Positive Grid Spark settings for clean, blues, rock and metal

Which Spark has which controls

The Spark 40 has an Amp Type switch, Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble and Master for the amp, Mod, Delay and Reverb for the effects, and an Output knob for the guitar's overall volume. Positive Grid's manual says the Amp Type switch changes the model in the current preset, and that models the switch cannot reach are chosen in the Spark app. The effect knobs set how much of each effect you hear; the effect itself is chosen in the app.

The Spark 2 has the same amp and effect knobs but no Amp Type switch: each of its eight presets holds one amp model, picked in the app. The Spark GO and Spark MINI have only a preset selector, a guitar volume and a music volume, and store four presets each. On those two, the gain, EQ and amp model live inside the presets, and the app is where you change them.

Which real amp each Spark model is based on

Positive Grid's help centre lists the amp models in the Spark app with the classic amp each one is inspired by. The list has 36 models: 25 guitar amps in five groups, Clean, Glassy, Crunch, High Gain and Metal, plus acoustic, bass and preamp models. Find the amp a record was made with in this list and you have the right model before you touch a knob.

Not every Spark carries every model. The Spark 40's manual gives 30 amp models and the Spark 2's and GO's give 33, and the list does not say which models each amp has, so check the app for yours. Two gaps matter for famous songs: the list has no Marshall JCM800 model and no Mesa Boogie Mark series model.

Clean settings

Black Duo, inspired by a Fender Twin Reverb, or Silver 120, inspired by a Roland JC120. Gain 2 to 3, Bass 5, Mid 5, Treble 6, Reverb around 3. Keep Gain low and take the level from Master; a clean model stays clearer that way when you strum hard.

Single coils usually want Treble a step lower than humbuckers, because they already have more top end. For a warmer clean that breaks up when you dig in, try Lux Verb, inspired by a Fender Deluxe Reverb, at the same settings.

Blues and edge-of-breakup settings

Lux Verb, inspired by a Fender Deluxe Reverb, or Blues Boy, inspired by a Fender Blues Junior. Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Mid 6 to 7, Treble 5 to 6, Reverb around 3. The sound should be clean when you play softly and gritty when you dig in, so set Gain where hard picking just starts to break up.

Then use the guitar's volume knob: back to 7 or 8 for rhythm, up to 10 for a solo. For more push, put the app's Over Drive or Tube Drive in front of the amp with its drive low, so it thickens the sound rather than taking it over.

Classic rock settings

Plexiglas, inspired by a Marshall Super Lead 100, or JM45, inspired by a Marshall JTM45. Gain 5 to 6, Bass 5, Mid 6 to 7, Treble 6, Reverb around 2. Keep the mids up: classic rock sits in the midrange, and scooping it is the usual reason a rock tone sounds thin next to a band.

For hard rock, raise Gain to 6 or 7 and leave Mid where it is. For a solo, add Delay rather than more Gain, and set its time with the Tap button: Positive Grid's manual says tapping it more than twice sets the delay tempo.

Metal settings

Insane, inspired by an EVH 5150 III, Treadplate, inspired by a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, or Insane 6508, inspired by a Peavey 6505. Gain 6 to 7, Bass 4 to 5, Mid 5, Treble 6 to 7, Reverb 1 or off. Most rhythm parts need less gain than people expect: each step past 7 adds fizz and blurs palm mutes more than it adds weight.

Switch on the Noise Gate in the app, so the silence between riffs stays silent. For a tighter low end, add a drive from the app's Drive section in front of the amp with its drive near zero and its level high, the same job a Tube Screamer does in front of a valve head, and take the amp's Gain a step lower.

Matching a song: the record's amp in Spark terms

Each of Tonelify's song pages reports the amp used on the recording. Where that amp, or a close relative, is in Positive Grid's list, the matching model is the place to start. Where it is not, start in the group the sound belongs to and set the knobs as above.

When you want one song set up on the Spark you own, Tonelify picks the model and writes the knob positions for that song against the Spark's own controls.

Spark GO and Spark MINI: settings without knobs

The GO and the MINI have a preset selector, a guitar volume and a music volume on top, and nothing else that shapes the tone. Each stores four presets. To set one up, connect the Spark app, pick the amp model, set Gain, Bass, Mid and Treble there with the numbers above, and save the result to one of the four slots.

A useful set of four is clean, crunch, metal and a lead with delay, one per slot, so the selector does the job the missing knobs would. On a GO, also check the EQ Scenario in the app's device settings: Positive Grid's manual says it switches the amp's output EQ between Balanced, Rock, Acoustic and Bass, for music and guitar alike.

When it sounds wrong

Fizzy or harsh: lower Gain first, then Treble. Fizz is almost always too much gain, not too little EQ. Thin: raise Mid before you raise Gain. Muddy: lower Bass first, then Gain.

A change gone after switching presets on a Spark 40: the knobs change the current preset, and Positive Grid's manual says its red light flashes once it has been modified. Long-press the preset's button to overwrite it with the new settings.

Good at home and boomy at a gig: ears hear less bass and treble at low volume, so settings made quietly tend to carry extra bass. Set the tone close to the volume you will play at.

Sources

• 01Positive Grid: Amp & Effect List
• 02Positive Grid: Spark amp user manual
• 03Positive Grid: Spark 2 user manual
• 04Positive Grid: Spark GO user manual
• 05Positive Grid: Spark MINI quick start guide