We tested 3 of Positive Grid’s latest smart amps — now they've dropped to their lowest prices of the year ahead of Black Friday

Two Positive Grid Reactor amps on stage in front of a drum kit — (Image credit: Positive Grid)

It’s safe to say that Positive Grid has been a universally positive influence on the respective worlds of solid-state, digital and practice amps. The manufacturer’s swathe of desktop amplifiers, portable practice solutions and tone-platform gigging amplifiers are already highly affordable bits of kit, and high-quality to boot. Now, with Black Friday peeking round the corner, Positive Grid’s positively chomping at the bit to make its offerings even more affordable – and that they have, with a sweeping Black Friday sale on some of the brand’s best.

The Positive Grid Black Friday sale is a broad one, taking in highly-rated devices from across the guitar-gear spectrum. There are wireless systems, pocket-sized practice amps, headphone amps and stage-ready solid-states, all discounted by at least 20%. These include the Spark Go, a mini amp that’s (probably) the size of your smallest Bluetooth speaker, and the Neo Core – a headphone amp system that Guitar World reviewer Matt McCracken described as “simply superb”, amongst other accolades.

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My personal fave amidst this sale, though, is the Positive Grid Spark Reactor 50W, a lightweight 1x12” combo amp with a plethora of on-board controls and I/O and a dedicated app for digital tone control. There’s a 100W variant that also takes my fancy, but the 50W is a great size for both practicing and gigging – and thanks to the Positive Grid Black Friday sale, it’s discounted by a healthy $105 for the first time since its launch back in June.

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A miniscule practice amp for the Bluetooth-speaker age, being practically wallet-sized and packing a much louder punch than its size would otherwise suggest. In our 4.5-star review we said it crammed “an unbelievable amount of functionality into an absurdly tiny, take-anywhere enclosure.” As well as winning us over on its own terms, it won over a host of other amps for the title of best compact desktop guitar amp too. And that was all at its launch price of $149.99. For Black Friday, Positive Grid’s lopped a third off the RRP, bringing it under $100 and firmly into “great deal” territory. That’s also the lowest price it’s been all year.

The Positive Grid Neo Core is a complete headphone amp system for the practicing guitarist. You plug your guitar straight into the earcup, and immediately benefit from a host of amp models and digital effects – all tweakable via the Spark app. It’s plug-and-play, and works as a conventional pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones, too – all of which consolidated it as our pick for the best all-in-one headphone amp for guitar. Usually $159.99, the Neo Core gets the Black Friday treatment and a new, 38%-discounted price of $99.99.

Positive Grid’s Spark Reactor amps are full-sized, full-throated solid-state amps for practicing and gigging. There’s a 50W version and a 100W version, both of which benefit from extensive tonal capabilities and onboard I/O in turn. Those tonal capabilities are expanded by the Reactor app, which allows you to build sounds from the ground up on your phone. Amp control is expanded even further by the Positive Grid Reactor Control footswitch, a six-button dealie sold separately but also extensively discounted as part of the Black Friday sale. Get the Reactor for 30% off, and get the Reactor Control for just $119. Read our full Positive Grid Reactor review.

Shop more early Black Friday sales

Sweetwater: Pre-Black Friday deals through November 11th
Guitar Center: Up to 30% off pre-Black Friday sale
Universal Audio: Choose 10 plugins for only $99

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James Grimshaw is a freelance writer and music obsessive with over a decade of experience in music and audio writing. He's lent his audio-tech opinions (amongst others) to the likes of Guitar World, MusicRadar and the London Evening Standard – before which, he covered everything music and Leeds through his section-editorship of national e-magazine The State Of The Arts. When he isn't blasting esoteric noise-rock around the house, he's playing out with esoteric noise-rock bands in DIY venues across the country; James will evangelise to you about Tera Melos until the sun comes up.