Fender Mustang Amps - Opinions?

[FredJr]

I am a bit overwhelmed by the Mustang III capabilities. Of course factory vids always tend to show the product at its best so is anyone would like to sound off with his/her opinion on these little beasties I would love to hear it.

In the meantime I am giving some serious thought to the purchase of a Mustang III for gigs, home recording, practice, etc.

Thanks all!!!

[Tele-Champ]

My Mustang I just arrived yesterday. So far I'm having a blast with it - great little practice amp. I think the amp sims sound very good. And the tone of this amp is a lot better than I had thought it might be..

However, I have just scratched the surface with this amp - there are a LOT of different combinations of sounds, with all the amp sims, effects, FUSE software, and Amplitube options... I'm just getting started..

[CharlesT]

I have a Mustang II, the 40 watt model. I am really impressed with it. The tones are really good, better than I thought they'd be. Naturally, the Fender sounds are the closest. The Twin and Deluxe sounds are really good.
I'd think the III would be a great all around amp - tons of presets available, quality speaker (Celestion), and 100 watts. I'm thinking about selling my II and getting a III for the extra features.

[Papa Joe]

I had the Mustang 2..It sounded like a solid state amp..Only kept it a few days..

[FredJr]

Originally Posted by Papa Joe

I had the Mustang 2..It sounded like a solid state amp..Only kept it a few days..

I did get to try a Mustang II and that was my take also. I may not have played it long enough but then again it may be the III with the 12" speaker will be beefier sounding.

My #1 choice for a new amp is still the Blues Junior III but I like the USB type features of the Mustangs. I guess I just want to like them but what I don't want to have happen is that I buy the Mustang III and think "shoulda bought the Junior". I KNOW that one absolutely KILLS with my new American Standard Telecaster.

I may be better off just getting a good looper like a Jam Man Solo & uploading loops for my original tunes & jamming. I am not so sure I need all of those bells & whistles anymore. I have had a few solid staters with modeling and I just kept going for a something that sounded like my Pro Junior or a Blues Junior - that should tell me something

[hotraman]

Originally Posted by FredJr

I am a bit overwhelmed by the Mustang III capabilities. Of course factory vids always tend to show the product at its best so is anyone would like to sound off with his/her opinion on these little beasties I would love to hear it.

In the meantime I am giving some serious thought to the purchase of a Mustang III for gigs, home recording, practice, etc.

Thanks all!!!

The Mustang III would be the way to go if that's going to be your gigging amp. You can access effects and program on the fly better than the I or II.
I own the II and I love the Fender models. I run my pedals through it. Its a great rehearsal and small gig amp. Can't be the price, too.

[HOBBSTER01]

Not meaning any disrespect.
But.
I have played I,II and III.
I f you can't find one of these amps to suit you, then haul 39 pedals out to do your VFW gig. (btw I love the VFW)
I am approaching 50 years old and I find that modeling amps are soon(in the next few years) gonna be the way to gig.
Most haters are gonna be pickers in my age group who are used to doing things the way papaw did it and are not going to embrace any facet of digital technology.
So be it.
I think these new amps are a great asset.
I can't wait to see what the future brings.

[Jim Dep]

Originally Posted by HOBBSTER01

Most haters are gonna be pickers in my age group who are used to doing things the way papaw did it and are not going to embrace any facet of digital technology.
So be it.

Hate? No hate here, I just don't think Hank did it that way.

[blonde52]

I've had a Mustang l for a month now. I've never had more fun with a piece of gear in my life. The Fuse software is a blast to play with.

I'm not a gigger; I only know how this amp sounds at home/practice volume.

The Fender and Vox models are great in my opinion. I'm not a Marshal/Boogie/Dumble/Soldano etc. guy, so I don't know if these models are accurate, but they sound good to me.

Does it sound like a tube amp? I don't know. But at practice levels it makes my guitars sound like the ones on the original blues and rock records I love. Never had that before
in a practice amp.

Best $100.00 I've ever spent.

[Papa Joe]

No "hate" here for modern technology..I'm a huge fan of the Roland GR20..Use it a lot.
No 39 stomp boxes.A delay,and a distortion pedal..
I just prefer the warmth of tubes just starting to growl..The mustang can't do that..
Papaw didn't even have that..No disrespect intended..

[FredJr]

Originally Posted by Papa Joe

No "hate" here for modern technology..I'm a huge fan of the Roland GR20..Use it a lot.
No 39 stomp boxes.A delay,and a distortion pedal..
I just prefer the warmth of tubes just starting to growl..The mustang can't do that..
Papaw didn't even have that..No disrespect intended..

No techno hate here either - I AM using a computer to post this But my rig is simple - Pro Junior and 3 pedals (Delay, OD, and Tremolo)

But the only way to resolve this in my own head is to give the III a whirl. I tried the II and it just didn't "do it" for me - at least not yet

[ruger9]

I played a Mustang (a I i think... it was $169), right next to a GDEC3-15 and a Vox VT15.

The GDEC is a great little tool, but it never sounded like a guitar amp to me. I sounds like a recording of a guitar amp, effected & compressed in a studio, then burned onto a CD and played thru a stereo speaker. (which is what it is.)

I couldn't get a decent sound out of the Mustang. It was just awful.

The Vox was considerably better than the other 2, even on the Fender sounds. Now, I have a little DA5 and I can tell you, put that thing thru a 12" speaker and it absolutely rocks. I could do a gig or record with it in a heartbeat. But these small speakers aren't doing justice to the modeling IMHO. If you're going modeling, you need a 12" speaker & decent sized cab.

And honestly, the Mustang just sucked.

I've been playing for over 20 years, it's not like I don't know how to dial in an amp...

I love modelers for their ability to help you get creative with a bunch of different onboard effects... they're alot of fun. And great for "bedroom volumes" or "when everybody goes to bed". But they'll never replace a tube amp.

[justatwanging]

I owned the Mustang II for about a week and took it back to Guitar Center and traded for a Fender Super Champ XD and have never looked back. I'm use to open back amps so the Mustang II did not work well for me.The amp does have some very cool features.

[telel6s]

Two days ago I was doing some experimenting to help a friend buy a first amp for her 13yo daughter. I was really impressed with the Mustang I. Thought it blew away the similar amps from Peavy and Line6.

Questions for those who have spent more time with them:
* How easy is it to set up programs/patches? I don't mean with the software, but on the amp itself. My ten minutes with the amp was interrupted by having to reset the gain/volume/effects when switching between the amp models. Is there a "manual" setting or is everything set up as a patch of sorts? One, I want it to be easy for the 13 year old to use (I have no doubt she'd get the hang of things, just thinking about the first month or so). Two, her Mom won't be happy if there is an acceptable volume in the house on the Bassman setting only to have things cranked up when switched to SuperSonic.

Thanks much!

[rolling56]

Originally Posted by Papa Joe

I had the Mustang 2..It sounded like a solid state amp..Only kept it a few days..

I wondered if you kept your prize or not.........

[StraightNeck]

I have the Mustang II and it is one of the best SS/modeling amp out there.I think it is
better than the SCXD.You have to dig in to the Fuse and tweak it to your liking/ears.
The British 60s with some gain has a very nice growl.The 57 Champ is hilarious,pure fun.

[PumpJockey]

Originally Posted by HOBBSTER01

Not meaning any disrespect.
But.
I have played I,II and III.
I f you can't find one of these amps to suit you, then haul 39 pedals out to do your VFW gig. (btw I love the VFW)
I am approaching 50 years old and I find that modeling amps are soon(in the next few years) gonna be the way to gig.
Most haters are gonna be pickers in my age group who are used to doing things the way papaw did it and are not going to embrace any facet of digital technology.
So be it.
I think these new amps are a great asset.
I can't wait to see what the future brings.

I am older than you and - yes, it took some convincing - at the end of the day I went with a hybrid amp that had modeling (VT15). The fact that I had great sound from my Line 6 bass amp helped me along. And I am a guy who mistrusted active circuits in guitars for years!

Of course, the VT also has a tube. And, no, I don't use 90% of its capabilities, but it has the three or four models that give me the sounds I need to play covers. (Fender Deluxe 2-12, Vox AC30, Modded CL)

For the casual or occasional gigging musician, the future is the XDs, VTs, etc. Modeling and a tube dynamic and, ahem, you can pick it up with one hand.

[FredJr]

Originally Posted by StraightNeck

I have the Mustang II and it is one of the best SS/modeling amp out there.I think it is
better than the SCXD.You have to dig in to the Fuse and tweak it to your liking/ears.
The British 60s with some gain has a very nice growl.The 57 Champ is hilarious,pure fun.

I think THAT may be the reason I am shying away from modeling stuff - too much tweaking. I guess I am more of a plug in and play it guy.

[StraightNeck]

Yeah,i admit i was a bit frustrated with the tweaking but now that i found settings that
sound great it is plug in and play.

[TCA117]

I got the mustang iii last week at guitar center. 299 retail and couldn't be happier. I traded in a gdec15. I found the gdec had about 3 usable tones. This is way different. 12amps with clean sound, 88 Others combination of pedals. Baseman, Princeton tweed fantastic. Plus a headphone jack. I was considering a blues jr or a relic tweed, but for half the price this is a lot of fun. Haven't even tried the fuse software that I hear is really a plus with these fender amps. Very loud, light.