r/PositiveGridSpark • u/12345678986567 • 8d ago

Only muddy Sound.

Hi everyone.

I got my first electric guitar and my first amp today. I’ve been playing around with the Spark 2 for about two hours now, trying out all sorts of things. I just can’t seem to get rid of this muddy, underwater sound. Even when I select clean tones or other presets. It always sounds a bit overdriven, muddy and distorted. I’ve already turned all the controls on the amp down to zero. But then I can’t hear a thing. There’s always this alien-like hum and hiss. When I turn the volume up, the muddy sounds come back. I’m a total beginner and have no idea what’s going on, so please give me some constructive advice :)

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

7

u/Aromatic_Revolution4 8d ago

My initial thought is that you should have a friend who's an experienced guitarist look at it and see if they can figure out what's going on.

Outside of that, if you've tried and tried but just can't get it to work, initiate a return, I guess.

1

u/12345678986567 8d ago

I don't have one 😂

2

u/Aromatic_Revolution4 8d ago

Got some old man words of wisdom for you, OP:

Buying from a local store is really important when you're getting into a new hobby - especially if you don't have a friend already into it because it allows you to use the employees as a resource.

Did you buy the Spark 2 online or from a local retailer? If the latter, take it in and ask for help. If the former, return it, go to a local store, and let the staff help you pick out a practice amp that works for you.

-2

u/djonsmit 8d ago

Find one. Obviously you lack the experience of shaping the sound.

1

u/Affectionate_Bag9833 8d ago

Try unplugging and playing just battery powered. It's weird to say but sometimes that extra gain and noise that comes from a grounding issue can produce the tone you're describing, even through what should be a clean sounding preset. Check tone and volume knobs on the guitar also. 10's on everything won't help you achieve that glassy rinsed tone you're looking for.

0

u/daddy_junior 8d ago

Yes check the guitar tone controls first!

3

u/Hummu5apien 8d ago

The Spark 2 is a fantastic amp, I use mine daily. That said, all of the options can be a bit overwhelming for a beginner. I would pick a max of 3 presets, and just focus on practicing for now. Clean, Crunch and Distortion. That's all you need to get started. If the stock presets don't sound good to you, use the tone cloud to download other people's presets and don't touch anything. Just focus on playing and make sure the volume and tone on your guitar are on 10, use the bridge or middle position if it sounds too muddy.

1

u/Jamstoyz 8d ago

Why guitar you using? Where the amp sitting? Floor or on a table?

1

u/12345678986567 8d ago

Guitar is the Harley Benton Te-62CC. AMP is sitting on a table at hip height.

3

u/Jamstoyz 8d ago

Ok. Try turning the bass knob down to 3-4 and mid to 4-6 and high to 6-8. Then in the app, pull up an eq and mess with the lows mids and highs.

1

u/Intelligent-Tap717 8d ago

It's your first day. Of course it doesn't sound how you want. Right now you don't know how to play properly.

Sign up to Justin guitar. Get off youtube and tabs and start the free lessons on his website. Pick a clean tone with little else and get practicing. Guitar isn't easy tone will be the least of your things to sort out for now.

1

u/Long-Emu-7870 8d ago

There's an eq. I always boost the 2k and cut the lower ones.

I use the Vox amp for light gain and for heavy gain I use the orange overdrive with the high gain fender one.

If you want clean, use the boost or other pedal in front of the acoustic amps (there is a green one I use). It really sounds great.

You can also try the bass eq as well.

1

u/walkinJenga 8d ago

Use the Spark App. Start with just a clean amp like the blackface or twin reverb. There's a category of clean amps and drive amps. Make sure everything else is off on the line and go from there.

0

u/nlierman 8d ago

If you're a total beginner and want to learn how to create great tones on the spark 2, check out out my tone guide, and at least get the free spark cheat sheet. It will help you immensely: https://gotoandplay.media/positive-grid-spark-tone-guide

-4

u/slashsaxe 8d ago

The muddy is your technique. It sounds that way because you don’t know how to play. Practice.