Portable power with vintage tone, modern features or both – you’re spoilt for choice
POSITIVE GRID SPARK MINI
Positive Grid’s Spark Mini isn’t just about bringing digital modelling to the masses, although it does that perfectly well. For guitarists who mostly play at home, either for internet broadcasting or just for fun, big loud amplifiers aren’t necessary and can often be a disadvantage, as most big amps – especially valve ones – are designed to sound good at the kind of volume levels that would cause friction with even the best of neighbours. The Spark Mini’s clever speaker design does a good job of creating stadium tone at bedroom-friendly volume. Combined with the Smart Jam app and ToneCloud online preset library, it’s really great fun to use, which is what it’s surely all about.
Price: £219 Website: www.positivegrid.com
FENDER PRO JUNIOR IV SE 1X10 COMBO
Fender’s excellent Pro Junior IV SE is a great little amp that’s been upgraded and tweaked to make it more reliable and usable than its predecessors, with much-improved circuit boards and modified volume and tone controls for wider tonal range. A pair of EL84 output valves driving a single 10-inch loudspeaker make the Pro Junior ideal for small gigs, home use, recording and rehearsals – in fact, just about anything. Aimed at everyone from beginners looking for their first ‘real’ guitar amp to touring professionals, the Pro Junior also sounds great with pedals, responding really well to overdrives. Best of all, though, you can pick one up for around £400 or less – it’s amazing value for money.
Price: £399 Website: www.fender.com
PRS HDRX 20 HEAD
Paul Reed Smith’s amplifiers have gone from strength to strength, with heads and combos covering the more affordable end of the market up to the sort of price tags more often associated with PRS. The company’s new HDRX 20 head is a smaller version of the mighty HDRX heads, which are intended to exactly reproduce the sound of one of Jimi Hendrix’s
