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This is why I will not own an 800. I don't want to have an amp become obsolete because a vendor has dropped support for it. I prefer my old school stand alone bass amps. YMMVI'd be leery for two reasons:
1) Fender has a lousy track record with supporting its modeling software. It basically up and dumped Fender Fuse support for the Mustang v.1 and v.2 models when it introduced the Mustang GT line and the Tone app. That left a lot of customers out in the cold and very unhappy. And that's a shame because the Mustang v.2's are great amps. Free firmware updates for life? Don't count on it.
2) The Mustang GT has a hi-fi speaker, which is better for playing along with Lady Gage streaming from your iPhone than it is for playing your guitar. At $799 I don't think Fender is gearing this amp towards the kiddie market like it seems to be with the guitar amps, but still...
I guess you have to roll with the technology, but we all know that means planned obsolescence and replacing your hardware every few years.Get off my lawn.
Just to clarify, the Fender Fuse software still works and the amps still work perfectly well, but there is no more Fender support for the Fuse software. Any bugs you're gonna have to live with, and any needed features or desired upgrades you're gonna have to live without.
EDIT: For example Invalid Link Removed
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and there you go! Fender Fuse is what 9 or 10 years old? Still works fine. It's not dead until Fender takes it down. The irate poster in that thread just didn't know what he was doing, as was pointed out by one that did.
It's like saying my bass is bad.
Why is that?
It keeps playing songs wrong and making mistakes. And the strings are no good!
Why is that?
They keep going out of tune!
Fender Haters & Fender Bashers are common here. Their oft repeated lies are many, but we know better, or should.
This is true & why I'm not really into an amp that connects to my phone or my computer. Been there & done that when upgrading to a new operating system on my computer, which rendered the old S/W useless.
I did some looking at the Android app when I was considering buying a Mustang GT:
Fender Tone Guitar Amp Effects - Android Apps on Google Play
Jesus, give me a break. Would you please stop polarizing everything and calling everyone a hater? We all like some Fender gear. We came here by ourselves. You don't have to shove the marketing crap down everyone's throats.
Your point is kinda accurate--except that you've mentioned "lifetime updates." Don't expect lifetime anything.
The Tone app also had a very shaky rollout. They released an Android version that didn't work.
If I had it to do again with my guitar amp, I'd go with a head/cab configuration and pedals.
Lifetime of the amp, not the owner. Durable goods used to be anything that is made to last 7 years, that was changed quite a while back to 5 years.
Well, that is a topic worth its own thread...
I have an interest in electronics, either new or old. I like new gimmicks, new technologies, new features, etc.
At the same time, I like older technology. I got back into playing records and cassettes, also got a nice reel to reel Revox, a Sony DAT and MiniDisc recorder and a tube amp.
But the Revox was serviced (by a retired Dutch broadcast tech) and I had to replace the caps of the Sony DAT to get it working again.
The MiniDisc recorder worked OK but I wanted to write files to it with Windows (to bypass 1:1 manual recordings) and it took some efforts to get the Windows XP SonicStage software running on my Windows 10 PC.
I bought a nice Kenwood KR-4400 receiver from 1975 of which I had to replace the volume/balance pot but it sounds great and pretty loud (although just 2x25W RMS into 8 ohm - but still louder than a cheap Chinese 2x1000W PMPS or whatever).
I also own a Mustang V1 to show off my Beat It guitar solo ;-p
My point being: current equipment and technology ages fast, is generally not very collectable and is hard to service.
Older equipment and technology remains longer, can become very collectable and is usually easier to service.
Then when you combine new technology with software (apps or whatever they call it in 2024) which ages also fast and can become obsolete fast, then you get an even smaller function time span.
Maybe the Kenwood KR-4400 will need some new caps or whatever but it will probably still be working fine in 2028.
The Mustang V1 probably won't, or at least not with all functionality it was advertised with...
But I can appreciate both old and new tech.
That's also why I said before I like we have choices now.
Expectations just are different for both.
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Electronics are not considered durable goods and have their own economic sector. As long as Fender is selling amps that use Fender Fuse software, they are ethically bound to keep that software up & running. Right now only the V2 Mustang I is still being shown for sale. All the rest are the new GT series.
I disagree to some extent. I understand that computers and software are expected to have a relatively short lifetime, maybe 5 years or so. But not musical instruments. Decent quality electronic musical instruments are built to last at least 10 or 20 years. I have various digital synthesizers, effect boxes, mixers, monitors that are 15 to 20 years old and still work perfectly. Analog electronics should, in average, last even longer. I bought my Rumble 500 thinking it could be the last bass amp I would buy..... maybe it won't be, maybe I'll sell it later, but I bought it with that kind of longevity in mind. I would not buy an instrument, even a cheap one, knowing that it could only last for a few years.
I'm not saying that the Mustang GT or the new Rumble amps won't last that much. But the dependance of some of the main features on software and current communication protocols does feel like a gamble.
I'm still holding out on the GT40. I really like the concept, price and size, and I'm having faith on the future of the software. But the comments about the sound kind of put me off. I liked Linnin's idea of running the GT40/Studio 40 into a Rumble 500, and I think that may help, but according to what I've read, the problem with the GT40 lies more in the algorithms or default settings than the speakers or cabinet.
I'll probably take the risk, anyway. I've bought nothing but Fender/Squier gear in the past 7 months, since I started playing bass. I don't consider myself a Fender fanboy but I like to stay loyal to the brands I like and understand that sometimes they can disappoint, just like we all do.
I'm not saying that the Mustang GT or the new Rumble amps won't last that much. But the dependance of some of the main features on software and current communication protocols does feel like a gamble.
I'm still holding out on the GT40. I really like the concept, price and size, and I'm having faith on the future of the software. But the comments about the sound kind of put me off. I liked Linnin's idea of running the GT40/Studio 40 into a Rumble 500, and I think that may help, but according to what I've read, the problem with the GT40 lies more in the algorithms or default settings than the speakers or cabinet.
I'll probably take the risk, anyway. I've bought nothing but Fender/Squier gear in the past 7 months, since I started playing bass. I don't consider myself a Fender fanboy but I like to stay loyal to the brands I like and understand that sometimes they can disappoint, just like we all do.
I think the Mustang GT sounds pretty good, but my main comparison has been playing guitar through my Rumble 
obviously the tube amps right beside the Mustang GT sounded a little better
obviously the tube amps right beside the Mustang GT sounded a little better
Not to derail too much; it used to be that newer software got bigger and more bloated, requiring more resources from older hardware but it was still possible to install new software on old hardware and run it, albeit at perhaps acceptably slowly. Nowadays it is often not possible to run new software (often newer versions of old software) on old hardware at all.
Anyhoo, support for old software and hardware, in various permutations of the two, may indeed be severely limited. While it can be difficult to, for instance, keep an IBM AT running Windows 3.0, it is by comparison, not difficult to keep an old Underwood typewriter and a manual adding machine running as they were intended.
Back to the Rumble thread, already in progress.
Anyhoo, support for old software and hardware, in various permutations of the two, may indeed be severely limited. While it can be difficult to, for instance, keep an IBM AT running Windows 3.0, it is by comparison, not difficult to keep an old Underwood typewriter and a manual adding machine running as they were intended.
Back to the Rumble thread, already in progress.
I know what you meant. The Bronco bass amp, which uses Fuse, is also still on the Fender website.
Look, I own a Mustang v.2. I know it still works just fine. It sounds great. There are stupendous user-made amp patches out there that quite frankly sound more tubular than the tube amps they're emulating. They fool the gear snobs all the time.
It's just a shame that Fender is falling into the same planned obsolescence game as Apple. But that's the age we live in. Connectivity is coming to rock and roll. Bluetooth, USB, modeling, apps--it's the biggest thing literally since solid state technology.
Here's my Rumble 200 all set to go last Saturday at a Winter Carnival gig in a local community center. Because our rhythm guitarist is in Florida for the winter, we played as a power trio so I really had to step it up on bass. It sounded absolutely amazing in that setting.
Sadly no. It was an out of town gig and we were pretty much on our own. We did record some audio.
Audio is good.
Tough room LOL! Alright I have no idea if this will work as I have never posted audio before. Also I'm always worried about posting audio here because we're just a fun local rock band and there are some really good musicians on TB. But here goes. I recorded our one-song sound check on my Zoom. It's clipping the Zoom a bit but not too bad. Hope you like REM
