Spark Me Up

in #life2 years ago

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What have you got there?

The Good Lady peered at me curiously from where she sat, cross-legged on the floor attempting to change the batteries in one of the kid's toys.

I looked disparagingly at the heaving mess of plastic pieces in her hands to realise that this would be another toy beginning its journey to the great playhouse in the sky.

This, my lady. Is the most special of things.

I hefted the package up in the air and gave it a little twirl.

It was a small box, deceptively light for the awesomeness it contained.

What?

The Good Lady thumped the thing that looked as if it might have been a car or a robotic horse at one time down on the floor exasperatedly.

Can you...?

She held up a small screwdriver and glanced at me beseechingly.

No can do, baby girl. Not today. Nuh huh.

I zoomed the parcel I was holding past her head several times making whooooar noises like a Tie Fighter chasing a rebel X-Wing to a squirty laser doom.

Come on then, what is in the parcel?

Her voice had an edge to it like an old knife.

This my darling... is ... The Spark Mini Guitar Amplifier!!

A barrage of trumpets tootled in my head and a holy light surrounded the box and myself like a halo.

In real life, however, the Good Lady just sat there, screwdriver in hand and her head cocked to one as if I was a clown wearing a suit made out of cubes of pork meat and she was a hungry dog.

The what? It's tiny, how can it be an amplifier? All your other amps are big.

She trilled confusedly like a frog in a pillowcase.

I chuffled amusedly to myself. Ah the folly of non-guitar players and their silly non fingering finger ways.

It's teeny weeny!! That's the whole point! It's portable!!

With that I set to unboxing the legend that was The Spark Mini.

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Look Madam at this splendid device. It has ten watts of stereo output and is battery powered with an estimated play of approx 8 hours between charges. Coupled with the Amp and effects modelling software it is capable of more tones than you can shake a stick at.

I lowered it to the ground and ferreted about for my wireless guitar dongle.

Hey, what are you doing? It's your turn to pick the kids up from School today and wait, arent you also meant to be working?

The Good Lady stood up and looked confused as if she had bought a pet dog and was only realising now that it was a mongoose and she kept thinking, wait a minute, I was sold a pup?!.

Pfftt. Pick up the kids? Work? Baby, there is guitar to be played.

I picked up my guitar and started to strum.

And incredibly, all wars ended and peace reigned throughout the world.

At this point I really would normally have a video of me playing like a demon albeit a bit of a shit one. Sadly though, there are mentally ill folk prowling the good posts of hive being abusive to folk so for the moment I shall refrain. Normal service will resume soon!

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Had no clue someone like you could hook their bagpipes into something with batteries now, and still make the sound well enough to be called "music."

Years ago a picked one up with plans to learn. Six string acoustic thing but I was also a wrestling fan and ended up smashing it over my brother's head since that was a legit move when I was young. Still somehow ended up losing that match though.

See your little message at the end. I noticed the crazy has escalated to the point now where folks don't feel comfortable.

Hahaha!! Mr N!! You have no idea how much I smiled when I saw your name pop up!!! Or should I say no name!

You know, there is a saying that the Scots can jam their bagpipes into just about anything!

I was quite the avid wrestling fan when I was younger so when I got my first guitar I had to set up a regular delivery of foldable chairs so that whenever I had a fight with my brother I could smash him down with one. It worked a treat.

And yeah, ole butthurt, he doesn't make me feel like sharing my other socials about much. But then, fuck it. I think I will, after all its not the first time I have had some mentally ill diseased looking thing fighting for my attention. I live in Scotland after all :0D

Still alive, man. A bit dead inside though. No drive to be creative anymore but that has always come in spurts. Of course I miss you folks and miss being around. Always puts me in a good mood to show up and at least get in a quick hello when I have a connection to use. Ended up going back to the wilderness. That doesn't mean I don't have to deal with crazy though. There's a squirrel there that's lucky I'm out of ammo, don't know how to make arrows that fly straight, and tend to use chairs for sitting and/or lounging now rather than self defense.

Good to see you though man.

It's great to see you too dude! I know exactly what you mean, the creativity comes in tides. Sometimes it's there crashing against you and others it's just absent.

Absinthe sorts it out I hear ;0)

Or ground up squirrel... Get that varmint!!

It's not a ground squirrel but I suppose I could try to teach it how to leave the trees alone and start digging holes...

Or eat it....

That would take A LOT of mustard.

I fear it has already dug it's own hole

Sure is nice to see you back again even if only in the comments. Crazy is still alive and kicking it seems. Won't be forever though!

I hope your creativity comes back soon. Had a good chuckle at the squirrel that has become your enemy, they are bloody sneaky little buggars.

It's my fault because I thought it would be cool to teach it to eat out of my hand. Now I think it wants to dig holes through the walls just to get to my hand (even while I'm sleeping).

Might have to live trap her and move her away but not sure if it has babies. Most likely does. Such a squirrely dilemma to be in...

Oh my, that would have been the most tragic thing I've read today if it weren't so funny. They are excellent at problem solving and if that squirrel wants to get to your hand, it will find a way.

It is spring your side now isn't it, so she probably does have pups, might be better to wait a while or just become friends and welcome her into your life, it might be easier than the other options.

Yup. Spring sprang up outta nowhere again. Massive flooding and I'm thinking this year it'll only get worse.

I totally get wildlife. The squirrel simply sees me as a food source and since it's early in the season (long winters here, late springs), I'm easy money during a period of scarcity. Squirrel probably thinks I'm a nut tree and I'm cool with that. So what I need to do is build a feeder and place it somewhere between their place and mine. Then simply keep it full, grab my coffee, sit back, then observe hundreds of chickadees steal all the food and ruin my plans.

Nice amp Boomy - even though I know nothing about guitars or about amps...Also nice knife :)

Your descriptions get me every time. Frogs in pillowcases. That's a funny picture in my mind!

And incredibly, all wars ended and peace reigned throughout the world.

Thanks!

You are truly welcome. Enjoy this utopia!!

Even that war at home ?? It ended nicely right there ??

I don't know about that.

IT was not the end that is for sure but the rest was dull :OD

Love the frog in the pillowcase simile 🤣😄

That amp looks class, didn't know they made mini ones like that, is the sound decent out of it?

Aye mate. The sound is magic. It's also a Bluetooth speaker so will be coming with me on trips away as well. No more no music for me!

No shit man, that makes it even better! I want one! The Bluetooth connectivity means I could do away with my cables I connect to phone for Spotify tunes at parties

Hi @meesterboom ,I imagine the good lady's face when you explain what was in the box, obviously because you're too small, but if she sees it in a positive way, which I think so, she has an intelligent man by her side who loves to play the guitar, in one of your posts, I told you that your son would have to look for a teacher to learn to play the guitar, then you tell me that in the past you were in a musical group, so I understand perfectly why you stay at home and the good lady goes for the children, well that's how I see it.

That's the way of it. I hope I can be patient enough to teach the kids myself. So far o haven't had much luck getting them interested!

"the folly of non-guitar players and their silly non fingering finger ways.

It's teeny weeny!!"

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Haha, I often think I am channeling my inner Quagmire!! :0D

Sweet! Let the shredding commence! Ten watts in that small of a package is impressive.

It sounds bigger than it is, definitely a cool thing!!

I love the mini! You have been so scarce, my friend!! I even bought tickets to your performance.

I can tell

My performance shall be giant. They shall talk of it for years to come in the hallowed halls!! :0D

All your other amps are big.

How many others do you have? 34 or so... 😀

Lol. I once had many but have been feeling a good job of keeping in top of them. I think I only have another 4!

I forgot how to play the keyboard.. its annoying. I found myself in a derp last week with a working piano. Was longing to play it.. all I remember is a few chords.

Ah that must have been a killer! It is amazing how long these things can stay in tune as well. Or at least reasonably so. Get A keytar and start jamming again! :OD

I have an old Roland keyboard, boxed.. nowhere to put it.., fucking annoying!

The storage that things take up is always a problem. The keys is the one that's made me get rid of lots of stuff and rightly so. We need big mansions!!

Nice toy, enjoy

I am looking forward to a weekend of enjoyment with it!

Sadly though, there are mentally ill folk prowling the good posts of hive being abusive to folk...

Time to stomp some trolls? Yeah, seems they've been making puppets with no posts to pump up the HP for vote trolling.

They will never quit with their ways of trying to scam the joint!

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Thank you very much!

Phew! Close shave. Had it been you dropped that video of you playing I would have put on my mentally ill glasses and rummage in my mentally ill bag, pull out some abusive stuff and scarred you for life with it. Lucky stars, Boom.

Posted using Proof of Brain

I like staying on the safe side of the street. I am glad we were both spared that! :OD

Well, I'm happy for you 😂

Happy is the best way to be! :OD

Marian wants to know what happened to your wife :) Did you help her :)
Not in a million years was my answer.

Hehe, I did in the end. But then I ran straight back to the amp!!!

I didn't help work! Lol

Ah! Very wise as you know where your bread is buttered :)

Hehe, you are very right there my friend and we always have to look out for that! :0D

Kudos to you and good night from South Africa,

And to you mate, still early here but g'night!!

My friend @partytrout has one of those.. he loves it..

They are magic. Nowhere is safe now!!

!BEER

Correction.. still not safe for use in the shower..

Ah, yes. The one place that I have yet to play guitar :0)


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Picking up the kids from school or testing out your mini amp? Tough choice.

It is a tough one isnt it!!

Have you been absent, I am sure I haven't seen you in my feed lately!

I was traveling ( visiting The Netherlands ) and am now trying to get back into the grind, while my body and mind merely want to rest. I had a good time but it was quite exhausting.

It can be exhausting when you get back from a jaunt. I hope you chill and get that energy back quick!

No doubt about that. Working on it ( and working on a post )

Have a great day!

You too mate. I am doing apost myself. Perhaps we shall post together in some weird post loop! :OD

Haha! I wouldn't mind being stuck in a posting loop with you. Your storytelling and my art combined would make for amazing creations! ;<)

Where will you use it? You can give concert in streets :)

Hehe, I thought exactly that. I can use it anywhere and it's plenty loud enough!

Now, if only I could play more than ten seconds of a song! :0D

Back in 1990, I had a kick-ass Pioneer stereo with the tower speakers with the deep cones. At high school, we had a "new" electronics course. The teacher was an audiophile and an electronics geek. I can remember him explaining that we don't need those 750W stereo systems if we know what we are doing. He argued that he could likely get a comparable sounding speaker system for under 25 Watts.

We all thought he was absurd. Then ... the Bose cubes came out ... and they sounded fantastic. Then, there was a shift from the cabinet speakers to the in-walls. Then the flat speakers etc etc.

Long story short, he was correct, but a couple of decades ahead of marketing.

Then ... Boom Dawg shows off his 10W box of awesomeness.

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We will all wait patiently to hear you wail your riffs throughout the hive!!

Hehe, he was ahead of his time!!

I only heard about Bose sound cubes and all I heard was good things. It really is amazing what they can do with things. I totally expected it to be good but slightly weak in the sounds department but it is indeed site a little powerhouse!

I shall endeavour to break the ears of hive soon 😜

I'm trying to find that thing for sale with no luck so far. Did you get special access thanks to your fame and guitar hero status? It looks really dinky, but I need to hear how it sounds. Who are these trolls who would dare to criticise your playing?

!PIZZA

I already have the original Spark 40 so got access to an early bird deal. It still took forever to arrive though, I ordered it way back in February I think. Might even have been January!

It sounds very good, in fact it sounds like it should be a lot bigger than it is. I do like the portable aspect very much. The presets it comes with are ok but I have my own which I just downloaded via the app from the Spark 40 and it sounds very fine indeed!

And the troll, is just that world traveling hooker, his obsession would probably have him stalking me elsewhere!

!BEER

Don't let that travel troll hassle you. He won't find himself welcome thanks to his alienating and insulting the whole community. We can't let him spoil our fun.

I don't have any of the modern mini-amps. My Roland Cube does modelling, but is probably considered old hat now. I do have a nice little valve amp, but it does not get used much at home. I just tend to play through my Zoom effects box. Having good sounds is inspiring.

Rock out!

You know, you are right. I blummin well will do as video of the sounds!

I have a nice little Orange amp which I really like but that and the pedals always took up a lot of space so when I saw the first spark I thought oh aye, I could have that in the living room. Which I did and get to play all the time downstairs now and not in the attic. I never tried a Roland cube but always wanted one.

You are right, when you have the right sounds you can't stop playing!

\m/

Sorry, out of BEER, please retry later...

I don't know anything about amps or mini amps but it looks cool. Have fun.

I have been, it's awesome!! Cheers mate!

Good to hear. Cheers!

Cool little amp, didn't know they came that small lol. The wonders of technology as they advance!

There will always be trolls here sadly, thankfully I don't get pestered by them but I know you and some others do. I guess it's flattering if they are around waiting to circle jerk!

I didn't believe that an amp so small could be so effective!!

Yeah, it's a fact of life and not just Hive. Keyboard jockeys, whipping their horse into a lather!

Awesome!!

Cheers man!!

You are welcome!

You're a lucky man. My wife's first response would be "How much?", followed by "Where did you get the money from?"

It's an incredible thing of beauty. And the batteries are inside too?

Yeah, is for a big rechargeable battery built in. Probably be a funker to replace it but still. It lasts for ages!!

My music was exactly the same, I had to lie a bit about the cost. Fortunately it's so small she believed me!! :0D

I thought my chance to hear you play had at last arrived, but no, must wait now for the nasties to settle so I can have a listen.

Nice looking amp, lucky you and yeah, forget all else. play like a demon! Btw, that's the fanciest non-box cutter type knife I've ever seen for unveiling boxed items.

Hehe, that is my Leatherman skeletool! I left it in frame deliberately because I love it so much! It's also the sharpest thing I have ever known. It's the simple things that make us happy at times!

I like that Leatherman skeletool. Probably why I was eyeballing it. I'm so much less elegant with boxes, I stab key points with a ball point pen...very old office (orfice) habit.

It's the simple things that make us happy at times!

That's what I enjoy most. Lately it's been listening to cardinals singing right outside my apartment.

I have been guilty of the same ballpoint pen stabbing!

😂, you're familiar with that technique but became more refined. I still do this, even though I have a variety load of knives.

Haha, have you ever used the plastic lid of one of the cheap bic pens as a stabby opening tool? I know I have. I often use the nearest thing to hand!

😂 Guilty! I totally have, also the end of a paper clip and whatever else is handy.

Wow that amp would be right up my street. Trying to get the 100w Marshall up to the attic broke my back and it closed the door on my hopes and dreams. Maybe this little thing can give me back some of that hope and sound.

It's a really good one. If you weren't after portable though you should get the bigger version as the sounds is a wee bit better on it, the spark 40. I love them both, never played so much since getting it!!

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