Great when it works
The app is great when it works. Set up is a hassle with the two bluetooth connections. The Beam Audio is hit or miss.
A Long Way to Go
I’ll start by saying that the Beam Mini amp itself is amazing. I’m happy with my purchase in that regard. As for the app, it’s frustrating to say the least.
Using the app for the first time, I couldn’t create an account without the app freezing a couple times during the process. Once I somehow was able to get to the main screen and check my account, there was nothing populated aside from it saying I was located in the UK.
The Beam Mini’s claim to fame is its collaboration with Tone 3000. That part of the app is broken in my opinion. Bring in amps from the website that it connects to often crashes the app. Once you do have an amp pulled loaded in, it doesn’t inherently save the amp. If you want to manually save it as a preset, you have to name it yourself. It doesn’t inherently pull through the amp image, name, etc. Also please note that the Tone 3000 website often crashes when using Safari unassociated with the app.
Last, the touch controls are finicky. To adjust knobs on the amps or pedals, you have to press and hold the knob to begin the process. It would make more sense to be able to tap the knob and then use the slider at the top.
I’m sure the app will improve over time. It’s new. The collab with Tone 3000 is new. But for now, just be prepared to be a little frustrated.
Using the app for the first time, I couldn’t create an account without the app freezing a couple times during the process. Once I somehow was able to get to the main screen and check my account, there was nothing populated aside from it saying I was located in the UK.
The Beam Mini’s claim to fame is its collaboration with Tone 3000. That part of the app is broken in my opinion. Bring in amps from the website that it connects to often crashes the app. Once you do have an amp pulled loaded in, it doesn’t inherently save the amp. If you want to manually save it as a preset, you have to name it yourself. It doesn’t inherently pull through the amp image, name, etc. Also please note that the Tone 3000 website often crashes when using Safari unassociated with the app.
Last, the touch controls are finicky. To adjust knobs on the amps or pedals, you have to press and hold the knob to begin the process. It would make more sense to be able to tap the knob and then use the slider at the top.
I’m sure the app will improve over time. It’s new. The collab with Tone 3000 is new. But for now, just be prepared to be a little frustrated.
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Basic but needs more work
Had issues in the past loading NAM profiles now I feel the app is now in a state where it’s decent but needs more features.
Need serious improvement
Very buggy. App freezes up all of the time when switching between presets and tuning. The amp is great but the app is very disappointing so far.
A great app for a great amp.
The Blackstar Beam amp delivers a versatile experience. Through it, a user can explore and fine-tune thousands, that’s correct, thousands of tonal variations. In my experience, the interface is responsive. There are a few issues that are normal to new software development which I expect to be ironed out, but I’m vested in the product and the success of the app and most importantly, the device it controls (BEAM mini, in my case). The app enhances the overall device experience by allowing the user to control the amp, while at the same time a user can stream any audio source to the amp via bluetooth allowing the user to practice and learn songs through one source without the need for a mixer. This functionality is compounded by the ability to use the amp’s native speakers to cast the audio and guitar tone, or use headphones. However, I’ve been having success connecting the amp via the headphone jack to powered monitors for a more robust sound with great stereo spread. I look forward to the implementation of future improvements to the apt some of which are already part of the roadmap.
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