Fender Champ

Silverface Champ from the 1970s. Volume, treble, bass knobs. Tube pre- and power, solid state rectifier. 10" speaker. All the features you could want in a small tube amp, except maybe pre- and post- levels and a 12" speaker, and maybe a tube rectifier. Then it would be perfect.

The lack of reverb and other effects is a plus. Who needs low-end onboard junk gumming up the works? Use pedals and shop for them a la carte, I say.

I used it mainly with a Bullet equipped with one Lace Sensor, but also with a Strat clone and a neck-through mahogany solid-body with coil-tapping, active humbuckers. Played mostly surf and rock rhythm with this. The settings were live venues, practice spaces, and home recording. It absolutely shined at semi-grunty, semi-damped rhythm, open chord strumming, and open arpeggios, all at volumes compatible with a reasonably restrained live drummer.

I prefer an EL-84 to a 6L6 in the power stage, and overall I tend to go for the mellow, warm, and wobbly Gibson tube sound over the spankier Fender sound. But that pentode-driven Fender top end sure lends you some transients. Pick attack really comes through, and at high volumes, those transients break up pretty roundly on top of the overall signal. Classic.

One of the best guitar players I ever knew used to gig with one of these in an empty Marshall 4x12 cab. He always got compliments on his apparently rockin' "stack." This was one musician who knew guitarist delusions from reality. Big amps visually fill the stage and puff up our egos, but when it comes to sound, small amps are the way to go.

It's an old tube amp. I'd have to be insane to take it to a gig or a studio without backup. Why not just set fire to my money instead? Yes, I'm aware that many of you gig and record without a backup, but you are all completely nuts.

You do not get an amp like this for its reliability!

I've been playing electrics for 16 years, mostly with small or variable-power (damped with pentode-triode modes) tube amps. I currently have 3 such amps, and the Champ isn't one of them. I don't even remember what I traded it for or why, but that's one I'd like to take back. If I had one today, I'd hang onto it, and if I lucked into one for cheap, I'd snatch it up like free pizza. But the sad fact is that everyone knows how cool these old amps are, and they don't make them anymore, and that spells a high cost for its practical value when compared to brand new tube amps. For less than half as much, you can get a new Epiphone Valve Jr. For about 3/4, you can get a new Pro Jr., and for about the same as an old Champ, you can get a new Blues Jr. All sound wonderful and should be way more reliable than the Champ.

But if you must have the old Champ sound, then only an old Champ will make it, and you will pay! It's still a bargain compared to the new "boutique" snob amps that are supposed to imitate it.

This amp is for all kinds of rootsy rock and country. Metalheads and jazz players will want to look elsewhere.

I give this a 9 where a 10 would be a pre-CBS blackface Champ.

This is a 1966 Blackface Fender Champ I bought in 1986. Plain jane, as described elsewhere. 5 watt output from a single-ended class-A output stage with a 6V6 tube, 8-inch speaker. The tone circuitry is the same as bigger Fenders, only with a higher value for the mid-range sculpting resistor (15K instead of 6.8K). This is why the bass control doesn't do much, but it is the right choice for a 5 watt amp.

This is not intended as a stage amp, but is perhaps one of the greatest practice/rehearsal amps ever made.

I have the original speaker, but replaced it with a Weber Alnico Signature 8S. What a tremendous difference - the original was rather thin sounding, but the Weber brings out tons of "body" while retaining the twang. Highly recommended upgrade, IMHO.

A perfect miniature Fender. I use a 1965 Deluxe Reverb and a Telecaster as my main rig, and this little tiny amp gets that same "vibe" at very modest volumes (the Deluxe is only 20 watts, but with a JBL it can do real damage!). Clean up to about 5, then classic Fender saturation above that. I use a Boss RV-3 reverb/echo with the Champ and it is darn hard to beat for practice, rehearsals and low volume "sit down" gigs. Nothing finer for playing with acoustic instruments, it fits right in and doesn't overwhelm.

I play a lot of country-influenced Telecaster along the lines of Danny Gatton, Jim Campilongo and James Burton. I apply this thinking to everything from rock to blues to jazz to folk, and I love it. Turn the Champ up to 8 and the ghost of Roy Buchanan materializes right over the pilot light.

I have replaced the multi-section filter cap (a must-do in a 40+ year-old piece!!), added a "tweed" switch (removes the tone ciruit) and upgraded the cathode bias resistor - but there is just nothing to go wrong in this thing, it is build like a small tank. I fully expect it to outlive me.

N/A - why would I have anyone but me fix this thing?

I have been playing for 32 years. I play quite a few styles, but when it comes to electric guitar I am all Fender and especially Telecaster. My stage amp is always a 1965 Deluxe Reverb that I have owned for 22 years.

Used to be that Champs were cheap and easy to get - and with a little work they sound great. Now they are terribly expensive and I would probably build something from parts if this one were lost. Still, I love the design, the low wattage, and ease of use. Every guitarist should have one of these classics in the old kit bag!

Pretty basic, it has 3 knobs and 2 inputs. 2nd input is hot.

I've replaced the speaker with a Weber Signature AlNiCO.
It love the clean sound. It really doesn't have much distortion, but a nice breakup at higher volumes when you pick hard(mine still has the negative feedback circuitry).

It takes well to my RAT, but sounds best when you plug in direct. It's allows your guitar to shine through and is very touch sensitive.

The rectifier and light went out after I got it, but that's pretty minor. Mine is a '73, so I guess these things are pretty reliable. The power tube doesn't sit all the way into the socket, but it's not loose.

I think it's past the warranty period.

For my rating, I'll consider this to be a $300 amp. I paid $180 + $40(new speakers) + $80 (potential need for a tech to replace some old caps and such). I really love this amp's clean sound. I use a different amp when I want distortion.

I believe mine is a 1975. I bought it w/ a "tweed mod" that supposedly makes it sound more like the fifties ones. I'm not handy enough to know what that is but how much different could it be? The circuitry on these old class-A tube amps is simple as dirt--one pre and one power amp tube.

All it has is bass, treble and volume controls. You can't completely sculpt the tone like you can w/ modern amps just tweak things a little; basically, no matter what, it sounds like a Fender Champ and that's awesome. The only thing I wish it had was an extension speaker out. The real attractive feature of this is that it's a small, vintage tube amp that gives you great tones at low volume. For a practice/recording amp what more could you want?

I play mine w/ a G&L ASAT special w/ the big honkin' single coils. W/ the neck pick-up and the Champ set for as loud as it can go w/o breaking up, the tone is amazing. It fills the room but isn't loud. The sound of my guitar and pickup come through full and fat w/ just a bit of gainy sweetness added. It is quite simply one of the nicest things I've ever heard.

It responds well to the volume and tone controlls on my guitar as well as to my picking style. W/ it set at about three or four, it's as loud as you'd normally want for practice and the tone ranges from very clean if you're gentle to a good crunchy, mild overdrive.

I think what you pay for when you get something like this is its simplicity and how well it responds to your guitar. There's a certain purity to your tone you don't get as much w/ bigger, more complex amps. My neck pickup on my ASAT sounds like the neck pickup on an ASAT. The bridge pickup sounds like the bridge pickup. If you plug an SG into it, it sounds like an SG. You could see that as a limitation but that's where it's true greatness lies.

My sole complaint is that at higher volume settings, I'm not crazy about how it breaks up. It's got a fun raunchy sound but it's a bit thin and overly treble-accented. If you tool around w/ it a bit you can get some cool sounds though.

For all the years up to eighty-two, I think these were hand wired. It's very simple circuitry so there's not much to go wrong and not much to fix when something does go wrong. Even the cabinet housing is made from very heavy, sturdy wood. It's an old amp; it's gonna have problems but nothing too major.

N/A

The silverface-era Champs are a steal. The go regularly for under two-fifty on eBay. True, they aren't blackface or tweed but can you imagine getting a hand-wired tube amp of any other variety for under three hundred bucks? That just doesn't happen these days.

You don't get much w/ this. Just a nice practice amp that sounds fantastic at low volumes. I'm thrilled ot have it.

1978 Silverface Champ.
Bass control is not as responsive as the treble control, but that's the general consensus with these later Champs. Still, a good low end.

I play a G&L Legacy through it. Switching between pickups does wonders. I prefer the middle position with this amp. Very rich; nice round bottom end and clean glassy highs with lots of presence- almost felt rather than heard outright; maybe at the upper edge of human hearing. When picking certain chords, it almost sounds chorused- so lush. What a great tube amp. It really lets you know when you're actually playing well and when you're playing poorly. It makes you a better player, for sure.

So far so good.

I don't think I'd bother with the Fender folks nowadays. Just take it to a reputable amp tech.

I've been playing since 1988.
Rock, Indie. (from Son Volt to Death Cab)
They're more expensive as time rolls on, but there's nothing currently made in mass production that can replicate its responsiveness and rich tonality. If you gig with it, you'll have to mic it... and put a blanket over the whole front(~6 watts). I've heard you can mod these to sound like blackface and (near)tweed champs, but I'm not sure if I'll do that. It would be nice if it broke up more smoothly at higher volumes like its Champ predecessors, but I'd hate to sacrifice the great sparkle/chime of the lower volumes. Sounds pretty damn good with a TS-9 in front of it.

Features? What features? Volume, treble and bass! But you buy a Champ for that One Tone.

Clean at low volumes, breaks up smoothly when pushed. That's it it.

I replaced the filter caps when I got the amp ten years ago. I assume it'll last another 30 without attention.

Fender is not exactly known for customer servic after the sale... but there are techs everywhere who can keep this puppy going.

Been playing for 30+ years. I gig occasionally with a solid state amp, but at home I play this a lot. It was given to me by a good friend, and if it disappeared, I'd probably have to go search for a replacement.

I got two Champs:

One is a '72 "Silverface" the other is homemade and based on the 5F1 "Tweed" Champ circuit.

The '72 is stock (even the old caps, which should be replaced soon), except for:
1. I replaced the power cord with a 3 prong (so I could ground it properly).
2. Replaced the old RCA speaker jack for a normal 1/4" one.
3. Replaced the slide style power switch (it crapped out and kept blowing fuses).
4. Replaced the speaker with a Weber Alnico 8".

The "Tweed" Champ I built myself and has a few minor differences than the original 50s version:
1. I built it as an amp "head" with 4, 8, or 16 ohm switch for the Speaker Out jack.
2. Solid State rectifier instead of 5Y3 tube rect (Class A amps really get no "sag" from tube rects, so why bother, huh?).
3. 10 watt Hammond Output Transformer instead of stock 5 or 6 watt OT.
4. Rewired the Power Tube's socket to accept an EL34.
5. Added a switch to change it's cathode biasing for either a standard 6V6 or a 6L6 or EL34 (therefore the 10 watt OT).

For features the '72 gets an 7 for it's Bass and Treble controls and ability to be a Clean or a Dirty amp in one little box. The "Tweed" gets an 8 for the ability to use a variety of speaker cabs and tubes.

The nicest feature is it's tone, so I averaged on the higher side to an 8 :)

CHARACTER
Out of all of my Amps, the Champs always seem to give you a more intense flavor of pickups, tubes, guitars, strings, and picking dynamics. New amps seem to mute or kill the subtlety of all of the other components in tone.

Perhaps this is due to it's TINY signal circuit. It's so honest since it's such a simple design.

Hot pickups ACTUALLY make a difference in getting more distortion, whereas on all of my more "modern" amps the sound is more controlled by the amp itself. THE CHAMP IS GREAT FOR GETTING A TASTE OF DIFFERENT BRANDS OF TUBES.

As you would expect the "Tweed" Champ is a little more agressive due to it's older style Negative Feedback Loop circuit. The '72 still breaks up into distortion a little earlier (since it has a little less headroom than my freak), but it's not as "scrappy".

VOLUME
Both are very pleasant and VERY loud for a "6 watt" amp (of course my Tweed freak is closer to 10watts with the 6L6 or EL34 in her). SORRY, BUT To get that nice distortion, it is NOT at "neighbor friendly" volume levels.

CLEAN
The clean tones are where this amp wins most in my book. The cleans are a little more compressed due to the lower wattage of headroom. Warm and lively.

DIRTY
The dirty on this is by no means "Captain Crunch", but it is pretty mean sounding. For recording, the Champ's dirty adds great "meat" and character when double-tracked with a more aggressive amp. On it's own it could not be a Metal amp, but it is GREAT for classic rock, blues, or SOME hard rock.

The homemade "Tweed" has TONS of Bass. Shook my house like a bass amp does (even on the 6 watt mode). It also bloomed into nice feedback when I wanted.

EVERY RECORDING GUITARIST SHOULD HAVE A CHAMP IN THEIR HERD OF AMPS. It can help you pick what brand of tubes you want (and why you want them) for other amps. It can record great clean, country, jazz, rockabilly (or psychobilly when pushed harder), blues, dirty, rock, or hard rock. For double-tracking, the Champ can add weight/balls, shimmer, chime, or alot of other character when combined with another guitar track.

One minor problem. The amp can shake your tubes when cranked. You can hear em rattling! This is not a problem on my "Tweed" Champ since it's a head (I built the tube sockets standing up like most heads have).

The '72 had a loose solder making it cut out (a bad solder after over 30 yrs - that's a tough amp). Not bad since it's 2006 now and the amp was ALL original. I fixed the solder and updated her (power cord for safety, speaker jack for avoiding mishaps to the OT or speaker). I should replace the power/filter caps since they're probably about dried out.

The homemade "Tweed" Champ is more solid because I built it, so that doesn't count.

No biasing (as it's Cathode Biased), not really much on maintenance (although Champs are famous for running 6V6s into the firey depths of hell and makes tube life a LITTLE shorter due to heat).

Gigs? Never gig without a backup. You could mic this amp up and get AWESOME tone for live gigs :)

Never dealt with Fender. Register my new Fender stuff for warranty, but never needed it.

I repair my own gear, so I would trust myself over strangers anyways.

For about $375 you can find Silverface Champs. Buy one, it may become a utility amp, or maybe your Clean or Dirty amp for recording.

You can buy kits to build as well, but I don't know how the quality on kits are. Buy all of the parts yourself and build it - it's surprisingly easy and will get you started for building your own handwired Marshall Plexi copy.

The kits are like $400 and include everything. Shopping around for loose parts and doing it from scratch can be about the same price, but is cooler :)

1970 something. Anyways I'm playing through a 1979 Washburn Eagle, and a boss ME-50 and lemme say something this setup prolly cost me $1000 CAN.
I am really suprised with the tone, I play anything from funk to Neil Young and really this amp can crank out amzing tones. Only issue is it overdrives a little at 5 once you get the tubes heated up. Very basic primitive amp on the outside. This amp was most likely used back in the days where kids would modify their own amps this thing is really easy to open up and fiddle around with (If you know what your doin)
I give it a 5 because there really arent many features to be honest but that doesnt degrade from total tonality of the amp.

Im using the washburn (humbuckers)
To be honest this thing really shells out what you sound like and your fingers. The variety depends on your fingers and the pedals + the volume, its like vol3 is a totally new amp from vol 5 its wierd you get used to it! My seems to rattle a bit i'll have to check it out!

I sorta depend on it. But these things are usually at least 30 years old so you have to be prepared. I would definatly use a backup. The only time this amp broke down is when some jackass took out the speakers and put in car sub woofers, this caused un controllable distortion and very low output. pretty much the amp blew and the tubes were glowin purple, got that fixed put in some groove tubes and the baby never sounded better

I've been playing for two years. And I own a washburn eagle, Me-50 ( sounds great through it by the way!), Fender Champ, Peavy Bandit 112, Boss MT-2. I would DEFINATLY acquire another one, these amps are in pretty high circulation.
I wish it had a output, so I could channel its great sounds through other amps ( With the right OHMS of course)

'78 Silverface Champ. Stock,but rewired using all original spec wiring. Original speaker.Paid about $350,and it's in nearly perfect cosmetic condition..grill cloth perfect,Silver bar perfect,and no cuts in the covering. It's a great little harp amp,just the way it is. I run a delay pedal into it--that's all. There isn't much variation in the bass control,but the treble control's fine. Big on/off light really glows..it's pretty. Plug rewired to three prong. Nice light amp. I jam,practice,and rehearse with it,and have used it mic'ed with a SM57,for low volume stage gigs,where it's loud enough to be a good stage monitor. It'll actually handle my small Yammy digital keyboard nicely,for low volume jammin', IF I only turn the keyboard up no more than half way,and don't push the amp volume more than 6-7. So,it's a little versatile.

I bought it to play harp through,solely. Pushed, it breaks up nicely,and gives a slightly distorted sound,with a little treble cut to it,which is handy for a low volume amp. I have no intentions of "blackfacing" this little beauty; it's got all original speaker,grill,knobs,handle,and original spec tubes,and I'm gonna leave it that way. If I need a different sound, I'll use a different amp. Plenty loud,too. For harp, loud is easy to achieve with this amp. Not loud enough to cut on stage when the band is loud...something in the 15-50 watt range might be better for that. I'd heard about these things for a while before I found one in the back room of a music store,not displayed, and I'm very happy with it. I use a Shure green bullet or a Blue Blaster mic with it,and a Digitech Delay,or a Danelectro BLT Slap Echo cheapo delay pedal. Sounds fine any way.

I just had it rewired,so it's not givin' me any trouble yet. I never would choose to do a gig without a backup amp,but this one doesn't have any little "gremlins" hiding in it,as far as I can tell. It doesn't fade when warm,and one input jack scratches a little when you plug into it,but the other one's fine.

N/A on customer support,but there's alotta info on the web about servicing these little pets.

I've been playing harp for about 40 years,but only for the last 5 years have I played using a bullet into an amp. Before that,I played through a SM57 cupped, or right through a SM58 vocal mic,not eq'd. I can't see any reason not to have one of these around,if I lost this one. I bought it because I was curious about the sound,and I didn't think I could ever lose my investment. I needed a good small tube practice amp. I compared it to my re-tubed Peavey Classic 30 tube,and a Fender Blues,Jr.,and Pro,Jr. The sound quality held its own with all of those...not better or worse,just different. If you play well through it,people will like the sound,as long as you can here what you're playing on stage. You can always feed a little of the sound back to yourself thru the monitors. I love the looks of it. It's a classic,and it's pretty. It's a breeze to haul to rehearsal,or gigs,and it draws a crowd with musicians around. It doesn't need a thing,unless you prefer onboard reverb. I'd leave this amp alone. If you want a different sound,buy a custom built Tweed or Blackface for the browner sound and more volume.

Hey kennethcardell, "a pre CBS 1967"? Dude, uh, CBS bought Fender in 1965....anything built in 1964 or before is considered "pre CBS"

So anyways, I just bought another 1976 Champ to go along with my 1973 Fender Champ amp that I've owned since 1990. I also bought it to replace my 1968 Vibro Champ. I bought it at Rainbow Music here in Tucson, Arizona from the highly prized Harvey Collection!

The Champs main feature is it's amazing clean tone!

Sounds like something Hendrix might have used to record Little Wing.

What really suprized me is how quiet these trebly amps are at idle.

I compared it to a vintage blackface 1964 Vibro Champ and a new Fender Blues Jr and even though the other amps cost $100 more they totally lacked compared the to silver faced 1976 Champ.

It's all original except a new Groove Tube power tube.

So, I use the {pre CBS} 1973 and {post CBS} 1976 in stereo with my 2000 Fender American Series Stratocaster and my Boss ME-50 mutiple effects processer and the sound is fantastic!

The 73 and 76 look and sound identical.

A Champ can be cranked for distortion and the sound is very much old Van Halen sounding, but I shudder at torturing the speakers like that.

Old Fenders are extremely reliable as long as you don't kick them around. I've owned my 1968 Vibro Champ since 1979 {paid $25 for it} and played it everday practically since without a single issue other than the red light burning out once! That's 25 years of daily use people! It still has all of the original tubes and speaker!

I've been playing guitar since 1969. I play blues, rock, metal and grunge.

If you are gonna use pedals to play at living room levels the Champs are the BEST!

Use them in stereo!

They even look beautiful! The silver faces are the best looking amps in the world and they are under rated in the tone arena.

What new tube amp can you buy for under $300 that sound this good?