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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:34 am
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I have the mustang III V.2 for a month or so now. The main reason I bought it was because I can have good sounds at a low volume for playing at home. I own a Line 6 POD HD500 and the Amp simulation and effects from the POD are much better - especially the non-fender amps. Those don't sound good at all on the mustang. But overall I was very impressed what I can get out from the mustang. I'm very satisfied for the usage I have bought it. For recording it doesn't even come close to the POD but, that's not the reason I bought it. The only thing I'm really dissapointed about the mustang is, that you can't have more effects of the same type in one patch. That doesn't make any sense to me. If I want to use a compressor before a distortion or the screamer before the overdrive it is not possible. With that limitation you simply can't reproduce many of the popular sounds. I'm hoping for a firmware update in the future that does allow more effects of the same type.
Ohter than that it's a nice peace of gear.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:19 am
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^- Exactly!

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:51 pm
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I wouldn't go so far as to say very disappointing. In fact, i quite like most of the FX. But yes, the spring reverb doesn't have that bounce sound. You can kind of emulate it using a very fast delay; you have to mess around with the delay type and number of repeats, and speed, but that can help give the spring sound a little bounce. Although since the delay is not tied to the reverb, every time you want to use more or less reverb you have to change the delay too. It's a sort of solution, but a better spring reverb would definitely make me happy.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:57 pm
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This pedal does emulate that "boingy"sound:

Image

Unfortunately, the 'boing' just happens randomly, and doesn't relate to the dynamic of what's being played at all, so it is actually kind of annoying. In order to implement this properly, i think there would have to be a volume threshold after which the effect engages or something.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:21 pm
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My two peneth worth.

I agree the verbs are rubbish. And the FX are not that great either. The problems with Verbs and delays particularly is that they use a lot of processing power, which the Mustang has not got.

Its comes down to this though - You get a lot of amp for your money here, in the UK just over £200. This is not a lot of money compared to other conventional amps or HD500x for that matter. Plus despite its short comings its still a very giggable rig this - which I do reguarly and I care about what my auidence hears.

Sorry dude that it did not work out for you chasing tone can take a while and not every piece of kit you spend hard earnt cash on is going to do it for you.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:03 am
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It's cool. I've actually come to like the amp more than my smaller Vox VT+ amp. My initial reaction was just ..."ewww" when I heard some of the effects. I think I was (and am) more disappointed because I've fiddled around with an older Fender blackface head unit (can't remember the name but it had digital effects), and that had quite a nice sounding digital spring and phaser.

Anyway, I have other pedals that get the spring sound I like. One of them is that kinda silly Digitech iStomp pedal believe it or not. The Spring Tank on that is actually pretty decent.

As for the phaser, I think it's just the frequency band that is sweeping is much more narrow on the Mustang, I'm used to a broader band which to my ears sounds smoother.

Anyway, my last little niggle is the position of the effects loop. I kinda wish we could move it to right after the amp model, but before the "rack" effects. Because as it is, if you plug into the effects loop (on the MIII) it renders any on-board stereo FX back to mono. Oh well..


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:22 am
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I agree that some of them leave a lot to be desired. The chorus/flanger are not very good. I ended up running a BOSS chorus in front of the amp, along with a compressor to free up the stomp box slot. I still haven't decided whether these are better in the loop or in front.

Also, the lack of an EQ effect is also a disappointment. I'm running an MXR EQ in the loop. Still with all this extra stuff, its much for economically versatile than a more traditional rig.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 9:35 am
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I find the delay fine, and i DO use some stomps and they ones i use decent and perfectly usable. But i agree many effects are at best usable. That said, it's an amp and for the most part classic style models. Most people who use amps like that use minimal effects. Effects to people like myself for example, and i consider myself a pretty typical guitar player of the type that plays many genres of traditional stuff, effects are used very minimally both in the amount of them and how much they are in the mix. I use a small amount of delay just enough to keep it slightly ambient and on occasion some chorus. I think most people that aren't into very specialized for of music will be the same because most music other than some specialized types really use few effects.

Point is, at $300 what sense would it make for fender to spend a lot of $ and R&D on putting together a set of world class effects? You can't even get a dedicated effects processor for $300 thats going to be great. So you have to be realistic about it. You got an amp that can do far far more than any tube amp out there and as well as many of them and better than some for the price of a cheap effects processor. If you went out to buy the celestion 100 watt speaker that comes in the III that alone would cost you a 3rd of the cost of the mustang !

I guess i just had to post because i grew up playing in the early 70's when you had about 3 or 4 amp choices that were good enough and about as many guitars, and effects were limited to a few stomp pedals. Kids today have no idea how lucky they are !


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 9:53 am
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oczad wrote:
Point is, at $300 what sense would it make for fender to spend a lot of $ and R&D on putting together a set of world class effects? You can't even get a dedicated effects processor for $300 thats going to be great. So you have to be realistic about it. You got an amp that can do far far more than any tube amp out there and as well as many of them and better than some for the price of a cheap effects processor. If you went out to buy the celestion 100 watt speaker that comes in the III that alone would cost you a 3rd of the cost of the mustang !

I guess i just had to post because i grew up playing in the early 70's when you had about 3 or 4 amp choices that were good enough and about as many guitars, and effects were limited to a few stomp pedals. Kids today have no idea how lucky they are !

I completely agree with you here. ESPECIALLY about the kids being spoiled. For about hundred bucks when I started playing, all I could get my hands on was a Gorilla amp.

I bought my Mustang II after being on the fence between that and the Frontman 25R for a small living room amp. Figured if I only use one model and It has reverb, it was worth it. For 200 bucks I got a GREAT sounding modeler. I only really use the 59 Bassman these days but all the other stuff is there if I want. With that, I get some great sounding reverbs. Plate being my favorite. I only use a small amount of reverb so suits me fine. The 63 Spring has a little more "Boing" for the buck if it should please the post a few up. Already, I've gotten more than I would have out of the Frontman. But it doesn't stop there. I also have some decent sounding tape delay as well us some other fancy delays. If I need to dial in a standard delay quickly, I have a pedal so I'm completely covered.

I admit I'm not gaga over the Fuzz stomps but that goes to Ozcad's point. I'd much rather have the amp models be great even if it means I have to go to some external pedals to get what I want. I have a RAT pedal, an OCD clone and a Muff clone so I'm pretty covered and honestly I prefer just reaching for some knobs anyway.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:07 am
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yeah, my first amp was a peavey SS that sounded incredibly bad and i think it cost me over $100. To even further describe my personally feelings about it, i'd have bought the mustang if it had NO effects and would have still been blown away to have a amp with a lot of advantages over my tube amps and sounds and feels so right i don't play them any more. Any effects i DO use are icing on the cake. Totally agree on the fuzz's by the way. I have no use for them. I basically use the greenbox and at times the OD. Those plus the delay are all i use regularly.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:13 am
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Same here.

Someone over on TDPRI mentioned using the Greenbox as a boost with the 59 Bassman by turning the gain on the greenbox all the way down and cranking the level on the stomp for the "Boost" I tried it and now that has become my go to thing. Works great for my neck and bridge pickup and the most responsive and touchy feely setup I've found yet. Works well with the volume knob too. My Mustang life got way simpler once I stumbled upon that. I highly recommend trying it.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:54 am
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That would be me. :mrgreen: I also started using the jcm 800 model a bit and the super sonic, the latter being my fav when i first got the MIII till i discovered the bassman. The bassman is still my #1 but the others can sound good at times with certain guitars. The bassman is still the best at dynamics tho.

captainc wrote:
Same here.

Someone over on TDPRI mentioned using the Greenbox as a boost with the 59 Bassman by turning the gain on the greenbox all the way down and cranking the level on the stomp for the "Boost" I tried it and now that has become my go to thing. Works great for my neck and bridge pickup and the most responsive and touchy feely setup I've found yet. Works well with the volume knob too. My Mustang life got way simpler once I stumbled upon that. I highly recommend trying it.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 12:32 pm
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oczad wrote:
That would be me. :mrgreen: I also started using the jcm 800 model a bit and the super sonic, the latter being my fav when i first got the MIII till i discovered the bassman. The bassman is still my #1 but the others can sound good at times with certain guitars. The bassman is still the best at dynamics tho.

captainc wrote:
Same here.

Someone over on TDPRI mentioned using the Greenbox as a boost with the 59 Bassman by turning the gain on the greenbox all the way down and cranking the level on the stomp for the "Boost" I tried it and now that has become my go to thing. Works great for my neck and bridge pickup and the most responsive and touchy feely setup I've found yet. Works well with the volume knob too. My Mustang life got way simpler once I stumbled upon that. I highly recommend trying it.

That's really funny. Well thanks for the tip. :D Really was a game changer for me. Now i just really use the one preset for clean and gritty depending on where the volume is at and what pickup i'm using. And can use the other footswitch setting for my Marshall hankering. The trick i figured out with the Plexi is to use the BlackBox set to low gain. I found the Plexi to sound a bit flabby but pairing it with the BlackBox tightens it up but helps it retain the "Marshally" character.

This along with a couple external stomps i have is a very modest yet versatile setup. If only i had someone other than CaptainC and the Backing Tracks to jam with.

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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 1:30 pm
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I never had much luck with the 70's marshall model, but the 80's one that i assume is a JCM I've gotten some decent sounds from with a LOT of experimenting.

With the bassman there one issue i have. When i want a less gainy and less middy sound, i love turning the greenbox off. It's extremely natural and realistically tube like without the middiness the greenbox adds. But the problem i have is the lows are mud till i roll off the volume and clean up even more. But if i want the amount of gain it offers like that with the guitar on 10 it's too flabby. Don't get me wrong...with the greenbox as boost it's a great tone. But the tone with the GB off is also a great and very different tone thats fantastic for many things. But that flab in the lows is a killer. I still use it like that but roll the volume down to rid the flab. But i wish i could leave it on 10 so i could have that sound with more gain. I've tried to recreate that using the compressor or OD as clean boost and turning the gain down on the amp model so it doesn't have the middiness of the GB but has the gain amount, but it never quite sounds as good. I'm nit picking tho. I'm happier with my tone overall than I ever was with tube amps.


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Post subject: Re: Mustang (III) effects are very disappointing
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:07 pm
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I did change the cab to the 2x12C. Not sure if that makes the difference but It seemed to tighten it up on the cleans, at least to my ears with my Strat. I found it has a nice full clean sound with my neck pickup (CS69) and with the Greenbox set as previously discussed, it gives it just enough grit to give it some attitude for digging in. The bridge Pickup I have is the Duncan SSL-5 and at 13k, it tends to fight with presets I've created using the neck pickup. But this is probably the only preset on my amp that allows me to switch to my bridge pickup for a bit of chunky mids and it works swimmingly in both position giving me two very different sounds.

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