POSITIVE GRID SPARK 40

Can nearly 25,000 guitarists be wrong?

- Rob Laing

In the worlds of smartphones and video games, 25,000 isn’t a big number when it comes to preorders. But in the world of guitar amps, it is huge. So how did the Positive Grid Spark manage to convince so many people to lay their money down without even trying it?

Firstly, the tone engine behind this amp is a known quantity to anyone who has tried the company’s BIAS modelling software or heads. And it’s very good. That is really the main event, as we’ll discuss in more detail. But we think there’s more to it than that; the desktop amp market that Spark is gunning for the hearts of recognises one central truth about guitar players; most of us play at home. Then, there’s the price – even at full price it hits an ‘I could justify this’ sweet spot for buyers. But then there’s another factor; the Spark isn’t just an amp.

Yes, you’ve heard it before – amp integration blah blah, bluetooth audio streaming yada yada... Yes, it does all that, but it can also listen to a song of your choosing from Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube and transpose its chords for you to play along with. Fancy a jam? Pick a tempo, play a riffor a chord progression, choose the genre you want and it’ll play you a whole backing track to jam over. Surely a cynic would be raising an eyebrow by now?