Unofficial Guide to Fender Mustang Effects 0.9

Overdrive

Description: the fender mustang overdrive stomp is on the “Natural and Smooth” side.

Position: Overdrive is usually set in front of the amp.

Controls:
LEVEL: normally should be set to get the same output of the guitar without the stomp. Rise it up to give a boost to the signal
GAIN: control how much overdrive effect, set to 0% and tweak the LEVEL control to use this stomp as a booster
LOW-MID-HIGH: Fender choose to give a wide range of tone controls, if you are used to stomp with a single tone control, just leave untouched the MID and act simmetrically on the other 2: if you set the high 3 o’clock just set the low at 9 o clock, if you set the bass at 10 o clock just set the high at 2 o clock.

Suggested settings:
To get the classic Boss OD1 tone just set everything at 50% and HIGH at 100%
To get the classic Tube Screamer tone try LEVEL at 72% gain at 60%, LOW at 0%, MID at 49% and HIGH at 100%
To use it like a neutral booster try LEVEL at 72% gain at 0%, LOW at 50%, MID at 0% and HIGH at 100%
To get neutral distortion like th Klon Centaur  try LEVEL at 72% gain at 50%, LOW at 50%, MID at 0% and HIGH at 50%

Fuzz

Description: Fuzz is a (vintage) distortion type.The Fuzz trasform the guitar input nearly into a square wav and adds complex overtones with a frequency multiplier. Not many modeler offer a fuzz stomp. Use this for some Hendrix and Rolling stones preset.

Controls:

LEVEL: normally should be set to get the same output of the guitar without the stomp. Rise it up to give a boost to the signal

GAIN: control how much overdrive effect, set to 0% and tweak the LEVEL control to use this stomp as a booster

OCTAVE: control the level of the octave doubled voice. It adds body and spite to the tone.

LOW-HIGH: standard range of tone controls

Simple Comp

Description: a compressor reduces the dynamic range of sound. In fact it raise the volume of the guitar when it's too low and soften it when it is too loud.It gives more sustain and change the attack, making it harder.

Comp

Description: a compressor reduces the dynamic range of sound. In fact it raise the volume of the guitar when it's too low and soften it when it is too loud.It gives more sustain and change the attack, making it harder.

THRESHOLD: The higher you set this, the louder you need to pick for the compression to kick in. The THRESHOLD knob sets the level where compression will begin. As long as the input signal level is below the Threshold level, the Compressor will do nothing to the signal. Once the input signal crosses the Threshold, the Compressor will begin compressing at a ratio set by the RATIO control.

RATIO: The higher this knob is set, the more the signal gets squeezed. The RATIO knob controls the amount of compression which will happen once the input signal crosses the THRESHOLD level. Ratio controls how much the input signal will be reduced as a ratio of the input signal level.

ATTACK: Determines how soon the compressor kicks in, or much of your initial pick attack gets through before the compressor clamps down. The ATTACK knob controls the amount of time before compression starts. Long attacks are useful for percussive sounds, where shorter attacks are good for melodic parts like vocals and strings.

RELEASE: The RELEASE knob controls the amount of time the compressor takes to stop compressing after the signal crosses back under the THRESHOLD. Short release times are good for percussive, punchy sounds, where longer release times can get you more sustain on guitar.

Touch Wah

Description: the alters the tone of the guitar by sweeping up and down a filter and producing a sound similar to an human voice. The touch wah controls the rise and fall of the filter with the dynamics of your picking. Usually picking hard will make a treble sound, picking soft will make a bassy sound.

Controls:

MIX: mix the raw sound and the filtered one. 0% is raw sound only, 100% is filtered sound only. Usaully set it to 100%

SENS: control the reaction of the filter to your picking. 0% If you pick really hard (less sensitivity), 100% if you pick really gentle (more sensivity). This should be accurately fine tuned since it makes all the difference. I am an hard picker and i found that 22% is my sweet spot. If you dont get that wah effect here is where you should work. A good method is to try all the 20% steps (0%,20%,40%,60%,80%,100%) while picking serveral times a group of notes, the first hit hard and the other a lot softer and with less volume. Find the spot where the wah effect is maximized.

HEEL FREQ and TOE FREQ: sets the lowest and the higest peak of the filter (how much your vitual foot will go "up" or "down" ;) ). Usually set HEEL to 0% and TOE to 100%, but you can roll back a bit of TOE if you want a browner wah. Inverted setting (HEEL=100% and TOE=0%) will let you play a bassy sound when you pick hard and a treble sound when you pick soft.

HIGH Q: control the character of the wah by sizing the wideness of the freqencies filtered.

Suggested setting:
  • set precisely your SENS (read above!)
  • set the TOE to 70% circa
Sample preset:


Fuzz Touch Wah

Description: a touch Wah combined with a Fuzz. Fuzz is a (vintage) distortion type.The Fuzz trasform the guitar input nearly into a square wave and adds complex overtones with a frequency multiplier. I think this is a very good combination if you want a distortion pedal combined with wah.

Controls:

LEVEL: normally should be set to get the same output of the guitar without the stomp. Rise it up to give a boost to the signal

GAIN: control how much overdrive effect, set to 0% and tweak the LEVEL control to use this stomp as a booster

SNSTVTY: control the reaction of the filter to your picking. 0% If you pick really hard (less sensitivity), 100% if you pick really gentle (more sensivity). This should be accurately fine tuned since it makes all the difference. I am an hard picker and i found that 22% is my sweet spot. If you dont get that wah effect here is where you should work. A good method is to try all the 20% steps (0%,20%,40%,60%,80%,100%) while picking serveral times a group of notes, the first hit hard and the other a lot softer and with less volume. Find the spot where the wah effect is maximized.

OCTAVE: control the level of the octave doubled voice. It adds body and spite to the tone.

PEAK: adjust the peak level of the wah effect

Sample preset:

https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/presets/mordor74-satch-wah-satriani-summer-song-metal2000

Phaser

Suggested setting:

MXR Phase 90 (by jedi2b)

Base settings used to emulate the pedal:
Level: 5.5 (the pedal seems to do 50% mix wet/dry)
Depth: 5
Feedback: 1.5
Shape: Sine

Settings used to emulate pedal controls:
Speed knob on the pedal:
-minimum = Rate 0.15 Hz
-maximum = Rate 10 Hz

Other adjustments:
-overall the MXR is probably a bit less trebly than the mustang equivalent, so you might want to roll back your guitar tone slightly, but just a pinch
-the original MXR 90 varies depth together with speed (but inverselly) when turning the speed knob. The depth indicated above was for a 2Hz rate, so when decreasing the rate, increase slightly the depth and viceversa.

Delay

Reverb types on the mustang:

Mono Delay
Mono Echo Filter
Stereo Echo Filter
Multitap Delay
Ping Pong Delay
Ducking Delay
Reverse Delay
Tape Delay
Stereo Tape Delay

ECHO: vintage sound repetitions with fading volume
TAPE: simulate the sound of a Tape Delay, more vintage tone.
MULTITAP: spreads the repetitions with multiple timing patterns (see MODE control)
PING PONG: a stereo delay that plays repetition alternatively in the right or in the left channel
DUCKING: the volume of the repetitions is raised when the source mute, the effect is the repetition of the tail of the sound/phrase/lick.
REVERSE: the repetitions are played reversed

Tips: if need to concatenate 2 delay stomp you can use the Pitch shifter as a second simple unit. Just set "home" (50%) both PITCH and DETUNE controls.

Controls:

LEVEL: control the volume of the effect, where 100% is the repetition has the same volume of the original and 0% totally suppress the effect. A typical setting is around 30% for an ambience delay or 100% to crate a rythm with the delay.
DLY TIME: the lag between the the original sound and the repetition
FDBACK: the number of repetitions, 0% is only 1 repetition
FREQ: adjust the resonance frequency
RESNNCE: adjust/raise/boost the resonance
INLVL: Input level, used to rule the amount of signal that feed the stomp
FLUTTER:
BRIGHT:Adjusts the amount of high frequencies that are removed each time the delay is repeated. 0% to make each subsequent repeat darker and 100% to allow the high frequencies to repeat. Use this control to simulate the high-frequency absorption of acoustically dull rooms or analog echo units. Note that because this control removes highs from the signal, that it may also affect the number of delayed repeats.
STEREO:

Suggested settings:


  • For ambience on your solo set volume to 30%, use 2 or 3 repeats and a delay time about 450-600ms



Reverb

Description: this effect is used to add space and depth to a sound. This effect emulate the way a sound interact with a room or a space

Position: Reverb are usually set in the FX loop, in the last position, but you can get good result putting it in the front of the amp in the clean presets.


Reverb types on the mustang:


Small Hall
Large Hall
Small Room
Large Room
Small Plate
Large Plate
Ambient
Arena
63 Fender Spring
65 Fender Spring

Plate reverbs use a metal plate to process the sound.
Spring reverbs use a valve and a spring to create a warm and rich vintage reverb.

Controls:
LEVEL: contol the volume of the reverb, 0% is no reverb
DECAY: control the duration (time) of the reverb, smaller room have shorter decay, so expect this parameter to act differently in Small and Large reverb type
DWELL: control the character and the volume of the reverb, 0% is no reverb, 100% is a very warm and full reverb with the spring flavor to the max
DIFFUSION: control the density of the reflection, 0% is more distinct and defined with few reflection, 100% is richer and warmer with a lot of reflections
TONE: control the tone of the reverb, 0% is warmer and 100% is brighter

Tips on reverb:
Use the spring if you want the reverb to warm up your tone
Use a plate when you are copying the tone of someone who does not use reverb (the producer will add a reverb in post, usually is a plate
Use the Hall as a middlground
Set the level between 20 and 30 to be audibile but not "too much"

Advanced amp settings

SAG: control the way the "valves" will sort-like-compress to signal
BIAS:  simulates how your virtual valves are feeded, low setting gives your actual amp a clearer e colder tone, good for spark clean tones, high settings gives you a richer and hotter tone, good for overdrive/distortion. Example: mesa boogie amp have a very high bias and need high quality valves to face the heat stress

Tips on modulation effects

The modulation is usually added to clean sounds but can work well with overdriven/distorted sounds. Many use it, especially flanger,phaser and chorus. The general suggestion is to lower a bit your gain when adding this effects. Avoid overprocessing or one effect overlapping the other.


Alternative Default Preset List

57 Deluxe

59 Bassman

57 Champ

65 Deluxe Reverb

65 Princeton

65 Twin Reverb

Super Sonic (Burn)

https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/presets/mordor74-super-sonic-clean

British 60

British 70

https://fuse.fender.com/mustangv2/presets/chont-the-outfield-play-deep-marshall-plexi

British 80

https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/presets/mordor74-acdc2 Ac/Dc tone with some reverb

https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/presets/mordor74-slash Slash tone

American 90

Metal 2000

https://fuse.fender.com/mustang/presets/mordor74-thrash-metal-v4 A basic thrash/heavy Metal preset


Contributions

jedi2b for the additional notes on the delay section, seggested setting on phaser

evets618 for the notes of the "5 knobs compression"

captainic for the Brit70 preset

dunedindragon for the infos on SAG and BIAS

1 commento: