Positive Grid Spark Neo review: 33 amp sims, one pair of wireless headphones

The Positive Grid Spark Neo brings new meaning to a wireless guitar rig. While many players might think a wireless system is only for those who crave freedom on the big stage, the Spark Neo is something else entirely. It’s an all-in-one wireless headphone guitar amplifier comprised of just a transmitter and a pair of over-ear headphones (ok, and an app) for your ears only. Cue up the Spark app, and you’ve got endless tones and effects in your ears, no cables required.

After spending time with the Spark Neo and my trusty PRS CE 24, practicing my phrasing over some backing tracks, dialing in tones, and brushing up on riffs for my next rehearsal with Neck of the Woods, I can confidently say this is a whole new way to practice guitar. The Spark Neo offers a fresh, immersive experience, not to mention some valuable practice tools, regardless of your skill level. So, let’s tune up and see if it has what it takes to shake up your practice routine in this Positive Grid Spark Neo review.

Rock out with a personal, immersive, cable-free rig

The Positive Grid Spark Neo is one of the most convenient ways to shred and improve your guitar skills quietly. The sturdy over-ear headphones are your amplifier, while the Spark app handles your tones and effects. Kudos to Positive Grid for the transmitter design as well. It works with any PRS or Gibson-style guitar with a side-mounted 1/4-inch input, but thanks to the hinge, it also fits a Stratocaster’s body-mounted jack just fine, too.

The Spark Neo headphones are comfortable and offer excellent passive isolation, dropping you right into your tone zone. I didn’t notice any latency during testing, and I’m impressed by how responsive the amp simulators feel. They capture the dynamics of your playing well, whether you’re laying in with your pick attack or digging into heavy rhythm work. For the ’80s shredders out there, it’s also easy to pull out pinch harmonics and get those squeals and whammy bar dives just right.

The Spark app is loaded with tones and essential practice tools

The Spark app includes 33 different amplifiers and 43 effects, covering everything from progressive death metal to outlaw country. Whether you need high-gain aggression or vintage blues tones, there’s a variety of popular amp models and classic stompboxes to explore. Dial in a tight, aggressive metal rhythm with the “Heavy Axe” (EVH 5150-style) amp, or go for the clean, percussive chime of the “Silver Ship” (Roland JC-120-style) for pop or country.

Kick on one of the many overdrive pedals for a bluesy, SRV-inspired tone, or layer on delay and reverb for rich, atmospheric lead sounds. While Positive Grid can’t use official brand names, they get creative with their naming and graphics, making it easy to find your favorite Orange, Marshall, or, in my case, ENGL-style amps.

While it’s easy to get lost in the world of mind-bending delays, reverbs, and modulation effects, we can’t forget about the essentials every guitarist needs for a productive practice or jam session, and the Spark app has you covered. Tune up with its onboard tuner and practice your timing with the available metronome, but my favorite feature of the Spark app is its “Start a Jam” feature.

There’s a variety of backing tracks to jam along with, from some select Steve Vai tracks to Lofi jams, complete with a visual on the chord changes. I’m a massive fan of cueing up a nice lead tone and practicing my lead playing over these backing tracks. It provides a much more exciting way to practice than a metronome (which you still technically are), and it’s also a great way to practice your phrasing as a lead player, especially if you don’t have the opportunity to jam with a full band. Shred away until your fingers bleed, or work on a less-is-more approach to fine-tune your vibrato.

Four of your favorite presets are available, even without the app

As much as I love tweaking and dialing in tones, another of my favorite Spark Neo headphones features is its ability to instantly recall up to 4 of your favorite presets without being connected to the app. Since I hang my guitar on my wall at home, I don’t even bother removing the transmitter. Anytime I want to rock, all I need to do is power on the transmitter and headphones, and just like that, you’re out for a rip. There’s no faster way to get your tones into your ears. Talk about convenience!

I’ve never met another guitarist who isn’t distracted by endless amps and stompboxes, so the real benefit of this feature is that it allows you to forget your phone entirely when it’s time to go to work. For my practice routines, I went for a nice clean tone with some reverb and delay, a pushed clean tone with some overdrive, a distorted rhythm tone, and a similar distorted tone but with a bit more gain, some digital delay, and a bit of reverb for any lead work. Simply push the middle button on the right earcup to cycle between them.

Transmitter dead? No worries, grab your 1/4″ cable and keep rocking

You don’t often see a 1/4″ input on a set of headphones, and with good reason, except for the Spark Neo headphones. If the transmitter is dead, simply grab the nearest 1/4″ guitar cable and keep rocking. No excuses! While an attached cable makes the headphones a little heavier, it will get you out of a pinch so you keep your practice routine going while you charge up the transmitter.

Quality over-ear headphones you can use every day

The Spark Neo headphones don’t disappoint, and you can even use them as your everyday over-ear Bluetooth headphones when you’re not practicing your sweep-picking technique or Phrygian dominant scales.

They feature 40mm drivers, and their adjustable, foldable design features a cushioned headband and fairly plush ear cups for comfort during longer practice sessions. While they lack ANC, the well-fitting ear cups provide a strong seal for effective passive isolation, keeping a good amount of environmental noise at bay, especially when you’ve got your tunes going.

Unfortunately, the only downside is that the physical controls don’t double as playback controls when just listening to music, so you’ll have to control your music and volume from your phone. That said, just like we test any other pair of headphones here at SoundGuys, let’s examine how the Spark Neo headphones perform with MDAQS.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Positive Grid Spark Neo headphones was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

The Spark Neo headphones score the highest in Immersiveness with a rating of 4.2, but a slightly lower Distortion score of 3.4 suggests there may be some distortion at higher output levels. They are by no means the best-sounding headphones out there, but considering these headphones are essentially designed to be dual-purpose for practicing guitar and casual listening, an overall score of 3.8 is perfectly acceptable for everyday listening.

Positive Grid Spark Neo: The verdict

While there’s always a time and place to crank up a half-stack and blast some eardrums, every player can benefit from this setup’s convenient, immersive experience, no matter their skill level. Hearing the finer details of your playing (mistakes and all) helps refine your technique and push your skills to the next level.

At the end of the day, the Positive Grid Spark Neo makes practicing fun again. With its ability to call up any tone, regardless of whether you’re perfecting your country-style Chicken pickin’ licks or whipping your rhythm hand into shape with some steady Iron Maiden-style gallops, you can do it all quietly.

Positive Grid Spark Neo review: FAQs