It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:12 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:09 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:27 am
Posts: 15
I am thinking about purchasing the M3, but I am curious about the following. I currently own a Spider 4 and it's good at what it does. One of the things I dislike about modeling amps is that regardless of what guitar I play, the tone sounds the same. Example: I have a Malmsteen preset, and whether I use my Les Paul with Blackout pickups or my American Fender Strat, you can't tell a difference between the guitars. In other words, the modeling amp makes them both sound identical.

With the M3, if I am playing my Strat and I switch between neck and bridge, does the amp pick up the different tones from those pickups? I tend to play a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes, and I am looking for an amp that will allow me to get different tones with my Strat...nice warm bridge tone, and the somewhat harsher bridge pickup tone. Can the M3 do this? Is it capable of getting different blues tones? I've heard great things about the amp and thought I would ask here!

I was thinking about purchasing either the M3 or the Super Champ X2.
Thanks!
Rattlesnake


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:13 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:39 pm
Posts: 154
rattlesnake wrote:
I am thinking about purchasing the M3, but I am curious about the following. I currently own a Spider 4 and it's good at what it does. One of the things I dislike about modeling amps is that regardless of what guitar I play, the tone sounds the same. Example: I have a Malmsteen preset, and whether I use my Les Paul with Blackout pickups or my American Fender Strat, you can't tell a difference between the guitars. In other words, the modeling amp makes them both sound identical.

With the M3, if I am playing my Strat and I switch between neck and bridge, does the amp pick up the different tones from those pickups? I tend to play a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes, and I am looking for an amp that will allow me to get different tones with my Strat...nice warm bridge tone, and the somewhat harsher bridge pickup tone. Can the M3 do this? Is it capable of getting different blues tones? I've heard great things about the amp and thought I would ask here!

I was thinking about purchasing either the M3 or the Super Champ X2.
Thanks!
Rattlesnake


Hi Rattle!!!

I've tried a lot, but certainly not all, of modelers, and so far, the Mustangs (I have the III) are the ONLY ones where you can still "hear" the guitar. As you noted, the other modelers all make everything mushed together where you can't tell ANYTHING about the guitar, and even pickup changes don't really make much difference. I bought my Mustang because it IS the only one I've heard that still gives you articulation, and responds MOST like a real amp.

_________________
1963 Princeton
1965 Twin Reverb
1968 Bandmaster
1970 Champ
1983 (?) Musicmaster
2012 Mustang III
West Grande (x2)
Acoustic G60-T
Marshall JTM 60


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:54 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:27 am
Posts: 15
thompal -

Thanks for the quick reply and also thanks for getting my point about the different articulations regarding pickup tones. This has always been a concern of mine, and this is evident with my Spider. It's a great amp for shredding, but I am looking for an amp that brings out the tones of pickup selection. Sometimes I play the neck pickup and I want to hear that.

How well does the M3 play cleans?
Rattlesnake


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:01 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:18 am
Posts: 184
I own guitars with different body woods. My presets for the mahogany does not work on other woods, i HAVE to use different preset for different guitars.
I have a preset with a "special" soloing sound that only comes out with my RGD in split coils position and the tone rolled off. No other guitar or pickup gives me a similar sound.

I think that this defines well how the mustang react to guitar changes.

As for cleans any review you can find around will tell you that fender tones (the best clean tones around) are modeled really really well!

_________________
I love my Mustang!

---------------------

You can find all my Mustang tips here:
http://ridingthemustang.blogspot.it/
An Unofficial guide to Fender Mustang Effects here:
http://ridingthemustang.blogspot.it/p/unoffcial-guide-to-fender-mustang.html

USB Footswitch Opensource Project:

https://github.com/mordor74/mustang-raider


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:47 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:00 am
Posts: 7
rattlesnake wrote:
I am thinking about purchasing the M3, but I am curious about the following. I currently own a Spider 4 and it's good at what it does. One of the things I dislike about modeling amps is that regardless of what guitar I play, the tone sounds the same. Example: I have a Malmsteen preset, and whether I use my Les Paul with Blackout pickups or my American Fender Strat, you can't tell a difference between the guitars. In other words, the modeling amp makes them both sound identical.

With the M3, if I am playing my Strat and I switch between neck and bridge, does the amp pick up the different tones from those pickups? I tend to play a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes, and I am looking for an amp that will allow me to get different tones with my Strat...nice warm bridge tone, and the somewhat harsher bridge pickup tone. Can the M3 do this? Is it capable of getting different blues tones? I've heard great things about the amp and thought I would ask here!

I was thinking about purchasing either the M3 or the Super Champ X2.
Thanks!
Rattlesnake


Hi I have just purchased an M3 as a quick grab and go gigging combo and I play mainly blues using a variety of PRS guitars which I make full use of all the pickup switching combinations on.

My other amps are all valve and are a Mesa Boogie combo and an older 50 watt Marshall. To be frank I was staggered at how good the M3 was when I got it home for the money. With a bit of tweaking (the presets are ok but you do need to adjust to your own taste/guitars) the tones I can get are pretty close to my valve amps certainly the audience would not tell any difference and they also have a very similar feel to playing a valve amp.

In my experience with very high gain tones regardless of if they are valve or modelled they have a tendency to make all guitars sound the same due to the compression.

I have owned Line 6 and Yamaha modelling amps in the past and I do think the Mustangs respond to pick attack better than anything else i've tried.

Marc


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:45 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:08 am
Posts: 225
Not only do I have different presets for my Gibson ES-347 and Fenders. I have different presets for my Fenders, Tele and Strat. Not just tweaking the eq but the bias and sag for the virtual tubes. The tone of the individual guitar DEFINITELY comes through. Like many I was curious about modeling when it first came out and bought a V-Amp floor thing and a couple of Zooms which at home I thought I had good presets but out live got lost in the mix and sounded "hi-fi" not like a real guitar amp. Got a SCXD and was impressed that it still sounded like a real amp, then a MustangII which I traded up to a III and haven't looked back. Sounds like a REAL guitar amp. I gig it sometimes. have a DRRI and a BDRI, but definitely my home and rehearsal amp.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:34 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:37 am
Posts: 4099
Location: New York
The M3 retains the actual sound of the guitar for sure, including pickup selection. Here are a couple of blues demos I made, you can tell I'm playing a semi hollow:

Slow Blues Demo

Blues Shuffle Demo

_________________
Please subscribe to my Image Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/b7567


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:44 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:27 am
Posts: 15
strings10927 wrote:
The M3 retains the actual sound of the guitar for sure, including pickup selection. Here are a couple of blues demos I made, you can tell I'm playing a semi hollow:

Slow Blues Demo

Blues Shuffle Demo


Strings -

Thanks for posting those great M3 demos. You're right, I could tell the difference in guitars played. Very well done. Now I'm just trying to decide that if I do want a Mustang, which one makes the most sense for my needs: M3, M4, or the M5. I don't play gigs, I just jam the blues in the house (sometimes late at night too). Can either of the Mustangs I mentioned be hooked to an extension cab? I have a Marshall 4x12 sitting around doing nothing and was wondering if the M3 has the capability to be hooked up to it? Oddly enough, I am still looking hard at the Super Champ X2 because I am very impressed with the Channel one and how great it sounds with pedals. Decisions, decisions!!

Again, thanks for the awesome demos!

Rattlesnake


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:02 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:08 am
Posts: 225
rattlesnake wrote:
Now I'm just trying to decide that if I do want a Mustang, which one makes the most sense for my needs: M3, M4, or the M5. I don't play gigs, I just jam the blues in the house (sometimes late at night too).


The MIII would certainly fill that bill and more. You could gig with it if the opportunity arose. MIv and V might be overkill.

Quote:
Can either of the Mustangs I mentioned be hooked to an extension cab? I have a Marshall 4x12 sitting around doing nothing and was wondering if the M3 has the capability to be hooked up to it?


There is not a dedicate speaker out but you could rig one bypassing the combo speaker.
Quote:
Oddly enough, I am still looking hard at the Super Champ X2 because I am very impressed with the Channel one and how great it sounds with pedals.


I haven't heard the X2 with the 12". Had a SCXD that the MustangII and then III blew out of the water. Have to try it side by side with MIII. The MIII gives you better onboard model an efrfects control and more wattage. The SCXD has the real tube power section.

Quote:
Decisions, decisions!!


Yep.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:22 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:37 am
Posts: 1315
Location: England
Quote:
which one makes the most sense for my needs: M3, M4, or the M5. I don't play gigs, I just jam the blues in the house (sometimes late at night too)

I had to make the same decision, for the same reasons. I chose the Mustang IV, principally for future use of the stereo effects loop. With hindsight, the III would have been perfectly suitable, and would have been a better choice for home use. I could have bought a second amp in the future for stereo experiments. However, the M IV does look very nice! Both the M III and IV can get very loud (thinking about your "late at night" requirement). They sound ok at low volumes, but do sound better when turned up a bit.

Quote:
Can either of the Mustangs I mentioned be hooked to an extension cab?

The Mustang V is the only model in the range with speaker outputs, but read the documentation and Fender's posts on this forum about speaker cabinet requirements, particularly about having two totally separate isolated connections for the L-R stereo signals. You can't just connect it to a 4x12 mono cabinet.

Quote:
Super Champ X2

I tried one of these alongside a Mustang III. For my ears at least, the M III has a much better, fuller sound. The Super Champ sounded 'boxy' by comparison.

Just some opinions, hopefully helpful.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:19 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:08 am
Posts: 225
To scott-uk

Was it the new Super Champ X2 combo with the 10" that sounded boxy? My SCXD has a Ragin Cajun speaker which helped get rid of some of that and by itself not so noticeable but then play the MIII and you really can tell the difference.

I'd love to see a MustangIII hybrid with the tube power section. Even a pro model with separate 6V6 and 6L6 selectable!!!!!!!!!!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:49 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:37 am
Posts: 1315
Location: England
To Stinger22 - yes, it was the current (2012) model Super Champ X2 that I tried, with the 10" speaker. Yes I don't doubt a different speaker could sound better, but the 12" speaker in the Mustang is better still.

I was going to ponder "so why don't Fender fit better speakers?" to the Super Champ as standard, then I wonder if the sound of the current model is deliberately tuned to sound like classic Champ amplifiers?

As for a Mustang with a valve/tube power amp: I always wonder, how much of a valve amp's tone comes from the pre-amp versus the power amp? And given that the Mustang is a modelling amp that's supposed to simulate all those nice valve sounds, how much should it need real valves in there as well? Surely adding real valves to the power amp would be saying that the modelling can't do the job, in which case the corollary would be that pre-amp valves are necessary too. At which point, why not just have a valve amp and some stomp boxes (or a multi-fx but non-amp-modelling unit)? :)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About M3 and Blues Tones
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:50 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:37 am
Posts: 4099
Location: New York
rattlesnake wrote:
Strings -

Thanks for posting those great M3 demos. You're right, I could tell the difference in guitars played. Very well done. Now I'm just trying to decide that if I do want a Mustang, which one makes the most sense for my needs: M3, M4, or the M5. I don't play gigs, I just jam the blues in the house (sometimes late at night too). Can either of the Mustangs I mentioned be hooked to an extension cab? I have a Marshall 4x12 sitting around doing nothing and was wondering if the M3 has the capability to be hooked up to it? Oddly enough, I am still looking hard at the Super Champ X2 because I am very impressed with the Channel one and how great it sounds with pedals. Decisions, decisions!!

Again, thanks for the awesome demos!

Rattlesnake


Truly my pleasure to share. :mrgreen: When I was shopping this amp, I had a hard time finding good demos, so when I made the purchase, I wanted to provide some demos for people like me who like to hear before they buy. Thanks for the kind words. :D

_________________
Please subscribe to my Image Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/b7567


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: