The Spark 40 raised the bar for practice amp functionality, then the Spark Mini dazzled us with rechargeable mobility. Now Positive Grid's newly revealed Spark GO. And it's really small. Like, how are they actually going to pull this off?! small.
We've tried an early version of this new five-watt modeling amp and can confirm Positive Grid have pulled it off big time with this tiny unit. The Spark GO is an ultra-compact practice amp that's going to surprise a lot of players with how big it sounds. The tones we experienced are expansive and rich in ways an amp this tiny should have no business delivering.
You can see for yourselves how the Spark GO scales next to the the Spark Mini above. This is one for taking anywhere you go, with a robust rubber casing that breaks from the tolex of its bigger brothers. Perfect for your gigbag or rucksack.
You can position Spark GO in two distinct ways; flat for omnidirectional sound with its passive speaker underneath, or upright for a louder and more focused response. Plug your headphones in for quiet practice. We even tried it flat facing up at us while sitting on our leg while we played electric and electro-acoustic and it worked out very well indeed.
Positive Grid says battery life for the final production Spark GO will be around eight hours running the volume at halfway – and you'll be surprised how sufficient that will sound for most environments.
The Spark GO will also include two speaker grille options; a black hardshell grille for further protection when you're traveling, in addition to the familiar Spark gold-woven example you can see in the pictures.
Like the Spark 40 and Mini, the GO can stream music via Bluetooth and you can jam along with your guitar too. It can also store four presets for your tones on the amp itself – the Spark GO features all the same superb Positive Grid BIAS Engine electric, acoustic, and bass amp and effects models as its big bros too. That's 33 amps models and 43 effects.
The GO also includes the same Spark App connectivity via iOS and Android as the other Spark models; which means Auto Chords to analyse and transcribe chords for millions of songs in real-time, access to ToneCloud's huge library of tones to download and use as presets, and Smart Jam using AI to build a backing track. You can also upload video of your playing from the Spark App and use Spark GO as an audio interface for recording. That's a lot for a little amp!
Preorders for the Positive Grid Spark GO begin at positivegrid.com in late March with a special price of $109 (MSRP will be $149).
- Our pick of the best mini amps for guitar
“A sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension”: Boss unveils the Katana-Mini X, a portable $149 10W amp with FX, tuner and Bluetooth
“These amplifiers set a new standard in high-performance amplification”: Blackstar unveils the St James 100, its state-of-the-art flagship tube amp and “world’s lightest” in its class – featuring switchable power tubes, CabRig tech and more
“A sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension”: Boss unveils the Katana-Mini X, a portable $149 10W amp with FX, tuner and Bluetooth
“These amplifiers set a new standard in high-performance amplification”: Blackstar unveils the St James 100, its state-of-the-art flagship tube amp and “world’s lightest” in its class – featuring switchable power tubes, CabRig tech and more
