FENDER MUSTANG AMP 1 MOD

When compared with other modelling amps available today, the Mustangs could be considered a tad backward, but when the tones are as good as this, we'd urge you to adapt. And thanks to the accuracy of many of its amp models, we're hard pushed to think of a better mix of vintage-inspired tones, price and modern technology. Thanks to the 12-inch speaker, the Mustang II is certainly the better sounding of the two but at a mere £108, the Mustang I is still a very impressive option.įor practice, laying down some demos and even getting in touch with other users online and swapping sounds, the Mustangs are a steal. The Twin, Deluxe and Bassman models impress the most - good, usable sounds - while Metal 2000 feels like more of a box-ticking inclusion. Neither boutique nor expensive, they nonetheless deliver top tones for home playing and practising. If you're umming and ahhing about which boutique five-watt valve combo you should buy for home use, do you yourself a favour and try one of these. There's a rather involved method of utilising an optional two-way footswitch to flick between just two patches in real time but, for the simple enjoyment of playing for playing's sake, scrolling through the amp models is more than satisfying. That said, we understand why Fender included them and, with a high-powered humbucker, they do provide an approximation of the correct feel for hard rock and metal. The British 60s model, which provides a thick and usable overdrive, is very enjoyable, but the higher gain models - most notably the American 90s and Metal 2000 options - aren't up to the standard of the rest of the amp. The 40-watt II does offer more than enough poke to fulfil smaller gigs, however. In fact, some of the Fender tones are twangier through the smaller speaker and can be warmed slightly by tweaking the EQ or adding a hint of phaser or tremolo. There's no doubt that the II's 12-inch speaker gives a better overall tone than the eight-inch loaded into the I, but that's not to say that the smaller Mustang doesn't sound good in its own right. The '59 Bassman, the '65 Twin and '57 Deluxe options have much of their inspirations' tonality with the classic glassy treble and expansive low end present in absolute spades.ĭial-in a smidge of the impressive '65 spring reverb and it sounds (albeit doesn't particularly feel) like the 'real' thing. The Fender amp models are very impressive indeed. Even the most gnarly of luddites shouldn't be overly confused by this simple system. What's more, the tap button not only regulates the delay time but can also be used to alter the speed of certain modulation effects.įor deep editing of effects and tones the Mustang comes out of the box with a DVD that, among other things, gives access to Fender's Fuse software, which allows you to really dig down into the amp via your computer.

FENDER MUSTANG AMP 1 MOD

It's possible to alter the wet mix: press the exit button while, at the same time, turning either the mod or dly/rev pot up or down depending on which effect you're editing. There are no notches to guide you nor, as we've said, a display to refer to, so the system can be a little fiddly at first, but the three small LEDs above the mod button illuminate to denote which effect you've dialled in.įor example, the octaver can be found as modulation effect C3, so, to access it, you need to rotate the mod pot to segment C and then stop when the three bulb lights.

What's more, within each of these reside three effects - one, two, and three. The mod and dly/rev knobs are divided up into four sections labelled A, B, C, and D. The basic premise though, is straightforward.

Just how the effects are chosen comes across as a little clumsy in print so we'd suggest checking out the embedded video demo to see exactly how it's done. There are also 12 reverb and delay effects - all of which are accessed, selected and edited via the mod or dly/rev pot. All settings on the five-knob front panel, aside from the master volume, can be edited and saved.Īlongside the amps are a choice of effects and Fender has resisted the temptation to overload the Mustang with all manner of unusable noises in favour of different types of the same denomination of effect: chorus and deep chorus, a slow and fast Vibratone and so on.

The models comprise three of Fender's best-known amps, two British options and a trio of higher gain amps. Press the save button, scroll between red and green, then save again and it's done. There are no menus to squint at, or multi-element LED displays to keep track of, so the Mustang is immediately easy to use.Īlthough loaded with tones from the outset, the concept is that you set up a sound in the non-editable orange banks, then save it to the specific amp model's red or green equivalent.

Fender mustang amp 1