Mustang III Amp Club

Got a M III? Let's talk about it here.

I've had mine three days now and I'm really liking it. I'm using it solely as a practice amp. I'm using headphones with it about 50% of the time.

While I think it's cool to use the Laptop with it, I don't really have much need other than eye candy right now.

How are you using your M III? Let's see 'em.

I've got one and think this amp has lots of potential. I think most of the amp models are good as are the effects, my fave amp model being the '65 Twin Reverb. I like how the controls are laid out in an intuative manner making it easy to control the parameters of the amp models your dialing in and I also like how easy it is to store your own settrings. Using the FUSE software is pretty cool too. My only issue is that the cleans don't sound particularly clean. I've noticed a bit of fizziness as the notes decay even with the gain turned all the way down. Not much of an issue if you like to crank the gain level and rock out, but if you like using clean settings that fizzy effect gets annoying fairly quick. I've read elsewhere that some people compare it to the effect you hear when you're playing into a dying tube amp, but to me it just sounds like a digital artifact. Fender is supposedly working on a firmware upgrade for the Mustang III to correct this anomaly, but until then it's something one has to deal with. I kinda wish there was a Jazz Chorus amp model for cleans, but I suppose you'd have to go with one of the Roland Cubes for that. Anyway, I prefer to use my pedals rather than the built in effects so I run my OD and fuzz pedals in front of the amp and my modulation, delay and reverb pedals through the effects loop.

I'm in. I've just had mine for a couple of days, but am liking it allot. Haven't tried anything other than just messing with a few of the pre-sets. Like mine so much I put my SCXD on the block and am considering the 2 X 12 mustang. Fender's been doing allot of good stuff the past few years and I think this one will be another hit for them.

Can't wait for folks to start sharing their favorite settings. :0)

I got a chance to play with one today. This thing looks to be the perfect practice/home recording amp for about any style. It actually did a feasible Thrash-sound, a la Slayer, which is something Fender would not normally be known for. I myself like the clean sounds, and this was really excellent for a great variety of cleans. I too liked the '65 Twin Reverb presets. I got to pull a little volume, but didn't get to crank it, so don't know how these sound with a full band. Anybody try it this way yet? For the scratch, it is very impressive and good to see Fender continue R/D in this area.

I just joined today! Been messing around with it all night. So far, VERY pleased. It won't replace my Genz Benz Black Pearl 112, but, it has already replaced my Digitech RP-1000!

Plus....right now, I am (literally) playing with the handicap of a "mallet finger' on my fretting hand...but I am STILL having a BLAST with this amp! I never thought a solid state amp could be so much fun!

Bump.
Anxiously awaiting more reports on these amps now that you guys have had more time with them. Seriously thinking of getting the IV.

I have the III.

I have not had it long and I started just A/Bing with a Tweaker as I am trying to decide whats best for me being a hobbyist only.

So far I must say I am very impressed. The cleans compared very well. Tonight I want to try more gainy stuff.

The one negative I found is that it didn't like my SD-1 with the pedal gain cranked. It was very harsh sounding. So I guessing the first gain stage that brings up the line level signal for the DSP to handle doesn't like a really hot input.

Luckily there's an OD built in that sounds fine.

Got a M III? Let's talk about it here.

I've had mine three days now and I'm really liking it. I'm using it solely as a practice amp. I'm using headphones with it about 50% of the time.

While I think it's cool to use the Laptop with it, I don't really have much need other than eye candy right now.

How are you using your M III? Let's see 'em.

Do you have to leave those Mustang amps hooked up to a pc or mac? or just to get the settings the way you want them and then they can be stand lone?

......or just to get the settings the way you want them and then they can be stand lone?


This.

I'm in!

I love this amp. (Even the buzz sounds the "tubes" give. nice touch). I have sold several of my pedals because, well, they are not not needed. I kept my MXR compressor, Boss SD-1 and CH-1.

I am using the FUSE program alot. I even uploaded a few settings. I will download a setting that interests me and tweek it for my ears. I downloaded a "Police" setting that someone has and altered it alittle to get that "Andy Summers" tone for my tele. This amp is a gas. A few more months of practice and I will be looking for a few guys my age (late 40's) to start a garageband, practice and hopefully play a few local clubs.

i don't know guys. i know i'm a newbie here and everything but about three months ago i tried out the MIII at my local Long & McQuade and i dont know if it was defective or something but it really sounded terrible. it wasn't the guitar either. i was using an EC Signature Strat. i ended up getting a Bugera V22 and so far it has been pretty kick-ass.

The Mustangs obviously aren't for everybody.

Some of the Fender presets are, perhaps, a bit "over the top" maybe in an attempt
to show off the effects. I wonder if some folks test driving the amp in stores are
missing the more toned down or "pure" amp presets.

Plus once you get to fine tuning the amp with the Fuse software, you can dial down the effects to taste and play with bias and sag and amp cabinets and such.

Just a thought.

Or maybe some folks just genuinely don't like the sound!
:lol:

Mine has started resonating pretty bad when I play my LP through it. Someone on the Fender forums suggested the speaker might be loose. I will try tightening the screws but was wondering if anyone else had this problem and fixed it?

I have a Fender Mustang 4 button footswitch thats brand new still in the box .I bought it because i liked the idea of having more flexibility and a tuner on the floor in front of me.Sadly I fell out of love with my Mustang lll and took it back for a few reasons.Anyways if anyone wants to make me an offer or trade i can save you quite a bit of $ off a new one.I paid $50.Like I said its hardly used...Thanks

Greetings Mustangers, I had a chance to go toe to toe with a Princeton RI last night at a club, the other cat ended up playing on my mustang III for a couple of songs just to make sure its not my playing, and i got to sit up front and get to hear how it really sounds on the princeton sim...needless to say the light 36lb amp got good props and can hang there with the big boys and not be ridiculed to death....not bad for a $299 SS! Didnt know it would sound that good with a sennheiser E609 mic in front...

Just yesterday I was shopping for an amp. I was convinced I wanted a Fender Frontman 212R. Went to Alamo music in San Antonio. They gave me the universal price of $299.99. I said good, what will you give me form my Fender Super Champ XD. I was told I was already getting a discount and they couldn't take a trade in. I sai, see ya.

Went to Guitar Center on San Pedro in San Antoino. Played thru a Fender Mustang III. Price was $299.99. The gave me $115.00 for my amp plus $30.00 for the upgrade in their store. Just sayin'.

Used the Fuse software a bit today. It was quite easy to modify presets, rename them and dump the on the amp. I refuse to pay $1,000 for technology I was using 40 years ago. Besides, at 69 years young moving the Mustang III is much easier than a Twin Reverb.

I'm in and lovin it! Got the 4 and 2 button foot switch...wish I could have 2 stomps at the same time tho.....maybe you can but I haven't found the way yet. there is a lot of good sound in this amp with tweaking...love most of the amp models all are useable for the right songs. Plus the fuse forums to download presets others have made is a real bonus. Some very good tones thee that are close so you can tweak for your own guitar setup or style without having to start from scratch.

Cheers
ce24

I bought the MII a couple weeks ago and decided to take it back and get the MIII yesterday. I like it way better with the lcd screen, speaker and open back. So i guess i belong to this club now :cool:

I just ordered one, and the 4-button pedal.... should be here Monday or Tuesday.

I like that you can assign presets to a quick access list (i.e setlist) and then turn the individual effects on and off like stompboxes - the only ones I do that with during a song would be overdrive/distorion.

I hope the Fuse works with my netbook - that would be sweet. Looking forward to not lugging around a 65lb 2x12!

Used the Fuse software a bit today. It was quite easy to modify presets, rename them and dump the on the amp.

That's good to hear. I'm a computer programmer, but I've always been irked when I see people with laptops are part of their "gear". Maybe I look at music as a chance to step away from the computer and use some ancient technology!

Ah well, time to catch up on technology.

I got one. Like it a lot. I keep the III in the front room and a Mustang I in my den or office at work

I've had my Mustang III for a couple of months now and love it. Right now, just using it as a practice amp, but who knows in the right situation? I esp. like that Fender seems to be more a "cleaner-directioned" modeling amp rather than the other companies who seem geared a bit more to the distorted end of things. (Not that either won't do either, of course!) I guess having more Fender amps in the amp's brain will do that, though, right?

In fact, I started out with a Mustang II back in October and ended up giving it to my son (who's learning guitar) in moving up to the III. Really, between the power and speaker upgrades, along with the vast GUI improvements, it was an absolute no-brainer (IMO) for someone who likes the II. (I also gave my brother a Mustang I for Christmas. He's a bassist and more a talented dabbler on guitar, but he absolutely loves it, too. Esp. the clean sounds. He also loves the tiny size of the I.) BTW, in comparing the II and III side-by-side when I had them both, the III was *clearly* the better sounding amp, IMO (possibly because of the upgraded Celestion speaker and open-back design).

Have not even gotten into the computer interface with my Mac yet (besides just loading the software and trying it out for a few minutes), but I plan on it in the future.

New member to the club here. I just picked up a Mustang 3 yesterday, and ordered a 4 button footswitch that should arrive in a couple of days. I haven't registered it on Fuse yet, but i do have a G-Dec3 that I have used on Fuse.

Thus far, I'm really digging the 2 Deluxe amps and the Bassman:grin:. I'm not a big fan of most of the presets, but the 2 Neil Young presets look promising. I'm looking forward to building a cool jazz fusion tone. BTW, I am currently playing thru the Mustang with a Epi Sheraton w/ Bigsby. I'm now saving my pennies for a CV Tele.

Had mine for a couple of weeks now. Tried it in the store and was quite impressed but only flicked through a few of the on board presets.

Since I got it home and connected the fuse software I am beginning to realise what an awsome tool this thing could be.

My main guitar is a tele nash, but I play many others including wired acoustics , 2 old jazzers, Burns Marvin, 335, Rick, and a LP. This amp loves them all. I'm looking to have 10 to 12 presets set up for each electric guitar and a couple for acoustic and be able to match this amp to styles from 40's through to today.

Buck for buck Great!!!!!!!!

Hi there,
I wanna buy myself a Mustang III next week.
90% what I play is Jazz music,

My question is: "How is the (clean) Jazz sound of the Mustang III" ?

Any advise or idea's ?

Thanks
Clavan

That's good to hear. I'm a computer programmer, but I've always been irked when I see people with laptops are part of their "gear". Maybe I look at music as a chance to step away from the computer and use some ancient technology!


I'm a bit like that. My musical technology comfort level is about 1961.

I also like simplicity so I can just get into playing as opposed to wondering whether 'another setting' would be better.

I have a Blues Junior.....one channel.
And a ZT Lunchbox...one channel.
And a Cube 60...which I use as a one channel amp. And the fact that I can turn it on and that 'one channel' is right there without any flickering light displays or having to go find it is partly why I like the thing. The controls work like a plain old analogue amp as well.
All 3 amps are reliable too.

I've not had a chance to try a Mustang out yet, but the 'plug-in-and-go' factor will decide if I actually get one.

Hi there,
I wanna buy myself a Mustang III next week.
90% what I play is Jazz music,

My question is: "How is the (clean) Jazz sound of the Mustang III" ?

Any advise or idea's ?

Thanks
Clavan

Iwould say the TWIN model would be very good clean jazz tone IMHO

Just bought a Mustang III on the weekend, it will be gigged on Saturday with Groove Hammer - www.groovehammer.ca. A tweaked '57 Twin will be my go to tone!!! I'll put up a more detailed review after it gets a workout on stage, but it looks like it'll fast be replacing my Performer 650 and my Roc Pro 1000.

Hmmm, I guess I'll be needing a second one for backup...

Hi there,
I wanna buy myself a Mustang III next week.
90% what I play is Jazz music,

My question is: "How is the (clean) Jazz sound of the Mustang III" ?

Any advise or idea's ?

Thanks
Clavan

I experimented a little a while back to try to come close to a JC120 tone. If I recall correctly, I started with the twin, set the sag to minimum, 4x12 cabinet for a little extra bass, set the mid control low and it had a super-clean tone. Might have set the bias to minimum also.

My Mustang IV got delivered about 10 days ago. I'm lovin' it. I sold my old Silverface Twin and got enough to buy the Mustang and a Schecter PT which gets delivered on Tuesday. I set up a 57 Deluxe patch using an old article from Neil Young's tech showing his amp settings that sounds just like Live Rust.

My Mustang IV got delivered about 10 days ago. I'm lovin' it. I sold my old Silverface Twin and got enough to buy the Mustang and a Schecter PT which gets delivered on Tuesday. I set up a 57 Deluxe patch using an old article from Neil Young's tech showing his amp settings that sounds just like Live Rust.

OK... so give us the settings man....gotta have Neil young patches if your going to use the 57 deluxe....what ya got? :cool:

Can anyone help me out with a setting to emulate a Super Reverb (with a strat)? I had a mustang 3 for about 3 days and although i loved some of the features (built in tuner and great trem and 63 reverb), i couldnt nail the base sound i was after (the Super reverb sound) so i ended taking the amp back and exchanging it for a SCXD. Now this amp gets closer to the sweet blackface sound im after (im not interested in channel 2 on this amp or indeed any of the higher gains on the mustang) but its very boxy and although i could put it in a bigger cab maybe, im missing the features from the M3 that i mentioned before so if anyone could come up with a SR setting, i could go back to the store and try the amp with these settings against the SCXD.
The Mustang is the one that i want to like given its other features, just need to find the one sound that`ll make me ditch the SCXD.

just picked up my III on fri.Gotta admit,im starting to like it more and more.Ive been an all tube guy for ever,so this is a first for me.57 delux,65 twin and 65 delux are my favs.Still trying to figure out laptop stuff.Is there a way to bypass effects and just use amp it self?Please send me a PM. and explain it to me if poss.Thanks!!

Just ordered a Mustang III.

If it does what it says on the tin I might be selling my Blues Junior.

Just ordered a Mustang III.

If it does what it says on the tin I might be selling my Blues Junior.

TG, it does! I have a 5e3 clone and I'm using the MIII in my cover band...it covers a lot of ground with the 4 button footswitch.

cheers ce24

Got it today. Firt impressions were very good, but then I found a bit of digital 'fizz' to the sound.

I then went and figured out how to connect to the 'Fuse' thingy (not too well explained for non-computer nerds, IMO) and got the firmware updates.
Now it's excellent. Bang on.

From an hour or 2 of noodling through different settings I'm suspecting that I'll be mainly on the 57 Deluxe.

And someone bought my Blues Junior today as well, so there are no longer any tubes in my possession at all...

Just got my III today. Few hours in and love it. The FUSE software is just awesome pretty easy to use. Will be gigging this out in a few weeks. Went all over town no had the 4 button footswitch so Ill have to order one. No complaints yet.

the 65 Twin Reverb is great with a little verb for lap steel and just a bit of bite from the stomp or the amp...personal call. sweet with my old Kay lap steel.

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now and it's great. I've got the digital fizz thing but I'm hoping Fender will get a fix out in an update soon. The 65 deluxe is my most used and I'm tweaking alot both at the amp and in fuse, really easy to use. It takes my LaCabronita with a TV Powertron and my Strat equally great. The dynamics from this amp is a big step up in modelling technology IMO
Once I get the 4 button footswitch I'll be set!!!!

OK, I need some help here.

Had it for a couple days and I used it at a band practice last night.
I can find settings that sound good...but they feel bad. Compared to my ZT Lunchbox and even my Cube 60 it doesn't feel real when I'm playing it. I can't put my finger on what's wrong....but something's wrong.
My Cube 60 has a gritty fizz to the sound, but it still feels like a real amp. This Mustang III doesn't. Picking dynamics response is wrong, or something.

Can someone share some decent basic clean settings with me, or advise in some way?

Nothing Cleaner than a 65 Twin in my opinion. Start there maybe just use little to no gain, compressor and some reverb doesn't get any more basic than that.

Gigged two shows this past weekend with the Mustang III and am very impressed!! I love its versatility and quality sounds at virtually any volume setting. I got several compliments and the only thing that's changed is the amp.Groove Hammer's keys player also plays guitar, playedd a MIII last weekend and will be buying himself one too.

As I said in a previous post, the Performer 650 and Roc Pro 1000 will be - and have been - officially replaced. So much so that I've already sold them to buy a second Mustang III. Fewer amps in my music room means room for more guitars!! Now to get into the Fuse software...

Bought mine last week after hearing so much somewhere about it being better than the VCXD which I also have. I still have the VCXD, as I like to have two amps I can play low power for visitors and guests. I even still tinker with the VC some and record with it a little.

But, bottom line, I absolutely love this MIII. All of the Fender amps can be tweaked into what they claim to be. I have owned all in tweed and blackface over my 45 years of guitar playing. There is surely a place for the PR as opposed to the DR, and also a place for the Tweed Del comped to the DR.
The Tweed Champ, which I also own an original, is so nice. Being able to actually use the clean of the Champ, at a nice high enough volume is a treat in itself. I know it is a low fi type sound in a way as was the original, but the organic tone is fantastic!

The Twin is also very much a Twin. And the Tweed Bassman also gives it's own personal flavor to this mix we have found. A very fine blues mix that gives tribute to the original and to itself as well.

My own favorite, as it seems with most, is the Tweed Deluxe. Fantastic doesn't come close. And to think you can have it with the 63 Reverb! Wow! But I also have to add that each time I change voices my favorite changes to the chosen one.

The Vox is also spot on, and that is also a treat as the Vox is a very used and tasty sound when done correctly. The Marshalls are also very much the texture and flavor of the Marshall.

I want and will order the four button fs.

Also, I enjoy running the last twelve presets, which are the bare and basic amp models. Start from there and you can easily add effects and joy as needed.

Again, Wow!

Tom

Ive had my M3for a while now but havent figured out how I need to set it up for my band to have the flexibility I need on stage...
well yesterday I spent some time and got it figured so I have basically complete control. I have the 4 button switch here is what ive done. set the 2button switch to up down patch change and set the 4 button switch to the bottom fx row for on off, patch one clean patch two dirty patch 3 Marshall stack more dirty...so now when i change patches I still have access to change FX on each patch ie dirty i can just hit the stomp fx and turn it off and on etc. this worked out great.....I love not having a big ass pedal board to deal with....

Count me in....got one....like it!!! I don't think I will be hauling my tube amps as much.

Ive had my M3for a while now but havent figured out how I need to set it up for my band to have the flexibility I need on stage...
well yesterday I spent some time and got it figured so I have basically complete control. I have the 4 button switch here is what ive done. set the 2button switch to up down patch change and set the 4 button switch to the bottom fx row for on off, patch one clean patch two dirty patch 3 Marshall stack more dirty...so now when i change patches I still have access to change FX on each patch ie dirty i can just hit the stomp fx and turn it off and on etc. this worked out great.....I love not having a big ass pedal board to deal with....

+ 1

greetings all,, i got a mustang 3 yesterday. i'm not ready to trade off the two princeton choruses i gig with now, but the mustang seems to be easy enough to use for live cover band gigs. i'll report back after i get a chance to introduce it to the band.

Mustangs are great modeling amps, really love all 3 that I have tried.

Hi guys,
I am not yet a Mustang owner. I played through a Mustang ll today, and was really impressed by the sounds coming out of that little thing !!
I pretty much decided straight away, if I buy a Mustang, I would like to go for a lll or a lV.

Is anyone able to shed any light on the benefits of the lll or lV over the ll ?
I am aware that there are more amps models on the lll and above, and from the looks of things, the lll on up have better controls with the LCD and buttons.

I'm more interested in the overall sound quality of the open back cabinets of the lll and lV, as opposed to the closed back ll model. Can anyone shed any light on the difference in sound ?

I am very impressed. From listening to videos on Youtube of all the Mustang family, I think Fender have done a great job with these amps.

One other question - how well do the lll and the lV take pedals ? I have a few nice pedals that I use on my amp, in front, and in through the effects loop, and was wondering if I could still use them if I chose to, on these amps?

Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Grant.

Hi,

I compared the two amps back on page one of this thread...

"...I started out with a Mustang II back in October and ended up giving it to my son (who's learning guitar) in moving up to the III. Really, between the power and speaker upgrades, along with the vast GUI improvements, it was an absolute no-brainer (IMO) for someone who likes the II. (I also gave my brother a Mustang I for Christmas. He's a bassist and more a talented dabbler on guitar, but he absolutely loves it, too. Esp. the clean sounds. He also loves the tiny size of the I.) BTW, in comparing the II and III side-by-side when I had them both, the III was *clearly* the better sounding amp, IMO (possibly because of the upgraded Celestion speaker and open-back design)."

Really, no comparison. Point: Recently, I've also been using a M-II at a local store (all they had) on several occasions when checking out some guitars, then went home and plugged back into my M-III (even using the same guitar an hour later). No comparison. The M-II functioned fine, but comparatively-speaking, seemed, well, smaller, and even a bit "canned". The M-III has all this relative "air" and dynamic to it that *I* find lacking a bit in the M-II. I could even see myself actually doing (at least) smaller gigs with the M-III, but that store audition only reminded me again of the M-II's sound as more of a practice amp (for *my* purposes and to *my* ears. YMMV, of course).

Personally, since I started out with the M-II as more of a versatile, smaller practice amp, I was also buying into the very light weight of the thing. "Graduating" up to the M-III was purely because of the vastly improved sound and interface (not to mention the additional amp models). The trade off with the M-III is that it's just a bit more to move (for my purposes), and so therefore, I would not have considered the M-IV. Again, you'd surely need to, er, "weigh" what mattered most to you.

I haven't bothered to try any of my pedals with the Mustang III because, for what I'm using it for right now, I'm getting *great* tone out of the amp right there in the presets—some I've tweaked, of course—by using the volume control on my various guitars. Works great with them all. I'll try some pedals in front of my Mustang tonight and get back to this thread if they don't play nice with the amp. (Note there's also an Effects Loop on the M-III, but I don't tend to use those much.)

For the money and features, I don't think you'd be going wrong with any of the Mustangs. (And I still haven't gotten around to using it with my Mac.) IMO, they're great amps, esp. the III.

Hi,

I compared the two amps back on page one of this thread...

. . . . . . SNIP . . . . . . (thanks I re-read that post)

Really, no comparison. Point: Recently, I've also been using a M-II at a local store (all they had) on several occasions when checking out some guitars, then went home and plugged back into my M-III (even using the same guitar an hour later). No comparison. The M-II functioned fine, but comparatively-speaking, seemed, well, smaller, and even a bit "canned". The M-III has all this relative "air" and dynamic to it that *I* find lacking a bit in the M-II. I could even see myself actually doing (at least) smaller gigs with the M-III, but that store audition only reminded me again of the M-II's sound as more of a practice amp (for *my* purposes and to *my* ears. YMMV, of course).

. . . . . . SNIP . . . . . . .

I haven't bothered to try any of my pedals with the Mustang III because, for what I'm using it for right now, I'm getting *great* tone out of the amp right there in the presets—some I've tweaked, of course—by using the volume control on my various guitars. Works great with them all. I'll try some pedals in front of my Mustang tonight and get back to this thread if they don't play nice with the amp. (Note there's also an Effects Loop on the M-III, but I don't tend to use those much.)

For the money and features, I don't think you'd be going wrong with any of the Mustangs. (And I still haven't gotten around to using it with my Mac.) IMO, they're great amps, esp. the III.

Thanks very much for that information 'ooglybong'.
Your experience with the ll and the lll is very helpful.

For me, hearing the M ll for the first time yesterday, I was really very impressed. It is a great little amp, and would possibly be *my* choice out of any small 'practice' amp, where versatility, sound quality, and small size, was of real importance (I am aware there are several other very good 'contenders' for that type of amp available).

*My* choice in amp is about what I want in tone and features above all, and where I don't have to worry about lugging a heavy amp anywhere, just having it permanently set up in a room, size and weight isn't an issue for me.
The lll has the LCD screen and buttons - for ease of tweaking settings, the Mid knob - for extra tone adjustment, extra amp models, an effects loop, a Celestion speaker. It makes sense to me - to choose that model (or the lV) over the ll, for those extras.

I look forward to hearing how you get on with pedals with your lll. It's not something I have read about anywhere so far, with regard to the bigger Mustangs. I'm sure that in spite of the great built in features of these amps, that there will be guys and girls wanting to try and use their favourite pedals with their amp, both in front, and in the effects loop.
As a more 'traditional amp' user, I am used to having overdrive / distortion effects pedals in front of my amp, and modulation effects in the loop. I'm just interested to know if I can still 'successfully' use them. On the other hand - I may no longer need them with that particular amp.
(I've also got my eye on a Tech21 TM 60, so the pedals won't be redundant !!). Damn this G.A.S. :shock: :lol:

Well . . I ordered a Mustang 3 today, so hopefully will have it in a few days.
I'm really looking forward to playing through it. I enjoyed trying out the Mustang 2 over this past weekend (and the little Peavey Envoy 110 - which sounded really good !)

Today, I sold my Blackstar HT40 Club amp, and a Black / Maple MIA Tele, and I feel that an extended bout of GAS is stirring . . . .

It is good to still see folks talking up these amps and ordering them. I have to say, I've been a little spooked about pulling the trigger given the fizz issues I've been reading about. Some folks on the Fender forum suggest postponing a purchase until the fizz issue is definitively addressed. I don't know what to do.

It is good to still see folks talking up these amps and ordering them. I have to say, I've been a little spooked about pulling the trigger given the fizz issues I've been reading about. Some folks on the Fender forum suggest postponing a purchase until the fizz issue is definitively addressed. I don't know what to do.

Well I'm not spooked !! lol :lol: I hope mine (when it arrives) doesn't have that problem, but if it does - the dealer can have it back.
I read somewhere someone suggesting that it maybe a firmware fix that you may be able to download. Lets hope that is the case for those people that have found they have that problem.
I'm sure Fender will remedy it. I've taken the gamble. I'm pretty sure it will be fine.
They are great sounding amps these Mustangs. Certainly one of the best - if not THE best modelling amp I have tried. (Cubes sound pretty good too, I might add !)

Pull the trigger . . !! :razz:

Pull the trigger . . !! :razz:

I would need to unload my Pod HD500 and Tech 21 PE to pull the trigger. I'm a little worried with the fizz that I'll end up with something I can't get back to. The alternative is to just buy the Mustang, try it out for a month and see if there's fizz, and then sell the Pod. But that's a harder sell with the wife. :grin:

I would need to unload my Pod HD500 and Tech 21 PE to pull the trigger. I'm a little worried with the fizz that I'll end up with something I can't get back to. The alternative is to just buy the Mustang, try it out for a month and see if there's fizz, and then sell the Pod. But that's a harder sell with the wife. :grin:

MMMmmmm damn G.A.S build up. Something's gotta give . . . . Shame to "unload" either of those tasty items !!

Special 'wife mindset adjustment work' required . . . good luck . . . :roll: :razz:

BTW . . my Mustang 3 arrived today. I have been too busy to unpack it and plug in yet . . . but will do ASAP. Even the carton looks good !!! lol :mrgreen: :lol:

It is good to still see folks talking up these amps and ordering them. I have to say, I've been a little spooked about pulling the trigger given the fizz issues I've been reading about. Some folks on the Fender forum suggest postponing a purchase until the fizz issue is definitively addressed. I don't know what to do.

Mine arrived today. I have plugged a Tele into it, and it sounds great !! No fizz !! :grin:

I guess I'm now officially a "Club Member" . . . :smile:

Well . . . that was a short membership with Mustang lll club . . .
I took my amp of one week ownership back to the shop I bought it from, today.

I played it almost all weekend, trying out various settings and tweaking things to achieve pretty good tones. However, the amp is just not for me. They are a very good amp, but I just wasn't enjoying it as much as I expected to, after really enjoying the Mustang ll. Maybe I will look at getting a ll at some stage . . .
Enjoy your amps people. They have got some amazing stuff going on inside them!

Wow Grant! Please elaborate, i'm curious as to more info on the reasons why!

Is it because you had the Cube 40XL and TR 60 to compare it to?

To loud was it? I guess they are not for everyone or everyone would have one or two :lol:

Wow Grant! Please elaborate, i'm curious as to more info on the reasons why!

Is it because you had the Cube 40XL and TR 60 to compare it to?

That's pretty much it !! I played a lot over the past weekend, and after comparing it to my TM60, and the Cube 40XL that I had on loan, I found it just didn't suit me.
IMHO, the Cube did a better modelling job than the Mustang, and was far simpler to use and get excellent tones out of, quickly.

I guess for people that do enjoy spending the time with the software, and tweaking to their heart's content, the Mustang might be fine. I guess I'm not one of those people!

Bottom line was, when listening to the amp models in the Mustang, and comparing the tone quality to the TM60 and the Cube, - I didn't think it was in the same league.

GrantR said:

<<...I look forward to hearing how you get on with pedals with your lll. It's not something I have read about anywhere so far, with regard to the bigger Mustangs. I'm sure that in spite of the great built in features of these amps, that there will be guys and girls wanting to try and use their favourite pedals with their amp, both in front, and in the effects loop.
As a more 'traditional amp' user, I am used to having overdrive / distortion effects pedals in front of my amp, and modulation effects in the loop. I'm just interested to know if I can still 'successfully' use them. On the other hand - I may no longer need them with that particular amp. >>

Sorry I took so long getting back to this thread re pedals, because once I started trying them out, I began having too much fun! :grin: Yeah, my OCD (v2) and TC Electronics Gristle King are sounding **great** into the Mustang III, whether adding to a cleaner preset or a dirtier one. Simply no complaints, and even though I was so happy with the presets I had been using (some edited), well, adding in these pedals gives yet another dimension (of course).

Sorry that I haven't experimented yet with any mod pedals or going thru the loop, mostly because that's not something I normally do and so I just haven't gotten around to it. But, IMO, the dirt pedals... wow.

Also sorry to hear that you weren't so thrilled with your Mustang. I, too, have a Cube (the 30), and to my mind, there is simply no comparison in sound. Or versatility. BUT... as they say, **Your Milage May Vary**, and it certainly has here. :eek:

And, of course, that's great because it's just what you must have been looking for at this point in things, and so best of luck with your Cube. (Definitely also a great little amp, but I use mine more for jazz with an archtop for a different vibe, steering more towards the cleaner side of things. In fact, I only tend to use the straight, JC Clean side of the Cube. But, hey, that's me.)

GAS. What a bear, huh? :roll:

Also sorry to hear that you weren't so thrilled with your Mustang. I, too, have a Cube (the 30), and to my mind, there is simply no comparison in sound. Or versatility. BUT... as they say, **Your Milage May Vary**, and it certainly has here. :eek:

And, of course, that's great because it's just what you must have been looking for at this point in things, and so best of luck with your Cube. (Definitely also a great little amp, but I use mine more for jazz with an archtop for a different vibe, steering more towards the cleaner side of things. In fact, I only tend to use the straight, JC Clean side of the Cube. But, hey, that's me.)

GAS. What a bear, huh? :roll:

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad the pedals are working out for you in front of your Mustang. It's good to still be able to use your favourites - that you like and are used to using.
And yeah . . the Mustang lll didn't work out how I imagined it would, but it's no loss really, just a learning process about what works for me. Thank God we don't all like the same thing !! lol :lol: Life would be way tooooo boring !! :razz:

Like you, I enjoy the JC clean of the Cube. I think it sounds brilliant. I may use one of the cleaner Fender amp models, but I don't tend to venture into the "Dark Side" of Extreme !!!!! lol :shock: :lol:
I like blues, jazzier and lighter kind of music now, with a little bit of Neil Young or Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd - thrown in for good measure . . . 70's & early 80's rock . . . (showing my age)

Have fun !! :grin:

greetings from nh. i wonder if i am the only person who discovered by surprise that the mustang 3 has an onboard tuner? i've had this thing for 21/2 months and thought that the only tuner was available in the 4 button footswich. i think some mention of the tuner function should be mentioned in the quick-start guide.

Last year I bought a Mustang 1 , but decided it didn't add much to what I already had.
I have spent the last 2 days with a Mustang 2. It has been updated with all the new firmware.

All I can say is,... i'll be joing this club very shortly as i'm pleasantly surprised with how good it is. I want the 3!

The cabinet does have some buzz on the 2 at high volumes, so I think it's worth it to get the 3 for that alone, as well as the extra upgrades.
I have compared it to my Cube 40xl and although I dont claim it to be better, I do believe it's on the same level.
When I sit there for hours, and my wife has to pry the guitar out of my hands to get me to stop,... I know it's a keeper.

Last year I bought a Mustang 1 , but decided it didn't add much to what I already had.
I have spent the last 2 days with a Mustang 2. It has been updated with all the new firmware.

All I can say is,... i'll be joing this club very shortly as i'm pleasantly surprised with how good it is. I want the 3!

The cabinet does have some buzz on the 2 at high volumes, so I think it's worth it to get the 3 for that alone, as well as the extra upgrades.
I have compared it to my Cube 40xl and although I dont claim it to be better, I do believe it's on the same level.
When I sit there for hours, and my wife has to pry the guitar out of my hands to get me to stop,... I know it's a keeper.

Good for you.
I found the 2 to be really good as well. It's got a lot going for it. It will be interesting to see what you think of a 3 if you get one. I found the sound to be 'different', and that the quality of the sound appealed more to me in the 2 . . . but you could easily find the exact opposite. Most people that have the 3 seem to love it - mind you - so do the people that have the 2 !! :lol:
Have fun.

I just got a III today, traded in a Line 6 Flextone (original one). The III is a little daunting at first, with the 100 models...

The Fender amps sound very good, not great, to me. The Vox are pretty good, Marshalls are OK, pretty noisy sounding, when I dropped the gain they sounded better.

I think the basics are my favorites so far, the effects they put in the factory settings are a little over the top IMO.

Overall, I like it so far, not sure how it sounds vs the Spider or Vypyr, but most here seem to think that Fender does Fender the best.

I checked carefully for the Buzz, and no buzz, mfg date 11-10, but it has a bad headphone jack, really cheap part, and it cuts in and out if you just touch the headphone jack. I will test it Monday with another pair. I will need to return this amp within the 30 day exchange period.

The editing is really nice with the display on the amp, that part is nice!

VW

I need to correct my statement above, there is no headphone jack problem, it was my 'phones, so no problems so far!

The MIII is a huge step up from the MII, and it can get eye-watering loud. I expect to see a LOT of these being used at small gigs. It should have no problems being heard with a drummer, even a loud one.

VW

The MIII is a huge step up from the MII, and it can get eye-watering loud. I expect to see a LOT of these being used at small gigs. It should have no problems being heard with a drummer, even a loud one.

VW

A huge step up? Yes, I agree. Having had both the II and then moving up to the III, the difference, to my ears at least, is clear. And "clear" is what's part of it: while the I and II sound absolutely fine, once you get to the III, the tone and quality of the sound itself simply opens up. Then, throw in the extra amp models, the GUI screen upgrade, the dedicated mid and reverb knobs along with the upgrade to 100 watts—all for another $100—and well...

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the III at smaller gigs. Right now mine is my living room "practice" amp—not currently gigging—but I would definitely gig with this amp if I ever wasn't into lugging my tube amps along. Keep up with a drummer? Yeah, I'd definitely agree there, too.

BTW, I've been playing my Teles exclusively over the past two weeks (I know, who here doesn't? :rolleyes:)—a MIJ Fender '72 Custom RI (w/Bardens), Peavey Omniac, Gadow Nashville (w/Fralins. WOW.), and a great BL Swampcaster (ducking my head!)—and they all sound great thru this amp, either straight or with effects, into the front. I still haven't gotten around to trying out that effects loop.

At least for the moment, my other amps are jealous. :lol:

I play a 52RI MIJ Tele and a 50's VM Squier - the Strat sounds awesome, the Tele pretty good, I may need to do some work on it...

The tones from this amp keep getting better as I tweak it.

VW

I've been using my cheap Epi SG with the M III and even it sounds nice with this amp...............

I play a 52RI MIJ Tele and a 50's VM Squier - the Strat sounds awesome, the Tele pretty good, I may need to do some work on it...

The tones from this amp keep getting better as I tweak it.

VW

This amp has definitely been one of my favorite purchases in the past few years. Strats sound great, too. My Epi LP (w/Duncans) sounds great as does my '89 PRS CE. In fact, pretty much anything I play through it sounds great. :grin:

Except for an archtop. Not that I haven't tried yet (I haven't). Maybe it's just me (and it probably is just me), but I kinda think of the Mustang as a great rock/blues/country amp. That's what I'm having all my fun with right now. I have my Cube 30 for the jazz stuff. But that's certainly just me 'cause I bet there's a great jazz tone lurking there in the Mustang, too. One day, I know I'll get around to tweaking one.

I played one today by chance at a local store. I wasn't really expecting that much, and I was actually impressed. There was some serious wailing going on when i plugged in that Jaguar guitar. I flipped through at least 40 pre sets, and tho some seemed too crazy, many were terrific. Love the fact that you can tweak them all to your liking.
I would like to get one, but I have learned that I get tired of these amps after a year or so. The purist and collector in me always wins out. Who knows? I did like it.

Count me in--received mine about two weeks ago.

Recently sold a DRRI and a 59BMRI.

The Bassman setting on this thing is really something---Seriously, if that's all this amp had it would be worth the 250 most are paying with the sales, coupons etc..

I love how you can dial in a completely clean BM, DR, PR, 57D on one channel, then right next to it have a little reverb, right after that gain/compression.

Also you can get a big lead sound--anything from Satriani, Lynch--to EJ or anything in between.

There is some of that "digital aliasing" on mine---some feedback static is how I describe it. As a fairly serious ES-175 chord/melody Jazz guy---its too bad because apart from that one issue---this thing is a ground breaking piece of gear.

I would bet they will get that totally fixed in the future---Is that a deal breaker for those who are considering the amp---It might be if you were playing solo chord melody gigs in quiet spots---but at band volumes its probably not a deal breaker---you decide.

I am having more fun with this amp than any amp I have owned.

Tonight playing with headphones I noticed mine has the quiet fizz now - it didn't at first. I hope that is not going to get worse. It also doesn't have the pick attack it did at first, kind of feels like a compressor is on all the models except the Twin Reverb...

I may return it during the 30 day return period. Maybe the technology is not quite there yet?

VW

I'm looking at pickup one of these up. I just have to get out from under that old Flextone III first.

Just wondering how much of a tone difference will i notice switching from the mustang IV to a III ? For home use only. Hate to do it but im running out of amp space in the man cave.

I bit the bullet.... Mustang III is now home!

I love it! More to come

Ok. Flextone III out, Mustang III in ... Haven't even plugged it in yet as I am at work. But tonight is going to be a fun night with some new gear.

Also, apparently I only buy amps that have a III in the name.

I got my III today - I've had the I for a while and I really love it but I could not get hands on control over all parameters onboard out of my mind so the III is the business :mrgreen: I'm loving the LCD display and the tweakability. I also like Fuse, it really is a good piece of software - but nothing really beats hands on control IMO. Also, the whole package speaks with a little more authority through the 12" me thinks.

Joined today.
She's still in the box.
Waiting until everyone is asleep to open it up in my semi-soundproofed studio and put it through the hobbster's paces.

Just got one yesterday... was very excited, but... it has the 'fizz' problem.

Not sure what I will do now.. I read on the Fender board that the fizz is more common on the III - so I may have to returm it and exchange for a II. A shame, because I love the features on the III. I guess I will try the firmware upgrade first.

I have been going around GCs around here trying out the amps, and I absolutely loved the sounds, but I tried mostly Is and IIs, and none of them were fizzy...

The fizz is a definite no-go for me, as I bought the Mustang for the 'vintage' tones, not for the heavy effect stuff.

Anybode has a good idea or other info on this?

Have you updated the firmware on the amp? I thought that was supposed to solve that problem.

here is a gig I played the other night..sound quality not great but maybe you tell something from it

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=188405447910183

here is a gig I played the other night..sound quality not great but maybe you tell something from it

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=188405447910183

Tasty chops as always.

I have been toying with the idea of building a new cabinet for my Mustang 3 out of oak Boards I have and staining to more look like a country amp than what it is now. Maybe use oxblood colored grille cloth with a walnut finish??Actually built a box out of solid oak already but wanted everyone's thoughts as to how it will change the tone if any good or bad?? I got the amp used and cheap so I'm not out much if it dont work. I love the sound of it now but would love to have a new look to it.

I've had my M3 for 5-6 months now, I got it for the 65 Deluxe module because it was over $1000 less than the DRRI.
It has always had the fizz. I tried 3 others and they all fizzed. I got obsessed with the fizz issue for a while:mad: ....then I started using it outside of my bedroom studio at rehearsals and live gig's.:shock:

You and no one else will notice the fizz in a live setting..

If you are just a bedroom player I would recommend getting An M2 and I may pick one up as a backup myself but lately I have been exploring the possibility of an old Peavey Bandit and a couple of pedals.

Cheers

Tim

here is a gig I played the other night..sound quality not great but maybe you tell something from it

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=188405447910183

Awesome! What kind'a tele are you playing there?

I like the sound for sure!

Have you updated the firmware on the amp? I thought that was supposed to solve that problem.

I updated mine and it actually got worse.
Took advantage of GC's return policy.
I'll buy one next year after the gremlins are gone but they will probably be more expensive then.

Returned mine. Got a II and I am loving it. Miss the fancier interface, but this one sounds great, cleans are (Twin Reverb) are fabulous - no fizz - and it is so light!

Gigged with it Saturday - great time!

Looks like I'll be joining this club tomorrow or Saturday, as my new III should be shipping out today. I was originally asking for the II as a Christmas present from the little woman, but decided I'd kick in some of my own money to step up to the III.

Very much looking forward to getting this amp and trying it out. Up until now, all my playing has been through my laptop and home stereo with the Amplitube 3 software, so it will be nice to just be able to plug in and start playing without having to set up my external soundcard and everything else.

Tried it right out of the box on the Twin Reverb setting and... no fizz!! I snapped it up for $266 CAD. It will get a full Test drive later this weekend.

I took it back today... After a good test drive in the studio I simply couldn't live with the trailing distortion/fizz or whatever it is that is too obvious on clean settings particularly on twin, deluxe, princeton and bassman models (I didn't bother with the gainy models). I could live with it when playing with gain, but I really wanted a go-to lightweight amp for blackface and tweed sounds.
It was heartbreaking to return it as I REALLY liked the overall modeling --they nailed the blackfaces and tweeds. If Fender ever gets this sorted out I'll get the new and improved version.

Just a thought on the dist/fizz issue......I owned a Roland GT8 and it had those issues too and it turned out that there was too much gain somewhere in the signal flow .....from Eq settings on the amp model itself to gain inducing fx. The thing was....it could actually be counter intuitive. I ended up starting with a model absolutly devoid of any signal modification then began with the amp and its EQ. I realize there is always signal mod the minute you plug into anything....just being clear here:razz: Build your sound from there sloowly as you listen for what creates the dist/fizz. Try the magic 6 if you have reference......dont worry about vol yet just get your sound clean first. Then you should be able to Master it to the desired vol..........its worth the effort to me!

These are nice amps but digital can be weird....you have to THINK (or trial n error in my case:mrgreen:) digital not analog......then when you free yourself from valve logic you can get very good tone. ha ZEN tone quest:cool:

cheers

ce24

I'm a Mustang III owner for several months now. Mine developed the wierd fizzing on clean bass notes after I bought it. Too bad that for me it ruins an otherwise fantastic amp.

TimW is right, I think, that in a gig setting the fizz won't be an issue (unless you're playing quiet, clean jazzy stuff).

But at home I really want the beautiful cleans. The amps that fizz are truly awful for, say, jazz chord melody. Certain notes will just jump out at you with that raspy eeeooouuueeeooouueee overlayed on the note.

I won't buy a Mustang II for home when I only gig a few times a year. One Mustang should be enough. And the Mustang II is not gig-worthy in my opinion; mic it if necessary, sure, but... no 4-button foot switch capability and not much tweaking ability without the screen.

So I'm selling my MIII. I'm done with Fender for now. As I've said elsewhere, I wouldn't expect them to fix mine or everyone else's $300 amps, though it would be nice. But they could at least tell us where the issue is so we could fix it ourselves. They could say: "Hey all you Mustang III owners, glad you love your amps, and for you modders out there who don't mind voiding your warranty, here's something to try that might make you love your clean tone even more!"

I'm sure they know where the issue is, but they won't tell us where, and that pisses me off.

Just a thought on the dist/fizz issue......I owned a Roland GT8 and it had those issues too and it turned out that there was too much gain somewhere in the signal flow .....from Eq settings on the amp model itself to gain inducing fx. The thing was....it could actually be counter intuitive. I ended up starting with a model absolutly devoid of any signal modification then began with the amp and its EQ. I realize there is always signal mod the minute you plug into anything....just being clear here:razz: Build your sound from there sloowly as you listen for what creates the dist/fizz. Try the magic 6 if you have reference......dont worry about vol yet just get your sound clean first. Then you should be able to Master it to the desired vol..........its worth the effort to me!

These are nice amps but digital can be weird....you have to THINK (or trial n error in my case:mrgreen:) digital not analog......then when you free yourself from valve logic you can get very good tone. ha ZEN tone quest:cool:

I agree. Depending on the circuit, of course, everything adds gain in a tube amp signal path chain somehow (i.e. with the channel volume on 5, my Laney VC30 goes down to nearly inaudible if I zero—i.e. no gain—the three tone controls) and if Fender's models here are at all accurate, I'd imagine they're doing pretty much the same thing (subtly adding gain—which could possibly equal some distortion in the form of the fizz). Possibly some tonal tweaks cannot be done (original or your own programming) without introducing some of this fizz (possibly a digital equivalent of analog distortion?).

I dunno here because my MIII (bought 1/11) has not exhibited the dreaded fizz (yet). And I, too, played thru a GT8 for several years with no issues at all. I also started with a stripped-down amp model, tweaked for tone and gain, added FX, and was much happier than using the (pretty good) factory presets. I think the original programmers will predictably tend to go a bit over the top throughout the entire amp design, noise added or not, because so many players will never hear these issues in a band situation.

In all fairness, though, when I want to play jazz, I do have other amps for that, bought specifically for the purpose. I don't think there's ever going to be such a thing as a perfect-does-everything-ideally amp design (esp. for only $300), any more than there being one guitar can do everything perfectly, either. Just IMHO.

Yeah. I know. Teles can come pretty darn close! :wink:

I'm a Mustang III owner for several months now. Mine developed the wierd fizzing on clean bass notes after I bought it. Too bad that for me it ruins an otherwise fantastic amp. <snip>

So I'm selling my MIII. I'm done with Fender for now. As I've said elsewhere, I wouldn't expect them to fix mine or everyone else's $300 amps, though it would be nice. But they could at least tell us where the issue is so we could fix it ourselves. They could say: "Hey all you Mustang III owners, glad you love your amps, and for you modders out there who don't mind voiding your warranty, here's something to try that might make you love your clean tone even more!"

I'm sure they know where the issue is, but they won't tell us where, and that pisses me off.

Hmm. I really doubt that any physical do-it-yourself mods would be the solution here; I'm thinking that the issue is more in faulty initial-design amp modeling, or even more likely, some error in signal path gain build-up somewhere by the original programmers. And that's in software, not the hardware side of things. Fender needs to be taking the complaints of its customers much more seriously but maybe is not because they're only $300 Mustangs—not $2,000 Super-Sonics. :rolleyes:

Personally, I can't believe that Fender is consciously sitting on the solution, either. What purpose would that serve? All it gets them is more ongoing negative buzz in the guitar community... and there goes their amp line. But I certainly do feel your pain and annoyance; we all deserve better.

Honestly, I haven't been keeping up with any firmware updates, etc., but when was the last time there was one, and was it supposed to be a specific fix for this fizz problem? Are we due for another upgrade soon? :?:

Ooglybong, just to clarify the situation for those who haven't researched this a lot, it's a hardware issue. Note these facts:

>> The software is the same as in the Mustang I and II, which don't exhibit this problem.
>> The fizz occurs/increases over time in the amps that are plagued with it.
>> The fizz is *entirely* absent through the headphone output and when going to a computer via USB.

It is not a software issue, it's a hardware issue, with the power amp section of the amp. Some component goes out of spec, cold solder joints in some amps, or a shielding issue with the display are theories.

An earlier firmware update (mine is up to date) addressed a different fizz or hiss issue that was common to all the Mustangs in certain amp models, and that has confused the issue. The fizz that Mustang IIIs and up develop over time is a hardware issue.

...just to clarify the situation for those who haven't researched this a lot, it's a hardware issue. Note these facts:

>> The software is the same as in the Mustang I and II, which don't exhibit this problem.
>> The fizz occurs/increases over time in the amps that are plagued with it.
>> The fizz is *entirely* absent through the headphone output and when going to a computer via USB.

It is not a software issue, it's a hardware issue, with the power amp section of the amp. Some component goes out of spec, cold solder joints in some amps, or a shielding issue with the display are theories.

An earlier firmware update (mine is up to date) addressed a different fizz or hiss issue that was common to all the Mustangs in certain amp models, and that has confused the issue. The fizz that Mustang IIIs and up develop over time is a hardware issue.

Huh. I must be not be fully caught up with this hardware issue (although I am subscribed to this thread and do read all the updates). Sorry then to murk the waters. I was thinking of the first firmware update (which you're citing above) which did relate to software issues throughout the line. I hadn't heard that the fizz is *absent* thru the USB or headphone outputs, so, yeah, that would definitely be hardware-related. Yeah, sorry. (Hmm. Maybe this hardware problem should be called the "new fizz" issue, just to clarify things along the way!)

Isn't the Fender warrantee for a year? Wouldn't they be obligated to fix these then since the model is barely a year old anyway? And I think you're right then, too; someone at Fender must have figured this out by now.

BTW, the new January 2012 issue of Guitar Player has a very positive review of the Mustang III. (I was surprised that they didn't give it an Editor's Pick award from the tone of the article.) Fizz was not mentioned.

Speaking of fizz, does the Mustang *IV* exhibit any of this noise over time?

Cheers,
Larry

Hey Larry, no worries. If you want to read more about the fizz, check the 770-post-long thread on it at Fender.com community (http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=57294&start=765&sid=77befdb6cf3ae1ee1dd76d736d01c4c2).

Sorry that I came off peevish about it. It's just frustrating that the amp is such a good amp at gig levels is so irritating at home where I can hear all the details clearly, especially as my band went kaput and I only play the amp at home these days. It's ironic, too, that a Fender amp has issues with clean tones; Fenders always have beautiful cleans, right?

As for saying goodbye to Fender... gotta admit I wouldn't rule out a SCXD. :)

Dave

These amps have all you need. I recommend the III or above models because the I and II do not nearly have as many features and you have to use a laptop or CPU to make changes. The III or above is ideal, simpler with the digital display and you can make changes pushing a button and spinning the dial. The III is impressive. I like the sound of my IV. The twin is just a little fuller. I do everything from jazz to metal. I recently got rid of my Marshall and Carvin half-stack and do not feel i will have to buy another pedal or amp again. Most amps are one trick ponies. These amps can make any sound or tone you want to achieve. If it is not there... just create it. My amp is huge but still fairly light to carry.

BTW, the new January 2012 issue of Guitar Player has a very positive review of the Mustang III. (I was surprised that they didn't give it an Editor's Pick award from the tone of the article.) Fizz was not mentioned.

Not trying to pick a fight Ooglybong, but Gtr. Player ususally tries to put a positive spin on most of the products they review IMO. Having said that, I really enoy my Mustang l and am thinking of upgrading to the ll for my duo gig.

BTW, the new January 2012 issue of Guitar Player has a very positive review of the Mustang III. (I was surprised that they didn't give it an Editor's Pick award from the tone of the article.) Fizz was not mentioned.

Not trying to pick a fight Ooglybong, but Gtr. Player ususally tries to put a positive spin on most of the products they review IMO. Having said that, I really enoy my Mustang l and am thinking of upgrading to the ll for my duo gig.

Yeah, GP does tend to do that. Frankly, though, if I were running a magazine with limited space, I suppose that I'd also want to be sharing what I thought was cool rather than not. But even their gear 'shoot-outs' of recent years tend to be pretty gentle on the lesser contenders, so I'd agree that it's somewhat of a problem.

I dunno... maybe they should have a "Picks'n'Pans" page each issue in the review section with quick summaries of, say, ten+ items, being sure to shine a few red lights here and there so as to keep their integrity above board. :idea: Personally, I've not detected much more BS going on in their reviews than other American guitar magazines, but, then again, YMMV. (BTW, I find the UK guitar magazines to be much more frank in either direction overall.)

My main complaint with GP is that they (much too frequently) review amps and guitars that are, IMO, really expensive (as in well above $2,000). Those boutique items are sometimes fun to read about, but the chances of my ever trying one out somewhere around here (or being able to afford one) are pretty nil. That's why I was both surprised and appreciative of their rundown of the Mustang III. Anyway, I was just stating that the GP review had been published this month since this is a thread about that amp, y'know? :smile:

BTW, if you look back thru this thread, you'll see that I've owned the Mustang II (gave it to my beginner son), gifted my beginner brother with the Mustang I, and currently own the MIII. I'm repeating myself here, but, IMHO, there is no comparison—sound, versatility (4-button footswitch and effects loop) and GUI-wise—between the I and II models when compared to the III and above. The weight is just a bit more with the III, but the advantages outweigh everything else in this case—unless, that is, yours gets a case of the #%&?! fizzies. :twisted: Anyway, if you haven't already, I'd be sure to try all three amps out in one room somewhere, and I think that you might agree. Just my 2¢ if you're considering (only) going from the I to the II. Best of luck there.

Larry

Hi Larry
I have messed around with the M lll and I agree it's better for me as I'm not much of a computer guy and I can always use extra clean headroom. However, I think it might be overkill as I'm only doing an electric acoustic duo right now and I have my DRRI and Blues Deluxe RI should I need an amp for a full band situation. The M lll is also heavier and takes up a little more space. I wish they made the Mustang ll with extra models and LCD display. I like my Mustang l but it is a little farty in the bass when I turn it up so I was thinking the 20 extra watts on the Mll would cure my ills. Any feedback you have would be appreciated.

Hi Larry
I have messed around with the M lll and I agree it's better for me as I'm not much of a computer guy and I can always use extra clean headroom. However, I think it might be overkill as I'm only doing an electric acoustic duo right now and I have my DRRI and Blues Deluxe RI should I need an amp for a full band situation. The M lll is also heavier and takes up a little more space. I wish they made the Mustang ll with extra models and LCD display. I like my Mustang l but it is a little farty in the bass when I turn it up so I was thinking the 20 extra watts on the Mll would cure my ills. Any feedback you have would be appreciated.

Hi. IMHO, going "up" from the M I to the M II will be only one of doubled watts (still... only 40 SS watts) and a somewhat better tone thru the larger 10" speaker. Most likely, quite a bit less "farty", and the differences should be noticeable. However, going from the M II to the M III will be much better headroom and sound due to the 100 watts, plus the open-back cabinet with a 12" Celestion (vs the "Fender special design" speakers inside the I and II); in fact, moving up to the III it will be a much bigger bang-for-the-buck than going from the I to the II (at least to my ears). Personally, I consider the III to be the "Best Buy" of the Mustang line-up—if you want a not-so-heavy amp. (Sounds like the Mustang IV might avoid that potential fizz problem, but at what cost in size and weight?)

Also, the M III will be much, much easier to get around on without a computer. I'm a computer guy myself, but I'd still much rather just use the amp. (Of course, the software is going to be the same across the entire line, so one Mustang is the same as the next when recording to a computer.) Plus there's s lot deeper tweaks available right there on the amp via that LED.

All that being said, though, I definitely hear you about the size and weight (albeit not much at all compared to lots of other amps, esp. your Fenders, right?); but that small size was what my brother really wanted so I bought him the M I. Your Fenders aren't all that big, though, and the M III is getting up there.

Anyway, in the end, what you get for your first $100 upgrade (going from the I to the II) will be vastly more improvement when spending that second $100 (going from the II to the III.) IMO, you *really* need to try them all together somewhere to access the advantages. However, IF size and weight are your primary concern, then you'll want a smaller box in the end, and the II would probably do it for you.

I hope that I've helped you a bit. Good luck in your search. :smile:

Larry

Thanks Larry
I'll definitely A/B the ll and lll before I pull the trigger but I'm pretty sure the ll has a 12 inch speaker not a 10. I wouldn't be worried about the size of the lll but the amp would be used in a acoustic/elec. duo as I'm not in a band right now.

The only thing you really need to do with a M III is update the firmware on a computer.

Thanks Larry
I'll definitely A/B the ll and lll before I pull the trigger but I'm pretty sure the ll has a 12 inch speaker not a 10. I wouldn't be worried about the size of the lll but the amp would be used in a acoustic/elec. duo as I'm not in a band right now.

Oops. My bad. Of course, you're right; it is a 12" speaker in the M II. I guess that I've been mentally giving the III too much credit in the speaker size department: all the noticeable tonal difference must be due to the III's 12" being a Celestion plus being mounted in an open-back design. It's a much bigger sound.

Hmm. I'm curious. What would being in an acoustic/electric duo have to do with your possible preference of the II over the III? The II is not all that much bigger, and you say that the size is not an issue. The added watts are only going to be giving you more headroom for cleaner acoustic sounds, I would imagine, too. If anything, I'd imagine that it would also be a lot easier on the III to tweak a clean preset into a very passible acoustic patch and save it as such. Just a thought...

Larry

The only thing you really need to do with a M III is update the firmware on a computer.

Hmmm. I dunno about that; according to darmstrong (upstream this thread): "...If you want to read more about the fizz, check the 770-post-long thread on it at Fender.com community." Personally, I haven't found the time to read the (entire) thread yet myself, but I will try to at least catch the tail end of it in the next few days. (Here it is: http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=57294&start=765&sid=77befdb6cf3ae1ee1dd76d736d01c4c2)

Really, though... if you click that link, it looks like a lot of folks must still be having a ton of trouble. If a simple firmware upgrade would solve it, then the above would most likely be a dead thread by now. Apparently, it's a hardware issue (even after performing the available firmware upgrade).

Too bad, eh? You would think that Fender would have found a *total* remedy by this point on what is (in spite of the fizz problem) one of their more popular recent products. :confused:

Larry

Hmm. I'm curious. What would being in an acoustic/electric duo have to do with your possible preference of the II over the III? The II is not all that much bigger, and you say that the size is not an issue. The added watts are only going to be giving you more headroom for cleaner acoustic sounds, I would imagine, too. If anything, I'd imagine that it would also be a lot easier on the III to tweak a clean preset into a very passible acoustic patch and save it as such. Just a thought...

I guess I'm just wondering if the 100 watt amp would be overkill in a low volume restaurant setting. I'm the electric half of the duo (my buddy plays all the acoustic gtr.) Thus far, my Vox Pathfinder has worked out well and the Mustang 1 I already have would probably be fine but I felt like the upgrade to the Mustang ll would insure enough clean headroom and save me 100 bucks. To be honest, I probably don't need a new amp but I like to mix things up and the Mustangs are definitely better for Fender cleans.

Ooglybong said: "Hmm. I'm curious. What would being in an acoustic/electric duo have to do with your possible preference of the II over the III? The II is not all that much bigger, and you say that the size is not an issue. The added watts are only going to be giving you more headroom for cleaner acoustic sounds, I would imagine, too. If anything, I'd imagine that it would also be a lot easier on the III to tweak a clean preset into a very passible acoustic patch and save it as such. Just a thought..."

I guess I'm just wondering if the 100 watt amp would be overkill in a low volume restaurant setting. I'm the electric half of the duo (my buddy plays all the acoustic gtr.) Thus far, my Vox Pathfinder has worked out well and the Mustang 1 I already have would probably be fine but I felt like the upgrade to the Mustang ll would insure enough clean headroom and save me 100 bucks. To be honest, I probably don't need a new amp but I like to mix things up and the Mustangs are definitely better for Fender cleans.

With a tube amp like your Fender, you'd probably have to tread rather lightly in order to keep a more polite clean volume (at the risk of a small, thin tone at best), but you can simply turn the Mustang III down to whatever level you want (matching your acoustic partner), and the tone is still pretty much there. Once again, I have to state that I find the tone of the III to be superior, right off the bat, to the II—and at any level. Currently, I don't play mine all that loud much of the time (between bands and playing with mostly "living room practice amp" level), but I still like the tone even then.

Hey, with the III you'll always have whatever volume you'll ever need when you add that drummer. Err... I mean bongo player! :wink:

Larry

Thanks Larry. I'll be checking both out this week and looking for deals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofhrds1tkYE

52 reuissue

IN!

Picked up the MIII yesterday at GC. Though not qualifyed for their 15% coupon, they still gave me 10% off anyway. But not that it made a difference I would have bought it anyway. Ive been concidering one of these for a while.

So far so good. Ive probably played 6 hours on it and a few more messing with the FUSE software, which is very cool. Trying to simplify my world I was concidering moving away from amp heads/cabs and combo's so digital was looking attractive to this 35+ year hobby player. I dont need big heavy expensive gear, never did...but ya know how that goes :lol: So Ive moved out all my combo's. I dont like earphones and didnt like the idea of powered studio monitors...again this means a more complicated set up when I dont want or need that.

So its cheap and suits my needs and having more fun with this then Ive had with any amp in a long time and Ive barely scratched the surface. Sounds great, nice full sound. None of the fizz that Ive read up on. My only other modeling amp experience was with a Line6 SpiderIII 2x12. This Mustang is heads and tails beyond the SpIII for usable models. The SpIII had maybe 15-20 decent usable models, but from there it was @200+ just useless novelty sound effect noises and navigation was annoying. Using the FUSE software and USB cable makes navigation a breeze with the MIII. I built my home pc a few months ago and have as far as I can tell, no latency detected. Only reason I mention this, is i dont know how latentcy may be effected by older vs. newer pc's. My pc rig has a fast CPU and lots of memory and I OC to 4.3Ghz. Feels just like Im pluged into a regular tube amp.

Oh my what a sweet amp...100 watts amp models and effects, computer softwear and not so heavy...sounds great with my telecasters

A little from my blurb from the SCXD thread:


'ved owned my SCXD for a little over a year now ~ a/b-ing it against a Mustang III at the time. In the store, I couldn't really dial in a good tone for the Mustang, but really dug what I was hearing from the SCXD. I walked out with one brand new in a box.

Got it home, noodled around and then took it out to a gig (Open Mic Jam) - held it's own pretty well until we started getting some super heavy handed drummers and loud guitar players.

I ended up going back to the store and picking up the Mustang III as well, but kept the SCXD.

The Mustang III has been a great amp - with lots of good stuff in it. I usually just use the preset for Country Deluxe, and then add pedals. Haven't messed with the Fuse stuff or fine tuning the knobs to gain additional.

I can tell you this though, I like the amp enough that when the Mustang Floorboard comes out, I'm probably gonna pick one up!

The only thing you really need to do with a M III is update the firmware on a computer.

Is there a different software version for the firmware out there? I wasn't aware that there had been revisions (the thing sounds great to me already).

Thanks!

Is there a different software version for the firmware out there? I wasn't aware that there had been revisions (the thing sounds great to me already).

Thanks!

Theres an update available after you install the included software and plug the amp into your pc. Update is from Fender site.

A little from my blurb from the SCXD thread:


'ved owned my SCXD for a little over a year now ~ a/b-ing it against a Mustang III at the time. In the store, I couldn't really dial in a good tone for the Mustang, but really dug what I was hearing from the SCXD. I walked out with one brand new in a box.

Got it home, noodled around and then took it out to a gig (Open Mic Jam) - held it's own pretty well until we started getting some super heavy handed drummers and loud guitar players.

I ended up going back to the store and picking up the Mustang III as well, but kept the SCXD.

The Mustang III has been a great amp - with lots of good stuff in it. I usually just use the preset for Country Deluxe, and then add pedals. Haven't messed with the Fuse stuff or fine tuning the knobs to gain additional.

I can tell you this though, I like the amp enough that when the Mustang Floorboard comes out, I'm probably gonna pick one up!


Tom, et al...

I don't own a Mustang III yet, but have been seriously looking. Today I had my first opportunity to test one out at a music store, and I compared it side by side with my other potential choice, a Super Champ X2. To be honest, I loved the tone of the SCX2, but ONLY when I was testing it with a Strat or a Tele. When I tried a couple of different humbucker-equipped guitars, the low end sounded horrible. Is this common?

I mainly play a Les Paul (not to worry, I do own a strat and a tele!:cool:), ZZ Top to Govt Mule type stuff, and heavier blues.
I have to say that for the humbucker type stuff I do the Mustang III actually sounded better to my ears than the SCX2, which was a shock to me. I had fully expected to 'like' the SCX2 better, it being a tube amp and all. I even had the guy plug the SCX2 into an external closed-back cabinet with a single 12" Celestion, and it still sounded muddy and squishy on the lows.

Now I am at a quandry here. Do I buy a Mustang III with the great tone and flexibility, despite the 'fizz' issues that seems to still linger in posts all over the internet? Or do I just get the SCX2 and live with the sub-par high gain tones?

Randy

love this amp but wish you could use more than 1 stomp/mod at the same time

Tom, et al...

I don't own a Mustang III yet, but have been seriously looking. Today I had my first opportunity to test one out at a music store, and I compared it side by side with my other potential choice, a Super Champ X2. To be honest, I loved the tone of the SCX2, but ONLY when I was testing it with a Strat or a Tele. When I tried a couple of different humbucker-equipped guitars, the low end sounded horrible. Is this common?

I mainly play a Les Paul (not to worry, I do own a strat and a tele!:cool:), ZZ Top to Govt Mule type stuff, and heavier blues.
I have to say that for the humbucker type stuff I do the Mustang III actually sounded better to my ears than the SCX2, which was a shock to me. I had fully expected to 'like' the SCX2 better, it being a tube amp and all. I even had the guy plug the SCX2 into an external closed-back cabinet with a single 12" Celestion, and it still sounded muddy and squishy on the lows.

Now I am at a quandry here. Do I buy a Mustang III with the great tone and flexibility, despite the 'fizz' issues that seems to still linger in posts all over the internet? Or do I just get the SCX2 and live with the sub-par high gain tones?

Randy

Hi Randy,

With my humbucker guitars (or overwound teles like my Will Ray Signature ASAT w/ Z coils) I definitely have to re-adjust the tone settings then if I've used a single coil tele or strat. And I had to remember to use my ears and not my eyes when dialing the tone controls (as long as I could dial in a good sound, it didn't matter if the dial read 1, 4, 10 or 8) - and I am definitely able to get some good sounds from my humbuckers - from ZZ Top to AC/DC.

The Channel 2 sounds - I had to get used to them. They always seemed a little "artificial" to me. But after I biased the amp to the right specs, it seemed to come alive a little better.

I play mostly Channel 1 on the SCXD.

Now the Mustang III - has more oomph and power - and I'm able to dial in the sounds pretty close to what I would set my Deluxe Reverb or Twin on - in a much lighter package than the Twin. I'll also add that I don't do much tweaking with the Mustang III - I just usually use the presets that are already there and only touch the volume. Sound good to my ears.

I ultimately ended up getting the Mustang III as well, simply to be able to compete with heavier handed drummers when I'm called in to as a sub. But I always bring a backup amp, and it's usually the SCXD that I can mic if necessary.

Hope this helped.

Tom

I just downloaded all of Misicmatty's presets on fuse and have to say I'm impressed.....the volumes are 99% unified. Lots of useable tones. I was using my Strat with the Fender Lace red blue silver trio and it sounded great. I didn't realize how much tremolo in various levels is used in country setups. Is that just your preferences MM or is that a consistent FX in country? either way I like it. good job MM and thanks.....BTW Im using a Mustang III. Love this amp!

Just got my Mustang III in today. Went home at lunch to plug it in and play. Some of the presets sound hollow, like in a can. Maybe they use too much reverb for my taste and seem to need some bass. LOVE the "84: British Invasion" !! It's dead on for playing "Eight Days a Week".

I haven't heard any FIZZ yet. But there was some aliasing/artifacting on the tail end of the empty '65 deluxe patch (in the 90s on the presets) but only when I played higher notes (open b & e). It could be that the guitar I was playing has some lower action and is slightly buzzing. I never heard it on my tube amp, but maybe this MIII is so clean.... etc. I'll give it a thorough test drive tonight!

Got the 4 button along with the 2 button AND even though it's backordered, I have the EXP1 pedal coming too!

If this all works out, I'm getting rid of my Super Sonic (too loud), SKB pedalboard and 4 pedals!! My rig will be so simple thanks to Fender!!

If this all works out, I'm getting rid of my Super Sonic (too loud), SKB pedalboard and 4 pedals!! My rig will be so simple thanks to Fender!!

I have a Mustang III and did not really like it until I got into the FUSE software. I now have a laptop connected to the amp at all times. Fortunately, the FUSE software is not very demanding so I used an older laptop that was just laying around.

Jim

I've had the III for about a year and it has been a great amp. I've done a few gigs with it a well as some open mic's and jam nights.

The clean Fender type models are very good, although I don't care for the higher gains stuff. It works well at low and medium volumes. I've learned that for loud gigs it works better for me to mic it instead of trying to get into a volume war.

One thing I would encourage any of you to try is to swap the speaker. I didn't care for the original, although to be fair, I didn't leave it in long enough to be properly broken in.
My favorite speaker is the Eminence Texas Heat. I tried C Rex, Red WHite and Blues, Swamp Thing, Tonkerlite, ET65, and WGS Invader. (I'm a bit of a speaker junkie) The TH really warms up the overall tone and ends any fizziness issues. The Tonkerlite and RWB also sounded pretty good. YMMV

Also, the Fuse software works very well for tone mods. I have 10 or 12 settings I have dialed in that get me almost anywhere I need to go. I use the 4 button switch with the 2 button switch which make it really easy to get around.

I'm loving mine more and more each day I own it and customize it! I've already put my super sonic up for sale and took the Jensen Jet Electric Lighting 100w speaker I have used for the past year or more out and plan to swap it in the MIII to see if I like it even more!

No fizz either!

Now that Ive had mine a little over a month, Im still very impressed with the Mustang III. It realy comes to life after tweaking with the FUSE software. IMHO its still probably the most fun Ive had with an amp in a long time.

Prior to buying it, I had spent a lot of quality time reading up on it in different forums, so I knew full well that there is possibly an issue with the so called dreaded "FIZZ". I tryed to convince myself that mine didnt have it. But its there if I go looking for it.

It appears to me that the fizz only happens when you try and realy crank this amp or like to dime the knobs on the amp and guitar. Now, Im just a hobbiest BR playing hack. I dont gig any more. So I dont need the volume that the MIII is capable of. I play at moderate home use levels and no one complains. I find that the sweetspot for tone on most of the amp models happens when I roll the volume back on my guitars and only play in the 2 to 4ish range on the guitar volume knobs. With the MIII's master at the 3-4 range, I still get plenty of volume, but dont get any noise from the pickups, fizz or artifacts. Rolled off the guitar still gets plenty of bite and articulation. Actually single note articulation is far better than with volume cranked. But still lots of punch and bottom end.

I did a quick experiment with the speaker. I bypassed the factory speaker and run into my 8ohm 2x12 loaded with a Emi Red Fang and Wizard. This cab sounds great with every amp Ive run into it. But what a dog it was with the MIII. Sounded horrible. Absoluetly flat and muddy. I tryed a few different models from clean to hi gain and no difference. Realy awful, so I only spent @5 minutes of this and went back to the factory speaker again.

For @ $300 U$Dollars its a fun amp with great tone. Hooking up to a PC and running the software realy opens up its possiblities and there is improvement to be found over the default settings. Not a complaint...its realy hard to complain about a $300 amp that sounds this good...but as I see already mentioned and worth mentioning again...are the limitations of the FX's. Both the FX pedals and rack mount. They broken down to 4 catagories. And you can only use 1 from each catagory at a time and only 1 in either the pedal form or rack form. So for instance you cant have 2 time based fx at the same time. 1 annoying one for me is that the comps are in with the dirt boxes...so no compressor and distortion at the same time. But you can run additional pedals in the front of the amp. Players trying to emulate U2's The Edge will find this amp very limited with the built in FX. His simplier 80's sound prior to going FX nuts is do-able.

Tonight I hooked up my Boss ME50 to my MIII and is sounded GREAT.just went thru some of the amp models with no FX and it sounds killer. I think the OD and distortions are better with the ME50. Just a few more options this way. :cool:

Quick question....does the Mustang III have a pre-amp out?

Quick question....does the Mustang III have a pre-amp out?

Just checked. There's no "PRE" out, but, output-wise, there IS an Effects Loop Send and Return on the back, plus a mini-jack Headphones output on the top control panel.

So are you trying to bypass the power section and use the preamp modeling, ect. in order to avoid the dreaded "fizz"? (Personally, if I have the fizz myself, I can't hear it in whatever I'm using the amp for—which is mostly living room practicing with rock-based settings. FWIW.)

Hope this helps. :-)

Larry

No, I am hoping to have an output to add another amp. I'll use the 2nd amp as a monitor for the others on stage. I use a preamp out on my amp now for that and it works well.

No, I am hoping to have an output to add another amp. I'll use the 2nd amp as a monitor for the others on stage. I use a preamp out on my amp now for that and it works well.

Hmm... Here's a MacGyver trick that might work: :idea: Go to Radio Shack and get a $7 part there; it's a black, plastic "Y" adaptor that has one male mono 1/4" plug on one end -and- two 1/4" female sockets on the other. ("Gold Series Adapter, Mono Phone Jack to Phono Plugs" / Model: 274-880 | Catalog #: 274-880 / $6.99.) Looks a bit different from my old ones, but I think it's the same functionally.

Plug this adaptor into the FX Send on the Mustang III. Then "jumper" with a short cable from one female socket right over to the FX Return to complete that circuit. THEN take another (longer) cable to reach from the second female socket over to the input on your *monitor* amp. That should get, at least, a usable signal suitable for monitoring purposes.

I hope that came out clearly enuf. I used a similar system years ago between two stacked Marshall 1x12" SS combos, connecting via their FX Loops with four of the above adaptors (and four cables) in order to switch between them (with an A/B box), whilst each amp's preamp actually then ended up powering BOTH amps' 12" speakers at once. Worked great for a functionally four channel Marshall "stack", so maybe this trick will also work for your simpler needs. Not much to spend to try, I'd say.

Hope this helps. Good luck. The Mustang III is a great amp. :smile:

Larry

I am also in the M3 club since about two months.

I still didn't get around to use it with Fuse and have no clue how to download those patches but still, I am happy and busy with the 100 default sounds.

Does anybody tweak their default settings and achieved a very close sound like any artist sounds with their M3 ?

No I am not asking you to post a link to those patches to download via Fuse.
What I mean is a post in the following format for rest to set the values:

Artist : Dave Gilmour
Sound Sample : Comfortably Numb Solo

M3 Sound #: XX
Gain: x.x
Vol: x.x
Treb: x.x
Mid: x.x
Bass: x.x
Rev: x.x
Sag: x.x
Bias: x.x
Gate: x.x
Cab: x.x
Pres: x.x
Mstr: x.x
---
Stomp: Compressor
Mod: Sine Chorus
Delay: Tape
Reverb: Small Hall

It'll be great to experiment with each others setting without dealing with the cords and computers for the sounds like ZZ Top, Prince, Bruce Springstein, Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmour and many others...

Picked up a Mustang III on Saturday and its awesome! At first i was a bit un-sure if there would be enough gain for the higher gain stuff i play but it seems to cope fine.

Does anybody tweak their default settings and achieved a very close sound like any artist sounds with their M3 ?

No I am not asking you to post a link to those patches to download via Fuse.
What I mean is a post in the following format for rest to set the values:

Artist : Dave Gilmour
Sound Sample : Comfortably Numb Solo

M3 Sound #: XX
Gain: x.x
Vol: x.x
Treb: x.x
Mid: x.x
Bass: x.x
Rev: x.x
Sag: x.x
Bias: x.x
Gate: x.x
Cab: x.x
Pres: x.x
Mstr: x.x
---
Stomp: Compressor
Mod: Sine Chorus
Delay: Tape
Reverb: Small Hall

It'll be great to experiment with each others setting without dealing with the cords and computers for the sounds like ZZ Top, Prince, Bruce Springstein, Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmour and many others...

Got a great one for Stones stuff like brown Sugar and Jack Flash etc. You might wanna tweak it a bit for your own taste tho.

Amp:Twin reverb

Gain:5
Volume:5
Treble:6
Middle:9.5
Bass:9
Speed:3
Intensity:2.5

Pedals:
Slot 1:
Compressor
Level:2-3
Thresh:2-3
Ratio:3-4
Attack:5-6
Release:5

Slot 4:
63 Spring Reverb
Level:5-6
Decay:5
Dwell:1-3
Diffusn:5
Tone:8-9

Modulation Vintage Trem:
Level:1.5
Rate:3
Duty CYC:1.2
Attack:7
Release7

Delay Tape:
Level:1.5
DLY Time:2.
Fdback:2
Flutter:7
Bright:7
Stereo:0

There is something bugging me so if any of you fellow Mustang owners know the answer please let me know:

I installed the Ableton software that came with the Mustang III and i wanted to record some tracks, problem is i cant get the guitar sound/amp sound into ableton :-( any ideas?

Do you have the driver set? you have to run a cable from the Aux jack to the Line in on your pc also....

Do you have the driver set? you have to run a cable from the Aux jack to the Line in on your pc also....

Yeah I got the drivers but I was trying to use the usb input on the amp as a guitar interface. Ill try it with the line in and to the aux, aux is the headphone jack on these rite?

Not near the amp so can't see the top panel lol

You have to plug the USB and also a cable from AUX jack of amp to the Mic jack of PC....

Thanks Craigeyroxx...

Greetings. New to the club. New to the Tele family. Have a Gibby LP and a PRS SE Singlecut Trem. Got the Amp the same day as my MIA Tele Deluxe. After messing around for a few hours, found a combination that damn near stopped my heart. So beautiful...Fantastic guitar through a fantastic amp is so pure. Looking forward to catching up on all of the great info here. Better stop typing and get back to it.

Greetings. New to the club. New to the Tele family. Have a Gibby LP and a PRS SE Singlecut Trem. Got the Amp the same day as my MIA Tele Deluxe. After messing around for a few hours, found a combination that damn near stopped my heart. So beautiful...Fantastic guitar through a fantastic amp is so pure. Looking forward to catching up on all of the great info here. Better stop typing and get back to it.

What was the combination?

Taking bets the 65 Twin is part of that equation:lol:

Post subject: How Long Should A Factory Reset Take On A Mustang III?
http://www.fender.com/community/forums/styles/fender/imageset/icon_post_target.gif (http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?p=825437#p825437)Posted: 04 Apr 2012 20:25
http://www.fender.com/community/forums/styles/fender/imageset/en/icon_user_online.gifAmateurhttp://www.fender.com/community/forums/images/ranks/amatuer.pnghttp://www.fender.com/community/forums/images/avatars/gallery/Fender_Fans/guitar_55.gif
Joined: 06 Dec 2007 01:04
Posts: 146 I just purchased a used (but literally in new condition) Fender Mustang III from a member of another forum that I frequent.

The first thing that I wanted to do was a factory reset to get things back to stock.

With the amp OFF, I pressed and held the EXIT button, while turning the amp ON. After holding the EXIT button for a good 10-15 minutes, my finder started to tire, so I adeptly slid my index finger enough to place the index finger of my other hand on the button. As soon as I made the switch, the button stopped blinking. I thought I did something wrong, so I restarted the process and 10-15 minutes later, the exact same thing happened (as soon as I swapped fingers, the EXIT light stopped blinking).

How long does a factory restore take? Was it coincidence that the EXIT light stopped blinking both times when I swapped fingers, or did I move the EXIT button enough to halt the process somehow? How can I tell if the amp was restored to factory settings?

Thanks for any help, guys.

I just purchased a used (but literally in new condition) Fender Mustang III from a member of another forum that I frequent.

The first thing that I wanted to do was a factory reset to get things back to stock.

With the amp OFF, I pressed and held the EXIT button, while turning the amp ON. After holding the EXIT button for a good 10-15 minutes, my finger began to ache, so I adeptly slid my index finger enough to place my opposite index finger on the button. As soon as I made the switch, the button stopped blinking. I thought I did something wrong, so I restarted the process and 10-15 minutes later, the exact same thing happened (as soon as I swapped fingers, the EXIT light stopped blinking).

How long does a factory restore take? Was it coincidence that the EXIT light stopped blinking both times when I swapped fingers, or did I move the EXIT button enough to halt the process somehow? How can I tell if the amp was restored to factory settings?

Thanks for any help, guys.

Never mind. Got it figured out. The manual is wrong, but thankfully, there's a better explanation on Fender's web-site:

"The Fender Mustang series amps feature a Preset Restore function that can be used to restore all Preset data back to factory settings. To access this feature, turn off the amp, then turn the amp back on while holding the EXIT button. The amp will briefly light both the SAVE and EXIT buttons. Once they are no longer lit, the restore is complete."

It takes about 5-10 seconds from when you turn on the amp.

Taking bets the 65 Twin is part of that equation:lol:

As a matter, it was the 65 Twin. That was the first Tele/Amp combo that made me lose consciousness. Sounds terrific. Using it right now with a few tweaks. Lil Overdrive with Stereo Delay. :-)

LOL That 65 is a sweet model innit!:lol:

I guess I'm in the club. Had mine for a while.

Is anyone getting the expression pedal? (EXP-1)

I guess I'm in the club. Had mine for a while.

Is anyone getting the expression pedal? (EXP-1)


I finally got my EXP pedal after waiting two months. Not sure I like it and probably sending it back. I keep hoping they are going to fix it via software updates but nothing yet. :(

From what I'm reading you can only have wah OR overdrive...but not both? If so, that sorta sucks. Also, I'm hearing the travel is sorta borked up where it only goes 1/2-way from one part of the sweep to the other.

I am thinking of ordering the III tomorrow. I do have a question for those who own one.
How is it at "living room" volume? I am not interested in gigging it, but from reading and listening to demos of it , it sounds great. But i haven't seen much on lower volume performance.
The II is more the wattage range for home practice, but the III has a celestion speaker. But curious if the III can be tamed down to home levels and still perform

The Mustang III *is* my living room amp. In that function, I love it. :grin:

I had the II but upgraded to the III for the tonal and GUI improvements and haven't looked back at all. Well worth the $100 difference in price. (I currently have several other amps, mostly some great tube amps, sitting upstairs in a room not being used a whole lot right now.) Not currently gigging, so the III is really all I've needed to play through lately. It sits next to a big stuffed chair and ottoman, and sometimes I'll play along, 'soundtracking' to a TV show we're watching, sometimes cutting loose during commercials, or I also just play it at "polite" volumes later at night. (Bonus is the size. Not too big so it's kinda OK always sitting there in the living room. IMO.)

Yeah, I'm very, very happy with it at lower volumes, although I'm always happily surprised by how good it also sounds when I do crank it up a bit more. Sure, louder sounds nicer—since when isn't loud = good? :wink:—but yes, it sounds really good at lower volumes. Also the III at lower volumes sounds much better than the II at the same volume due to the speaker and open-back cabinet, IMO. Much more presence and detail. No comparison, IMO. (BTW, I'd also be open to gigging this amp, too.)

Hope this helps. :smile:

Larry

I just sold my Deluxe VM and replaced in with a Mustang III from Dawsons in Reading. They price-matched with GAK but the 4-way f/switch is on back-order with Fender :sad: -

I came to really hate that DVM and my Blonde Baja B-Bender has now come alive!

OT - Anyone hear any rumours that the 4-way is being redesigned/reissued? Just wondering why GAK are clearing them out at £38...

The Mustang III *is* my living room amp. In that function, I love it. :grin:

I had the II but upgraded to the III for the tonal and GUI improvements and haven't looked back at all. Well worth the $100 difference in price. (I currently have several other amps, mostly some great tube amps, sitting upstairs in a room not being used a whole lot right now.) Not currently gigging, so the III is really all I've needed to play through lately. It sits next to a big stuffed chair and ottoman, and sometimes I'll play along, 'soundtracking' to a TV show we're watching, sometimes cutting loose during commercials, or I also just play it at "polite" volumes later at night. (Bonus is the size. Not too big so it's kinda OK always sitting there in the living room. IMO.)

Yeah, I'm very, very happy with it at lower volumes, although I'm always happily surprised by how good it also sounds when I do crank it up a bit more. Sure, louder sounds nicer—since when isn't loud = good? :wink:—but yes, it sounds really good at lower volumes. Also the III at lower volumes sounds much better than the II at the same volume due to the speaker and open-back cabinet, IMO. Much more presence and detail. No comparison, IMO. (BTW, I'd also be open to gigging this amp, too.)

Hope this helps. :smile:

Larry

Thanks, it is really all i needed to know. I am going to go for it. Besides, you mention is looks "OK" for size in the living room, i think it will look better than my Orange 2x12 cabinet with a carvin v3m sitting on it. with a vox lil night train on top of that lol

Thanks again
chris

Thanks, it is really all i needed to know. I am going to go for it. Besides, you mention is looks "OK" for size in the living room, i think it will look better than my Orange 2x12 cabinet with a carvin v3m sitting on it. with a vox lil night train on top of that lol

Thanks again
chris

Definitely a good size for a living room, IMO. Actually about the same height as the ottoman I sit on so it sorta blends in. Plus it's relatively sedate looking in basic black. If you can deal with an amp sitting out in the living room, it's not bad at all. Beats yer stack, I bet!

Have fun. It's a great amp! :smile:

I am thinking of ordering the III tomorrow. I do have a question for those who own one.
How is it at "living room" volume? I am not interested in gigging it, but from reading and listening to demos of it , it sounds great. But i haven't seen much on lower volume performance.
The II is more the wattage range for home practice, but the III has a celestion speaker. But curious if the III can be tamed down to home levels and still perform

You wont have any problems with turning it down for living room use. I've got the Mustang IV, and it sounds really sweet up loud, or at quieter levels.

The Mustang III sounds the same on 1 as it does on 10 - only diff is the Volume!

Bought mine today and just spent a couple of hours playing through the stock settings and tweaking a few. Favourites so far are the Supersonic with the gain dialled down and a touch of compression, and the Deluxe with compression plus 65 Fender Reverb. Next I need to explore the Fuse stuff for the 'sag' business to get the feel right. So far I like this amp a lot-and being somewhat chronologically challenged and a bit of a technophobe, I have found it pretty simple to get around. So far, so good...

Hey Andrew....

Two Words:

BASMMAN SPLASH

Bought mine today and just spent a couple of hours playing through the stock settings and tweaking a few. Favourites so far are the Supersonic with the gain dialled down and a touch of compression, and the Deluxe with compression plus 65 Fender Reverb. Next I need to explore the Fuse stuff for the 'sag' business to get the feel right. So far I like this amp a lot-and being somewhat chronologically challenged and a bit of a technophobe, I have found it pretty simple to get around. So far, so good...

Good on you Andrew. I hope you enjoy your amp.
I'm chronologically challenged, folically challenged, lazy as hell technically, and I can still enjoy my Mustang IV. They make good noises !! :lol:
Have fun !!

Now, can some kind soul please tell me how to set up my footswitch to toggle between two presets without having to scroll through them all? Something to do with the 'util' function? Many thanks!

Very easy. Turn the amp on, press the Util button and you'll see "Quick Access 1". Turn the rotary knob to select the preset you want in the first quick access position. Press Util again for #2 and #3....ditto etc yatta yatta.

Thanks Lance, much appreciated.

Ya know the more I play through this amp the happier I am. My Baja sounds so sweet - and I seem to gravitate back to 'Country Deluxe' every time. That and the 'Active Clean' download for my Tak acoustic is about all I need... £228.00? Who'd a thunk it?

Greetings everyone

I ordered a Mustang iii today and look forward to learning from the pros here.

regards
JohnG

I have had mine for a few months and love it! I bought the Mustang Mini so I could have the same presets when picking on the porch or in the RV. Love that too. My Digi IPB-10 is going the way of Ebay. I don't need it now that I have my Mustang III!

I got a great deal on a Mustang III with the optional cover and 4-button footswitch (I also have the included 2-button footswitch).

Although I demo'ed the Mustang II as well, I purchased a Roland Cube 40XL. I liked the simplicity of it, but was underwhelmed with its ability to keep up in a band setting.

After returning the Cube 40XL, I sat down with a Mustang III. Whoa! The interface was much more user-friendly than that of the MII and the volume was more than sufficient, but the real deal-maker was the sound quality - very tube-like, IMHO.

I'm keeping my RP1000 because I also have two tube amps with reverb only, and no other effects pedals. Plus, I plug into the FOH when I play at church.

I picked up the III at lunch today. Can't wait to get home and try it out. Will mainly be used as a practice amp but I feel that I could gig with it if necessary.

I picked up the III at lunch today. Can't wait to get home and try it out. Will mainly be used as a practice amp but I feel that I could gig with it if necessary.

It sounds great out-of-the-box, but it's easily tweaked via the awesome interface on the top panel.

Fender did it right with the MIII.

Cajun1, be prepared, this thing is louder than you think!! ha ha It's a great amp and a lot of fun! I seem to be playing the 57 deluxe, 65 reverb sounds the most. I'm still planning to put a pedal board in front of it with dirt though and the EXP pedal, which I ended up keeping, is still on the week side. Good for volume but too hard to configure for wah or anything else. I've spoke with Loren at Fender and we hope it will be changed up in the next software upgrade.

I also got the 4 button switch! It's really nice with the tuner display and all the functions it offers. Lots of fun, actually it's got so much going on, I've yet to set all of it up!

The FUSE community is a lot of fun too!

Cajun1, be prepared, this thing is louder than you think!! ha ha It's a great amp and a lot of fun! I seem to be playing the 57 deluxe, 65 reverb sounds the most. I'm still planning to put a pedal board in front of it with dirt though and the EXP pedal, which I ended up keeping, is still on the week side. Good for volume but too hard to configure for wah or anything else. I've spoke with Loren at Fender and we hope it will be changed up in the next software upgrade.

I also got the 4 button switch! It's really nice with the tuner display and all the functions it offers. Lots of fun, actually it's got so much going on, I've yet to set all of it up!

The FUSE community is a lot of fun too!

Good point, pontmercy! The included 2-button footswitch is very useable, and useful for home practice and rehearsals, but the optional 4-button footswitch makes the MIII a hands-free unit with all the functionality and versatility you'll need in a live setting.

I'm looking for something to put in front of the Mustang III as well. The IPB-10 seems like overkill. I'm looking at the Zoom G2 with expression pedal. What I really want is to have a volume pedal, expression pedal and something to boost the signal. I just want something to allow me a little quicker control during a live show.

I love mine,

I have the 2 button switch that is standard with the amp, and a 4 button, (I love having the ability to tune the guitars with the press of a button and have it be silent and not through the amp).

I also added the new Mustang expression pedal, and it is great, granted for me most of the time it is a volume pedal, but I have also played with have adjustable gain for my overdrive, a wah, and adjustable compression when trying to play country.

I have put my overdrive in front of it. (I have one I made that I love), and it did great with it.

Guy
:-)

I just ran an Ibenez Tube Screamer in front of the MIII and it sounded pretty damn good!. I'll check out the expression pedal.

My question is: "How is the (clean) Jazz sound of the Mustang III" ?

Love my Mustang III, it does pretty good with Jazz:

CPb7jFaIVis

I played an outdoor show over the memorial day weekend, it was a classic car show, I didn't turn up past 5 on the master volume and it rocked and rolled. :twisted:

Love my Mustang III, it does pretty good with Jazz:

CPb7jFaIVis

I played an outdoor show over the memorial day weekend, it was a classic car show, I didn't turn up past 5 on the master volume and it rocked and rolled. :twisted:

Nice...

How do I equalise volume settings between two footswitched pre-sets? Currently I'm using tweaked Supersonic and Deluxe tones, but the Deluxe is a fair bit louder than the Supersonic, and I'd prefer it the other way around for rhythm to solo changes.

hello andrewg. turn the rotary selection knob to one of your presets. then press the white 'amp' button once. the eq section should appear on the screen,,gain level, treble bass,etc. then, carefully push the rotary selection button straight down, and notice that the 'knobs' on the screen will darken individually each time you press. if you want to change the gain for example,,push the rotary selector button until the 'gain' is darkened, then Turn the selector knob to adjust the gain where you want it.[you will see the action of the knob turning on the screen] then press the Red save button two times, and your adjustment will be saved. then you can press exit to return to the preset. now check your adjustment by turning to another preset, then back to see if the procedure worked. hope this helps.

hello andrewg. turn the rotary selection knob to one of your presets. then press the white 'amp' button once. the eq section should appear on the screen,,gain level, treble bass,etc. then, carefully push the rotary selection button straight down, and notice that the 'knobs' on the screen will darken individually each time you press. if you want to change the gain for example,,push the rotary selector button until the 'gain' is darkened, then Turn the selector knob to adjust the gain where you want it.[you will see the action of the knob turning on the screen] then press the Red save button two times, and your adjustment will be saved. then you can press exit to return to the preset. now check your adjustment by turning to another preset, then back to see if the procedure worked. hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for that but it's the relative preset volumes I want to adjust, not the input gain, so I have a quieter clean rhythm channel, with a louder setting for solo playing on a dirtier preset. At the moment it's the other way round.

hello AndrewG. You can adjust the preset volumes using the same instructions. I mentioned selecting and turning the 'gain' knob on the screen only as an example. Both the deluxe and the supersonic have the 'volume' knob right next to the 'gain' knob on the screen. You can adjust the volumes to taste following the same steps as i wrote previously. hope this helps.

I have been playing around with just using the pedal effects of the IPB-10 with the Mustang III and it really sounds great. I think this might be the ultimate combination!!

To me the mustang takes pedals very well. My Boss ME-50 sounds great for FX and the 2 button FS to change amp models.

Joined the club yesterday. Needed something a bit easier to lug to my duo gigs than my half stack. I'm getting some great sounds out of the amp, there's a couple that I'm still unable to dial in. We have a few songs that I need to strum like an acoustic and I can't get a setting to work for that. Any suggestions?

Also someone had mentioned that you could program in a "set list" with several presets ready to go and easy to select. I can't find any information on this, can somebody tell me how to do it?

Thanks and I'm loving the amp.

I'm in the club!! I just got mine! Will give a full report with pics tomorrow!!!

Joined the club yesterday. Needed something a bit easier to lug to my duo gigs than my half stack. I'm getting some great sounds out of the amp, there's a couple that I'm still unable to dial in. We have a few songs that I need to strum like an acoustic and I can't get a setting to work for that. Any suggestions?

Also someone had mentioned that you could program in a "set list" with several presets ready to go and easy to select. I can't find any information on this, can somebody tell me how to do it?

Thanks and I'm loving the amp.

There's an un-effected Twin model which is about as clean as you can get. Use that with your neck pickup and reduce the volume on your guitar a touch.
You'll need the four-button footswitch, in combination with the supplied two-button one, for switching between any more than two pre-sets, I think. Scroll down: http://support.fender.com/manuals/guitar_amplifiers/Mustang_1-5_Advanced_English.pdf

Read about 3 pages of this amp info from 2011 and there was a lot of issues with fizz. Just curious now in 2012 did that issue get fixed by Fender? Seems like that was the only issue on an otherwise great amp.

thanks

Corey

FWIW, I've owned a M3 for the last two months or so and no fizz. I've played her almost everyday, all built-in presets (except ones I dumped immediately) and even added a bunch. Still haven't heard the fizz that's described in some models.

No issues so far with this very impressive SS amp.

Read about 3 pages of this amp info from 2011 and there was a lot of issues with fizz. Just curious now in 2012 did that issue get fixed by Fender? Seems like that was the only issue on an otherwise great amp.

Some of the early production models experienced "fizz", but I believe Fender later offered a firmware download which included a remedy.

I have no issues with mine, but I keep my firmware updated, so I download all available firmware whne it is made available.

Also, don't forget that you have a 5-year warranty on your amp, so it does have the fizz, have it repaired/replaced.

There's another firmware update out on the Fender site...

There's another firmware update out on the Fender site...

Thanks for the "heads up", joyster. I'll have to check it out. We have a gig on Friday night and it will be the first time that my MIII will be performing in public. I don't need any surprises!

*Moved EXP-1 expression pedal Volume mode (Mustang III-V) control to adjust volume level after the Amp section but before the Post-Amp Effects section.
*Added press-and-hold EXIT+TREB functionality to control MID on Mustang I/II amps.
*Improved rejection of accidental/unintended effects knob changes on Mustang I/II.
*Revised how EXP-1 expression pedal calibration is performed (Mustang III-V). The new procedure will provide users with added flexibility to customize the range of their pedal, i.e. they can throw away some heel range to get more toe sensitivity. The EXP-1 expression pedal calibration procedure is as follows:
-Press and hold UTIL while powering on, UTIL LED should light up for 1 second.
-Move the expression pedal between the desired heel and toe endpoints to set the range.
-Turn the encoder knob to the next Preset to complete the process.

Didn't notice any change in tone etc, but just got the update. Will play more with it tomorrow.

I have been amazed at the continued upgrades that have come out of Fender in the form of Firmware revisions for this amp.

Guy

Guys, I need your help. I saw that there was a new version of the Fender FUSE software, as well as a new firmware update, so I uninstalled my previous version of FUSE software and installed the new version. Now, the FUSE software won't boot up! Is anyone else having this issue? Any ideas on how to fix it?

Thanks, guys.

Guys, I need your help. I saw that there was a new version of the Fender FUSE software, as well as a new firmware update, so I uninstalled my previous version of FUSE software and installed the new version. Now, the FUSE software won't boot up!

UPDATE: I uninstalled Fender FUSE 2.6.0 and MS Silverlight, then re-installed FUSE 2.6.0 (allowing FUSE to install Silverlight). FUSE now works like a charm! I was then able to download firmware v1.10. I DID NOT download FUSE 2.6.25, at Fender's recommendation (a major update is in the works).

Well, I so love my Mustang III that my Deluxe was at home while I did a gig last week! Had more people ask me what amp it was and amazed at how good it sounded. Loving it!
Here is an action shot of her!
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/ADKTeleman/DSC_0162.jpg

Well, I so love my Mustang III that my Deluxe was at home while I did a gig last week! Had more people ask me what amp it was and amazed at how good it sounded. Loving it!


Couldn't agree more, ADK Teleman. Last week, I gigged mine for the first time at an impromptu Battle of the Bands event. My MIII (which never made it past "3" on the Master volume knob), the 4-button footswitch and 3 stock pre-sets was all I needed!

Favourites so far are the Supersonic with the gain dialled down and a touch of compression, and the Deluxe with compression plus 65 Fender Reverb.

:grin: I like those, too.


Next I need to explore the Fuse stuff for the 'sag' business to get the feel right...

Yeah, I read about "sag" (and "bias") adjustments, too, but I can't remember where I read it. What I DO remember is that tweaking those two parmeters will yield a very touch-sensitive tone.

:grin: I like those, too.




Yeah, I read about "sag" (and "bias") adjustments, too, but I can't remember where I read it. What I DO remember is that tweaking those two parmeters will yield a very touch-sensitive tone.

My MIII was the store demonstrator and I found that hitting the 'amp' button twice brought up the 'sag' stuff. Now, I don't know if that was downloaded into the amp from Fuse, or if it was in there already as factory stock, but it makes quite a difference. You get three sag settings, 'less', 'match' and 'more', plus a load of other stuff I haven't a clue about!
Nice amp though; I used it loud for the first time at band practise last night on the British 80s (Marshall) setting playing my 2002 US Standard Tele, and needed the treble turned right down to '1' to get a good, non-icepick tone. The room was big and reflective-hard floors and walls-so I guess that would have contributed to the harshness.

I just got an MIII, and I am really impressed with it so far.

I've A/B'ed it with my Tech21 TM60, and it sounds pretty damn good to my old ears.
I am pleasantly surprised. The Twin Reverb voice is very good indeed, my favourite so far.
It is definitely necessary to set sag and bias to opposite ends of the scale to lose harshness and get touch sensitivity.

Surprisingly, one of the metal settings, heavily tweaked in the advanced amp page, can produce what seems to me a nice Robben Ford mid-gain sound.

I have been trying a few different pedals in front of it: Wampler Ecstasy (meh), ZenDrive clone (yup), VS Route 66, (hmm), Bad Monkey (surprisingly good). Probably not what boo-teek fans would expect to hear.
I acknowledge that I do listen with my eyes, and it weirds me out looking at this thing and hearing the sound that comes out of it.

I'm in the club! Here's a review I posted on TGP yesterday:

I saw a CL ad for a Mustang III in mint cond. for $150. I couldn't resist... Met the guy, no footswitch, amp was dirty but in good shape. Maybe it was hot, I don't know.(hope not).

After living with it a few days, here's my take:

> easy to tweak, very logical layout
> the thing is loud, loud enough to gig with
> I like the Fender sims a lot- very organic and tubelike. I have several of the real thing; this does a very good job replicating them. The higher gain sims are hit and miss. The JCm800 is good, some of the other metal amps are brittle sounding. You can't get much low end girth from this 1x12.
> the effects are basic, but sound good. Unfortunately, there are only 2 dirt sims- OD and Fuzz. But they have pretty wide ranging controls so you can get close to the sound you're looking for. The reverbs are excellent, the mods are just ok.
> very lightweight but powerful- a great grab'n go rig.
> The 4 button footswitch(it is supposed to come with a 2 button) is klugey. You can get three dedicated presets, or an up/down function combined with another button that will increase the patch number by 10, or effects on/off for stomp/mod/delay. But you can't turn on/off the reverb and there is no way to access banks of patches. If you add the 2 button to the 4, you can add some function, but not the way that's easily used.
> The build quality is Chinese, ok- but a bit on the cheap side. What do you expect for $300 new?

All in all, for an all in one inexpensive modeling amp I think Fender did a great job on sounds, put it together in an easy to us package, made it powerful enough to gig with. The sounds are better than the L6 Spider IV's but not nearly as versatile.

Can anybody give me a good explanation of what the cabinet settings do? Like SAG, etc.

Can anybody give me a good explanation of what the cabinet settings do? Like SAG, etc.

Actually, I'd like to know this too!


Additionally, I finally got my pedalboard hooked up to the front of my MIII. It now contains the OD/Dist/Fuzz I couldn't let go of since getting rid of my old rig. I have it set up this way, after much testing:

Line 6 G30 wireless>Big Muff NYC>MXR '78 BA Distortion>Green Rhino OD>Ernie Ball Wah>MXR Noise Gate>MIII

The Wah really seems to like being at the end of the chain before the gate.

My only real issue is that I've had to go and retweak many of my presets EQ and volumes to help the pedals sound as good as they used to. They are still not even close. The '78 BA Dist was my favorite "leave it on and forget it" pedal for digging in but light OD when lightly picking. Now the MIII just sees it as a personality-less RAT copy that sizzles a bit too much.

It's made me regret my change over and I miss my old rig that was sounding perfect, just too loud (60watt super sonic using a pedal board with above and an M9 for multi effects).

That being said, the MIII by itself using presets sounds good for what it is. I should probably just use it on it's own and hook up my board to small tube amp for fun. :(

We'll see. For $250 it's not a bad deal still, though.

Can anybody give me a good explanation of what the cabinet settings do? Like SAG, etc.
The sag and bias settings are emulations of what a tube power amp sounds like.

Sag is the sound of a tube saturating- hit a note hard and initially it's loud and then drops in volume. It's one of the most pleasing characteristics of a tube amp. Lowering Sag makes the notes "jump" out with more attack, increasing Sag softens the attack and smooths out the sound.

Bias is the control on power tubes that sets them in their operating range. When the Bias is too low, the amp sounds more cold and sterile- less harmonics, etc. When the Bias is too high, the amp distorts more easily. This emulation lets you custom tailor your amps response.

Experiment with both controls to get the sound you're looking for. Also, they interact with each other a bit, and with the other controls. They default to a "normal" setting, so if you don't want to bother with them, you don't have to.

Actually, I'd like to know this too!


Additionally, I finally got my pedalboard hooked up to the front of my MIII. It now contains the OD/Dist/Fuzz I couldn't let go of since getting rid of my old rig. I have it set up this way, after much testing:

Line 6 G30 wireless>Big Muff NYC>MXR '78 BA Distortion>Green Rhino OD>Ernie Ball Wah>MXR Noise Gate>MIII

The Wah really seems to like being at the end of the chain before the gate.

My only real issue is that I've had to go and retweak many of my presets EQ and volumes to help the pedals sound as good as they used to. They are still not even close. The '78 BA Dist was my favorite "leave it on and forget it" pedal for digging in but light OD when lightly picking. Now the MIII just sees it as a personality-less RAT copy that sizzles a bit too much.

It's made me regret my change over and I miss my old rig that was sounding perfect, just too loud (60watt super sonic using a pedal board with above and an M9 for multi effects).

That being said, the MIII by itself using presets sounds good for what it is. I should probably just use it on it's own and hook up my board to small tube amp for fun. :(

We'll see. For $250 it's not a bad deal still, though.
Generally, modeling amp don't work that well with pedals, because of the way the modeled preamps interact with your pedals(which are a form of preamp too), I would just use the Mustang by itself, you can get a wide range of good tones, and use your pedals for your "A" rig. I do that: the Mustang is my grab'n go rig, I use my tube amps with pedals when I want the best tone.

Actually, I'd like to know this too!


Additionally, I finally got my pedalboard hooked up to the front of my MIII....

....It's made me regret my change over and I miss my old rig that was sounding perfect, just too loud (60watt super sonic using a pedal board with above and an M9 for multi effects).

That being said, the MIII by itself using presets sounds good for what it is. I should probably just use it on it's own and hook up my board to small tube amp for fun. :(

We'll see. For $250 it's not a bad deal still, though.

Miss your Super-Sonic 60? Hey, maybe you can go out and find another one. :smile: I eventually went out and tried, then bought, my own Super-Sonic 60—actually after loving the Super-Sonic preset on the Mustang!—for about $700 used locally. (Kind of ironic since the "modelling" amp sold me on the "real" amp!) Besides the great lead sounds, I also fell in love with the first channel's clean options.

Here's a tip for LEVELS on the Super-Sonic: Sure, the Super-Sonic 60 is loud, but did you ever try using the effects loop (on the 60 watt model) almost like an *attenuator*? Sure, it's meant as an FX loop, but several sites, inc. Fender, have suggested using it as a *Solo* boost by patching the Send and Returns, then boosting the controls back there and then using the footswitch to kick it in.

However, you can, alternately, turn down the controls of each jack for a much quieter, attenuated sound, footswitching it off (the button is then lit in the ON position) and then using the un-attenuated level as the functional boost (with the button now in the OFF position). Hope that's clear to someone! :smile:

Meanwhile, my Mustang III (love it!) is about all I ever play anymore since I haven't been gigging in a while, so maybe I should think about getting rid of a few tube amps. Nah. :lol:

Larry

Couldn't agree more, ADK Teleman. Last week, I gigged mine for the first time at an impromptu Battle of the Bands event. My MIII (which never made it past "3" on the Master volume knob), the 4-button footswitch and 3 stock pre-sets was all I needed!

FG,
I hear you! My other guitar player had his Pro Reverb dimed out, I had mine on 3 and maybe 4 and still cut through the mis. He is considering getting one! This amp is amazing in every aspect!:grin:

OK im in!
While I don't see this as the be all and end all of amps, its certainly got alot of fender vibe to it! Bloody loud too. For the money, I don't think you can do better than these amps. I've not even fired up the software yet, just tweaking the presets onboard....its fun. Pretty intuitive. A great buy.

OK im in!
While I don't see this as the be all and end all of amps, its certainly got alot of fender vibe to it! Bloody loud too. For the money, I don't think you can do better than these amps. I've not even fired up the software yet, just tweaking the presets onboard....its fun. Pretty intuitive. A great buy.

They really aren't the be all and end all of amps, but as you are finding out they are pretty dang impressive. Side by side with a vintage Fender the Mustang probably wouldn't win a tone comparision. BUT the models are so dang good no one will ever notice what's missing when you're in a gig situation and you have the convienience of having all those amps in a package you can carry with one hand. I'm calling it a big ol' win.

They really aren't the be all and end all of amps, but as you are finding out they are pretty dang impressive. Side by side with a vintage Fender the Mustang probably wouldn't win a tone comparision. BUT the models are so dang good no one will ever notice what's missing when you're in a gig situation and you have the convienience of having all those amps in a package you can carry with one hand. I'm calling it a big ol' win.

I've seriously bought stompboxes that cost more than this...its really great value.

As per suggestions, I've tweaked the bias to be its lowest, & the sag at maximum on the 65 deluxe & the 60s british patches...wow, all I can say is it sounds amazing now....totally surpasses my expectations.

and the 57 deluxe with the sag set to max, as well as the bias adjusted as high as it will go is fantastic...

I find it cool that the fizz issue is not even being discussed much at all anymore! Ive had mine for over a year and never had it (fizz) while the discussion raged and people were dissing the M series over it.......now all we hear is what a great amp and I concur wholeheartedly....

I bought a II on a lark... mostly for a "quiet li'l practice amp". After about a week, I was completely blown away with the wide variety of USABLE tones that were at my disposal. It completely replaced my Marshall, Twin and Vox. Now, the trio is covered up in the basement.

I quickly found out that the lack of versatility in the II was a PITA, however.

So, I traded it in on a III.

The III is, for me, the perfect amp. I can load/reload presets via Fuse for whatever need arises. I can put them in the order I want and easily select them in real time. I'm not a stomp box junkie and I do not use a pedal board. Having the ability to use the internal effects, combined with 100 locations, gives me all the combinations of sound that I need for any given gig.

I think the III does sound a bit better than the II, due to more power (read: volume) and also the open back cab. But, the II worked fine, if a decent PA was available.

Can I tell the difference between the III's modeled amps and the "real McCoy's"? Yea, but it's awfully close... and, 99% of listeners have no clue! All they know is that it sounds great (or, so they say, anyway).

The more I use this amp, the more I just love it. I don't miss the original amps that it replaced.

And, BTW... I finally put the finishing touches on a Brian May preset, that I've been working out for a few weeks. I did it for "Tie Your Mother Down", I'm in Love With My Car" and "Fat Bottom Girls". I never got this close with the real amp. And, I'm play'n them with my Tele, too - BONUS :mrgreen:

The 5 different Keef presets make for no-compromise Stones playing. And, don't even ask about the Page library - that's still not close to done. But, what is done is amazing.

This cork-sniffing tube snob is humbled. And, I don't have to haul around 3 amps and all the other paraphernalia. One amp. One Tele. One LP. done!

No ****!

I bought a II on a lark... mostly for a "quiet li'l practice amp". After about a week, I was completely blown away with the wide variety of USABLE tones that were at my disposal. It completely replaced my Marshall, Twin and Vox. Now, the trio is covered up in the basement.

I quickly found out that the lack of versatility in the II was a PITA, however.

So, I traded it in on a III.

The III is, for me, the perfect amp. I can load/reload presets via Fuse for whatever need arises. I can put them in the order I want and easily select them in real time. I'm not a stomp box junkie and I do not use a pedal board. Having the ability to use the internal effects, combined with 100 locations, gives me all the combinations of sound that I need for any given gig.

I think the III does sound a bit better than the II, due to more power (read: volume) and also the open back cab. But, the II worked fine, if a decent PA was available.

Can I tell the difference between the III's modeled amps and the "real McCoy's"? Yea, but it's awfully close... and, 99% of listeners have no clue! All they know is that it sounds great (or, so they say, anyway).

The more I use this amp, the more I just love it. I don't miss the original amps that it replaced.

And, BTW... I finally put the finishing touches on a Brian May preset, that I've been working out for a few weeks. I did it for "Tie Your Mother Down", I'm in Love With My Car" and "Fat Bottom Girls". I never got this close with the real amp. And, I'm play'n them with my Tele, too - BONUS :mrgreen:

The 5 different Keef presets make for no-compromise Stones playing. And, don't even ask about the Page library - that's still not close to done. But, what is done is amazing.

This cork-sniffing tube snob is humbled. And, I don't have to haul around 3 amps and all the other paraphernalia. One amp. One Tele. One LP. done!

No ****!

Im thinking maybe we should start a new Mustang tweakers thread, with the focus more on settings for different tones that we like? if others are interested, of course.

Im thinking maybe we should start a new Mustang tweakers thread, with the focus more on settings for different tones that we like? if others are interested, of course.

Great idea. I know there are a bunch of guys on here that have uploaded some really good presets to Fuse.

Im thinking maybe we should start a new Mustang tweakers thread, with the focus more on settings for different tones that we like? if others are interested, of course.

Great idea. I know there are a bunch of guys on here that have uploaded some really good presets to Fuse.

That would be great... 99.999% of the stuff that's uploaded is garbage. It would be excellent to have some quality stuff there.

We could set the uploaded preset name with "TDPRI-<name>", so that search becomes less painful.

That would be great... 99.999% of the stuff that's uploaded is garbage. It would be excellent to have some quality stuff there.

We could set the uploaded preset name with "TDPRI-<name>", so that search becomes less painful.

Cool I was thinking something along those lines, then to post a "heads up" in the tweakers thread...I haven't updated the firmware yet, once I have done I'll start uploading patches.

I've noticed that when I'm trying to search for presets on Fuse, they're really not searchable by name. If I'm looking for a preset that will help me get the sound of a certain player, looking by their name really doesn't get good results. We should probably think about that too when we're naming the presets we upload.

that's exactly why I suggested that we make all the names of the presets that we upload start with TDPRI-

e.g. TDPRI-Page, TDPRI-Pink_Floyd, TDPRI-<insert_name_here>

Then searching for TDPRI, will show all of the ones we uploaded :)

Works for me...let's get 'er done!

Just a little Mustang eye candy for you.


136406

I just uploaded my preset for Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down". I use this live. If you play it with a Tele, use the middle pups selection and roll the tone down about 3/4 of way.

You'll want 2 copies of the preset. The one you'll download is for the rhythm.

For the solo's, copy the preset to another location and then push the volume up a touch, treble a tad and dial down the delay a bit.

Then switch back-n-forth...use the first preset for the rhythm and the modified preset for the solo's. I'm still dicking around with the solo part - so, you're gonna have to "season to taste" on that one.

You can find it here. (https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/preset.php/stevec325-tdpri-queen-tieyourmotherdown)

Use & Enjoy! I'd be interested in your thoughts.

One more for now...

Here's a Beatle's preset that I use for early songs. It's called "Can't Buy Me Love", but it works for most of the early material. I also use it for "I Saw Her Standing There". I dial the gain up just a hint for that one. No need for another preset, just roll the gain on the amp.

If you roll down the volume on the guitar to about 7/8, then you just need to twiddle that back up full for the solo's (and not needing to modify the preset for them). Unlike the Queen preset, where you really do need to tweak a few other things, the only difference here is volume. Control that from your guitar.

You can find the preset here. (https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/preset.php/stevec325-tdpri-cant-buy-me-love)

Enjoy and feedback welcome.

OK, I've uploaded my settings for a 57 deluxe...should be good for a rendition of sleepwalk, or midnight by the shadows. Im using a tele with the middle position selected....you may want to adjust things slightly as I've setup the preset using headphones.
Drop the reverb and up the gain to 10 for some maxed out deluxe tones....

Any feedback is welcome.

Search for " TDPRI-Simonc-DELUXE "

I just uploaded my preset for Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down". I use this live. If you play it with a Tele, use the middle pups selection and roll the tone down about 3/4 of way.

You'll want 2 copies of the preset. The one you'll download is for the rhythm.

For the solo's, copy the preset to another location and then push the volume up a touch, treble a tad and dial down the delay a bit.

Then switch back-n-forth...use the first preset for the rhythm and the modified preset for the solo's. I'm still dicking around with the solo part - so, you're gonna have to "season to taste" on that one.

You can find it here. (https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/preset.php/stevec325-tdpri-queen-tieyourmotherdown)

Use & Enjoy! I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Nice, I used it for some " fat bottom girls" works well!

Nice, I used it for some " fat bottom girls" works well!

Cool... Works for most all the May-Crunch needs. FBG's I play off the front pup, with tone wide open.

Glad you liked it.

I'll be in airports most of next week. So, I'll U/L some Zep, Stones, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using TDPRI

This is actually really cool. We usually talk about tones that we like till the cows come home & unless someone owned the same gear you wouldn't know exactly what they meant, but now theres an actual way to share what we're coming up with...fantastic!

I bought a II on a lark... mostly for a "quiet li'l practice amp". After about a week, I was completely blown away with the wide variety of USABLE tones that were at my disposal. It completely replaced my Marshall, Twin and Vox. Now, the trio is covered up in the basement.

I quickly found out that the lack of versatility in the II was a PITA, however.

So, I traded it in on a III.

The III is, for me, the perfect amp. I can load/reload presets via Fuse for whatever need arises. I can put them in the order I want and easily select them in real time. I'm not a stomp box junkie and I do not use a pedal board. Having the ability to use the internal effects, combined with 100 locations, gives me all the combinations of sound that I need for any given gig.

I think the III does sound a bit better than the II, due to more power (read: volume) and also the open back cab. But, the II worked fine, if a decent PA was available.

Can I tell the difference between the III's modeled amps and the "real McCoy's"? Yea, but it's awfully close... and, 99% of listeners have no clue! All they know is that it sounds great (or, so they say, anyway).

The more I use this amp, the more I just love it. I don't miss the original amps that it replaced.

+1 +1 +1 :lol:

Man, was that actually ME typing the above? I don't think so! :lol: Yeah, this is pretty much, word-for-word, the exact same path I took with the Mustang III. (Only I believe it was more of a LOTS better tonal improvement.) :smile:

So.... No one's uploading presets? I was hoping we'd get some better participation :(

Sent from my iPhone using TDPRI

So.... No one's uploading presets? I was hoping we'd get some better participation :(

Sent from my iPhone using TDPRI

Well, to be honest Im digging the preset that I uploaded so much...I've been to busy enjoying myself playing, rather than tweaking things.
As soon as I come up with something good, and more specific then I'll be participating more ( the one I uploaded is just a tone that I love, others may not and thats cool - It just isn't really specific to any song etc and therefore may be of limited use).
Im working on a preset for "mysterious ways" by U2 with the auto wah. Its a long way off though.

I think these things take a while but I believe it will be a good thing in time as it builds up.....

Just got one of these puppies this week. Still running it through the paces, but what I'm hearing I'm liking.

I AM IN!!!!!
Got mine the other day and am loving it.
I have always been religious to tube amps but my Sf champ will not see daylight ever again. Its the perfect amp to have beside the couch.

The tones are great!! There is a lot of stuff that I will never use but the sounds I like, I really like.

I will be hooking up to fuse tonight I think.
Cheers!! And thanks for havin me In the club

Just got mine today and I am very impressed. I've been struggling to get the sound I want from my PRRI ( which is a great amp, just not for me ). The tones the III has and the tweakability of it makes it a true keeper for me ...

Hi guys,

I'm looking to replace an ageing Marshall MG100DFX and fell upon this brilliant thread on the M-III.

The Mustang range was the first place I looked in detail (after a glance at the Peavey Envoy) and obviously they're very popular here. But I did notice a couple of mentions that they don't play too well with pedals.

As someone with a fairly large collection of stomp boxes, I wonder what experience people have had with using compression/distortion as well as modulation in the FX loop on the M-III?

Also wondering how the amp sounds out of its headphone jack, as I would be using that to line into our PA for gigs most probably?

Thanks all!
Adam

greenstarthree

..dunno about pedals....
You don't need to use the headphone to go to PA ...use the send on the back of the amp.... I use it and it works well :)

I read that elsewhere too last night, it seems most people prefer it as a line out because it doesnt mute the internal speaker as the headphone jack does.

However if I also wanted to run a couple of pedals in the FX loop, would I be able to go:

Mustang III > FX Send to pedals > Mono Y-splitter > 1 cable to PA, second cable back to FX return....?

Fender seem to think this is possible but haven't 'officially tested'...!

Thanks for your reply.

Keep in mind too that the mustang has a lot of really good effects built into the amp. You may find it's not necessary to tote all those pedals with you anymore. Personally I can't find any effects that I need that aren't already in the amp.

That is true, which is just as much of a tempter as the fact the amp itself is smaller and lighter than my current one!

Is it true that only 2 of the built in FX can be used at once, though?

You can actually program multiple effects into your presets. I think only two are going to be switchable on the fly, but you can program several at one time. With 100 programmable presets available, you can do a separate preset for every song on your set list if you like. I'm playing everything my band does from strummy acoustic sounding songs to southern rock grind with about 5 presets. This amp is a great tool.

Is it true that only 2 of the built in FX can be used at once, though?

Not entirely.

You are limited, in the sense that you can only use one effect TYPE, from each selection. e.g. You cannot use a compressor and a fuzz box effect at the same time.

There is an active discussion around this on the Fender Lounge Forum for the Mustang amps. You can read about it here on this link. (http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=74218)

This is the only significant limitation (that matters to me). I can live with it, because I'm not a "pedal" guy, though.

I see, so there's a trade-off of what effects to use on the amp and on stompboxes. I like the idea of having a preset for each song in your set, though, even if the preset was simply EQ and amount of gain, then kick a stompbox on as and when required. In any case it sounds like pretty powerful software when coupled with the FUSE - gives a lot of options.

I've managed to find a (fairly) local place selling a Mustang 3 for £228 with a 4 year warranty (useful incase of the dreaded fizz I've read about!). May pop in this weekend and try it out. And push them to include a footswitch perhaps...!

I believe the fizz issue has been corrected. Mine doesn't fizz at all and I believe I've read that fizzing amps have been corrected by updating the firmware through fuse.

Fizz is a pretty sensitive issue. Some folks, like me, have never experienced it. Others had it and it was corrected by a FW update... although Fender never said that any FW update corrected it. And, then other folks still have it.

And, then there are still others, who have no idea, can't hear it or, it doesn't bother them.

IMHO, it's a vastly overrated problem. I heard a III, who's owner complained profusely about fizz. I heard it, but... to me, it was not problematic.

YMMV - but, in any case they are great amps!

Thanks, well I'll hopefully pop into the Music store near me over the weekend and try one out, hear for myself.

Matter of interest - in everyone's experience did the Mustang 3 come with the 2 button footswitch in the box? The store I enquired with told me it's not included but many online stores and Fender's official website all say included?

A two button foot switch is supposed to be included. You really need to pick up a 4 button switch too. They really open up possibilities.

Try eBay: I got mine for £130. What's not to like?

The 2-button switch is included in the box. You dealer is wrong (surprise) :)

You may, or may not want/need the 4-button (optional at extra cost) switch. I arrange my presets in order of the set list and just stomp up through them with the 2 button switch.

If there is an effect that I need to switch in/out, I create a preset with the effect, then put in the order, followed by the one without it.

Pretty simple and considering you have 100 locations, that's more than enough for most shows.