nelsonic / learn-music

Learn how to play music from first principals.

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Practice Guitar Amplifier? #40

Open nelsonic opened 3 years ago

nelsonic commented 3 years ago

Considering getting the Positive Grid Spark Amp as the reviews online are pretty good: https://www.google.com/search?q=positive+grid+spark+review

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HQCG79H

There's a decent discount on during "Cyber Week": https://www.positivegrid.com/

Annoyingly, they charge €45 Tax at checkout: 🙄

There's one on OLX which would de-risk the purchase (as in it won't get "lost" in transit ...) https://www.olx.pt/anuncio/spark-40-positive-grid-novo-c-saco-IDG686k.html#1d48abb35f

nelsonic commented 3 years ago

Honestly, watch a couple of the reviews on YT ... e.g: https://youtu.be/-Xngane0Sh8

iteles commented 3 years ago

The biggest ‘de-risking’ of the OLX purchase would be that you won’t get hit with the customs duties from the amp coming into Portugal. You’re looking at €60 IVA plus at least €15-20 admin and handling fee (but maybe more).

nelsonic commented 3 years ago

@iteles good point. 💡

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

I regret not getting the OLX one when it was available in 2020 ... 😞

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B08HQCG79H/

But I haven't played enough to "justify" it yet. Mostly used my acoustic guitar. 💭

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

They now have an EU Store so no risk of import taxes! https://eu.positivegrid.com/products/spark

Pre Black Friday Discount:

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Positive Grid Spark Mini Vs Spark 40: https://youtu.be/nPZSe7dV9ZU

Think the mini is good for people who either need it to be portable or want to play at very low volume. But the 40 is much better sound quality for the "clean" sound.

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Typical American checkout adding €53.94 Tax at the end: 🤦‍♂️ positive-grid-310-with-tax

€310 is a mountain of cash for an occasional hobby ... 💸

At this rediculous price point, I'd much rather put money into the pocket of someone selling it second-hand ... https://www.olx.pt/d/anuncio/positive-grid-spark-IDHcZbZ.html

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

Spark Amp Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/vZ8PB-UUwu8

nelsonic commented 2 years ago

I FINALLY Play the Positive Grid Spark...But Should You Buy One? https://youtu.be/eWQZJ7k49ok

Basically the Amp is decent but the FREE iOS/iPadOS App that integrates with it is the thing that really sells it to me ... as you can see here it's got songs with chords/notes and doesn't have any monthly subscriptions/fees ...

nelsonic commented 1 year ago

Waited patiently for "Black Friday" ... Buying direct from Postitive Grid on their BF special is: €297.12 when you factor the €26.55 shipping and €51.57 taxes ... the bundle includes a "free" carry bag that I will never use ... meh!

Meanwhile Amazon's black Friday deal is €239: https://www.amazon.es/-/pt/gp/product/B08HQCG79H

Really wish my parents hadn't gifted my Marshall Amp and Fender Strat to my cousins in Carca when I left for University; both of which they don't ever touch and just collect dust ... oh well. This practice Amp is muuuuuuuuch better than my old Marshall ... not in terms of sound quality, but in terms of functionality and app integration. 🤯

`#TreatYoSelf`

this is definitely extravagant. but my philosophy is this: if I value my "leisure time" at $20/h an I spend 30min/week with this amp it has paid for itself in a couple of months... after that I can pass it down to my son who loves playing with guitars, or sell it on for a profit!

nelsonic commented 1 year ago

The Best Practice Amp Just Got Better! https://youtu.be/B_vt7j_x8e4

So amped [pun intended] to have this EPIC toy to play with my Boy! 🎸 👶 ❤️

It's definitely not the "best" sounding Amp, but the App integration is siiiiiiick! 📱 Tesla isn't the best car, far from it! but the Software makes all other cars look obsolete.

Even if we use it a few times and [somehow] don't love it, we can sell it on, we'll make a PROFIT: https://www.olx.pt/d/ads/q-positive-grid-spark/

Anyone reading this thinking to themself: "why aren't you focussing on the code?" 🤷‍♂️ ⏳ Please don't worry, I already spend plenty of time writing code. 🧑‍💻 This is just for when I'm being a "Dad" and playing Guitar with my Boy who adores music! 🎵 I'm not about to spend hours each day lost in a nostalgic trance trying to recapture my youth ... 😜 But I know that I was a kid obsessed with music I would really want one of these! 😍 Watch this: https://youtu.be/eWQZJ7k49ok?t=1280 [20 seconds] "a legitimate learning tool" 💭 Built-in metronome, chord transcriber, backing tracks, etc.