Positive Grid Spark 40 - Jam mode, auto chords and spotify tests
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Live test of jam mode, auto chords, and spotify integration with the Spark 40 amp and app version 1.5. In this vid:
2:30 - app UI tips
4:30 - auto chord testing
9:20 - testing the new drummer 'Sharon'
10:00 - can you record the backing track and what you're playing?
12:20 - voice command for backing tracks
14:15 - spotify integration
17:00 wrap-up
I waited bout 4 weeks. Expected to wait so got on with my life. I updated the firmware, downloaded the apps., jumped on UA-cam for useful videos like this one. I bought this to practice with, experiment with, learn new songs with, record with, as a practice partner and to learn more about mixing effects without bending down and tweaking pedals. I love my Fender Tube Amp and my pedal board (Boss BCB 60 full of Strymon, TCE, Boss, Wampler) But the pedal board and amp are kind of on vacation, not because I think the spark is 'better', but because the Spark is excellent and i get so much more accomplished with the Spark. I practice more, play more, compose more, record more....rather than fiddling with gear. I can use one piece of gear with my electric, acoustic and bass guitar. When I do go to use the Fender and pedal board, I find the tone faster now and get on with it. I have gear fixation, like many of you, Spark helps me focus on making music. is it perfect?, no. but I don't waste time comparing it to Katanas or Yahama, they are what they are this is what this is. And this does exactly what it promised. Very pleased.
Great video. Shows quite clearly why interested players may not need to invest any further time in this product until the software is significantly improved for jam along functions.
Thanks Jason. I don't have mine yet but I really enjoy your Spark videos. They are easy to understand and don't seem like a commercial for PG.
Liked and subscreebed! Good to see an actual customer using and providing content. Keep it up.
Craig Petterson thanks, I appreciate it!
Thank you for connecting and clarifying a great deal about this amp...
Just got mine about a week ago. Decent practice amp, but I am unimpressed with jam track as you expressed here. I also have the issue with it pulling up youtube videos rather than playing my Spotify tracks. Where it provides chord charts, it is iffy at best. Chords and timing don't seem a match often. I also have an issue with using tones from the cloud. Some play full, some cut in and out. I emailed Positive Grid. They told me to try updating firmware, which I did. Then they suggested turning off Gate on the tone set ups. To do that I have to download the tone, so that's not very functional. It does work that way. If you turn off Gate say on a Hendrix tone, you have bad noise issues. You can turn Gate on and reduce Threshold setting for a compromise. But by that time, you might as well set up your own tones. Many items are just not as good as advertised IMO.
Mine is due to be delivered tomorrow according to the FedEx tracking
number. Ordered it along with the carry bag on January 26. Hope it was
worth the wait.
Ordered mine Dec 30th, and not shipped yet! Glad you received yours!
Gary King did you get it yet?
Bill Russell received mine yesterday!
Bill Russell I did! I really like it. The wait was not very good customer service. Not sure that I’d order anything else from Positive Grid.
David Turner Glad you finally received your amp. Do you like it?
Thank you. the swipe all away for a clean sound is a great tip
Thanks for the backing track recording answer!
It certainly sounds like there's a lot of options there however I'm still waiting for mine 3 months now
It’s going to be a lot longer I’m afraid. 5 months for me so far. The average seems to be 6 months.
4+ months for me.
I cant get the "learn song" to work properly like in your video. The app will start to play the song and the progress bar goes up to about 90% of the way and just gets stuck. It never finishes and displays the chords.
I tried it on several videos from YT to see how it would work but it doesn't. I am using an ipad like in this video and all the other features seem to work fine so it very frustrating as this was the main reason I purchased the Spark amp. I tried to get support from Positive Grid but no luck. They don't respond to support requests. Maybe someone here has the answer? If I can't use this feature then it's going on Reverb to be sold. What a disappointment. Yes, I have the latest firmware, I checked that
Did you let the song play and "learn" from start to finish? I don't use Spotify, but I grabbed a song that I have resident on my Apple Ipad and ran it through the 'learn' function. The 'learn' progress bar, much like yours stayed at 90%, but only finished its progress once the song was played fully. It hit the 90% mark probably 40 seconds into the song and stayed that way until the song finished playing. The song I pushed through had not yet been analyzed for chords. After the learn function was done analyzing, the chord chart popped up and seemed fairly accurate.
Most voice commands work more efficiently when you use less words. Saying 'play a' backing track, or "play" funky blues usually doesn't work as well as simply stating "backing track" or "funky blues".
hey jason great video thank you! is there a way within the app to record my guitar while jamming to a spotify song? right now I put my phone by the speaker and push record, but I was wondering if there's a better way
Just got my Spark Amp! Thank you for posting these. Any lessons on how the Capo function works on the app?
How long did you wait?
@@madhadder169 I ordered mine in January. It just came last week. So far I'm very impressed with it Hard to find info on how all of the different functions work.
Jason can you change the key/chords on a backing track? Enjoyed the video.
you can transpose the whole backing track up or down by semitones (-11 to +11) and adjust the tempo (there's a control at the top right of the screen), but can't edit the chords or phrases. tried double-tapping, tap-and-hold, and no edit box popped up.
Jason Little Thanks, appreciate it.
I’ve been waiting four months
I appreciate the Spark videos. Question. I use Ableton and the only issue I'm having is that when tracking guitar, the spark becomes the "monitor." The output is going through the spark and I have to turn the volume really low. I'd rather use my monitors or even headphones as monitors. Any advice? Thank you
8 months, still waiting
thats the longest i have heard of,,i thought mine was bad at 4 months,,,yours is bad as it gets,,
Gerard Tully it took 6 for me but it FINALLY came
@@fuzzywuzzy1355 im on month 5,,congrats!
Still waiting for mine to arrive. What stand and size tablet do you use ?
iPad pro with the crappy fold-up flippy case.
Ordered mine Dec 30th, still not shipped!
At that rate, I'm looking at November. Rats!!!
Same for me. I tried talking to PG but they keep ignoring me.
Got mine delivered within a month in uk.came from Germany.its ok .bit ofcrackle noise.no response from spark as yet....
It would be nice to be able to save what you create
Pls post reviews when the product is available to the general public. Waiting for 6 months after the company takes the money and no product is a bit much.
Which direction does the signal chain go?
Is a real time connection to the internet required when using?
Great video. Why I loose the connection every time change page from efect to the backing track?
Do you have the latest firmware? It’s supposed to improve Bluetooth connectivity
Berny, I did not know you stopped goldmining and started a youtube guitar career? Great vid btw, I tried to order a Spark, but it seems they dont ship to The Netherlands, too bad....
Ohh they actually do. Got mine yesterday... within two weeks of ordering.
Can you record yourself in a ipad daw?
yes. ua-cam.com/video/_9nxSYjviSw/v-deo.html
Hi, still waiting for mine but as they don't have a desktop app for Windows, so how and what are you using to control the app? Being able to control the amp and settings on a larger screen would be much better then the phone screen. Thanks
I use an iPad, but you can control the levels of the effects and the amp settings via the hardware knobs. Dialing in precise settings for the reverb/delay is a total pain on a phone though.
@@cleverdood Thanks Jason. On a few videos it looks like they are using a Windows laptop also. Steve
I may wait for the second generation of this amp🤨 have the software and hardware bugs 🐛 worked out, I still use a Katana Air which is pretty good ,but I think this is still a good bang for the buck for a practice amp, and this was a great video 👍, but I’d fire Dave
Nice video...
I'll get one when I can buy it from Sweetwater. Fuck positive grid!
What version of Apple pad are you using? I've been searching for the best compatibility; as in Android or Apple, and what version works best. Thanks
Matt furg I’ve used it on an iPad Pro, 1st gen iPad Air, 5th gen iPad and an iPhone 11. According to the App Store it’ll work on iOS 11 or higher on iPad/iPhone/I touch. Android 7 and up according to the google play store.
@@cleverdood Thank you for getting back to me; this is going to help when I decide what to buy.
Can you only modify/correct the chord in "Create" mode? The chords that are generated when playing a UA-cam or prerecorded song are many times incorrect.
The last time I tired, yes. You can only modify in create mode. Ultimate guitar dot com is substantially better for practicing.
@@cleverdood Thanks Jason...Your lessons are awesome...I really do enjoy them. At my age you have to enjoy something! lol
I'm sorry if I missed it but... Can you tell me if you are using iOS or Android and what version please, cause when I downloaded my spark apps, it says my device is not optimised for the apps, I'm using Lenovo tab 4 8 plus running Android 7.11
iOS. I used to have an old Android device, but gave it away so I can't test with one. I didn't see any minimum specs on the android download page for the Spark app but I'd guess you'd need to update Android?
I bought one Spark. I don’t know if arrive before 2021. Lol 1 point I do not like. Is cause the app no work offline.
shouldnt you be a ble to plug your guitar into the input to play along?
Hello friend, I have only had the Spark for a week and when I select the Smart Jam icon and I start creating a new song or I choose a song from the many that there are, nothing sounds, not even the metronome, you could tell me what happens, you need to download some other app. thank you. By the way, the tutorial is very good.
Check and see if you’re connected to Spark 40 Audio Bluetooth as well. The Spark has two Bluetooth connections. Spark BLE for the app/hardware sync, And Spark 40 Audio for streaming audio.
@@cleverdood Thank you very much for the response and the speed, I had it on Spark 40 Audio, I have put it on Spark Ble and you can already hear it. You're very kind.
Can I just play along to backing tracks I have saved on my smartphone? Not within spotify?
as far as I know, you could if you use the AUX input on the back. I haven't tried, but can't see why that wouldn't work.
I got mind and I wasn't really impressed with the smart Jam I would prefer an option to just have drums and take that horrible midi bass out completely.
Nice and informative video thanks. I got a Problem with mine. The Spotify Integration is not workinh. If I select Spotify from the Menu it only displays a list of general Spotify Playlists but not my own created Playlists. Anyone having the same problem or has an Idea how to fix that?
Can you play a drum track and just leave the drum track play and just played to it
When you said copyright infringement, when does that come into play on the amp?
John Sherrill I figured the UA-cam algorithms would flag the video as I was playing songs through Spotify.
How come when I use Spotify to import song to learn it, it winds up using a UA-cam version of that song? sometimes a live version. Thanks.
the app (I think) just does a text match on youtube to find the video. I'm going to install a browser sniffer on my iPad just to see what it's actually searching for.
@@cleverdood I've had a Spark for a few weeks now, I also think that it plays the track from Spotify but attempts to match a video from UA-cam. Might wireshark the iPad from my laptop while it's running to see what it's talking to. Saying that IMO the Spotify integration, for me, is disappointing. It seems very crude and lacking in functionality. I don't use Apple music so I can't compare it with Spotify on the Spark.
Do you hear the backing track and your guitar through the amp? Than You
Thank
Mine arrived a few days ago. Its kind of okay. Not that great to be honest. I ended up selling it.
Hi, i just have a question about the amp, can I play any music from my android phone to accompany me when I play? I mean the music in my phone while im playin ?
Yes, because you can broadcast from your phone through the amp via bluetooth.
@@davideburga no i can't, i just talk to the support, no music from android device for thz moment, just spotify and apple music, thank you
@@TheKookyman Oh crap, sorry about that. I have an iphone and I just assumed the functionality was the same. Sorry dude.
searching for songs it downloads the songs, the UA-cam video and the chords, but it doesn’t play. Hit play nothing happens. I use this yesterday and played along with about 5 songs. Today they won’t play. Any help to get this to work. I have subscription to Apple Music.
Try updating the app, they apparently fixed it in the last update.
Jason Little I have uninstalled and reinstalled Spark App. 1.5.2.2556 and the amp firmware is 1.2.3.37 updated that yesterday. Still does work. Do I need to download the song from Apple Music to my iPad first? I emailed support and their response : Dear Marinoja1,
Thanks for writing to Positive Grid. We have received your request (211702) and will answer as soon as we can. While we are working on it, feel free to browse our help center because your question might have been answered there already (help.positivegrid.com/hc/en-us)
Thank you.
Positive Grid Team
Thanks for your quick reply. I wish Positive Grid was as responsive!
Does anyone have problems with their guitar not have any sustain while using this product? Mine seems to cut off the notes similar to the old early Line 6 software.
only if I have the noise gate with an aggressive setting. Sometimes the hardware and app don't sync properly so the app screen shows and less aggressive gate, so I just check and make sure 'hardware is connected' in the spark app menu and then adjust the gate. Maybe try the sustain compressor as well?
I just got mine today. And not really impressed with the smart play or jam session at all. I was hoping for a little more to compete with my Beat Buddy. But this doesn’t even come close.
Good little AMP though, just software is blah.
Does yours hum? Ive heard these amps hum really bad
@@thornwivans mine doesn't hum like my old amp used to
Oh, I didn't order (AND PAY FOR) mine until February. I've written to p.g. several times but all I get is form replies. The web site says "in transit". From where, Pluto? It seems that the only people who have them are internet influencers, which generate more "SALES". I am rapidly losing faith AND I'm disgusted.
Got mine in 2 weeks and I'm in the UK 😁
How do you update the spark, through the app?
yeah, there's an option to update the firmware in the app.
How did you hang the amp name to “Vox”?
It looks exactly like a Vox AC 30.
I can see you have a connection going into you iPad, what is that connection
It's a USB-C cable connected to my Macbook.
@@cleverdood I’ve connected my Sonic port from iPad to back of spark so sound is coming from same audio but sounds cheap any ideas. Ty
When I do smart jam it only plays through my phone.. anyone know what I might not be getting here? The app is connected to the amp already as I can change tones with it
try going into your bluetooth settings and make sure you are connected to "Spark 40 Audio" and "Spark 40 BLE" one connection is to connect the app to the spark, the other is to play audio from your device.
Hi, good mornong for my country (Italy). Can you send me where you found "tutorial or istruction for modific jam in spark ( change chord, mix baking track and coman voice for operation in tablet or ipad?) I shure that you replay for this solution. Regard and next happy Christmas a new year 2021 ( a new a good solution for distrusting covid19). Modesto " escuse for my non good write english"
this one might be useful: ua-cam.com/video/O9NboZxqHDs/v-deo.html
6 months still waiting
I just ordered and after hearing everyone's waiting experience I think I will request a refund. Bummer.
Chris Shawn I’m still waiting for mine, stick with it fella it’ll be worth it.... that’s what I keep telling myself lol
hey where's your folks from I am just wondering we share last name's !
Sarnia area, there's a billion of us around that area!
The jam sounds like a casio keyboard...the bass is so wooden sounding...BIAS needs to seriously fix this feature
Yeah, I agree with the bass tones. Ironically, Positive Grid already had a decent range of simulated bass amps in the Spark, so you'd think they'd somehow use that.
UA-camr: I got mine free= fantastic, versatile amp, must buy Nam2020 Best Equipment!
UA-camr: so my Spark came! It’s ok and needs a lot of work. It sounds best miked up with a $500 Sure and processed thru my computer.
🙄 and I just ordered one on Jan 10 myself. Jeeze, I hope all the crap is fixed by now.
Those drums are useless. The whole advert is this amp being jam buddy ? You can get a decent drum app on iOS that helps you with rhythm and can jam along to any Bluetooth amp or speaker.
totally agree...the only 'good' thing is that you can record 8 bars of yourself and it'll add a bass line...but for just jamming, there are way better options out there.
Which tablet is that?
taipan185 iPad Pro
@@cleverdood thanks mate :)
NEXT
Notice they never say anything bad since it is pretty much paid advertising. I mean they all get the amps and people who paid for the amps and been charged aren't getting them. These amps are a scam.
Gary Van understandable to be upset, but I paid for mine on Dec 1, 2019 and got it may 27, 2020.
It's a great amp. The company that makes the amp on the other hand are terrible. They take your money right away and then bullshit you for nearly a full year. I'll never do business with grifters.
Positive grid sucks ordered mine in February.their giving them to UA-camrs and not the people who paid for them.if I receive mine or not I'll never do business with them again
I ordered mine on December 1 and got it late May. Some ordered last November and are still waiting.
W.t.f. it is a practice amp. As a amp on it's own it is great. What are you expecting?
AS I figured, not worth my time. its too much computer not enough guitar
Yes I agree . Too advanced for most people
Spark operates like a Ponzi scheme and if you're not a UA-camr helping them screw more people to give up their money to "pre order" you won't get the amp for a year if it all
Too much talking.Waste of time.
Dave sucks ,sounds to mechanical,click track from walmart,hope they improve their software .
Find anything out there that comes close.
Matt C
Matt C
I sent mine back..sounds like all the other plastic sounding model stuff out there..my old Rolland cube 30 sounds better.If you’re after tube tone,look elsewhere..not gonna happen..and I had to pay return shipping..what a load of crap
You don`t have to use the amp section. Just come out of the headphone socket into your Rolland, simple. Duuuuu, I didn`t fink of that.