The Best Home / Portable / Practice Amp for Guitar and Bass?

I have to confess, I am not a fan of best whatever lists. However, with the holidays coming, I am getting questions from parents and grandparents about a very common topic. Their child or grandchild needs a guitar or bass amp. It needs to sound good, it needs to offer a good range of good sounding effects, it should simulate the sound of different amps (as one lady said “whatever that means”), be portable, not require AC power, and not need a bunch of other stuff to use. I provide the same answer consistently, with the caveat that a smartphone is needed. This provokes chuckles or snide comments about the phone being permanently attached to the young person. As I live across from a high school, I think that I understand the point.

My answer, without question or equivocation, is the Positive Grid Spark GO

If you’ve read my reviews on the Spark line, you already know that I am very impressed by what you get for your money in these devices. I have not been compensated by Positive Grid for this article, and have paid out of my own pocket for the three Spark amps that I own. They are the Spark 40, the Spark Mini and the Spark GO. I have surprised even myself because the one that I expected to use least, is in fact the one that I use the most and that is the Spark GO.

Did I Mention How Small This Is?

What? Why wouldn’t I choose one of the other small battery powered amps that has a larger speaker? Surely that tiny speaker could not possibly sound good enough for practice or just playing at low volume?

No so. While Positive Grid does not get into the how, as a technologist for decades, the idea of computational audio is not new, although we hear much more about its video sibling. The Spark systems are definitely using some type of computational audio so the sound we get is far superior to what one would get from a speaker the size of what came in 1960’s transistor radios.

Spark GO Specifications

Item	Value
Weight	0.76 lbs
Size	5" x 3.75" x 1.75" approx
Output Power	5 watts Class D
Inputs	¼" Instrument, USB C
Outputs	USB C
Speaker	2" in Passive Radiator Cab
Control Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0 with Spark App
Headphone Support	Yes ⅛" Stereo
Amp / Cab Sims Included	33 Variants
Effects Sims Included	43 including noise gate, compression, overdrive / distortion, EQ, modulation, delay, reverb
Available Presets OnBoard	4 user selectable by button on top deck
Can be Bluetooth Speaker?	Yes
Can be Audio Interface?	Yes via included USB C Cable
Interface Specs	1 in 2 out, 44.1Khz 16 Bit
Top Deck Controls	Preset Select with Indicator, Output Volume, Headphone Out, Instrument In with Level Control
Side Controls	On/Off, Charge State LED, Bluetooth LED, USB C jack
Case/Cover	Rubberized Cover with Detachable Hand Strap, Case available as optional extra

Spark App

The Spark App is available on the Apple App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android. I use Apple devices and can confirm that it works on iPhones and iPads based on personal use.

The app is where the musician chooses the amp and cabinet sims, and sets up the effects chain. An effects chain has a fixed number of available slots as follows;

• Noise Gate

• Compression

• Amplifier

• Modulation / EQ

• Delay

• Reverb

As best I have been able to figure out, the chain is fixed in size and the order is not adjustable. This has not been an issue for me in any way.

Amplifier Options

Reader Mark graciously provided the following link to a site that breaks down the factory installed amp sims. https://sparkamplovers.com/kb/available-amp-simulations-list/ The good folks there have done a really nice job and I give them credit and my thanks for their hard work.

Effects Options

Again, kudos to Mark for this link that breaks down the factory provided effects options https://sparkamplovers.com/kb/spark-available-effects/ This site is a boon to all Spark owners

As A Recording Interface

As I am a Macintosh user, and a long time user of Logic Pro as my studio DAW, it’s my DAW of choice. However, the Spark GO, will appear as an audio device when connected via USB C to your computer whether you use macOS or Windows. In your DAW settings, just choose Spark GO as the input interface, (and perhaps the output if you want to use its internal speaker for DAW playback), plug in the instrument and you are ready to go. This screen capture shows the Spark GO as the audio interface in use in Logic Pro 10.8

Spark GO connected to MacBook Pro via USB C cable - just that simple

Audio Settings Panel in Logic Pro 10.8

Audio Samples

Folks seem to like hearing samples of things to help them get context, so the sample below is basically the same sequence played through four different presets on my own Spark GO. The chain is a Fender FSR Semi Hollow Telecaster with a VegaTrem 2 direct into the Spark GO which goes direct into Logic Pro via USB C. Spark GO’s chain puts noise gates, wahs, comps and drive pedals in front of the preamp and modulation/EQ, delay and reverb after the preamp.

Presets Used

• #1 - Matchless DC 30 with Teletronix LA-2A Studio Comp in front, Echoplex EP-2 tape delay and Short Plate Reverb post preamp

• #2 - Fender Tweed Bassman with Klon Centaur in front, Classic Plate Reverb post preamp

• #3 - Marshall Plexi 100 Super Lead with noise gate in front, MXR-109 EQ, BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay and Short Plate Reverb post preamp

• #4 - Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier with noise gate in front, nothing post preamp

I have drawn the amp and effects names from the links provided above so you know specifically what the Spark App is simulating. There are also excellent acoustic amp sims and bass amp sims in the Spark App.

You can also purchase add-on amp/effects packs if you wish. There is presently a Jimi Hendrix add-on pack, but while I respect Hendrix, replicating his kit is not something that I have cause to do, hence I have not purchased the add-on pack and cannot offer any opinion on it at all.

Wait! There’s More

The Spark App brings even more power to the player. While I use it for quiet practice and play anywhere capability, it can also act as the playback device for music streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify.

The owner also gets access to the ToneCloud community where you can download presets created by other Spark users, and also upload your own for sharing with the community. As of this writing, there are over 50,000 presets available.

If you play a song from Apple Music or Spotify, the Auto Chord function analyses the song being played and shows the chords being played on screen. It’s quite neat, but is most successful with chords in standard tuning, as one should expect. It does not decode solos, also as one should expect.

The Smart Jam function will listen to you as you play and when enabled, will create a backing track for your playing automatically. This is very cool when playing by yourself or practicing a song that you have written yourself.

Finally for those with a desire to show themselves, there is a smart video option that will use your phone camera to record you while you are playing using your Spark GO. This video is readily shareable online to popular video sharing services. I have not tried this function myself, as I do not choose to partake in such things, but based on YouTube alone, lots of folks do enjoy this.

Conclusion

If we go back to the initial question being asked, what is the best all around practice / portable / recording interface amp to buy for myself or as a gift for a musician that’s easy to use and doesn’t cost a ton of money (ok I just added that last one), it is without question the Spark GO. I won’t list pricing as there are typically promotions running direct through Positive Grid and sometimes you can get better deals and availability from Amazon. I have heard complaints about Positive Grid support on the Internet. My own experience has been nothing but positive, no pun intended.

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