surfpup Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 So I've wanted a Champ for a while - particularly a Vibro Champ. There have been tons of them at guitar shows but the clean ones were all pushing $600 the last coupla years. Seemed excessive to me. I found one in a pawn today that was super clean. Played it and it sounds great. The vibrato is insanely deep. Sticker is $450 - which is more than fair - but since it's a pawn I do a little better. He said he'd take $375. I said I was thinking $350. We split the difference... $362.50. Today was a good day. Transformers date late '73 and early '74, so I reckon it's a '74. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Nice pick up. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megafrog Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 That is a sweet deal that you got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Dang, that does look super clean. Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Yummy! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Good result. Old Fender's like that one are great amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Yeah that's really clean for an amp that old. Great find. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 A terrific buy!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 [thumbup] A very good price - £278 GBP. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 You STOLE that amp for that price! And I am very happy for you! Those are great amps - enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 That was a great buy! Cool little Amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Awesome deal, sweet looking amp! Have you peeked inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Nice. Vibroliscious How is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 8, 2017 Author Share Posted August 8, 2017 Nice. Vibroliscious How is it? Vibroliscious for sure! Spanky until you get it dimed, then it growls a bit. Scooped mids (like all 70s Fenders) and a surprising amount of low end for a 6" speaker. I'll likely retube it and perhaps swap in a Jensen speaker (maybe even move up to an 8"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Vibroliscious for sure! Spanky until you get it dimed, then it growls a bit. Scooped mids (like all 70s Fenders) and a surprising amount of low end for a 6" speaker. I'll likely retube it and perhaps swap in a Jensen speaker (maybe even move up to an 8"). Eight inches is a good call. That's what's in my Gibson GA-5. I've been looking at several Vibro Champs on Craigslist too lately. But I'm fixing to build a guitar soon, so money is going towards that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Wow. Great deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theflyingturtle Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 What;s better than celebrating a killer deal?! I love Champs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 So I pulled out the old RCA 6V6 and popped in a new TungSol I had and BAM! Little sucker is twice as loud now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 So I pulled out the old RCA 6V6 and popped in a new TungSol I had and BAM! Little sucker is twice as loud now. Does that require biasing? If so, did you do it yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 Does that require biasing? If so, did you do it yourself? The Champ is cathode biased so there is no adjustment. Generally one can swap tubes in a cathode biased amp without problems. The bis CAN be adjusted for optimal plate voltage by changing the value of the bias resistor. It would take someone amp smart like BadBluesPlayer to do this. On amps with adjustable bias pots (like my Deluxe Reverb of my JTM45) I use a tube socket style bias probe and my multi-meter to adjust them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 Just saw one a week ago in Everett, WA. I think it was marked $499. I played a killer Mesa/Boogie Mark V at the store with a Nash Tele. Not a bad price. They've been between 550 and 650 at the last few Orlando guitar shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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