Guitar amps should feel robust and able to withstand anything you throw at them - something that's particularly important with a portable desktop amp.

Spark – United Kingdom - Positive Grid Welcome to Spark – United Kingdom - Positive Grid

Taking their popular Mustang modeling amp format they’ve shrunk the size, added full-range speakers, and made a properly good desktop guitar amp. If you're going to be using this amp to potentially gig, then we'd really argue that you'd be better off with any of the best practice amps or guitar amps. As mentioned above, Auto Chords is a feature transposes chords from any song you feed it from a connected Apple Music or Spotify account. Here are the main points as well as suggestions and I’ll give some pros, cons and notes and tips after. Connect to your favourite mobile device over Bluetooth and you'll have full control over your signal chain, from amp type to effects selection, with each "block" offering a good level of tweakability without getting too granular (you can tweak the treble middle and bass, but not the transformer ripple, for example).

During testing, we found that the sound began to lose its way a little at higher volumes - so we'd love to see Blackstar bring out a higher-powered BEAM in the future. Create your own virtual band with Smart Jam – an AI powered bandmate that listens and learns your playing style and jams along with you. Following instant connectivity with the Spark mobile app via Bluetooth (it seems faster than the other amps), I was blown away. Since NAMM 2022, I've been waxing lyrical to everyone who would listen about how good the Positive Grid Spark Mini is.

Spark GO Case – United Kingdom - Positive Grid Spark GO Case – United Kingdom - Positive Grid

Either way, the Spark amp will have a solution that seeks to replicate the set-up of those icons, from amp models to the effects pedals.

For guitarists just getting started, or those looking for a small practice amp, Positive Grid’s Spark GO is a fantastic option. This is a great learning tool for beginners or experienced players looking for great tones without upsetting the rest of the house and neighbours. The tone controls of the Positive Grid models don’t operate in nearly the same way, so it’s really hard for me to dial them in. Good tones at low volume take anywhere pocket amp for jamming along to backing tracks and your favourite songs on You Tube and Spotify etc.

Positive Grid Spark GO review | Guitar World

You lose sound quality with the smaller speaker, but I think it’s worth it to not notice carrying an amp with you.

This clever little amp offers incredible value for money and may just change the future of practice and modeling amps forever. As a natural drawback due to its size, it's slightly lacking in the low end compared to a larger amp, but you can eke some phenomenal sounds out of it using presets or crafting your own. Nick Guppy has been a regular contributor to Guitaristmagazine for over 20 years, mostly writing reviews on guitar amps and related products. As we are testing desktop amps, we expect to see a plethora of practice aids - such as a wealth of tones, Bluetooth connectivity, headphone sockets, and more. Sure you probably already have one, but if you carry this around you not only have a Bluetooth speaker, you have a guitar practice amp too.