Thoughts on living with a Mustang IV v2

dazzajl

I bought this a few months back, partly because I’d stumbled across a few interesting and unbiased video reviews and partly because a 150 watt 2x12 amp with some toys on board for £120 was too good to turn down. 

I’ve been using it home a lot but took it out to play with the band for the first time last night. 

I’ve been really impressed so far at home, as someone who’s never liked a modelling amp before, this one has done some very pleasing things. I have no idea if even one of the models for amp, cab or effect sounds anything like the original. I do know that I’ve found settings I like for clean, slightly crunchy and dirty. And that a few of the effects, used lightly can sound perfectly usable. The sound is convincing enough at late night whisper levels and at the neighbours are out, let’s crank it levels too. 

It’s pretty easy to use. A bit of a faff getting into the bones of a preset on the amp but totally possible. An absolute breeze though the Fender Fuse software, which is quite a lot of fun to play with too. 

I was expecting to take it along to a jam, roll the volume from the 1 or 2 spot I’d normally use up to the 4 or 5 mark and that would be it. 

No! Not even close. 

In the real world, it somehow managed to be unbearably booming and also get totally lost under the bass and drums, even though it was  easily the loudest thing in the room. 

After quite a lot of buggering about, I got my main preset sounding good. So it can be done, it’s just not at all easy or intuitive to go from a home setting to a live one. Then I accidentally rolled the main dial, changed the preset and because I hadn’t saved it to a new slot, lost all the work I’d put in and had to do it all over again. 

But the bottom line is that I will take the time to completely rehash the four or five presets I use to make live versions because when you get it about right, it really does sound good. Takes a lot of getting used to, coming from a very simple amp where the volume control has so much affect on every aspect of the sound. It is like learning a whole new language but when you get it right.... it’s a perfectly good alternative to a valve amp and pedals.