Fender Champ

1968 Vibro Champ

I would swap the vibrato for reverb in a heartbeat but......oh well

Have used a variety of guitars through this lil' "champ", mainly now my Nashville Power Tele. I even use it for practicing my pedal steel which sounds great!

Replaced power cord, broken 3rd prong, otherwise no problems..

Has never been needed....

All the original "needs" is reverb to make it the perfect practice, recording or even small gig amp....

Made in heaven in 1973. Incredible sound from blues to rock. Goes well with Strats, LP, Tele. One channel, 2 jack inputs. The only thing I miss is a line out and/or Headphones. It was sweet and beautiful with the '73 stock components, but after the Torres Tweed mod, a new Weber Alnico speaker upgrade and a swap of tubes for original NOS RCA, it now develops an incredibly rich sound. Tons of cream. Regarding the mod, I really prefer the mod with the Fine Tuning 750 mF cap, smoothening the beast. It is now a solid 10.

Blues, Rock sound. Crunchy, creamy, hot, sweet, 70's.
Good with HB, good with single coils.

It worked since '73. That deserves a 10, does it not?

Dont' wanna know about it: I will fix it myself, it is so simple.
Actually schematics are so simple that I think I will clone it to have a backup.

For less than 10 bucks, go fot the Tweed Amp Torres mod kit. It boosts the sound, overall volume and reactivity to your play.
The other upgrades (Weber speaker, NOS valves,... ) are expensive. But if you can afford this little luxury, go for it. It is much sweeter than the Champion 600. All in all, it is not a real good value, but what would be life without gems like this??? Hmmm? Tell me...

My follow-up review.
Just a basic, feature-less practice amp... 2 channels, channel one slightly louder than channel two. Volume, treble, bass. 5 watts, 8" speaker. 12ax7, 6V6, 5Y3. Nothing more, nothing less.
When the Champ was still in the Fender line-up, it was sold as a simple, bedroom practice amp, yet has risen to almost empirical status. Would I pay big bucks for a 60's black face Champ? Only if I were a desperate collector or out of my mind.

No "distortion", except for a certain tube saturation at high volume, if you can even get the 6V6 to saturate that is. The ratty, stock speaker is horrendous, thus invites a replacement. However, after replacement the clean, bell-like tone is heavenly. For more volume, a 4 ohm, 10" speaker can be used. If the amp has been used extensively, over time some components on the circuit board may have to be replaced unless you want all your expensive tubes to die a slow death.
The Champ has been hyped to no end and perhaps rightfully. Let's face it: the clean, bell-like tonal quality is a thing of beauty and it is shameful to put a fuzz box in front of it. It would be better to change the caps and transistors to saturate the 6V6 to get a good tube-breakup. Just my opinion.

How reliable are tube amps? Depends. I bought my 1980 Champ used and have had no problems. However, I modded the board extensively with a Torres tweed-kit, so many capacitors and transistors were replaced. I'd say that tube amps in general are as reliable as the time one is willing to invest in general maintenance, the quality of electricity coming out of the socket (no major spikes and surges) and storage (temp and humidity/moisture controlled).

Never needed.

I like my Champ the way I have it now modded, which has cost as much as the original acqicision price. Tweed-mod (caps and transistors replaced), speaker replacement (10" Weber). In its original form, I wasn't too impressed. Don't get me wrong, I loved the tone. But the Champ has more potential and that is ultimately why I bought it. If I have to sell off all my gear, the last stuff I'd keep would be my Carvin SC90 and my Fender Champ.
I would like to buy another Champ and leave that one original, but the prices have become almost prohibitive... yet in a way, I am glad. The higher prices keeps the Champ from being bought by folks, i.e. kids (no offense) that should really buy a solid-state super shredder of some sort. I almost did leave it original, but the late silver face Champs are tonally really nothing to write home about and the modification is certainly justifiable, so I think no sin has been commited.

This is my '68 Silverface Champ that have the same schematic model as later Blackface Champs..Volume, Treble, Bass, 1 6v6, 1 12AX7, 1 5y3GT and a oxford speaker.

I think my Champ works best with lower-powered single-coil pickups, i use it with my fender '66 mustang and it's perfect!!!This amp is perfect for studio work, stays clean until about 5, gets warm around 9, then is wonderfully overdriven at 10

ok!

ok!

I highly recommend this amp as a practice amp for people who want clean sounds, like the blues, and don't want to piss off their neighbors or family. A great apartment/dorm amp, although if you cranked it, it would be too loud for that.
I play all different styles of music. From Country to blues, alternative, Its absolutely the perfect size for a practice amp, small gigs and recording

1975 Champ. Amp was sent to Mojotone and totally gone over. New JJ tubes and new 10" mojotone speaker. Also had a new transformer for a 8 Ohm 10 added to it. This amp truly kicks ass. I was stunned at how much better a Champ sounded with a 10" speaker in it.The cleans are unbveleiveable and the cranked sound is too die for.

Cleans are to die for and so is the cranked sound.

Built like a Tank!

Fender doesn't know these things exit.

I have been jamming since 1977. Am tone fanatic! Get yourself a Champ and plug into a 10" or 2-10" cab and enjoy!

I have a 78 Silver Face Champ, bought at a music store in Orlando about 3 years ago. While limited to volume bass and treble controls, this amp does what it is supposed to do. Volume control is actually the most versatile, providing a nice crunch that starts around "6" and really gets thick around "9". Treble and bass controls don't seem overly responsive until you hit about "6-7" but do offer as much control as is needed given the pedigree of this amp.

I mostly play my 62 Gibson ES330 through this amp so it benefits greatly from the rich sound of vintage P90s. Nonetheless it has such an even clear tone that the P90 sound is well represented. Overall it is pretty quiet at most volumes, hence it's reputation as a great recording amp. This is also supplemented by its clarity and the evenness of its tone It's probably too small for playing out at anything but a small venue. However, it is a great practice amp and I have used it for many recordings and the sound quality comes through very well. I don't play anything too heavy (blues and classic rock mostly), but do enjoy a fat tone nonetheless and this amp delivers. The natural overdrive that really kicks in around "7" is rich yet controlled and tasteful. When supplemented by a boost or Tube Screamer, it offers limitless natural tone. It's a Fender Tube amp. How could it be less than a 10 for this one?

I must report that recently, after only 30 years I had to have this amp serviced when a tube socket fried out on me. All joking aside this amp is bulletproof, partly due to its simplicity, partly due to Fender quality. With the exception of a few caps that need replacing periodically, everything else is stock on this amp. The speaker still sounds great, all controls work, and the cabinet is still pristine and looks great. The hand wired circuitry is still flawless after nearly 3 decades too. The aforementioned service included a filter cap change, a tube socket change and replacing the large can type capacitor in the power section. Once completed, the sound was amazing. I would guess every bit as good as the day this baby rolled off the line.

It's a Fender so it was no trick to find an authorized service center. Otherwise I've had no contact with Fender so I can offer no opinion.

This is a great amp. The sound is so sweet that I would always want one for recording and for the bedroom. Given its size, it's not the amp that will replace all others. However it's small size and big versatility, make it a great multi purpose amp. Easy to lug around, and easy to get great tones out of. Given that these amps are still relatively cheap, I call it an absolute MUST HAVE.

Made in April 1965 (OD). Blackface with Sam Hutton initials on inside cabinet. Envelope in speaker cabinet contains original schematic.

Sounds exactly the same as the first time I plugged it in Christmas of '65. Just dug it up out of the bowels of my parent's house after a 40 year hibernation. Can't believe it just fired up and worked and still sounds so amazing.

Original everything. My friends are envious!

With such a great product, who needs customer support?

I can't believe the interest in this amp after all these years (never found my electric train in the attic, though). Don't play much anymore, so it's fate is in question.

Champ: "71" or "73" I don't remember!
It was given to me as a gift as I swore to protect it till the day I die!
I am the 2nd owner. It has the original tag on the cord, and the original owners manual is still in the plastic w/ the staple intact.
Est. 20-30 hrs. of play time on it and could be put right back on the shelf as being brand new, all original, extremely mint.
I keep it in a special hardcase!
It has been played just enough at regular intervals to keep the caps alive.
Features etc. are obvious.
I play everything from metal to mellow.
About 25-yrs. experience.
Obviously I use another amp for the metal, but this thing does everything else quite well, although squeals and fingered harmonics are lacking a bit due to the anti-feedback circuit.
Wish it had a good 12-in. speaker instead of the 8-in. to take advantage of the power it is capable of producing.

Excellent. Like I said, not a metal amp, but does everything else very well, probably one of the more diverse amps I own.
Very clean, but will get some very good distorted tones when used w/ an overdrive pedal like a Boss blues driver or SD-1 especially when combined w/ a good hot double humbucker or E.M.G.
When used w/ a fender strat it is as pretty as can be.
It has some of the prettiest clean tones I've ever heard.
Never cranked it very much as the 8-in. breaks up too early and it's too cherry to abuse.

Don't know - like I said it's got about 20-30 hrs. of play time on it, but the fact that it's over 30 yrs. old and still works says guite a bit.

Although I've known several people who have owned them and they are close to bullet proof. I've seen them kicked off the stage and picked back up and keep going like the energizer bunny.

I think I covered most of these questions in earlier sections.

But, I own several different guitars of different flavors, I have everything from EL-34 100/100's to little 10 watt practice amps, as well as vintage stompboxes to POD-XT's and this thing goes well w/ all of them. Wish I had two so I could do it in stereo.

If you've ever wanted to find out just how good you are, or how good your technique is, sit down and play one of these w/ no effects.

I would buy one in a heartbeat, and if anyone ever stole this one it would be a slow gruesome death if I caught them.

Mine is a 1962 Tweed Champ. One chicken head knob turns it on, up in volume, down in volume and off. 6v6 tube. 8" speaker.
Versatile? No. It's more of a one trick pony and that pony is old school blues tone (Howlin Wolf, Muddy etc). Not to say it can't be used in other forms but that's what it epitomizes.
I could wish for other features but it woudn't be a Champ. It might be a Vox AC30 or a Marshall stack wouldnt it?
I use this amp at home, for playing and recording.

It's a clean sound up until 1 on the volume control. Then its gets more compressed and overdriven and only slightly louder as you turn it up.
When cranked it has a fat ratty blistery fuzz sound. Make of that what you will. Great for bluesy lead & doublestops. Not good at all for chords. Way too farty.
Personally I like the sound when the volume is between 1 & 4. It's a woody rockabilly/swing kinda sound.

40+ years old. All original. So it's proven to be reliable. On the other hand maybe it's so old it will konk out tomorrow. I doubt it though.
I wouldn't use it on a gig. Lacks volume for one thing.

I could contact the people who bult this amp...but I'd need to use a ouija board. Fender doens't sell anything like this amp today and I'm sure would direct me to an independent service person.
These are simple amps. Easy to service.

I'll probably sell this amp. It's too limited for me.

silverface champ , don't know the year. 6 watts of pure tone, volume, bass, treble. high and low input. 8 inch original speaker " oxford " brand. 3 tubes: 1 6v6 for the amp, 12ax7 for the preamp and a 5y3 for the rectifier. Point to point circuit original

this amp need to be play with a fender guitar single coil pickup. I don't understand there is some reviews here that says ; Oh when i play with my boss multi-effect ..... blablabla ... WO!!! don't put any digital effect with amp!!! you scrap the sound!! 1 fender guit, a champ and a wire!! that's what you need to rock and have the 100% of this little amp!! Sound amazing, you can get good distortion of the tube at low volume!!

built like a thank! it is a point to point amp so it's very to repair but don't need to. The only thing I did when i bought this amp is a clean up , i change the tube, 1 socket tube and a clip. Now it's doing 7 years.

I Email a couple of time fender for questions on my fender guitars or amps and they always answer me pretty fast.

it's doing over 20 years i play and 15 years proffesionnaly. I have over 15 guitars that's collectionnable and 6 tube amps. I,m also a studio owner with a 3 rooms studios. I use this amp for studio only. Live i'm using rivera fandango and/or old marshall jtm. For my personnal rock band project i'm using a 5150 head with a marshall with greenback speakers, with only old analog stomb box!! I don't really like digital for guitar... don't sound good as a tube amp and analog effect.