Positive Grid Spark GO settings
Positive Grid's pocket guitar amp and Bluetooth speaker of 2023: 5 watts into one 2 inch speaker, 33 amp models, 43 effects and four presets, with the amp knobs set in the Spark app.
⚡ Match a tone on this amp- Gain (Spark app)
- Bass (Spark app)
- Middle (Spark app)
- Treble (Spark app)
- Volume (Spark app)
- Preset
- Music Volume
- Guitar Volume
How do you dial in a specific tone on a Positive Grid Spark GO?
The Positive Grid Spark GO is a modelling amp, so a tone match here has two halves: which model or voicing to select, and where to set the controls once it is selected. Getting the second right on the wrong model gets you nowhere. Tonelify picks the voicing first and writes the knob positions against it, using the front panel this unit actually has.
Name the song you are chasing in the tone matcher and Tonelify returns the settings for this exact guitar amp, not the settings the original artist used. Those are two different things: the recording was made on gear most players do not own.
Settings for this amp only ever use controls it actually has, because its front panel is stored in our gear database. You will not be told to set a knob that is not on the amp.
Free download
Printable cheat sheet: PDF and PNG
The clean, blues, classic rock, metal and lead settings from this page, together on one sheet with short tips. The PDF prints on white; the PNG is the dark version for your phone.
Starting settings on the Positive Grid Spark GO
Positions on a 0 to 10 scale, with 5 at twelve o'clock. They are where to begin, not Positive Grid's numbers: pick the amp type first, then move one control at a time from here.
Where the settings are
The Spark GO has three controls on top, the Preset button, Music Volume and Guitar Volume, and Positive Grid's specification lists only those three as top panel controls. The amp and effect knobs are in the Spark app for iOS and Android. Power on the GO, tap the Power/Pair button on its side, open the Spark app and tap Connect; Positive Grid calls this the Tone Control connection. Double-tap the amp or an effect in the signal chain to pick a model, then turn its knobs. The app draws each amp with its own panel: on AD Clean, in Positive Grid's screenshots, the knobs are Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble and Volume, and the panels below use those names. While a knob turns, the app shows its value with one decimal, 5.0 with the knob at noon in Positive Grid's own screen recording, so the panels are positions on a 0 to 10 scale. Positive Grid publishes no values for the GO's four factory presets. These are starting points, not Positive Grid's numbers.
Clean
Black Duo, the Spark model Positive Grid says is inspired by a Fender Twin Reverb, from its Clean group. Gain 2 to 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6. Keep Gain low and set the loudness with Guitar Volume on the GO, which adjusts the overall volume of your guitar. For space, pick a reverb in the REVERB slot, such as Room Studio A or Plate Short, and keep it low. Silver 120, inspired by a Roland JC120, is the other clean to try at the same settings.
- Gain 2 to 3
- Bass 5
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
Edge of breakup and blues
Lux Verb, inspired by a Fender Deluxe Reverb, or Blues Boy, inspired by a Fender Blues Junior, both in Positive Grid's Crunch group. Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 5 to 6. Set Gain where hard picking just starts to break up, then use the guitar's volume: back to 7 or 8 for rhythm, up to 10 for a solo. For more push, put Over Drive or Tube Drive in the DRIVE slot, in front of the amp, with its drive set low.
- Gain 3 to 4
- Bass 5
- Middle 6 to 7
- Treble 5 to 6
Classic rock
Plexiglas, inspired by a Marshall Super Lead 100, or JM45, inspired by a Marshall JTM45, both in Positive Grid's Crunch group. Gain 5 to 6, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 6. Keep the mids up: rock guitar sits in the midrange, and a scooped Middle is the usual reason a preset sounds thin. For hard rock, raise Gain to 6 or 7 and leave Middle where it is. On the GO's speaker, the Rock curve in EQ Scenario, further down, shapes the whole output.
- Gain 5 to 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6 to 7
- Treble 6
Metal
Insane, inspired by an EVH 5150 III, Treadplate, inspired by a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, or Insane 6508, inspired by a Peavey 6505. All three are in Positive Grid's Metal group. Gain 6 to 7, Bass 4 to 5, Middle 5, Treble 6 to 7. Switch on the Noise Gate in the GATE slot, the one effect in Positive Grid's Gate group, so the silence between riffs stays silent. Each step of Gain past 7 adds fizz and blurs palm mutes more than it adds weight.
- Gain 6 to 7
- Bass 4 to 5
- Middle 5
- Treble 6 to 7
Noise Gate on in the GATE slot.
Lead
SLO 100, inspired by a Soldano SLO-100, or American High Gain, inspired by a Mesa Boogie JP-2C, both in Positive Grid's High Gain group. Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 6. For a solo, add delay rather than more Gain: pick Digital Delay or Vintage Delay in the DELAY slot and switch on its BPM Sync. Positive Grid's manual says Tap Tempo then syncs delays and modulations to the BPM you assign to the preset, set by tapping TAP, typing the BPM or using the + and - buttons.
- Gain 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6 to 7
- Treble 6
Delay synced with Tap Tempo in the app.
Saving tones to the four presets
The Spark GO keeps four presets: press the Preset button to select one, and the red LED shows the one in use. To keep a tone from this page, build it in the Spark app, open the 3-dot menu at the top right of the Tone page and choose Save to Hardware Preset, which writes the preset into one of the amp's slots. Positive Grid suggests saving it in the app first, then to the hardware, so you can recall, adjust and compare before you write over a preset on the amp. Four slots take four of the five tones here, for example clean, blues or classic rock, metal and lead. Without the app, the GO plays the four presets saved on it, with Guitar Volume setting the level. A factory reset erases all four, so back them up in the app first.
EQ Scenario, Hi-Z and the output
Three settings on the GO's device card in the Spark app change how every preset sounds. To open it, go to the Menu page and tap the Spark GO at the top. EQ Scenario switches the output EQ between Balanced, Rock, Acoustic and Bass, for both music playback and instrument output; since firmware 1.13 it works on the speaker output and is switched off for the headphone output. Hi-Z Mode sets the input impedance: Positive Grid says to turn it on for high-output pickups and off for low-output ones. HP/Line Out sets the 3.5mm port to Stereo, the default, for headphones, or to Mono for guitar amps, powered guitar cabinets, mixers or audio interfaces.
Positive Grid Spark GO amp list
Positive Grid's list has 33 amp models once the three preamps marked for the Spark LIVE and EDGE are left out, and 33 is the count in the Spark GO's specification: 25 for electric guitar in five groups, 4 acoustic and 4 bass. The Spark GO has no amp knobs or Amp Type switch. The Spark app's signal chain has one AMP slot, so each of the GO's four presets holds one amp model, picked in the app and saved to the amp with Save to Hardware.
| Spark model | Group | Inspired by |
|---|---|---|
| Silver 120 | Clean | Roland JC120 |
| Black Duo | Clean | Fender Twin Reverb |
| AD Clean | Clean | Orange AD 30 |
| MATCH DC | Clean | Matchless DC30 |
| ODS 50 | Clean | Dumble ODS 50 HRM |
| Tweed Bass | Glassy | Fender Bassman |
| AC Boost | Glassy | Vox AC30 |
| Checkmate | Glassy | Teisco Checkmate 20 |
| Two Stone SP50 | Glassy | Two Rock Studio Pro 50 |
| American Deluxe | Crunch | Fender '57 Custom Deluxe |
| Plexiglas | Crunch | Marshall Super Lead 100 |
| JM45 | Crunch | Marshall JTM45 |
| Lux Verb | Crunch | Fender Deluxe Reverb |
| Blues Boy | Crunch | Fender Blues Junior |
| RB 101 | High Gain | Bogner Ecstasy 101 |
| British 30 | High Gain | Orange AD30 |
| American High Gain | High Gain | Mesa Boogie JP-2C |
| SLO 100 | High Gain | Soldano SLO-100 |
| YJM100 | High Gain | Marshall YJM100 Signature |
| Treadplate | Metal | Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier |
| Insane | Metal | EVH 5150 III |
| SwitchAxe | Metal | H&K Switch Blade |
| Rocker V | Metal | Orange Rockerverb 50 |
| BE 101 | Metal | Friedman BE100 |
| Insane 6508 | Metal | Peavey 6505 |
| Pure Acoustic | Acoustic | PG Original |
| Fishboy | Acoustic | Fishman Acoustic Amp |
| Jumbo | Acoustic | PG Original |
| Flat Acoustic | Acoustic | PG Original |
| RB-800 | Bass | Gallien-Krueger 800RB |
| Sunny 3000 | Bass | Sunn 300T |
| W600 | Bass | Eden WTP600 |
| Hammer 500 | Bass | Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 |
Positive Grid Spark GO effects list
44 effects in Positive Grid's list once the vocal and mic effects marked for the Spark LIVE and EDGE are left out, in six groups. The Spark GO's specification gives 43, and the list does not say which one the Spark GO lacks. In the Spark app the signal chain runs in a fixed order, GATE, COMP/WAH, DRIVE, AMP, MOD/EQ, DELAY and REVERB, and every effect is set on its own knobs there.
- Gate (1)
- Noise Gate
- Comp (6)
- LA Comp, Sustain Comp, Red Comp, Bass Comp, Optical Comp, Auto Wah
- Drive (10)
- Booster, Tube Drive, Over Drive, Fuzz Face, Black Op, Bass Muff, Guitar Muff, Bassmaster, SAB Driver, Clone Drive (Klon Centaur)
- MOD/EQ (12)
- Tremolo, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Vibrato, UniVibe, Cloner Chorus, Classic Vibe, Tremolator, Tremolo Square, Guitar EQ, Bass EQ
- Delay (6)
- Digital Delay, Echo Filt, Vintage Delay, Reverse Delay, Multi Head, Echo Tape
- Reverb (9)
- Room Studio A, Chamber, Hall Natural, Plate Short, Hall Ambient, Plate Rich, Hall Medium, Plate Long, Room Studio B
What controls does the Positive Grid Spark GO have?
The Positive Grid Spark GO has 8 controls on its front panel: Gain (Spark app), Bass (Spark app), Middle (Spark app), Treble (Spark app), Volume (Spark app), Preset button, Music Volume and Guitar Volume.
Positive Grid Spark GO specifications
- Power
- 5W
- Speaker
- 1x2"
- Voicings
- Silver 120, Black Duo, AD Clean, MATCH DC, ODS 50, Tweed Bass, AC Boost, Checkmate, Two Stone SP50, American Deluxe, Plexiglas, JM45, Lux Verb, Blues Boy, RB 101, British 30, American High Gain, SLO 100, YJM100, Treadplate, Insane, SwitchAxe, Rocker V, BE 101, Insane 6508
- Front panel
- Gain (Spark app), Bass (Spark app), Middle (Spark app), Treble (Spark app), Volume (Spark app), Preset button, Music Volume, Guitar Volume
- Released
- 2023
What the Positive Grid Spark GO panel means when you dial it in
5W through a 1x2". At that rating it is built for practice and small rooms rather than for keeping up with a drummer. There is no presence control on this panel, so everything above the treble band has to come from the treble control and the guitar's own tone knob. A setting copied from an amp with presence has to be rebalanced here. Drive and volume have separate knobs, so the amp can sound driven at a volume that is liveable. Where a tone sits between the two is part of the answer, not a detail. The selectable voicings are Silver 120, Black Duo, AD Clean, MATCH DC, ODS 50, Tweed Bass, AC Boost, Checkmate, Two Stone SP50, American Deluxe, Plexiglas, JM45, Lux Verb, Blues Boy, RB 101, British 30, American High Gain, SLO 100, YJM100, Treadplate, Insane, SwitchAxe, Rocker V, BE 101 and Insane 6508. Picking the voicing comes before the knob positions, because the same numbers land somewhere else on each one.
Positive Grid Spark GO questions
What amps are in the Positive Grid Spark GO?
33 amp models and 43 effects, Positive Grid's specification says, the same counts as the Spark 2's. Positive Grid's Amp & Effect List has 33 amps once the preamps marked for the Spark LIVE and EDGE are left out: 25 guitar amps in five groups, Clean, Glassy, Crunch, High Gain and Metal, plus 4 acoustic and 4 bass, from Silver 120 (Roland JC120) and Black Duo (Fender Twin Reverb) to Plexiglas (Marshall Super Lead 100) and Insane (EVH 5150 III). The full table is below.
Can you use the Spark GO without the app?
Yes, as an amp with the four presets saved on it: plug in, pick a preset with the Preset button and set the level with Guitar Volume. The tuner and Bluetooth music work without the app too. To set up amps and pedals, adjust their settings or manage presets, Positive Grid says you need the Spark app, and the changes have to be saved to the amp to be there when it plays on its own.
How do you change the amp model on the Spark GO?
In the Spark app. The GO has no amp knobs and no Amp Type switch: its top panel has the Preset button, Music Volume and Guitar Volume. Connect the app, double-tap the amp in the signal chain, pick a model, set its knobs and save the preset to the GO with Save to Hardware. The app's chain runs GATE, COMP/WAH, DRIVE, AMP, MOD/EQ, DELAY and REVERB, in a fixed order.
How many presets does the Spark GO hold, and how do you save one?
Four. The Preset button selects them and a red LED shows the one in use; Positive Grid's launch release calls them four onboard preset locations. In the Spark app, the 3-dot menu at the top right of the Tone page has Save to Hardware Preset, which writes the current preset into one of the amp's slots so you can recall it from the amp. Positive Grid publishes no settings for the four factory presets.
Does the Spark GO have a tuner?
Yes, a chromatic tuner, no app required: hold the Preset button. The four preset LEDs blink twice, then show whether the string is in tune, and the GO is muted while the tuner is on. Press Preset again, or the Power button on the side, to leave it. For the exact note, connect the Spark app, which has a tuner of its own under Menu.
Can you use headphones with the Spark GO?
Yes, in the 3.5mm headphone/line out port on top, with headphones of 8 to 64 ohms. Sound does not come out of the speaker while headphones are plugged in. The same port works as a line out: Stereo, the default, suits headphones and speakers, and Mono suits a guitar amp, powered cabinet, mixer or audio interface; choose it under HP/Line Out on the device card in the Spark app. Firmware 1.14.0.203 raised the headphone volume, and 1.15.0.209 made the headphone sound more balanced.
Can you record with the Spark GO over USB?
Yes. With the GO off, connect it to the computer with the included USB cable, turn it on and choose Spark GO USB Audio as the recording and playback device. Positive Grid's specification gives one input and two outputs at 16 bit and 44.1 kHz, for macOS and Windows, and Windows 10 and 11 take Positive Grid's Spark GO driver. Guitar Volume sets the direct monitoring of your guitar. Playback volume is set on the computer: Positive Grid's USB article says Music Volume is for Bluetooth audio and does not affect USB playback.
How long does the Spark GO battery last?
Positive Grid's specification gives 8 hours at half output or lower and 4 hours at full volume from the built-in 2500 mAh 18650-style battery, and 2 hours to charge over USB-C. Its Spark GO FAQ puts play time at up to 10 hours. The FAQ also says the battery is approved for airplane travel: pack the GO in your carry-on bag. Auto Standby and Auto Shutdown, under Power Settings in the Spark app, save battery when no audio is detected.
How loud is the Spark GO?
Positive Grid rates it at 82 dB SPL at 1 metre, from a 5 watt class D amplifier into one 2 inch speaker with a passive radiator, in mono, with a frequency range of 110 Hz to 20 kHz. The Spark 2, for comparison, is rated at 114 dB SPL RMS. When the guitar or music volume reaches maximum, the GO plays a short chopping sound on purpose: Positive Grid's Voice Guide article says it is there to show the volume is at its maximum, and the Voice Guide can be switched off in the Spark app.
Can you use the Spark GO as a Bluetooth speaker?
Yes. Press the Power/Pair button on the side, turn on Bluetooth in the phone's settings and pick Spark GO Audio from the list. Music Volume sets the music level apart from Guitar Volume, so you can play along with a song. The GO plays one music input at a time, and Bluetooth comes before USB audio when both are connected. Pairing mode ends if no device connects within one minute.
Can you play bass through the Spark GO?
Yes. Positive Grid's launch release calls it a guitar/bass amp, and the app's list has four bass amp models, RB-800, Sunny 3000, W600 and Hammer 500, inspired by Gallien-Krueger, Sunn, Eden and Aguilar amps, along with Bass Comp and Bass EQ. EQ Scenario has a Bass curve. The speaker's range starts at 110 Hz, Positive Grid's FAQ says, above the 41 Hz of a bass guitar's open low E, so headphones or a line out carry the lowest notes better.
Does the Spark GO work with active pickups?
Yes. Hi-Z Mode on the device card in the Spark app sets the input impedance. Positive Grid says to turn it on for high-output pickups and off for low-output ones, and its Spark GO User Guide names active pickups, high-output pickups and built-in preamps as the cases for Hi-Z.
How do you factory reset the Spark GO?
Turn it off, hold the Power and Preset buttons and let go when the Power Indicator turns white. Then hold Preset until all four preset LEDs blink once, and let go. The GO turns off when the reset is complete; turn it back on to play. It erases all four onboard presets, the Bluetooth pairing, the Headphone/Line Out mode and the power saving settings, so back up the presets first. To cancel after the first step, tap Power/Pair or Preset.
How do you update the Spark GO firmware?
Through the Spark app, Positive Grid's Spark GO User Guide says. When the firmware is out of date, the app shows an Update option next to the firmware version on the amp's product card under Menu. The latest version in Positive Grid's release notes is 1.15.0.209, of 16 January 2025, which made the headphone sound more balanced. 1.14.0.203, of 13 May 2024, raised the headphone volume, added Spark Control X expression pedal compatibility and fixed a DSP issue that crashed the firmware at random.
Can you use a footswitch with the Spark GO?
Yes, Positive Grid's Spark Control or Spark Control X, separate Positive Grid products. Positive Grid's command list names the Spark GO among the compatible amps, and its commands include switching hardware presets 1 to 4, toggling the effect slots, the tuner and Tap Tempo; Positive Grid's chart marks which ones each amp supports. Spark Control X has 6 switches and 2 TRS expression pedal inputs.
What is the difference between the Spark GO and the Spark 2?
Size and controls. The Spark GO has a 5 watt amplifier into one 2 inch speaker, in mono, four presets and no amp knobs: amps and effects are set in the Spark app. The Spark 2 has a 50 watt RMS amplifier into two 4 inch speakers, in stereo, eight presets, amp knobs on the panel, a looper of up to 60 seconds and two 1/4 inch line outputs. Both specifications list 33 amp models and 43 effects. The GO's battery is built in, where the Spark 2's Spark Battery is sold separately, and the GO weighs 346 g.
When did the Spark GO come out and what did it cost?
Sonicstate printed Positive Grid's launch release on 23 March 2023. It gave pre-orders from late March at a special price of 109 US dollars, against an MSRP of 149 US dollars, with 33 amp models, 43 effects and four onboard preset locations. The GO comes in black and pearl.
Does Tonelify support the Positive Grid Spark GO?
Yes, and its front panel is stored, so settings only ever reference controls this guitar amp has: Gain (Spark app), Bass (Spark app), Middle (Spark app), Treble (Spark app), Volume (Spark app), Preset button, Music Volume, Guitar Volume. You will not be told to set a knob that is not there.
Sources
Panel, specifications and dates checked against these on .
- Positive Grid: Spark GO user manual v1.0.1 (PDF)
- Positive Grid: Technical Specification for Spark GO
- Positive Grid: Spark GO FAQ
- Positive Grid: Spark GO User Guide
- Positive Grid: Using Spark GO as a Guitar Amp
- Positive Grid: Adjusting Effects and Presets (Spark app)
- Positive Grid: Amp & Effect List
- Positive Grid: Can I use the Spark Amp without the Spark app?
- Positive Grid: Onboard Tuner on Spark GO
- Positive Grid: Connect the mobile device to Spark GO via Bluetooth
- Positive Grid: USB Audio with Spark GO
- Positive Grid: Installing Windows Driver for Spark GO
- Positive Grid: Headphone/Line Out Settings
- Positive Grid: EQ Scenario
- Positive Grid: Hi-Z Mode
- Positive Grid: Power Settings
- Positive Grid: Voice Guide
- Positive Grid: Factory Reset for Spark GO
- Positive Grid: Spark GO Firmware Release Notes
- Positive Grid: Check My Current Firmware Version
- Positive Grid: Spark Control / Spark Control X Command Availability in the Spark app
- Positive Grid: Spark app release notes (iOS / iPadOS)
- Positive Grid: Technical Specification for Spark 2, for the comparison
- Sonicstate: Positive Grid Introduces Spark GO (23 March 2023)
The manual is the v1.0.1 file on Positive Grid's download server, and the help centre articles were read on 7 November 2026. The knob scale comes from Positive Grid's own screen recording in its Adjusting Effects and Presets article, where the Spark app shows the value of a turning knob with one decimal, 5.0 at noon. Sonicstate printed Positive Grid's launch release on 23 March 2023.