Blackstar FLY 3 Bluetooth Mini Amp

I wanted to wait for a few months before I would write about this product so that I can create a solid review and cover some areas that haven't been covered in previous reviews (like the Bluetooth function).

I use the Blackstar FLY 3 as my main practice amp in my house (since I moved to another country I couldn't bring my gear with me). To be honest I was reading flattering reviews about this little amp but I was still unsure. How can such a small and cheap amp do all that the reviewers were mentioning? I went for it anyways since I needed a small battery amp that fits in a backpack and I can take it everywhere I travel.

Now the Blackstar Fly 3 is exactly that, but so much more...

Starting with the build quality: it feels SOLID. I have no fears putting the amp in my backpack and handle my backpack as usual without getting paranoid about damaging the amp.

Sound quality: Stellar. That's the only word. And I am not giving this feedback considering only price to quality ratio but the sound is actually good. If you experiment you can get a lot of different sound genres. I wish there would be a few more tone knobs but I guess it's still ok. Also one small caviate is that you cannot get an 100% clean sound. There's always going to be a little crunch but you can get it to a bear minimum and extremely unnoticeable. I usually pair it with my Route 66 guitar pedal and use it with the compressor and I get a very dreamy clean sound. Volume is more than enough for in house playing (I actually never go full volume on it) and since a lot of people are going to wonder, I am sure it's also sufficient for busking (didn't try it myself though since I don't do busking)!

Features: I already mentioned that I would appreciate a few more tone knobs but I can live with it. What I really came to appreciate though is the Bluetooth function. I am really happy I paid a few more money for the Bluetooth option and I found myself using it a lot. It basically turns the little amp to a bluetooth speaker that you can pair with your phone/tablet/laptop very quickly and practice with backing tracks. One note here is that the knobs on the amp (including the volume knob) do not affect the audio that's coming from the connecting device - they only affect the instrument that is connected with the line in cable (which is very well thought off and useful). Besides the guitar, I also use it for audio books and podcasts. You can just throw it to your bag and take it to the park and listen to music! I highly recommend going for the Bluetooth version.

Battery life: I still have the batteries that came with the amp so I am unsure about the maximum battery life. I also bought the (pricey!) power cable so I mainly use it with that. I've used the batteries though as well for a few hours and they're still going strong!

Verdict: amazing amp and it's amazing that I paid half the money I paid when I bought my first amp back in the day and I now got double the features and sound! Wish there would be a few more tone knobs but you can't have everything with less than 100 euros and the other features that come with the amp definitely override this factor. I cannot think of any reason to buy the version without the Bluetooth function - you will definitely make a use of that option at some point. Last but not least, I would appreciate if the power cable came with the amp, even with a slight increase in price.

Overall: highly recommended!

Great little practice amp, design has a nice premium feel to it, as loud as you would really need for a bedroom practice amp, overall sound is very good for the price range and tape delay works great too, EQ is nice to play about with but after finding a level I liked I've not changed it too much since then.

Didn't really buy it to use as bluetooth speaker but have ended up using it a lot even when not playing guitar, this is possibly the most stable and easy to use bluetooth device I own, I have had zero issues, no complicated pairing and unpairing until it works, no long searching, it just connects to my phone immediately after pressing the bluetooth button, add some rechargeable batteries and it's super portable as well.

(Would recommend the extension cab bundle, it's not bad on its own but the extension cab is definitely worth it)