Positive Grid Spark GO + Ukulele = ??

[311boogieman]

Asking for my dad.

Seriously asking for my dad. He plays ukulele and is now wanting an electric version so he can amplify is sound at church and his ukulele group. From what I understand, there is no PA, but I will ask again. He specifically brought up The Eagles Hotel California solo. So he was asking me about wireless jacks so he can plug into existing/friends amps. I saw the Spark wireless ones for $70 and then saw the Spark Go as an option to also have his own mini amp for home.

Seems the biggest benefit is its portability and tonal options via the app. Same app as the other Spark stuff, which seems very convincing. @LPMojoGL got some great tones out of his Spark Mini. You can also plug in headphones and plug into laptop/any DAW - so appears it would also work for some basic recording. Cons include some latency and a 2" speaker will not handle bass frequencies very well. And if you are not handy using apps, you may not like how app heavy this is.

That said, he did tell me he is considering a baritone version of ukulele but I know nothing about any of this.

Thoughts?

Potential competition includes:

Blackstar Fly
Fender Mustang
Boss Katana Mini
Acoustasonic

Considering one for myself to cure my cabin fever

 

[311boogieman]

no one huh?

 

[MadAsAHatter]

This is a tough one since my knowledge on ukulele is severely limited.

So is he just wanting to go wireless or is he looking for an actual amp or amp sims?
If it's just gong wireless I'd assume any of those little wireless plug & play systems (like the spark one you mentioned) with good reviews would do the trick. I've tried a couple and the biggest downside to them was battery life. I'd get about 3-5 hours of play time before it needed a recharge. That got to be a bit inconvenient so I went back to cables. Other than that they worked as advertised.

If he's looking for an amp/sims, that's a little tougher. I'm not sure if a guitar amp would be properly voiced for ukulele. Maybe a Boss katana combo amp? They're not too expensive?

https://www.guitarcenter.com/search...rs=condition:New&Ntt=boss katana combo&Ns=pLH

Another option to look into could be combo amps that are voiced for acoustic guitar. That might be a better match for ukulele than an electric guitar amp. Fender has their Acoustasonic series that look to be reasonably priced.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Acoustic-Combo-Guitar-Amplifiers.gc?filters=brand:Fender;condition:New

Of course this is Rig-Talk so I have to give you the complete overkill option. Evo Amps (Rob DeAntonio) has an amp that was designed around violin which may match well with a ukulele. That is if you want to spend around $2K LOL.

https://evoamps.com/bk50-ben-karas-head

Hopefully something in here helps.

 

[BeZo]

If it's acoustic with a piezo pickup and preamp, I would just go to a PA. If he wanted to get something fancy, and acoustic amp with a notch filter would be better. You run into a lot of problems with the gain up too high on acoustic instruments.

 

[311boogieman]

Thanks guys.

He needs the ability for wireless plug in and a mini amp as best as I can tell. Actual amp over amp sim, although the Spark mini appears to be a bluetooth speaker that uses SIMs on an app so there's that. I have some wireless plugs myself, and sure hope the technology is better than it was 5 years ago when I bought mine. I have the Katana listed. The Acoustasonic is a good idea. Added. And $2k is far too much. I'm already trying to enforce the idea that he is going to have to spend more than $200 for something quality. Not sure that they have PA, which is part of the problem. I will have to look into this notch filter thing as yes, too much gain is bad.

 

[dstroud]

This might be more $$ than you want to spend but I got one of these and found it handy dandy for many applications
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...MI5e26n8HtkQMVEh-tBh1dqyR8EAQYASABEgKN-PD_BwE

 

[311boogieman]

This might be more $$ than you want to spend but I got one of these and found it handy dandy for many applications
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...MI5e26n8HtkQMVEh-tBh1dqyR8EAQYASABEgKN-PD_BwE

Portable PA is actually a great idea. I'm leary of the Behringer stuff but if you are giving a seal of approval - I'm listening

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Thanks guys.

He needs the ability for wireless plug in and a mini amp as best as I can tell. Actual amp over amp sim, although the Spark mini appears to be a bluetooth speaker that uses SIMs on an app so there's that. I have some wireless plugs myself, and sure hope the technology is better than it was 5 years ago when I bought mine. I have the Katana listed. The Acoustasonic is a good idea. Added. And $2k is far too much. I'm already trying to enforce the idea that he is going to have to spend more than $200 for something quality. Not sure that they have PA, which is part of the problem. I will have to look into this notch filter thing as yes, too much gain is bad.

For a wireless transmitter, IME about $50 is a good price point. The cheaper ones have some loss of tone, More expensive and the return on investment diminishes quickly. That $50-$60 range for me has been comparable to using general purpose cables. Like I mentioned before, pay attention to battery life and go for one that has a lot of good reviews.

For amps, like you I think trying to stay under $200 might limit the options & quality, but you might be able to find something in that price range depending on needs. I think if you could convince him to bump the budget into the $500 range you could find something that could set him him up long term. You know that saying; buy once cry once.

I did a little search for you. Leave it to YouTube to deliver LOL. As well as a few other amps, this video show off the Spark which to my ears sounded pretty good for ukulele.

 

[311boogieman]

^ Thanks for that YT, I did not see that one.

Yes, I got started with the Spark GO + wireless transmitters for $279 and seemed like a good starting point. But like my Peavy Vypyr, you have to find the cleanest tube amp emulation and then only rock as much gain as you can handle without clipping. I've used my Vypyr (tube version) to play MP3 music through at parties etc.

Thanks again man - much appreciated

Here is the Spark GO Ultra - which I had not seen before but is probably TOO small.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...mp-and-bluetooth-speaker-with-wireless-system

Kind of leaning toward the portable PA idea.

 

[LPMojoGL]

Dunno about the GO.
I still dig the tones I get with the Mini, and much prefer it to my buddy's Spark 2.
The GO supposedly has the same tones as the Mini, just with 5w vs 10w, and a smaller speaker.
I don't experince much latency using the input jack, or Bluetooth. Aux jack latency is no good for using an instrument.

I don't dig using apps to explore tones (why I got rid of the TC Flashback and SA Nemesis), but its pretty straightforward with the Spark. I've made and saved a few I really like, done. But, say I want a specific sound, something I typically wouldn't use, it's in there and ez to find. Great clean tones that I imagine would work for ukulele.

 

[311boogieman]

Dunno about the GO.
I still dig the tones I get with the Mini, and much prefer it to my buddy's Spark 2.
The GO supposedly has the same tones as the Mini, just with 5w vs 10w, and a smaller speaker.
I don't experince much latency using the input jack, or Bluetooth. Aux jack latency is no good for using an instrument.

I don't dig using apps to explore tones (why I got rid of the TC Flashback and SA Nemesis), but its pretty straightforward with the Spark. I've made and saved a few I really like, done. But, say I want a specific sound, something I typically wouldn't use, it's in there and ez to find. Great clean tones that I imagine would work for ukulele.

Thanks my friend. Thinking of getting a Spark GO myself. I need a new Bluetooth speaker anyway and this thing has so much to offer.