NE V’ S GAS OF THE MONTH

Is it an amp? Is it an app?

What? Positive Grid Spark amp

Where seen? positivegrid.com

Price? $299 (including soft bag)

Description? Positive Grid’s range of software, hardware and mobile apps will be known to those who regularly record, whether at home or in the studio.This new dedicated desktop guitar amp offers to revolutionise how we practise, learn songs, compose and record. It’s a proper amp (with knobs) but uses a phone app that lets you connect to Spotify and the like, plus download a plethora of songs to which it can teach you the chords. It even includes a loop and slow-down facility. It will also let you play a guitar part and intelligently learn your harmony and rhythm, then create a bass and drum groove to play along with you. Using Positive Grid’s BIAS modelling software, the Spark brims with authentic-sounding valve tones and effects.You can even use it as a computer interface, to connect to DAWs such as GarageBand, and so on.We couldn’t have imagined this 10 years ago, but it could well be the shape of things to come.