Treated myself to one of these a couple of weeks ago , brilliant for relative newbies like me , difficult enough learning to play the guitar without flaffing about with an amp for ages trying to get it to sound good .
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Yep spot on, don’t want to waste time twiddling knobs for now
Yep, had one for a couple of months and it’s a great bit of kit. I find that I get much better tones in the app than if I just use the controls on their own - then the low end seems a bit muddy, but especially for watching lessons and playing along with tracks, it’s brilliant. Plus it doesn’t take up a huge amount of room. Also got a Katana, which is a lot bigger, and is (I think) easier to get the tone I want without the software, but the Spark definitely wins on ease of use with the app etc. Very pleased with it and tempted to get the foot switch too…
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Thanks for this post , didnt know these existed! Look cool.
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A friend of mine at our local music club has one and loves it, it’s on my list to get
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I’ve had one of these almost since they launched them. I did a brief review of it in my Learning Log.
In a nutshell, it’s an OK practice amp, but it’s been massively overhyped and there are other options which may be better, depending on usage and requirements.
Examples are the Yamaha THR10ii (which does many of the same things as the Spark, in a similar form factor and which I think sounds better), and the Boss Katana 50 which, for around the same price, you get something which is a whole lot more than a bedroom practice amp (unlike the Spark, you can use the Katana for rehearsals or even gigging), which gives a lot more versatility of effects, and which sounds a lot better than the Spark.
For what it is, the Spark is a decent-ish practice amp/Bluetooth speaker at it’s price point. But, for me, it’s not at “magical”, nor is it significantly different from a lot of other products out there.
Cheers,
Keith
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That yamaha seems at least twice the price here
In the UK, the Spark is ÂŁ239 and the THR10ii is around ÂŁ265, so a little more expensive, but nowhere near twice the price.
Personally, I would pay the ÂŁ26 extra for the THR10ii every time.
Cheers,
Keith
Ah… Here the THR10ii is $775 for a shop floor model or around $1200
Spark isnt sold here but can import one from Oz for around $400
Yes, with that price difference I would go for the Spark.
Cheers,
Keith
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Out of interest, have you explored importing a THR10ii from Oz?
For example: Yamaha THR10II Guitar Amp w/Stereo Output + Bluetooth | Better Music
Cheers,
Keith
Being new on the Forum, that is my 1st post 
I have a spark since about a year and a half, I agree with what was written above it is a good amp at a very good price. Also seems they solved their notorious shipping issues as I ordered one for my sister who got it it within 2 weeks…
I do not use much the app thought, I still have a basic usage and it fulfills all my needs for now. It is easy enough for me to use. I recommend going for those wireless system in addition.
That is true I should compare imports too, the 30 would be the closest to the spark? Do they all do the same stuff?
The THR10ii and THR30ii mostly do the same thing. The THR10ii is “20 W” and the THR30ii is “30 W”.
However, the output wattage is almost meaningless out of context. The only thing it tells you, in this case, is that the THR30ii will go louder than the THR10ii.
It won’t really tell you much about the difference in volume between the THR30ii and another amp (the Spark, for instance).
In my experience, the THR10ii gets very nearly as loud as the Spark (which claims to be “40W”) and it does so with less compromise to the output. I find the Spark starts to sound a bit distorted and muffled at higher volumes.
Both get pretty loud and there have been few instances where I have needed to turn them up above around 6-7. If you think you need something louder, then you should probably look at something like the Katana 50.
The other differences between the two THRs is that the THR30 has extra physical controls on it which give you more control without using the app, and the THR30 can be connected to an external amp via stereo line outputs. The THR30 possibly has better speakers, but I don’t know. the speakers in the Spark are OK.
By the way, I personally find the physical controls on the THR10ii a little better than on the Spark. The main issue I have on the Spark is the amp-type selector is a knob which physically points at the amp type selected. If you change that using the app (or by selecting one of the presets) it still points at what you set it to originally.
So, for instance, you could set it to “acoustic” on the top panel, and then change it to “lead” or “bass” by selecting a patch, and it will still be pointing at “acoustic”. Because of this I find myself hardly using the physical controls and only using it with the app.
On the THRs, the knob doesn’t have a physical arrow. Instead there are LEDs indicating the current setting. When you change the setting, the correct LED lights regardless of how you make the change, so the physical control on the amp always shows what you have. When I use the THR, I typically use the physical controls rather than the app most of the time.
The other difference between the THR and the Spark is the Spark specifically tries to emulate well known real-world amps, where the THR really doesn’t make any specific claims. There’s a lot of speculation about what the different settings are closest to, but this is purely speculation based on what people think it sounds like.
If modelling specific amp types is important to you, the Spark may be a better fit. If you just want a selection of great sounding amp tones and don’t care what the manufacturer claims they sound like, then the THR delivers.
Cheers,
Keith
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Thanks for the detailed reply!
I’m not in a big rush at the moment but will likely get something this year I think. Currently playing through PC and amplitube free version
I got mine back in Oct 21. I am not has impressed with it as i would have hoped. I am starting to experiment with the app. seems like you need the app to get more tones. I may be happier after a experiment more.
I use the Justin App paired Bluetooth to the spark and jam to the backing tracks. Small size and weight is a plus. doubles has a bluetooth speaker. For a starter amp i think it is a good deal.
I’m looking to replace with the fender mustang GTX. GTX is more money but may be a better value in the long run. will see how it goes. There are so many option out there it can get confusing. If you stick with learning and playing you willl more than likely upgrade in the future.
I got PG Bias FX2 on the PC I assume its the same software and downloadable tones etc that runs on the spark, sounds ok to me via headphones.
I think it’s the same engine, but it’s not quite the same tones: the Spark is more restricted, for instance, in the number of different effects supported, and the effect chain is pre-set, quite basic, and cannot be changed.
The other thing that people find a bit disappointing (myself included) is probably more to do with the hardware: the audio quality from the Spark speaker is not always that good. The whole thing is rather too bassy (even with the tone controls adjusted) and I find it doesn’t handle higher volumes that well. Oddly, it works better as a Bluetooth speaker in that respect.
Note that through the USB, the audio is generally much better. When you hear demonstrations on Youtube, a lot of the time it’s being recorded via the USB.
The other thing that is overhyped (IMO) is the app. They make all this fuss about the Spark having all of these clever facilities, but none of them are on the amp itself. They are all on a companion app and just streamed to the amp via Bluetooth.
Frankly, aside from the tone editor, which is OK, the app isn’t that great and most of the capabilities it provides either don’t work that well, or (again IMO) you will grow out of quite quickly.
If you ignore the hype and treat it as a pretty decent (but not significantly better than anything else) portable practice amp and Bluetooth speaker, that’s not bad value for money, then you would have the right idea (especially when comparing it to other options).
Cheers,
Keith
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I’ve heard if you take the grill off you can stuff the base port and it tightens that up a lot?
I guess it may make it a bit better. Frankly, I can’t be bothered trying to tweak it to fix the inherent issues it has. I’m keeping mine simply because it’s handy to have around and I can’t be bothered getting rid of it.
If I knew what I know now back in March 2020, I wouldn’t have purchased it.
Cheers,
Keith
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