“Small” practice amps with battery option

[aamefford]

Well, Sweetwater had a demo spark mini when I fell asleep last night. I went to buy it, and somebody beat me to it. It’s not like I don’t have other options. I just want something for downstairs, on the couch, and not loud. I’ll probably grab the firs good deal I find on a spark mini / waza air / katana air / thr10II wireless.

 

[aamefford]

I picked up a pair of the Waza Airs on CL for a little over $200, and a drive to San Ramon from Fairfield and during commute time. It’s the same escape to the ‘burbs commute you’d find anywhere - an hour and twenty minutes each way for what should be a 45 minute trip.

10 minutes with them, they sound pretty good but the whole ambience thing is a little odd. I haven’t really sussed making presets, and turning effects on and off yet. I hope they end up doing the trick for me - they should, quiet practice downstairs with the rest of the family around.

 

[SinSir]

10 minutes with them, they sound pretty good but the whole ambience thing is a little odd.

Not a fan of the ambiance feature either. I've tried to like it but so far a no go for me too.

 

[RC Mike]

Not a fan of the ambiance feature either. I've tried to like it but so far a no go for me too.

I turned off the gyro function, too. It’s fun for a moment, but I found it would drift.

I don’t mess with much on my WAs. I’ve got one preset I really like that cleans up well with guitar volume. I do use the tuner in the headphones at times, though that takes a little getting used to.

I’m going camping next week and am very much looking forward to taking them with me.

 

[SinSir]

I turned off the gyro function, too. It’s fun for a moment, but I found it would drift.

I don’t mess with much on my WAs. I’ve got one preset I really like that cleans up well with guitar volume. I do use the tuner in the headphones at times, though that takes a little getting used to.

I’m going camping next week and am very much looking forward to taking them with me.

This is me all the way down to camping.. camping with the WA right now!

 

[aamefford]

My vision is a very clean, an EOB clean that cleans up, a good classic crunch that cleans up well, and a lead and or brown that sounds decent for those angst filled times…

I already found the beginning of a crunch that cleans up to a nice “dirty clean.”

Edit in case it’s not obvious:
Cleans up well ==> with guitar volume

 

[shinksma]

Wow, 3 in a row for positive grid. I had avoided them initially because of a personal bias against crowd funded stuff.

FWIW, a fellow bandmate musician had a Positive Grid, and got rid of it in favor of the THR30II. I have a THR30II and love it for casual practice, and I don't use the wireless (guitar signal) function. Even if it is a bit above your budget I think you would find the THR10II well worth it.

It works best using the app, but even just using the available physical controls it sounds quite nice. But YMMV - obviously lots of folks like the Positive Grid products.

 

[shinksma]

I picked up a pair of the Waza Airs on CL for a little over $200

Doh, I just saw you may have scratched your itch. Hope they work out for you.

 

[aamefford]

Doh, I just saw you may have scratched your itch. Hope they work out for you.

I do also. If not, someone will get a similar good deal on them. The Yamaha THR series seems to be solid. The Positive Grid stuff has lower price going for it, and arguably more “features” in their software.

 

[rwandering]

I used the Blackstar Fly for a while (still have a couple of them). Meh. I had one of the original Positive Grid Sparks but felt it was way too bassy/dark. I don't know if they improved that, but at the time there were a lot of people in agreement. I returned it. The smaller ones may be more portable but that one was fairly big. I currently have two of the THR5s (one "electric" and one "acoustic"). I think they sound way better than the others I've tried. I generally travel with a Traveler and one of those amps, keeping one set of them in my office (at work).

 

[Black Dog]

Lately I been using a Positive Spark Go. It has an internal battery that gives you up to 10 hours of play time. It is 5 watts with a 2 inch speaker. You can download the spark app on your smartphone which gives you tons of settings.

 

[FragileThunder]

I caved and picked up a Spark Go as a convenient office/practice tool. I haven't spent a ton of time with it yet, but thus far I am impressed.

Question for anyone who ha one...have you used it as a clean platform to run your own effects rig into? I'll test it out myself ove r the weekend, just looking for feedback or helpful tips. Thanks.

 

[aamefford]

I’ll be looking for your feedback on it.

 

[Black Dog]

I never used it with my own effects. I use the spark app. They have numerous amps and effects. Here is a screen shot of what I'm using now. A Marshall Plexi and a Clone drive with other effects.

 

[Paladin]

I had a THR5 that had a battery option, the THR10 (discontinued) does as well, AA batteries. I used rechargeable batteries.

Yep. I really like my THR5. Keep it next to the computer for YouTube lessons..