Blackstar Fly 3 Pak 3-watt 1x3" Combo Amp with Extension Speaker Reviews

My Blackstar mini stack is pretty durn good to have and it sounds groovy.

Just got the Fly 3 kit w/extention speaker and power supply.
All the reviews say the same thing: great amp sound for small money.
My sales rep Marshall steered me to the right product for my needs,
and when there was a slight glitch with the delivery, no fault of Sweetwater, he took care of it right away.
What they say is true, when you take a big amp and turn the volume way down, it sounds weak and you don't get the effects.
This unit has a big sound with some presence and some punch and an overdrive channel for added crunch without shaking the walls. You can add pedals or stereo input from a laptop or cell phone et cetera. Great for practicing in the apartment.
You can put all the gear in a beach bag or something like that and go outside with it.
Six watts total and the 6 AA batteries should last a while if you don't blast it cuz it will go loud.
Thanks for hooking me up guys , Mike M , Nantasket Beach , Massachusetts

I use this amp package when I travel for work. Great sound features with a ac adapter.

Nice combo amp with HUGE sound ! Portability makes it that much Mo' Better .

I have an area in my living room where I have five or six short scale basses and I like to noodle around with them as I watch TV to get song ideas. My LT 25 Fender amp can get loud for my small apartment and after a couple of complaints from my landlord I decided to try the Blackstar Fly speakers. I use headphones in my home studio, but to just sit around on the couch coming up with ideas……this speaker setup is fine. I set the gain, volume and tone all at twelve o'clock and run my bass through my Boss GT 1B pedal board and it is plenty loud and has great tone for a small 3 Watt set up. The sound is nice and punchy with no apartment shaking super low end to piss off the neighbors.

I plug in bass, guitars, keyboards and electronic percussion and they all sound great. The overdrive and delay functions work….okay, but I just want a good clean non distorted sound and these little speakers deliver. I use them everyday now as I watch TV and play with my gear. I can sit them on a shelf or on my bed and they work great anywhere.

Don't make your neighbors or family members angry, you can still play "live" without headphones when you need to. I recommended the two speaker set up.

Use it for hours every day and loving it so far. The Fly 3 is an excellent practice tool. Despite the affordable price tag, size and portability, it feels solid and well constructed. The simple control layout quickly yields a surprising range of useable clean/crunch/lead tones. Add in the delay and nifty stereo extension cab, things sound even better. MP3/line-in and headphone ports increase the versatility. I can't speak to battery life as I use it exclusively with the included power supply. Bottom line: it's an affordable mini solo practice amp solution that's easy to use and sounds decent.

We have living in the Home 2 suits by Hilton 5 month and this Blackstar Fly 3 has been my practice amp,home theater ,our mp3 speker its all day music.....the Delay makes me flow when practicing on the strat guitar we relly recomend the Blackstar Fly 3 when we return to our apartmet i will keep on using it ,thank Sweetwater for the best.I will keep on playing .

Pardon my writting i learn inglish in you tube.

Blackstar kicks butt again with the Fly 3. When it comes to sound Blackstar are
the best in my books, the Fly 3 has a line out, headphone and a line input for
your audio to play along with. The cabinets look great and sound awesome with
features like Delay, EQ, the all mighty ISF, gain and volume, this is a winner!

Sorry Marshall.

You gotta get this bass pack if you play electric bass in an otherwise acoustical jam. It delivers a nice bass tone in a portable package that you can carry in a plastic grocery bag. One amp worked fine with a 4-piece jam on a hard floor, but it needed the extension speaker with a group of 12 and there was carpet on the floor. Go right for the combo pack and skip the single unit.

Some suggestions: (1) Radio Shack rechargeable batteries are a little thinner than others, and I got some serious rattling at max volume. Glue a little piece of foam under the battery cover, and you'll be fine. (2) Six NiMH rechargeable batteries only deliver 7.2 volts, so if you need max volume from this amp, either use alkaline batteries or the charger that comes with the kit. 25% more voltage makes a noticeable difference.

Happy Jammin'!

Great sound at a great price, no regrets on this purchase.

Exelent amp the sound the quality and size are unbelievable and Sweetwater is the best company to deal with

AWWWWWSOME!!!!! Wow. I didn't know what to expect. When I opened the box and saw the minimal size of these speakers I thought, what the heck did I just spend $... on, but after I connected and tried them on my electric drums, electric guitar, violin, acoustic/electric guitar and bass guitar. WOOOW was I impressed. The sound on all of the equipment is beyond belief for speakers of this size and only 6 watts with the two speakers connected. I bought them to use as computer speakers but will use them on everything. Battery powered or plugged in the wall they sound great. I HIGHLY recommend them for home use, small to even medium sized gigs, outdoor battery use for busking etc.They are plenty loud. Sweetwater sales rep. Roq Martin is the best. Thanks Roq.

I was looking for a small battery powered amp to play through between shifts and between classes. I had my eye on a BOSS Katanna Mini, and the sales guy turned me on to the FLY. I was pretty ambivalent about the amp until I played with the knobs.... then WOW. The sound is great, and if you think about how cheap this amp is, it is incredible.

I was going to just get the amp… but then I got the combo pack... I got the amp, extension speaker, and the plug for the same cost as the BOSS, and I would have had to pay another $30 for the wall adaptor if I got the BOSS amp.

Great little amp with big sound.

I wasn't expecting much from this little amp but boy was I surprised big tone from a little package.

Perfect for what I wanted, which was a compact travel amp for camp trips.

Can not believe the sound that comes from these small amps. Perfect for me as I don't play professionally anymore. Wish I could find a vocal amp that does the same thing.

My jaw nearly hit the floor when I fired it up! There's no way this tiny little "toy" amp should sound as good as it does. I'm honestly thinking about trying to mic it up and play a gig with it. Recording it is a given. Can't wait to hear how it sits in a mix!

Impressive sound for such a small unit! I use it for living room practice and it does nicely for that. It's not gonna blow your head off with volume...but I'm pretty sure you knew that. The built in delay is a nice addition and really adds a nice reverb-y effect. Nice toy that it actually more than a toy.

I fell in love with the Blackstar IDCore series and I wanted something that I could take anywhere in the house and still get a good tone. Well I found it! This amp is 3 watts by itself and 6 watts when you put the extension cabinet with it! Also it's in stereo to boot! I have to say once you go stereo you never go back! This amp has a great tone very touch responsive, and dynamic! You get everything from chimey clean sounds to searing Distorition! Or back off your guitar volume and it cleans up like a tube amp would! The amp also has built in digital tape delay which is awesome! Check one out and call your Sweetwater sales rep today you won't be disappointed! Thanks again Ryan Murray!

For a little 3 watt amp with a 3" speaker it sounds real good, add the extension speaker and this thing sounds huge. I play my Gibson Les Paul with P-90's and my Firebird 1 through it and both sound amazingly good through it. I play mostly in a blues-rock style and have no problems getting a sound I like out of either guitar. If I were to nit-pick, I would say the only thing I don't care for is the delay effect, but I don't use it, so it doesn't really matter to me. I should note that I only use it with the power supply, so I don't know how long batteries last with constant use.
If you're looking for a great sounding practice amp, look no further. I highly recommend the Fly3 with the extension speaker (and power supply). It's a great buy.
Also Sweetwater's customer service is hard to beat. Great communication. Delivery time was very good and the amp was well packed.

I really can't say enough about this amp, I wish it was my first amp. Before getting into details, I HIGHLY recommend getting the extension cab. The amp is not nearly as effective with just the head - the cab enhances the tone and volume and I probably wouldn't have as high an opinion if I just bought the amp head.

I own two guitars, an entry level 2002 Fender Strat with the pickups replaced by Texas Specials, as well as a Dean Razorback. It's fairly clean with some hum, but not overpowering. It has two channels and I use it for practice mainly in blues and metal. It works good with my strat. The cleans are great and while the overdrive sounds good when jamming to blues, leaves something to be desired. I've tried working in my TS9DX, but since this is a solid state amp, I can't get a good sound with it. The amp really shines though with my Razorback (Blackstar, humbuckers, duh). I can dial in just about any tone I want except maybe for the really dirty, black metal stuff, which is fine by me since i'ts not my preference.

What really sets this amp apart though is the features. For $, you get a pretty good built-in delay effect and the MP3 input. I'm able to practice to backing tracks or with songs playing and more importantly, if any of you have ever had a metronome that just wasn't loud enough to hear over the sound of your electric guitar, you can modify the output via your phone or whatever so that you get to a volume that is set to your preference. That said, just because the amp can be quiet, don't let that fool you - this amp can really get pretty loud for a small amp, particularly if you get the extension cab (again, HIGHLY recommended).

This would probably be a perfect practice amp if it had a pre-amp loop, but given the price and the fact this is a solid state amp, it's more of a nitpick than complaint.

I'm 32 year old married man with a child, so it's often hard to find time to play until the evening when they are sleeping, but this amp allows me to play at a low volume while still getting the sound I need to practice. I'd recommend this amp to anyone just getting into guitar or even advanced players needing a cheap option for practice but still want range of tones and features.

Bought this small amp to take with me on trips to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. From the reviews I expected a nice amp but was surprised at the great sound. Sounds great both clean and overdrive with both the Gibson LP and the Traveler ultralight. I recommend you got the combo package with the extension speaker and power supply. Power supply will save money on batteries when you have power available and it sounds much nicer with the extension speaker.

For a guy like me ( always on the road) this is a great piece of gear to have in my hotelroom. I hook it up to my phone or laptop and i have a great movie experience, youtube comes alive ( music video's especially)
and i can jam along with my small electric guitar ( hoefner shorty) with a great sound.
The guitar section is layed out simple but very effective and i know no other mini amp that has the delay/reverb this good. This thing is very loud if you want it to be,still sounds good at low bedroom volume too, amazing. Price is more than reasonable i think.
The thing that sold me is the true stereo that is very rare( with the extension speaker), works fantastic.
During travel i just put the two units in a T-shirt and they fit snugly in most suitcases.
Needless to say, love this, won't go without them.

A la Columbo: the NFL insulated lunch box cooler by Kolder is a perfect fit for the Fly3Pak plus a few guitar cables or small accessories.

A month later, and I feel like I have been on a road show touring the new Blackstar Fly3Pak to every guitarist/musician in my company. From the lowly noodles like me, to the semi pro once opened for Alice Cooper years ago, all are equally impressed by the tone, grit, and volume that emanates from this miniature amp stack. Add to that an onboard delay, a stereo line in, headphone or cab emulator out, battery or AC power, and you have extreme value for just shy of a C-note...music joke FTW. I love this cab set so much, I actually contemplated disposing of a Line 6 Spider IV 75...but only for a moment. Truth be told, if I could trade it for a Blackstar HT 1R or 5R, I might consider it quite seriously. In terms of volume, active pickups in my friend's Jackson really scream compared to the passives in my Epi Les Paul. While I can get pretty loud with my Gibson '57s, he has a few notches more with his EMGs.

My favorite features - ISF makes it easy to dial in the tone you're looking for; Delay gives it that extra touch of class, a feature - reverb, chorus, or a mix of all three - found on most larger practice amps. Such features sets it apart from other gimmicky miniatures that merely resemble the iconic originals. The Orange Crush PIX CR3 is probably the next best pocket rocket, but a distant second nonetheless.

Finally, thanks to Nathan Parker for always getting it right. You've made me a Sweetwater customer for life.

I've own some small practice amps.. but this is a step above most... I started off with just the amp and liked the sound but than I decided to add the power supply and ext. speaker.. This made a big difference in tone and loudness .. For $99 you might find something better but you won't get multi-speakers that can be separated to even give it more of a fullness sound.. not that it lacks that at all...Doe not sound like a mini-amp..Sounds a lot bigger..

Tone, OD & Delay, Aux-in for mp3/cd ... excellent!!!...just ONE compact mini amp you can take anywhere.

I ordered each one of these pieces separately. Until I had a complete setup. And I was blown away with the volume and great tone! I use tube amps to play through for the last 50 years so I'm not easily impressed. I wanted to do a little "buskin" and needed something I could take to the streets, and man does it ever sound good! Great drive and each one of my guitars sound great. It works on batteries and AC. Huge sound in a tiny package.
Sweetwater was very easy to work with and you can tell they care about their customers.

I bought these to use for practicing in my garage with my traveler. The amps work great!. The extension amp is a nice touch, and the amps produce a useable distortion tone at lower volumes. They are quire loud considering their size and maintain clarity in the tone throughout the range. The MP3 line in works nicely also.

Seriously, folks, this small combo kit packs a sonic punch. As the others have said, I also highly recommend buying the amp with the extension speaker kit to enjoy the fullest experience possible. You can hear a difference when the speakers are set in a "PC stereo speaker" configuration most of us are familiar with, as well as when they are stacked vertically. To my ears, no matter which configuration you place them in, it has a richer, fuller sound with the extension speaker. Aside from tonal quality, the only other benefit of buying the full kit is the inclusion of the optional power supply.

I would like to see Blackstar perhaps create single and dual speaker mounts that can be universally attached to different kinds of stands/frames, if someone else has not already done so.

I demo'ed one of these amps at a local us if store, but just the amp itself and not the extension cabinet.
They didn't have the combo with the power supply in stock, so I ordered it from Sweetwater.
Pity it took so long to receive it (overnight!). :-)
Great little amp for practice, or playing with a few friends at home or in a small hall.

The distortion is very good for playing rock'n roll or blues. But don't expect to have a distortion to play metal.

Disclaimer: I avoid Chinese garbage at all costs.

Please bring your pedal and amplifier manufacturing back to USA or any other country then China.

This amp works well and I must say is perfect for early practices or low level jams. Other then being made in China, I like this product. Aging rocker!

I bought this mainly for hotel rooms. Sounds good enough for practice. I had a pretty low bar for this amp but it exceeded my expectations. The delay is a nice touch. Heaphone out is handy but doesn't sound near as good as through the speakers.
Sounds surprisingly good for mp3 / device playback. HDMI into the tv then audio into this thing. Way better than hotel tv speakers!

Great little amp and the extension amp doubles the pleasure. We had the single amp and love the fact that this pack has a power cord.

I'm a big fan of the Blackstar gain stage. This little gem does a nice job of emulating that tight, focused sound, but lacks the over-the-top saturation of the real thing. But let's be honest, it's designed to fit it somewhere between toy and personal practice amp range.
The build is quite solid. But I imagine the cat5 type cable that connects the extension cab will probably be the first part to break.
The ISF is terrific; it responds just like my HT metal pedal.
The power is exactly what you'd expect from 6 watts; just enough to compete w/ an acoustic around a camp-fire.
The delay is actually quite pleasing and has controls for both level and time.
The aux input allows for play along options, and sounds surprisingly good as a means of battery powered MP3 amplification.
An EQ/Tone would be nice, but I'm fine without it.

Compact FLY delivers some very nice tones. The Delay is tweakable and creates a spacious ambience that fills out the sound. EQ is their basic UK-US bias and cleans up nicely on the sparkly side. The OD works as it should with the gain and creates some thick stuff for those inclined to grind. The extension cabinet sports its own stow away cord that has a phone type connector. Fly operates in complete silence. The power supply is small and grounded, very quiet ,no hiss or hum. I used it with a electric ukulele and it was perfect. Acoustic guitar also sounded very natural and open. Aux in, Phones out rounds out the features. I like the price point.

I've had this for about a year and a half and it still sounds great plugged in, but I bought it for the purpose of busking. Sweetwater was kind enough to replace the power supply when it died a couple months ago, but now the batteries don't recharge. Using the amp on battery power, it dies within a minute and will not function as advertised. If it didn't sound so good, It wouldn't be such a disappointment. It will function great as computer speakers, as long as you keep it plugged in, but the manual states that the power supply MUST be unplugged when the amp is not in use, so make sure you plug it in somewhere that's easily accessible. This little amp is a great concept, but a good piece of gear should last longer than a year and a half. If you want to drop a hundred bucks on something that will last, you'd be better off in the long run buying a decent cable or a pedal. Maybe I bought a lemon. I'd like to think Blackstar's bigger amps are designed for more longevity, but after this experience I'm sticking with Fender and Peavey amps.