Blackstar Fly 3 Amp: toxic trash

[Winston Psmith]

Oh, man, this . . . Here's the short and none-too-sweet version.

 

Back in November, my bandmate ordered a little Blackstar Fly 3 Amp from MF, as a Christmas present for me. It was the model with the Green Sugar Skull motif, which she thought I'd like.

 

One got lost in transit, and somehow wound up going back to MF. Neither of us ever even saw that one; so much for Christmas.

 

MF sent a replacement, which my bandmate brought over during our session right before my birthday, middle of last month. I opened it, and found the ugliest cluster of leaking, corroded batteries I have ever seen, with corrosion reaching down into the guts of the little Amp. I didn't even think about trying to pry them out and clean up the mess, it was that bad. I quickly and carefully repacked the toxic mess, washed my hands thoroughly, and emailed Blackstar. So much for a late Christmas/early birthday present.

 

I can't fault Korg/Blackstar's Customer Service folks. They responded quickly, and about a week ago, I received an email telling me that they we're shipping a replacement Fly 3 Amp, in red instead of green, because they were out of the green model. All good, right?

 

Yesterday, I received a replacement Fly 3 Amp from Korg USA, the red Sugar Skull model, as promised. I opened it up, looked inside, and found that two of the batteries in it had already started leaking. Once again, I just re-packed the whole thing, and set it aside for the hazardous waste pickup. I did email Korg/Blackstar, to thank them for yet another box full of toxic waste.

 

After opening the first Amp, and finding the horror-show inside, I went looking for reviews online, and it only got uglier. Amazon has 1-star reviews from all over the world, with photos of the same leaking batteries in the same model Amp, and on the MF site, there are two reviews describing the leaking batteries. Oddly, the same model Fly 3 Amp with a different graphic or color motif has gotten lots of fair to good reviews, so I have to wonder why one version of this Amp is essentially pre-packaged toxic trash?

 

AFAIK, my bandmate hadn't yet heard back from MF, so I don't know if she finally got a refund - I certainly hope so - or if they're going to send yet a FOURTH Fly 3 Amp? I can't say I'm looking forward to it. OTOH, @Sharkman, I may yet have a video for you, but it will be of me smashing the Fly Amp instead of the Viola.

 

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

("Liked" for the cautionary 'heads-up' service of the post)

That is awful!

I guess they already had a very good idea that everything was just as you said, huh?

 

[Winston Psmith]

@Caevan O’Shite- My first move was to email Blackstar, because I didn't know where my bandmate got the Amp, and I didn't want to start out by telling her it was DOA.

 

The folks from Blackstar put me though to Korg, the parent company, so that's who I've been dealing with.

 

As I say, their Customer Service folks were very responsive, but the product!?!?! At least they're consistent, I'll give them that; all the 1-star reviews, and there are PLENTY, have the same QC issue with the batteries.

 

FWIW, the first DOA Amp came from Musician's Friend, where it may have been sitting in storage since IDK when? The replacement, however, came directly from Korg USA, which means that when retailers go to re-stock these Amps, they're likely to be getting product from the same batch that this one just came from, pre-loaded with leaking batteries, even before it hits the retail shelves. There's an expression from the computing world, "direct to trash", that seems applicable here.

 

The batteries themselves are labeled "Aellex" (never seen them before, except in all those 1-star reviews), "Made In PRC", and "AV 12 2023", which I expect is their expiration date. Makes me wonder how long these things have been sitting in storage, if they expire 10 months from now? There's also a warning printed right on the label; "May Leak Or Explode If Recharged, Improperly Connected, Or Disposed Of In Fire." At least they got that part right.

 

I'm somewhat disappointed the whole thing didn't just explode; at least that would have been somewhat entertaining, and the only sound I'm likely to hear from one. Anyone got any leftover fireworks?

[surfergirl]

2 things.

1: Don't they usually ship with the batteries separate.

2: I had put my Dunlop wah pedal away several years ago and forgot about, when I opened it up the store brand battery had not leaked. The batteries in the amp must have been REALLY cheap. 

[KuruPrionz]

Not a fan of Blackstar gear. 

 

Best small amp I've used (and own) is Roland Micro Cube. Just sayin'...

[Winston Psmith]

@Caevan O’Shite- Korg/Blackstar never asked me to return the item, nor to provide any proof of my damage claim, other than to forward them a copy of the original receipt, so yeah, I think they've heard this story before. The 1-star reviews came from most of the globe, including Europe, the UK, Canada, the US, and India, all with the same leaking batteries. As it turns out, I'm not the first person who got one with a bad batch of batteries, and then got a replacement Amp with the same battery issue. Like I said, at least they're consistent.

 

@KuruPrionz- My first piece of Blackstar gear, AND my last. OTOH, I have quite a few pieces from Korg, both older gear (WaveStation SR) and recent gear (MonoLogue, MicroKorg, etc.), and I've been very happy with all of them. I think this is more of a cautionary tale about licensing a company's name, to put out an entry-level product, but I've had enough fun with this one, I'm done.

 

@surfergirl - You got it. Usually the batteries are tucked into a side compartment, not IN the device itself, except with compact effects pedals. Still, I can't recall ever buying a brand-new Guitar pedal where the battery was leaking, and from my time in Music retail, I can't recall ever having to return or trash a stock item because of leaking batteries, never mind an entire product line where this is a known issue?

 

I held back from making a public post when I got the first Amp, in order to give Korg/Blackstar time to make things right. At this point, I feel like the Cust. Service department tried their best, but they don't make the product.

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

@Caevan O’Shite- Korg/Blackstar never asked me to return the item, nor to provide any proof of my damage claim, other than to forward them a copy of the original receipt, so yeah, I think they've heard this story before. The 1-star reviews came from most of the globe, including Europe, the UK, Canada, the US, and India, all with the same leaking batteries. As it turns out, I'm not the first person who got one with a bad batch of batteries, and then got a replacement Amp with the same battery issue. Like I said, at least they're consistent.

 

@KuruPrionz- My first piece of Blackstar gear, AND my last. OTOH, I have quite a few pieces from Korg, both older gear (WaveStation SR) and recent gear (MonoLogue, MicroKorg, etc.), and I've been very happy with all of them. I think this is more of a cautionary tale about licensing a company's name, to put out an entry-level product, but I've had enough fun with this one, I'm done.

 

@surfergirl - You got it. Usually the batteries are tucked into a side compartment, not IN the device itself, except with compact effects pedals. Still, I can't recall ever buying a brand-new Guitar pedal where the battery was leaking, and from my time in Music retail, I can't recall ever having to return or trash a stock item because of leaking batteries, never mind an entire product line where this is a known issue?

 

I held back from making a public post when I got the first Amp, in order to give Korg/Blackstar time to make things right. At this point, I feel like the Cust. Service department tried their best, but they don't make the product.

I like Korg too, I only have the Wavedrum Global but it is an amazing drum!