Fender Mustang 2 vs Roland 40

**0zoro** · 06-16-2011, 06:07 AM

I have begun pondering the question of a new amp, well who hasnt. At this point I have boiled it down to the 2 amps named above. Clean, clear, and fully adequate for my practice needs as well as my wallet. In Sweden they can be purchased for about 180euros/165£. My question is, do any of you have opinions as to how they stand up to each other in compairison? For jazz is one clearly more suited than the other, or have better features than the other? Finally, have I missed looking at an amp that has better characteristics or features than these two roughly the sme price range?

Best regards

0zoro

**Meggy** · 06-16-2011, 08:15 AM

There are at least a couple of other relevant threads on here at the moment which are also worth looking at. Not quite the same amps, but I have recently compared the cube 80XL with the mustang 3, and I'm buying the mustang - I was really impressed with the quality of the amp models, sounds great clean for jazz IMO, plus incredible versatility and value (again just my opinion!). I think Roland have a fight on there hands...

**reventlov** · 06-16-2011, 10:55 AM

I had the same two amps to choose from just last week

I bought the Roland 40 - the Fender was lacking in bass response for my taste and didn't match well with either of the two guitars I'll be playing through it; these are an Epiphone Casino with stock P90 pups, and a Gretsch with TV Jones Classic pups. I think the important thing is to try the amp with your own guitar and let your own ear be the judge.

**Meggy** · 06-16-2011, 02:54 PM

Be careful about the Mustang! I just got my Mustang 3 home, and suddenly I can hear this awful background fizz/noise on all the patches. I was warned about this on this forum, but because the amp seemed totally fine in the shop (and I gave it a pretty careful test) I went ahead. It's very hard to understand, but I feel I have to be honest about what I have found here. I am taking the amp back in the morning, and will try to get it changed for a Cube 80XL - wish I'd gone for that in the first place now.

**matt.guitarteacher** · 06-16-2011, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by Meggy

Be careful about the Mustang! I just got my Mustang 3 home, and suddenly I can hear this awful background fizz/noise on all the patches. I was warned about this on this forum, but because the amp seemed totally fine in the shop (and I gave it a pretty careful test) I went ahead. It's very hard to understand, but I feel I have to be honest about what I have found here. I am taking the amp back in the morning, and will try to get it changed for a Cube 80XL - wish I'd gone for that in the first place now.

I'm pretty sure, from looking at the the Fender forums, that the issues are primarily with the Mustang 3. Today, I successfully upgraded the firmware on the Mustang 3 that gave me the same problem. You might want to at least try that out before you return it.

As to the choice of the Mustang 2 vs. the Roland, I would go for the Roland. If you don't want to spend the cash on the Mustang 3, get the Roland for sure. The mustang 2 doesn't have a "mid" knob which I think is essential for a jazz player's amp, and the interface just isn't very user friendly. It's definitely designed to make the Mustang 3 look good.

**jazzbow** · 06-16-2011, 05:22 PM

Is the background fizz anything to do with dirty electricity?? No I'm not pulling your plonker, audiophiles rant on about how dirty electric can taint sound from a stereo system, you can get filters for cleaning electric but we are talking about high end music systems here.
But to further this topic of hissy mustangs ((crazy horses) Waa! Waa!!), as the amp is a modeling type then any distortion settings would be pre speaker whereas a conventional amp (tranny + valve) would use the speaker as part of the distorted sound, vis a vis different speakers give different distorted tones. Would this explain the hissing?

**Meggy** · 06-16-2011, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by jazzbow

Is the background fizz anything to do with dirty electricity?? No I'm not pulling your plonker, audiophiles rant on about how dirty electric can taint sound from a stereo system, you can get filters for cleaning electric but we are talking about high end music systems here.
But to further this topic of hissy mustangs ((crazy horses) Waa! Waa!!), as the amp is a modeling type then any distortion settings would be pre speaker whereas a conventional amp (tranny + valve) would use the speaker as part of the distorted sound, vis a vis different speakers give different distorted tones. Would this explain the hissing?

Hi jazzbow - not sure what it is really, but it's pretty noticable when you hear it. We are not talking subtle here! However, I am starting to be optimistic that it can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, Matt seems to have fixed his amp that way, so we will see. Maybe all is not lost after all...

**robled555** · 06-17-2011, 06:23 PM

p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; } Roland cube 80xl vs Fender Mustang 3

I walked into the store with the idea of buying a Fender Mustang 3 based on what I had seen on the internet. I brought in a cube 80 XL into the booth to compare. I already have a cube 30 which I love.

The Fender Mustang 3 can certainly do a lot of stuff and you can download more as well.....
The turn off for me is when I discovered that some of the simulations of other Fenders amps included the humming and the back ground noises produce d by the real tube amps ! What the ?!!
If there is one thing I can't stand is unwanted noise coming out of my amp!
Also I noticed the cabinet was rattling as if it was not built to handle 100 watts of power. More unwanted noises ! No thanks !

By comparison the Roland cube 80XL is built like a truck. No hum no rattle !
Is that too much to ask Fender? Very easy to use and dial up the sound you want. Perhaps not as many as the Mustang but way simpler.
I came home with the 80xl and spent a good two hours playing just on the clean JC channel before I even bother to try the lead channel. Just having too much fun with a good clean sound.

On the lead channel I loved the clean DLX amp the and was happily surprised by the unexpected Octave
effect. Sounds great with some Fusion s style single note run !
The Acoustic guitar simulation is adequate and has more power than on the cube 30.

At that time, I thought the cube 30 had a warmer sound than the xl 80, but then again the speaker has been broken in nicely while the cube 80xl is just out of the box and still stiff !

Another great feature of the cube 80 xl is the PRESENCE button. Don't be shy to use it. I find that the vintage amps are less IN YOUR FACE than the modern amps. The presence knob will mellow out any amp simulation you pick. Because the cube 80xl is 80 watts, there is plenty of clean headroom available. Most of the demo s on the internet show off the MANY distortion sounds available with this amp. It has lots of wonderful clean sounds as well. ...And the price is very affordable !

Go try one out.

Robert
Québec , Canada.

**0zoro** · 06-19-2011, 05:05 AM

Thanks to all of you for your input! The " I need a new amp" complex is still raving my body so we shall see. I am of the filosophy that abstination is an evil at best. The next few weeks of ambivalenceshould cure me.

**Meggy** · 06-20-2011, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by Meggy

Hi jazzbow - not sure what it is really, but it's pretty noticable when you hear it. We are not talking subtle here! However, I am starting to be optimistic that it can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, Matt seems to have fixed his amp that way, so we will see. Maybe all is not lost after all...

Just to update the saga: I tried the upgrade which possibly helped, if not a complete cure for things - the sound was still unusable for me though. So took the amp back to the shop today, and am paying a bit more to get a Roland Cube 80XL. This had to be ordered, but should arrive either tomorrow or the day after. The problems I had were with a Mustang 3, to be clear, so the 2 may be fine for all I know. But be carefull folks!

**0zoro** · 06-20-2011, 10:26 AM

Thanks for the info Meggy and sorry to hear about your woes. Plz drop a word when the Roland arrives, Im interested.

**Al_F** · 06-21-2011, 10:54 AM

I have a Mustang II and like it very much, no fizz fortunately. I was thinking of trading back in before the 30 day return period ends and getting a III but I think I'll just keep this one. The II is a real good amp, but I'd take care buying one after reading & hearing sound samples of III's with the fizz problem.

**Sphereacidburn** · 06-21-2011, 09:43 PM

Even though I have the Roland cube 80x I would a advise you to buy the Roland. I agree the Mustang amp is very good but I see Fender as more for the tube amp sound. The Roland is very reliable, versatile, and great for jazz especially. It is also very affordable and durable. I would recommend the Roland it is called the Poor mans Polytone.

**Revelation** · 09-08-2011, 01:25 PM

I am looking at both amps for my son. In just looking at the two, the Fender has you working with a menu and buttons while the Roland has dedicated knobs for each section which seems to offer a faster way of operating the amp. I will try to compare both in person, but the Roland 80 appears to be more appealing to me.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 09-08-2011, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Revelation

I am looking at both amps for my son. In just looking at the two, the Fender has you working with a menu and buttons while the Roland has dedicated knobs for each section which seems to offer a faster way of operating the amp. I will try to compare both in person, but the Roland 80 appears to be more appealing to me.

But your son might be more into the computer interface! Especially f you go up to the Mustang III. He might love playing with the Fuse software and downloading his own patches. Kids today!

**0zoro** · 09-08-2011, 02:22 PM

For my own purposes I have resolved the issue. I listened to Roland 80xl (which I thought was fantastic in the sound area, easy to operate, but for my puropsed heavy), a Roland 40xl (which had all the qualities of the 80 but was lighter) and a Fender Mustang II (which I didnt like in the least in the sound area, and never did get a handle on the controls whic may explain my feling about the sound, thuogh I did like its looks), which led my to not even try the Mustang III. As you can see the jury decision was quick, I am the happy owner of a Roland 40xl. Sound great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**spiral** · 09-08-2011, 02:42 PM

The Mustang functions the same way: it has presets that you select with a dial, you turn it to select the model you want. Though, you can also modify those presets.

I think if you like a Fender sound, you get the Mustang. If you don't, get the Roland. Either one is a solid amp for any level of musician.

**Al_F** · 09-08-2011, 03:08 PM

The UI on the I & II isn't as intuitive as a Cube because you can't tell what effects each model is loading and the presets are effect-heavy.

But it doesn't take long to figure it out. BTW, these amps don't demo well if you're looking primarily for a clean tone. To really see what they can do, you have to take a few minutes to set-up an amp model or two.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 09-08-2011, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by Al_F

The UI on the I & II isn't as intuitive as a Cube because you can't tell what effects each model is loading and the presets are effect-heavy.

But it doesn't take long to figure it out. BTW, these amps don't demo well if you're looking primarily for a clean tone. To really see what they can do, you have to take a few minutes to set-up an amp model or two.

The model it starts up with isn't exactly a jazz tone!