Fender Mini '57 Twin

FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
BLACKSTAR FLY 3 £49
Fly-away tone
BUILDING ON the already
compact ID:Core series, the Fly 3
takes the micro amp concept and
runs with it, packing three watts,
two channels, digital tape delay
and Blackstar’s Infinite Shape
Feature for British and American
sounds. What’s more, you can
even buy an extension cab
(£19.99) to create a stereo rig,
which works brilliantly for playing
tunes via the 3.5mm audio-in jack.
It’s the tone that makes the Fly 3
such a resounding success,
though; it sounds as good as
practice amps four times the size,
with a meaty bass response,
American-style cleans and hefty
gain. Dialling in a touch of tape
delay helps to enhance the size of
the sound, too. A huge innovation
in a tiny field.
OUTPUT: 3W
SPEAKER: 1x 3”
POWER: 6x AA batteries,
6.5V power supply
CONTROLS: Gain, volume, EQ/ISF,
delay time, delay level, OD switch
SOCKETS: Input, MP3/line in,
emulated line out/headphones,
power, extension speaker output
WEIGHT: 0.65kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD] 136x171x101mm
CONTACT: Blackstar Amplification
01604 652844 www.blackstaramps.com
AT A GLANCE
OUTPUT: 3W
SPEAKER: 1x 4”
POWER: 9V battery,
9V power supply
CONTROLS: Tone,
volume, overdrive button,
tuner button
SOCKETS: Input, 3.5mm
headphone output, power
WEIGHT: 0.8kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
150x150x85mm
CONTACT: Orange
Amplification
0208 905 2828
www.orangeamps.com
AT A GLANCE
WITH A four-inch speaker, the
Micro Crush sounds bigger than
some of its rivals, offering a slightly
fuller bass response, and it also
includes a handy built-in chromatic
tuner. While the clean channel’s
lower volumes provide a good
platform for shimmering chords, it
doesn’t stay clean for long; turn up
to 10 o’clock, and it breaks up for
vintage grit. Switching to the OD
channel yields a wild, loose crunch
that’s great for indie barre chords;
but with no gain control, it’s not
especially versatile, so falls down
a little on heavy rock and metal.
ORANGE MICRO CRUSH PIX £38
PiX and mix
GEAR ROUNDUP
WINTER 2014 91
TGR261.gear_round2.indd 91 07/11/2014 16:15