Positive Grid Spark Live – The Perfect Busking Amp?

30 thoughts on “Positive Grid Spark Live – The Perfect Busking Amp?”

• A full battery goes about 8 hours lol, take four of them to a 24h jam

  Reply

• So here's the deal with spark amps. I sent this to spark. Positive grid

  So I decided to get the mini as a practice amp and to kind of a place an acoustic guitar by using my electric guitar with the spark acoustic simulator.. but the mini is not loud enough even to keep up with my natural voice. So I had to use my separate JBL Xtreme 2 Bluetooth speaker for the music My backing tracks. And the guitar just for the mini.

  But still I'm pushing the mini to its limits. In the small stereo speakers just a nut wide enough to make it sound good with my voice.

  Was looking for an all-in-one thing. I wanted the live. ( But no looper ) Don't understand why they didn't put it in there people have been asking for the looper for 3 years.

  They decided to put it in the lower output spark edge That's not stereo.

  I don't know it just seems like positive grid does not want to give you everything all in one cuz they want to kind of lead you on like a phone company and make you upgrade every year.

  They can do this by not giving you everything. Like putting the looper, and everything into the live version that's only 21 lb that would be ideal and it's almost the same price.

  But anyways you guys are always trying to make money..

  ***Here's my problem. Now that I switch to the spark edge that I might return.. can't seem to get a really good sound out of it. The mini sounds better. Even though your processing has went up in sample rate and, bit rate. Think it's 48 / 24.

  My presets sound so different on the The edge versus the mini probably because of the smaller speaker with a narrow frequency response. Which could be a good thing in some instances.

  I tried every amplifier. Every combination, AI and everything in between. It just sounds sterile, two scratchy but at the same time two bassy and dark.

  With old amplifiers we used to crank them up all the way. That way you get the power amp distortion with the preamp distortion pushing the power amp distortion. A good blend ( The power amp distortion gives you more of a crunch AND A TIGHT BRIGHT BOTTOM END!! )

  A lot of old school musicians used to put a pedal that had a tone control in front of the amplifier or an EQ. This would tighten up the bottom a little bit.

  Well that works okay. But I want to be able to turn up THE POWER AMP SECTION!! But it turns out the volume knobs on these amplifiers in the the app. Only turns the preset volume up and down not sending the virtual preamp into the power amp to give you the power amp distortion..

  I keep hearing about a master volume in the virtual mixer that's on the edge that's not on the mini. I don't know how this works. It doesn't seem like it's pushing the power amp section of the amplifiers which would tighten up the bottom end. Using little buzzy preamp distortion as you can and more power amp.

  So how would I go about doing this.. other products like line 6 they make it so easy even 20 years ago with their pod 2.0. where you can change cabinets, move pedals and everything else. It's amazing to me how your software is so limited in this day and age for the price you want for your products.

  How would I get my power amp section on the amp modelers to distort more.. like turning an amplifier all the way up in the old days. Not a preset volume..

  I'm sure you know what I mean.

  Nobody in the user groups understand what I'm talking about probably cuz they're mostly beginners and not tube guys.

  I don't know what I'm doing wrong..

  And here's another issue with your software. As I said line 6 has been allowing you to change microphones, cabinets, putting petals in front or in back of your amplifiers to do anything you want. Even 15 to 20 years ago. With products that only cost $150.

  So what gives with your software. I cannot take my phase 90 panel and put it in front of the amplifier ( where it sounds better like what Eddie Van Halen did )

  And you only have so many slots in the front of your amplifier and in the back of amplifier and there's not enough slots. For petals.

  For instance I had to buy JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE WAH PEDAL for $20.. every other amp modeling company they always give you those pedals for free. Anything to make money right?

  I like to use my compressor, and a distortion pedal in front of the amplifier.. but when you use the wah pedal now you can't use THE COMPRESSOR ANYMORE LOL..

  And you can't move the distortion pedal to put the compressor there or swap them..

  So you need to make more slots for more pedals in the ability to move the pedals wherever you want to put them.. You need at least one more slot in front of the amplifier for another pedal and one in the back.

  And obviously a way to be able to turn up the power amp section of the amplifiers to push the power tubes virtually.. as I mentioned above.

  If I can't at least find out a way to push the power tubes to get a nice tight sound power tube distortion and turn on the preamp section the spark edge is probably going back to Amazon.. along with the control x, and the battery.

  I can't get a good sound out of this then what's the point of its portability.

  I'm better off putting my QSC CP8 speaker that sounds fantastic.. That cost the same amount of money as your edge That is much louder and sounds better.. on a cart foldable cart with my line 6 Helix that also sounds amazingly fantastic that you can do anything with. And moving it around that way to any electricity I can find.

  The sound is just phenomenal..

  Well anyways sorry for giving you a hard time just trying to make sense of all this.. things that should be in the software are not and I don't get it.

  Peace out God bless man!!

  Reply

• I know it’s comparing apples and pears but how would compare in its basic sounds with a JBL eon one busking amp? I know the jbl doesn’t have the extras but in terms of raw sounds.

  Reply

• Does the Spark Live have looper like the spark 2 and Spark Edge?

  Reply

• I purchased a b stock one of these from andertons . I wonder if it was this actual one

  Reply

• Here after the announcement of the Edge.

  Reply

• I love mine but no Looper.

  Reply

• Is this FRFR?

  Reply

• Can somebody translate?

  Reply

• Such amazing technology. I’ve got the white Mini, like Pete mentioned. And since I received it from my wife, this past Christmas, I very rarely play thru my Fender tube amps and pedal board.

  Though I like playing around with different amps and effects, when I’m done playing around, I rest my presets the same way with the Fender Twin Reverb Amp sim, Noise Gate, Comp / Sustainer, and my favorite delay and reverb on all 4. Then Preset 1 is clean, 2 is with Tube Screamer, 3 is with Fuzz Face and 4 is with Auto Wah.

  It only takes seconds to change them and I have a number of saved amps with specific effects, for different songs, plus I’ve saved each of the 39 Amps by themselves, with no effects turned on and volume/ tone set at similar levels. It took me a while to come up with this method or organizing the app, but it’s so much more useful to me now.

  Finally, not enough can be said about the whole section of backing tracks and infinite list of songs you can play along with. Plus, earlier today I was trying to relearn a really up tempo song that I haven’t played in years, and being able to slow it to 80% speed with no loss in fidelity or pitch, was sooooo helpful.

  Damn cool stuff. Simply awesome.

  Reply

• I think I will try one out

  Reply

• I use the Spark Live in most of my uploads. Its a cracking amp

  Reply

• THAT first 90 seconds (1:31) was just badassery, lol.

  Reply

• Just stopping by for the jams and jokes. Cool amp!

  Reply

• I'm a busker and appart from the fact that if you play that thing on the street, the officials will show up within minutes, this unit is pretty damn good.

  Reply

• Pete! Go away until you're over your cold.. Crikey, sniffling & coughing is not cool for a YouTube video presentation.

  Reply

• The plastic sheet on the pedal is for dry erase markers to remind you what they are set up as

  Reply

• Spark 2 has a proper line out that goes right into channels 3 or 4 on the Live. Just a way of bringing the amp effects to the last couple of players. Perfect for a whole band practice. Or use the line out and a summing cable off something like the spark go

  Reply

• The Captain holding the line.

  Reply

• Opening jam = yowsa!

  Reply

• £500 is not exactly Friendly Money for a Busker , someone's got to be Producing Busking Amps that are Cheaper than this , would of liked to have seen the Spark go up against some other Busking Amps.

  Reply

• Why is no one using the PA channel?

  Reply

• I am old school. Every band should have an acoustic guitar.Are you here for the update

  Reply

• The real Hauser is simply not worth 200,000. Stupid price.

  Reply

• My wife and I have done some duo gigs—two acoustic guitars, two vocal mics—but I’ve always been a band guy, on electric guitar; the backing track feature could handle that, and the wife wouldn’t have to play guitar at all if she didn’t want to. She doesn’t like to—she wants me to do it all; the guitar parts anyway. But I’m a band guitarist—I don’t like having to be a solo performer. So my question is—will this thing handle electric guitar, maybe acoustic as well, plus backing tracks, and two vocal mics? Or would I need to have a small mixer? We got rid of our PA some years ago; we had a 12-channel stereo powered mixer, two mains speakers and two floor monitors, and it was just too much stuff to lug around. And no backing tracks either—our gigs didn’t pay well enough for us to hire a drummer and a bass player. Although I did have to bring the PA to some band gigs—the small-to-medium clubs in my area don’t provide PA. I’m a polio survivor, and I had real trouble lugging, setting up, and running the PA plus my guitar rig, and since I wound up in a wheelchair a few years back, I can’t even do that much any more. Seems like even my wife would be able to lift this Spark! Could be doable. I need to know if it will accomodate our input needs.

  Reply

• What are these like as really low volume bedroom practice amp ? I was considering be new spark 2 but whenever anyone demos them they never show them on a nice low volume

  Reply

• Tried it, returned it. Maybe because of all of the neuroaciustic things (tricking your brain into hearing more bass than there is) some things sound unnatural. Our acoustic guitar sounded worse than just plugin directly to a regular active loudspeaker through a DI box. It sounded thin and weird

  Reply

• Lee…you had a very much DAVID ESSEX ROCK ON feel to your bass playing!!!!

  Reply

• Epic!

  Reply

• So I actually use my Roland cube Street ex and I actually go into the audio input from my spark go. I use the two main inputs for vocals and acoustic guitar. That spark go format going into that data link work superb. I just have to put my iPhone on the stand so I can change programs. I'm busting man that's less stuff to carry if I don't have to keep up with a foot pedal. Once you get the EQ right on the spark go app so it works great with the cube the way you have it set up, I get more $$$ tips from explaining to people musicians passing by how it is set up.. and I have not upgraded the speakers in my Cube Street EX as many people on YouTube have done. If I play keyboards I probably would. But the digital drums and the base inside the spark go sound good for Street people. Who by the way are always apologize for not caring cash anymore. So I went on and made up a PayPal and cash app QR.

  Reply