Blackstar FLY 3 Pack BK 3-stars Reviews

Great sounding mini amp

Something is rattling inside the amp when it is shaken or when doing vibrato on guitar. It is not very loud, but still isn't supposed to be there in the first place.

Em. out sounds lifeless and really not pleasant - goodbye practice in headphones.

Aux cable is not included.

Extension cab won't give you stereo for guitar, only for aux in.

The amp won't sound really good quiet, which beats the purpose of using it in e.g. hotel room for quite practice. If you want it to sound good, you'll have to let your neighbors hear you.

Other than that, great mini amp. The amp's reaction is similar to tube amp - it responds to dynamic playing and cleans up with guitar volume dialed back. Sound is really nice in both clean and OD settings.

You won't buy another one

Get this pack and go on the streets so everyone can enjoy your music.

Okay for home practice, great for travel

In terms of convenience (decent tone at low volume, transportability) this amp is a life-saver. In terms of sound, however, it is not very good. In terms of its features (EQ, overdrive, delay, headphones/EM out), it is okay.

I use this as a practice amp in an apartment building with thin walls & ceilings, and for that purpose it is great. At low volumes, I can get a decent and consistent enough tone to be able to experiment with my pedalboard. It is small enough to travel with easily, which is great as I occasionally spend time abroad.

However, the tone gets muddy and inconsistent at higher volumes, especially in the bass frequencies. And don't expect high volumes from these speakers either, they are certainly not loud enough for any live situation. Though you can probably use the EM output to run it into a mixer or PA, I would not recommend purchasing this amp for that purpose.

The single mid scoop EQ knob will allow you to dial in some different, though limited, tones, and there is also an overdrive switch which I don't much care for, as I have pedals for that (though again, at higher volumes neither will sound very good). The built in delay is a nice feature, as you can control both delay time and intensity, though honestly I would have preferred reverb.

You CAN use these as computer, smartphone etc. speakers as advertised, but they do not sound very good, nor very loud. All dedicated computer speakers I have owned in a similar price range sound vastly better (and louder) than these Blackstars. Also, the volume control on the amp will obviously not affect mp3 input, which, again, makes them inconvenient as computer speakers.

All in all, I somewhat regret not having saved up a bit more money to buy a Roland Micro Cube Bass amp or something similar, which you can also use live. On the other hand, I'm spending 5 months abroad next year, most likely in a student dorm, and this is probably the best sounding amp I could easily and reliably bring with me, so it really depends on your needs!

Good sounds but...

I ordered this pack in order to use it as a practice and late night jam amp. The first impression was "wow"... Very good sounds you wouldn't expect from an amp this size. The tape style delay is a very good add on, I mainly use it to add a pseudo reverb, but it can also be used as a short delay for lead sound. The line in is great for the main reason I bought it, practice, you can use your phone to play backing tracks or lessons (or use it as portable speaker). The emulated out is "good enough" for a few quick recordings, but I like the speaker sound more.

That said, I noticed a little hiss/digital noise on my amp. I contacted Blackstar and sent them a sound clip, and they said that it sounds as there is something wrong so I sent it back and got a replacement, which had the same issue. It's not a problem that makes the amp useless, especially if you use high gain sounds, but you can notice it on the trails of "cleanish" sounds, and disappointed me a bit, but not enough to return it.