Fender Mustang GT40 - Born Again?

Barnezy

With the new GTX amps comes a firmware update for all previous GT amps and from what I've read it has drastically improved them. 

I know the GT40 was trashed when it came out, but the word is with the new firmware it's really good. At £160, I'm thinking it's the perfect do everything, low volume, practice rig. Bluetooth, WiFI, tones controlled by a really nice phone app, small. 

Does anyone have one and can they comment on how it is with the new firmware? 

LT25 looks good too, but needs to be connected to a PC to get into deep editing. 

RobDavies

I’ve been looking at the GTX100 since it was announced..... but since the same firmware is now available for the GT100, I might as well save a few quid and go for a second hand one of those. 

I actually prefer the looks of the earlier model, and although it has knobs on the top (which I hate, and why I won’t buy a Katana), they are at least at the front of the amp so easily accessible. 

I’m going on YouTube demos only though, wish I could try one out...

Barnezy

RobDavies said:

I’ve been looking at the GTX100 since it was announced..... but since the same firmware is now available for the GT100, I might as well save a few quid and go for a second hand one of those. 

I actually prefer the looks of the earlier model, and although it has knobs on the top (which I hate, and why I won’t buy a Katana), they are at least at the front of the amp so easily accessible. 

I’m going on YouTube demos only though, wish I could try one out...

Ordered a GT40. Will post thoughts next week. 

RobDavies

Look forward to hearing your views.... 

Jabberwocky

Looking forward to it, too.

grungebob

Me too, particularly interested if the amp cleans up with guitar volume knob. 

It’s the only complaint I have with my Vox VT40x, there’s a noise gate that just shuts down the signal if you attempt to reduce the guitars volume to clean up. 

bazxkr

Thks for the heads up, Demos on the GT40 look good and the fact you can access the latest fender tone software makes it a far better deal... looks a nice little package for little money

bazxkr

Barnezy said:

RobDavies said:

I’ve been looking at the GTX100 since it was announced..... but since the same firmware is now available for the GT100, I might as well save a few quid and go for a second hand one of those. 

I actually prefer the looks of the earlier model, and although it has knobs on the top (which I hate, and why I won’t buy a Katana), they are at least at the front of the amp so easily accessible. 

I’m going on YouTube demos only though, wish I could try one out...

Ordered a GT40. Will post thoughts next week. 

Who did you find had the best deal & ex stock ??

Voxman

grungebob said:

Me too, particularly interested if the amp cleans up with guitar volume knob. 

It’s the only complaint I have with my Vox VT40x, there’s a noise gate that just shuts down the signal if you attempt to reduce the guitars volume to clean up. 

You can alter the noise gate settings so it doesn't do that. See p 11 and 12 of the manual. Each amp model has a factory noise reduction setting. You can customise the noise gate setting for each patch and save it. If you don't save the noise gate setting then as soon as you change to another amp model it will default to the factory noise reduction setting for that amp model.

Barnezy

I've ordered it from Bax Music, although reading some reviews about them now, I wish I'd got it elsewhere. I didn't realise they don't have a warehouse in the UK. It's shipped now, so hopefully wont take too long.

GAK have stock at a good price. 

grungebob

Voxman said:

grungebob said:

Me too, particularly interested if the amp cleans up with guitar volume knob. 

It’s the only complaint I have with my Vox VT40x, there’s a noise gate that just shuts down the signal if you attempt to reduce the guitars volume to clean up. 

You can alter the noise gate settings so it doesn't do that. See p 11 and 12 of the manual. Each amp model has a factory noise reduction setting. You can customise the noise gate setting for each patch and save it. If you don't save the noise gate setting then as soon as you change to another amp model it will default to the factory noise reduction setting for that amp model.

Oh good to know, I didn’t get the manual with it so I’ve just been working out on my own how to operate it. 

I’ll look to download a copy from Vox today at work. 

Arktik83

Barnezy said:

I've ordered it from Bax Music, although reading some reviews about them now, I wish I'd got it elsewhere. I didn't realise they don't have a warehouse in the UK. It's shipped now, so hopefully wont take too long.

GAK have stock at a good price. 

I've ordered from Bax recently during all this mess and I didn't have a problem but I've not tried to return an item to be fair.  Regardless of whether you order from Bax or GAK they'll ship with an EU plug just as a heads up.  It's because all the UK Fender amps come from the main warehouse in Amsterdam.  

I also had a GT40 and got rid as it sounded a little too boxy to me, will be interested to see how the new updates work out for you

Barnezy

Hi guys, the amp arrived yesterday so had a couple of days to play around with it. 

Firstly I'm gutted I didnt get one sooner. When these came out I was really keen but the reviews totally put me off. Obviously that was nearly 3 years ago now, so alot has changed, firstly in the understanding of how to use this amp and secondly the software. 

I'm running the latest version v3 which came out a few weeks ago. 

I've owned both a 57 Champ and a Princeton 65 reissue. This amp is 85% there with both, and that is a huge complement for a £170 amp as lite as a strat and as big as two shoe boxes. Regardless of their absolute accuracy, they sound good, which is the main thing. 

As for the rest, I can't comment on accuracy, but they all sound good to my ear, at least for the purposes of practice and rehearsal. 

I did a fair bit of reading before getting this to understand how to use it. There are two mistakes Fender made in my opinion when shipping this, 1) the Global EQ is set to flat, which is the ideal for music playback but not guitar. Once set to guitar the sound becomes more amp in the room sounding. 2) they put a noise gate on a lot of the amps. You can turn these off, but if you're not aware they are on, then you would just think it's missing loads of frequencies. Turning them off obviously improves the models no end. I hate noise gates! 

I'm using mine elevated off the ground on a guitar stand and pointing upwards towards me, in a fairly large double bedroom that is my office. It sounds big in this context and there are a ton of cabinets to play with to get the size you want. I think in a big rehersal room, the amp might get lost, but that's not its environment. 

The Fender Tone app is superb! I've used it on Android and IOS and both are equal. To see the amps and pedals as they look and to turn the virtual knobs is so much more intuitive than on a Helix. The only knob I've touched on the amp, is the master volume. Also it's not complicated like other moderlers I've used. It's really quick, which is what I want for practice. 

Given this amp is less than a THR10 yet has so many more features and sounds alot better in my opinion, it's an absolute bargain. 

My Mashall Origin 20c has been relegated to the cupboard to be used for gigs only, my THR5 has been moved to the living room and my HX Stomp will be going up for sale, it's just too time consuming to use 

Hopefully I've made my point that I think this is a great practice amp. It's not a gigging amp.

I feel sorry for the slating this amp took when it came out, and maybe it deserved it on the old software. However it has evolved and should be worth a look. 

Here's my new practice setup. One cable, one iPad and a million sounds. 

Barnezy

Arktik83 said:

Barnezy said:

I've ordered it from Bax Music, although reading some reviews about them now, I wish I'd got it elsewhere. I didn't realise they don't have a warehouse in the UK. It's shipped now, so hopefully wont take too long.

GAK have stock at a good price. 

I've ordered from Bax recently during all this mess and I didn't have a problem but I've not tried to return an item to be fair.  Regardless of whether you order from Bax or GAK they'll ship with an EU plug just as a heads up.  It's because all the UK Fender amps come from the main warehouse in Amsterdam.  

I also had a GT40 and got rid as it sounded a little too boxy to me, will be interested to see how the new updates work out for you

Hey, I just started looking at the community made tones and my god I het what you mean by boxy. Anything made before 2019 sounds terrible. If that is what this amp sounded like back then I'm not surprised you thought it was boxy. 

Fortunately anything that's been made in 2019 onwards is a complete step change, no boxyness  at all. That may have been when the V2.0 software was released. 

RobDavies

Sounds really promising, thanks.  I’m gonna pull the trigger on a new GTX100 - taking advantage of a decent returns policy if need be.  

GrahamG

Barnezy said:

Arktik83 said:

Barnezy said:

I've ordered it from Bax Music, although reading some reviews about them now, I wish I'd got it elsewhere. I didn't realise they don't have a warehouse in the UK. It's shipped now, so hopefully wont take too long.

GAK have stock at a good price. 

I've ordered from Bax recently during all this mess and I didn't have a problem but I've not tried to return an item to be fair.  Regardless of whether you order from Bax or GAK they'll ship with an EU plug just as a heads up.  It's because all the UK Fender amps come from the main warehouse in Amsterdam.  

I also had a GT40 and got rid as it sounded a little too boxy to me, will be interested to see how the new updates work out for you

Hey, I just started looking at the community made tones and my god I het what you mean by boxy. Anything made before 2019 sounds terrible. If that is what this amp sounded like back then I'm not surprised you thought it was boxy. 

Fortunately anything that's been made in 2019 onwards is a complete step change, no boxyness  at all. That may have been when the V2.0 software was released. 

Why would you not consider it a gigging Amp,the low wattage or other reasons ?
Just curious,i only use an Amp when gigging(not at home) & i'm always looking to find something without valves that actually sounds ok & it's quite a task.

Jabberwocky

GrahamG, I'd attempt an answer: the GT40 is meant to sit on a desk or table; it has a rear-facing port that is meant to be close-about 30cm- to a rear wall for bass augmentation. You could gig it ONLY when you mike it to feed a Front Of House PA system. It has only 20W per driver and I am not even sure if that is 20W RMS and measured at what SPL. I guess if your gigging space is that of a small living room it could be "gigged" but not in a typical café unless miked up. 

The GT100/GT200/GTX100 are meant to be gigged.

GrahamG

Jabberwocky said:

GrahamG, I'd attempt an answer: the GT40 is meant to sit on a desk or table; it has a rear-facing port that is meant to be close-about 30cm- to a rear wall for bass augmentation. You could gig it ONLY when you mike it to feed a Front Of House PA system. It has only 20W per driver and I am not even sure if that is 20W RMS and measured at what SPL. I guess if your gigging space is that of a small living room it could be "gigged" but not in a typical café unless miked up. 

The GT100/GT200/GTX100 are meant to be gigged.

Ah,thanks I didn't realise it was so small(never seen one),EDIT,maybe I should have looked at the pics in this thread,i'll put it down to old age.

BluesLover

Thanks for the review. I'm interested in one as a potential upgrade to my Yamaha THR10, because the Fender has bigger loudspeakers. But the THR10 will play guitar, or music, or both without changing global eq settings. How well does the Fender play music when global eq is set to guitar? Thanks.

rivercider

Yes, thanks also for the review.

I too wrote this off when I saw all the early reviews, despite it being a perfect size and feature set for my living room.
I currently have a Vox Adio Air GT in there, which is superb (and ousted all the Yamaha THR10s I had, plus I prefer it to the new THR30 too, which I tried and returned in favour of my Vox).

However, I'd like something for another room, and may now grab a GT40 and see which one best fits either room - it's great to know they have made improvements over the original release as it's just the right size for a bookshelf I have in mind....

Barnezy

BluesLover said:

Thanks for the review. I'm interested in one as a potential upgrade to my Yamaha THR10, because the Fender has bigger loudspeakers. But the THR10 will play guitar, or music, or both without changing global eq settings. How well does the Fender play music when global eq is set to guitar? Thanks.

I can't tell that much difference with the music. It basically just emphasises some frequencies that are more guitar orientated. There are still modeled cabinets for the guitar, so it's not like playing music through a guitar amp.