Introducing Spark MINI Vai, a portable smart guitar practice amp custom-designed by guitar icon Steve Vai. Featuring exclusive presets, a hand-signed model giveaway, and a matching lightweight cable, this amp captures Vai's iconic sound and style. Pre-order now for a chance to win a signed model.
In collaboration with guitar icon and 3-time GRAMMY® Award winner Steve Vai, Positive Grid proudly presents Spark MINI Vai, a portable smart guitar practice amp with an exclusive lightweight cable. Custom-designed by Vai himself, Spark MINI Vai captures his iconic sound and personal design touch. This unique, battery-powered amp delivers multi-dimensional sound and Vai-crafted presets, making it the ultimate rig for playing, practicing, and recording. Plus, during Positive Grid’s pre-order period, customers have a chance to receive a hand-signed model.
Steve Vai is one of the world’s most groundbreaking and influential guitarists, and Spark MINI Vai reflects his unique tone and style. The amp features a custom burgundy Tolex, custom gold piping, and a gold-lined strap, hand-picked by Vai himself. The mandala on the front grille – made famous on his Hydra guitar – pays tribute to Vai’s distinct energy and focus. Spark MINI Vai also comes equipped with a matching lightweight 10-foot guitar cable featuring 24K gold-plated connectors and a durable burgundy weave nylon jacket.
Four exclusive on-board presets created by Vai deliver the raw power of his tone. They include:
- FRESH - Crystal clear clean tone
- MILD - More bluesy clean tone with some grit
- HOT - Well-distorted rock rhythm tone
- FIRE - Full-on lead tone
In addition, Steve Vai has personally autographed 100 of these amps, which will be awarded to random recipients who purchase during the pre-order period starting 9/3/2024. Anyone who purchases during that time will be automatically entered for a chance that their order will be one of these exclusive hand-signed models.*
Commenting on his Spark MINI, Vai shares, “For me, this Spark MINI is an excellent portable practice amp. The 4 tones allow for inspirational playing and I built these presets around my interests. The app allows for instant tweakage of any of the presets. I never travel without this little friend."
Portable and battery-powered, the 10-watt Spark MINI smart guitar practice amplifier delivers surprisingly loud, multi-directional sound and features easy-to-use onboard controls. Spark MINI can also be used as a Bluetooth audio speaker for streaming music or as an audio interface for recording musical ideas.
The free accompanying app unlocks a wide selection of amps and effects plus access to 100,000+ tones and a suite of smart features for practicing and playing. Spark AI offers unlimited tone exploration. Describe any desired tone using the app and Spark AI will suggest tones to audition or download.
For more information, please visit positivegrid.com.
The Texan rocker tells us how the Lonestar State shaped his guitar sounds and how he managed to hit it big in Music City.
Huge shocker incoming: Zach Broyles made a Tube Screamer. The Mythos Envy Pro Overdrive is Zach’s take on the green apple of his eye, with some special tweaks including increased output, more drive sounds, and a low-end boost option. Does this mean he can clear out his collection of TS-9s? Of course not.
This time on Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zach welcome Tyler Bryant, the Texas-bred and Nashville-based rocker who has made waves with his band the Shakedown, who Rhett credits as one of his favorite groups. Bryant, it turns out, is a TS-head himself, having learned to love the pedal thanks to its being found everywhere in Texas guitar circles.Bryant shares how he scraped together a band after dropping out of high school and moving to Nashville, including the rigors of 15-hour drives for 30-minute sets in a trusty Ford Expedition. He’s lived the dream (or nightmare, depending on the day) and has the wisdom to show it.
Throughout the chat, the gang covers modeling amps and why modern rock bands still need amps on stage; the ins and outs of recording-gear rabbit holes and getting great sounds; and the differences between American and European audiences. Tune in to hear it all.
Get 10% off your order at stewmac.com/dippedintone
Diamond Pedals introduces the Dark Cloud delay pedal, featuring innovative hybrid analog-digital design.
At the heart of the Dark Cloud is Diamond’s Digital Bucket Brigade Delay (dBBD) technology, which seamlessly blends the organic warmth of analog companding with the precise control of an embedded digital system. This unique architecture allows the Dark Cloud to deliver three distinct and creative delay modes—Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse—each meticulously crafted to provide a wide range of sonic possibilities.
Three Distinct Delay Modes:
- Tape Delay: Inspired by Diamond’s Counter Point, this mode offers warm, saturated delays with tape-like modulation and up to 1000ms of delay time.
- Harmonic Delay: Borrowed from the Quantum Leap, this mode introduces delayedoctaves or fifths, creating rich, harmonic textures that swirl through the mix.
- Reverse Delay: A brand-new feature, this mode plays delays backward, producing asmooth, LoFi effect with alternating forward and reverse playback—a truly innovativeaddition to the Diamond lineup.
In addition to these versatile modes, the Dark Cloud includes tap tempo functionality with three distinct divisions—quarter note, eighth note, and dotted eighth—ensuring perfect synchronization with any performance.
The Dark Cloud holds special significance as the final project conceived by the original Diamondteam before their closure. What began as a modest attempt to repurpose older designs evolved into a masterful blend of the company's most beloved delay algorithms, combined with an entirely new Reverse Delay setting.
The result is a “greatest hits” of Diamond's delay technology, refined into one powerful pedal that pushes the boundaries of what delay effects can achieve.
Pricing: $249
For more information, please visit diamondpedals.com.
Main Features:
- dBBD’s hybrid architecture Analog dry signal New reverse delay setting
- Three distinct, creative delay modes: Tape, Harmonic, Reverse
- Combines the sound and feel of analog Companding and Anti-Aliasing with an embedded system delay line
- Offering 3 distinct tap divisions with quarter note, eighth note and dotted eighth settings for each of the delay modes
- Pedalboard-friendly enclosure with top jacks
- Buffered bypass switching with trails
- Standardized negative-center 9VDC input with polarity protection
Dark Cloud Multi-Mode Delay Pedal - YouTube
Curious about building your own pedal? Join PG's Nick Millevoi as he walks us through the StewMac Two Kings Boost kit, shares his experience, and demos its sound.
Don’t settle for those vanilla open-string shapes. Here’s a way to unlock new sounds without difficult barre chords.
Once you have the “Cowboy” chords together there are thousands of songs that are suddenly under you hands. But what if you want to make those chords a bit more interesting? Barre chords cat be stretchy and difficult, but there are ways to create new sounds out of old chords.