The perfect amp?

I've owned quite a few amps over the years. Some of them I wish I still had, like my '66 Fender Bassman. Some were traded in for something different, the Bassman yielded to a MusicMan, which in turn yielded to an easily forgettable Peavey Deuce. Horrible amp.

After using tube amps for the last few years,  I've gone through a succession of modeling amps from the Vox ADVT series to a Fender Super Champ XD and to a Mustang II. The Mustang II has been my go to amp for the last nine months.

It's hardly the perfect amp, but it's weight makes it easy to transport, and there are lots of good tones, settings and effects to choose from. At 40 watts it can keep up with a drummer in most situations.

Plug the amp into your computer and you can tweak the sounds through the Fender Fuse software. Not surprisingly, the Fender Blackface tones sound amazingly good (at least to my ear). It's not quite like using my Vibrolux or '65 DRRI, but it's close, and well worth the money spent ($99 used at the local Guitar Center).

There are a few blindfold tests of the Mustang series on YouTube where you can hear one side-by-side with the real tube amp the Mustang is modeling. The results can be surprising.

Here's a good one: