I had no qualms about carrying it from room to room – there’s a handy leather strap attached for just that purpose – or tucking it into a backpack when traveling. (The amp is also available in Pearl with a white grille.) Build quality is excellent, and the unit feels solid and tough. Like its big brother, Spark Mini is a handsome combo in a glass-fiber cabinet covered with Tolex and sporting a black-and-brown woven grille. ![]() Spark Mini reaches full charge in three hours to deliver up to eight hours of use with the volume set halfway or lower (play time decreases at higher volumes). Press the button once to engage pairing, or hold it to put the amp in Tuner mode. There’s also a pair button for connecting with Bluetooth devices, including handheld devices running the Spark app (more on this below). Around back are a stereo line out, a stereo aux in, and the USB connection that connects Spark Mini to your computer for recording and doubles as the charging input. Here you’ll find the 1/4-inch guitar input, individual volume controls for the guitar signal and external music, and a knob for selecting from the four guitar presets: Custom, Solo, Lead, and Rhythm. The digital thing seems too processed, overdone and lifeless for my aesthetic taste, although I do believe that in certain recording or low-volume gigs this thing would really be a fantastic problem solver.įor the $229 price tag, I'd say that this product is an excellent value and would recommend it as a practice amp for the bedroom or for recording.The main performance controls are on the amp’s top, set in a glossy black panel with gold lettering. Plugging a properly set-up guitar into a nice amp, getting a good basic sound and then adjusting the gain as necessary or adding a booster or OD for extra oomph is more relatable to me. I think I'm too old school for this type of technology. It's cool to be able to use it as a Bluetooth speaker for your device, and the "play along" app may be fun to try for a hoot, but my main focus was on having a good sounding, low volume practice rig which I suppose the Spark is adequate for. I have not used any of the other features and I may at some point. I will say that at extremely low volumes the amp sounds surprisingly nice and responsive, but switching from one guitar to the next yields very little difference or variation. GOBS of wet reverb, delay, compression and EQ on every one I have tried thus far although you can override or disable the effects from the front panel or app. Problem is, they are all so heavily effected OOTB and seem generic and waaaay too processed for my taste. There is a good Marshal sound, an interesting few clean sounds and various other tones that seem useful and easily accessible with names such as "Hendrix", "Bonamassa", "John Mayerish" and "Jazzy". There is a wide variety of patches available, sorted via genre such as Blues, Rock, Alternative, etc. I was able to select patches from my tablet which instantly switched in the amp. The amp connected quickly and effortlessly to my tablet, and quickly synced up. I downloaded the app, registered the SN and downloaded a few "patches" with my iPad. ![]() So, I decided to approach the Spark with a clean slate. I have been playing through an analog Tech-21 Trademark 10 amp for many years now, and have been fairly satisfied with the limited range of tones available, however only a couple of them actually worked for me. I was very impressed with the various models and effects programmed into it, but the price tag was out of my range. I am not totally unfamiliar with digital modeling amps, having auditioned a Kemper a while back during those carefree pre-Covid days. ![]() I suppose that this actually indicated a problem with their system, however one that worked out in my favor. Imagine my surprise when the amp arrived way ahead of schedule and unannounced. I was under the impression that, because of when I placed my pre-order, mine was going to be among the last batch of orders shipped in the middle of August. They came through on this expectation and provided weekly updates (often bi-weekly). sent out an email a month or so ago apologizing about their lack of feedback regarding shipment/order status and resolved to, henceforth, provide weekly shipping updates. I am jump-starting this thread because I recently received my Spark 40- ahead of schedule!
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