The Fender Mustang Floor Unit came as a surprise to many people (including myself) as its Fenders first ever attempt at making a multi-effects unit; but when you think about it though, the real surprise is why has it taken Fender this long to produce one? It was designed as an extension of their Mustang amp technology therefore it offers a massive range of amp models and effects; and its versatility shows when performing in live or studio environments.
The design comes from you’re typical elongated floor-mount unit. Nothing too special about the looks really, on the front it has nine features with an expression pedal to the right. Low impedance allows a ‘speaker emulated’ output to be transferred straight to a PA rig. A very cool feature though is that the line outputs can be used for both extremes, from a really powerful amp or a headphone connection, which is really useful for late night practicing.
It may not visually be a stunner but ‘under the hood’ is where the Mustang Floor unit really comes into its element. It has 12 amp models, 37 effects, 100 factory and user presets at you’re disposal. It is also compatible with the Fender Fuse software, as with most Mustangs, which means you can create incredibly detailed and unique user presets. Connect the unit to a computer via a USB cable and use this software to precisely edit all aspects. The software is surprisingly easy to use and navigate around for such advanced programming, you can even save you’re presets to a computer and share with other users of the software creating a free online artist community.
In my opinion its perfect for home usage, as it contains just about every feature you could want, including USB recording capabilities and an AUX input so you connect you’re iPod and jam along.
I think Fender have tried really hard to appeal to all types of guitar players and cover all types of playing formats and in some ways they have succeeded. In all fairness it is capable of live performances and quality recording, but for practicing and playing at home it really is perfect. I mean its smart, easy and you can connect and share with other users online. If this is Fenders first crack at a floor effects unit, I can’t wait until they iron out the creases!