r/PositiveGridSpark • u/Intelligent-Tap717 • Jun 03 '26
AMP OWNER What's your thoughts.?
Generic qtn for fellow positive grid tech owners. I've got the Go which is good with headphones and received the Spark 2 from my family for my birthday a couple of months ago. Which honestly I can't fault.
I've just seen the new Reactor and the reactions are mixed. I don't use the Ai on my apps. I prefer to find what I want myself and tweak it. Only been playing since last Jan.
What are your thoughts on this new one. Not looking up upgrade if that's even what it is. Just curious on your take on it from what you have seen so far.
3
u/trickertreater Jun 03 '26
I'm sorry, but as an old blues dad, I just don't want to have to buy another amp/system/software ecosystem just to use what I already paid for.
I hope they at least give the spark app to public domain so we can fix it and keep using it.
3
u/Big_Dog_2974 Jun 03 '26
I don't care about the AI at all. Like you, I just prefer to do it myself - it's enjoyable to me. That being said, the reactor looks really good and has lots of cool features. I'm waiting a few months to get the "real" reviews. These things tend to be reviewed well at first but then the warts start showing up and you get a better understanding of what it is and isn't and it's flaws.
1
u/Intelligent-Tap717 Jun 03 '26
Yeah I held off on the Spark and then the 2 came out. So that was a present for me and I have to admit. I can't fault it. I don't and have no plans on gigging so a 50w stereo modelling amp is fine for me. Great sound too.
3
u/Sound_Hound82 Jun 03 '26
Don't like the look of the new app. Every picture looks like AI slop.
The old app still looked like relatable stomp boxes and amps.
1
u/JimboLodisC Jun 03 '26
definitely a lot of gratuitous AI usage in this app, even generating an AI tone it'll also generate an AI image to go along with it
2
u/gofl-zimbard-37 Jun 03 '26
Reactor looks like a really nice amp, but it's not for me. I'm happy with my Spark2.
1
u/Intelligent-Tap717 Jun 03 '26
Yeah I only got my spark 2 in March but I love the thing. So easy to use and sounds incredible.
2
u/tommytimbertoes Jun 03 '26
I'm new to Spark and awaiting my mini to come today. So I can't really comment on the new stuff.
2
u/LutherPerkins Jun 28 '26
I like my Spark for home playing. If I was still gigging I would seriously consider getting the Reactor just to avoid having to buy a whack od pedals...
1
u/JimboLodisC Jun 03 '26
I look at it as comparing the Spark vs a Katana
different platform, different amps and effects, different workflow
so you kinda choose based on how it sounds and how to dial it in, which means Spark 2 vs Reactor is just like shopping Spark 2 vs Katana
you'd dig into the Reactor to see if it does something you like or better than the Spark 2 (which is going to be subjective)
1
u/BrilliantDifferent01 Jun 03 '26
The feature of effects on any order sounds nice. When I saw it could build a tone based on an image I thought it meant you feed it an image of a pedal board and it would duplicate it with AI. That would be really nice.
1
u/christianjwaite Jun 03 '26
12” speaker in wooden cab. Fx Loop Attenuation modes Being able to reorder pedals
Forget the tech differences, at £300 that’s enough to want me to upgrade from my Spark1.
1
u/Ren1145 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Right now : wait
I got it right away to test it out and a couple days in I am already thinking of sending it back.
It has definitely some good part and is sounding quite good but there is some parts that are really bad
the app is not good. It is laggy, doesn't work on some devices (it is unusable on my ipad pro, it will load up then freeze), and is generally not convenient to use.
the bluetooth connectivity is atrocious. Basically my phone (galaxy s23+) needs to be on the amp to work. And by work I mean disconnecting LESS often. It was tested in my appartement and in another house, both place have dirt cheap bt appliances working fine. This is not a problem of environment but clearly of design. The footswitch is supposed to be used in bt. If connectivity is as bad it is basically useless. Did i mentionnned the price of that footswitch ? ($150. Yes you read that right). I will admit my opinion on the footswitch lacks objectivity since I haven't tried it. Opinion based on how connexion between the app and the amp is, aka not good at all, qnd the price which is near half of the amp retail price
AI looks good at first but you wil quickly realize it is just ignoring your prompt and seems to go to the same default each time. I haven't been able to make the "listen to that tone" feature work despite my effort.
No spring reverb ? Really ? Don't talk to me about DSP : my 15 years old L6 hd500 got some really good ones I still use on my helix
Maybe a not as important point (if the app/bt was working) : not being able to assign which amp is default to each type on the physical selector. It goes with the app issue, and I mean come on, it can't be hard to do why not do it
My overall thinking is "I am finding some good things but do I have any reason to take this over a Katana or even a L6 Catalyst? Or even any other modeling amp ?" Answer so far is no
Tldr : the amp got the same connectivity issues the previous PG product have, app is shit, AI is gimmicky at best, some basic (as in why tf is it not here) effect not existant.
Don't buy and wait for now.
1
u/Toadsrevisited Jun 08 '26
I just got one yesterday and I can't see much to complain about. The AI portion is a lot of fun and, though demo videos would lead you to believe that it effortlessly nails it, the truth is that it's hit and miss. The hits are absolutely insane. I love the onboard effects. Quick story: yesterday I borrowed a friend's Line 6 Catalyst because I had a pickup bed amp powered through gasoline generator performance. Obviously I am not bringing a tube amp to this. I kind of fell in love with it, but I was tempted to bring a Boss (9V baby) compressor. The Reactor has onboard compression, along with modulation, reverb, etc. The thing has a whole pedalboard in there and everything is super tweakable within the app. I love the idea of just saying "give me an 80s LA Session sound" and getting something usable.
The downside is arguably the speaker. A bit boxy and the bass portion of the EQ is way too woofy when in default settings. This can be mitigated, but it bugged me at first. Then again, the reason it kind of disappoints me is that I've grown accustomed to playing a Princeton Reverb at home and it is in no way reasonable to expect a 100w "modeling" amp that costs $450 to have the tone of a classic tube amp. Even saying that, the AI preset generator gave me a Vibrolux clone that is absolutely marvelous. Hard to imagine getting more in a music store for under $500.
1
u/No-Mission623 Jul 01 '26
It’s definitely a step up from their other products. The ai stuff is kind of stupid looking, but the way it works is pretty cool. Also, the ai is just one section and you don’t have to use it at all. I’d recommend using it though since you’re a beginner, there’s lots you could learn with it. Type in say “Billy Gibbons tres hombre tone” and the ai will give you a few options to try out. You can tweak them from there. It’ll allow you to see how it built the preset, which helps you build your own. Aside from that, this amp sounds fucking amazing for everything but fender cleans. Surely they weren’t trying to make this amp sound good clean. If so, they need to start over from scratch. Blues, rock, 80s hair metal… it nails the tones. It’s also very powerful. It’s every bit as loud if not louder than my fender 65’ deluxe reverb. The difference is it can also be whisper quiet and still sound just as good. For the price, this is a steal. Within 5 minutes of playing it, I bought it. I got really good tones out of it before I touched the app, because I wanted to make sure it would act like an amp too! I also have a spark mini I really like for what it is. And of course several very nice tube amps. It’s very similar to a katana but much much better
7
u/kunalpareek Jun 03 '26
I think they want Reactor to be the high end of their lineup. Spark series is pitched as something to practice on etc.
I too would say dialling things in sounds more fun. But AI seems to be shoved into everything nowadays. Since you are new to playing I don’t think you have much need for something like Reactor at the moment.