I had the same issue with my Spark Mini. However I figured out how to eliminate the annoying in and out hissing sound by cranking the guitar volume knob on the Spark Mini all the way up for maximum speaker volume, and lower the volume control on my guitar to a point where the hissing noise dissappears. By doing that you can reach reasonable high volume while having no hissing sound. At that point you can leave the guitar volume control and use other volume controls ( on the amp itself or in the app) to refine the output volume. Just found it last night. I’ve tried on many different amp and pedal settings and it works, both with clean tone and high gain tone. I guess that the Spark Amp has some kind of signal gate or noise gate that actives automatically when the input signal is beyond a limit. So as long as the input signal is controlled under that limit, that gate is not activate automatically. I’ve also research around and found some advice to activate the noise gate pedal but lower all knobs to .1 but I don’t see it work. For me now the noise gate pedal is acting like the way it should be. And if I find the output volume is too low I can put on some compressor or booster pedals. Hope it might help you and others on this problem.
Got exactly the same issue. Very annoying and unacceptable. The strange thing: it comes up AFTER the signal is heard. So it is NOT a gate. Incredibly strange. Positive grid not fixing this is totally unacceptable. Not buying any Positive grid anytime soon. Whats more: try it with a bass, worse even, unusable.
I agree, it’s very frustrating. I turn the amp away from me when I play through it… I kind of like hearing the room more anyhow. Doesn’t make it ok, but it helps.
Just got the MINI and the GO to compare them. MINI has the „gated noise“ after louder notes, the GO does not! Problem is: the GO‘s headphone out is just too weak. It won‘t drive my DT770 (high ohm version) and not even my DT770 80 Ohm version sufficiently. Just works with very light earplugs… and of course my acoustic amp. What a shame. GO sounds to squeaky in a room, MINI sounds great in comparison and has a much stronger headphone amp…. and the f*cking NOISE. Cannot decide which to keep (if any at all). 😑
Thanks for the video, man! Got my Mini yesterday for my bass. I'm not used to good equipment, PG Spark is practically my first decent piece of amp gear. And I have the same issue. And I'm glad that your video confimed that it is not my fault my amp sounds like it. I literally thought that I overloaded it and somehow broke the speaker itself, which is not an issue as I figured out. Well, let's hope they fix it, because there is only hope.
Glad the confirmation helped! Really sucks that they are not fixing this issue. The email I got back from them basically said deal with it. Total bummer. I’m gonna keep using it because it otherwise sounds great and it is so convenient for teaching lessons door-to-door, but certainly not ideal!
Yep. I have one, and it exhibits the exact same issue. All noise gates turned off. It's hard to hear at low volumes, or with distortion, but I play mostly clean and it IS super annoying. I also got one of the first Mustang Micro headphone amps, and it had the same issue, running the original factory firmware. Fender fixed the problem with their first firmware update a few months later. I'm hoping that Positive Grid eventually does the same, but I'm not holding my breath, as they are notorious for terrible customer service.
Thanks for your input. I actually found a forum post about this and it seems like it’s likely all the minis. I also contacted customer service and got a message back, basically saying they set out to cram s as much as they could into a tiny unit, and feel they were successful, but it has a higher noise floor than some would like… that i should just use the gate. Really disappointing, and you’re right about distortion and low volumes. I play primarily Clean too.
You can try reducing the treble level in the amp sim or EQ pedal in the app to decrease the noise. In such a small-sized amp, cutting off the high frequencies typically doesn't have much impact.
I have exactly the same issue with my spark mini. It worked great before. Then I did not play it for a few weeks. Today I wanted to play again and suddenly there is this white noise sound on loud notes.
Mine has the issue as well. Will hope that it gets fixed in a software update. That really seems to be the problem. For now just adjusting the volume in the amp, the app and the guitar seems to be the best fix. I did play at home and didn't notice cause it's most evident at high gain settings. I wonder if the od or distortion came from a pedal and not the guitar would it do the same ?
Best fix for now if you play clean is just lower the volume on the guitar and play softer. :p not ideal. Really big flaw, i also have the boss katana mini. I'm concluding that is just the best mini amp, does one thing, does it well
Thank you for let us know. Is this problem still present on the spark mini or did they fix it? I was almost buying one before I saw your video. Have you tried the nux mighty air? It may be a better amp for cleans.
Mine did it yesterday 5/17/2024. And this is the 3rd Mini from them. 1st one squealed loudly and couldn't stop it. 2nd one battery died after 2 weeks. This is my 3rd and I noticed that hissing yesterday. Too late to get a refund and everything they have sent me has a problem. When I hook up to this 3rd one via Bluetooth it tells me to update the software. I hook it up to my Windows laptop and go through the process and it says it's got the latest updates. So... Positive Grid. No quality control.
I got one yesterday and exact same issue! Very odd that's it's not a constant hum and the way it cuts out after a couple seconds. Did you find any fix for it in the end?
Unfortunately no… positive grid support basically said it’s not perfect, but they did their best to pack the mini full of features and they think they did a good enough job. I got some free software as a consolation prize though… asked for a discount on the Spark Go and was denied.
Mine too, though if you listen closely to many modeling amps I think you’d hear various degrees and types of overhead noise from the dsp especially as you say in the high frequencies with the top end turned up. Maybe being a little harsh on the mini here. For clean tunes maybe best to look for something without all the electronic interventions that’s typical of these sorts of amps, and that provides the flexibility and versatility the pg people may be referring to.
Oh gosh ! That kitty hissing sucks...I do not own a Spark Mini but was thinking of getting one...After watching this I think I would be more conscious of the issue - LOL ! I did some searching and did find others with this issue on forums but no solution...I read that this gate hiss also occurs via headphones ? Appreciate this honest review....I am on the fence....
I’ve heard plenty of people talking about a constant noise coming from their spark that has to do with the power supply, but almost none of it seemed to be the mini, and from what I could find it wasn’t this particular noise issue… where did you find others having the issue I’m having if you don’t mind me asking? Thanks!
I‘m just gonna add: even if this issue gets resolved and you like their gear, I can only warn of them-I have a big Spark, and ordered a Mini for my little sis, then had to involve customer support… and it was among the worst support experiences I‘ve ever had. The issue also did not get resolved, and I was out of 200+€ in the end. Never again. If everything works it’s fine, but once you need anything handled-just forget it. Simply a waste of time. :(
Signs of a badly designed cheap amp. The Helix floor and Pod Go does not make this noise with any speakers connected despite its more powerful processing.
![The Spark CAB Has A Major Flaw-NOISE [Here’s How I Fixed It]](/img/1.gif)
I had the same issue with my Spark Mini. However I figured out how to eliminate the annoying in and out hissing sound by cranking the guitar volume knob on the Spark Mini all the way up for maximum speaker volume, and lower the volume control on my guitar to a point where the hissing noise dissappears.
By doing that you can reach reasonable high volume while having no hissing sound. At that point you can leave the guitar volume control and use other volume controls ( on the amp itself or in the app) to refine the output volume.
Just found it last night. I’ve tried on many different amp and pedal settings and it works, both with clean tone and high gain tone.
I guess that the Spark Amp has some kind of signal gate or noise gate that actives automatically when the input signal is beyond a limit. So as long as the input signal is controlled under that limit, that gate is not activate automatically.
I’ve also research around and found some advice to activate the noise gate pedal but lower all knobs to .1 but I don’t see it work.
For me now the noise gate pedal is acting like the way it should be. And if I find the output volume is too low I can put on some compressor or booster pedals.
Hope it might help you and others on this problem.
Thanks for making this video - picked one up yesterday and noticed the same issue. Guess it's going back tomorrow.
Got exactly the same issue. Very annoying and unacceptable. The strange thing: it comes up AFTER the signal is heard. So it is NOT a gate. Incredibly strange. Positive grid not fixing this is totally unacceptable. Not buying any Positive grid anytime soon. Whats more: try it with a bass, worse even, unusable.
I agree, it’s very frustrating. I turn the amp away from me when I play through it… I kind of like hearing the room more anyhow. Doesn’t make it ok, but it helps.
This is still an issue and seems to be ignored by Positive Grid. It's really bad with a Bass Guitar.
Just got the MINI and the GO to compare them. MINI has the „gated noise“ after louder notes, the GO does not!
Problem is: the GO‘s headphone out is just too weak. It won‘t drive my DT770 (high ohm version) and not even my DT770 80 Ohm version sufficiently. Just works with very light earplugs… and of course my acoustic amp. What a shame.
GO sounds to squeaky in a room, MINI sounds great in comparison and has a much stronger headphone amp…. and the f*cking NOISE.
Cannot decide which to keep (if any at all). 😑
Which one did you keep? Have considered buying a nux mighty air?
Thanks for the video, man! Got my Mini yesterday for my bass. I'm not used to good equipment, PG Spark is practically my first decent piece of amp gear. And I have the same issue. And I'm glad that your video confimed that it is not my fault my amp sounds like it. I literally thought that I overloaded it and somehow broke the speaker itself, which is not an issue as I figured out.
Well, let's hope they fix it, because there is only hope.
Glad the confirmation helped! Really sucks that they are not fixing this issue. The email I got back from them basically said deal with it. Total bummer. I’m gonna keep using it because it otherwise sounds great and it is so convenient for teaching lessons door-to-door, but certainly not ideal!
Got mine yesterday and same issue. Don’t have this problem with the Spark Go. Sending the mini back. That sounds drives me nuts
Yep. I have one, and it exhibits the exact same issue. All noise gates turned off. It's hard to hear at low volumes, or with distortion, but I play mostly clean and it IS super annoying. I also got one of the first Mustang Micro headphone amps, and it had the same issue, running the original factory firmware. Fender fixed the problem with their first firmware update a few months later. I'm hoping that Positive Grid eventually does the same, but I'm not holding my breath, as they are notorious for terrible customer service.
Thanks for your input. I actually found a forum post about this and it seems like it’s likely all the minis. I also contacted customer service and got a message back, basically saying they set out to cram s as much as they could into a tiny unit, and feel they were successful, but it has a higher noise floor than some would like… that i should just use the gate. Really disappointing, and you’re right about distortion and low volumes. I play primarily Clean too.
Same issue, I am returning it. By the way, nice guitar! What is it?
You can try reducing the treble level in the amp sim or EQ pedal in the app to decrease the noise. In such a small-sized amp, cutting off the high frequencies typically doesn't have much impact.
I have exactly the same issue with my spark mini. It worked great before. Then I did not play it for a few weeks. Today I wanted to play again and suddenly there is this white noise sound on loud notes.
Mine too. What a pain. Has anyone tried to get a replacement?
i have the same issue, any solutions ? is it something we need to contact the company ?
I have added some tweaks had to label some spark mini
I have exactly the same issue with mine. Wish I saw this video earlier :( Got it off Reverb.
Mine has the issue as well. Will hope that it gets fixed in a software update. That really seems to be the problem. For now just adjusting the volume in the amp, the app and the guitar seems to be the best fix. I did play at home and didn't notice cause it's most evident at high gain settings. I wonder if the od or distortion came from a pedal and not the guitar would it do the same ?
Best fix for now if you play clean is just lower the volume on the guitar and play softer. :p not ideal. Really big flaw, i also have the boss katana mini. I'm concluding that is just the best mini amp, does one thing, does it well
Thank you for let us know. Is this problem still present on the spark mini or did they fix it? I was almost buying one before I saw your video. Have you tried the nux mighty air? It may be a better amp for cleans.
Still an issue - Positive Grid knows about it and told me they have no plans to fix it.
Mine did it yesterday 5/17/2024. And this is the 3rd Mini from them. 1st one squealed loudly and couldn't stop it. 2nd one battery died after 2 weeks. This is my 3rd and I noticed that hissing yesterday. Too late to get a refund and everything they have sent me has a problem. When I hook up to this 3rd one via Bluetooth it tells me to update the software. I hook it up to my Windows laptop and go through the process and it says it's got the latest updates. So... Positive Grid. No quality control.
Mine was making that sound yesterday 5/17/2024.
I got one yesterday and exact same issue! Very odd that's it's not a constant hum and the way it cuts out after a couple seconds. Did you find any fix for it in the end?
Unfortunately no… positive grid support basically said it’s not perfect, but they did their best to pack the mini full of features and they think they did a good enough job. I got some free software as a consolation prize though… asked for a discount on the Spark Go and was denied.
@@haskitt ah fair enough. Cheers for the reply, will return mine and get something else
Has anybody gotten an answer from Positive Grid om this? It is a really irritating problem on an amp that is quite good in all other areas.
Mine too, though if you listen closely to many modeling amps I think you’d hear various degrees and types of overhead noise from the dsp especially as you say in the high frequencies with the top end turned up. Maybe being a little harsh on the mini here. For clean tunes maybe best to look for something without all the electronic interventions that’s typical of these sorts of amps, and that provides the flexibility and versatility the pg people may be referring to.
Oh gosh ! That kitty hissing sucks...I do not own a Spark Mini but was thinking of getting one...After watching this I think I would be more conscious of the issue - LOL ! I did some searching and did find others with this issue on forums but no solution...I read that this gate hiss also occurs via headphones ? Appreciate this honest review....I am on the fence....
I’ve heard plenty of people talking about a constant noise coming from their spark that has to do with the power supply, but almost none of it seemed to be the mini, and from what I could find it wasn’t this particular noise issue… where did you find others having the issue I’m having if you don’t mind me asking? Thanks!
@@HipGuitar ah thanks, that’s it! Looks like it’s an issue for most if not all of them.
I‘m just gonna add: even if this issue gets resolved and you like their gear, I can only warn of them-I have a big Spark, and ordered a Mini for my little sis, then had to involve customer support… and it was among the worst support experiences I‘ve ever had. The issue also did not get resolved, and I was out of 200+€ in the end. Never again. If everything works it’s fine, but once you need anything handled-just forget it. Simply a waste of time. :(
@@Runoratsu ugh, sorry to hear. I think as soon as something comparable comes out I’m jumping ship on positive grid.
@@Runoratsu Oh man ! That rots ! I admire your candour. Appreciate you commenting here. Purchasing a Spark Mini is getting less and less attractive.
Same issue here, really annoying. I sent it back.
Mine does the exact same thing. I've verified no gate or compressor just as you did. Dissapointing.
Same issue with my Go and Mini… Let’s pray for a firmware update one day...
Nope, my GO doesn‘t have it, just my MINI.
Signs of a badly designed cheap amp. The Helix floor and Pod Go does not make this noise with any speakers connected despite its more powerful processing.