The Steel Guitar Forum

Has anyone tried the Fender Mustang IV amp on pedal steel? They look like a nice package.

Here is a link to the Fender page for this amp.
http://www.fender.com/products/mustang/ ... dNo=230004

My only concern is the choice of speaker. Celestions like breaking up. Everything else looks great to me.[/b]

Jaclyn,
I have a Fender Mustang IV, use it mostly for home practice. Played it out one time with OK results, didn't have it set up with the tone that I like, and the building was fairly small. I have since got a pretty good sound, using the 65 twin setting. Like I said , home use, and mostly with headphones. If you could get someone to let you try it in the venue that you need it for, by all means try it.It seems to have enough punch, but I didn't really "open it up". Have you looked at the V, with 4 12s, same amp, two piece setup. Drawback is, the controls are on the top, hard to access on a stand behind you.
Bill

I am going to talk my local dealer into letting use one at a gig. I will let everyone know the outcome.

I would buy the head and add my own speaker cab to it.

Steve,
I was thinking along the same lines, 15" black widders X 2.
The V head is about the same price as the IV also, you can get a foot control to change channels, or sit the head where it is convenient to change settings.
Bill

Ok, now I have an opinion. I normaly play thru a Ken Fox steel amp and use an effects rack (Pod 3x Pro). I spent the morning playing steel and guitar thru a Mustang IV. It sounds great! You have to tune in the settings to you taste but it sounds as good as my Steel King and while the Fox sounds good I do not need the effects rack with the IV. I bought it for guitar for the most part but found I can use the aux line out to go to the fox amp using the effects from the IV. It is 47lb, the same as the Fox. I had it wound up at gig volume for a large club and it did not break up at all. I think I will keep it.

Jaclyn,
I use the 65 Twin setting
stp-compressor
mod-empty
dly-tape
rev-large hall

Also moved it to the "o" position so you don't have to hunt it when you turn it on. Still experimenting with other settings.

BF

That is almost the same as I use. I had to roll off some of the high side but that mellowed it out nicely.

A friend gave me the smallest model in the line, the Mustang I. I took it with me for the holidays and it makes a great travel/practice amp. I'm impressed enough to wonder if the larger models are worth looking into. I think the Twin model is my favorite. How does it sound at stage volume?

Of note, the headphone playing sounds better than anything I've tried (with headphones). My Vox DA5 has a huge volume drop and distorted cleans with headphones. The Pod HD is overly harsh and ice-picky with headphones. The Pod XT was even worse.

I also did some test recordings into Ableton Live with the USB direct option. Sounds comparable to the Pod HD. This might be the best value out there for $99.

At stage volume it does great. It has plenty of power and clarity. I also tried using the effects out to send the steel to another amp using the effects from the IV. It worked very well. That way I can use the amp for guitar as well as steel with endless tone options.

After several club gigs I am still very impressed. The amps effects are great and easy to set up. For the price of this amp I was not expecting it to handle steel well but it does. Fender did a great job on this amp.

I agree. Based on my experience with the lowest priced model, I returned my Pod HD500 to Guitar Center and got the Mustang III (1x12 Celestion, 100 watts, $299).

It does so much less than the Pod as far as options and experimental effects. However, for what it does, it does soooooooo much better. Specifically, there are distinct flavors of clean that sound great. The Pod doesn't do cleans well and the differences between the models are subtle where they shouldn't be (like going from a Twin to an AC15). Also, I think the reverb and delay on the Mustang are easier to dial in just right. This is really a great modeler for Fender amps where the Pod is geared towards metal and over the top effects, in my opinion.

It also seems to have a lot more power than my Peavey Nashville 112.

My theory is that Fender is a big enough company to sell these at a loss in order to get a foothold in the modeler market. The pricing makes no sense, otherwise.

I got one and I use it for rehearsals, Jam sessions, and places with small audience....or when I'm in too lazy a mood to pack up the big artillery stuff!
Works great and got a lot of power despite its size and cost.
A must have for me.

I got one and I use it for rehearsals, Jam sessions, and places with small audience....or when I'm in too lazy a mood to pack up the big artillery stuff!
Works great and got a lot of power despite its size and cost.
A must have for me.

I got one and I use it for rehearsals, Jam sessions, and places with small audience....or when I'm in too lazy a mood to pack up the big artillery stuff!
Works great and got a lot of power despite its size and cost.
A must have for me.

Are they made in China? If so I Guess thats how they can Justify The Price. I Heard a guitar player Useing one and it Sounded Great! Randy G.

Randy Gilliam wrote:Are they made in China? If so I Guess thats how they can Justify The Price. I Heard a guitar player Useing one and it Sounded Great! Randy G.

I'm sure they are made in China, but so are the other competing amps/modelers in their market.

Another interesting thing about the Mustang: It's pitch shifter is polyphonic. The Pod HD would glitch if more than one note is played where the Mustang doesn't.

Picked up a Miv on Friday . Saw an add in Craig's list for $100.. thought it would be a wreck but it was in brand new condition...couldn't believe it ..with 2 foot switches...played the Elks with it soon as I got there ...sounded great ! Just used the Twin setting!

Picked up a Miv on Friday . Saw an add in Craig's list for $100.. thought it would be a wreck but it was in brand new condition...couldn't believe it ..with 2 foot switches...played the Elks with it soon as I got there ...sounded great ! Just used the Twin setting!

The Mustang IV V1 is currently offered for $299 brand new with free shipping on a few online retailer websites.

This seems like an awfully good deal. The new Mustang IV V2 is $499 on those same websites. It appears that most of the specs are the same for the V1 as for the V2. The main difference seems to be that the V2 has 18 amp models, whereas the V1 has only 12. Also, the V2 has two XLR outputs, and the V1 has none. Since I plan on using it mainly on the '65 Twin preset (or some tweak of that preset), I don't think I'd miss the extra amp models. And since I don't plan on running it direct to the PA, I don't think I care about the XLR sockets. So I'm really tempted to order the V1 this week.

The only thing that makes me hesitant is the reports I've read of "fizz" on the "clean" amp models on all of the V1 Mustang amps. They say that the "fizz" has been mostly eliminated in the V2 models. Reading Jaclyn Jones' reports of her favorable experience playing pedal steel through a Mustang IV V1, as well as many other favorable reports on the Steel Guitar Forum, I wonder if the "fizz" is a real issue for pedal steel players using this amp. Does anyone who regularly plays pedal steel through a Mustang IV V1 have any comments about the "fizz"?

When playing live the fizz is indiscernable...you'll barely hear it when playing at home alone...a great amp at $299!

When playing live the fizz is indiscernable...you'll barely hear it when playing at home alone...a great amp at $299!

For $299 shipped that has to be the bargain of the year. I wanted a smaller footprint, so I picked up a used Mustang III and am very impressed.