For Fender Mustang GTX Users... some amp specs

[OldTelePlayer]

When I got my Mustang GTX I went on a research project to find out as much as I could about the various amps.

I put together a spreadsheet of what I found and how to related it to the Mustang's settings and options.
I don't claim this information is 100% accurate and I'm no amp expert. This is just information I found elsewhere and wrote it down.

A lot of the information came from the website "Fender Amp Field Guide" but that site looks to have gone away so....
I thought I'd share this in case its of any use to anyone...... (2 pages... screen capture of spreadsheet)

 

[archetype]

Interesting, to me. I had no idea that Fender was modeling some of their non-mainstream classics, like the '57 Bandmaster and '61 Tremolux.

 

[Mike M]

Interesting, to me. I had no idea that Fender was modeling some of their non-mainstream classics, like the '57 Bandmaster and '61 Tremolux.

The Tremolux (and some of these others) aren't really modeled on the GTX.

But I'm guessing the poster is saying if you use some of the other amps, (Deluxe, Bandmaster) and substitute other speakers combos, you can get close?

 

[Mike M]

@OldTelePlayer

Did you figure this out and compile yourself?

Just curious

 

[OldTelePlayer]

The Tremolux (and some of these others) aren't really modeled on the GTX.

But I'm guessing the poster is saying if you use some of the other amps, (Deluxe, Bandmaster) and substitute other speakers combos, you can get close?

Yes.... exactly

Getting close... but I'm no expert... so can't say how close. Only Fender or someone highly familiar with each detail and sound of a particular amp can say one way or the other.

As I researched, it looked to me like some of the non-modeled amps were very close to some modeled ones. Some amps seemed to be largely based other amps. (Which is probably why they didn't bother modeling them.)

Change a thing here or two and I could be at least close to another. For some, according to what I saw in the "Fender Amp Field Guide" it looked like it sometimes just a change of speakers.

Same thing for Vox, Silvertone and Gibson. The Mustang models one Vox, one Silvertone and one Gibson... a few tweaks and one is at least close to other models... or at least some interesting presets.

So instead of setting up some tone presets I started setting up various amp models.

The "61 Tremolux" for instance might not be exact but it kinda made a neat tone preset. Whether or not it models 61 Tremolux very well is up to someone who actually owns one.

 

[OldTelePlayer]

@OldTelePlayer

Did you figure this out and compile yourself?

Just curious

I figured it out and compiled it all by myself.

Any errors are mine alone.

I used websites with technical details and descriptions, articles on the various amps, and a couple amp books from the library.

 

[Mike M]

Yes.... exactly

Getting close... but I'm no expert... so can't say how close. Only Fender or someone highly familiar with each detail and sound of a particular amp can say one way or the other.

As I researched, it looked to me like some of the non-modeled amps were very close to some modeled ones. Some amps seemed to be largely based other amps. (Which is probably why they didn't bother modeling them.)

Change a thing here or two and I could be at least close to another. For some, according to what I saw in the "Fender Amp Field Guide" it looked like it sometimes just a change of speakers.

Same thing for Vox, Silvertone and Gibson. The Mustang models one Vox, one Silvertone and one Gibson... a few tweaks and one is at least close to other models... or at least some interesting presets.

So instead of setting up some tone presets I started setting up various amp models.

The "61 Tremolux" for instance might not be exact but it kinda made a neat tone preset. Whether or not its models 61 Tremolux very well is up to someone who actually owns one.

Great job!

I played a new 68 Custom Vibro Champ in the store (which I later purchased) but went home and got close with a 57 Champ with a 10 inch Princeton Speaker, Tube Bias Tremolo, and Hall Reverb.

 

[burntfrijoles]

Nice compilation. Kudos for the effort.

I think the Fender models in the GTX are, as you would expect, quite good or even remarkable.

I've stopped worrying about matching the listed amp models to the actual tones. I think the 57 Twin model gets me close enough to that "Keef/Stones" sounds but so does a Princeton I found in a tone Stones preset I downloaded from the Fender Tone library.

Likewise I found a "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" preset that used, of all things, a 57 Bandmaster. It was actually much better than a preset that used a British Stack Clean (Hiwatt).

I sample some of the alternative cab models with the stock cabs if I am in "close but no cigar territory". Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.

I think sometimes we try to match the tones to what Fender (or any modeler) states to what we know (or believed) an artist used. It just doesn't work that way.

That said, your list gives me something to spend hours of time sampling and taking for a test drive. Thanks.

 

[oyobass]

When I got my Mustang GTX I went on a research project to find out as much as I could about the various amps.

I put together a spreadsheet of what I found and how to related it to the Mustang's settings and options.
I don't claim this information is 100% accurate and I'm no amp expert. This is just information I found elsewhere and wrote it down.

A lot of the information came from the website "Fender Amp Field Guide" but that site looks to have gone away so....
I thought I'd share this in case its of any use to anyone...... (2 pages... screen capture of spreadsheet)

View attachment 1154844View attachment 1154845

Thank you, Just brought a GTX 100 home last night. This will be very helpful!

 

[OldTelePlayer]

Thank you, Just brought a GTX 100 home last night. This will be very helpful!

Your welcome. Give it a go and I hope you find some tones you like. That amp can do a lot.

Have fun with it!

 

[oyobass]

Your welcome. Give it a go and I hope you find some tones you like. That amp can do a lot.

Have fun with it!

I have a Mustang II v2 I got cheap from Goodwill. Maybe because I have that one dialled in, I love the tones and feel I get from it, especially the 65 Twin Reverb. I only sat for a few minutes playing the GTX, it seems very competent, but I don't love it- yet.

 

[old soul]

I've had the gtx 50 for nearly a year and mainly use it for my Friday night jams. I'm very impressed with its capabilities and quality of tones available. I just had the stock settings until last weekend when I downloaded a few new ones, mainly a couple with some tremolo and a a couple others. Haven't even tried customizing any presets, as I would rather set it and play, versus fiddle endlessly.
It's awesome.

 

[fender4life]

I've had the gtx 50 for nearly a year and mainly use it for my Friday night jams. I'm very impressed with its capabilities and quality of tones available. I just had the stock settings until last weekend when I downloaded a few new ones, mainly a couple with some tremolo and a a couple others. Haven't even tried customizing any presets, as I would rather set it and play, versus fiddle endlessly.
It's awesome.

I've had mine 3.5 years and i would recommend you DO fiddle with it. Maybe not endlessly, but spend the time to try different cab sims with your fav amp models and all other settings till you find a MUCH better sound,because the stock sounds are at best ok. In fact i can't even find one i feel is ok. But the presets i use are all ones i made and to me sound and feel infinitely better. So i would recmmend you fiddle with it some, maybe not endlessly bt till you get much better results. Then once you do, save them and you will now have a much better sounding amp and you can get back to playing and no more fiddling. Believe me, i'm not the first person to say the stock models are very mediocre, not by a long shot ! Many have said that. The amp is capable of far far better tones than any of the stock patches.

 

[WigWamBam1979]

Just got a GTX50 with a foot-switch, I’m really digging it but I’m no expert at dialling in tones, anyone got any recommendations of tones to download from the cloud?

 

[oyobass]

Just got a GTX50 with a foot-switch, I’m really digging it but I’m no expert at dialling in tones, anyone got any recommendations of tones to download from the cloud?

A lot of the tones I've downloaded and demoed are worse than the Fender presets.
Don't download tones, it's relatively easy to make your own. Start with an empty preset, add an amp that you like the sound of. Get the amp dialed in to sound it's best for you, (I like a fairly bright, just over the edge of breakup sound with enough lows and mids not to get lost in the mix. Then I'll put one of the distortion or overdrive models in front of the amp for more meaty tones. I especially like the tube screamer one, because it adds a blend control to mix a little clean in with the distortion.
In front of the drive, I'll add a compressor for 80s style sounds.
After the amp I add delay, chorus, and reverb. I like the triangle chorus, plate reverb and a delay that fits the vibe I'm going for.
Of course that's not the only way to build a decent preset, but it works for me.
By the way, if you don't have the 7-button foot switch, it's totally worth the investment. Using the "recipe" above gives you all 5 effects at your feet. It also gives access to the built-in looper function of the amp. That can be a ton of fun as well.

 

[mycroftxxx]

^^^this is great, but something else to add: try different cab models! One of my favorite amps in the GTX is the Blues Jr., which when the GTX came out, Fender said they took a lot of what they learned on the Tonemaster development and applied it to that BJr. model (and it definitely uses more resources than most of the other GTX models). For me, it’s almost indistinguishable from my actual Blues Jr. But wait, there’s more! Try switching the cab model to, say the 4x12 greenback cab and suddenly there’s this great growly Marshall-esque tone that has become one of my go-to patches with the GTX - all I ever put in front of it is a Mythic Drive, and I have a 63 spring reverb on the back end, and I can cop lots of great classic rock tones by just using my guitar’s volume and tone knobs, and switching between pickups, and occasionally hitting the Klone.

Or to think about it another way: forget about the labels on the amps except as a suggestion of generalized tonality, and twist the knobs and change out the cabs until you get a tone you like. This is something the modeling amp makes easy, and isn’t finding tones you like what this is all about anyway?