Fender Mustang Micro Guitar Headphone Amp Black

Most Liked Positive Review

Powerful and Fun, But A Bit Noisy

The Fender Mustang Micro is a fun, impressive, portable, and convenient little piece of technology. It is easy to use, and the lack of adjustable parameters actually aids it in the sense that you are able to plug in and play with a serviceable sound immediately. As always with Fender products, the clean tones are splendid-- clear, pristine, and bell-like. All of them are great, but you can't beat the '65 Twin. The crunch and distorted tones are decent as well; my personal favorites are the '70s British, the FBE-100, and the Metal 2000. However, there is one outlier here-- the Uber (styled after the Bogner Uberschall amp series). It is atrocious and was obviously just thrown in there so that Fender could say that there's a dozen amp options, but really the only usable metal amp simulation on this is the Metal 2000 (which is great!). This is by far the worst amp simulation in the whole Mustang series, and I would have preferred they had implemented the '80s British in lieu of the Uber instead. Although the vast majority of the presets on the Mustang Micro sound great, I will say that the low strings can get a bit flubby and the high strings can get shrill and brittle. This can be somewhat mitigated with the 5-setting equalizer, but never completely expunged. Another thing to take note of is that the Mustang Micro's sound quality vastly depends on the guitar you are using. I used it with an HSS Fender Player Strat and it did not sound good at all, especially the distorted tones, but when I plugged my Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster into it, I was transported into another world. This little thing seriously does hit above its price range. Included on the body of the Mustang Micro is a 1/8 headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging, firmware updates, and recording. If you plan to record with the Mustang Micro, you will surely need to get a longer USB-C cable than the one that is included in the box, but the recording definitely does work (although you need to go into the sound settings in control panel and enable the Mustang Micro as an input device). But here is where we encounter a problem-- I have not yet mentioned that the Mustang Micro has a loud hiss, and there is no onboard noise gate pedal like there is on the big brother Fender Mustang amps. It may just be my guitar or the grounding in my townhouse, but there is a loud hiss on the Mustang Micro that deviates vastly in intensity depending on which way my guitar is facing. It has made recording with it virtually impossible, and I have heard that many other Mustang Micro users have a similar issue, so take that into consideration if you want to record with it (ensure you have effects like noise reduction in your DAW and use a guitar with humbuckers to record the heavy tones). It should also be noted that the lack of adjustable parameters that I mentioned earlier is a pro for practicing but definitely a con for recording. There is no gain, 3-band EQ, or volume for recording through the USB-C out, so all of this must be adjusted in-post via your DAW. Take that as you will. (Conclusion) The Fender Mustang Micro is a great-sounding headphone amp that boasts high portability, convenience, an intuitive and easy-to-use physical interface, and powerful audio at a very cheap price compared to multi-effects-units used for recording and practicing. Overall, most of the onboard tones are great, surpassing the tones of competing headphone amps by leaps and bounds. It is not ideal for recording due to of the lack of adjustable parameters and the noisy background hiss, but its simplicity and plug-and-play nature makes it ideal for practice. This entertaining little gadget packs a punch and gives you your bang for your buck, making a perfect gift for beginner-to-advanced guitarists alike. Overall, 4 stars. I'd give it 5 if the hum didn't ruin its recording capabilities and the Uber preset didn't sound so horrid (if you're only reading the conclusion, please note that the rest of the presets sound good.) Thanks for reading and I hope you found this helpful.