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Post subject: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:22 am
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I am thinking of swapping the speaker in the m2 with a jensen P12Q or jensen C12N, same ones used in the blues jr. 3 upper end models
Would this be a good mod

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:36 am
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Define "good." That's a very RELATIVE term. So without a point of reference to base the comparison on, no one will be able to say anything on the subject.

Besides, opening the Mustang II voids your warranty.

There are a few guys on here that put in an Eminence Cannibus Rex and loved it, but my thoughts on it are very conflicted. Sure, better speakers usually sound better, but the Mustang amp has "Cabinet Simulators" built into the amp's DSP to color the final output sound to emulate different types of speakers (like Legend speakers in the Fenders, Greenbacks, G12T-75s, and Vintage 30s for Celestion speakers, etc). To do THAT properly and make the speaker cab simulators work properly, you need a relatively neutral speaker with a flat frequency response. When you take that speaker out and put one in that has its own frequency response curve, you change how all the speaker cabinet simulators sound. They will not be accurate anymore.

So think carefully before you start taking a crowbar to the back of the Mustang II because the thing is glued on as well as screwed on and you'll have to break the glue to get the back off.

Also keep in mind that if your Mustang amp is new, you kinda have a speaker break-in period. It's been debated left and right, but I think a good speaker break-in loosens up the flexible ring around the outside front of the cone and allows it to flex easier, smoothing out highs and giving you a bit warmer mids. The speaker basically will mellow out with a bit of normal usage.

ALSO keep in mind that the Mustang II is closed-back, so it's a VERY directional amp. If you can't get enough treble and it sounds to bassy, try propping it back so the speaker points up at your face. Then play the same stuff and notice how drastically the sound changes.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:58 am
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thanks for that input
the main reason for starting this trend was to see if there is a better quality speaker that could be installed in the m2, jut as fender has different models in the blues junoir 3, all a step up with better quality speakers.
by chance do you know of any speaker that is neutral with a flat frequency response that would be a step up from the stock m2 speaker

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:24 am
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Trini,
I modded my MII with an Eminence Cannabis Rex. Not exactly a flat response speaker but it sounds great! I also cut a hole in the back and turned it into an open-back combo and it made a big difference in its sound dispersion characteristics. If you want a supposedly flat response speaker, you might look into these - http://www.usspeaker.com/beyma%2012ga50-1.htm
Not sure how the Mustang's amp models will sound through it though.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:42 am
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FFXIhealer wrote:
Define "good." That's a very RELATIVE term. So without a point of reference to base the comparison on, no one will be able to say anything on the subject.


Oh c'mon now, there's always someone on this forum who can state an opinion as a fact. :lol:

Orcatraz wrote:
I modded my MII with an Eminence Cannabis Rex. Not exactly a flat response speaker but it sounds great!

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:08 pm
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Orcatraz wrote:
Trini,
I modded my MII with an Eminence Cannabis Rex. Not exactly a flat response speaker but it sounds great! I also cut a hole in the back and turned it into an open-back combo and it made a big difference in its sound dispersion characteristics. If you want a supposedly flat response speaker, you might look into these - http://www.usspeaker.com/beyma%2012ga50-1.htm
Not sure how the Mustang's amp models will sound through it though.

O.



glad to read that it does have better.
warranty is not an issue at $200 it would be cheaper for me to replace as compared to having it shipped up to the USA
for $200 dollars, when i think about it, taking into consideration sam ash mark up, cost of the materials to assemble this amp, and fenders profit on their product, that stock speaker could not be of much quality, even my home stereo system the cheapest speaker costed more than the m2 amp,
a speaker should not have to wait on a breakin peroid to sound good, it sould be so from the beginning
i could not belive the quality of the sound when ipad/ipod plugged into it, it took me back to the days of transistor radios back in the early '70s with 3" speakers :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:16 pm
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Quote:
i could not belive the quality of the sound when ipad/ipod plugged into it, it took me back to the days of transistor radios back in the early '70s with 3" speakers

There are other posts that discuss/explain why ipod etc doesn't sound great through the amp. It's because a guitar amp speaker is (deliberately, by design) not a FRFR hi-fi speaker. It's nothing to do with it being a poor-quality speaker.

Quote:
there's always someone on this forum who can state an opinion as a fact

Is that your opinion, or a fact? :wink:

A purely personal opinion:

A guitar amp, at any price point, will be a compromise of various components to meet that price point. Let's assume Fender are smart enough to choose a reasonably well-matched set of components for any particular amp. Obviously better, more expensive amps will have better components overall.

Upgrading just one component (speaker or anything else) in an amp isn't going to make it a substantially better amp. It will still be let down by the cheapest/worst component.

Rather than buying an amp and spending more money/time on changing the speaker, personally I think it would be better, if one's goal is sound quality, to buy a higher-quality amp in the first place, that already has a superior speaker, and correspondingly higher-quality components to match. For example, I think most people agree the Mustang 3 sounds better than the Mustang 2, and not just because it's higher-powered.

Obviously if your goal is to experiment with different components for the interest of doing that, then yes upgrading a speaker is a valid thing to do - but in that case it might be fun to build a whole amp from scratch, or a kit, then you can choose what components to use.

Again personally, I'd love to spend time building my own valve amp - but I have limited time, and I think that time is better spent concentrating on playing the guitar better. Improving what my fingers do on the strings will affect the sound far more than tinkering with equipment. For me, the stock Mustang gives me enough sounds, at good enough quality, to enhance my playing enjoyment.

(As an aside, it always amuses me to read the frequent posts on valve/tube amp forums of the form: "I just bought this great amp; all I had to do was upgrade the valves, replace the speaker, change the tone circuit, build a new cabinet for it, etc, etc, and now it sounds fantastic." No-one ever seems to see the irony/contradiction...)


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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:50 pm
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Trini wrote:
a speaker should not have to wait on a breakin peroid to sound good, it sould be so from the beginning


FWIW, the Celestion speaker in my MIII sounds significantly better to me than when it was new. Maybe it's my imagination. As FFX stated, "smoothing out highs and giving you a bit warmer mids" - pretty much sums up what I think I am hearing.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:31 pm
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so as to not tinker with any thing on the m2,
which amp would you consider to be the best practise amp for bedroom use and must have a headphone and aux.jack no limit on how much to spend

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:42 pm
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Trini wrote:
so as to not tinker with any thing on the m2,
which amp would you consider to be the best practise amp for bedroom use and must have a headphone and aux.jack no limit on how much to spend


If you're talking strictly practice amps, I'm not sure you could do much better than the Mustang without going into overkill. I still miss my MI.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:34 pm
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Well, if you really want a speaker change, you could look into the speaker that Fender put into their Mustang V412 cabinet: The Celestion Rocket 50. It's a pretty good speaker with a relatively flat frequency response curve. It's 50-watt handling, so it can handle the 40-watts comming out of your Mustang 2. I think the default speaker in there is a 60-watt speaker, though.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:18 pm
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well i took a chance and went with the jensen C12N
right out of the box it sounds fantastic in the M2
so i can vouch for this mod, its a great upgrade. :D
i think Fender should give this speaker as an option

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Post subject: Re: Mustang 2
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 6:58 am
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Trini wrote:
well i took a chance and went with the jensen C12N
right out of the box it sounds fantastic in the M2
so i can vouch for this mod, its a great upgrade. :D
i think Fender should give this speaker as an option

I'm glad you found something that works for you, but now I'm curious, did it make your Ipod sound any better?

Trini wrote:
so as to not tinker with any thing on the m2,
which amp would you consider to be the best practise amp for bedroom use and must have a headphone and aux.jack no limit on how much to spend

I would have just gone with a Mustang III. It's still small enough and quiet enough for bedroom use and comes with an excellent Celestion speaker from the factory.


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