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Post subject: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:34 am
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Okay, this morning I went to the local dealer hoping to come home with a Mustang I, but that was the only model he didn't have in stock. So I decided to give the II a test run. The Fender models sounded pretty nice, though I wasn't completely enamored with the others. Couldn't get the British 60s or 80s to clean up at all...when I turned the gain knob down pretty low, it kind of crapped out...got crackly and then just went quiet. And wasn't overly excited about most of the high gain tones...seemed fizzy/icepicky and overly scooped.

There was a Mustang III right next to it, so I thought I'd plug into it...that way I could try out the other models not available on the II....British 70s and 65 Deluxe Reverb in particular...plus I could dial in the mids.

WOW!!! The III sounded really nice!! Obviously the speaker makes a big difference! But I also found the British 60s and 80s both cleaned up really nicely on the III.

Obviously, if my main purpose was buying an amp to use with the speaker, the III would be the one to get. But since I'm looking for something small and cheap that I'll mainly use with headphones, the III is not an good option.

So my questions:

1) Is it safe to assume the tones I'd hear using good quality headphones would be as good (or better?) than what I heard on the III?

2) If I tweak my tones on FUSE, will I be able to get British 60s and 80s to clean up better than using the knobs on the amp, like I was able to on the III?

3) More specifically, do the controls in FUSE work more nicely than the pots on the amp? (I'm guessing super cheap pots on I and II helped keep the price down.)

I don't mind doing most of my tweaking in FUSE, so if that works as well or better than tweaking on the III, that'll be fine for me.

Thanks!!!


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Post subject: Re: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:30 am
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Joined: Thu Jan 20, 2011 3:17 pm
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To clean up the higher gain amps, you need to set the volume (not master) knob to 3 or 4, then set your guitar volume at 5 and work the guitar volume up or down to control the break up. They work the same across all amps, the 3 you tried may have been adjusted already. When you select the preset they have default volume settings that overwrite what your knobs actually show so you will need to physically turn the knob after selecting a preset. The higher gain amps "volume" are set way too high out of the box.

FUSE is fantastic software. If your amp is going to be near your CPU all the time, then you will have no problem with a I or II. If not, you probably want the III since you can edit every little thing via the controls. With the I and II you cannot.


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Post subject: Re: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:01 pm
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Thanks. Yeah, I realize you need to adjust the knobs after selecting a new preset. But I didn't spend much time with Volume...maybe that was my issue (though I didn't do that with the III either). Anyway, thanks for the info, it's helpful.


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Post subject: Re: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:11 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Quote:
1) Is it safe to assume the tones I'd hear using good quality headphones would be as good (or better?) than what I heard on the III?

Through headphones? I'm not certain because I don't own a III (I own a II), but I would venture to say that the exact same preset played with the exact same guitar would sound pretty much exactly the same on either amp through the same set of headphones.
Quote:
2) If I tweak my tones on FUSE, will I be able to get British 60s and 80s to clean up better than using the knobs on the amp, like I was able to on the III?

Yes, with FUSE, you get access to an additional 4 amp models: '57 Champ, '65 Deluxe Reverb, '65 Princeton Reverb and British '70s (speculated to be based on the 18 watt Marshall Plexi). Using FUSE, you can write presets that use these models to the amp but I would caution you to write to locations that you can remember since the labels on the amp that hint at the model on the amp won't change... :wink:
Quote:
3) More specifically, do the controls in FUSE work more nicely than the pots on the amp? (I'm guessing super cheap pots on I and II helped keep the price down.)

In FUSE, I find it much easier to dial in a preset on a Mustang I/II (the III's and up have better on board controls from what I understand). You also have access to advanced settings for the amp: another master volume plus sag and bias controls. You can also experiment with effects placed before and after the amp - this is like using stomp boxes or an effects loop running to a rack.

In addition, you can have literally hundreds (thousands?) of presets you can use within FUSE without writing them to the amp. Plus, for the presets stored on the computer, you can assign a *.wav or *.mp3 file "Band" track - effectively giving it the capability of a G-DEC amp while it is hooked to the computer and FUSE.

Also, with FUSE, you can access the "Community" and share presets amongst Mustang I,II,II,IV and V users since they are all compatible.


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Post subject: Re: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:55 pm
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p90sdude wrote:
Through headphones? I'm not certain because I don't own a III (I own a II), but I would venture to say that the exact same preset played with the exact same guitar would sound pretty much exactly the same on either amp through the same set of headphones.

That's basically what I meant. Besides, it's pretty easy to mod these amps with a speaker jack, so I can always hook it up to one of my better cabs if I ever want to.

Quote:
Yes, with FUSE, you get access to an additional 4 amp models: '57 Champ, '65 Deluxe Reverb, '65 Princeton Reverb and British '70s (speculated to be based on the 18 watt Marshall Plexi). Using FUSE, you can write presets that use these models to the amp but I would caution you to write to locations that you can remember since the labels on the amp that hint at the model on the amp won't change... :wink:

What I wanted to know is if you can dial the gain down lower in FUSE than you can with the knobs on the amp.

Quote:
In addition, you can have literally hundreds (thousands?) of presets you can use within FUSE without writing them to the amp. Plus, for the presets stored on the computer, you can assign a *.wav or *.mp3 file "Band" track - effectively giving it the capability of a G-DEC amp while it is hooked to the computer and FUSE.

Also, with FUSE, you can access the "Community" and share presets amongst Mustang I,II,II,IV and V users since they are all compatible.

That's cool that you can access the band tracks of the G-DEC through FUSE...I may enjoy that.

As for sharing presets, I'm kind of a setting snob...never gotten really excited about other people's presets. Tried it with my Line 6 Toneport once and didn't find anything I wanted to use...partly I think it's because everyone has different guitars/pickups. So I haven't found a lot of value in that. Besides, I typically dial in a handful of tones that I like and use those for pretty much everything I play.

But thanks for the info!


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Post subject: Re: Potential buyer has a couple more questions
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:04 am
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Well, I decided to take the plunge...placed my order with MF last night.


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