Fender FUSE offers many ways to dial in the exact tone desired. Listed here are many of the functions and capabilities that may not be immediately apparent to the user.
- Experiment with different cabinets! Click on "Advanced Amp" and go through the different cabinet models using the drop down menu. Each cabinet dramatically influences the overall sound, so try all of them to find which best suits your needs. Here are some examples commonly found in community presets:
- British '80s Amp + 4x12 G = A heavy, thick sound, perfect for hard rock.
- British '80s Amp + 65PRN = A somewhat brighter tone with more bite, great for punk sounds.
- Metal 2000 Amp + 2x12C = Vastly different sounding gain than the default 4x12G, especially great for solos.
- Download community presets! The best way to learn the capabilities of the software are by viewing and using the presets others have created. Log in to your account at the bottom left of the window, then go to Main Menu>View>Web Community, then click "Download Presets". For those just starting out, simply leave the search box blank, sort by rating, and show 100 per page. This will give you a variety of great tones to get started with. After downloading, be sure and look at the preset and see why it sounds the way it does. What are the treble, mid, and bass settings? Is it using a different cabinet? Pedals?
- Use the search box to search for specific bands or even songs. There are thousands of presets out there for popular songs with all the essential pedals set up for you.
- Pedal order matters! The order in which you place your pedals will change the way they interact with each other, and changing the place can have a negligible to major effect on the overall sound. In general, you want to start with a stomp box, followed by modulation, then delay, then reverb. However, don't be afraid to experiment outside of these guidelines! See the /r/guitarpedals wiki for a more detailed explanation.
- There is a difference between using the pedals (placed on left side of amp) vs the rack effects (placed on right side of amp). For an easy to notice example, try placing a reverb pedal, then dragging it over to the rack side instead. Try with a high-gain amp for an especially noticeable difference.
- It may seem obvious, but some pedals/effects will sound different or even better with certain amps. For example, the Big Fuzz stomp box may sound muddy with many of the built in presets, but try it with the '65 Twin Reverb!
- Want to play some early QOTSA but don't want to tune down to C standard? Use the Pitch Shifter with the settings below. In theory this should work for playing drop B when actually tuned to drop D and so on.
- Mix: 100%. This means only the pitch shifted signal comes through, and none of the original.
- Pitch: -4.0. Shift down 4 semitones (or however much you want, but that will get you from E standard down to C standard).
- Pre Delay: 0%. No delay.
- Feedback: 0%. No feedback.
- Tone: 100%. Don't filter out any high frequencies