mr newhaven Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 i have one...not a vintage but a newer one modded out...I LOVE IT!! even though its small...you can really hear tonal differences in your guitar just by messing with the knobs a bit... anyone have one/love it?? my GAS has subsided recently...but my need for more and more amps is starting to grow... vintage is always best but i saw these and wanted everyone's take... http://wildwoodguitars.com/amps/fender/reissue/57champ.php thanks for help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyt Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I've had one since they first came out. I do like it. I've added an Alnico speaker and a good NOS power tube. With that said, I recently picked up one of the new Voc AC4s. I think I like it a little better because it has a 10 inch speaker, a tone knob, and a knob to set it at 4 watts, 1 watt, or 1/4 watt. I've not even felt the need to screw around with the tubes, which I've done on just about every amp I've ever owned. I may sell the Fender, but I want to play the Vox a bit more to make sure. Both of these are amazing for the price. About 4 years ago I had a Victoria 518 which go for about $1000 now. It sounded very good too, but these little Fender and Vox amps at around $200 - $250 sound just as good IMO. I use mine for recording because I seldom play out nowadays. But they can get plenty loud. When I feel like blowing the roof off, I put a distortion/fuzz into them and blast away. I know the real vintage ones sound great, but I'm just not into the upkeep of caps, transformers, etc. And, good ones are expensive. I bought an old Fender Vibro Champ once (mainly because I love tremolo/vibrato). But even with new tubes, I could tell it wouldn't be long before it needed some major work. Where I live that can mean months. So I sold it and am very happy with the newer small wattage amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I have an early 90s Pro Jr that I couldn't do without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 yeah for low wattage amps they certainly get loud enough! and the break up on them are nice! i live in a condo and dont want to piss off my neighbors... my boy has a 68 ampeg and a fender deluxe...i couldnt even crank those bad boys past 2! way too loud for my space... my champ 600 was loud before but when i added the MM lead...and new weber speaker...it just got louder...tone wise its nice...but still a little thin... i dont plan on selling it though...i spent more on the mods than the amp is worth...and im not trying to sell it...so i just have to add to the collection... i have always been infatuated with champs...something about a small amp pushed to the limit...i like how hard they work! it also helps that some of the most important music in rock was recorded on them...i understand why...with the champ cranked to 12 you can literally change the entire sound of the amp just by messing with the guitar knobs and i have a lot of fun finding new sounds...and when i plug my ts808 in...its like crunchy heaven! haha ok that being said...i want to spend around 1500 or less on a great little tube amp...ive checked out victorias...they sound great...dont get me wrong but i know that if i ever bought one...every time i looked at it i would wish it was a fender champ instead...thats why i cant pull the trigger on it just yet... ive seen some nicer vintage one for around that price on Ebay...but you know what? i still dont trust it... i know that a lot of people use it everyday...I have bought on craigslist myself with no problem...but i also know how good people are now at doing all sorts of things and everytime i read a tagline that says "52 tweed champ" and then the description says..."ive looked at other auctions and that also helped me determine that this amp is roughly 50+ years old..." it just doesnt seem to add up! so is the re-issue worth it? im not entirely a vintage snob...i own a few reissue guitars...(62 strat...and a gibson L-00) and am not opposed to talking to local guitar shops to help me find a vintage that i can try... but i also am open to the re-issues as well...i know the speaker wont be as conditioned...but thats what practice is for! i just wish Elderly shipped amps cause they have a gorgeous one and i trust them in terms of descriptions...etc... but alas...they dont... so keep the ideas/thoughts coming people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 rocky thats a gorgeous amp! something about Fender Tweed that just gets my heart racing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Check these out. http://www.swartamps.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Check these out.http://www.swartamps.com/ yeah i saw a kid on youtube who A/B'd these with his 58 champ... both sounded killer... they are funky little amps and definitely sound great!! again though...same as with the victoria for me...if i got one...i would love it im sure but a part of me would still wish i had a fender! im sick i tell you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I have a 1966 Champ (replaced speaker with a Weber) and love it. Here's a little demo video I made of my Les Paul through the Champ, both with and without an overdrive pedal: http://www.richci.com/lpchampkot.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 awesome video richCI it illustrates perfectly what i love about champs...they are soo versatile! how would you rate it compared to your other amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Thanks, Mr. Newhaven! It's really not very comparable to my other amps as they're all pretty different. The only one that's close would be my Blues Junior, but I've modified that a bit - Weber speaker and beam blocker and a Ruby reverb tank. Between those two, the Champ has a more mellow, softer tone overall which I attribute to the Champ have a tube rectifier where the Blues Junior has solid state and the Champ has an AlNiCo speaker where the BJ has ceramic. The Blues Junior has a more percussive, aggressive tone to it and (when the Champ isn't buzzing - gotta take it in for service) which one I choose depends on the sound I want or where I'm playing; I can take the Champ up to the point where it overdrives in my apartment, but not for long and the Blues Junior is way to loud to do that at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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