My old Peavey Delta Blues tube amp has been acting up. When it gets hot, the tone controls stop working. I have a Line-6 Spider V 120 modeling amp - and I love the effects. But it kills the sustain, particularly on the American Pro II. So I wanted to replace the Peavey.
I recognize that the era of big tube amps is over and frankly I'm tired of hauling around 100 pound amps. So I did some research and went down to Guitar Center with my Strat and tried the 50 watt Spark II. It fell a little flat for me. Coming off the 15" Blue Marvel of the Peavey to a pair of 4" just didn't have to punch I need. It is cheap - $350. But not quite there.
I was about to leave and the counter man pointed me toward the Spark Live, a 120 watt gigging amp. This was night and day. Two ported 6.5" mids and two 1" tweeters brought this to life. I plucked a high E on the Strat and started counting - got to 53 before the note clipped. Excellent sustain on the most picky ax I own. At the store I just went through the 8 default presets, including "Blues Boy" which models the Fender Blues Deluxe tube amp - and nailed it. There was a Fender amp next to it, plugged in and the Spark sounded as good with better reverb. The Spark runs $550 vs $1,100 for the Fender. The Live has 4 channel input and can carry, Guitar, bass, vocals, and drums at the same time. All channels have separate controls.
Brought it home and plugged in my pedal board - everything sounded amazing. My wife, who normally ignore such things remarked that it was the best sounding Amp she had heard.
But here is where things got interesting, I downloaded their app and connected my phone via bluetooth. I was greeted by an AI that asked me what sound I wanted? For fun I said Gary Moore, it thought for 30 seconds and then reported that the tone was loaded. I picked up the Les Paul and was blown away. Was this a line of Marshall Stacks? The LP has Seymour Duncans and is already a blues powerhouse, but this was spot on the sound. I then got more specific and asked for Black Magic Woman, which I have dialed in on the Spider - but what the AI came back with was even better. Popped off Sweet Child o' Mine, again it hit that Slash sound exactly.
This is a game changer. Any sound you want, perfect for the asking. I highly recommend this to any player looking for the $500 to $1500 range.
I recognize that the era of big tube amps is over and frankly I'm tired of hauling around 100 pound amps. So I did some research and went down to Guitar Center with my Strat and tried the 50 watt Spark II. It fell a little flat for me. Coming off the 15" Blue Marvel of the Peavey to a pair of 4" just didn't have to punch I need. It is cheap - $350. But not quite there.
I was about to leave and the counter man pointed me toward the Spark Live, a 120 watt gigging amp. This was night and day. Two ported 6.5" mids and two 1" tweeters brought this to life. I plucked a high E on the Strat and started counting - got to 53 before the note clipped. Excellent sustain on the most picky ax I own. At the store I just went through the 8 default presets, including "Blues Boy" which models the Fender Blues Deluxe tube amp - and nailed it. There was a Fender amp next to it, plugged in and the Spark sounded as good with better reverb. The Spark runs $550 vs $1,100 for the Fender. The Live has 4 channel input and can carry, Guitar, bass, vocals, and drums at the same time. All channels have separate controls.
Brought it home and plugged in my pedal board - everything sounded amazing. My wife, who normally ignore such things remarked that it was the best sounding Amp she had heard.
But here is where things got interesting, I downloaded their app and connected my phone via bluetooth. I was greeted by an AI that asked me what sound I wanted? For fun I said Gary Moore, it thought for 30 seconds and then reported that the tone was loaded. I picked up the Les Paul and was blown away. Was this a line of Marshall Stacks? The LP has Seymour Duncans and is already a blues powerhouse, but this was spot on the sound. I then got more specific and asked for Black Magic Woman, which I have dialed in on the Spider - but what the AI came back with was even better. Popped off Sweet Child o' Mine, again it hit that Slash sound exactly.
This is a game changer. Any sound you want, perfect for the asking. I highly recommend this to any player looking for the $500 to $1500 range.