We’re big fans of the Spark practice amp, with its small size, 10,000-plus tone library, and unique smart features allowing you to practice your six-string skills at home with unusual aplomb. It’s even compact enough that it’s not that inconvenient to bring it along when you leave the house. Apparently, though, it’s not compact enough since the outfit just made an even smaller version in the form of the Positive Grid Spark Mini.
Measuring just roughly six inches across, it crams the amp hardware in a highly portable package that you can comfortably carry in hand for taking out. Whether you’re jamming at a friend’s house, performing at a friend’s party, or busking at the subway, this thing lets you bring a functional amp anywhere you want to take your axe skills.
The Positive Grid Spark Mini is a 10-watt practice amplifier that promises to make electric guitars bite, acoustic guitars sing, and bass guitars rumble, allowing you to plug into it like a regular amp, albeit in a much more compact size. Designed to emulate the sound of traditional tube amps, it comes with 33 amp models and 43 effects, allowing for tens of thousands of tone combinations. In fact, it comes with access to ToneCloud, the outfit’s library of amp and effects presets that contains over 10,000 ready-to-use combinations that you can simply download the rig. Sadly, only four presets can be saved right on the amp, which, we guess, shouldn’t be an issue, considering most people tend to play with their favorite tone combos most of the time anyway.
It has a USB interface and a line out, so you simply hook up to your PC, mixer, or audio interface for integrating into your production workflow. A rechargeable battery allows you to use it without having to plug in to a power outlet, lasting up to eight hours of play time between charges.
The Positive Grid Spark Mini also pulls double duty as a Bluetooth speaker, with two-inch 8-degree dual angled drivers delivering a near-field stereo experience and a passive radiator for a punchy bass sound. It comes with the bigger Spark’s Smart Jam feature that learns your playing style and feel, then creates a backing track to accompany that using matching bass and drum tones. There are two separate volume controls for the guitar and speaker channels, allowing you to dial in a nice mix between the sound of your six-string and the backing track.
It also gets the Spark’s Auto Chords feature that lets you choose which song you’re playing from the companion app’s library, then have the chords show onscreen in real time. Dimensions are 6.5 x 5.8 x 4.9 inches (height x width x depth), making it small enough to easily carry by hand or even toss in a backpack if you need your hands empty. Other features include three-point contact feet for custom damping, glass fiber and Tolex construction, customizable EQ settings, and an optional wireless footswitch.
The Positive Grid Spark Mini is now available for preorder, priced at $189.
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