Fender Champ 12

I bought this amp at my local music store; some guy was getting a divorce and came in selling a lot of equipment, including this amp. I watched the store owner give the guy $600 for 4 guitars and 2 amps and a bunch of effects. I offered $150 for the Champ 12 and he took it.
I think it was made around 1989, according to all the information I can gather. It was (and still is) in mint condition when I bought it.
I find it very versatile. I can jam out on rock and blues, either with pedals through the clean channel, or just straight in to the distortion channel. I can even play my electric accoustics through the clean channel and get a nice tone.
I find that it has a lot of power for its size. I play frequently with guys who have all kinds of larger, more expensive amps, and it seems I always have the superior tone.
The last band I played in on a reguler basis, I used it exclusively; I put it on an amp stand, so I could hear myself, and ran the line out (very handy) to the mixing board. I never carried a back-up.

I play a Fender Fat Telecaster 95 % of the time, and the combination just sounds like the classic killer Fender sound. I play hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zep, Hendrix, etc.) and blues (Stevie Ray, Albert King, etc.) and it has a great tone for these styles. It has a little hum, especially when I use the original single coils on the Tele, but the tone makes up for it. I do find that the controls on the "lead" channel are very touchy, and I will look in to the Torres mod package. A far as I can tell, this amp is completely stock; it looks like it's never been played.

I have never had any problem with it, and I have gigged without a backup with no fear at all. It even still has the original plastic jeacks, which have given me no problem yet. If and when they ever break, then I will replace them. Why bother now?

Not really applicable, although when I called Fender to kind of figure out what Ihad, the guy I got was very cool and helpful, very enthusastic.

I've been playing for 25 years, since I was 15, and I always played a Les Paul through big Peavey solid state amps, but since I bought the Fat Tele, and this amp a short while later, I am enjoying this different, more variable sound.
I would definitely try to find another if I lost this one. For a tube combo of this quality, it was definitely a steal.
I like the compactness, the weight, but most of all the tone and versatility.
If you have the opportunity to pick one up at a good price, jump on it.

Follow up on additional mods to Champ 12.

I did the mod listed further below in these posts. I went a little further and up the caps from those found on the fender amp discussion pages. Rather than 10mf and 1mf capacitors on V1 and V2 respectivly put a 10mf on V2 and added a 4.4mf in addtion to the 10 to V1. This really made the clean and gain channels balanced. I put new tubes in as well, 2 Groove Tubes 12AX7-C (China) and a SOVTEK 5881/6L6LWGC. I also installed a 1/4" socket to allow quick speaker hookup. I used a 1/4 jack with a small metal chassis mounted between the removeable cabinet brace and the cabinet top. (The brace provides the force to hold it when it is screwed in. It is that panel that has to tbe remoived to get the chassis out)

The tubes I replaced was a Peavy Super 6 - 6L6GC (unknown origin) and 2 Fender 12AX7A (made by GE) These tubes sounded very harsh.

Now when the gain is set to lowest level it sounds nearly clean. Without swapping pots I have fairly smooth gain control and smoother distortion as well.

As for the speakers the 2X12 enclosed cabinet is filled with 2 16 ohm EV EVM-12L. I rewired them with new 1/4" jack in parallel for 8 ohm. Testing it comes out at more like 5.6 ohms.
The EVs sound excellent not as crunchy as a celestion but more beefy with a tight bass. Clean they are exquisite. I am appreciating these speakers much more though is not a good at distortions as a celestion. The amp still has no speaker in the amp cabinet. Plans are to put either a Celestion 12G Greenback or 12G Alnico Blue.

Possibly rig a switch to use only the Celesion in the amp for the gain channel and the EVs for clean.

Combo amp with the snake skin, black knobs

2 Channel low wattage tube amp
10 Watt
1 6L6GC power
2 12AX7 pre
12" speaker (missing when)

I found this amp sitting next to a dumpster in 1998. The speaker was missing, one input plug was missing, the other was broken and the 6L6 tube was missing. I took it home. (I'm glad I did)

I took the chassis out and inspected the innards the circut board looked in good shape, no burns marks, meltdowns etc....

I fixed the input and put in a 6L6 tube I had laying around. As for speaker I messed up here and put a 16 ohm speaker from a fender cabinet I had. The amp sat in a closet for the next two years. I was playing bluegrass banjo mostly for the past 10 years and had no use for the amp, so I ended up loaning this amp to a buddy in 2001 and did'nt see it for the next 2 years. I got it back and started researching low watt tube amps after I decided I had enough of bluegrass and wanted to ROCK again...so I found that the champ 12 indeed has some potential and it was currently being used by my daughter as a practice bass amp. (yeah it didn't sound good in it's current form)

I found the details for the Torres mod on fender forum and went to the Radio Shack and bought the two capacitors and resistors required. (I'm a hack so I recommend you pop for the $15 bucks for the terminal block and instructions from Torres to make it look nice. Mine looks rather Frankenstien-ish) ANy way I did the mod and it indeed does make a huge effect on the sound. I am bought a bunch of tubes from torres...anyway. So I don't feel guilty....really.

Put the speaker back in the cabinet and wired the speaker leads from the champ with a 1/4 jack. This created the correct ohm rating of 8 and the speaker cabinet a Fender CBS, all black 2x12 (ElectroVoice OEM I suspect)

The reverb does leave a bit to be desired. Keep it low and it seems okay. I never played with much anyway.

Pre Torres Mod with 16 OHM speaker in:
Total crap in the gain channel, no clarity, very cheap garbage in sound. Clean was a dull, flat, lifeless sound not round and warm.

While doing the mods I had the chance to try some speaker selections
These were all Carvin speakers (buddy has tons of stuff)
SO here goes post Torres Mod:
Using a Strat
15" 8 Ohm Closed back Cabinet - Rich clean tones, very warm with a nice high ping. The middle seemed to spike. No unpleasent.
IN the gain channel it was not complex enough to be considered a desireable sound. Seemed a bit hollow.

2x10 4 Ohm Closed back Cabinet - This was the best sounding and had the most variety. The 4 ohm load for the 8 ohm rated output of the Champ saturated the power tube and generated a sexy compression and lovely brit crunch at medium gain too high and it flammed out into mush much like a hiwatt lead 30. Clean it was delight. Pingy round a detalied great vintage tube sound. I am researching the implications of running with 4 ohms speaker load on the 8 ohm output. Two 8 ohm Celetions greenback wired in parallel would probably sound very sexy. THough be prepared to run through power tubes as they take a beating by being continuously saturated. There is also a danger of blowing something else.

12" 8 Ohm Carvin Vintage - Good sound like you would expect. Round and pingy clean buyt the gain was difficult to get a sound like the two tens and any thing less than blisteringly loud.

12" 16 Ohm CBS Fender 12F - Oh man this really sucked. Do not run 16 ohms on this....icky, icky icky....but still better than pre-torres mod.

issues not using the right ohm detailed here:
http://www.harpamps.com/transformers.html
Tons of stuff about tone
http://www.amptone.com/

Considering that I rescued this amp from a cannabilzed death I guess is a testement to it's durability.

Fender has a bunch of stuff you can find out about this amp in addition to the internet.

I play straight in, dabbled with a Tube Screamer with the Peavy Vintage but with my Hiwatt had no need. the Peavy Standard head was a stage backup. I could do most stuff with it in a pinch.

I've been playing for 26 years. Spent 15 years in gigging and recording in orginal bands playing brown and black telecaster deluxe and 74 stratocaster with a Hiwatt Lead 30 (sweet, if you see one buy it), Peavy Standard (ss), Peavy Vintage (tube power) and Alamo amps. Backed out of rock and went acoustic playing bluegrass for the past decade. Finding my way back home....given everything people figured out with the Champ 12 I think that is is a fine paltform to find your own tone, if you take the time to do the mods, replace the tubes and stick a good speaker in.

I play blues to heavy ish rock.So far I would say the amp is only loud enough for practice and recording.I have read that changing the speaker and doing the Torres mod makes it louder. I will report back

good valve sound, o/d is ok, I like the reverb!,a little noisey.
Vintage kind of sound, not very fender in sound.(Marshall pre valves?)
I intend doing the Torres mod and replacing the speaker with a celestion greenback as I plugged it into my 1970's CMI cab with two 15 inch!!!! celestions and it sounded even better.
I agree with the general gripes about the amp, the cleaner channel is a lot quiter than the o/d channel, I think what fender though you would do is turn up the gain on the cleaner channel and then scream with the o/d channel, they got the balance wrong though - Enter Mr Torres- I hope. Oh! I also intend putting some new old stock(I have only just worked out what nos stands for)valves in her to, the previous owner put Marshall pre amp valves in her they sound ok to be honest.The output valve has no markings so god knows what that is.
So far I am quite happy with her, If the mods work well I will update my comments

Only had it two hours. I can see that the inputs are a little feeble NAUGHTY FENDER!.

Too Old.

I have been playing for 20 or so years. Once I buggered around with the settings I found my feet with the amp. Tried it with my 1973 sg, and hamer steve stevens. Hamer sounded very good through it, unusual! I was'nt that found of the hamer before!. Sg sounder fine as usual.
This is a great married man's amp, It's not too big, It sings at low volume(as it's low in watts), It sounds good(by the time you get married you will have developed a good ear for nice amps as aposed to wifey shouting). It is the oposite of my sadly missed Marshall stack.Big, loud, and needs to be turned up to get cooking.

Bought new in 1990 a 10watt with 12" speaker- mainly tube amp (Reverb and power supply rectification is solid state). Very solidly made in Mexico (back panel says "Made in USA" but was covered with a sticker saying "Made in Mexico". Presumably production moved from USA to Mexico.
It has a lot of useful features - channel switching,line out, tape input, headphone out. It is a shame that the speaker cannot be easily unplugged and an external speaker added. The speaker is a "Fender Special Design" and although adequate is not that good.

I bought this amp as a practice amp (American Strat)and the "clean" channel is everything you would expect from a fender tube amp. I found that the dirty channel was unusable because of the shift in volume when switching from the clean channel. The distortion was brash and almost uncontrollable. I took the advice of a previous reviewer and changed the overdrive channel volume and gain pots - a vast improvement.

I borrowed a speaker from my Fender Twin and replaced the original speaker. Again, a vast improvement in volume and quality of sound (the amp does not distort on the clean channel at high volumes). I shall put in a Celestion Vintage 30 at the first opportunity.

Stock faults with these amps are the input sockets. Anyone buying a used one of these amps should check them.
Apart from that I've only had to change the 6L6 power tube

I found the UK agent for Fender (Arbiter) very helpful/friendly and I purchased the input sockets from them.

I do my own maintenance.

I've been playing longer than I would like to mention and also have a Fender Bassman 10 and a Fender Twin.
The Fender Champ 12 is a pleasure to use (and carry!). As mentioned earlier I would recommend changing the overdrive gain and volume controls and put a better speaker in. Even without these changes I would strongly recommend this amp and would replace it if it went missing.

This is an update to a previous review I wrote. I have added the Torres Mod kit, new tubes and a Carvin British Series speaker.

With the modifications to the amp it now has a killer tone and is really loud. I think the amp is gig worthy in smaller venues. A extension speaker out was also added. The clean channel has a lot more low end with the speaker replacement. I have also just bought a US Tele with a Seymour Duncan in the bridge, and this little amp really honks. The Torres Mod made the lead channel more useable. It has a more pleasing distortion and breakup and doesn't sound so harsh.

So Far, So good.

None needed.

I've been playing for over 40 years. I'm currently bidding on another Champ 12 on eBay. If I win, I will do modifications with a different speaker and tubes plus the Torres Mod.

I'm not sure of the year of manufacture. I bought it used off eBay. It was in great shape. When I first plugged a Nashville Tele I thought the clean channel was a little whimpy, but when I plugged in my Gibson SG.... Whoa Mama! Power to spare. I was surprised at the power. The amp has two channels and channels are switched via a hard wired footswitch. I bought this amp with the intention of using it in my living room, but I think with my SG or my G&L Legacy I could gig in a small club with it. I've ordered new tubes, the Torres Mod and a new Jensen 12Q speaker for it. These upgrades should give it more punch with single coil pickups. My G&L Legacy has pretty hot pickups so it sounds good but could benefit from a little more power. I think the mods I will soon be making will take care of that. I am playing classic rock & roll, jazz and modern country.

The clean channel is typical Fender tube sound. I had a Fender Blues Jr. for a while and this sounds similar. Once again, my Gibson SG pushes the clean channel to mild break up. My Tele is 100% clean and my G&L gets a mild edge at high volume settings. The lead channel is almost unusable due to it's high gain and sensitivity. The Torres Mod should help this after what I have read about it. The distortion is harsh if the gain is up to high. It it more pleasing with the gain lowered and the volume up.

I don't know about the reliability, but it does seem made for abuse. I've had other small tube amps over the year that have been fragile and required very careful packing and handling. When I replace the speaker with the Jensen 12Q and replace all the tubes, I think this amp will be very reliability. The problem with buying an older used amp is you don't know how old the tubes are and what kind of shape the speaker is really in until something fails. I would recommend always changing tubes and speakers in an older amp when you buy one used.

Haven't needed it.

I would give this amp an overall 8 just because I haven't had it long enough to make an informed evaluation. After Mods, I think this will be a killer Class A tube amp and the price was almost a giveaway.

Right, here is the deal with the Champ 12. It is a brilliant amp for very low money. But you gotta do a few small spec changes to get the best out of it. First get the Torres upgrade kit, this is easy to fit and makes the amp sound a LOT better, change the overdrive channel volume and gain pots to 450,000 value from 1000,000. Again reasonable outlay. This balances out the volume from the clean channel to overdrive channel. The lower value pot on the gain gives a smoother increase in gain and is more useable. Fit a set of decent TUBES, N.O.S if possible. There is only one output and two 12ax7's (this is a cheap ugrade to quality tubes compared by other amps with many more to replace). Fit a better speaker. I suggest the Celestion vintage 30, which will give the amp the volume to gig at reasonable venues. If you can go as far as the Celestion Alnico Blue, more the better, as this makes this amp come alive even more. For you guys in the States, I realise the Celestions are more expensive over there so I am sure you can come up with a USA 12" driver upgrade that does the business. Now all these mods are at reasonble cost and the end product is brilliant.

This amp is always going to sound better with a strat or tele. With the upgrades mentioned above, this amp sounds as good as any high quality low power amp. Throw an old tubescreamer or OD1 into the front end and it is even better. I am reading a few moans about this product on this page, but please take the cost into it. A matchless 15 or Badcat 15 is crazy money, and with a little investment on your Champ, you can really make it sing. Go on, get the most out of it.

Never let me down, but I would have preferred a standby switch for turning on and off to protect Tubes a little more.

Never needed it

If my amp was lost or stolen, I would definately pick up another one and do the same mods again, no question. Sure there are marginally better low power amps but at a LOT more money and some of them are perhaps overbuilt.

everyone else covered the features....hated there is no way to switch
the overdrive channel on from the front panel only thru the hardwired
footswitch.

Gain channel WAY too hot, really unusable, clean channel very low
in volume, reverb was just ok...I tried another one like mine in
a music store and it sounded just the same...so I sold it.
I have no idea why people could like this amp.

Mine was working to specs, the one I played in the store had
most of the input jacks broken and the pilot light was out.

Bad features: An ugly plastic face plate, plastic input jacks, cheap plastic power rocker switch, ugly little pilot light, lack of chrome chassis mounting strips on the amp top,
a marginal transistor reverb with an even more marginal chassis mounted cardboard spring tank, a composition board case and a poorly designed lead channel overdrive.
Good features: Although it has printed circuitry, the amp produces a good classic fender tone with easy to get tubes. I also like the 12 inch speaker and the chassis mounted tube sockets and pots.

I bought this amp new for use in the band's rehearsal room. I used it there for years, never realizing the original 6L6 power tube was somehow faulty and causing a very poor overall tone. When the tube finally degraded to the point where the amp became unusable, I installed a cheap Sovtech replacement. To my surprise, the amp never, not since day one, sounded so good. This says something about user reviews. Before the change, I would have rated sound quality as a 2. Now, I would rate the clean channel as an acceptable 7. The reverb is very shallow and doesn?t add any of the nice overtones of real, tube driven types, but it is preferable to none and works well enough to prevent that dry sound of reverbless amps. The 12 inch speaker helps by adding a bit more body than most champs. I would say that I prefer the sound of this amp to any silver faced champ.
I find the built in overdrive to be totally useless. Way, way too much gain.
If you use the traditional blues technique of cranking the amp to 8 or so and using the guitar volume to switch from chord to lead work, you get a useable blues, R&B sort of sound. Not great, but fine for rehearsals and casual jamming. This is a very handy and reasonably good sounding amp, if you?re the type of player who likes the sound of Fender combos to begin with.

In 10 years of use, only the power switch failed. I replaced it with a proper metal toggle.