Sorry, but I returned the second Spark Live. I don't think PG have put enough thought in to how they would persuade people like us to spend the money to buy another Live; for example they don't pair by Bluetooth to make a stereo pair of speakers, and even my tiny Sonos speakers do that. So you end up paying over the odds for a second unit, with all the onboard DSP and effects, which you're never going to use, which just doesn't make sense to me. But as a Les Paul Ultra III owner as well (I bought it second hand as a 'sofa' guitar and it's become my main gig guitar too!) you could definitely do what you're talking about

I guess Stanmore would be loud enough to use as monitoring speaker even with an analog drum nearby?

Love my Acton 3 as a practice "amp"

@@deekod1967have you ever used it with drummer? acton3 sounds quite loud enough too

@@abcde3397 I can't comment on that I'm afraid because I've never tried it, but the Stanmores (especially if you have 2 of them!) is loud enough to annoy the neighbours I'd say!

@@littlespaceman I see. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Stanmore!

As opposed to where?

@@littlespaceman outer space 🪐

Ok, I will, but that is only in mono of course, it doesn't allow me to run in stereo. I could also try tweaking the speaker tuning on the THR app I suppose

@littlespaceman try the flat mode with everything at noon and open speaker tuning then EQ as per requirement. It sounds exceptionally good.

@@tzmathew Will do 👍🏻

Yes, just plug the Tonex in to the MP3 input

@littlespaceman thanks

Here you go; Power cable is this www.amazon.co.uk/Xiatiaosann-Charging-Outdoor-Converter-Adapters/dp/B0CQX3MD7K?pd_rd_w=NrYSs&content-id=amzn1.sym.c0a3f14a-3638-4d18-8379-59385333c86b&pf_rd_p=c0a3f14a-3638-4d18-8379-59385333c86b&pf_rd_r=FW7HXQH9J4EWM0YTTA3T&pd_rd_wg=terwz&pd_rd_r=41a85cfd-e98a-42c2-a0e2-eb4defa31b3c&pd_rd_i=B0CQX3MD7K&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_pr_pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_d_sccl_1_3_t They come in either 9v or 12v. The 12v is the one for the Quad Cortex, AND ALSO a lot of other modellers, such as the Headrush Core... And the polarity reverser is this; www.switchelectronics.co.uk/products/2-1mm-x-5-5mm-dc-polarity-changer-centre-positive-socket-to-centre-negative-plug These are also available on Amazon, and there are cable types as well but I prefer these as they are more compact. You can then put a piece of heat-shrink over the join to fasten them in place, which is what I've done and you can see that in the video at 1:07

I have both, and I have the same dilemma as you; check out my other video here, for comparison kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4bWlYqlgbaJmKs Overall I prefer the sound of the monitors. BUT... 1) I can get closer to that sound with the Headrush using the Global EQ on the Quad Cortex. Still not quite as good though 2) The Headrush are battery powered and more rugged, which means that in reality I am probably going to use them a lot more... 3) The Headrush can also be run as a stereo pair, or you can use a single Headrush in stereo using the Aux In. So that's more flexible, you can't use a single monitor... Hope that helps!

None at all 👍🏻 And any weird sounding noises are just me hitting the occasional bum note! 😝

@@littlespaceman That's great news. I have been looking for a speaker for months that I can use both as a bluetooth speaker and with the tonex one.

🙏🏻☺

Well, that's a good question; in the Andertons launch video of these they specifically comment on how the FRFR Go isn't as loud as they thought they might be. In my experience I think they're plenty loud enough though; certainly they can fill a large room (I'm playing them in my dining room which is about 6m wide and about 12m long) and I'm also conscious not to have them too loud so they annoy the neighbours - so perfect for your use case?! One thing I've noticed; I'm not sure if the bass and treble controls on the FRFR Go are ‘flat’ or neutral when in the 12 o’clock position, and therefore you are adding or cutting bass or treble by turning the control knob to the left or right of the 12 o’clock? (this is how the controls are implemented on the Fender FR cabs, for example; however they are marked differently, with ‘Zero’ at the 12 o’clock position, and then -6 to the left and +6 to the right (look at the FR10 not the Fender website and you'll see what I mean) Or is the flat/neutral position when they are dialled all the way down to zero (ie all the way to the left)? One thing I notice is that with the Bass and Treble at zero the FRFR Go is only so loud, but the volume noticeably increases when the controls are turned up to 12 o’clock (or more)

Yes, that's right. Most single FR speakers are going to output mono, that's not a limitation of the Headrush. You'll need to speakers to run stereo, just like any home hifi

Just thinking, you can also run a single FR Go in stereo by plugging in to the Aux jack, from either the headphone out of the Fractal or using a twin 1/4" or XLR to mini stereo...

I actually haven't tried it with just a computer but have plugged about everything else in to it and it sounds great, so I'm sure it will sound good with a computer too

@littlespaceman Thank bro

I've read a bit about latency when using home-speakers with modellers before, and I've never really understood what people were talking about. Now that you mention the DSP being the reason, I guess that makes sense. I've tried using modellers with all sorts of different speakers (just for the fun of it, you know!) and honestly I can't say I've noticed any latency with the Marshall at all.

Great to know, because I loved the sound of the Marshall speaker. Being stereo is also a bonus for adding stereo dimension from the modeler. Thought a JBL partybox would be good for a portable, loudish stereo setup, but the latency was unusable, almost a 1/4 second through the aux input.

Interesting, how do you find the GX10? I'm intrigued by it (but don't really need yet another modeller!) That's a good point about comparing the Bass/Treble 12 o'clock on the Go to the phones out on the GX-10. One thing I can do is post on the Headrush forum to ask if any Headrush staff can give us an official answer, I'll let you know how I get on...

@@littlespaceman I sold my GT1000Core to get it and am not looking back..:) I like it a lot!

@@BuleriaChk Also interesting - is there anything in particular that makes it stand out? Have to say I really don't like the way Boss make you pay extra for Bluetooth!

@@littlespaceman I think the overdrives (and the separation of od/dist/fuzz into separate categories - i.e. the UI) are excellent; as good as the OD-200 IMO. I haven't had time to check out the rest of it, but that alone is good enogh for me.

I totally agree re the marketing; but if you're saying that a PA system is basically FRFR (and I agree with you) then telling people to avoid FRFR like the plague is also telling them to avoid PA systems; rather than fall foul of an anti-FR bias, because we object to the marketing, I try to look at it this way; it's not so much that a PA is a FR cab, but more (from a guitarist perspective) that a FR cab is also a PA. So I also put vocals etc through a mixer and use my FR cabs (Fender FR-10's) as my PA, if there is no other PA available. Some thoughts for you; 1) Regarding the Headrush FR 8s and 12s, I've heard similarly poor reports about the sound, in particular the low end. 2) I've owned a pair of Line 6 Powercab Plus 112s - great, and very clever (they have speaker emulation and can load IRs) BUT... 3)...I sold them the second I tried the Fender FR-10, which IMHO sounds the best of all of them. And it LOOKS like a real amp, which in my opinion goes a long way to creating that 'amp in the room' feeling which people talk about. BUT... 4) ...I've also read multiple reviews praising the Fender (and most prefer the 10 over the 12, and even from a form factor perspective I agree, I love the size and how light it is) however lots of reviews say they aren't actually a Flat Response cab at all. I don't know how do they work that out, because every PA system sounds different too, so is there really such a thing as a completely neutral reference response in a speaker? 5) For what it's worth I hear good things about the Laney FR, I hear really good things about the Red Sound FR cabs (although I've never seen one in the UK let alone heard one) AND... 6) ...I've also tried both the Line 6 Catalyst and the Boss Katana (or is that Katalyst and Catana?!) to see what the Power Amp in sounds like on those. Both of those brands use the Power Amp in as a major selling point of these amps, and I can tell you this - if you really want to hear what 'crap' sounds like, that's them right there!

agreed with headfrush FRFR having too much low end, i have the FRFR 12, when dialed in a sound that to me is usable on the headrush FRFR12, then play live with my modeler, resulting sound is way too much high end and lacking low end. Just started using the FRFR 12 as a PA speaker/monitor for bass drum and bass guitar, sounds killer and loud.

I agree, I think the Marshall sounds best too, and although it's not designed for guitar use, I prefer it (and let's be honest, the look of it, and the Marshall logo go a LONG way to making it sound better! 😝) It also sounds great when streaming music. The only thing I'd say is it's not as loud as the Headrush, but to be fair I have 2 Headrush FRFR Go's and only one Marshall. I'm sure with another Marshall it would sound amazing and definitely loud enough for 'coffee shop' style gigs

No, not crazy. You are allowed your own opinion on what tone you like - If Marshall sounds good to you, then that's the one 🙂

I'm not sure I understand your question I'm afraid; but yes, you could plug anything that has a stereo out in to the Headrush Aux Input, and of course anything with a mono output in the the 1/4" input...

Interesting… In order I like the Marshall best, then the HS3’s, then the Headrush and lastly the THR - when using the THR as a speaker that is, as an amp I think it sounds great. Bear in mind though that firstly all of these units are designed for different uses, so it’s not a ‘fair’ comparison perhaps as it’s not like I’m comparing 4 different pairs of studio monitors. That said, to my mind, if the FR Go is, you know, an FR speaker, then shouldn’t it sound the most like a pair of monitors? 🤔 The other thing of course is that this video is shot using the iPhone mic, so it’s not exactly the most hi-fidelity recording ever 😏

@@littlespaceman yes quite agree it should sound most like the monitors as they're also supposed to be flat....beyond this I'd just want them to sound at least similar to how the amp sim sounds when played through a PA or full size FRFR I suppose and feel amp like?

@@ThePlanarchist Well, I've played with it again this evening, on the sofa, using a Hotone Ampero Mini (with my own IR's) and actually found myself losing track of time, I was enjoying myself so much. And you can't really ask for more than that can you? So I'd say for the size/portability and price, does it sound and feel amp like? I'd say yes...👍🏻

@@littlespaceman yay, as soon as you get to playing away for fun point you know it's a winner. Thanks and keep on enjoying!

I agree, I’m undecided how much I like them - overall I’d say they’re ‘ok’ I think. They sound could be better but could be worse. And the looks (which is an important part of the equation)? Well, I think they’re pretty ugly tbh, as unfortunately all of the Headrush gear is (who designs their stuff?? Some of it looks awful!) I’d much prefer them to have the input on the back, and also why is the top panel at the front? They’ve clearly gone for a guitar amp sort of look, but what top-mounted guitar amp has the controls at the front? And the handle is hideous too, completely out of proportion to the rest of the amp. Buuuut… they’re pretty cheap so I can probably live with all of the above…

Agree about the battery though, that is a big selling point

Just been playing with the FRFR Go again, and I’m intrigued by the comments about volume; I’ve never felt they’re not loud enough, but I did notice that if you have the Bass and Treble pots all the way down, and rely on your modeller to do all the EQ then it does sound quiet: try turning both Bass and Treble to 12 o’clock or more and there’s a noticeable increase in volume

I’m undecided but as is the case with the Positive Grid Spark Live, I think if they really wanted to make these speakers stand out, they could have added TWS (True Wireless Stereo) so you could link a pair by Bluetooth for streaming music… even some basic/budget PA speakers have this ability

Hi, sorry, I've gone totally over to the dark (ie digital!) side recently, and have been messing around with my Quad Cortex, so haven't played the Laney much. I don't have any old footage to compare the speakers, I'm afraid - if I find the time I'll give that a go. The only thing with recording a valve amp of course is if it's recorded via a mic, then the mic will colour things a bit I guess, and if I recorded via the amp line-out then you're not getting the benefit of hearing what the Creamback sounds like...🙄 Overall I'd say that 1) I haven't really broken the Creamback in yet, so it's hard to know how it will sound when it is, 2) It's nice and light though! and 3) it still sounds a little bit 'boxy', but that's to be expected for an amp this size (it's a limitation of the size of the cabinet I guess)... the amp definitely benefits from some outboard eq, even if it's just from an external drive pedal in the front of the amp... You'll enjoy playing it, though, it's a lot of fun!

How will you power your multi at the park 😊

@@reynirkarl With a Jackery Explorer 1500 of course.

Do you mean ‘how will you power your multi effects unit at the park’? The answer is using a powerbank - there are lots of threads out there on using powerbanks to power modellers. I use a 25,000mah one to run my Quad Cortex (the biggest advantage is that it removes all unwanted noise due to the earthing issues with the crappy power supply and the crappy electrics in my home) and I can get about 5 1/2 hours out of it which is plenty long enough for a gig

Something like this… amzn.eu/d/jgybJlc And then you need a USB C to 9v or 12v power cable, like this… amzn.eu/d/iqGpkE0 And then lastly you may need a polarity reverser if your modeller takes a centre-negative power supply. There are quite a few on the market but the nearest I’ve found are ones like this… www.switchelectronics.co.uk/products/2-1mm-x-5-5mm-dc-polarity-changer-centre-positive-socket-to-centre-negative-plug

Ok, unfortunately I don't think the Headrush Prime would work for me, however I have gotten myself a M vave Tank g which has a lithium battery. ​@@littlespaceman So to go out and play from time to time with some friends outside, this combination of Headrush frfr go and the little Tank g would be perfect, which sounds good for $60.

Heh heh. Like what they're doing in CERN in Switzerland?? 😳

Yes, the Waza craft speaker is really nice. Although I would say don't underestimate the stock speaker, which, for a stock speaker actually sounds pretty good I'd say (especially for clean tones)

@@littlespaceman thank you!

@@harakanan6326 Hi there. Well, let’s put it this way, and you can draw your own conclusions; 1) I returned the second Spark Live. Although I like the sound of the QC through the Spark, it’s an expensive way of getting a stereo pair of PA/FR speakers, in that you end up with two identical Lives that have all the processing/modelling functionality, but you’re not going to use that, so you’re paying over the odds. Yes you can get more expensive PA/FR speakers, so from that point of view it’s not the most expensive way to do it, and yes I really like the battery power on the Live. The golden solution is if Positive Grid release a ‘speaker’ version only of the Live; ie a version without all the modelling and PA inputs, that is designed to be used just as an additional speaker, can be battery powered as well, and aesthetically matches the Live. Or in other words a Live version of the Spark Cab. BUT, and this is a big but IMHO; PG have really let Live owners down by releasing the Spark Edge only a few months after the Live was released. Although the Edge is smaller and less powerful (and uglier, IMHO!) so it might not work for some people, it’s also cheaper and has a Looper, so it will definitely appeal to a wide audience. The Edge has also been marketed by PG themselves as having the ability to ‘stereo chain’, which as this video proves, the Live cannot do. I would give you a word of caution here though; in my experience and opinion, PG announce things, or market things ‘dishonestly’. A good example would be Inputs 3 and 4 on the back of the Live. These are clearly marked ‘STEREO’ in writing on the amp itself, and the manual also says that they can be used to plug a stereo input in to the Live. What they don’t tell you however is that any stereo input to inputs 3 and 4 ARE SUMMED TO MONO! I have this confirmed in writing multiple times by PG, and I double and triple checked this with them as I was amazed when they admitted this to me, because it is clearly not what we are led to believe. So the point I make with the stereo chaining ability of the Edge is that it may not actually be possible in reality, and I say that partly because I can no longer find any reference to this on the PG website, even though it did say this when the Edge was first launched. So overall, if you don’t mind spending the money, then yes, two Spark Lives sounds good as a stereo pair of speakers. They also have a nice form function and are pretty powerful for their size and weight’ They also do look a bit like an actual ‘amp in the room’ if you’re using them with a guitar. But for me, unless I can find a cheap second hand one, I’m not prepared to spend the money on a second one, just to use as a speaker, knowing that the only way I could also use it with the other Live I own is in series, as a mono extension of the master Live amp. So to summarise I think PG have missed a trick here, by not adding some basic functionality that would really make the Live stand out, such as being able to link a pair even by Bluetooth to create a stereo pair of BT speakers (which even some cheap PA speakers have - they call it ‘TWS’ or True Wireless Stereo; it’s found on more expensive PA speakers like the Bose S1 but even on low end speakers like the Subzero MP8. But not only have PG missed a trick, they also have quite seriously knocked my confidence their support for even recently released products. One thing I see a lot of older people say on KZbin, when various new gear is released by all the big brands, is that ‘we are so lucky to live in age with all this technology and choice at such incredible prices’. While I agree with this to a degree, I feel there is a counterpoint; we also seem to live in an age where the big brands are just churning out new gear for the sake of profit and market share, without really intending to support those products and their customers. Look at Boss for example, I’ve lost count of the new gear they’ve launched this year, and most of it doesn’t really offer that much more than the previous iteration (the Gen 3 Katana would be a good example)

It's a perfectly normal USB C cable. This video isn't about the Boss GX-10. Why would you think that what we discuss in this video with the Ampero Mini means the same thing will work with a unit from a different manufacturer? I know nothing about the Boss, and so I don't know if it has MIDI capability I'm afraid

There isn’t a ‘Thru’ port on the QC as such; you can only set the ‘Out’ port to either Out or Thru. But yes, you need to plug the larger end of the Widi Master in to the Out port (and set it to ‘Out’ in the settings menu on the WC)

Look up the MIDI table in the user manual...

I'll just wait for a considerate person's response

@@saddamali666 I think if you look at all the other helpful comments I've posted in reply you would find it hard to argue that I'm inconsiderate; there is a LONG list of midi functionality in the Spark Live User Manual, too much for me to list here. It's interesting however that you think it's acceptable for me to type all that out just for you, but me suggesting that you actually take the time to look up the easily available user manual is inconsiderate. Tell you what, just to prove that I am being helpful, I'll even provide you with a link to the manual, so you don't have to type that in to a search engine yourself; help.positivegrid.com/hc/en-us/articles/22702917003661-Spark-LIVE-User-Manual You're most welcome.

Make sure you have the Groups set up correctly, and if you're still stuck contact the CEO of CME at www.cme-pro.com

Thank you! Yes, I think it looks much more 'grown up' like this. I also wanted to spray paint the Boss logo, but don't mind that quite as much. So where did the black screws come from? Well you'll be pleased to know that's the easy part; they came from the back of the amp!! If you watch again, at 47 seconds, you can see there are chrome screws in the back of the chassis when I show you the back of the amp. All I did was swap the screws round - the ones originally in the back of the chassis are now in the front, and vice versa. 😀👍🏻

Hi there, and thank you for the feedback! ☺ Sadly I don't think you can MIDI tempo synch,. mainly because there are no MIDI settings at all within the Ampero Mini; this is purely a stroke of luck I think that it takes MIDI at all. I'm happy to proven wrong though if anyone knows?

@@littlespaceman thanks very much for the reply/feedback. yeah... I was hoping it might, at least send MIDI Synch via USB-MIDI, by default... but I am not getting my hopes up.. tbh. Do you reckon they might implement it via firmware ? I wouldn't even mind paying for such an update, as I really like the form factor. This would really sit perfectly in my pedalboard. thanks again

@@duarteestelita7257 Honestly, I really don't think they will - remember that the MIDI capabilities of the Mini aren't advertised ANYWHERE! Or mentioned in the User Manual etc. It's almost like it was easier to leave the MIDI functions in when they used some of the chipset (or whatever) from the larger Ampero, but it's not one of the selling points of the Mini...

@@littlespaceman yeah, I agree. Nevertheless..and for all it's worth, I emailed them, just after your previous comment. I wonder if they'll reply. I'd gladly buy one, or even two units, if I could sync through MIDI-USB. The form factor & design are brilliant. And the sound quality is pretty solid, considering the price. I'll let you know if they give me any interesting feedback. Thanks again ;)

@@duarteestelita7257 Let me know if you get a reply - sadly in my experience, Hotone are not very good at getting back to you 😞

There's no such thing as a stupid question! But the best answer to this is to look at the MIDI implementation table in the Ampero User Manual; NOT the Ampero Mini User Manual, as that won't have a MIDI table (as I have said repeatedly in the video and in these comments the Mini is NOT advertised as having MIDI capability). You can assign whatever MIDI command is listed in the table in the user manual, so if the table contains a MIDI command to change preset (I'm pretty sure it does) then, yes, you can do that with an external MIDI controller 👍🏻

Yep, I'm afraid you're right, the signal is summed to mono. As per my comment below, I contacted PG about this and they told me the inputs sum to mono, and I've verified this by streaming music via Bluetooth to the Live, then connecting my headphones to the Live. Music streaming is very clearly stereo. I then connected my iPhone to the Live using a stereo breakout cable (3.5mm stereo to twin 1/4 jack cable) going in to Input 3/4 and it is clearly in Mono. Which is very disappointing, and a real oversight on the part of PG here. I have expressed my surprise and disappointment to PG customer support about this; my best suggestion would be that you (and as many others as possible) contact them to say the same, and maybe it's something that can be fixed by a firmware update. But in the meantime it's simply misleading to label the rear of the amp 'Stereo', which is pretty inexcusable really

​@@littlespacemanyessir Major MAJOR Problem Definitely a huge game changer and mine will be going back I work where we just got 2 of these and I bought the first one I've been labeled by my coworkers as the "spark guy" and have sold a ton of the other spark amps Tons ot Customers come by my bench all day with tons of questions as I'm a guitar tech right in the middle of a big box store where I have a spark go piped into an aux in of a stereo 4/12 cab and they hear that it's a done deal I am truly pissed and will now be on a new crusade regarding this misleading and game changing Positive Grid SPARK LIVE GOOF another major screw up they did is with the Mini The aux in on the mini suffers a very serious latency flaw Which is unfixable & has been discussed a good bit on the web I've got to say it again THIS SPARK LIVE NO STEREO INPUT IS A MAJOR SCREW UP!!!! Guess I've got some mad money coming lol when I return this and I am going to list it as broken As far I'm concerned it is broken and it looks to me like all of the Spark Lives are broken LMAO thank you for your excellent channel,video and response I'm subscribed and spiking the like

I don't know, but if the HX Effects send the correct MIDI messages then I don't see why not

I don't think so, sorry; there are no menu options for MIDI on the Ampero Mini

@@littlespaceman That would seal the deal, mosdef, .. At least for me.. !

☺☺

I do use wireless actually (Boss WL20) so I'll take a look, thank you!