Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

[Lewguitar]

Best $300 amp on the market, IMO. An unbelievable value for a first amp. Of course this isn't my first amp.

The band is kind of an oldies band. But we do a wide range of styles: Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Marc Cohn (Walking In Memphis), Otis Redding (Dock of the Bay), Kenny Loggins (Danny's Song), Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix...

And when they want to pick it up I belt out some blues: shuffles like Walking By Myself or I've Got My Mojo Working.

First thing I found during sound check is that all of my presets that I'd worked out so carefully at home were to trebley. Had to turn down the treble two numbers on every preset that I planned on using: 7 to 5 for example.

Also found that I preferred my clean settings for rhythm to my semi-clean/lightly overdriven settings and stuck with the Twin Reverb Clean setting I'd put together for almost everything.

Also found that the overdrive settings I had so much fun with at home sounded inappropriate on the gig. To distorted. To much contrast. So I had to do a quick fix on those and clean 'em up a little, reduce the treble and add some bass and mids.

The way I arranged my presets worked well. I set up about 20 presets for my PRS w/humbuckers and 20 presets for my Strat w/single coils.

And the way I arranged them was to alternate CLEAN with SOLO/OVERDRIVE.

So #1 would be a CLEAN setting, #2 would be an OVERDRIVEN setting, #3 would be a CLEAN setting, #4 would be a OVERDRIVEN setting, and so on.

That way I could just use the footswitch to go up or down...from CLEAN up to OVERDRIVE and then back down to CLEAN again.

I tended to use the same CLEAN setting for almost every song.

The hardest tone to duplicate was just the sound of a blackface or tweed Fender Amp cranked up to 7. The presets I'd set up were always either to clean or to distorted.

Haven't found a good Michael Bloomfield tone yet.

Heavily overdriven tones like Gary Moore or Peter Green's Supernatural tone worked out well tho.

Santana's Black Magic Woman tone (a pair of Twin Reverbs turned way up I think) was harder to duplicate and my preset sounded to distorted. I need to work on that one, but the crowd liked it.

Santana's Europa tone is easier to get.

Haven't found a good BB King tone yet either. But no one sounds like BB.

So is the Mustang III going to replace my blackface Fenders? Sure works well for these extremely low volume gigs.

20 presets for each guitar is OVERKILL though. I found that I preferred using a couple of my favorite CLEAN settings and a couple of my OVERDRIVE settings the whole night, and didn't bother with the other 16 settings.

For gigs where I can turn it up I'd rather hear my Deluxe Reverb...and my Mad Professor Simble pedal which really nails a Dumble overdriven tone.

 

[Securb]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Lew sounds versatile. Its a smart move leaving the vintage gear at home if this is getting the job done for $300. I know it isn't your bag but did your tool around and play with any high gain settings?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Lew sounds versatile. Its a smart move leaving the vintage gear at home if this is getting the job done for $300. I know it isn't your bag but did your tool around and play with any high gain settings?

Just a little. The leap going from CLEAN/SEMI-CLEAN to HIGH GAIN seemed abrupt and inappropriate.

Fun at home but to over the top on the gig.

The crowd seemed to like it, as did the guys in the band, but I was a little uncomfortable with it and the HIGH GAIN tones seemed a little cliched and corny.

My Strat w/single coils actually does those tones with the Mustang III better than my PRS w/humbuckers for some reason.

The jump from CLEAN to HIGH GAIN doesn't seem so abrupt.

I'm sure I'll be able to dial it in over time.

 

[Securb]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Just a little. The leap going from CLEAN/SEMI-CLEAN to HIGH GAIN seemed abrupt and inappropriate.

If high gain doesn't sound inappropriate you are not doing it right

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

That "either too clean or too dirty" thing is exactly why i use tube amps. Digital modeling amps are like hot / cold amps, and i prefer warm ones.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

That "either too clean or too dirty" thing is exactly why i use tube amps. Digital modeling amps are like hot / cold amps, and i prefer warm ones.

Yeah kinda.

But playing clean on a Tube Amp and then stomping on an OD Pedal for every solo turns me off in a similar way.

My favorite way to play is just to plug into one of my blackface Fenders, turn it up to at least 5 or 6 and then go from clean to "overdrive" with my guitar's volume control and not use any pedals.

But that's just to loud for most gigs these days.

So the modeling amp is a good alternative. Plenty of guys use them, sound great and don't sound hot/cold.

Adrian Belew for one.

I'm sure I'll be able to get the tones I'm after dialed in much better on the Mustang III for next week's gig.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Sounds like you had a great experience! My buddy just got a Mustang IV and he brought it over to jam last week. Thing sounds pretty darn good for the most part. Definitely useful for those lower volume gigs where you can't push a tube amp. It's not something I'd personally use, but that's only because I dislike "tweaking". I prefer more simplistic gear. However my buddy loves spending hours twiddling with settings and patches. I thought the Mustang sounded pretty good - especially given the price point.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

I found that I preferred using a couple of my favorite CLEAN settings and a couple of my OVERDRIVE settings the whole night, and didn't bother with the other 16 settings.

Simple is always best. Different rooms always present a new set of paradigms to work with. The less tweaking the better. Sometimes it takes a real gig to remind us.


ps...if you do want your deluxe to crunch up naturally at lower volumes, try a nobels odr-1 and use it as a kind of an extra channel in your amp.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Simple is always best. Different rooms always present a new set of paradigms to work with. The less tweaking the better. Sometimes it takes a real gig to remind us.


ps...if you do want your deluxe to crunch up naturally at lower volumes, try a nobels odr-1 and use it as a kind of an extra channel in your amp.

Yes. Simple is usually best.

I wasn't surprised that my presets all needed tweaking though.

I mean, when was the last time you played at a gig, jam or rehearsal and never touched the tone controls of your amp?

Probably never.

And it's not hard. With the Mustang you just turn the tone knobs like any other amp and then press "SAVE".

Nothing to it.

Next week I'll have to do it again.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Nice Lew. Congrats

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Any time I've used modelers, I also find out that the models I'd use for soloing at home aren't the same ones that sound best turned up loud. I'd either use the same amp model with the gain being set lower or higher, or use amps that weren't intended to be lead channels, like Tweeds, Vox, or Bluesbreaker. They have more punch and less buzz.

 

[ant_riv]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

A friend of mine has this amp and loves it. He says the variety is endless, but like you, really only chooses to use a couple of clean and a couple of OD settings for the entire night. He toggles back and forth also. He chooses the most appropriate ones to use at the sound check.

I'm still in love with my Marshall Studio 15 and a clean boost and an OD, though. I'm not quite ready to make the leap of faith that a digital amp will work as well.

 

[Artie]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Nice write-up Lew. Sounds like a sweet lil rig.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

I agree, nice write up–would be interested in trying one out sometime. I still love the response between my Hot Rod Deluxe and pedals (hey Lew, have you ever tried a Mad Professor Sky Blue?) But to me there are awesome tones out of my POD and V-Amp, so I would definitely be open to trying a Mustang III.

 

[jtees4]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Any gig I've ever played, going back to the early 70's....I've had to tweak my amp from home use to band use. From early tube amps like my 60's Ampeg Gemini II, my Marshall Major stack, and lately my Fender Mustang III. I have specific settings for home playing, recording and gigging. The home recording and gigging settings are generally very similar, basically the home settings have the distortion turned lower and the treble turned lower (similar to what the OP described). Often the recording settings work in a band situation, but sometimes need a bit of tweaking depending on the room acoustics etc. No big deal really. I've been able to pretty much cut down my entire set up to 3 pre-sets for a gig. I use the two and four button footswitch so I can further change everything fairly easily. I basically have a clean preset, and use the footswitch to turn on/off compressor or chorus and delay. I have a mild od/distortion preset. And I have a higher distortion pre set. I get by quite nicely with just those really. On both I usually use the compressor after the distortion as a lead boost, comp volume up, comp itself turned down. I used to be a tube snob, no more. Plus as an older guy with a bad back, it's a great lightweight amp. I literally don't think I'd be able to carry my Marshall Major head these days, maybe not even be able to pick it up. And I used to use that thing in small clubs!!!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

I agree, nice write up–would be interested in trying one out sometime. I still love the response between my Hot Rod Deluxe and pedals (hey Lew, have you ever tried a Mad Professor Sky Blue?) But to me there are awesome tones out of my POD and V-Amp, so I would definitely be open to trying a Mustang III.

I own a Mad Professor Simble but I use it with my Deluxe Reverbs. Love it! It turns my DR into a Dumble, especially when I play my ES-335.

Have not tried the Sky Blue.

I was hoping to not use pedals with the Mustang.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Played my first gig with the Fender Mustang III last night.

Nice write-up Lew. Sounds like a sweet lil rig.

Artie, with your background I think you'd love it.

Keep in mind though, that the Mustang III is a $300 amp.

The Mustang II is only $200!

Tremendous bang for the buck but unlike classic amps from the 50's & 60's, these are kind of like a new TV or iPhone.

You use it until it starts to screw up and then you buy another one.

Does have a 5 year warranty.