We present the spectral extension of our stellar population synthesis models based on the MILES and CaT empirical stellar spectral libraries. For this purpose we combine these two libraries with the Indo-US to construct composite stellar spectra to feed our models. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) computed with these models and the originally published models are combined to construct composite SEDs for single-age, single-metallicity stellar populations (SSPs) covering the range λλ3465 -- 9469 Å at resolution FWHM =2.51 Å. We also show a comprehensive comparison of the MIUSCAT models with photometric data of globular clusters and early-type galaxies. The models compare remarkably well with the integrated colours of Milky Way globular clusters in the optical range. On the other hand we find that the colour relations of nearby early-type galaxies are still a challenge for present-day stellar population synthesis models. We investigate a number of possible explanations and establish the importance of α-enhanced models to bring down the discrepancy with observations.