Fender Mustang II versus Roland Cube 40XL

Likeke · #1 08-30-2011, 02:28 PM

In my search for a portable amp, I came across the Mustang II 40W for about the same price as the Cube, but it has a 12" speaker vs the 10" in the Cube. Anybody have experience with the Mustang and how does it compare? Thanks

billkath · #2 08-30-2011, 03:03 PM

I recently bought a III,not a II, but I frigging love this amp. I've used it out live 6 times (not jazz-pop/rock) and it is excellent. Can't tell you how highly I rate this little 100 watter- I've had none of the problems others have reported-and I'd have better ears than most of those. I had a Cube 60. The Mustang, IMHO, Slaughters it.

spiral · #3 08-30-2011, 03:38 PM

III and above has the fizz issues. II is a safe bet. Great sounding and cheap. Sounds great stock. Someone on the Fender board did a speaker swap and removed the back:

http://www.fender.com/community/foru... 7a7281bb6455b
http://www.fender.com/community/foru... 0d48b8048270b

billkath · #4 08-30-2011, 03:49 PM

Weird, that fizz issue. It only seems to affect some people-I wonder why that is? It's definitely not on my one, which is brand new, and very recently manufactured.

spiral · #5 08-30-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billkath

Weird, that fizz issue. It only seems to affect some people-I wonder why that is? It's definitely not on my one, which is brand new, and very recently manufactured.

Sorry to the OP, i don't want to bring your thread down. There was lots of back and forth and theorizing on the Fender board about what was going on. If you never have it, that is awesome. Some have reported it developing over time. You have a 5 year warranty so it should be fine either way.

The way Fender handled it is embarrassing but if you don't have an issue, there is nothing in the price range that sounds as good.

cmajor9 · #6 08-30-2011, 04:24 PM

To keep things clear, the "fizz" issue is for the Mustang III, not the Mustang II (the one the OP asked about).

Personally, I found the II a bit limited if you want to get beyond the presets, but the Twin Reverb and Champ sounds were nice, and usable for jazz (esp. if you turn down the reverb a bit).

Stackabones · #7 08-30-2011, 05:49 PM

All things being equal, I'd always get the larger speaker. So, in this case, the Mustang II is the way to go.

If you use the Fuse software, the Mustang amps are incredibly flexible and you can create all kinds of custom settings.

pghguitar · #8 08-30-2011, 11:31 PM

I posted something similar to this in the past, and after reviewing all the previous posts, I decided to try out the mustang III from GC, even though the odds were stacked against this amp (fizz). Like the others, I didnt notice the fizz in the store, but did when I got it home. The fizz was noticeable enough to warrant the return of the amp, and a purchase of a cube 80xl. The mustang, hands down, had many more features and if it was not for the fizz problem, I would have stuck with the mustang. However, since I desired a pure clean sound, I could not keep the mustang and decided to opt for the cube.

Al_F · #9 08-31-2011, 01:12 PM

I have had a Mustang II since early June. I think its is very good, border on excellent for a practice amp. I play it clean 80%of the time and if you connect it to the Fuse sotfware, you can get most any Fender'ish tone you like out of it. The Marshall and Vox models are very good as well.