Fender Champ 12

These amps were made from 1987-1991. It's a pretty basic amp: @ channels share common tone controls ( treble, bass ) and the treble control has a pull mid boost switch. Two channels : 1 clean ( volume) and 1 gain ( gain, volume ) and also has reverb ( this is a true spring reverb until, but it is actually inside the chassis, and house in a cardboard "tank.") It has a headphone jack, a line out jack, and jacks for a tape/cd input. It has a 12" speaker, and the footswitch (channel switching) is actually hard wired to the amp.

I'm not sure of the actual power rating, but it is between 10-12 watts. This is a class A tube amp, 1 6L6 GC power tube, (2) 12AX7A pre-amp tubes, everything else is solid state. The amp actually has just the right amount of volume for bedroom playing.

I have a Fender Super 210, and the distortion sounds very close. It is not over the top, but you can get some good Hendrix type sounds, AC/DC, Zep, but not for the metal crowd. I play tele's or a strat. The amp isn't unusually noisy, but hums a little, probably due to much needed tubes. The gain channel can get very loud, but nothing that most small tube amps can do. Again, it does need a new power tube, so the volume might go up . The clean channel sounds great, just what you would expect from a Fender Tube amp.

I got this amp used, actually abused is more like it. It was beat to shit, and I'm guessing it was probably picked-up out of someone's garbage. It had s few rips and tears in the tolex, 1 major chunk of wood taken out of the front, the speaker has a hole in it ( ice pick from the looks of it,) 1 broken chassis mount, master volume and reverb control pots were broken right off the circuit board. Yet, it still LIVES!!! It fired up when I got it, even with the broken controls ( which I have since repaired.) I've completely dissassembled the amp, and I like what I see inside. The tubes are mounted to the metal chassis, NOT to the circuit board. As far as the circuit board goes, the two control pots ( broken when the amp fell at some time in the past) broke in half, but NOT the circuit board!! It didn't have a scratch on it! The only thing I don't like are the friggin' plastic input jacks, but those can be replaced easy enough. The amp is very easy to work on, even if you haven't soldered much before...just watch out for the filter caps, or you will get the shock of your life!!! All things considered, I'd have to give this amp a 10 as far as reliablility goes.

I have been playing about 30 years, and I like this amp for what it is... a small practice amp which a decent tube sound. That's because it is a real tube amp. If it were lost or stolen, I'd try to replace it. I love the overall sound of the amp, both clean and gain channels. It does sound a little boxy, but hey, so does the Blues Jr., and just about any single speaker amp, in my opinion. The volume leverl is just right...my Super 210 sounds better, but is just too loud.

I feel that this amp has enough features for the average player.

The clean sound on this amp is very good. It has the classic Fender tone. I have read other reviews from guitarists that are unhappy, but I find it very good. I changed the speaker for a Celestion Vintage 30 and the difference was amazing. The output is greater and it sounds a lot more classier. I hated the overdrive for the leap in volume and harsh gain. I changed the overdrive volume pot from 1000,000 value pot to 100,000. I also did this with the gain knob. This has also made a huge difference. I can now get a just breaking up sound on the OD channel and without the jump in volume. I am also add the torres mod. Overall this amp was cheap at #125 and with a few tweaks it can be killer.

Never, ever has it let me down. I have just had to change the input jacks

If this amp was lost or stoled I would definately buy another. I have owned amps that are a lot more expensive and have not sounded better.

The champ 12 is a footswitchable two channel tube combo amp with solid state reverb. The footswitch gives you the option of a clean channel and an 'overdrive' channel. The Amp is powered by a single 6L6 with a two 12ax7 preamp section.
The features(overdrive and reverb) get alot of bad press in previous reviews, so I would like to say what can be said, that is good about them. If you read 'overdrive' as versitile overdrive you will be dissappointed. If you under stand that this feature is actually a 'treble booster distortion' with only one good setting then you will see it for what it is, and be perfectly happy that it's there. The only useful setting is 'overdrive' 1.5 and 'volume 1.5.
No kidding. This channel is so much louder than the clean channel, it leaves one wondering what the designer was thinking. Set as mentioned, most people who like treble boosters and Boss OD-1's will like it. The reverb if set at 1-2, puts a nice pocket of air around the notes. Above that it is splashy and unmusical. It sounds better than all of Marshalls attemps at a reverb.
I had a chance to A/B the Champ 12 ($185) with a 70's Fender Princeton reverb ($650) a 66 Princeton ($450) and a silverface Champ ($275).

The features aren't amazing but they are there and usefull if used
appropriately

I was looking for a fat sounding practice tube amp for small small dollars. I will start by comparing the clean channel of the champ 12 to the three fenders.
The Fender princeton reverb was by far the best, fattest, and loudest of the 4 amps I tried - no surprize. It also had heavenly fender reverb. It was also the most expensive.
The 66 (non-reverb) Princeton was surprising flat sounding.
The trem/vibrato feature was alright, but weak. The Champ 12 was fuller and louder sounding at alot less than half the money.
The Silverface champ sounded good, but again was not as loud or full sounding. The champ had no features.
The champ 12 came in second in this group of four fenders, and was by far the cheapest. It's reverb, while inferior to a tube driven reverb pan, certainly didn't suck when used in moderation to wet notes. The 'treble booster distortion' was also a single setting effect, but useful and cool for what it was.

This amp was produced in 1987 or so and has survived in good
working order for 15 years. That has got to be worth...

unlikely Fender would be receptive to the suggestion that they provide service on this amplifier.

It's never going to replace a Fender reverb combo in anyones
musical universe, but it's a darn good 'bang for the buck' preformer. IMHO better and cheaper than a silverface champ
and better a non-reverb Princeton ( that now commands too much money) Because it's affordable I'll give it....

76 or 78 depending on who you believe.
I have been looking for a clean but edgy sound for blues and Blues Rock. The sound on the clean channel is like a double power champ.
The Overdrive channel is almost worthless as it becomes too distored beyond 1 maybe 2. I really like the clean channel so the overdrive and reverb quality (or lack of same) is not a big issue.
Two Channels with a permanently attached switch. No effects loop. Headphone jack and "1 volt output"
Wish it had the effects loop, better reverb, and ususable overdrive channel
I use this a practice amp. But imagine it would be adequate in a small club. The tube sound it nice if not twin reverb rich.

I use this amp with a Epiphone SG (twin Humbuckers)
It is adequate for blues
The Overdrive and reverb is a little noisy
If you like the tone it is fine but not particularly versatile.
Play it loud and it will distort
the Overdrive is brutal past 1 or 2

It has been dependable, I would gig with it without a backup.
Never broken down

N/A

I have been playing for 20 years
I have an Epiphone SG, Fender Strat, Gibson 58'reissue 335, Gibson Flying V, two Randall amps, a 70's fender champ and a rickenbacker amp. Also have Pod 2.0

I rated this on 9/10/02, name: give me earplugs....I have changed my mind after talking my friend who builds tube amps at $1200 and up, and the guys at Torres(sell their mods for $17)...

Have decided to make it work...it wasn't easy at 1st, but after the low cost initially, and advice from my friend to put my old pedals in front it here is what I got: a all tube amp, very loud, not noisy, with a fender 12 inch driver...that as a geezer, I CAN CARRY. The pedals: tube screamer, Boss Blues driver, and my modeler. The modeler handles the reverb and delays, and of course the above mentioned cover channel changing and overdrive(as my initial rating berated the overdrive channel, and still find it annoying...but I read that on many ratings on Fender amps excetp the Rivera Era stuff). Sounds much better through the house system than my Crate Acoustic. This amp has the CD line in, and a line out, plus head phone jack(also useful for line out if you want all your sound in the monitors and the house but not out of your amp.

I'm using it full on, 2 hours every friday...I only carry a pre amp tube, and no back ups.

N/A out of warranty.

Played 30 years, mostly blues, roots rock. I wouldn't replace it per say...I'm cheap, and have 5 others...but a class A, hand wired amp???? Try having one built with limited features(less than this one), a 12 inch driver = at least $1000. You get my drift, for what I payed compared to some botique amps, it was a killer deal all the way around(once I got over my initial buyers remorse and talked with tube amp buiding buddy, & got some perspective). I do see some one from a seller in Maine on Ebay selling his own for $400...probably a steal. I plan on doing the mods when the there is more time...cost seems reasonable.

for a small panel there is a lot crammed on it , and its very versatile.

there are a LOT of different sounds available, if you take the trouble to fiddle with various controls, reverb is fine. However, it can sound "small" and "boxy", mainly with midboost on ,and /or gain channel engaged. ive posted this reveiw, to outline some mods ive done which have made a huge difference, and may be of interest/ help to others. Firstly i made a new cabinet, suonds complicated, but not really, i used joinery grade softwood- available from any builders merchant, and cheap- just butted, glued and screwed. After A LOT of experimenting (i started with a big cab, and gradually whittled it down with sound tests, Surprisingly i ended up with a cab the same width (governed by control panel), the same depth, and just 5 inches higher. the speaker sits in the middle of the front baffle. two points;- rear baffles must show same ammount of speaker assembly as original, (a 6" gap),also a much clearer, bigger, sound comes with speaker mounted through front of front baffle (like good hi-fi), THe boxy sound has gone, much improved bass response; the real woodsomehow imparts a "vibrant", "lively" sound -great!
next;- speaker. I discovered that sensitvity- (rated as Db /1watt at 1 metre)was very important, espesially in a small power unit like this -3Db is equvilent to 100% increase in volume! I went with a celestion G12H (100Db at 1M) very good reveiws. To be honest the difference is incredible!!! Its sounds absolutely bloody fantastic, and must be 60/70%louder. If you do just one thing ,try this.
Ive tried several different pre amp valves, including a mullard that was in a mates selmer ,These could be down to personal prefference, with pros and cons alround. my only certainty, is a 5751 in od channel, which smoothes it up nicely,
Sound quality; std-6 , with mods-9

this is made about 84, all seems original and still workingwell

N/A

I wont sell this ever, i dont think, its an alround great package.
Im going to try a walnut wood cab (same sizeas other one), prehaps might even sound more devine!! Overall- 7 with mods- 9

Same as other reviews. I don't think there's another tube amp in this size/cost class that comes close in terms of features. To get all this amp has, you'd have to spend a lot more money and/or be willing to lug a lot more weight.

I think it sounds very good, again for an amp its size and cost. The clean channel has classic Fender chime, and I personally think the reverb is quite good. The drive channel is way too touchy and harsh stock, but I did the $15 Torres Mod, which is a snap even for a moron, and it improved both channels a lot. The drive is now quite useable and sounds killer even at very low volumes. As far as the touchy controls, I will probably do the mods mentioned below.

It's at least 10 years old and going strong. The amp is cake to haul around too, which makes it less likely that you'll bang it up.

N/A

I've been playing for about 25 years but am not a professional musician. Still, I've tried out plenty of gear and have a pretty good ear for tone. The Champ 12 with a simple mod or two gives you an extremely versitile amp for home and/or small jam use that won't take up much space or break your back, and will give you every tone you need for any style without a bunch of stomp boxes. With all that plus the unusual tolex color options, these amps will likely become collectable.

Just got it yesterday...drooled after it for 3 weeks. Features? who care it sucks. But that's cruel. A tube amp for $225, what was I thinking. I play now through a variety of Strats, and tele's, one with Lindy Fralin's, through a(believe it or not, a Crate 30 watt acuoustica amp, great bottum, great reverb, 2 types of distortion pedals do my two desired stages of gain, and the Zoom 503 amp modeler gives my me cabinet, delay, amp model(usually clean Johnson or Fender) and some lush reverbs. After getting this thing, out comes the Crate, until I can surf for some other 'vibey' toy..this ones history. Why? Features or lack there of: no volume control, its loud or off, zero bass, it's like someone took out that potetiometer for another project. Reverb: where? My Sivler face champ(70's) is better cause with pedals I can mod my sound with the champs controls I can at least turn it up gradually, the treble and bass work(ok not grate, but better than this overated beast).

As stated above..hey it doesn't hum but neither does a used Marshall 30 cd(solid state), at least that overdrive is usable, as is the reverb-along with some smallish amps ie Fender 25 frontman, champ 30, Vox 15 watt(solid state). It's clean, so what!

Very, for the two day I've had. It was shipped(ebay) N.Y. to Floriday, and took the beating. So would most else I think.

N/A

I've played in the bedroom for 30 years, some garage bands, now every friday I have a gig. Have owned an original Sears twin twelve(danelectro)in the 60's, 66 Bassman for lead with a 65 Meledy maker, still have the melody maker now with twin humbuckers, thanks to Rob Monroe in El Paso(Rhino Amps, Monroe Guitars). Have mid 70's 60watt Acoustic Combo, killer overdrive, bass and reverb(suprise it's not tube, wouldn't know it though) Just sold my beloved Peavey Delta Blues 210..now theres one I'd buy again: lush reverb, deep overdrive WOW!! I get all tingly just remembering, if they'd just cut the weight down(why I sold it, couldn't lug it without back surgery), which brings us today's fish: smells bad, wish it were stolen today, will consign it locally this weekend, hope I get my $ back out of it. I hear those new Epiphone Elector 30's are hot!(light, sealed cabinet, good bass ect., cheap). My gut told me to buy a used 60 watt Seymour Duncan Convertable despite the weight, or a comproble Carvin Tube, or a Mesa Subway Rocket....but I'm cheap, now see what it cost me? I'll have to sell my collection of maple 80's squire strat necks to afford the good stuff.

OK, ok, after reading all of the comments about this amp in these pages, I feel compelled to give everyone who cares the REAL story, in Fender's own words, of this great little amp. What follows is a complete transcription of my original owner's manual...

"The Fender Champ 12 amplifier combines all-tube, footswitchable overdrive capability, reverb, and a Fender Special Design 12" speaker all in a compact yet sturdy enclosure. The Champ 12 utilizes state of the art construction techniques and minimum parts count for maximun reliability. The amplifier uses only three tubes and features a unique CLASS-A type output section which causes the 6L6GC tube to produce a distinctively smooth sound which has proven to be a very popular characteristic of low-power tube amps over the years.
The tonal characterisics have been tailored to produce a wide range of sounds in both the clean and overdrive modes. The tone controls actually work over a different range while in the overdrive mode effectively giving the player a second set of controls. The PULL FOR MID BOOST feature on the treble control provides even more flexibility and will produce a fatter tone useful for distortion playing.
The Champ 12 also offers a variety of input options. The two instrument inputs will accommodate many different instruments, either active or standard passive types, and the two inputs come in handy in the teaching environment where both the student and teacher can plug in together. The Tape input is useful for the attachment of any line level signal source to be used as accompaniment, be it a tape player, CD player, or rhythm machine. Stereo inputs are provided and the signal is converted to mono inside the Champ 12. The volume control on the external signal source varies its level and the Champ 12 volume controls set the instrument level. This feature is particularly handy for practicing and works well in conjunction with headphones plugged into the headphone jack for private playing. In addition to the headphone jack the Champ 12 has a line output jack that provides an unbalanced signal which is useful for the connection of slave power amps and larger speaker systems for more output. This output can also be connected to a mixing console, equalized and then used for recording or sound reinforcement.
The selection of a Fender amplifier will reward you with years of quality music in a wide range of controlled sounds. This manual is designed to familiarize you with the equipment and acquaint you with its many features. Read it carefully so that you will benefit from all the features as soon as you start using the amplifier.
The built-in quality of a Fender amplifier is the result of over three and a half decades of dedication in the combined skills of research and developement by our engineers and musicians.
That is why we say, proudly, FENDER, The Sound That Creates Legends.

Champ 12 Front Panel Functions
A. INPUTS - Plug-in connection for instruments. Input 1 has a higher sensitivity and impedance than Input 2 and is suitable for most all instruments. Input 2 has 6db less gain and is useful for clean sound with high output pickups. When jacks 1 and 2 are used simultaneously they both have the same sensitivity.

B. TREBLE - Adjusts the amount of boost (accentuation) or cut (attenuation) in the high frequency range. This knob also can be pulled out for boosted midrange which is useful in the overdrive mode for more sustain and drive.

C. BASS - Adjusts the amount of boost or cut in the low frequency range. This control automatically operates over a different range in the overdrive mode to provide optimum equalization for distortion playing.

D. VOLUME - Adjusts the overall loudness when in the clean mode (overdrive indicator is off).

E. GAIN - Adjusts the amount of amplification in the preamp when in the overdrive mode (overdrive indicator is on). Ceaner sound is achieved at lower gain settings. High gain settin

The Torres mod for the Champ 12 makes a HUGE difference. More output, more consistency between clean and drive channels, and lots more tone! The kit is simple to install and is available at torresengineering.com.

Very sturdy construction. Haven't had a problem... but this thing does get hot! I used small washers for spacers between the amp chassis and the cabinet on top to let a little of the heat out. It's not visible and it definitelt runs cooler. Change the four power supply caps (the large blue ones on the board next to the output transformer inside the chassis and your hum should go away. These caps are close to the output tube sucket and get HOT! I recommend again to use the spacers as mention above to let out the heat.

Fenderforum.com is the place to go for fender information on guitars and amps that Fender doesn't make anymore. Fender is very helpful with their new products, but information on the old stuff is tough to get from Fender.

If you find one of these little gems used, grab it! Most people still think the red knob Fenders were crap... their loss! Their stupidity keeps the used price down for those of us who can still hear and appreciate what a hot little tube amp can do...
Good luck!

Features are described in other posts but most useful are reverb and separate switchable overdrive channel. This class A tube amp puts 10 watts into a 12" Fender special design speaker and is plenty loud for home practice. No effects loop but I dont need one.

The clean channel has a nice class A sound with my '75 Les Paul Deluxe. The stock O/D channel is much too harsh and bright for my liking. Hitting the O/D footswitch overrides the volume control effectively setting it to 10 resulting is massive distortion. A previous reviewers suggestion to bypass this is essential to getting the O/D under control. I recently posted details on how to do this and eliminate some of the O/D brightness in the Amp Mods section of the Fender Forum (fenderforum.com).

The reverb in this amp is solid state driven and therefore doesn't have the classic Fender sound. Nonetheless it is still useful perfectly adequate for what I need.

There is a slight hum to this amp but that is considered normal. The hum does not get louder when the volume is turned up and cannot be heard when playing. There is tech note on the web covering this. To find it use the phrases "Champ 12" and "Hum" in your search engine.

The rating for this amp reflects the modded amp. The O/D on the stock amp would knock several points off.

I've only had this amp a few months but it has given me no trouble. The amp cabinet is very sturdy. The input jacks are plastic and I can tell they have been repaired or replaced in the past. I have no doubt this amp will last a long time given reasonable care.

These amps went out of production in the early 90s so the warranty is long gone. A good amp tech can handle problems if they arise.

I gigged heavily in the 70's but stopped playing in the 80's and 90's and am now starting again. The Champ 12 is an excellent value for a home / practice amp. You get a variety of features and sounds for a very reasonable price. For this reason I am rating it high.