Spark Neo

[erich74]

Hi,

Do you know if this project would work with the Spark Neo by using iOS (or Android) BLE connectivity and sending midi commands to the spark app?
Thanks
Eric

[paulhamsh]

Hi EricI don’t have the Neo but if it works like the rest of the Spark amps then it we can use BLE to send it the right commands.The MIDI bit in this project allows a midi controller to be used as an device to control the amp - it maps the real nidi to spark BLE messages.If you scan the Neo with a BLE app like LightBlue it will show what the Neo has for BLE and whether it is the same as the other ampsPaulOn 14 Mar 2025, at 08:18, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote: Hi, Do you know if this project would work with the Spark Neo by using iOS (or Android) BLE connectivity and sending midi commands to the spark app? Thanks Eric—Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***> erich74 created an issue (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Hi, Do you know if this project would work with the Spark Neo by using iOS (or Android) BLE connectivity and sending midi commands to the spark app? Thanks Eric —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[erich74]

Hi Paul, thank you very much for your quick answer.

I'm sorry to ask but there's one thing which is confusing me.
I do not understand if, with SparkMidi, it is possible to send midi commands directly to the spark application on iOS instead of going through the spark hardware (the Neo in my case) ?
Therefore I am also confused on whether SparkMidi does pair in BLE with the hardware (Spark amp or Neo) or directly with the iOS or Android device?

Thanks for the clarification!

[paulhamsh]

Ah - ok Here goes….SparkMIDI and most of the Spark stuff on my github connects to the amp via bluetooth (serial or ble depending on the amp) and controls the amp with the PG formatted bluetooth messages (described in one of the repos)All reverse engineered from observing bluetooth messages.They mostly also allow the app to connect to the esp32 board as well.In this way the app can talke ‘through’ the esp32 to the amp, and the esp32 can also control the amp and (partly) update the app - it is a bit messy because the app isn’t built to expect unusual messages from the amp, only responses to messages the app sends or from the physical controls on the amp - like tone knobs or preset buttons.There are also repos here to pretend to be a SparkControl or SparkX pedal.SparkControl is connected to from the app onlySpark X can talk directly to some amps with new message formats, or for older amps allow the app to connect to it. I hope that helps!TLDR there is code here somewhere for most use casesLet me know more specifically what you need and I can probably helpDoes the Neo connect to a SparkX? Can a SparkControl be used?What approach do you really want?On 14 Mar 2025, at 13:39, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote: Hi Paul, thank you very much for your quick answer. I'm sorry to ask but there's one thing which is confusing me. I do not understand if, with SparkMidi, it is possible to send midi commands directly to the spark application on iOS instead of going through the spark hardware (the Neo in my case) ? Therefore I am also confused on whether SparkMidi does pair in BLE with the hardware (Spark amp or Neo) or directly with the iOS or Android device? Thanks for the clarification!—Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***> erich74 left a comment (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Hi Paul, thank you very much for your quick answer. I'm sorry to ask but there's one thing which is confusing me. I do not understand if, with SparkMidi, it is possible to send midi commands directly to the spark application on iOS instead of going through the spark hardware (the Neo in my case) ? Therefore I am also confused on whether SparkMidi does pair in BLE with the hardware (Spark amp or Neo) or directly with the iOS or Android device? Thanks for the clarification! —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[erich74]

Thanks again Paul to take the time to answer my questions.

Here is what I was planning to use (but not sure it will work).

Hardware: Spark Neo. The Spark Neo allows connecting official Spark controls like the regular SparkControl and the X Control

Smartphone: iOS

Midi controller: M-Vave Chocolate (the first version without usb host)

My plan was to use the M-Vave chocolate to just control switching between presets A, B, C and D.

The Chocolate can directly connect to iOS using BLE but I guess this is not helping because it cannot bridge to the Spark App as it does not 'talk midi' and does not expect to receive standard midi commands.

What I was thinking (but again I guess it might not be possible), is to pair the Chocolate with the esp32, send it the midi commands, and in turn the esp32 is converting midi to spark proprietary format and send it to the spark app on the smartphone.

That would mean the Chocolate is paired to the esp32 with ble and the esp32 is paired with the smartphone with ble as well

it would look like this:

Chocolate ==>(Midi over BLE) ==> esp32 ==> midi to spark format conversion ==> converted message sent over BLE ==> spark iOS app ==> proprietary spark command sent over BLE ==> Neo

[paulhamsh]

Ah - sending to the app is the one thing that doesn’t really work! The app would need to connect to the esp32 then it can’t connect to the amp.You could get the m vave / esp32 to act like a spark control / xOr just do the m vave and app both connect to esp, esp connects to ampOn 14 Mar 2025, at 14:11, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote: Thanks again Paul to take the time to answer my questions. Here is what I was planning to use (but not sure it will work). Hardware: Spark Neo. The Spark Neo allows connecting official Spark controls like the regular SparkControl and the X Control Smartphone: iOS Midi controller: M-Vave Chocolate (the first version without usb host) My plan was to use the M-Vave chocolate to just control switching between presets A, B, C and D. The Chocolate can directly connect to iOS using BLE but I guess this is not helping because it cannot bridge to the Spark App as it does not 'talk midi' and does not expect to receive standard midi commands. What I was thinking (but again I guess it might not be possible), is to pair the Chocolate with the esp32, send it the midi commands, and in turn the esp32 is converting midi to spark proprietary format and send it to the spark app on the smartphone. That would mean the Chocolate is paired to the esp32 with ble and the esp32 is paired with the smartphone with ble as well it would look like this: Chocolate ==>(Midi over BLE) ==> esp32 ==> midi to spark format conversion ==> converted message sent over BLE ==> spark iOS app ==> proprietary spark command sent over BLE ==> Neo—Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***> erich74 left a comment (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Thanks again Paul to take the time to answer my questions. Here is what I was planning to use (but not sure it will work). Hardware: Spark Neo. The Spark Neo allows connecting official Spark controls like the regular SparkControl and the X Control Smartphone: iOS Midi controller: M-Vave Chocolate (the first version without usb host) My plan was to use the M-Vave chocolate to just control switching between presets A, B, C and D. The Chocolate can directly connect to iOS using BLE but I guess this is not helping because it cannot bridge to the Spark App as it does not 'talk midi' and does not expect to receive standard midi commands. What I was thinking (but again I guess it might not be possible), is to pair the Chocolate with the esp32, send it the midi commands, and in turn the esp32 is converting midi to spark proprietary format and send it to the spark app on the smartphone. That would mean the Chocolate is paired to the esp32 with ble and the esp32 is paired with the smartphone with ble as well it would look like this: Chocolate ==>(Midi over BLE) ==> esp32 ==> midi to spark format conversion ==> converted message sent over BLE ==> spark iOS app ==> proprietary spark command sent over BLE ==> Neo —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[erich74]

Making the m-vave + esp32 act like a spark control sounds good

In this case do you think I could connect the m-vave to the esp32 through BLE and then connect this to the spark app as if it was a spark control (which in turn would send commands to the neo) ?

[paulhamsh]

Yes!Start with getting the spark control emulation working, then the midi/m vave connection should be easyhttps://github.com/paulhamsh/SparkControlOn 14 Mar 2025, at 14:46, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote: Making the m-vave + esp32 act like a spark control sounds good In this case do you think I could connect the m-vave to the esp32 through BLE and then connect this to the spark app as if it was a spark control (which in turn would send commands to the neo) ?—Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***> erich74 left a comment (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Making the m-vave + esp32 act like a spark control sounds good In this case do you think I could connect the m-vave to the esp32 through BLE and then connect this to the spark app as if it was a spark control (which in turn would send commands to the neo) ? —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[erich74]

Ok many thanks again Paul,
I'm gonna build the electronic circuit and test it!

[erich74]

Hi Paul, sorry I've been busy with other projects but I am now coming back to it.

As I told you I would like to control the Spark Neo (PG headphone) with a m-vave chocolate midi controller.
Now I have both Chocolate boards, the one with BLE and usb c for connecting to a computer and the new Chocolate Plus with an USB host port.

I could successfully compile https://github.com/paulhamsh/SparkControl/tree/main/SparkControlSpoofer8 on an ESP32 dev board and make it recognized as a Spark Control in the spark app on my ipad.

Now I am a bit stuck because I don't know how to manage to link the m-vave chocolate to the ESP32 so that it can translate the midi messages and send them to the app.

I don' think I can connect the chocolate to the ESP32 with BLE as the ESP32 is already connected to the spark app through BLE, is that correct?

On the other hand I don't know how I could 'physcally' connect the chocolate to the ESP32

Thanks for you advice !

[paulhamsh]

Hello!You can easily have two ble connections at once, and mvave uses standard ble midi uuids so that makes it easier.There is code hidden in here that advertises ble midi and acts on midi messages - but it may be hard to adapt or integrate.https://github.com/paulhamsh/SparkMIDI/tree/main/SparkMIDI21MVaveThis is a good library that will probably do what you need:https://github.com/lathoub/Arduino-BLE-MIDIPaulOn 13 Aug 2025, at 22:15, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote:erich74 left a comment (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Hi Paul, sorry I've been busy with other projects but I am now coming back to it. As I told you I would like to control the Spark Neo (PG headphone) with a m-vave chocolate midi controller. Now I have both Chocolate boards, the one with BLE and usb c for connecting to a computer and the new Chocolate Plus with an USB host port. I could successfully compile https://github.com/paulhamsh/SparkControl/tree/main/SparkControlSpoofer8 on an ESP32 dev board and make it recognized as a Spark Control in the spark app on my ipad. Now I am a bit stuck because I don't know how to manage to link the m-vave chocolate to the ESP32 so that it can translate the midi messages and send them to the app. I don' think I can connect the chocolate to the ESP32 with BLE as the ESP32 is already connected to the spark app through BLE, is that correct? On the other hand I don't know how I could 'physcally' connect the chocolate to the ESP32 Thanks for you advice ! —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[erich74]

Thanks a lot Paul again for your answer.
I think I have already played with this BLE-MIDI library in order to send midi commands from an ESP32 to an iOS device.
I just made a small battery powered potentiometer attached to my guitar strap sending Volume control through CC commands to ToneStack, an iOS guitar app.
I just did some very basic coding but at least I know how it works ;)

The trickest part might be to merge the SparkControlSpoofer8 code with your SparkMidi21MWave code in order to bind the ESP with the chocolate board...I'll have a look at it

Thanks again
Eric

[paulhamsh]

I think it should be fine - just merge the midi code into the main file - they can be quite separate other than when the midi messages drives Spark Control behaviourOn 14 Aug 2025, at 12:20, erich74 ***@***.***> wrote:erich74 left a comment (paulhamsh/SparkMIDI#12) Thanks a lot Paul again for your answer. I think I have already played with this BLE-MIDI library in order to send midi commands from an ESP32 to an iOS device. I just made a small battery powered potentiometer attached to my guitar strap sending Volume control through CC commands to ToneStack, an iOS guitar app. I just did some very basic coding but at least I know how it works ;) The trickest part might be to merge the SparkControlSpoofer8 code with your SparkMidi21MWave code in order to bind the ESP with the chocolate board...I'll have a look at it Thanks again Eric —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>