Spark NEO Manual

Spark NEO Headphones Control Panel

1. Preset Selector
   Press the button to select one of four presets on Spark NEO Headphones. These presets can also be customized in the Spark app.
2. Guitar Volume Control (- / +)
   Adjust the guitar volume (Controls only guitar volume).
3. Guitar Input
   Plug in your guitar with a standard 1/4" (6.3mm) guitar cable.
4. Power / Bluetooth pairing button
   • Hold to turn on or turn off Spark NEO Headphones
   • While powered on, tap the button to start Bluetooth pairing
5. Bluetooth LED Indicator
   Indicates the status of your Bluetooth audio connection:
   • Solid Blue: Connected
   • Flashing Blue: Pairing
   • Off: No connection
6. Power LED Indicator
   Indicates power and battery status.
   • Solid Green: Powered on or fully charged
   • Solid Red: Low battery
   • Flashing Red/Yellow/Green: Charging
7. Built-in Wireless Receiver(RX) Power Button
   • Hold to turn on/off the Built-in Wireless Receiver(RX)
   • Build-in Wireless Receiver(RX) will turn off automatically to conserve battery after 15 seconds if it detects no connection to Wireless Transmitter(TX)
8. Wireless Receiver LED Indicator
   Indicates Built-In Wireless Receiver(RX) connection status
   • Solid Blue: Connected
   • Flashing Blue: Pairing
   • Green/yellow flash alternately: Mute
9. USB Type-C charging port
   • Connect to USB charger to charge your Spark NEO Headphones
   • Connect to your computer to perform firmware updates

Spark NEO Wireless Transmitter(TX) Control Panel

1. Power Button
   • Hold to turn Wireless Transmitter(TX) on or off
   • While powered on, tap to mute or unmute Wireless Transmitter(TX)
   • While powered on, double tap to re-pair with Spark NEO Headphones
2. LED Indicator
   • Solid Green: Powered on or fully charged
   • Solid Red: Low battery
   • Flashing Red/Yellow/Green: Charging
3. Pin-Hole Reset Button
   • Use a pin to push the button in the hole to engage manual shutdown
4. USB Type-C Charging Port
   • Connect to USB charger to charge your Wireless Transmitter(TX)

IMPORTANT NOTES
Please note that Spark LINK is not compatible with Spark NEO Headphones or Wireless Transmitter(TX).

Using Spark NEO Headphones with your guitar

Plugging In Wirelessly To Spark NEO Headphones

• Power on Spark NEO Headphones and the Wireless Transmitter(TX).
  
• The Built-in Wireless Receiver(RX) in the headphones will activate when the headphones are powered on and will connect to the Wireless Transmitter(TX) automatically.

• Plug the Wireless Transmitter(TX) into your guitar
  

• Select one of the four presets using Preset Selector button on the right ear.
  

Using A Guitar Cable With Spark NEO Headphones

• Plug a standard 1/4" (6.3mm) guitar cable into your Spark NEO Headphones.
  
• Plug the other end of the cable to your guitar.

• Power on Spark NEO Headphones.
  

• Select one of the four presets using Preset Selector button on the right ear.
  

Adjusting The Guitar Volume

• Use the "+" and "-" buttons to adjust the guitar volume. To prevent accidental activation, these buttons will only function when there is an active guitar sound input. If no guitar sound is detected, the volume setting will remain unchanged.
  

Using Spark NEO as Wireless Bluetooth® Headphones

• Make sure to turn on Bluetooth in your mobile device settings.

• Press the Power/Pair button on the right ear to start Bluetooth pairing and select "Spark NEO Audio" from the list of scanned devices.
• Once paired, Spark NEO headphones can play music from Spark app or selected streaming platform.
• When connected via Bluetooth, use your mobile phone's volume controls to adjust Bluetooth music playback level.

• Spark NEO Headphones will automatically pair with the last device it connected to. If the last device is not available, Spark NEO Headphones will automatically connect to a device that has been previously paired.

Factory Reset

1. Completely power off the Spark NEO Headphones.
2. Press and hold the Preset Button and Power Button simultaneously for 5 seconds until the Power LED starts flashing white.
   Note: At this time, you may cancel the factory reset by quick tapping the Power or Preset button.
3. Long press the Preset or Power Button until Power LED blinks twice and the factory reset will be complete.

Force Shutdown & Restart

If Spark NEO Headphones runs into an issue where the knobs/buttons don't respond or emits unusual noise, follow the steps below to force shutdown and restart Spark NEO Headphones.

1. Remove the any USB connection to Spark NEO Headphones.
2. Hold the Power/Pair button for over 10 seconds.
3. Release the Power/Pair button, and hold it again to turn Spark NEO Headphones on.

DOWNLOAD THE SPARK APP

Supported iOS 12 or later

Supported Android 8 or later
Download and install the Spark App compatible with your smartphone's operating system.

Connecting Spark to Your Mobile Device

1. Make sure to allow the Spark app access to Bluetooth (iOS) or Location Services (Android) to allow the Spark app to establish a Bluetooth connection with your Spark NEO.
2. Turn on Bluetooth on your smartphone and Spark device.
3. Select the device you want to connect to.
4. Enter Pairing Mode by pressing the Power/Pair button on the Spark NEO, then tap the connect button in the app.

Tip: Connect Spark device to your smartphone as a Bluetooth speaker to play music. A stable connection between the Spark device and the app is required for audio output.
Tip: Selecting a device will only occur when you first install the Spark app. Subsequent connections will be done by pressing the connect button when you enter the Spark app.
Tip: If you are unable to connect to the Spark, ensure that other nearby Bluetooth devices are turned off and try again.

Log In to Your Positive Grid Account

Log in to your Positive Grid account to download tones from the ToneCloud and more.

1. Tap the Menu icon.
2. Tap Log In.
3. Log in with your existing account, use your Apple ID or Facebook ID, or tap on Sign Up to create a new account.

Manage Your Profile

Set up your profile to manage your ToneCloud presets and connect with other Spark users.

1. Once you log in, a Set Up Your Profile prompt should appear, which will take you to the Edit Profile Page. You may edit your profile after the fact by going into your profile via the Menu page and tapping on your profile, then tapping on Edit My Profile.
2. You may edit your Display Name, which is the name that will be shown to others in the ToneCloud, edit your Bio and your URL, and delete your account.
3. You may edit your ToneCloud preset details by tapping on the icon to rename or delete the preset from the ToneCloud.
4. You may also log out by tapping the icon.

Note: Deleting your account is permanent and you will not be able to log in with your previously deleted account credentials.

Adjusting Effects and Presets

After connecting your Spark NEO to the Spark app, you may tweak settings to your liking or browse our factory presets.

1. Signal Chain:
   1. Swipe left or right to scroll along the signal chain (For mobile)
   2. Swipe up and down to switch effects on and off.
   3. Double-tap the amp or effects icon to select an effect.
2. Effects Section:
   1. Effects on/off: tap the LED on the amp/effect pedal to switch the effect on and off.
   2. Tone control: turn the knobs to adjust the parameters
3. ToneCloud: tap the top right icon to open ToneCloud.
4. Option Menu:
   1. Overwrite - overwrite the current preset.
   2. Save as New - save as a new preset.
   3. Share to ToneCloud - share your current preset to ToneCloud.
   4. Save to Hardware - save your current preset to a Spark NEO preset slot.
5. Local Presets: Tap the preset name to select presets you've saved to your smartphone The red dot along with CH1/2/3/4 or RHYTHM/LEAD/SOLO/CUSTOM underneath the Preset name indicates that a preset saved on the Spark device itself is currently being used.
6. Tap Tempo - sync up delays and modulations when the BPM sync toggle on the effect is on by assigning a BPM to your preset. You may adjust BPM in 3 ways:
   1. Tap the TAP button to tap a tempo.
   2. Tap the BPM value and type in your desired BPM.
   3. Tap the + or - buttons to adjust by 1 BPM, long press the buttons to jump up by increments of 10 BPM.

Exploring ToneCloud®

ToneCloud® is a preset sharing system developed by Positive Grid. Sync your presets across devices, take your tones on the road, share your presets or download presets designed by other musicians in our community from all over the world!

Search and Preset Actions

1. Tap on the ToneCloud icon to access the ToneCloud.
2. Tap to Sort presets.
3. Tap the X to exit the ToneCloud.
4. Tap on the categories to browse presets by genre.
5. Tap the Play button on the Preset thumbnail to preview a tone when connected to the Spark device.
6. From Left to Right;
   1. [ToneLink] Tap on the Share button to share a link to the preset externally,
   2. Tap on the Like button to add the preset to your favorites,
   3. Tap the Download button to bring up the Download menu.
7. Tap Save to save the preset to your local preset list.
8. Rename the preset before you save.
9. Select which category you would like the preset to show up in.
10. Tap on the Profile to explore the preset creator's profile.
11. Tap on Follow to follow the creator, their presets will show up in the Following category in the ToneCloud.

Share Your Own Presets to ToneCloud

Share presets you've designed yourself for others in the Spark community to enjoy.

1. Tap on the on the top right of the Tone page.
2. Tap Share to ToneCloud.
3. Rename the Preset and select a genre.
4. Add up to 6 tags to make it easier for others to search for your preset; some suggested tags would be pickups used (single coil, humbucker, etc), which pickup position was used, characteristic of the tone (ambient, crunchy, higain, etc) and its usage (lead, rhythm, solo, etc), artist or song, etc.
5. Tap Share to share it to the ToneCloud.

Explore Other's Profiles

Get to know other musicians in the Spark community by exploring and following their profile.

1. Tap on Followers or Following to see who the profile owner is following or being followed by.
2. Read the profile's Bio or tap on their link to learn more about them.
3. Tap on Follow to add them to your follow list; their presets will show up in the Following category of the ToneCloud.
4. Explore presets that have been shared to the ToneCloud by the profile owner.

Using Spark AI

Spark AI is a revolutionary new way to discover tones. Describe a tone and Spark AI generates a tone based on your prompt.

To begin, ensure that the Spark app is connected to your Spark NEO's Tone Control connection and that you are logged in to your Positive Grid account.

1. Tap on the Spark AI icon at the center of the bottom bar.
2. Tap on our predefined prompts or type in your own prompt in the text box at the bottom.
3. Spark AI will bring you to the results page:
   1. Tap on the Play button to preview the tones generated by Spark AI.
      1. Preview works the same way as the ToneCloud, you must have a guitar connected and play the guitar yourself to preview what the tone sounds like.
   2. Tap on the Download button to download the preset to your local presets.
   3. Tap on the Dislike button to teach Spark AI that the preset does not match the prompt given.
   4. Tap on the Refresh button on the top right to refresh the list.
      1. You may refresh the list up to 5 times.
      2. Once refreshed, the previous results will be discarded.
   5. Tap on the More Like This button in the center of the selected preset to prompt Spark AI to find similar presets.

Starting a Quick Jam

Quick Jam instantly generates authentic drum and bass tracks to accompany your playing with a single tap.

1. Access Quick Jam by going to the Music page, then scroll the Quick Jam banner horizontally to see the available genres; Pop, Rock, Funk and Blues. Tap into the genres to start the backing track.
2. Tap on the left and right arrows next to the genre at the top of the page to switch between the designed tracks for each genre.
3. You may edit the chords by pausing the track, then long pressing any of the chords then tapping Edit Chord. Select more than one bar by dragging the red indicator to the right of the selected area.
4. Tap on the Settings icon on the top right to adjust settings. You may adjust the tempo, turn off the bass, or transpose the track by increments of half steps up to an octave up or down. Tap Reset to default to reset the track to its initial default state.
5. Any changes made will be automatically saved, and automatically loaded when you load up Quick Jam.

Using Auto Chords and Tones

Choose any song, and Spark will automatically display its chords in real time as you play. Intuitive controls easily let you slow down the song's tempo or loop a difficult section.

1. Go to the Music page and tap on our curated playlists to learn songs from those playlists.
2. Search for any song with the search bar at the top of the Music page to learn a song of your choice.
3. Tap on the Settings icon on the top right to access Music tools.
   1. Tap on Loop and drag the handles to loop the selected section.
   2. Tap on Capo to change the chords to a capo'd version, allowing you to play with standard open chords.
   3. Tap on the Speed button to change the speed of the track to 0.5/0.8/1.0x speed to practice at a slower tempo.
4. Tap on Tones to bring up tones that are recommended for the song according to other users. Upload your own ToneCloud presets to contribute to this growing pool of tones!

Connecting Apple Music

Connect your Apple Music accounts to import your saved albums to the Spark app.

1. Go to the Menu page and tap on Apple Music.
2. Log in to your Apple Music accounts.
3. Choose the desired album from your Apple Music list to import your albums into Saved Songs in the Menu page.
   Tip: Make sure that Spark has access to your Apple Music account.

Using Voice Command

1. Music Assistant
   1. Tap the microphone icon. It is available in most pages.
   2. Make sure to allow permissions for Speech Recognition and your devices Microphone to ensure the feature works properly.
   3. Speak into your smartphone with the following voice commands. Alternatively, you can tap the onscreen quick commands.
      1. Play drums - Activate Smart Jam drummer. (Not compatible with Spark NEO.)
      2. Play a backing track - Play a custom backing track.
      3. Metronome - Open Spark's built-in metronome
2. Voice Command Language Support
   1. English
   2. Japanese

Tip: The Voice Command feature has three quick commands. Try them!

Device Card and Adjustments

The Device Card can be accessed in the Menu page once you've connected your Spark Device. Once it's connected, several settings can be adjusted and statuses can be observed.

1. Tone Control and Bluetooth Audio - Shows the status of your Bluetooth connections between your device to the Spark.
2. Power Settings - Power Settings will allow you to adjust Spark NEO's Auto Shutdown features to save battery life.
   Spark NEO will automatically perform auto shutdown after a set amount of time has passed where no audio is detected to preserve battery life. The time it takes to enter auto shutdown can be adjusted in this menu.
3. Voice Guide - Switch the voice guide on/off.
4. Hi-Z Mode - Turn on or off to compensate for different pickup outputs, turn on for high output pickups, off for low output pickups.
5. Preset Volume Normalization - When Volume Normalization is enabled, Spark NEO automatically balances the volume of calibrated presets, ensuring consistent levels when switching between them. You can fine-tune the overall volume balance by selecting Soft, Standard, or Loud modes.
6. Battery - Displays the battery status of your device.
7. Name - Change the display name of your Spark device when connecting to your Spark.
8. Model - Displays the model of your Spark device.
9. Firmware - Displays the firmware version installed on your Spark device.
10. Serial Number - Displays the Serial Number of your Spark device.
11. Restore to Factory Settings - Restores all settings to the factory defaults.
12. Forget This Device - Remove this device from your list of connected devices.

Other Available Functions

Tuner and Metronome.

1. Access the Tuner and Metronome by going to the Menu page and scrolling down, tapping on the desired tool.
2. Once in the Tuner page, play your instrument to start tuning.
   1. If the indicator line is positioned to the right of the center, it means your instrument's pitch is higher than the target pitch.
   2. If the indicator line is positioned to the left of the center, it means your instrument's pitch is lower than the target pitch.
   3. Once the indicator is in the middle and the note turns green, the string is in tune and you may move on to tune the other strings to your instrument.
      
3. In the Metronome page, tap on the number at your desired tempo to set the tempo. You may also press and turn the outer ring to adjust the tempo. Tap on the play button to start the metronome.

Back Up Presets to Dropbox.

1. To Back Up your presets to Dropbox, tap on the icon at the top right of the Menu page.
2. Tap on Backup Tone Presets and link your Dropbox account to the Spark app.
3. Once linked, tap on Backup presets to Dropbox to backup your local presets, and tap on Restore presets from Dropbox to restore those presets.

Online Support

Visit our online Help Center for user manuals, FAQs, or to contact our support team.
Help Center: https://help.positivegrid.com/

Product Specification

SPARK NEO HEADPHONES AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20Hz - 20kHz
STEREO/MONO
Stereo
MAXIMUM SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL
100dB SPL (@ 1KHz)
Drivers
ABF (Advanced Bio Fiber) Diaphragm
Driver Size: 40mm
TOTAL IMPEDANCE
32 ohms

BATTERY
CHARGING TIME
Spark NEO Headphones:
3.5 hours @ 5V/2A USB-C Charger
Wireless Transmitter(TX):
2 hours @ 5V/2A USB-C Charger
PLAY TIME
Spark NEO Headphones:
Bluetooth audio up to 8 hours playtime Guitar & Bluetooth audio up to 6 hours playtime
Wireless Transmitter(TX): Up to 13 hours playtime

INCLUDED IN THE BOX
BOX CONTENTS
Spark NEO Headphones
Wireless Transmitter
USB-C Cable
Get Started Card
Safety Instructions

WIRELESS TRANSMITTER(TX)
SPECIFICATIONS
FREQUENCY RANGE
2.4GHz
SAMPLE RATE
24-bit, 48kHz
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20Hz - 20kHz
DYNAMIC RANGE 115dB
LATENCY
3.8ms
TRANSMISSION RANGE
Line of sight 5 meters

CONTROLS AND CONNECTIVITY
PANEL CONTROLS
Spark NEO Headphones:
Main Power Button / Bluetooth Pair Button
Preset Selector
Guitar Volume Control Buttons (+/-) Built-in Wireless Receiver(RX) Power Button
Wireless Transmitter(TX): Power Button
ONBOARD EFFECTS
33 Amp Models
43 Effects
(Noise Gate, Compressor/Wah, Distortion,
Modulation/EQ, Delay, Reverb)
WIRED CONNECTIVITY
1/4" Guitar Input
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY
Positive Grid Proprietary Wireless Audio
(2.4GHz)
Bluetooth Audio

SOFTWARE
MOBILE APPS
Spark App for iOS and Android (included)
Spark App Core Features
Spark AI
Auto Chords
ToneCloud®
Tuner