maybe some people just like what they're used to.

Refreshing to see a review from someone who bought one. A friend bought one a while ago, but just didn't like the boomy bass. So kind as he is, he asked me to try it, i updated the firmware, and tried many ways to tame that bass, to no avail. Another classic example of an over hyped product with too may bugs that can't be cured with just firmware updates. I am glad that i didn't buy one!

Brilliant thanks

I am an acoustic singles performer. My Spark 40 is my stage amp, but I don’t use the internal finals or speakers. Using an impedance matching cable, I come out of the Spark headphone Jack, directly into my PA! It’s fabulous! I have all the power I need, with all the amazing tones and cabinet/amp combinations that Spark is famous for. I can play an auditorium or a dining room, with my amazing chameleon Spark amp. It saves hundreds on pedals, but gives you a huge spectrum of tonal possibilities. I have sold my “stage” amps. They’re too heavy, and no matter how you set them, they are ONE TONE. The Spark has thousands of personalities! No comparison. Use it as a “head” with all your pedals and many amp/cab choices enclosed! I’m a believer! Oh, I just received a Spark GO as a gift. Incredible! Another masterpiece from Positive Grid!

That purple rain tone is really on.....I've been using it on different guitars all day. It needs a balanced out...it would be perfect if I could easily run it to my PA.

That is actually a pretty cool idea. I can see it having stage applications. I assume it can be hooked up to a cab, that would fix the bass flubbiness. When you’re looking for a new tone and don’t want to spend an hour in knob twisting mode. Great production on the video btw. Cheers!

I switched the speakers out on my Spark for a better sound. It was very simple and took 15 minutes tops. "Cheap" for what you get is the selling point on these.

Hi Derek, I wondered what all the fuss was about with this amp and if it lived up to the hype and you've answered that for me in your' own inimitable fashion. Firstly, I see what you mean about the bass, even allowing for the fact you were on the neck pickup, it sounded pretty bass heavy. Balance that with the Def Leppard tones that I really liked and the SRV sound wasn't far behind and overall it does seem like a really practical amp with all the connectivity options, I can see what all the hype is about. I'm looking forward to your update and seeing how you got on with it. I know the Interwebz jury seems to be fairly balanced opinion wise about this amp so I wonder which way you will tip the scales? Take care, amigo!

I live my spark. I bought one when it first came out and just received my second as it sits in my living room on a side table. Beginner here and the cloud tones for me is the selling point. I want to learn a song, cloud and I got the sound. It’s is bass heavy so I turn the bass down a lot. It’s just a good practice amp and especially for the Xmas 2022 sale, it was really worth it, hides in plain sight and just makes me want to play.

Hey DP. Nice simple review. I don't find mine bass heavy tbh and I don't like too much bass. All the best bud.

I love my spark. I feel like people will either dig it or hate it I feel it’s hard to find someone who will just be like “eh it’s ok”. The speakers are of course not the main point of the amp. They are def selling it with more of the modeling and practice amp feel in mind. My biggest suggestion is why not just let this unit run bias fx 2? It has a neutered version of it which while serviceable, is not as unique as bias fx 2. I think this would be a guitar essential if they allowed the amp to work with bias fx 2. I still use it as a practice amp and practice modeling and sometimes I use it as an interface for demos. Cool starting place for ppl who are new the bias universe and also want a practice amp. Kill two birds with one stone. The acoustic setting is really useful for gigs !

Can you change tones effects in the middle of a song like a peddle board ? Can you change effect combinations in the middle of a song like a peddle board ?

This little amp sounds fantastic. I wish there was a pedal to switch between two tones.

Best small practice amp in my opinion is the THR10C blues amp, I'm talking about out and out good tone, all these other amps have tons of options on them but they don't sound as good, even the newer THR30 amps with the extra options added don't sound as good as the older ones. If anyone knows a small amp that sounds better than the THR10C please let me know, I love buying new amps

When you need boost for a solo do you throw your phone on the floor and stomp it? 😂😂😂

Cant decide if I should keep my THR10x or get one of these!

Often when I feel like a tone is too bassy on my Spark, I find if I turn down the gain I get rid of a lot of the muddiness. It also seems to be really guitar dependent. A tone which sounds like mush with one guitar sounds sparkly and great with a different one.

Is it too loud for the neighbours? Where I live, the walls are pretty thin, do you think I'll be able to get good tones at low volumes (without using headphones)?

So would you recommend it for a bass instead?

How do we compare it to marshall mg15?

To me something doesn't sound right and maybe it's because of the limitation of small speakers. I don't know I can't put my finger on

Is it a good amp to practice with the band?

I got a mustang lt50, would the spark be an upgrade or a downgrade? If i get the spark ill get a cabinet for it too

I think it’s an excellent aide for simply practising at home on your own. I prefer my Sheriff 22 with my Orange cab and pedals, but using the Spark 40 is soooo quick to get started.

My take: I don't mind the heavy bass. But, I can't access the app from my laptop or home computer. 2. The physical controls on the amp are pretty much useless for getting any diverse sounds. 3. There are no external speaker outputs. 4. no battery operation..... Other than those? I'll keep it!

The presets sound great with single coil pickups. They don't sound that great with humbuckers. I have to tweak pretty much every setting since all my guitars are humbucker guitars. Other than that, I like the amp.

To me this whole spark debate is hilarious. The only people who complain about it are music snobs I understand you want perfection but at the end of the day music is a feeling and that's why you aren't the best musicians. Just use your ears can it make music sound great? Ok thats good enough.

I bought one and it quit working in about 2 months. I’m stuck with a 10 pound boat anchor because Positive Grid doesn’t have a customer service department.

What guitar model is this specifically?

What are your experiences with it and were you aware of it? surely you were

I used to play on my Line 6 Spider Jam Amp which I loved and made many riffs which turned into songs I made. Was wondering if this a good replacement or I should get the Jam Amp again?

PG added an EQ pedal for both Guitar and Bass which you can now use to eliminate most or all of the bassiness/muddy tone.

Mine stopped working. Out of warranty but it was barely used.

Seems great for a multi instrumentalist on a budget. Bass, keyboards and all through one amp. But if the equalizer can't really change the character of the amp significantly, as to accommodate a decent guitar sound, that's not good.

got mine for $160 and it's great to practice with. I still very much prefer my hot rod deluxe😎

Nice of you using a modest Squier Strat to get those great tones. Nobody can say that you need a more expensive Fender to do it. Btw, did you keep it after all? 🤔

"Seems incredibly unlikely though"... Classic... Subd...

The bad is it will stop working at some point in the near future for no apparent reason. Have a look at the hundreds of posts about the instrument input no longer working. However I thought it was great while it lasted.

I've stated before that I love the bass because I play mainly on the first three frets because of this reason I love the bass but I experimented with high gain and I keep the tone wild open on my guitars.

I had one, sold it after a few months because it sounded so muffled. Picked up a Yamaha THR and haven't looked back.

The bass on that thing drives me crazy... I don't get why they would release it like that.

I bough one after using a Yamaha THR10 for 2 years because of all the hype. I sold it very soon after as I didn't like the sound of it at all. Way too bass heavy and no way to really cut it down. Pretty much every one says the same thing about the bass and everyone hopes that it will be fixed by a software upgrade. But I honestly think that it cannot be fixed as they would have done that a long time ago if they were able to. I eventually settled up on a 5W tube combo for home use.

great video, too much on the bass it does have great features, but I am leaning towards BOSS Katana , I think that bassy sound would drive me nuts,

If they could improve on the Spark and make it sound even better. I might pop! I’ll wait for the futuristic model. Maybe they will improve the reverb. Don’t like what I’m hearing.

Why do I have to restart my iPhone every time I want to connect to my Spark mini? Very frustrating. Update. You don’t have to turn off your iPhone. Just swipe up and turn off the app on the phone. It’s easy. Go to the Spark app, push the button and it will ask you to connect. Problem solved.

Every review and comment section of the Spark amp mentions how it's "Bass-heavy", and rightfully so. But I am so surprised that no one has figured out that the internal software of the amp "Centers" the Bass, Mid, and Treble every time you turn it on. If you have the Bass turned all the way down when you turn it on it is actually centered and no way to turn it down more. Same with the Mid and Treble. No one complains about the Mid and Treble because those are generally turned up by the user anyway so it's not immediately noticeable. I'm also surprised Positive Grid hasn't tried to correct this other than giving us an EQ. I'm sure they are aware of this defect, if not then I question the company's technical prowess.

How to use backing tracks from youtube and play at the same time?Possible?

Played one at a casual jam session once. Too much bass was my initial reaction!

I own this unit and recently bought a Yamaha THR30ii. The difference is night and day in terms of sound and ease of use. The spark sounds like someone trying to talk with their hand covering over their mouth. The Yamaha is a high fidelity unit that is very plug and play oriented. It is pricey though unfortunately.

The thing that I really hate about my spark amp is that each preset you save has it's own volume setting, instead of having an option for a universal volume. So sometimes you'll be playing something really low volume at night, switch presets, and accidentally wake your roommates because of the horrible sudden boom. I have to go into the app manually each time to make sure the volume is all the way off for each preset before turning it off so I don't do that on accident. The volume knob on the actual amp is practically useless.

Is the Spark 40 a small tube amp? Or a solid state amp?

The way to control the bass is to use the blue Spark equalizer they added in their firmware update a few months ago. You can really dial in the EQ with that pedal. Give it a try. I have been able to dial in the EQ almost per string with precision with it. I see you modded your Squier with Lollars - good on you. The pickups are now worth more than the guitar:-)

I have one of these spark amps and the bottom line is it will not replace your tube driven amp.

The EQ pedal (as someone else mentioned) in the latest firmware takes care of the legacy "bass heavy" issue. IT has grown on me but I prefer my Vox Adio Air GT.

I have the amp, and would have to agree that the amp sounds too bassy or muddy, though I have not tried the trick of plugging the bass port to see if that helps. The thing that bothers me is that even thru headphones many tones are still muddy for me. Some amp models are a little brighter than others but nothing really changes this fundamental behavior, at least to me. I haven’t played around much with the EQ pedal that is part of a recent update, and that might help, but it’ll be at the expense of having a modulation pedal in the chain.

It all sounded kind of boxy and muddy but then you did say you micced it rather than DI so maybe just the room sound. It is very tempting though.

i am right now trying to decide whether to buy one or not ,,

I bought one. Thought it was absolutely terrible. It's not very loud ( I mean its not very loud, not talking about gigging loud) and I couldn't get a decent sound out of it. I have played a fair few amps from cheap Marshall MG 10 (which is much louder and gives a better sound than the Spark), all the way to Mesa Boogies so I'm not some newbie when it comes to guitar amps. Maybe there's something wrong with mine.

It'd be great if it connected to my iMac as opposed to a bloody phone or ipad.

Any good for thrash metal?

Can’t get it in the uk

There's no expression pedal. Plus, the features are really limited compared to something like the Boss Katana - although you do spend more for that. Out of the box the amp is too bass heavy. While the eq "pedal" can solve most of the problem, it's annoying to have to change each amp setting with the EQ. And then you're stuck with the EQ solving that problem instead of using it for other things.

My Spark has Delay on everything. Very unpleasant. I guess it will just collect dust.

I've compared just about all quick fix mini head format offerings, both Yamaha thr generations, katana air, vox adio air gt etc. and to be honest Spark wins hands down as an all-rounder for learning and practice if you also consider the budget. I mean, THR30 may sound/feel a bit nicer but it costs a lot more and it doesn't have all the fx and convenience of tone cloud or the rest of the features. You get wireless freedom if you want it for a surcharge (optional transmitter) and the rechargeable batt which are hard to argue against, proper line outs for bigger speakers. but it's rather thin on the software side and there's some frequency harshness in mid highs mess that made me dislike thr10 ii more than the bassy nature of the spark. I think the first gen sounded nicer, warmer. Maybe it was just my sample, probably the 30w version sounds bigger and avoids that spike. Spark is a bit livelier than its size would have you think, very nice for streaming BT audio or getting used as a sound bar too all the while offering all the play along and tuition via app. A Spark along with a decent tablet will still be less than a thr. Not to mention the Spark mini which promises big sound in a tinier package with 8 hours off grid, which you could use with any pair of wireless transmitters if that's your thing. It's all about convenience and even though at times I'm pissed they don't offer a wired interface to control the amp from a pc/mac app via USB (just usb recording and firmware updates) it still remains one of the better efforts, closer to the line6 amplifi line (it had online library and tone matching) in its target audience I think. It's pretty much an average between THR and amplifi with some added features which seems to work pretty well for many. Sure it does have the digitalness but also manages to pack some warmth overtones and sustain/feedback from the real deal enough to keep me interested and sometimes thrilled. Compared to THR, which sounds best in the more quiet volume range and struggles as you push it to its limit, Spark really does get way better when cranked a bit since it can monkey a proper practice amp's behavior. It's a good thing they came up with it. It's not perfect but they had to start from somewhere with these newer product lines. I'm curious about the Spark mini. Should be less bassy and more spacey while much more portable. Only downside I see is that it's extremely app reliant with virtually no tone shaping controls direcy on it, just instrument / aux volumes and a preset selector. For those currently heavily relying on presets and app features it could be perfect. Could be the next level bathroom amp ;)

I mean, he flat out admits he's not using it to its full capabilities as he "likes to dial it all in on the hardware"

I have one. It’s a nice practice amp and very reasonably priced. My gripe is with the overhyped app. It isn’t all that it was promised to be. The accompaniment nonsense is horrendously bad.

I hear that the new update has an EQ pedal which cleans up that too much bass issue. I hope it does because I just bought one on Reverb today 🙂

spend the money and get the Yamaha thr

Good Lord, the Wind Cries Mary preset sounds incredibly horrible! Actually, all of the tones sounds terrible. THANKS for posting this, as I've been curious about this amp for low volume practice for some time. I'd rather play through a old Tom Sholz Rockman than this thing. That said, I have an "old" Fender G-DEC 3 Thirty that kills this thing without much effort. Oh well.

I can get off of the fence now. I like the features but don’t trust it. Thanks 🙏