Positive Grid’s Spark Amp comes with a huge range of simulated amp tones, as well as effects. Here’s a full breakdown of ALL the amps you get access to inside the Spark Amp
The Spark Amp is perhaps one of the most divisive products to ever hit the market. I cannot remember anything ever dividing opinion quite as much as this smart amp has done since its launch at NAMM back in 2018.
I actually own one too, and for the record, I’m a big fan. I preordered mine after seeing it demoed at NAMM and while there were some “issues” with it at first, these have now all been ironed out after a few firmware updates.
As practice amps go, I think the Spark Amp – in my own personal opinion, of course – is one of the best options on the market. It gives you access to a wealth of different amps and effects, almost too many, in fact, and this is great for beginners that cannot or do not want to buy loads of pedals and amps and cabinets.
The USP of the Spark Amp is that it ships with loads of simulated amp tones. It has everything from Fender Deluxe simulations to Marshall and Orange simulated amps. You have plenty of high-gain stuff for metal and rock but also loads of great clean tones too with simulations of popular amps like the Roland JC120, the Fender Twin Reverb, and Dumble ODS 50 HRM.
Basically, whatever tone or sound you’re looking for, the Spark Amp will be able to create it – either with one of its preset amps or through your own configuration and tweaking. Yes, the Spark Amp lets you control and “dial-in” all of its amps and pedals, so you can craft your own totally unique sounds and tones. I freaking love its American High Gain amp which is based on the iconic Mesa Boogie JP-2C.
To give you a better idea of the kind of amps you get with the Spark Amp, here’s a table that details ALL of the amp simulations currently supported and available inside the Spark Amp.
Spark Amp Amp List In Full
| STYLE | Spark AMP NAME | What It’s Based On |
|---|---|---|
| Clean | Silver 120 Black Duo AD Clean MATCH DC ODS 50 | Roland JC120 Fender Twin Reverb Orange AD 30 Matchless DC30 Dumble ODS 50 HRM |
| Glassy | Tweed Bass AC Boost Checkmate Two Stone SP50 | Fender Bassman VOX AC30 Teisco Checkmate20 Two Rock Studio Pro 50 |
| Crunch | American Deluxe Plexiglass JM45 Lux Verb Blues Boy | Fender ’57 Custom Deluxe Marshall Super Lead 100 Marshall JTM45 Fender Deluxe Reverb Fender Blues Junior |
| High-Gain | RB 101 British 30 American High Gain SLO 100 YJM100 | Bogner Ecstasy 101 Orange AD30 Mesa Boogie JP-2C Soldano SLO-100 Marshall YJM100 Signature |
| Metal | Treadplate Insane SwitchAxe Rocker V BE 101 Insane 6508 | Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier EVH 5150 III H&K Switch Blade Orange Rockerverb 50 Friedman BE100 Peavey 6505 |
| Acoustic | Pure Acoustic Fishboy Jumbo Flat Acoustic | PG Original Fishman Acoustic Amp PG Original PG Original |
| Bass | RB-800 Sunny 3000 W600 Hammer 500 | Gallien-Krueger 800RB Sunn 300T Eden WTP600 Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 |
| Jimi Hendrix Experience | J.H. 45/100 J.H. Super 100 J.H. Bass Master J.H. D-Show Master J.H. Sun 100S J.H. Tone City 100 | Marshall JTM45/100 Marshall Super Lead 100 Fender 1968 BASSMAN 50 Fender DUAL SHOWMAN SUNN 100S SOUND CITY One Hundred |
As you can see, there’s PLENTY to choose from. You have myriad options for metal and rock alone, as well as some truly gorgeous clean tones with pitch-perfect simulations of iconic amps like the Fender Bassman, Vox AC30, and the Teisco Checkmate20 to name just a few.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience one, however, is an upgrade that you’ll have to pay for. I haven’t tested it out, so I cannot comment on it. But if you’re looking to dial-in a tone like the king’s, check out our guide to all the gear Jimi Hendrix used.
All The Greatest Amps Simulated Inside One Amp
Me? I tend to keep mine locked to the metal amp simulations with a few personal favorites being the Treadplate, Insane, and BE 101 which is a replication of the almighty Friedman BE100. I’m a gearhead too. I love my amps and cabinets. But the Spark Amp, at least to my ears, sounds almost just as good as the real thing – even more so if you hook it up to a DAW.
The upshot of using a smart speaker like the Spark Amp is that it uses detailed simulations of classic and usually very expensive amps. You could not buy all of these amps, for instance, it’d cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. But with the Spark Amp, you can get their overall sound and tone, as well as access to loads of pedals and effects, without having to break the bank. It all runs inside your phone and connects to the amp via Bluetooth.
If you’re in the market for a new practice amp and you want something that comes bundled with literally hundreds of potential amp, cab, and pedal combinations based on iconic hardware from Marshall, Peavey, Fender, and Friedman, then the Spark Amp could well be what you’ve been looking for.
I use mine literally every day and have done for the past two and a bit years. It supports headphones too, so is perfect for quiet practice. But if you want to crank things up, its built-in 50W speaker is incredibly loud as well. It isn’t ideal for practice sessions with a band, for that you’ll need a proper amp or an FRFR speaker (we currently love this one). But for at-home practice, the Spark Amp is one of the best options you can buy right now at this price point.
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