Fender Mustang GT40 - Born Again?

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So far the only downside I've found to the GT40 compared to the THRii30 is that the latency when streaming audio over bluetooth is quite a bit worse (the THR is excellent in this regard). Obviously this is only of any real concern when trying to play along to a video rather than pure audio

Rabs

chickenchaser

Another Vox Adio user here. As much as I love it, it's flawed by lack of looper and footswitch even though it's a practice amp. 

How does the fender fare against it? I'm tempted to buy one and try it out. I like the clean and crunch tones and the wide stereo of the Vox and also its quality when using as a music player. I kept it over a thr10 which I moved on with the vox being a better bit of kit. 

TheMarlin

Clean and crunch are great. If you get the four button footswitch with it, this also gets you a floor tuner and 60 second looper.  It’s a fab unit, I’m still just scratching the surface. If you use the iPad/ iPhone app, the flexibility is astounding. 

Gerz6558

Ordered one of these with the new gtx 7 footswitch. Currently use a line 6 firehawk fx silently for playing along to tracks at night and support for that is pretty much dead now. This has the added benefit of also being an amplifier, and the app looks a lot slicker, so I'm hoping it's a better overall package for my use.

Gerz6558

It arrived today and so did the gtx7 footswitch. Not had chance to put it heavily through its paces but right off the bat some of those presets sound great through headphones, much better than the firehawk presets. The app is also a lot slicker than the aging line 6 app.  Having the 7 footswitches makes this really versatile, just need an expression pedal really to round it off.

rivercider

chickenchaser said:

Another Vox Adio user here. As much as I love it, it's flawed by lack of looper and footswitch even though it's a practice amp. 

How does the fender fare against it? I'm tempted to buy one and try it out. I like the clean and crunch tones and the wide stereo of the Vox and also its quality when using as a music player. I kept it over a thr10 which I moved on with the vox being a better bit of kit. 

I went from THR to Vox Adio, but the Vox is now upstairs and the GT40 is my living room practice amp. The footswitch is great,instant looping, tuning and preset hopping.  

Sonically it seems a little bigger than the Adio to my ears, but the stereo separation of the Vox is still better somehow.

Cleans are generally great on the Fender, gain tones need more work to dial in than on the Vox, but the almost limitless tweaking possibilities of the Fender will keep me amused for a very long time indeed.

The Vox has a couple of models I miss on the Fender (Dumble clean and Soldano) and maybe also the Orange is a touch better than Fenders version, at least until you spend time getting the Fender how you want it, but overall I have more fun with the Fender now, especially with that footswitch.

The Fender app is better than the Vox app BY FAR and I always thought the Vox app was pretty decent, if a little dated looking.

I do hope future Fender updates will somehow allow separate volume control for audio playback, as per the Vox/THR, even if only in-app.

TheMarlin

I just got a Yamaha THR for my daughter. Was interesting to compare it to the GT40. 

I like the looks and raw simplicity of the THR, turn a few knobs and you’re in. The GT40 is a bit more complicated and not as easy on the eyes, but it’s sounds way better. 

That app makes such a huge difference to the usability of the GT40. Very impressed with it, and it does what I like better than anything else I’ve heard at that price point. 

I’m weird. Love a bit of rock, punk, all types of music, but I only ever play clean, or low gain. 

The GT40 fits like a glove. 

chickenchaser

I've just ordered one of these after the good reviews. Will try it against the Vox for tone and features before I commit to the footswitch. If it beats it on time I'll be swapping the Vox however it's got quite a lot to beat. 

TheMarlin

Don’t forget to pair the phone/tablet app with the GT40. Makes a tremendous difference. 

Also, make sure it’s got the latest software update. 

chickenchaser

Will do. I've not watched any videos on it as they're all old and out of date. Just test it back to back with the Vox. 

TheMarlin

UPDATE:
V3 was released today. New update to the app with instruction to update the amp.  

Not checked whether the GT40 is covered by the update, but will do around lunchtime. 

TheMarlin

Notes on update to V3:

added more amps, and more effects, and a better metal high gain tone. 

Highlights of the update include a Klon, Re201, Russian Fuzz, Echoplex EP3, Vibroking model, Digitech Whammy clone, Jubilee models for clean and driven, and 65 Super Reverb. 

Pretty pleased about the Klon and the Re201!!

https://tone-support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003516523-Mustang-GT-Firmware-Version-Release-Notes

It’s super easy to update the amp, no need to connect to a PC. Just a few button presses and it’s done. 

https://youtu.be/ebihSq0MNbY

t1000

If anyone is interested im using the songsterr tab app on my android phone with my mustang gt40. The beauty of the songsterr app is that you can alter the audio output to suit the latency with Bluetooth. I have mine set to -1200 so now the tab and music are in time and you can play along (badly in my case) all through the amp. 

sergio

For the people new to this amp, I've found this article useful in getting my presets sounding better as there are quite a lot of parameters to set up on each : https://www.pixachrome.com/fender-mustang-gt40-how-to-make-it-sound-great/

In my experience playing with the noise gate and changing cabs has a large effect on the tone, in addition to adding an eq pedal.

TheMarlin

chickenchaser said:

Will do. I've not watched any videos on it as they're all old and out of date. Just test it back to back with the Vox. 

Looking forward to your comparison....the above post is a great starting point to tweak the amp for optimal tonal joy!

chickenchaser

Due to arrive Monday. I didn't get the footswitch but thought I'd play with the amp back to back with the Vox and if it beats it on tone, keep it, buy a footswitch and sell the Vox. 

TheMarlin

chickenchaser said:

Due to arrive Monday. I didn't get the footswitch but thought I'd play with the amp back to back with the Vox and if it beats it on tone, keep it, buy a footswitch and sell the Vox. 

Ok. Hope you enjoy.  I have the foot switch, but have never used it. I used the iPad app to control everything. 

I really should try the looper....

chickenchaser

So I've spent a couple of hours with it so far and I'm comparing it with the Vox.

Noticeably larger form factor. No battery option so less portable although still small and light. 

Bigger sound in that the 6 inch speakers have more bottom end than the vox 3.5 speakers.

It was simple to update and pair with the app. 

Although it was bigger sounding, I actually thought it started to feel a little boxy. I'd describe the GT40 as more amp like whereas the Vox is more Hifi. 

I think you need to experiment more with this than the Vox to get a good tone. With the vox it's a lot more limited but what it does it does well. The reverbs on the Vox sound better than the Fender.

The Fender has much more options and putting several pedals in a chain is easy whereas the Vox doesn't offer that. It provides a much limited palette.

The Fender seemed fizzy on overdrives but it might be me dialling it in. 

For audio playback, the Vox is less muddy and has it's own volume level. I tried adjusting EQ for the fender but couldn't quite match it.

I think if you want a box to do it all, the Fender is it. It's got a load of tweaking options and you could play around in the menus all day.

If you're looking for something more basic but easier to get the tones with the knobs on the amp then you're better off with the Vox. 

I'm lucky enough to have a Helix LT and a set of monitors which blows both out of the water in terms of depth but the Vox used at head height and at close range really does produce some lovely clean and boosted tones. 

I'll stick with it a bit longer but on first impressions the Vox might be staying. Good little experiment though.