Some popular songs have already been checked and verified by Positive Grid but there are millions that haven’t.Īs an experiment I chose Bon Iver’s glorious ‘Hey Ma’ and was surprised it managed to analyse any of the chords at all. It’s not 100% correct all the time, mind, because some songs have strange inversions in their chord sequences, causing the app to extract some incorrect chords. This feature blew me away since we all like to play other people’s material from time to time and, although any competent musician can work out the chords for themselves or look them up on Google, having an app work them out for you is a major plus. You can also change the tempo of each and even transpose the chords to a key that is easier for you to play.Īlternatively, select Auto Chords, choose a favourite song from Spotify or Apple Music and the app will analyse the song’s chords before playing it back through the amp’s speaker with full scrolling tablature. Simply plug in your guitar, choose a sound and select a genre – pop, rock, blues, funk or any amount of pre-recorded backing tracks – and jam along, following the scrolling on-screen tablature. Ostensibly designed for beginners, the Spark Amp’s ‘Smart Jam’ section provides a raft of backing tracks in different genres to jam along with. This is where the cleverness ramps up considerably. Positive Grid Spark Amp review: Amp models and effects Has that got the juices flowing? Let’s break it down a little more then. Use the amp as a digital music interface for your Mac or PC. Tell the app to analyse the chords of your favourite song from Spotify and Apple Music and then play along to the tablature.Play along to a rhythmic backing of your own 8-bar chord sequence.Play along to a variety of pre-set music genres while following the scrolling tablature.Fingertip access to thousands of amp sounds and effects, including amp emulations of your hero guitarists.To help quell your curiosity, I’ll cut straight to the chase and tell you in bullet points what this thing can do. It sounds great, it’s loud, easily controlled and does what a guitar amp’s supposed to do.īut then you reach for your phone or tablet, launch the Spark app (iOS and Android) and sync it to the amp and, holy mother of pearl, you’ve suddenly left planet Earth as you know it and entered a whole new kingdom of guitar wizardry. So, you’ve set up the amp, plugged in your guitar and fiddled with the controls and you’re happy with it. Its 40 watt Class D amplifier punches way above its weight while its two four-inch custom designed speakers deliver crisp clarity and rich bottom end grunt, in full stereo if necessary. Measuring 35x18x19cm (or 13.78 x 7.08 x 7.48 inches for our American friends) and weighing in at a very manageable 5.2 kg (11.46 lbs), the Spark is a perfect size for table top and travel use. If anything, the whole thing looks and feels over engineered, so hats off to the cabinet designers and factory fitters for doing such a sterling job. The craftsmanship of the cabinet is exemplary across the board – the taut tactile covering fits like a glove, the trim is superbly amalgamated and the control knobs feel smooth, sturdy and durable. Clad in black faux snake skin with gold trim and speckled front grill, the Spark Amp looks just like a classic amp from the ‘60s indeed, its design is most reminiscent of the world-conquering Vox AC30. I'm a pretty seasoned musician, and I think a lot of us can only regret that brilliant devices such as these weren't available when we started out!įor an amp that costs less than $225, the build quality and finish is astoundingly good. As brilliant little music-making tools go it's up there with the Roli Songmaker Kit beat creator and the Izotope Spire Studio 8-track recorder. If you’re a pro, you’ll find much to love about this amp and if you’re a complete amateur, it may just change your life. But download the accompanying iOS or Android app, sync it via Bluetooth and it’s like opening the wardrobe to Narnia. In fact, there’s nothing on the amp’s fascia to hint that it does anything else other than serve as a little practice amp with knobs for volume, tone control, reverb, delay and seven prefigured guitar sound styles. Positive Grid is best known for its exceptional BIAS guitar amplifier and effects modelling software and that very same tone engine is hidden under the bonnet of this remarkable small-bodied practice amp which, to all intents and purposes, looks and behaves like any standard guitar amp.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |