Blackstar 220401M-1 Fly 3 Charge Owner’s Manual

Blackstar 220401M-1 Fly 3 Charge Owner’s Manual

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with dry cloth.
7. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
9. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
10. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
11. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

“TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THIS APPARATUS FROM THE AC MAINS, DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CORD PLUG FROM THE AC RECEPTACLE”.

“WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. THE APPARATUS SHALL NOT BE EXPOSED TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING AND THAT OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS, SUCH AS VASES, SHALL NOT BE PLACED ON APPARATUS”. This apparatus is for professional use only!

Warning!

Important safety information!

READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CAREFULLY. SAVE ALL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE!

Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the product!

Do not open the equipment case. There are no user serviceable parts in this equipment. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

Clean only with a dry cloth.

Condensation can form on the inside of an amplifier if it is moved from a cold environment to a warmer location. Before switching the unit on, it is recommended that the unit be allowed to reach room temperature.

Unauthorised modification of this equipment is expressly forbidden by Blackstar Amplification Ltd.

Never push objects of any kind into ventilation slots on the equipment casing.

Do not expose this apparatus to rain, liquids or moisture of any type.

Do not place this product on an unstable trolley, stand or table. The product may fall, causing serious damage to the product or to persons!

This product should not be placed near a source of heat such as a stove, radiator, or another heat producing amplifier.

Use only a power adapter which is compatible with the mains voltage supply in your area.

Power supply cords should always be handled carefully and should be replaced if damaged in any way.

Never break off the earth (ground) pin on the power supply cord.

An apparatus with Class 1 construction should be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing connection.

The mains plug of the power supply cord should remain readily accessible.

Batteries should not be exposed to excessive heat such as sunshine or fire.

Batteries must be properly disposed of at a hazardous waste collection site, recycling facility or following the laws of your local area.

High headphone levels can cause permanent hearing damage. You should therefore avoid the direct vicinity of loudspeakers operating at high levels. Wear hearing protection if continuously exposed to high levels.

If the product does not operate normally when the operating instructions are followed, then refer the product to a qualified service engineer.

The U.S. Government´s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has specified the following permissible noise level exposures:

According to OSHA, any exposure in excess of the above permissible limits could result in some hearing loss.

All electrical and electronic products should be disposed of separately from the municipal waste stream via designated collection facilities appointed by the government or the local authorities.

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing this Blackstar FLY Series amplifier.

The FLY 3 CHARGE is an innovative mini amp which packs all the great tones of Blackstar products into one compact, portable amplifier – perfect for practice when on the go; the FLY 3 CHARGE also includes the Blackstar-exclusive ISF circuit, which gives you infinite possibilities for changing the tone of your amp. You can either plug in your phone, MP3 player, laptop or tablet into the FLY 3 CHARGE and jam along to your favourite songs, or go “cable free” with built-in Bluetooth.

The FLY 103 is a mini cabinet which, when connected to the FLY 3 CHARGE, creates a stereo sound for your guitar playing and music; a perfect combination for creating big sound and great tone whilst jamming, it also gives great output when used with other devices via the MP3 / LINE IN socket.

Like all Blackstar products, the FLY 3 CHARGE is the result of countless hours of painstaking research and development by our world-class design team; based in

Northampton (UK), the Blackstar team are all experienced musicians themselves, and the sole aim of the development process when creating our products is to provide guitarists with ultimate tools for self-expression.

All Blackstar products are subjected to extensive laboratory and road testing to ensure that they are truly uncompromising in terms of quality, reliability and above all – TONE!

If you like what you hear and want to find out more about the Blackstar range of products, please visit our website at www.blackstaramps.com.

Thanks!
The Blackstar Team

Features

The FLY 3 CHARGE is a compact mini amp with big TONE. Combining two channels, our patented Infinite Shape Feature (ISF) and a tape delay it’s the perfect take-anywhere amp.

The patented ISF circuit gives you unlimited adjustment over the characteristics of your tone and takes you from the USA to the UK and anywhere in-between.

The MP3 / Line In jack allows you to connect your FLY 3 CHARGE to a music device and jam along to your favourite tunes and the built-in Bluetooth makes connecting to an external device even easier.

All the FLY 3 Mini amps make a great speaker for your phone, tablet or PC / laptop. A fully specified speaker emulated output allows you to get great tone to tape or disk, or through headphones.

Capable of being powered by batteries, you can take your FLY 3 CHARGE with you wherever you go and always get ‘the sound in your head’!

Front Panel

Input
Plug your guitar in here. Always use a good quality screened guitar lead.

Gain
This control adjusts the amount of overdrive or distortion.

When the Clean Channel is selected, low settings counter clockwise (CCW), will deliver a clean sound. As the Gain control is increased clockwise (CW) the sound will move from clean into break-up, until at its maximum position, a full crunch tone is arrived at.

When the Overdrive Channel is selected, the Gain control adjusts the amount of overdrive or distortion. Low settings, counter clockwise, will deliver a clean sound on the edge of break-up. As the Gain control is increased CW the sound will become more overdriven moving through crunch tones until, at its maximum position, a full distorted lead tone is arrived at.

OD (Overdrive)
Press this switch to select the Overdrive Channel. When the switch is in the Overdrive Channel is selected. When the switch is out the Clean Channel is in operation.

Volume
This controls the volume of the Clean and Overdrive Channels. Turning it clockwise increases the volume.

ISF (Infinite Shape Feature)
The patented ISF control allows you to choose the exact tonal signature you prefer. Fully CCW has a more American characteristic with a tight bottom end and more aggressive middle, and fully CW has a British characteristic which is more ‘woody’ and less aggressive.

DELAY LEVEL
Toggle the DL LEVEL knob to change the time that the Delay Time (mentioned below) lasts – the higher the DL LEVEL setting, the longer the overall delay effect will last.

DELAY TIME
Toggle this knob to change the amount of time for the DELAY TIME effect – turn the switch clockwise to increase the delay, and counter-clockwise to decrease the delay.

MP3 / Line In
Connect the output of your MP3 or CD player here. Adjust the player’s volume to match that of your guitar to enable you to play along.

Note: the connection is stereo.

Speaker Emulated Output & Headphones
This output emulates the tonal characteristics of a guitar speaker cabinet and provides a natural valve overdrive tone for connection to a recording device or mixing desk, and for use with headphones. To make full use of the stereo reverb, use a stereo jack to two mono jacks splitter lead to feed two channels of the recording device or mixer (see diagram below). The output will also function into a mono guitar type lead. Always use a good quality screened lead.

Note: when a lead is connected here the combo’s internal speaker is disconnected.

Power
This switch is used to turn the FLY 3 CHARGE on and off; when using batteries, the FLY 3 CHARGE power light will dim as the power in the batteries runs out.

Power Indicator Light
The power indicator will light when the amplifier is switched on.

Bluetooth
Your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity for wirelessly streaming your favourite music and backing tracks. Press this switch to pair a Bluetooth device to your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier and toggle between the modes of operation (see below).

Discoverable Mode (slow LED flash)

To connect a Bluetooth device to your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier for the first time you must make a ‘pairing’ between the two devices. To pair, simply press and hold the Bluetooth switch on your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier until the Bluetooth LED displays a slow flash. In this state other Bluetooth devices are able to ‘see’ your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier (hence the term ‘Discoverable’) and can make a request to pair.

Whilst the Bluetooth LED is flashing slowly, go to the Bluetooth Settings page of your Bluetooth device and look for your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier in the list of available devices. Your amplifier will be identified as ‘FLY CHARGE’. When ‘FLY CHARGE’ appears, simply select this device and wait a few moments for the pairing to be made. You will hear an audible tone from the amplifier to indicate that a device has been successfully connected.

If a pairing has not been made within the Discoverable Mode timeout window, the Bluetooth connectivity will switch off and will wait for user input in order to attempt a new pairing. Simply press and hold the Bluetooth switch again to enter Discoverable

Mode and restart the pairing process.

Pressing the Bluetooth switch while in Discoverable Mode will put your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier into Scanning Mode.

Scanning Mode (fast LED flash)

Scanning Mode is used to reconnect any previously paired Bluetooth devices to your FLY 3 CHARGE if they have travelled out of range or have been disconnected.

Ensure your previously paired Bluetooth device has Bluetooth connectivity switched on. Press the Bluetooth switch once to put the FLY 3 CHARGE into Scanning Mode; your amplifier will ‘scan’ for previously paired devices within range and attempt to reconnect, starting with the device that was most recently connected. You will hear an audible tone from the amplifier to indicate that a device has been successfully reconnected.

If you have previously paired any Bluetooth Devices to your FLY 3 CHARGE amplifier it will power on in Scanning Mode. If your Bluetooth device is within range and has Bluetooth connectivity switched on, your amplifier will automatically reconnect to your device, allowing you to start streaming your music straight away.

Pressing the Bluetooth switch from Scanning Mode will set your amplifier to
Discoverable Mode in order to begin pairing a new device.

At any time, you may disconnect your Bluetooth device from your amplifier by either pressing and holding the Bluetooth switch on the amplifier front panel for 3 seconds or switching off the Bluetooth functionality of your device. You will hear an audible tone from the amplifier to indicate that a device has been disconnected.

Bluetooth LED
The Bluetooth LED indicates which mode the Bluetooth is in (Discoverable/ Scanning). When the Bluetooth LED is unlit the Bluetooth connectivity is not active.

Rear Panel

USB Power In
Using a suitable charger (see page 11, Charger Requirements), plug the USB-C cable into the port labelled POWER IN.

SOLID RED LED
The FLY 3 CHARGE is charging.

LED OFF
The FLY 3 CHARGE is fully charged.

FLASHING RED LED
Power is low.

To protect the life of your battery, please remember to unplug the FLY 3 CHARGE when it is fully charged or when you wish to use it.

Leaving it plugged in continually can reduce the lifespan of the battery.

It is best practice to deplete the battery as much as possible before recharging rather topping it up with smaller charges.

Optimal Tone
To get the best possible tone from your FLY 3 CHARGE, please unplug the charging cable before use. The process of charging can affect the quality of your guitar tone.

Charger requirements
Please a USB charger delivering a maximum of 5V 1.0A.

WARNING: DO NOT USE LAPTOP USB-C CHARGERS OR OTHER HIGH POWERED USB-C CHARGERS.

Extension Cabinet (FLY103)
Connect your FLY 3 Charge to a FLY 103 using the FLY 103’s built-in cable to create a 6W stereo set-up. (Extension cabinet sold separately)

FLY 3 Charge Front Panel

FLY 3 Charge Bluetooth Rear Panel

Documents / Resources

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220401M-1 Fly 3 Charge, 220401M-1, Fly 3 Charge, 3 Charge, Charge
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