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Post subject: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:06 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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i should be getting this amp in the next week tops i was playing around with one for an hour or so at a shop and i loved the sound i was just wondering if anyone who owns the amp or played it for a longer period found any problames with it i didnt find anything wrong with it but like i said i only played it for an hour or so at a shop and never used any of the software cause of it ........ so do any owners got any pros and cons they would like to share

is there any reason i souldnt buy it

NOT BEING A TUBE AMP DONT COUNT

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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:37 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Hey corpseknot,

I owned a M3 for 6 months now. This is my first ever amp so I don't have any preconceptions or tube-snobiness :)

Pros:
-all the AMP models are great, fender and others alike. The amp simulation is so good that if you like just one of them that is worth the price of the Mustang alone (my favorites are the Ssonic, Plexi-cole, Mesa-clone, Vox-clone, twin, deluxe and bassman, almost all of them :)
-cabinet, sag and bias parameters are great and you can really change the way amps simulations sound with them
-some effect are great: distortion (I can tweak it to sound like a tubescreamer or a Boss DS-1) compressor, chorus, tape delay
-the noise gate are excellent in my opinion, compared to other I heard (like digitech for example)
-you can use it as a monitor and conect to an external PA at the same time with effects and everything
-extremelly light and sturdy box
-enough power for any conceivable use I can think of
-95% of settings could be arranged and tweaked using the amp controls alone, without a pc

Cons:
-The other effects not mentioned are pretty much useless to me, mainly because I don't know how to use them :) (like how do you use the ring modulator?)
-all conectors are pretty cheap and will break if you dont treat them with extreme care
-for some strange reason the USB connection is not bidirectional, you can get audio out of the amp with it but you can't use it as an input (any 60$ Behringer mixer can do it!)
-documentation is non-existent and many settings are not obvious if you are a newbie like me
-you can not combine some effects (like having a compressor and a distorsion for example) due to limitations on the DSP used (no firmware is going to correct this ever)

Overall, I would buy another one of those if mine breaks instead of any line-6, digitech or similar.

hope this helps


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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:51 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:34 pm
Posts: 78
I am a hard core tone freak, and have almost 20 guitars, and 8 amps- tube, vintage, boutique, ss, modeling. I also have been in the music biz for too many years to think about! Here's my take on the MIII after owning it for a month:
Pros:
1. excellent modeling of Fender and Marshall models
2. Loud enough to gig with
3. Lightweight and portable
4. Decent effects- good reverb, delays, mods
5. A great bargain for the money
6. Easy tweaking with the onboard display
7. Fuse software is available for tweaking and backup of presets

Cons:
1. Hi gain models are thin sounding(but probably can be tweaked to sound better)
2. Foot switches setup are not logical and hard to navigate
3. Some units display the dreaded "fizz"(mine has been good,it bothers some more than others)
4. Only two stompbox distortion effects- OD and fuzz
5. You can't use more than one stompbox effect at a time
6. Fuse software GUI is more complicated and hard to understand than necessary. They should mimic Line 6's Edit software.

Overall it's a great amp for the money. You can get a wide variety of good tones, and with enough volume to cover most musical situations. At $300, it's a steal.


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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:02 pm
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:37 am
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Location: England
Quote:
do any owners got any pros and cons they would like to share

Most of the topics in this forum cover people's pros, cons, wishlists for features that aren't there, etc. Suggest you spend a bit of time skim-reading what's already here!

Quote:
for some strange reason the USB connection is not bidirectional

Cost saving, both in components and software development. Presumably not considered an essential feature by Fender.

Quote:
documentation is non-existent

Not quite that bad, but close. The paper manual that comes in the box is very basic; the "advanced" manual that you can download covers more, but still not enough. Some trial-and-error experimentation needed to figure it all out. Plus again, look at previous topics here, many "how do I do..." questions have already been asked and answered.

Quote:
you can not combine some effects (like having a compressor and a distorsion for example) due to limitations on the DSP used (no firmware is going to correct this ever)

It's true that firmware can't increase the overall DSP limit. But firmware could change the range of effects it's possible to have simultaneously (such as a compressor and distortion). Indeed there was a recent topic where several good suggestions were put to Fender. They've said they'll look at it, we'll have to wait and see if anything ever materialises.

Quote:
Hi gain models are thin sounding

Interesting; I'd say the opposite. I suppose it depends what sort of hi-gain sound you want!

In terms of problems, I don't think there's anything serious enough to stop someone buying it, unless they have a specific requirement that the amp simply doesn't do - and there are a few of those. Plus there are minor niggles with various features not necessarily working in the most useful/intuitive way.

A few that spring to mind:
- The FX loop comes after all the internal effects. You can't put it anywhere else in the signal chain
- If you get the optional expression pedal to use as a volume, you're limited on whereabouts in the signal chain you can put that volume control
- The infamous fizz issue, that seems to affect all modelling equipment from any manufacturer, to some extent
- Delay and reverb tails are cut off when you change preset
- I've read reports of the cabinet not being sturdy enough for continuous on-the-road use; it's a nice cabinet, but needs to be treated a bit more carefully than a fully rugged solid wood amp case.

Again, these are all already copiously covered in other topics so no point repeating the details here. It might be easier if you have a particular requirement or concern to share it here then people can give comments on those specific things.


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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:12 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:26 am
Posts: 500
Location: Lake Charles, LA
I'd like to say something about the high-gain amp models.

A number of people claim that the Mesa Dual-Rectifier and the Peavey 5150 amps are thin, nasal, and fizzy sounding. I own a Mustang II 40-watt combo and a Mustang V 150-watt stereo half-stack. I can tell you this: That statement is true - but only at low volumes.

On the M5 half-stack, if I turn the master volume to around 4 so the amp starts putting out like a 100-watt tube amp on stage, all of that fizziness and nasal sound blends into the bass response of the 4x12 cabinet and it really starts to sound like the real thing. Those amps (the real ones they're modelled after) were never designed for low-volume playing and to accurately model the amps digitally, that same artifact/effect would still be present at lower volumes.

My suggestion to people is this - using Fuse, go into your advanced amp settings tab, slightly increase the BIAS, then turn the "Master Volume" knob there up higher while simultaneously lowering the "Volume" control on the amp model face (not under Advanced). This will instruct the amp to model more power-tube volume and then lower the preset's overall output volume to compensate.

There's a lesson there for all Mustang users. The VOLUME knob on every amp model within FUSE (and also the "Volume" knob on the top of the amps) is not the "Master Volume" knob found on real amps. It's a PRESET VOLUME KNOB. It is there so you can balance out all of your preset volumes so that when you switch to one, it won't suddenly get loud enough to hurt your ears. Since a good number of amps within Fuse also have a "Master Volume" to control power-tube output, Fender included that in FUSE under the Advanced Tab as "Master Volume." Please do not confuse this knob with the REAL AMP's Master Volume control, which controls the amp's 100-watt or 150-watt or whatever built-in Solid-State Power Amplifier.

This level of control is what really made me fall in love with my Mustang amplifiers. The incredible amount of control it gives you is amazing and when you start digging in, you really learn a lot about how REAL amplifiers work in a signal path.

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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:39 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Posts: 824
Hi FFXIhealer,


You gave some great advice there regarding volume.

-The volume knob controls the output of the preamp to compensate across all presets as you mention.

-I actually never touch the master volume (physical) knob on the amp as this is the real output of the power amp on the mustang, is just adjusted to a level my wife and kids can tolerate (just 2.5 on my case :( )

-Indeed what I do when a I create/import a new preset, i put the (physical) volume knob on the mustang to 7, I play with all other controls until I get the sound I like, then adjust the volume knob from 7 to a value that makes the preset sound at the same level as all my other presets.
As a general rule, the more gain/stomps you have the more you will need to lower the volume knob. Also the fatter the pickup, the lower you need to put the volume knob.

-The master volume knob on fuse controls the power-amp saturation simulation, useful in cases where the amp model sounds too thin as you mention.


Hope this helps.


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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:23 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 8:15 am
Posts: 310
Location: Southeastern Seaboard
FFXIhealer wrote:
There's a lesson there for all Mustang users. The VOLUME knob on every amp model within FUSE (and also the "Volume" knob on the top of the amps) is not the "Master Volume" knob found on real amps. It's a PRESET VOLUME KNOB. It is there so you can balance out all of your preset volumes so that when you switch to one, it won't suddenly get loud enough to hurt your ears. Since a good number of amps within Fuse also have a "Master Volume" to control power-tube output, Fender included that in FUSE under the Advanced Tab as "Master Volume." Please do not confuse this knob with the REAL AMP's Master Volume control, which controls the amp's 100-watt or 150-watt or whatever built-in Solid-State Power Amplifier.

This level of control is what really made me fall in love with my Mustang amplifiers. The incredible amount of control it gives you is amazing and when you start digging in, you really learn a lot about how REAL amplifiers work in a signal path.

This is definitely a big "pro" of the Mustang. The "feel" and "response" of the amp models and how they react to your guitar, whether you have single coils or humbucker, your guitar volume level, etc.. and how it reacts to your playing technique, it's very, very nice.


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Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of the Mustang 3
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:59 am
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Joined: Wed May 02, 2012 1:32 am
Posts: 446
thanks for the replys :D cant wait to get it should be tomorrow

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