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Post subject: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:55 am
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So I ALMOST pulled the trigger on the Mustang III last night, but ended making my first stop at the Fender Lounge prior to making my final decision.

Obviously the first thing that caught my eye was all of the "FIZZ" talk.

And for someone who had never been here I noticed 2 things:

1) Although I can see that this conversation started a ways back it still seems to be an ongoing conversation. Meaning that it still seems as though MANY people are still experiencing this mystery "FIZZ". But what I didn't get is weather all of the people still experiencing it have updated to the current v. 1.6.4 firmware.

2) I also noticed that Fender had post the v. 1.6.4 firmware and even used the phrase "Fix for forum discussed issue “Obnoxious Tail End Distortion”. Which I ASSUME is there phrase for this "FIZZ" that everyone is talking about.

So am I safe to ASSUME that the v. 1.6.4 firmware has taken care of this problem? So all I would have to do is either make sure the amp I get has this update or simply install it myself?

Thanks for any help you could provide. I have gone through the 32 page thread on the whole "FIZZ" issue, but I didn't really see much in the way of SPECIFIC comments like "I've installed the new v. 1.6.4 firmware and everything is PERFECT or EXACTLY THE SAME or JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN IT WAS."

Once again THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. I've heard the MP3's or audio that people have posted and I'm pretty sure that "FIZZ" or phasing/flanging type of background and tail sound would drive me nuts, and I really DON'T want to buy something with the idea of MAYBE returning it in 2 weeks. I'm less of a "try" kind of guy and more of a buy or don't buy :D Just would like to make a decision based on what you, the experts, already know! 8)

Thanks!

David
www.AcousticTones.com


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:23 pm
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The most important thing to consider is - did you notice the "fizz" on the amp you were about to buy? This is a problem, but not all units have it. I've got a Mustang II, III and V (head) and of none of them have the fizz issues and never did (regardless of firmware version). If the unit you demoed didn't have the problem, you're probably good to go.
A couple of notes on the fizz issue - not sure it matters, but I always run my amps on a power conditioner (Furman). I don't know if unstable power contributes to the fizz, but it's probably a good idea to run you amp on clean, stable power anyway. It used to drive me nuts with my tubes amp on why different venues always made my amp sound different - got a power conditioner and "poof" - that problem went away. Something to consider, just my .02 :)

BTW, these are tremendous amps - the fact they are so inexpensive is just icing on the cake. That's why I have three of them!


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:03 pm
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Thanks for the reply tkdunn17 :)

My only challenge is that I'll most likely end up getting one out of the box and it may be shipped to me. So there's a pretty good chance I might not get to give her a try before buying or seeing it at my home.

I was REALLY hoping that the phrase "Fix for forum discussed issue “Obnoxious Tail End Distortion” that Fender mentioned in their post for the v. 1.6.4 firmware really fixes the problem.

But gotta say that I love hearing another report, yours, that someone else just loves what they're getting out of these amps.

I spent quite a bit of time playing on each of the Fender modeled amps with nothing more than a little reverb (I took all of the effects off so that I could just see what the amp models sounded like) and really liked what I heard. But the store was loud and I can't say that I was going to really listen and check for any of the "FIZZ" that I've read so much about.

Once again, thanks for your reply. Much appreciated. And appreciate anyone else's reply based on hearing a "FIZZ" and then how installing the firmware affected your amp.

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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:08 pm
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Well, my MIII has very little fizz, though it is present. Either it's not the same as what others have mentioned or it's just not bad enough to bother me. Frankly, a lot of it can be mitigated by fiddling with the presets... some cabinet selections seem to bring out more of it and the gain settings are quite high on some presets which also contributes to it. I know I'll catch heat for saying so but I think it's been blown wildly out of proportion. While not all, most of it really can be fixed with adjusting what I mentioned above.

I updated the firmware in my amp yesterday and can't really tell any difference in terms of the fizz. I did notice improvements to the autowah effect which greatly improves its usability so that was a bonus. There's some speculation that it has to do with the amps power supply but I too am running my amp through a line conditioner so maybe that's why I don't hear it so badly. All in all, they're awesome amps for the money and I think you'll enjoy it. The Fender amp tones are great as you mentioned and even some of the others are quite nice once you go in and lower the gain levels. Also, FUSE lets you switch the bright on/off for some amps like the Twin. Personally, I don't know why the factory default is to have the bright switch engaged but turning it off made the Twin sound much more Twin-like IMO. There's also TONS of awesome presets accessible via FUSE which I've just started to explore... people have been coming up with some great sounding stuff. I replaced most of the heavy metalish sounding stuff with user presets (country, blues, classic rock) and feel like I have a whole new amp.


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:57 pm
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I have had my Mustang IV for nearly 2 weeks now. Bought it from the Guitar Lounge in Sydney. I specified that I wanted a new one in unopened box, not floor stock. I had to wait 4 weeks for a new shipment to arrive.

My amp has no fizz, maybe a liitle lingering hiss on some of the over-processed presets, but that is common with all over-processed digital effects units and by simply going into the Advanced Amp settings you can adjuct the noise gate to get rid of it. I really like the noise gate, unlike a lot of other amps and multi-boards, it actually works really well without affecting the sound.

I don't use a power conditioner at home, but I do on stage. My amp at this stage anyway, is Fizz Free.

This issue has been going on, from what I can see, for over 6 months and I believe that Fender may have already found the source of this problem and rectified it in all new runs of the these amps and that's why I wanted one from a brand new shipment. Fender may not be saying too much about the issue, until they are sure there are no future complaints from the new batches. I could be wrong. But I will keep you guys posted on how mine goes.

I've got to say, this is probably the best amp purchase I have ever made. The clean sounds are awesome and the overdrives and other effects are also very useable with a little tweaking around the edges. Depends on the guitar you use. I find my 91 USA Strat sounds great through this amp, without to much fooling around, on the other hand, I have had to adjust a lot of the presets I like for my Gretsch WF. Haven't really tried my Les Paul yet.

For the price, this is an unbelievable amp and I think as these things continue to become popular, the retail price will start to go up a bit.

I always take 2 amps to a gig as most pro players do, so I am looking at selling off a couple of my old amps and either buying a Mustang III or another IV as a backup. It makes sense as I can copy my entire modified preset list to the second amp and be back on track quickly should my main amp die on stage. The other bonus is that if I get a III, I will have the combination of both the 4 and 2 button switches to use all the time.

The safe bet, is to always try before you buy. If the amp you play through in the shop, doesn't have the fizz, then grab it. If you buy an untried amp, it's a lottory. I know I went against my own advice, by buying one in a box untried, but I hate buying stuff that has been sitting around in a shop or being flogged to death by everyone else and probably being used by the sales staff at their own gigs on the weekends, you just never know. This amp is so good, that unless the fizz was that noisy, I would probably keep it anyway.

8beggars


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:00 pm
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I wanted a CyberTwin SE because I really play a lot of different music. I can't afford one right now but maybe later I'll get it. In the meantime I looked at the under $500 range.

I have owned a Line 6 Spider IV, a GDEC3 15 and even the GDEC didn't compare to my Mustang III. All three amps were the same price $299, I still have my GDEC and I gave it to my son. It's a great amp but just didn't have the volume that I wanted. The Line 6 I felt was a little lacking in some areas, but it was a great amp.

After using my Mustang III for 2 weeks, I am completely happy with it. It is everything that I wanted in a modeling amp minus the tubes (I can still feel/hear the sudden breakup when I really push the amp which has been my experience with most SS amps, but it does better than most).

I haven't hear a fizz or fuzz that I didn't create or that I couldn't attribute to noise from my guitar or something else.

In my opinion I don't think you can get a better amp in this price range and definitely not with the feature set that is in the Mustang line.


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 11:01 pm
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I love my Mustang III. I have a blackface Deluxe Reverb, a tweed champ, an Egnater 30 combo, and a few other older loved amps.
But the truth is now that I can sit down with my Mustang and find a sound I love. And then for the next song another song I love, and so on and so on.
This amp is a sound machine and dream machine, my friend. Even more than my other amps.
No matter what mood I am in or what I want to play I can do so in it's own natural tones and attacks with this amp.
I love mine, and that, my friend, will not fade for a long long time.


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:44 am
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I bought my Mustang IV about 2 weeks ago, maybe a little more. I tried it out in store and I loved it. Brought it back home, tried to play with it..For improvising it was great - for playing cover songs.. well not so much.. Then I spent like 5 hours in FUSE and now I simply LOVE MY AMP. Really - you can get anything out of it, anything you like.
The footswitch is also very good and it offers you a lot of flexibility - the only thing I dislike about it is that if you are in the middle of playing and you change preset there's a very quick (doesn't last long) volume drop - but you can still hear it. You don't hear it if you don't strum your guitar right before or at the time you change the preset though.

Anyway I think it really is a great amp and worth checking out and fiddling around with it in FUSE.

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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:40 am
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I'm from the UK and had a Mustang III on approval for 3 weeks. I liked the amp very much and had no fizz with the v1.5 firmware it came with. I wanted a lighter, smaller amp to my (quite heavy & bulky) Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX set-up.

The core reasons I didn't keep it were because:

1. There is no extn speaker 'out' - so if I needed a bigger tone (eg 2x12, 4x12) for rehearsals/gigs, other than micing up to a PA (not always an option) I was stuck with the 1x12" speaker.
2. It only came standard with the 2-button pedal and at that time the 4-button pedal (essential for gigging) represented an extra £70 (although I've been instrumental in getting the price down of these).

I could have taken a view on 2, but not 1 above - if I had a conversion done this would have been extra cost & would have invalidated the warranty.

Tonally though I thought the Mustang III was very good indeed, with very good functionality, it was a perfect size & weight & looked quite nice too. It was an awful shame, but ultimately it didn't meet my particular needs. However, if extn cab expandability is NOT a requirement for you, it's a tremendous amp at a very competitive cost.

Rich :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:29 am
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I am very happy with my M3. Highly recommended. Now, I did have to return my first M3 under warranty. It had the "bad" fizz. I didn't have a chance to return it during the return period for Musiciansfriend. I took it to a Fender repair center in Austin where it was checked out and eventually replaced with a new M3. Took a little over three weeks to get my amp replaced. So, it was a pain in the rear to get it replaced but Fender came through on the five year warranty. I suspect that Fender has or will fix the problem, whatever it is. I don't plan selling my old amp, a homebrew Brown Vibrolux 6g11 but I mostly play the M3 now. I'm thinking I'll rewire the old amp into something else, maybe a Delxue Reverb, or ???

Mark Robinson
College Station, Texas


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:14 pm
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that's good to hear Mark, thanks for posting this. It lets others know that Fender considers the fizz an issue that is cause for amp replacement under warranty.


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 6:30 am
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You guys rock. Thanks so much for all the replies, and I welcome more if they're out there.

Hoping to decide this coming week exactly what direction I'm planning on going, and 90% of my decision comes down to TONE and VALUE. And the Mustang III just seems to be hard to beat on those points... but that's all assuming I'm not going to driven crazy by the FIZZ, and it would definitely drive me crazy if it were there.

So once again thanks to all for your input!

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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:38 am
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AcousticTones wrote:
You guys rock. Thanks so much for all the replies, and I welcome more if they're out there.

Hoping to decide this coming week exactly what direction I'm planning on going, and 90% of my decision comes down to TONE and VALUE. And the Mustang III just seems to be hard to beat on those points... but that's all assuming I'm not going to driven crazy by the FIZZ, and it would definitely drive me crazy if it were there.

So once again thanks to all for your input!


Cheap isn't exactly the same as value. If you're looking for long term value then a more traditional amp is a lot more likely to be something that you can keep for a lifetime - and that's real value. I doubt if many will do that with a Mustang.


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:22 am
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So last week...

Bought MIII off of Amazon... FIZZ!
Updated firmware to latest version... FIZZ!
Went to Guitar Center, tested MIII on the floor... FIZZ!
Had them pull one out of box at Guitar Center... FIZZ!
Tested MIV at Guitar Center... FIZZ!

I'm returning my amp and waiting until this problem is fixed. Even if I could find one without the fizz I would be afraid that it would develop it (read a few stories of this in the main thread). :cry:


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Post subject: Re: Seeking advice on buying a Mustang III this week
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:41 am
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The firmware update fixed (maybe not for everyone) an apparently different problem on the 20/40W versions. The "fizz" problem is something else, likely physical. Ultimately, what Fender said was this.

When/if you get your amp, do share how it is fizz-wise and manufacturing-date-wise. :)


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