Fender Champ

I have 2 silver Faces, 1974 and 1978 (often used in stereo). Simple 6 watt hand wired tube heaven. Simple circuit, 1 5y3 rectifier, 1 6V6, 1 12AX7, 1 vol, Treble, Bass, Mustang style on/off switch, light and portable, not very loud, but mic it up! Stradavarious of 4-6 watt tube amps. tone really responds to tube changes, speaker changes, etc.

no digital junk

Great for roots rock, indie rock, blues, rock'n roll, (I use 2 in stereo with delay and reverb effects)also takes all pedals well. Noisy only if you do not let it warm up. at 3-4 nice clean and warm- very natural and woody, at 5 and 6 it starts breaking up, 7-10 it sounds like a cross between the Stooges and old Sabbath with buckers and p90s, nice blues over drive with singles.

Very elementary- the original Fender cleans/ overdrive

wattage/size not big enough for bassy rhythm live, but works great recording.

Old amps really need alot of tlc, educate yourself as much as you can. The 74 seems to have some filter cap problems- have blown many fuses.

Keep them clean, let them warm up and you will be fine.

backup- another reason I have 2. totally worth it.

CBS musical instruments no longer exists.

instead of buying one of those new fangled Champion 600's or whatever they are, save a little more and look for a silverface Champ- they have basically the same circuit as the blackface champ (unlike the larger old Fender amps that had many changes over the '70s)

Love the size- packs a punch for such a small and light amp
also have a 76 princeton Reverb, 71 Twin Reverb, 68 Bandmaster.

These old amps blow the new amps away

1959 tweed Champ Amp. Little box. Little speaker. Volume control that switches off. Mine is fully original with the original speaker--not reconed but in good shape.

I use it with a lot of different guitars, but mainly a P90 equipped Suhr Classic T. I don't understand the hype and mystique that has grown up around this amp. My Champ is in great shape but it sounds like what it is: a tiny little amp with a tiny little speaker. It sounds much better through a Weber Z-Matcher and into a 4x12, but through the little speaker it sounds pretty lame.

It's been around for half a century, and likely will last quite a bit longer. Largely due to the fact that it sounds bad and I don't play it much except to remind myself how much better my other amps sound.

Irrelevant for something this old

Sorry Champ fans. I cannot recommend this amp to anyone but possibly a harp player. Even then, your other options in this price range are much better. Try a 5C3. It's just a bit bigger but with a 12 inch speaker it KOs the Champ in any kind of comparison.

What I can't understand is that Fender is reissuing these amps for almost what you can buy a vintage one for.

Even more incomprehensible is that people buy those reissues. Anyway, when the economy picks up, mine is going on the block.

57 Reissue champ made 2009. One knob, and two input channels, one each for single coils and humbuckers. I got tired of lugging my 42 lb Deluxe Reverb RI up and down the stairs in my house and I wanted a good samll 5 watt amp that breaks up at lower volumes. All tube and very responsive to picking.

I use mostly single coil guitars with this amp and it really shines. I love the way it grits with a very nice smooth distortion as you crank up the volume past 5 (it goes to 12). At 12 the distortion is very very good and the speaker (Weber 8" alinco) sounds just great. I put Weber speakers in all my amps. I think the speaker chosen for this amp is fantastic!

This amp iw very quiet even with the volume at 12. I can't get over how much I love this amp!

Time will tell. Just got it!

I've had very good experiences with Fender customer support. I once had a Blues Junior I really beat the hell out of until it just smoked one day. My Fender repair man is just two miles from my house. He looked it over and told Fender I needed a replacement (love that 5 year warranty). I had a new amp in less than a week.

I've been playing 15 years and own a Fender custom shop strat and 3 custom shop teles (all relics) and a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion. I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI and a THD Bivalve. I've had a Blues Junior (stolen) and a Hot Rod Deluxe (sold). I've had a Gibson Hisotric Les Paul Gold Top, ES 175 and many other guitars. The only Gibson I'll ever have is the Howard Roberts. All other guitars will probably be Fenders (I just love Fender CS guitars).

This amp is a keeper and will be replaced if lost or stolen.

I can't give this amp a 10 because it is expensive. I looked at the Swart 5W amps and would have really considered one of them if I knew that I could get warranty repair work as easily as I can with Fender amps.

Not a lot of features on a 1965 Fender Champ. However, it "features" GREAT tone. Simple Volume, Treble, and Bass controls. Responsive to guitar volume control and picking attack.

Played with single coils it has a nice bell like tone. Played with humbuckers it has a nice growl and surprising low end for a small enclosure and speaker. The distortion is very bluesy, from a light overdrive (hair) to nice fuzzy breakup similar to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Stones. I think Keith even used one on that track with a Treble Booster in front of it. No noise. I haven't opened the chassis yet to see if any caps have been changed or any mods made, but I think not. It still has the original two-prong power cord and any tech worth his salt would have changed it to a grounded cord if doing a cap job. Original speaker as well and old US made tubes.

In the realm of reliability, I believe Fender wrote the book on tube amp reliability. 44 years old and still works (and sounds) like a dream.

Um, if I was really in a pinch I might call Fender and they might respond. More likely I would work on it myself. Its a Champ after all. Doesn't get much simpler inside than this.

I have been playing for over 20 years, collecting amps and guitars for just as long. Been working on tube amps for the last year or so. I play mostly Fender guitars (Tele, Strat, Jag, Jazzmaster, Musicmaster) and have a couple of Gibsons too. Also, Epiphone Dot. All sound great through this little tone monster. I have no issues with it not having tremolo or reverb. I plan on using a tape echo and maybe a standalone 63 Reverb most of the time anyway. Well, maybe having Vibro Champ would be a little cooler than just a Champ, but I still love it. Paid a decent price for this amp. Tried to haggle, but decided not to let it slip away. This is an all original 1965 Champ. Transition era Fender Musical Instruments on the front but Fender Electric Instruments on the back!

Basic as they come, 5 watt tube amp. Volume and tone are only controls along with high and low gain inputs. There is an output jack inside of the cabinet for connection to a cabinet. I've never used this feature. The amp is small, light and very cool looking. I bought this amp new from a local supplier about a year ago. It has only worked intermittently (first one failed completely, bad switch).

For what it is it, and when I have been able to use it it sounds good. I play rock, blues and it has a nice growl when distorted. Performance is quiet. Nice clean and distorted sounds, when it works.

This is where I vent. This is the second champ I have purchased. Each had faulty switches. I returned the first one, and have the same problem again. Must have been made on the same day, tequila day in Mexico. I'll just repair this one myself rather than go thru the hassle of happening again. Because I like the sound and portability of the amp, I'll keep it and solve the problem on my own.

I don't know what the warranty is, I returned the first clunker and was immediately issued a new one by the retailer, no questions asked. I don't want to go thru the hassle of repair process, so I'll fix it myself. I really have no opinion on Fender's customer service, but I'll give a high grade to the retailer who acted, I'm sure, with the certainty that Fender would take the clunker back.

I have been playing for 2 years. I would not buy another one because of the unreliability of the unit. I like its portability, great sound for a small amp. I hate the fact of such a poor product being built by a good American company. I also own a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue that is a great amp, and a Roland Cube 20, great amplifier also. I own several guitars, both acoustic and electric.

November 1964 AA764 Fender Champ.. I traded a Solid State Peavey for this amp some time around 1975. Lost some volume but gained a lot of tone. If I want the volume I can always mic it.
Upgraded the cord to 3 prong for safety years ago and I think I replaced the original tubes once in the 80's.
The controls are simple.. 2 inputs, volume, treble and bass.
I wish it had a reverb, otherwise I would change nothing about it, it is perfect.

I play an 80's Japanese custom shop strat with the only current mod being that I traded the pickups for some from the 70's.
However, I've played various guitars through it over the years.

It has that classic clean Fender tone. It breaks up a little at full volume but not enough for any kind of metal.
It is surprisingly loud for such a little amp.

I play mostly blues/rock kinda stuff but my daughter plays some pretty heavy stuff (Opeth, Lamb of God) by plugging her Jackson Warrior into a pedal board in front of it.

It's a workhorse.
I have been using this amp regularly since I got it in 1975. It gets played almost every day by either me or one of my kids. Every style, all kinds of abuse. I've used it as a PA monitor, playing out, mic-ed, at home in a garage. This thing has not only survived, it has kept it's beautiful, musical tone.
I've thought about putting it away and stop abusing it since it's vintage gear but then I wouldn't get to play it.

N/A I guess.

The tone is why I've kept it.. that and the way it smells.. tubes and wood like something from another time.
This amp and my guitar have gotten me through a lot of hard times.
If it were stolen or lost I would spend the rest of my life looking for it and I WOULD find it.
When you can build a mechanical device, from wood and metal and wires, that can generate those kinds of feelings in someone you know you did something right. Thank you Leo Fender :-).

My champ is an all original 1959 5F1 narrow panel. It has the very basic tweed Champ features: volume knob and little speaker.

I use a variety of guitars (Suhr Tele, SG Specials and Jrs etc.), the one thing they have in common is P90 pickups. I like my amps to be responsive to the way I play, the Champ does that, but to my ears it just sounds small and boxy. It's got a lot of volume, but not quite enough headroom to gig with.

I can't help but wonder what people who rate this amp so highly are comparing it to. I've got lots of old tweeds and some black and brownface Fenders and with respect to sound quality, the Champ is the hands down loser of the lot. If I need to use a small amp. I'll take my 6G2 white knob Princeton. It's an all around better sounding amp.

It's in great shape for a 50 year old amp. It'll probably withstand a lot of abuse

I've been waiting for the economy to recover so I can sell it for a reasonable price. I will not be replacing it with another Champ

mine is a 1973 Silverface Champ. Came with a really muddy bad sounding speaker, replaced it with a Jensen Special Design (Italy) ferrite magnet speaker, soldered the wires right to the terminals just like the original. I showed it to a friend (a musician!) and he thought it was the original speaker! It's been modded with a speaker line out and a Vibro circuit (knob on back for vibro - so kinda impractical, but a good circuit never the less. Face plate & tolex seen much better days, scrapes on the corners of the cab, kinda beat up. Sounds freakin great.

Crank it and it really is nice. I saw Jeff Beck years ago at the infamous Todd Rundren (opening act) show in Boston. Beck had a Strat, with a line out of his Champ going to the big speakers. Couldn't tell if it was a vibro or not. Mine is a little noisy, might need new caps at some point. I had a 3 prong plug put on it, mostly because being shocked to death is not my idea of fun. The 12AX7's are sylvania or something. I have not experimented with tone by using diff tubes (valves), although I'm tempted to try Mullard AY7's just to see... I play blues and rock, from power chords to slide to just pickin. The Champ is great for all that. It's a plain vanilla budget amp. People are starting to pay crazy money for old Fenders, including the black & silverface amps but if you got the coin, it's worth it IMO.

super reliable, too small to heat up too much, great little amp. I play it thru a marshall cab with 4 alnico speakers (3 Heppners and 1 Utah, 16 ohm speakers wired to be 4 ohms )and it sounds nice and full, just with the 8" Jensen it's fine. This is a workhorse, could probably be used 8 hrs a day for years before you'd have to re-cap & tube it.

somehow I doubt it would be worth it to send this to Fender. I think the warrenty expired 35 years ago - but it's still working, so they did somehting right when they built this amp!

There are few amps in the world that compare to this one. It's the small block Chevy of the amp world. I have a 1948 Vega steel guitar amp that is very close to the Champ in some ways, but still different in terms of tone. I paid $200 for my Champ in 2006 and about $100 for the Jensen speaker and for the amp technician (Mr. Ben)to give it a speaker line out, the caps checked, the tubes tested and a 3 prong cord added. Totally worth it. One of the best little amps you can buy, and they are a known product with an established market. It's really hard to go wrong with this amp, kids. Get one.

Mine is a 1959 tweed Fender Champ. It's simple design is is its only feature. Less is more, here. That is what I love about it! It has just one knob to turn the amp on and to adjust its volume and has two inputs, one high-gain and one low. It was created to be a student/practice tool. It was born in a time when guitarists still had to learn to play their instrument without the crutch of effects.

It is what it is. Sonically, it's supposed to be simple and pure. At low volumes, it has a wonderfully mellow and rich tone. As volume increases, it begins to bark and then really fuzzes when cranked all the way up. Single coil pickups really shine through on this amp. However, humbuckers produce a nice sound when plugged into the second input, as well. Regardless of the pickup or guitar used, the forces the player to pay special attention to technique. It's not very forgiving towards mistakes, which is ideal for students and practicing.

It's almost a 50 year old amp. From time to time, tubes and things need to be checked and/or changed.

No need to call Fender about something this old.

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and this has been the most constant, and probably most important, tool in my development as a player. I've had many great amplifiers over the years that have seen stages and studios all over the world, but no other can take this amp's place in my home.

Been playing for 30 years, but never owned a tube amp. The Champ was recommended to me as a "starter" tube amp. Mine is a 1973 with a Jensen speaker and American made tubes. I won't detract too much from the rating on account of the simplicity because anyone buying this amp knows it has no frills. I usually play through a 2X12 Line 6 with a floorboard, giving me every effect, amp model, cabinet configuration at the step of a switch... so this is quite a departure for me.

This is what it's all about. Others have noted that this amp shines with single coil pickups, and that has been my finding as well. My Ovation Viper hardbody sounds great, but the Ovation Preacher and UK2... not so much. The holy grail is coupling my Gretsch Tennesean (single coil Hi-Lo Tron pups) with the Champ. I have NEVER heard my Gretsch sound so sweet. As has been said before, the Champ has tons of headroom and not much distortion. For some that would be beneficial, for others a detraction. I dusted off an old DOD overdrive pedal and it sounded great through the Champ. The Champ may not shine with all of your guitars, but for the right ones, wow!

With the simplicity of design, I imagine someone will be enjoying this amp for a century or so.

No opinion. Will take it to the amp repair professional I purchased it from if anything needs to be fixed.

Once you pair the Champ with the right single coil guitar, you will be enamored with this amp. Could it be more powerful, have more (any) features, a second channel, etc.? Sure, but it does what it was built for just fine. I am very happy with my purchase of The Champ.