Fender mustang personal guitar amplifier
October 8, 2021 3:29 AM Subscribe
Does anyone know anything about the new Fender Mustang “personal guitar amplifier”? It seems to be a very small, portable, awesome amp that has no speaker and can only be played through headphones, for travel or other purposes. Is that correct? Has anyone used one? If so, did you like it? Was it useful? How was the sound?
I haven't used one either, but have heard good things about the Boss Waza-Air system. Considerably more expensive though.
posted by srednivashtar at 4:23 AM on October 8, 2021
posted by srednivashtar at 4:23 AM on October 8, 2021
Do you mean the Mustang Micro? If so... I have one, and I'm beyond happy with it. There's a broad range of really solid, pleasing tones and effects. It's easy to use. I especially like that the controls are - by design - very limited, so I don't get distracted by endlessly trying to dial in the "perfect" sound. Pick an amp (from clean to... bonkers); choose an effect (or none), and just go. The bluetooth functionality works well if you want to play along with your phone or laptop.
All of this is subjective. If you're not a fan of modelling amps and DSPs then it may not be for you. Speaking as someone who has just recently started exploring those technologies after time away from playing, it blows my mind that it's possible to get so much fun for $120 in a package the size of a matchbox. I realize that $120 is a lot of money to many people, and that I'm fortunate that it's not a lot of money for me. But I'd recommend it to anyone.
It's nice to be able to play without worrying about disturbing others. There are lots of other ways to do that, but this one works very well for me. The only downside is that headphones - for me - never quite have the same visceral effect as a real amp filling the room, but I can live with that.
I've not used the usb audio out, so I can't speak to that.
Also, I've experience with exactly zero comparable systems. So, maybe there are better options. But I'm happy with this one. :-)
For reference: I play it through a pair of Sony MDR7506's. I play a variety of guitars including those with single coils and humbuckers, mostly Fender. The Micro works okay - good enough for me - with a bass as well.
I hope this helps!
posted by buxtonbluecat at 4:58 AM on October 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
All of this is subjective. If you're not a fan of modelling amps and DSPs then it may not be for you. Speaking as someone who has just recently started exploring those technologies after time away from playing, it blows my mind that it's possible to get so much fun for $120 in a package the size of a matchbox. I realize that $120 is a lot of money to many people, and that I'm fortunate that it's not a lot of money for me. But I'd recommend it to anyone.
It's nice to be able to play without worrying about disturbing others. There are lots of other ways to do that, but this one works very well for me. The only downside is that headphones - for me - never quite have the same visceral effect as a real amp filling the room, but I can live with that.
I've not used the usb audio out, so I can't speak to that.
Also, I've experience with exactly zero comparable systems. So, maybe there are better options. But I'm happy with this one. :-)
For reference: I play it through a pair of Sony MDR7506's. I play a variety of guitars including those with single coils and humbuckers, mostly Fender. The Micro works okay - good enough for me - with a bass as well.
I hope this helps!
posted by buxtonbluecat at 4:58 AM on October 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
I bought a Mustang Micro when they finally became available and I am very happy with it. As stated above, it's a great tool to start playing without having to resist the urge to tweak stuff for ages. It sounds good enough for me. I like clean Fender sounds with a healthy dose of reverb, and those sounds are covered. I noticed no latency when playing, which is something I cannot stand.
I use it to practice late at night using backing tracks (streaming YouTube to the device). People probably suggest that you can do this better/easier/cheaper using other tools, but I really appreciate the simpleness of it. You switch it on, it is immediately ready for use, without having to start any software. It is also tiny, and you don't need cables (apart from the headphones). Charging is easy (USB-C) and battery life is long enough for several hours of playing.
Note that you CANNOT use bluetooth headphones.
It's certainly a great gadget for the price.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 8:48 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I use it to practice late at night using backing tracks (streaming YouTube to the device). People probably suggest that you can do this better/easier/cheaper using other tools, but I really appreciate the simpleness of it. You switch it on, it is immediately ready for use, without having to start any software. It is also tiny, and you don't need cables (apart from the headphones). Charging is easy (USB-C) and battery life is long enough for several hours of playing.
Note that you CANNOT use bluetooth headphones.
It's certainly a great gadget for the price.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 8:48 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don’t have a micro and sort of find the idea of headphone practice for any length of time intolerable, so I probably wouldn’t use it, but I own quite a few fender amps and would use no other brand, and never have in my adult life as a pro musician. So that’s a yes.
posted by spitbull at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2021
posted by spitbull at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2021
I also have one and I also like it a lot. I have even used it in serious travel conditions — solo car camping — and it was a delight to play with.
It took me a while to think of this and to try it, but since it is just a 1/4" jack, it is indeed possible to plug it into a pedal chain and add any other effects or looping that you might want. And of course a 1/8" aux cable goes in the headphone jack, so you can put the (very nice and versatile array of) built-in tones through any audio input in a stereo or car, too!
posted by xueexueg at 11:57 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
It took me a while to think of this and to try it, but since it is just a 1/4" jack, it is indeed possible to plug it into a pedal chain and add any other effects or looping that you might want. And of course a 1/8" aux cable goes in the headphone jack, so you can put the (very nice and versatile array of) built-in tones through any audio input in a stereo or car, too!
posted by xueexueg at 11:57 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jonathanhughes at 4:18 AM on October 8, 2021