Idk why but watching Andertons videos just always gives me such a good vibe, regardless of the topic always top notch videos with amazing musicians and great gear. Not to mention just all the great personalities, makes me wish I lived in the UK
I bought a Spark GO specifically as a low cost option to get access to Positive Grid app. Apart from all the amps and pedals, the cloud etc the jam feature is great. You play a pattern on guitar and the app will create a backing track or tracks that you can select from. In addition when you load a tune from your playlist it can give you the chord structure to help you learn it. Love it
@@perseusbeatkraken yes. I have just tried it and it worked as an input in GarageBand via Bluetooth and via USB. I preferred using the Bluetooth connection. It connected automatically and the it also became the monitor. So glad you asked as I wouldn’t have tried this.
It's amazing how far battery-powered micro amps have come since the days of the .5 watt Marshall micro stack! I recently bought a Blackstar Fly and I love it!
I used to have a smoky amp. Ran off a 9v and only had less fuzz or super fuzz lmao after that I just bought a multi fx board and ran it into speakers or headphones. You think the Black Star is more of a strictly practice amp?
@@andysledgeyeah the price is steep. It's a bit cheaper used, and tbh it's the typical "80% more investment for the last 20% of performance". Compared to the Nux, it's just a bit nicer looking, louder, better for Bass and has a few cool app features, plus the tone cloud. The spark go wasn't available back then, I think they're too similar to have that big of a price difference. I'd price them at 100 and 170 maybe, and then the spark 40 at 250.
I work on street playing and I use the Blackstar Fly 3 (JJN signature because it was cheaper), sounds so amazing, and have so much power om his volume, I really love my Blackstar
The little Nux is a good little practice amp. I use it with headphones. You can use bluetooth connection to control the amp and play your music through. Makes it easy to play along. It doesn’t have a ton of effects, just kind of clean to classic rock and maybe some lighter metal tones. But plenty good for practice.
I have blackstar for practicing. It’s perfect for that. Get a decent tone in less than 10 seconds and play. Also, it takes pedals so you can mock rehearse with it. I set it clean and then run through my songs using my full pedal board to practice everything. I even used it live in a tiny church worship service (think very large living room) and it did all I needed.
The Spark Go is one of the best pieces of gear I've bought. I previously had a Fly 3 and a Boss Dual Cube LX, which sounded bigger, but to me the little Spark feels more like a 'real' amp. It has a tiny speaker, but when dialled in, it snarls!... Then with a line out to a set of monitors, it roars!!
hahah, that's awesome. I'm thinking of getting a mini amp which includes a speaker, apart from my existing Blackstar amplug. This image is kind of exactly what I'm going for :D
Blackstar is compact, sounds killer, and does all the practice amp stuff without making you feel like you're on a wild goose chase for tone. Spark and Nux are cool too, but sometimes it feels like you're spending more time chasing that perfect sound than actually getting down to practicing. The Blackstar just nails that sweet spot.
Exactly, and the fact is anything with an "app based anything" is in a couple years they will stop supporting it and come out with something else, and it won't work and be worthless. The blackstar will still be working 10 years from now. I despise app based anything even though it's really cool because it's designed, so you have to buy something else in a few years.
Agreed! Haven’t looked for anything else since I got the little Blackstar. Turn it on, turn a couple of knobs and you’re good to focus on playing. Sounds great, and the delay adds that nice bit of dimension or slapback. Great for travel too, batteries last a long while.
I have never found that to be the case with my spark. I find it stupid easy to find good tones and I don't spend time tweaking them. I also own the blackstar and it is miles behind in tone and ability; plus you better have a lot of batteries at hand.
So no one is considering that you can use the Spark straight into your interface and record with it huh. It is absolutely a stellar digital guitar recording option.
Ive had my Blackstar Fly for a long time and I love it. Ive always had a set of rechargeable batteries for flashlights and stuff so I didn't have to worry about a power supply or batteries for it though. Def a great little practice amp and its super portable is my favorite thing about it. I can take it just about anywhere. If I wanna sit in bed or in the living room and jam with it on a night stand it small and doesn't have power cables or need a speaker cab like my tube heads. I use it more than my actual tube heads/cab also lol. I 100% recommend it.
I have a Boss BR-80. It is old, and it has no speaker, but it is very small (a little bit bigger than an old cassette tape) and has amazing features. 8 Track recorder, live stereo recording via built in condenser mics or 1/4 inch cable for guitar or mics, audio interface, Headphone out, full range of boss effects, SD card for recording and/or playing MP3s, and much more. It has no app, and no amp or speakers. I would love to see some new device that combines all the cool features of my old BR-80 with the modern features of something like the Spark.
very interesting seeing the captain evolve, I remember an older small amp shootout where the captain wanted a small amp for his office and was super against modeling or apps.
Just watched the Phil McKnight review on the Spark & it's totally useable without touching the app (he's not an app person). I think the only thing he did was add a compressor to the first amp but he was happy with it straight out of the box. He took it on holiday & found it perfectly suitable for what he wanted.
@@andertons For somebody like me who also doesn't use apps or products that depend on them & tends to skip the part of videos that deal with them it means that the spark is still something i'd buy & use as it still does what i want it to without any extra work. The ability to use apps is great for people who want more.
I appreciate that you make shows for all income levels. I am fortunate enough to have a loaded Kemper with custom monitor and amp, but before I made that investment years ago I got a ton of great tones from just Bias2 or bias fx on an ancient ipad run into a super cheap 40w tube amp combo front end clean channel just using a small adapter box. Fine job, Cheers!
Have the spark , fantastic little bit of kit for late night jams on the couch 😎 transformed with a cheap £25 wireless system sorry Captain from Amazon 🤫😉
i have that spark go and you REALLY gotta browse some of the presets to unlock its potential. Specifically, "Dave clean" and "Perfect Clean - LARSON" totally open it up and put out WAY more output than the other presets.... once you can get that extra bit of volume, it becomes a delight to just wonder around the room or sit on the couch.. you need a carbineer to attach to your beltloop or strap...but you do have to have realistic expectations - it's an amp that fits in your pocket or guitar case that sounds 1000x better than anything that size that's existed in the past..
I love my Fly3. Sounds much bigger than it is. Tons of good tones that are easy to dial in and the delay effect is nice and not gimmicky sounding. By far my preference of the three. To be fair, I'm not generally a fan of modeling amps either.
I have the Blackstar and love the tones. Easy to use. I don’t need all the gimmicks and effects for just practicing and noodling. I have a Boss Katana for all that stuff.
The spark sounds awesome, but fumbling around the app can be a real pain. Loses connection a lot, but the results when you are able to get them to work are fantastic. I'd give it a 4/5
I remember getting one of those little cigarette pack apps about a million years ago and being able to have an amp IN THE CASE with my guitar? Coolest thing ever!! Even though it sounded absolutely heinous. 🤣 It's unbelievable how far we've come.
Dude i used to have two of those smokey amps ! I have a cig pack one and one that was hard plastic... i used to run a korg pandora battery powered mini fx thing that kinda looked like an mp3 player hooked into it, or used my og line 6 pod kidney bean into it ! Hah !! I haven't thought about that in ages !
@@fuzzymuppet1990 Hahaha...that's awesome! I hadn't thought about it in forever, too. Crazy thing?...I don't just think I still have it, I think I know where it is! I'll have to look later...I'm pretty sure it's actually STILL in that guitar case in the back of a closet. I've had that thing for SO...LONG...I still have my first bass that I bought two and a half DECADES ago, though. Guess it's not that surprising now that I think about it. 🤣
I own the Nux and it’s a fun little amp I use it for Practice all the time , not too many sound options but they’re all usable and I don’t spent more time playing around with parameters than actually playing . The Bluetooth makes it super handy when I learn a new song and want to use a Playback
I have the Nux BT Mk 1 and it's ok, but I bought the mighty air when it came out and I still use it on the go its great with plenty of sounds and when recharged it lasts forever and its wireless
I'd recommend the Katana Mini. You can get them dirt cheap used and I think the additional gain on the 3rd channel and slightly nicer sounding speaker than the Fly make it the best option for this sort of mini practice amp.
@@vinny943 Well unlike you, I'm dont live in one room of my mums house so techically a living room player. lol But I also play in pubs, function halls, and the occasional studio too. Once you become a big boy you can get yourself a big boy amp and stop playing about on your wee katana.
I'm still Impressed (every-time) I play my Yamaha THR30II - (however) you must use the app, to really make the Patches Sound phenomenal. Always enjoy your informative content. oNe LovE from NYC
I've got the MK1 of the NU-X version which has less features (Clean, OD and Dist channels with only Gain, Level and Tone on each channel). It has a single drum loop for each style and a metronome. Also some other features but less than the MK2. I love it. The fact that there's just a single slider for Tone on each channel and limited FX means I spend more time practising than chasing a specific sound. I'm also tempted to try out the Blackstar for the exact reason that it's got a great sound and is a no frills practice amp. I have the acoustic version of the Fly and it is brilliant.
Blackstar Fly, got it in 2016, still working, still good, no Marshall stack or Fractal AxeFx, just a really good little practice amp for home, not too boxy sounding, just good for the 60 something Euro I paid for it new.
I have 2 of the black star fly'3's' I ran each one into a 4/10 cabinet and play them in stereo' gives me a good distorted sound, but you better know what you're doing before you hook them up like that.
I run my spark go via an aux cable into my pc speakers (logitec Z533 2.1) and it sounds great, good setup for a bit more volume and bass. Enough to do me until I save for a Vibro champ. It's also pretty sturdy, knocked it off my bench onto tiles numerous times lol, only damage was the screw for the strap, it's coated plastic so snapped the first time it hit the floor, not an issue for how I use it at all. On board fx's are fine but I run pedals into it and use it purely as an amp modeller. Also you can access the tuner without the app by holding the preset button until the preset lights flash, functioning as tuning lights
I just had a Spark Go arrive a couple of days ago and I love it. I have a Spark 40 as well so I went with something I was a bit more familiar with. At the price (on sale), I'm very happy.🎸
I think the better Positive Grid competitor would be the Spark mini. I think size-wise its more similar to the other ones. Love the effects of the app of posiitive grid. Going to get one as my first amp. Starting the Guitar-thingy a little late with 28 years on earth haha
I have a fly with the extra speaker in the garage to muck around on. My daughter wants a elec guitar for Xmas as was looking at getting her the mighty lite but. This demo the mighty light sounded darker. Do find that to be true or can it be as bright sounding as the fly 3. Cheers.
NuX is the king of budget practice amps and devices. Their Mighty Plug Pro headphone amp has all of the same features as this portable practice amp and it's all midi controlable!
Great playing, as always! Man that Spark Go is crazy good for the size. The others sound a bit bigger, but hard to believe you can get an amp with that many features at that size, that will fit in your pocket!
How can I practice without an amp when I'm travelling? Lee and Pete: here are some travel micro amps with apps and bluetooth and stuff. Mick and Dan (TPS): Plug into a megaphone!
What with Jojo micro amp and similar "amps" 1 AA battery and plug into the guitar, three knobs and small headphones. Siting on the stone on the breakwater and enjoy. I was a big skeptic, but they are quite good for the gig described above. everything fits in the pocket and the guitar on the shoulder and voila! Sea, sunset and blues. What a life!❤🎉I'm talking about amplifiers that plug directly into the guitar. I have a Strat LP and 335 and it fits in each. I especially like to take the Strat, it's lighter and...no cable no smartphone no no no....only Strat ,sea Jojo and I.❤ Yes, the most beautiful sunset in the world: Alfred Hichcock through the window of a hotel on the Zadar waterfront. 3000y old Zadar -Croatia- Adriatic coast-Mediteranien -Europa🎉
You have GOT to try the little Mooer Hornet 05i...It sounds impressive. It sounds steps beyond my NUX mighty BT lite first edition. But it's loaded with looper , patches and the unit is rechargeable ....the sounds are incredible. I mean seriously blown away. I'll try to get a review up and maybe test them both side by side.
Save up and spend a bit more on the Spark Mini. It's not as loud as the 40w, but it's rechargeable, loud, has much better sound than the Go, and also makes a cracking BT speaker.
Agree. I bought the Spark 40 before the mini came out and if I'd had a choice would have gone for the mini. Just because the Spark 40 is more volume than I need for a practice amp. Sounds awesome though
@@simonsmith9942 me too, but the only reason I went for Spark 40 is because it uses a power supply, unlike the battery which will eventually die out and I don't think it can be replaced
I have had a Fly with extension for years and put it on a pedal board and ran a couple pedals through it. Now I run the Go through it as the pedals and simulators, drums whatever. Quite a woods rig IMHO.
@@sboistan I really like the Jumbo Acoustic. I end up using it a lot.When playing an acoustic I use it with a little reverb and tremolo about 3 feet in front of me. Wow, at the right volume gives an acoustic the your being played to feeling. I love it. Overall though the Jumbo and the AD Clean are my go to for pedals or otherwise.
I find that the Spark Go is perfect for my silent guitar. Sometimes I want to play for others to hear too, but I don't wanna carry a heavy amps or a whole acoustic guitar.
Between the 3, the Blackstar sounded best, more open less woofy, but the size and features on the spark, who cares about the boxy sound, I've seen that Lee plays a pink Blackstar and sounds really good, but I wonder, the 3 have Bluetooth, so you can listen to them through Bluetooth headphones as well? or it is only a receiver and not a transmitter?
I was really thinking whether if I should grab Blackstar Fly 3, NuX Mighty Lite BT MK2, or Boss Katana Mini. Went with Katana Mini. Got a second hand for 100 dollars with Boss' Roland AC adapter included. I got IEM. Might grab bluetooth adapter for my Katana Mini so I can play songs eventually. I love it a lot
Hi there Captain and Danish Pete, just saying thanks because I love these videos. You’ve inspired me to pick up a guitar again after 20 years. Anne P. S. Lurrrve Pete’s purple Tele!!
And to think that the only similar thing I could get when I started playing guitar was one of those horrible old Pignose amps. They looked much better than they sounded.
Wasn’t positive grid one of the videos that Lee and Rob had to film twice because the initial product version was so glitchy and hard to operate? Cool to see they improved quite a bit by the looks of it. 🤘
Here's a new one for ya. I live 5 days out of seven in a caravan. As is common in most models there is a built in car stereo that resides out of sight in one of the cupboards and there are wonderful discreet speakers in the two front corners facing down and situated at about eye/ear level. What im thinking is if I can use the aux input on the stereo to connect an emulated headphone out via mini jack whilst also utilising the bluetooth app to control the tone all i need then is a wireles set to connect the guitar and then im golden, An invisible wireless stereo guitar rig in my caravan!! How awesome is that?? So should i use something like the Nux or Spark, or is there another product that would be better suited? Any suggestions would be most welcome, PS Andertons is officially my favourite tv show by a mile!!
There’s no debate, if you like apps do it, if you don’t, do the others. There’s no better or worse, it’s what you like or don’t like. Each has its own niche and caters to the overall base of creative multi-tonal musicians. (Whatever that means)
I know positive grid has apps KINDA like this, but I'd love for them to release a "Spark PC". Basically it's this exact app BUT you use your audio interface. I sit at my PC 99% of the time when playing the guitar - it would be awesome to just fire this up and off I go. I use my Katana 100 for that currently (line out to my audio interface, then using the Boss PC app to play with settings). But this Spark app is just so slick and has so many settings/options! The software would need to be less than the spark mini though - not the prices they currently charge for things like Bias FX 2, the competitor Amplitube etc.
@@yoster77 Positive Grid makes the BIAS amp simulator software, should be similar to the spark stuff, can't confirm though because I use S gear and Neural stuff when plugged into my PC
I still have orange micro amp.use it daily for quiet practice,for repairs(has solid tuner).Suprisingly good sound.Think its best of a bunch in super small amps
One thing to add, if you run the Fly3 with the add on speaker then the power supply becomes really handy as I found that mine drains batteries really fast when driving two speakers.
Agreed. With mine, I get about 8 hours at 3/4 volume and occasional playing. If the playing is more constant such as in a two hour session of playing various songs with between 2-5 minutes per song? Probably 4 hours of play based on the batteries reading as 40% when starting to recharge them.
I wish these reviews would talk about what you can do on Windows. I'm always afraid that requiring an Android/iOS app will mean in a few years, the app won't be updated and won't support the latest OS. Windows tends to support older software much longer and even when it doesn't you can use VMs/etc to get things to work. I can run software from the 80's on my desktop, but I have Android apps from only a few years ago that just won't work.
Wanted a small headphone amp to practice with and ended up buying... a Spark Go!! I tested the NUX Mighty, Fender Mustang Micro and the Spark Go. Only downside was the Spark Go requires a guitar cable to plug it in, and obviously it's slightly larger. But I honestly thought it sounded better through headphones than either of the other two! The app was very intuitive as well.
I use a black star mini bass amp for guitar. Since little speaker lack of low end response, the mini bass amp compensates for that. But I have to use a amp sim into it.
been using a blackstar fly for a few years for practicing at my desk. it sounds way way better than a amp that big as any right to be. sure its pales in quality to my marshall valve amp but im not putting that on my desk XD. also i use batteries in it and ive only had to swap out batteries 3 times in 3 years. i personaly can recomend one for puttign on you r desk to practice new riffs etc while not looking for stage performance level sounds
@@markrothschild3659 yes I was talking about adding the 140Watt FRFR CAB. It’s a rig with lots of tones & fx built in & potentially loud enough. I personally wouldn’t but…potentially you could. £129 for the practice amp then becomes more like buying a head for said money. It’s horses for courses, it’s the same reason you cant compare the DSL5C with the katana 100 they are different beasts. Once you take into account fx and the argument of versatility/value a case can be had for either. But If your picking a gigable rig for under £1000 you rarely see anyone pic anything other than a katana. If the positive grid combination actually works and sounds ok at room filling volume then it has merit. Especially for a beginner on a low budget, as you could buy them separately but start practicing straight away. They are all different beasts but in the right environment all are options.
@@markrothschild3659 I don’t disagree with you bud I run twin H&K GM40Ds stereo to zilla 2x12 cabs would have these n my pedalboard all day over a modeller. But if I only had £400 -500 for my rig all the options above are notable. 👍🏼
The spark hasa 2 inch speaker. And the nux has a 3 inch speaker is there much difference in sound. As the spark u dont need to buy batteries that will add up. Good video
Decades ago I was given a tiny 9 volt powered amp. It had one jack, one micro toggle switch, a volume knob, and a tiny red LED. The speaker was probably an inch and a half wide. It had one sound... overdrive and more overdrive. It was fun. I didn't like the Pig Nose when I first heard them. Later I could see their purpose but never bought one. These tiny amps are becoming more appealing to me because of their portability. What I dislike about some of these is that they are rechargeable. What is one to do when in three years that little rechargeable battery only holds its charge for twenty minutes? I've got a five year old laptop computer with a battery that will last only three minutes. To function it must be plugged in all of the time. What will be the fee to replace these tiny built in batteries? Will there be any available? Will the whole amp need to be thrown away and replaced? I love rechargeable batteries. I don't like built in non-accessible proprietary batteries because years from now they won't be available. Of these three the Spark Go is more desirable because of the size. One would easily fit into a gig bag pocket.
What kind of answer is that? The amp could still be good for decades but would be junk in three to five years if the battery can't be replaced. Rechargable AA or AAA or C batteries could make it last forever. Why would anybody want to throw away something like that just because it is a consumer electronic device. I've got a radio from the 1980s that still works on replaceable batteries. @@robinr22
Hey, I saw on twitter that Orange has something out like these called the Orange "box". Except it doesn't seem to actually exist anywhere where mortal men can buy one, or perhaps trade for rare spices and / or pelts. Can you help, Mr Anderton?
Great demo guys ... You just nailed it: good sounding small amps are a +++ for us noodling@home ... long time ago we only had the Pignose and the Battery-VOX ... Happy days indeed
For me the best micro amp would be the Magnatone Starlite. 2nd option would be the Orange Micro Dark. Of course the Magnatone is expensive but like anything, we get what we pay for.
I have a carabiner clip on my PG spark go that I hook onto my pants waist or belt loop with a 3ft cable between it and my guitar, and I can roam around the house or even outside jamming! Take a walk through the neighborhood while I'm jamming, try that with any other amp! Or, if I'm trying to be quiet, just throw a pair of headphones into the mix and get the same effect but all to myself! Actually sounds suuuuper good through some decent headphones. Wanna switch songs/sounds? Click the gold button to cycle through my 4 sounds. I haven't used the app in months (barring a few times I tried to play a weird sounding song). Built in USB C charging, really nice sound quality, bluetooth playback (with or without a guitar) - it's just a no brainer imo.
I use rechargeable batteries that are rated 2300mAh - so I'd say probably more like 2000-2100mAh in actual capacity - with my many years old Fly 3 (getting on for 7 years now? Something like that!) with the extension cabinet and, when at home, the power cable. They also make for excellent speakers in general *and* the prices aren't all that different from all those years ago.
haven't watched the video yet (about to now) but i am a huge proponent of the NUX mighty air (not sure about the mighty lite)! even made a video about it haha the katana mini sounds super good in this category though
Idk why but watching Andertons videos just always gives me such a good vibe, regardless of the topic always top notch videos with amazing musicians and great gear. Not to mention just all the great personalities, makes me wish I lived in the UK
Man ever since the first Christmas special I've been hooked
I bought a Spark GO specifically as a low cost option to get access to Positive Grid app. Apart from all the amps and pedals, the cloud etc the jam feature is great. You play a pattern on guitar and the app will create a backing track or tracks that you can select from. In addition when you load a tune from your playlist it can give you the chord structure to help you learn it. Love it
@@PulledPurk No
The main app and cloud access is free. There are some amps and patches that you need to pay for but only if you want them.
Do you know if you can run it through garage band on an iPad?
@@perseusbeatkraken yes. I have just tried it and it worked as an input in GarageBand via Bluetooth and via USB. I preferred using the Bluetooth connection. It connected automatically and the it also became the monitor.
So glad you asked as I wouldn’t have tried this.
@@porkpiepilgrim5302 very informative, thanks!
It's amazing how far battery-powered micro amps have come since the days of the .5 watt Marshall micro stack! I recently bought a Blackstar Fly and I love it!
I used to have a smoky amp. Ran off a 9v and only had less fuzz or super fuzz lmao after that I just bought a multi fx board and ran it into speakers or headphones. You think the Black Star is more of a strictly practice amp?
For playing around the house chilling on the couch right?
My Spark Mini is awesome for a tiny practice/travel amp. Bravo Positive Grid!
229$ is kinda insane
@@andysledgeyeah the price is steep. It's a bit cheaper used, and tbh it's the typical "80% more investment for the last 20% of performance". Compared to the Nux, it's just a bit nicer looking, louder, better for Bass and has a few cool app features, plus the tone cloud.
The spark go wasn't available back then, I think they're too similar to have that big of a price difference. I'd price them at 100 and 170 maybe, and then the spark 40 at 250.
I've got a Fly3 that's been a great and durable practice amp! Cheers Anderton's!!
I work on street playing and I use the Blackstar Fly 3 (JJN signature because it was cheaper), sounds so amazing, and have so much power om his volume, I really love my Blackstar
The little Nux is a good little practice amp. I use it with headphones. You can use bluetooth connection to control the amp and play your music through. Makes it easy to play along. It doesn’t have a ton of effects, just kind of clean to classic rock and maybe some lighter metal tones. But plenty good for practice.
I have blackstar for practicing. It’s perfect for that. Get a decent tone in less than 10 seconds and play. Also, it takes pedals so you can mock rehearse with it. I set it clean and then run through my songs using my full pedal board to practice everything. I even used it live in a tiny church worship service (think very large living room) and it did all I needed.
The Spark Go is one of the best pieces of gear I've bought. I previously had a Fly 3 and a Boss Dual Cube LX, which sounded bigger, but to me the little Spark feels more like a 'real' amp. It has a tiny speaker, but when dialled in, it snarls!... Then with a line out to a set of monitors, it roars!!
I have a Spark Go and love the little bugger. I'm actually listening to this through my Go whilst playing guitar.
hahah, that's awesome. I'm thinking of getting a mini amp which includes a speaker, apart from my existing Blackstar amplug. This image is kind of exactly what I'm going for :D
Blackstar is compact, sounds killer, and does all the practice amp stuff without making you feel like you're on a wild goose chase for tone. Spark and Nux are cool too, but sometimes it feels like you're spending more time chasing that perfect sound than actually getting down to practicing. The Blackstar just nails that sweet spot.
Exactly, and the fact is anything with an "app based anything" is in a couple years they will stop supporting it and come out with something else, and it won't work and be worthless. The blackstar will still be working 10 years from now. I despise app based anything even though it's really cool because it's designed, so you have to buy something else in a few years.
Agreed! Haven’t looked for anything else since I got the little Blackstar. Turn it on, turn a couple of knobs and you’re good to focus on playing. Sounds great, and the delay adds that nice bit of dimension or slapback. Great for travel too, batteries last a long while.
I have never found that to be the case with my spark. I find it stupid easy to find good tones and I don't spend time tweaking them. I also own the blackstar and it is miles behind in tone and ability; plus you better have a lot of batteries at hand.
I always wonder what the age of comments like yourself are or if they’re neuro divergent
So no one is considering that you can use the Spark straight into your interface and record with it huh. It is absolutely a stellar digital guitar recording option.
Ive had my Blackstar Fly for a long time and I love it. Ive always had a set of rechargeable batteries for flashlights and stuff so I didn't have to worry about a power supply or batteries for it though. Def a great little practice amp and its super portable is my favorite thing about it. I can take it just about anywhere. If I wanna sit in bed or in the living room and jam with it on a night stand it small and doesn't have power cables or need a speaker cab like my tube heads. I use it more than my actual tube heads/cab also lol. I 100% recommend it.
I would have loved this as a kid.❤ it's strange when I'm watching an Andertons video and get an ad for Sweetwater.
FFS...Soon we'll be left watching nothing but adds! YT is like a snake that feeds of itself. It's dying.
I have a Boss BR-80. It is old, and it has no speaker, but it is very small (a little bit bigger than an old cassette tape) and has amazing features. 8 Track recorder, live stereo recording via built in condenser mics or 1/4 inch cable for guitar or mics, audio interface, Headphone out, full range of boss effects, SD card for recording and/or playing MP3s, and much more. It has no app, and no amp or speakers. I would love to see some new device that combines all the cool features of my old BR-80 with the modern features of something like the Spark.
Spark has great features, but that sound is phenomenal, even though it's the smallest.
I love my Blackstar Fly3 but the add on speaker is a must have for me. I'd really recommend the stereo pack.
probably the best way to record a shootout of amps like this. Well done guys!
Now we the need the ultimate small tube amp shootout, there’s so many new and improved 20/5w amps, since the last one.
Yes. I want to see them do the 1 watt ones too. The Dsl1.
I absolutely LOVE my SparkGO! Its been amazing!
Yo, your video editor is really letting it rip lately! I love it
RIP video editor 😢
The Blackstar fly is my only home practice amp and it's perfectly fine. I love it.
To be fair, I do have the Fender Deville 410 in my office 😅
very interesting seeing the captain evolve, I remember an older small amp shootout where the captain wanted a small amp for his office and was super against modeling or apps.
Just watched the Phil McKnight review on the Spark & it's totally useable without touching the app (he's not an app person). I think the only thing he did was add a compressor to the first amp but he was happy with it straight out of the box. He took it on holiday & found it perfectly suitable for what he wanted.
It totally works without the app - it’s just all you can adjust without the app is the volume & which patch (1-4) you’re on.
@@andertons For somebody like me who also doesn't use apps or products that depend on them & tends to skip the part of videos that deal with them it means that the spark is still something i'd buy & use as it still does what i want it to without any extra work. The ability to use apps is great for people who want more.
Blackstar for me. I has one of this and sounds really great and is very usable.
I appreciate that you make shows for all income levels. I am fortunate enough to have a loaded Kemper with custom monitor and amp, but before I made that investment years ago I got a ton of great tones from just Bias2 or bias fx on an ancient ipad run into a super cheap 40w tube amp combo front end clean channel just using a small adapter box. Fine job, Cheers!
Have the spark , fantastic little bit of kit for late night jams on the couch 😎 transformed with a cheap £25 wireless system sorry Captain from Amazon 🤫😉
i have that spark go and you REALLY gotta browse some of the presets to unlock its potential. Specifically, "Dave clean" and "Perfect Clean - LARSON" totally open it up and put out WAY more output than the other presets.... once you can get that extra bit of volume, it becomes a delight to just wonder around the room or sit on the couch.. you need a carbineer to attach to your beltloop or strap...but you do have to have realistic expectations - it's an amp that fits in your pocket or guitar case that sounds 1000x better than anything that size that's existed in the past..
Thanks for the tip- will check them out👍🏻
I love my Fly3. Sounds much bigger than it is. Tons of good tones that are easy to dial in and the delay effect is nice and not gimmicky sounding. By far my preference of the three. To be fair, I'm not generally a fan of modeling amps either.
I have the Blackstar and love the tones. Easy to use. I don’t need all the gimmicks and effects for just practicing and noodling. I have a Boss Katana for all that stuff.
gimmicks? how can you say its a gimmick then claim you got another amp to do that "gimmick" for you? lol
IMHO Spark GO for the win! 🏁 Highly recommended!!!
The spark sounds awesome, but fumbling around the app can be a real pain. Loses connection a lot, but the results when you are able to get them to work are fantastic. I'd give it a 4/5
I remember getting one of those little cigarette pack apps about a million years ago and being able to have an amp IN THE CASE with my guitar? Coolest thing ever!! Even though it sounded absolutely heinous. 🤣 It's unbelievable how far we've come.
Dude i used to have two of those smokey amps ! I have a cig pack one and one that was hard plastic... i used to run a korg pandora battery powered mini fx thing that kinda looked like an mp3 player hooked into it, or used my og line 6 pod kidney bean into it ! Hah !! I haven't thought about that in ages !
@@fuzzymuppet1990 Hahaha...that's awesome! I hadn't thought about it in forever, too. Crazy thing?...I don't just think I still have it, I think I know where it is! I'll have to look later...I'm pretty sure it's actually STILL in that guitar case in the back of a closet. I've had that thing for SO...LONG...I still have my first bass that I bought two and a half DECADES ago, though. Guess it's not that surprising now that I think about it. 🤣
My current bedroom setup is Blackstar FLY 3 + Zoom G1X. Affordable and awesome to play :-)
I have a Laney mini battery powered Lionheart amp and it sounds incredible for its size, and it can get quite loud too!
I own the Nux and it’s a fun little amp I use it for Practice all the time , not too many sound options but they’re all usable and I don’t spent more time playing around with parameters than actually playing . The Bluetooth makes it super handy when I learn a new song and want to use a Playback
I have the Nux BT Mk 1 and it's ok, but I bought the mighty air when it came out and I still use it on the go its great with plenty of sounds and when recharged it lasts forever and its wireless
I have the Mighty Air as well. I think the looper, drums, backing tracks and wireless are worth the extra$$
GET IN TOUCH.
Perfect subject just before Xmas. Was about to order one then found this. Thanks boys
This is fking awesome, on multiple levels, and makes me very happy. I'm going to rewatch this multiple times...
Spark let's GO!
I'd recommend the Katana Mini. You can get them dirt cheap used and I think the additional gain on the 3rd channel and slightly nicer sounding speaker than the Fly make it the best option for this sort of mini practice amp.
Katana mini kills these amps
@@vinny943 Katana series are for silly wee zoomers who gets their opinions from youtube rather than their own ears. 100% marketing, 0% tone.
@@Safetysealed lol you’re bedroom player
@@vinny943 Well unlike you, I'm dont live in one room of my mums house so techically a living room player. lol
But I also play in pubs, function halls, and the occasional studio too.
Once you become a big boy you can get yourself a big boy amp and stop playing about on your wee katana.
@@Safetysealed lol good for you, go drink some tea you wanker
I'm still Impressed (every-time) I play my Yamaha THR30II - (however) you must use the app, to really make the Patches Sound phenomenal. Always enjoy your informative content. oNe LovE from NYC
GET IN TOUCH.
I've got the MK1 of the NU-X version which has less features (Clean, OD and Dist channels with only Gain, Level and Tone on each channel). It has a single drum loop for each style and a metronome. Also some other features but less than the MK2. I love it. The fact that there's just a single slider for Tone on each channel and limited FX means I spend more time practising than chasing a specific sound. I'm also tempted to try out the Blackstar for the exact reason that it's got a great sound and is a no frills practice amp. I have the acoustic version of the Fly and it is brilliant.
I also have the mk1 and love it - you’re right about the "lack" of options , less time chasing tones = more time actually playing
I did an improv gig with the Blackstar. Just a bunch of us jamming in a classroom then we attracted a crowd 😂
Blackstar Fly, got it in 2016, still working, still good, no Marshall stack or Fractal AxeFx, just a really good little practice amp for home, not too boxy sounding, just good for the 60 something Euro I paid for it new.
I have 2 of the black star fly'3's' I ran each one into a 4/10 cabinet and play them in stereo' gives me a good distorted sound, but you better know what you're doing before you hook them up like that.
I run my spark go via an aux cable into my pc speakers (logitec Z533 2.1) and it sounds great, good setup for a bit more volume and bass. Enough to do me until I save for a Vibro champ. It's also pretty sturdy, knocked it off my bench onto tiles numerous times lol, only damage was the screw for the strap, it's coated plastic so snapped the first time it hit the floor, not an issue for how I use it at all. On board fx's are fine but I run pedals into it and use it purely as an amp modeller.
Also you can access the tuner without the app by holding the preset button until the preset lights flash, functioning as tuning lights
I just had a Spark Go arrive a couple of days ago and I love it. I have a Spark 40 as well so I went with something I was a bit more familiar with. At the price (on sale), I'm very happy.🎸
i have an old blackstar fly, love it
I think the better Positive Grid competitor would be the Spark mini. I think size-wise its more similar to the other ones.
Love the effects of the app of posiitive grid. Going to get one as my first amp. Starting the Guitar-thingy a little late with 28 years on earth haha
I had a Fly 3 but now have a NU>X Mighty Lite BT MkII and it is awesome!!
I have a fly with the extra speaker in the garage to muck around on. My daughter wants a elec guitar for Xmas as was looking at getting her the mighty lite but. This demo the mighty light sounded darker. Do find that to be true or can it be as bright sounding as the fly 3. Cheers.
NuX is the king of budget practice amps and devices. Their Mighty Plug Pro headphone amp has all of the same features as this portable practice amp and it's all midi controlable!
Great playing, as always! Man that Spark Go is crazy good for the size. The others sound a bit bigger, but hard to believe you can get an amp with that many features at that size, that will fit in your pocket!
How can I practice without an amp when I'm travelling? Lee and Pete: here are some travel micro amps with apps and bluetooth and stuff. Mick and Dan (TPS): Plug into a megaphone!
When I play for my son, I use my Tonex pedal connected to the line in of the Blackstar Fly 3 :-D
What with Jojo micro amp
and similar "amps" 1 AA battery and plug into the guitar, three knobs and small headphones. Siting on the stone on the breakwater and enjoy. I was a big skeptic, but they are quite good for the gig described above. everything fits in the pocket and the guitar on the shoulder and voila! Sea, sunset and blues. What a life!❤🎉I'm talking about amplifiers that plug directly into the guitar. I have a Strat LP and 335 and it fits in each. I especially like to take the Strat, it's lighter and...no cable no smartphone no no no....only Strat ,sea Jojo and I.❤
Yes, the most beautiful sunset in the world: Alfred Hichcock through the window of a hotel on the Zadar waterfront.
3000y old Zadar -Croatia- Adriatic coast-Mediteranien -Europa🎉
You have GOT to try the little Mooer Hornet 05i...It sounds impressive. It sounds steps beyond my NUX mighty BT lite first edition. But it's loaded with looper , patches and the unit is rechargeable ....the sounds are incredible. I mean seriously blown away. I'll try to get a review up and maybe test them both side by side.
Save up and spend a bit more on the Spark Mini. It's not as loud as the 40w, but it's rechargeable, loud, has much better sound than the Go, and also makes a cracking BT speaker.
Agree. I bought the Spark 40 before the mini came out and if I'd had a choice would have gone for the mini. Just because the Spark 40 is more volume than I need for a practice amp. Sounds awesome though
@@simonsmith9942 me too, but the only reason I went for Spark 40 is because it uses a power supply, unlike the battery which will eventually die out and I don't think it can be replaced
nux of course. sounds great
I have had a Fly with extension for years and put it on a pedal board and ran a couple pedals through it. Now I run the Go through it as the pedals and simulators, drums whatever. Quite a woods rig IMHO.
any particular amp models in the go work well with pedals? I was thinking about using a fly for this but now I'm considering the go. Thanks!
@@sboistan I really like the Jumbo Acoustic. I end up using it a lot.When playing an acoustic I use it with a little reverb and tremolo about 3 feet in front of me. Wow, at the right volume gives an acoustic the your being played to feeling. I love it. Overall though the Jumbo and the AD Clean are my go to for pedals or otherwise.
I find that the Spark Go is perfect for my silent guitar. Sometimes I want to play for others to hear too, but I don't wanna carry a heavy amps or a whole acoustic guitar.
Between the 3, the Blackstar sounded best, more open less woofy, but the size and features on the spark, who cares about the boxy sound, I've seen that Lee plays a pink Blackstar and sounds really good, but I wonder, the 3 have Bluetooth, so you can listen to them through Bluetooth headphones as well? or it is only a receiver and not a transmitter?
I think you can plug the Spark into your DAW, too.
I was really thinking whether if I should grab Blackstar Fly 3, NuX Mighty Lite BT MK2, or Boss Katana Mini. Went with Katana Mini. Got a second hand for 100 dollars with Boss' Roland AC adapter included. I got IEM. Might grab bluetooth adapter for my Katana Mini so I can play songs eventually. I love it a lot
You just sold it to me bro. Just now I bought the mighty nux in the marketplace in my country after watching your video. 😅
I think I'll stick with the Roland Micro Cube I've had for years! Battery and/ or mains and lots of options!
Hi there Captain and Danish Pete, just saying thanks because I love these videos. You’ve inspired me to pick up a guitar again after 20 years.
Anne
P. S. Lurrrve Pete’s purple Tele!!
And to think that the only similar thing I could get when I started playing guitar was one of those horrible old Pignose amps. They looked much better than they sounded.
A big plus of the Nux is that it can be powered by a power bank, way less waste of batteries
NUX for me, suits my ukuleles, room sizes and style....all these are great qlittle amp....you pays your money and take syour choice!
Some genuinely lovely sounds there.
These apps are going to get rid of multy effect boards. About time .great video
Wasn’t positive grid one of the videos that Lee and Rob had to film twice because the initial product version was so glitchy and hard to operate? Cool to see they improved quite a bit by the looks of it. 🤘
GET IN TOUCH
Every this amp in studio is on laudspeker. How sounded in room???
Here's a new one for ya. I live 5 days out of seven in a caravan. As is common in most models there is a built in car stereo that resides out of sight in one of the cupboards and there are wonderful discreet speakers in the two front corners facing down and situated at about eye/ear level. What im thinking is if I can use the aux input on the stereo to connect an emulated headphone out via mini jack whilst also utilising the bluetooth app to control the tone all i need then is a wireles set to connect the guitar and then im golden, An invisible wireless stereo guitar rig in my caravan!! How awesome is that?? So should i use something like the Nux or Spark, or is there another product that would be better suited?
Any suggestions would be most welcome,
PS Andertons is officially my favourite tv show by a mile!!
There’s no debate, if you like apps do it, if you don’t, do the others. There’s no better or worse, it’s what you like or don’t like. Each has its own niche and caters to the overall base of creative multi-tonal musicians. (Whatever that means)
I know positive grid has apps KINDA like this, but I'd love for them to release a "Spark PC". Basically it's this exact app BUT you use your audio interface. I sit at my PC 99% of the time when playing the guitar - it would be awesome to just fire this up and off I go. I use my Katana 100 for that currently (line out to my audio interface, then using the Boss PC app to play with settings). But this Spark app is just so slick and has so many settings/options! The software would need to be less than the spark mini though - not the prices they currently charge for things like Bias FX 2, the competitor Amplitube etc.
You can just plug your Spark into your interface.
Have you tried Soundshed?
@@aphotosyntheticworld What I'm saying is, I wish they created a software-only version. For those who don't want to buy the Spark/hardware.
@@yoster77 Positive Grid makes the BIAS amp simulator software, should be similar to the spark stuff, can't confirm though because I use S gear and Neural stuff when plugged into my PC
I still have orange micro amp.use it daily for quiet practice,for repairs(has solid tuner).Suprisingly good sound.Think its best of a bunch in super small amps
GET IN TOUCH
One thing to add, if you run the Fly3 with the add on speaker then the power supply becomes really handy as I found that mine drains batteries really fast when driving two speakers.
Agreed. With mine, I get about 8 hours at 3/4 volume and occasional playing. If the playing is more constant such as in a two hour session of playing various songs with between 2-5 minutes per song? Probably 4 hours of play based on the batteries reading as 40% when starting to recharge them.
I wish these reviews would talk about what you can do on Windows. I'm always afraid that requiring an Android/iOS app will mean in a few years, the app won't be updated and won't support the
latest OS. Windows tends to support older software much longer and even when it doesn't you can use VMs/etc to get things to work. I can run software from the 80's on my desktop, but I have Android apps from only a few years ago that just won't work.
Pete plays the phonebook and sounds KILLER. 😉😁
I have a vox vt20x and its too loud unfortunelly so im here to check what i can get
Wanted a small headphone amp to practice with and ended up buying... a Spark Go!!
I tested the NUX Mighty, Fender Mustang Micro and the Spark Go.
Only downside was the Spark Go requires a guitar cable to plug it in, and obviously it's slightly larger.
But I honestly thought it sounded better through headphones than either of the other two! The app was very intuitive as well.
I use a black star mini bass amp for guitar. Since little speaker lack of low end response, the mini bass amp compensates for that. But I have to use a amp sim into it.
been using a blackstar fly for a few years for practicing at my desk. it sounds way way better than a amp that big as any right to be. sure its pales in quality to my marshall valve amp but im not putting that on my desk XD. also i use batteries in it and ive only had to swap out batteries 3 times in 3 years. i personaly can recomend one for puttign on you r desk to practice new riffs etc while not looking for stage performance level sounds
Remember with the upcoming powered cab from positive grid you'd have a gig-able??? rig for under £400 (atm)
@@markrothschild3659 that would make an interesting shoot out, these plus a katana 100
@@markrothschild3659 yes I was talking about adding the 140Watt FRFR CAB. It’s a rig with lots of tones & fx built in & potentially loud enough.
I personally wouldn’t but…potentially you could.
£129 for the practice amp then becomes more like buying a head for said money.
It’s horses for courses, it’s the same reason you cant compare the DSL5C with the katana 100 they are different beasts.
Once you take into account fx and the argument of versatility/value a case can be had for either.
But If your picking a gigable rig for under £1000 you rarely see anyone pic anything other than a katana.
If the positive grid combination actually works and sounds ok at room filling volume then it has merit. Especially for a beginner on a low budget, as you could buy them separately but start practicing straight away.
They are all different beasts but in the right environment all are options.
@@markrothschild3659 I don’t disagree with you bud I run twin H&K GM40Ds stereo to zilla 2x12 cabs would have these n my pedalboard all day over a modeller.
But if I only had £400 -500 for my rig all the options above are notable. 👍🏼
Informative. Thank you.
The spark hasa 2 inch speaker. And the nux has a 3 inch speaker is there much difference in sound. As the spark u dont need to buy batteries that will add up. Good video
How about a comparison on 2 different electrical guitar amps? the NUX mighty air vs the positive spark mini?
Decades ago I was given a tiny 9 volt powered amp. It had one jack, one micro toggle switch, a volume knob, and a tiny red LED. The speaker was probably an inch and a half wide. It had one sound... overdrive and more overdrive. It was fun. I didn't like the Pig Nose when I first heard them. Later I could see their purpose but never bought one.
These tiny amps are becoming more appealing to me because of their portability. What I dislike about some of these is that they are rechargeable. What is one to do when in three years that little rechargeable battery only holds its charge for twenty minutes? I've got a five year old laptop computer with a battery that will last only three minutes. To function it must be plugged in all of the time. What will be the fee to replace these tiny built in batteries? Will there be any available? Will the whole amp need to be thrown away and replaced? I love rechargeable batteries. I don't like built in non-accessible proprietary batteries because years from now they won't be available.
Of these three the Spark Go is more desirable because of the size. One would easily fit into a gig bag pocket.
I mean, it's £109. Most £109 pieces of electronics aren't intended to last your lifetime.
What kind of answer is that? The amp could still be good for decades but would be junk in three to five years if the battery can't be replaced. Rechargable AA or AAA or C batteries could make it last forever. Why would anybody want to throw away something like that just because it is a consumer electronic device. I've got a radio from the 1980s that still works on replaceable batteries. @@robinr22
Does ToneBridge work with each of these wirelessly or just the manufacturer's app?
Clean sounds were pretty much neck and neck. But high gain? The Spark GO blew the others away.
Blackstar is the most autentic one IMO
Hey, I saw on twitter that Orange has something out like these called the Orange "box". Except it doesn't seem to actually exist anywhere where mortal men can buy one, or perhaps trade for rare spices and / or pelts. Can you help, Mr Anderton?
Great demo guys ...
You just nailed it: good sounding small amps are a +++ for us noodling@home ... long time ago we only had the Pignose and the Battery-VOX ...
Happy days indeed
For me the best micro amp would be the Magnatone Starlite. 2nd option would be the Orange Micro Dark. Of course the Magnatone is expensive but like anything, we get what we pay for.
I have a carabiner clip on my PG spark go that I hook onto my pants waist or belt loop with a 3ft cable between it and my guitar, and I can roam around the house or even outside jamming! Take a walk through the neighborhood while I'm jamming, try that with any other amp! Or, if I'm trying to be quiet, just throw a pair of headphones into the mix and get the same effect but all to myself! Actually sounds suuuuper good through some decent headphones.
Wanna switch songs/sounds? Click the gold button to cycle through my 4 sounds. I haven't used the app in months (barring a few times I tried to play a weird sounding song). Built in USB C charging, really nice sound quality, bluetooth playback (with or without a guitar) - it's just a no brainer imo.
I think it would be fun if you put eyes on both of the drinks. Give them a personality for the show and have them there the entire time. 😂😂😂
Ive ran a fly 3 into a 4x12. Its stellar
GET IN TOUCH
I've got a Black star Fly, A Laney mini and an Orange Crush mini, the Blackstar and Laney are superb practice amps but the Orange is total pants
I use rechargeable batteries that are rated 2300mAh - so I'd say probably more like 2000-2100mAh in actual capacity - with my many years old Fly 3 (getting on for 7 years now? Something like that!) with the extension cabinet and, when at home, the power cable. They also make for excellent speakers in general *and* the prices aren't all that different from all those years ago.
I have the Fly with the extra cab and tried using them as laptop speakers but they sounded awful.
haven't watched the video yet (about to now) but i am a huge proponent of the NUX mighty air (not sure about the mighty lite)! even made a video about it haha
the katana mini sounds super good in this category though
I think the NUX was the best value for the money, with bells and whistles, decent sound, and portability…