ratherdashing
Kablamminator
I wanted a small amp for home practice and recording in my apartment, since my main amp (Mark V half stack) is waaaaay too big and loud for that purpose. After trying a bunch of small amps, tube and modelling, I picked the most impressive one, which also happened to be the cheapest: the Mustang I.
I've been playing through it for a couple of days, and I still can't believe this is a $100 amp. My main criteria was that it sound good at low volume, which it definitely does. Fact is, it sounds great at ANY volume - far better than the other small modeller combos out right now.
The list of amps modelled is fairly modest, but they cover a lot of ground. For big clean tone you have a very passable '65 Twin Reverb. For gritty small amp power tube distortion tones you have a nice '57 Deluxe model. The JCM800 model covers a lot of ground, as does the Supersonic model (the best big amp Fender has designed since the blackface era IMO). The two high gain choices, a Dual Rec and whatever the "Metal 2000" model is (my guess is a 5150 or a Powerball) are surprisingly big and tight considering they're coming out of an 8" speaker. I think the closed back cab definitely helps.
The front panel controls are very simple and intuitive, but the real fun begins when you use the USB to connect the amp to your computer and run the Fender FUSE software (PC or Mac). FUSE is similar to Amplitube and other such amp sim apps: choose an amp model, tweak it, add effects, save. The cool trick here is that FUSE is controlling the amp itself in real time. You don't have to "sync" the amp to FUSE, or do an annoying upload/download procedure - what you do in FUSE is applied to the amp immediately.
With FUSE, you get an incredible amount of control over the Mustang's settings. You can add effects pre or post amp, tweak individual effect parameters, switch cabs ... even change the amp's virtual tube bias and main-line voltage (sag). Once you're done tweaking, you can save whatever changes you made into the Mustang's preset banks and walk away from the computer with a completely different amp.
Yes, it's a modeller. Yes, it's not perfect out of the box. Yes, there is some tweaking involved. Yes, it isn't the same as the amps it's modelling. None of that matters, because at the end of the day it's an outstanding practice and recording tool for $100. Quite simply, the Mustang I DESTROYS any amp at or near that price. Heck, I was comparing it against amps costing four and five times as much and I still preferred it. In the past, Fender either stayed out of the modelling arena or had thrown a few token offerings in. With the Mustangs and FUSE, they have become one of the big players along with Line 6 and Vox, and they're clearly the one to beat now.
I've been playing through it for a couple of days, and I still can't believe this is a $100 amp. My main criteria was that it sound good at low volume, which it definitely does. Fact is, it sounds great at ANY volume - far better than the other small modeller combos out right now.
The list of amps modelled is fairly modest, but they cover a lot of ground. For big clean tone you have a very passable '65 Twin Reverb. For gritty small amp power tube distortion tones you have a nice '57 Deluxe model. The JCM800 model covers a lot of ground, as does the Supersonic model (the best big amp Fender has designed since the blackface era IMO). The two high gain choices, a Dual Rec and whatever the "Metal 2000" model is (my guess is a 5150 or a Powerball) are surprisingly big and tight considering they're coming out of an 8" speaker. I think the closed back cab definitely helps.
The front panel controls are very simple and intuitive, but the real fun begins when you use the USB to connect the amp to your computer and run the Fender FUSE software (PC or Mac). FUSE is similar to Amplitube and other such amp sim apps: choose an amp model, tweak it, add effects, save. The cool trick here is that FUSE is controlling the amp itself in real time. You don't have to "sync" the amp to FUSE, or do an annoying upload/download procedure - what you do in FUSE is applied to the amp immediately.
With FUSE, you get an incredible amount of control over the Mustang's settings. You can add effects pre or post amp, tweak individual effect parameters, switch cabs ... even change the amp's virtual tube bias and main-line voltage (sag). Once you're done tweaking, you can save whatever changes you made into the Mustang's preset banks and walk away from the computer with a completely different amp.
Yes, it's a modeller. Yes, it's not perfect out of the box. Yes, there is some tweaking involved. Yes, it isn't the same as the amps it's modelling. None of that matters, because at the end of the day it's an outstanding practice and recording tool for $100. Quite simply, the Mustang I DESTROYS any amp at or near that price. Heck, I was comparing it against amps costing four and five times as much and I still preferred it. In the past, Fender either stayed out of the modelling arena or had thrown a few token offerings in. With the Mustangs and FUSE, they have become one of the big players along with Line 6 and Vox, and they're clearly the one to beat now.
