Positive grid spark amp

LuttiS

Something came in the post for me today....  


Right, off to see Polyphia! 

Kebabkid

LuttiS said:

Something came in the post for me today....  


Right, off to see Polyphia! 

Let us know how you get on, first thoughts etc

LuttiS

I'm on the way to Manchester at the moment and only had about three minutes of play time, so not used any of the app features (that's for tomorrow)!

In that three minutes, i'd compare it to a Katana. The basic tones are perfectly usable, nice touch with delay/reverb/modulation. 
I'm not really an amp snob as such.. I have a big juicy tube amp (Kustom 36 coupe) which is better... But this could be a lot of fun, and much more useable

More to come!

Jetfire

@LuttiS and now?

LuttiS

Awesome. 

The android app is still being updated, so some features are still a bit buggy, but it has improved since I first started. 

The sound on the amp is really surprising, I honestly wasn't expecting great things from 4" speakers. But apparently 2 x small stereo FRFR speakers can sound good.. I haven't done much tweaking beyond a little play but there are a bazillion tone options with the bias tonecloud connection and they do sound genuinely good even at low volumes. 

I've mostly been messing with the backing tracks that are on there or just playing along to songs on YouTube and stuff. 

The smart jam is pretty good, it's like the Digitech trio pedal with more of an interface. It analyses what you play then follows it with drums/bass.. the interesting bit is that it structures the song too, so spices it up for choruses, pulls it back for verses etc which is a nice touch.. if course it does have that midi touch in the drum/bass sound.. 

It can also be used as just a Bluetooth speaker.. so the frozen soundtrack has gone through it multiple times... 

All in all I'm pretty happy.

I sold my Line 6 Amplifi TT for this and it is a definite improvement. Soon my Blackstar HT1 will be up on the selling pages. 

Aaand it is also a bass amp.. so my little bass amp will also be out the door.

Sparky

Just about to commit to a THRii and then I see this.....

adamino

Im really interested in this amp but I believe it will take longer for delivery now that the corona virus is slowing things down.It now says delivery March-April.

skinfreak

Sparky said:

Just about to commit to a THRii and then I see this.....

I'm getting really flustered too. Dunno. THR II looks like a much better bit of kit, physically compared to this. Obviously more expensive but I have pre-orderd the Spark. 

There's a great overview here https://youtu.be/vZ8PB-UUwu8 from Steve Stine who digs into the app. I wonder how the Yamaha app compares. Wouldn't have the spotify integration of course but how flexible are the effect options in the THR II?

Sparky

Think I'll wait for the inevitable comparison videos and then make my mind up. doubt these will be in the UK shops any time soon to compare them in the flesh.

ellwood

Am getting a little cynical here. Ordered in November and it has been pushed back twice. Surely with “1000s of pre orders”, all paid up front, then you would know how many components you need to order, and would have the cash flow to manage that.

Hoping to be proved wrong with a delivery soon...

stickyfiddle

ellwood said:

Am getting a little cynical here. Ordered in November and it has been pushed back twice. Surely with “1000s of pre orders”, all paid up front, then you would know how many components you need to order, and would have the cash flow to manage that.

Hoping to be proved wrong with a delivery soon...

More likely they're having manufacturing issues, or still ironing out bugs in the firmware

I'm still very keen to try one once they're easily available.

LuttiS

ellwood said:

Am getting a little cynical here. Ordered in November and it has been pushed back twice. Surely with “1000s of pre orders”, all paid up front, then you would know how many components you need to order, and would have the cash flow to manage that.

Hoping to be proved wrong with a delivery soon...

Check the positive grid Facebook groups.. virus issues and things.. but they are handing out copies of bias FX 2 I think..

skinfreak

Hmmmmmm..... I might cancel my preorder and plump for a Yamaha THR10 II...

Jabberwocky

I was considering the Yam THR30II. The Spark displaced the desire for the Yam 30II at its $224 price with free shipping. I got in late but I felt $224 was a good price for one of these things. I will be mostly using Spark as a clean amp so the high gain amp tones are of no concern to me. I like its looks. Be patient and it shall show up soon. 

LuttiS

@Jabberwocky @skinfreak ; have you got your free biasfx copy? Seems they are sending everyone still waiting copies of the full version. 

I emailed and asked nicely and also got one

Jabberwocky

I am in the Last Chance Special Group that does not seem to close. I think I might see it by July...

Sparky

Jabberwocky said:

I was considering the Yam THR30II. The Spark displaced the desire for the Yam 30II at its $224 price with free shipping. I got in late but I felt $224 was a good price for one of these things. I will be mostly using Spark as a clean amp so the high gain amp tones are of no concern to me. I like its looks. Be patient and it shall show up soon. 

From my rudimentary skills in maths, calculating import fees, duties and Royal Fail handling fees, the Spark still comes in around £100 cheaper than a THRiiW (20w). Granted not fully wireless but neither is the THR unless you spend another £80 on the transmitter. 

Has anyone received one of these in the UK yet that can testify to it's final price?

LuttiS

Sparky said:

Jabberwocky said:

I was considering the Yam THR30II. The Spark displaced the desire for the Yam 30II at its $224 price with free shipping. I got in late but I felt $224 was a good price for one of these things. I will be mostly using Spark as a clean amp so the high gain amp tones are of no concern to me. I like its looks. Be patient and it shall show up soon. 

From my rudimentary skills in maths, calculating import fees, duties and Royal Fail handling fees, the Spark still comes in around £100 cheaper than a THRiiW (20w). Granted not fully wireless but neither is the THR unless you spend another £80 on the transmitter. 

Has anyone received one of these in the UK yet that can testify to it's final price?

It was $214.80 in total including fees etc. for me which was about £164 in total. 

Sparky

LuttiS said:

Sparky said:

Jabberwocky said:

I was considering the Yam THR30II. The Spark displaced the desire for the Yam 30II at its $224 price with free shipping. I got in late but I felt $224 was a good price for one of these things. I will be mostly using Spark as a clean amp so the high gain amp tones are of no concern to me. I like its looks. Be patient and it shall show up soon. 

From my rudimentary skills in maths, calculating import fees, duties and Royal Fail handling fees, the Spark still comes in around £100 cheaper than a THRiiW (20w). Granted not fully wireless but neither is the THR unless you spend another £80 on the transmitter. 

Has anyone received one of these in the UK yet that can testify to it's final price?

It was $214.80 in total including fees etc. for me which was about £164 in total. 

No import VAT, duty or handling fees? If so, £164 is an absolute bargain.

LuttiS

Total bargain. I was number 93 out of the first 100 so managed to snag the super early bird. 

It was $179 + your countries VAT amount. No additional fees/costs. Delivery included etc