Customer Ratings: 
List Price: $269.99
Sale Price: $199.99
Today's Bonus: 26% Off
- 40 Watts
- 1-12" Fender® Special Design Speaker
- One channel (with 24 presets)
- Controls: Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass, Master, Preset Select, Modulation Select, Delay/Reverb Select, Save Button, Exit Button, Tap Tempo Button
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As far as amps that model vintage tones. This is the best.
For my ear, Line 6, Vox, Crate, Digitech etc are nowhere near the Fender Mustang if you are comparing Vintage tones.
I have played amps and effects from many companies, as well as many of the 'hybrid amps' that combine tube and digital tones, and if you are looking for the best recreation of Vintage Blues, Rock, Hard Rock, Country tones... the type of tones that you get from some of the famed Fender amps, the Mustang Series is as good as you are going to do.
I originally bought the Mustang I for my 9 year old son to be his first practice amp and when we hooked it up for him, I could hardly let him play.
The tone editing is easy through the controls on the amp. It is easy and straight forward to see what you need to do to tweak your sound just by turning knobs. When you add the Fender FUSE to the mix and start to download new tones from the web and tweak it with dozens of stomp boxes and effects that are free to play with and try and keep on your amp this is an amazing value. (not to even mention the Ableton recording software that comes for free with the amp.)
The reason I love this amp is because of the faithful recreation of the great Fender amps like the Bassman, Deluxe Reverb, and Twin Reverb. I have never heard a digital sound replicate tube amps even close to this well.
I have heard several people say that they would never buy this amp because it is not a tube amp or because they are not computer savvy.
For the Tube amp snobs...
Nothing is going to match the sound of a really great Fender Tube amp. But if you want to recreate great fender amps at low volumes the Mustang will be a great practice amp for you. OR... if you want to bring an amp to practice that weighs a fraction of what your Fender Tube amps weighs, the mustang is a great choice. I am selling my only tube amp now that I have the Mustang II because I don't gig and really need an amp that I can practice with at night while the kids are in bed.
For the Non-Computer folk...
There is plenty to keep you occupied on this amp without ever plugging it into a computer. And if you want to give it a try, it couldn't be easier to download new sounds and tweak your favorite tones.
For the Metalheads...
This amp probably is not for you. Go try and buy a higher gain Line 6 or the Vox ADT series of hybrid amps to get some really heavy tones. There are some decent metal tones to download on the FUSE, but the real strength of this amp is Vintage tones.
Let me make it clear! I played my son's Squier Mini guitar through this amp and it sounds really amazing. I have a Fender Strat, Squier Tele and a Les Paul and they all sound amazing in this amp.
This is the first piece of guitar equipment that has given me absolutely NO buyers remorse. Unbeatable value. A great toy. A perfect practice tool. You can't beat it.
Buy Fender Mustang II Electric Guitar Amplifier Now
I can't say enough about how impressed I am with this amplifier. Fender has really packed a load of usable features into an affordable, excellent sounding package. I've had the amp for two weeks now and am still exploring all of its capabilities, but it's one of the most exciting guitar products to come my way in years.
First of all, the different amp presets sound absolutely killer and the included FUSE software allows for easy editing and you can store an unlimited number of presets on your computer. There are many amp models and effects to choose from and the FUSE interface is so simple even an old school knob twirler like myself can handle it. Using the computer, you can replace the factory presets on the amp with your own, making it a truly custom amplifier.
Secondly, I was really impressed with the sound I can get from the amplifier. I have always preferred tube to solid state and this is the first modeling amp I've really been impressed with. It just sounds fantastic, with real differences between the various amp models you can choose from. It's been a real treat to be able to explore the different models, such as the Bassman, the Deluxe, Princeton, Twin, and other Fender and non-Fender amplifiers. The 12" speaker sounds great and the forty watts provides plenty of power, at least for my purposes.
Lastly, Fender has outdone themselves with the options they include. The amp features an input for your audio/MP3 player-great for those of us who like to practice along with music, a headphone output that doubles as a speaker emulator for recording, and a USB connection for connecting to the FUSE software and recording software. Fender has also included free recording software (Ableton) and their Amplitube software (as seen on the most recent iPad commercial). And you get all of this for two hundred bones. Well done, Fender!
If you're interested in this amplifier, do yourself a favor and check out the demo video on Fender's website. It's a really nice overview of the features and they also have sound samples of some of the presets you can listen to. The amp sounds just as good in person.
(The Mustang I is a 20 watt amp with an 8" speaker, but has all of the same goodies as the II if you don't need the power and want to save a hundred bucks.)
Read Best Reviews of Fender Mustang II Electric Guitar Amplifier Here
I bought this amp to play my guitar in a jazz trio-guitar, piano, violin. When I listened to the amp by itself, it sounded fine, other than most of the amp settings have oodles of fuzz in them which doesn't really work with jazz. O.K., I found a couple settings (twin reverb, e.g.) that sounded clean enough...but when playing with the other two instruments, the bass response of the Mustang II is totally lost. Make no mistake, you get a lot of goodies to play with, including the cool, but poorly documented FUSE software (hack around, you can make it work). I'd suggest this amp for someone who is starting to play and wants to get a feeling for what effects (chorus, flange, etc.) they like; what kind of reverb (hall, room, etc.), if they like a modelling amp, etc.etc. But I think you'll be very disappointed in the tone if you play even at very moderate volume levels with others....it is a very "bright" amp-you hear the high tones well-too well, really, but you might as well not have that low E string on your guitar. Maybe they really meant this amp to be used with electric ukuleles.:>}
UPDATE: After using the FUSE software for awhile, I found out that you can have better bass response and a cleaner sound than those awful presets that come with the amp...as one reviewer noted, the first thing to do is to get rid of the presets, hook up the FUSE software to your amp and choose some presets to replace the factory presets that work for your kind of music, in my case, jazz. Don't just pick a factory preset that you figure is "good enough", like I did before I wrote the original review...there really are a bundle of good presets that I figure were developed by teenagers that can't read music or tab, but have great ears.:>} (just jealous).
Here's a quick guide to the FUSE software:
1.After the software has been loaded from the disc, you will have to register-hit "logon" and follow instructions.
2. Now to load a preset: go back to the FUSE software (a picture of an amp with oodles of hyperlinks should be on the screen). IGNORE all the hyperlinks except the one on the right that says Media Library. Click on that link-you are now there!
3.On the middle of the screen there are the words (hyperlinks) "Computer Amp Web". Click on Web and a very long list of presets will appear-pick one that looks good to you and RIGHT CLICK on it-it will say Download Preset-click on that. Your guitar is connected to your computer with the USB chord and the amp is on, right? Also make sure the PRESET knob is turned so you see a red or green light-if the light is amber, turn the knob until you have a red or green selection.
4. Plug in your guitar and play the preset you just selected from the Web menu and see if you like it-if not, go to Media Library, pick another one, RIGHT CLICK and download...ah, that's the one? On your amp, press SAVE-it will start to blink; press SAVE again-the preset has now replaced one of the aforementioned awful factory presets on your amp.
5. Turn the Preset knob to another red or green position (so you don't over-write the preset you just saved), go back to the Media Library and repeat the process until you've replaced all the red and green presets you want to; you can always over-write any preset later that you decide wasn't all that good after all.
I thought I'd toss these brief instructions in because the manual instructions are, well, manual instructions....you have to hack around a bit to get the idea. Hope these hints were of help. You might want to look at the "Comments" section on this review for suggested presets with the FUSE software that are cleaner than the factory versions.
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I passed on all the Fender G-Dec units for years,(still glad I did), instead buying the Line 6 Spyder Jam and then a Line 6 Spyder IV. They are both great amps for sure, but for the money, Fender has really got this one right. The clean tones on this are just great. The ability to modify with FUSE is an additional layer of gravy. The amp is just about perfect for bedroom, studio or practice. I bet more than a few of these quietly show up in Nashville studios...
I still love my Line 6 units, especially my Spyder Jam cause I can play along with tracks, and I love the accuracy of the models in the Line 6 Spyder IV. But if you are in the market for a great practice amp, or an amp that will take you from super clean to vintage dirty for special effects on a demo, Fender hits the mark on this one. It's just ridiculous what is in this for $199.
I compared this to a VOX Valve modeling amp, not even a contest. Against a Spyder IV, individual tastes will vary.
Only complaint is the "stacking" of the six effects onto just two knobs. But that is a minor complaint. Most people don't use chorus and flange at the same time anyway.
If you are in the market for a cheap, reliable modeling amp that is less cost than a Digitec RP500 pedal, you owe yourself to look at this thing. Right now, it is the biggest bang for the buck. I only wish I had bought the Mustang III, but it was not available yet when I purchased.
After reading reviews and watching several online demos, I was convinced this amp was worth a try. Considering I do at least 85% of my playing while 3 kids are sleeping in the house, I wanted something that sounded good at low volumes and ideally through headphones as well. I am a compulsive tinkerer on my PC, so the USB-powered Fuse was icing on the cake for me.
First the bad: My initial impression when unboxing the amp was that it felt a bit cheap and toy-like. The knobs look and feel fragile and the black covering looks cheap with obvious seams visible. The light weight makes it feel as if it may break if I sit or stand on it. The jacks (including main input) are clad in black plastic instead of metal. Most of the presets didn't seem very usable out of the box as they were too "processed" for my taste. Too much compression, reverb, etc. The Bassman and Twin Reverb were exceptions and I found them usable without much tweaking.
Now the good: I have played through a variety of modeling amps/software from the roland cube to amplitube and some of the iphone/ipad stuff. This is by far the best sound I have heard from something that does not have tubes in it. The ability to run my ipod directly into the amp with backing tracks is a huge benefit. I find the amp great for hassle-free recording as well (with surprisingly good results). It is really fun to tweak and create various sounds using the Fuse software. I plan on using this amp as my ONLY amp for playing at home. I'll keep the micro cube for when I need to be on batteries, but that's about it.
A few final notes: Make sure to update the firmware as there have been improvements and this will possibly improve sound if you have an earlier build (did on mine). One word of caution my glowing review is from someone who plays blues, funk, and vintage tones almost exclusively. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for metal or more aggressive styles. For all this does, it is money well spent and provides a great-sounding practice amp at all volumes (and through headphones). Don't forget to download other users' presets and additional fender presets. Takes about 5 seconds to add them, try them, and decide to keep or not...
