Control legacy Fender Mustang amps from the browser via WebHID

The project centers on bringing a 2013 Fender Mustang modeling amp back under software control. Its maker says the amp still sounds good, but Fender’s discontinued FUSE program - built on Silverlight - no longer works on modern systems. Many settings for amp models and effects cannot be reached through the amp’s physical knobs, so the maker built ReFUSE, an Angular browser app that communicates with the hardware through WebHID. The goal is to make the amp useful again rather than let functioning equipment become e-waste.

The maker says development drew on earlier FUSE reverse-engineering projects, with Gemini helping analyze USB data and identify packet formats and protocol quirks as the amp’s knobs were turned. They describe AI as a practical collaborator that helped make a technically complex app, including its illustrations, feasible over a few evenings and spare moments. The account emphasizes both preserving older hardware and using current browser APIs to replace obsolete software. It presents AI’s contribution as a way to accelerate the work, while the central motivation remains restoring access to the amp’s controls.