Fender Mustang GTX100

Deze Modelling Combo van Fender met GTX-7 footswitch voor de voet bediening is geweldig. Met een aantal goed uitgekiende knoppen en toetsen op de amp/cambinet combo, en voor de alternatieve bediening ook nog eens een aantal bedieningsmogelijkheden via een gratis app, krijg je bijna alles wat je wilt voor thuis en de kleinere zaal (hoewel 100 watt een tamelijk grote kleine zaal aan kan.) De combo herbergt zeer veel varianten van (geëmuleerd) geluid: versterkers en cabinets van weleer en nu, stompboxes, delays, modulations, reverbs, dynamics, filters etc. beschikbaar als presets. Via de app kun je nog andere presets downloaden om de 199 bestaande te completeren. Er zijn zelfs zo veel aangeboden presets dat je een aantal van de fabrieks-presets moet schrappen. Niet erg want niet alles zal passen bij je smaak. Het geluid en de afwerking zijn van hoog niveau. Fender, toch! De bediening is net niet op nvieau 5, om twee redenen. De leercurve is misschien niet heel stijl dankzij de uitgebreide handleing, maar wel lang. Er zijn veel mogelijkheden. Hoewel de handleiding voor de GTX-100 zeer informatief is, met per instelling ook nog eens een afbeelding ter toelichting, zijn er teveel opties en hun configuraties om in één keer te onthouden, ook al komen de tekst-georiënteerde gebruiker en de beeld-georiënteerde gebruiker allebei voldoende aan bod. Maar er is één zwakker punt: het expressiepedaal Fender EXP-1 voor volume en wah (en andere per pedaal bediende expressiemiddelen). Die bespreek ik apart uitgebreider, maar hier faalt de handleiding, faalt de begeleiding via Fender website en faalt de in de verpakking van het expressiepedaal bijgevoegde gebruikshandleiding. En zelfs de handleiding voor de GTX-100 is niet toereikend om dat expressiepedaal aan de gang te krijgen. Het lukt wel .....met veel eigen geduld en zelf proberen kreeg ik het voor mekaar. Maar de GTX-100 zelf is schitterend en zijn geld waard.

I've been using valve amps and an array of pedals for years for live gigs and practice. They sound great but they weigh a ton. I decided to look for something more portable with built in effects that I can just turn up to gigs, plug in and play. After trawling through the internet I narrowed it down to the Boss Katana and the new Fender Mustang GTX. After comparing the features, price and the fact the Mustang GTX100 comes with a footswitch, I opted for the Fender.
I've now been using the amp for a while now and am very impressed.
The presets are great with sounds for most types of music. It has a load of amp models, cab models and effects which you can use to create your own patches or alter the presets. Each parameter is tweakable from the amp or from an app you can download on to your phone and links to the amp via Bluetooth.
I'm not the most technically minded man in the world but I managed to work out the app controls in about 10 minutes however, if apps aren't your thing, it’s not essential. You can, however, use the app to create playlists so that you can keep the patches you use most often together in one place. This would be very useful in a gig situation where you could have a different patch for every song if you liked.
You can add up to five effects to each patch but be aware that some patches seem to take two places rather than one. I guess this is to do with how complex they are. The effects are very good with something for most situations. There are a few that are only really useable if you buy the expression pedal (wah and pitch shifters). You can alter the order of the effects putting them before or after the preamp (as you would with an effects loop).
There is a very useable looper giving you 60 seconds of loop time. I’ve never been that keen on them before but I’m very impressed with the sound quality on this one.
If I had to find a downside with this amp I suppose you could say that there is perhaps a bit too much you can tweak. Once you start twiddling and meddling it’s hard to stop.
I suppose the main question to ask with any modelling amp is does it sound as good as the amps it’s trying to emulate? The answer is obviously no, but it’s very close. I was expecting something that sounded synthetic but it seems to react well to playing dynamics as a valve amp would. The Fender amps sound especially good.
It's easy to use, lightweight, loud and sounds good with a huge array of options on tap.
A very good amp

I love this Amp. It is a very complete offering with a great sound from the Celestion speaker. The amp comes with connectivity by wifi, bluetooth and Fender Tone App. The Footswitch is really essential if you want to bring out all of the features. If you are buying any of the GTX amps, I'd recommend going the extra money for the footswitch if it is not included in the price.
I find that the presets I created myself or those user presets I have downloaded from the App are much more useful than than the 199 presets that are preloaded by Fender.
I like being able to group my favourites side by side on the footswitch. I have 1 minor gripe about the GTX 100. The Bluetooth feature has a delay and when you are watching a Youtube video of a guitarist playing.
Their fingers will be at least 1 second out of sync with what is playing through the amp. There doesn't seem to be a fix available for this yet. On the PRO side, the Amp is very light and very loud! You could gig this Amp no problem.
I use it at home. I have never gone beyond the 1-1.5 region on the master volume - it is just SO LOUD. It is a neat looking amp too. It isn't "classic" Fender in looks but it is nonetheless, visually appealing.