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Post subject: Should I keep the Mustang I or return it for a Mustang II?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:50 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:28 pm
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Hello everyone. The other day I bought a Mustang I amp, since I am getting back into playing guitar after a long hiatus. I must say this amp is 100 times better than my old Epiphone 15w amp, the built in effects is an awesome feature. This amp makes a newbie like me sound much better than I actually do. :lol:

I primarily play a lot of hard rock and metal tunes. The Mustang I does a pretty good job, but I find that in order to get a good sound an volume, I have to use the Metal preset with the master and volume set around 8, gain at 6 to 7, and the guitar volume at 10 on my cheapo Epiphone strat style. Anything more than this, then the amp does not sound good at all.

I plan on getting a better guitar soon, so I want to have an amp that will make the most of it. Since I am finding that I am playing the Mustang I at higher volumes, should I return it for the II so that I don't have to crank on it?

I have read that the Mustang II doesn't really have the crunch distortion sound like the Mustang I does, and it has more of brighter sound. Is this true? Does the Mustang II lack the distortion sound when played at lower volumes? What do you all think, should I return the Mustang I for the II?


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Post subject: Re: Should I keep the Mustang I or return it for a Mustang I
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 8:35 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 6:30 am
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Well the consensus that i have read is that there really isn't THAT much of an upgrade for the $$ difference between the two, and that the I, for whatever reason seems to sound better.

If you just gotta upgrade, the III is a better bang for buck upgrade. You get a lot more for the extra ching. First and foremost is the expanded control panel, and the lcd screen that gives you all the best tweakability from fuse, right on the amp. The 12" speaker and open back, along with the bigger power section would benefit you, if you worry about pushing your M I too hard. You also get an fx loop and an XLR out. It's a bit of the best of both worlds- it works VERY well as a home use/recording amp, AND has the balls and features you need for live use. Ignore the power rating- the master volume works, and it sounds very good at home or bedroom levels. ( it still has a headphone out too) I find that the MIII makes it far easier to change and adjust effects, as well as amp and cab models. ( plus it tells you the name of the preset you're using, the amp model, and which effects are active)

I own one and love it- and I ONLY play at home. I love my metal, but don't play much of it. It will, however, deliver some major crunch and scream without breaking a sweat.

FWIW, I play an Ibby RG3 etal, American Standard Strat; HH Blacktop Strat; and a Squier CV Tele through it, and all sound great. the Mustangs will definitely handle guitar upgrades.

If you really like your MI, why change? I doubt that pushing it hard is going to hurt it. As a digital amp, volume has nothing to do with how crunchy or distorted the amp is- that is all handled by the modelling. The best way to answer your question is to go try them side by side. I have not tried a II, so I can't say how it differs from the 1 and 3 soundwise.


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Post subject: Re: Should I keep the Mustang I or return it for a Mustang I
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 9:41 pm
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Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:16 pm
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mk0183 wrote:
What do you all think, should I return the Mustang I for the II?

First of all, welcome back to guitar playing! I know what it's like to come back to playing after a sizeable hiatus, and the satisfaction I experienced was almost overwhelming at times.

Here are some things you might want to consider:

I think you have already decided to upgrade to the Mustang II, you're just trying to rationalize spending the extra hundred bucks or so! Well, the II has a bigger speaker and more wattage/power, but its control interface, effects, and preset capacity are the same as the I. Meh.

Money doesn't grow on trees and you're probably not made of it like the GEICO motorcycle guy, but if there is any way to pull it off short of antagonizing the wife or depriving the kids of new shoes, go a step further and upgrade to the Mustang III V2. The III is a completely different animal! Most importantly, it has an LCD display which is much more informative and nimble than the interface on the I's and II's, along with 100 watts of power, a great speaker, direct outputs, an effects loop, and the capacity for using the optional four-button footswitch and EXP-1 pedal which add a great deal of versatility. It's size is also a great compromise between a back-breaking behemoth and a tiny "practice" amp--it is big enough to use in a band and small venue. Since you like to play metal, you'll love all the extra metal presets which come loaded onto the III, IV, and V.

Don't know where you purchased your Mustang I, but if you can afford to wait for one of, say, Guitar Center's sales (10-15% off), you can bring the price of the III down to under $300, which is reasonable. With the high-gain tones you use, the V1 "fizz" would not be an issue, so you could probably pick up a used one of those for the price of a new Mustang II, just sayin'...

HTH, good luck!

_________________
Most profound blues lyric, from Robert Johnson's Hell Hound On My Trail:

"If today was Christmas Eve, if today was Christmas Eve,
Tomorrow would be Christmas Day..."


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Post subject: Re: Should I keep the Mustang I or return it for a Mustang I
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:35 am
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Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 1:31 am
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It's all a matter of money. If you can afford an M III, why not. I find once the Mustang has the basic sounds I like programmed, I have no need for tweaking the fundamentals while playing. When I do want to redesign some presets, FUSE on a PC is good, storage is unlimited, better than messing around on a little LCD and trying to figure out which presets to overwrite. But the extra power etc can't hurt.

If the extra cost for a III is a problem, then a II will play louder than a I, and with the 12" speaker will deliver more punch. I have both a I and a II, and find they sound remarkably alike. I move the M I around the house (it's wonderfully portable) and keep the M II in the studio.

The M I has a slightly boxier sound, which for some vintage tones is nice. But in your case that's irrelevant, you're not after that old "blues guitar through a practice amp" sound. And if you're running the M I at 8, and after metal type sounds, you can probably use a little more punch, especially on the bottom.

The Epi vs more expensive guitar doesn't change anything. But if you get an active pickup death metal type guitar, you'll like 40 watts of amp more than 20. It's not as huge a difference as the numbers might suggest, but in combination with the bigger speaker, it could be the ticket.


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