GEAR REVIEW
SPARK 40 PRACTICE AMP | Eric Dahl
KEY FEATURES
• Light weight
• 40 Watts
• Onboard Amp Models
• Onboard Effects
• Handles electric , bass & acoustic
I was recently having a discussion with the Praise Team musicians that I play with about tools for practicing and we landed on the topic of practice amps . Fortunately , technology has made amplifiers smaller and louder with more tonal choices and connectivity through Bluetooth and we certainly found one to review here .
Meet the new Spark 40 by Positive Grid . When the amplifier arrived , I was surprised how light the box was ( under 12 lbs .) considering it packs 40 watts . The extended leather strap on top of the Spark 40 makes it easy to transport it and move it where you need it most . Before you start plugging in your electric , acoustic or bass guitar , or linking your smartphone , download the free Spark App on your iOS or Android device . This will help you customize your experience with Spark .
The hardware connectivity on this amplifier is very straightforward with a ¼ ’ instrument input , 1 / 8 ’ Aux input and 1 / 8 ’ output for headphones or earbuds . For electric guitar purposes I started by plugging in a Fender Telecaster to test out the onboard amp models and effects . The amp includes 7 onboard amp models ( with 30 additional models in the App ), 40 different effects and 4 savable preset slots on top of the amp panel to load your favorites .
It was very easy to coax a wide variety of usable sounds from the Spark , but my favorites were Glassy and High Gain . The top mounted control panel reminds you of a vintage tube amplifier but with more tone shaping capabilities . I was also thankful the power switch was placed on top of the panel instead of the back like some amplifiers where you must hunt to find it . The layout on the panel goes Amp selector , Gain , Bass , Mid , Treble and Master . The effects side offers Mod , Delay , Reverb and Output and then the ¼ ” input jack .
For an acoustic I plugged the new Martin J16e 12 string into the Spark . On the Acoustic amp models , the 12 string really shined especially with some reverb and delay added in . I also tried out the modulation control and it was warm as well . Since I was trying out all Spark had to offer it was obvious , I need to plug a bass guitar into