progrmr
November 16th, 2010, 09:21 AM
I picked up a Fender Mustang I amp last night to replace my line 6 15W - no pics because everyone can find those, but wanted to post up a quick review.
Price was $99 - truthfully I felt like I was taking a chance only spending $100 on a 20W amp. I'm always looking for the cadillac at the pinto price :)
The amp far exceeded my expectations. There are 24 preset slots, although 16 are intended for your own settings and 8 presets that can only be modified using the enclosed software.
The amp models sound pretty good - there's a decent selection of clean and dirty sounds. As for the effects, the chorus is so-so IMO - it's usable and probably I just haven't spent enough time with the amp to nail down the sound I'm looking for. There are several reverb models as well that work well. Overall the sound is great for such a small amp.
The coolest thing about this amp that made me want to take the risk in the USB interface. First of all, in this day and age of manufacturers not including necessary cables I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice long USB connection cable included in the box. Fender +1. I installed the software, connected the amp and turned it on. The firmware had to be immediately updated and instructions were presented on how to do a firmware update. The update went fine, and the Fuse software started - basically this software provides and editing interface to the amp. It's very detailed and I haven't gotten much into it yet but the interface is nice.
I also installed other included software which allows one to record playing - and it looks like you can setup drum tracks, bass track etc. This software looks pretty confusing but I have no experience using anything like it so I assume I just need to spend some time with it.
Bottom is that for $100 this thing is a great deal - the USB interface was the real seller for me but the sound is very good and well above what I had with the Line 6. If you or anyone you know is looking for a cool practice amp point them in the direction of the Mustang I or II (40W). Can't go wrong IMO.
Price was $99 - truthfully I felt like I was taking a chance only spending $100 on a 20W amp. I'm always looking for the cadillac at the pinto price :)
The amp far exceeded my expectations. There are 24 preset slots, although 16 are intended for your own settings and 8 presets that can only be modified using the enclosed software.
The amp models sound pretty good - there's a decent selection of clean and dirty sounds. As for the effects, the chorus is so-so IMO - it's usable and probably I just haven't spent enough time with the amp to nail down the sound I'm looking for. There are several reverb models as well that work well. Overall the sound is great for such a small amp.
The coolest thing about this amp that made me want to take the risk in the USB interface. First of all, in this day and age of manufacturers not including necessary cables I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice long USB connection cable included in the box. Fender +1. I installed the software, connected the amp and turned it on. The firmware had to be immediately updated and instructions were presented on how to do a firmware update. The update went fine, and the Fuse software started - basically this software provides and editing interface to the amp. It's very detailed and I haven't gotten much into it yet but the interface is nice.
I also installed other included software which allows one to record playing - and it looks like you can setup drum tracks, bass track etc. This software looks pretty confusing but I have no experience using anything like it so I assume I just need to spend some time with it.
Bottom is that for $100 this thing is a great deal - the USB interface was the real seller for me but the sound is very good and well above what I had with the Line 6. If you or anyone you know is looking for a cool practice amp point them in the direction of the Mustang I or II (40W). Can't go wrong IMO.