Fender Champ

I bought my Black Face Champ in 1969. It has the standard Volume, Treble, and Bass controls. It had been on the shelf for 15-20 years when we pulled it out to test it for my son (13). We are buying him a Fender Stratocaster for Christmas.

I think the original tubes are still in it (at least can't remember ever replacing them). It still works except for the On/Off switch is a bit touchy.

I always wanted very loud sound which this amp could not provide. It is a good practice amp and my parents never yelled at me to turn it down.

It still sounds good for its age.

I've had it for 36 years and it still works. The clerk at the music store where we bought the guitar wanted to know if it was for sale.

Never had to.

It has been a solid and reliable amplifier. I hope my son will get good use out of it.

Mine is a 70's silverface - you know the deal. Treble, Bass and volume. Original speaker. I use at home for recording and playing.

Love the sound. Great valvey tone, boxy but in a good way that records well when pushed a bit - the Champ knows its place in a mix. I also have a SF Princeton and the two amps complement each other - the Princeton is clean and shimmery, the Champ is dirty and punchy.

A lot of people seem to dislike the standard speaker and put in 'better' and often more efficient speakers. I don't find that necessary - for my needs the Champ is too loud anyway - it is the most honest 5 or 6 Watts I ever heard.

Very well built but 30 year old amps need to be looked after. But they are easy to work on if you know what you are doing and can do so safely. Point to point wiring is the best.

Spares are quite easy to get hold of.

You either 'get it' with these amps or you don't. I took quite a few years for me to 'get it' after trying Pods and all sorts of other stuff but there is something about an old SF fender amp that is just a joy to plug in and play. Its a real sound, not some virtual crap and I am hooked on the real thing these days.

It is a simple amp which is a plus for me. No effect loops, no frills, just a great tone.

If it was stolen of course I would get another one.

My chanp is a '67 pre CBS model. It has a range of tones, although it has a certian transpearent quality that allows you to hear yourself and the effects of the different types of pickups/guitars played through it. It has one channel w/treble bass and volume knobs, and 2 inputs high/low. Alltube design with a tube rectifier. I generaly use this amp at home, since it is small, but has a really neat tube sound. It is plenty loud enough for a small rehersal, providine your drummer doesn't play with hammer hands. Wish it has classic fender reverb though.

Anything from glassy clean tones to raunch distorted tones are no problem. I is perfect for me since i like overdrive much better than distortion. It getts dirtier at higher volume settings, but cleans up when i roll the volume knob back on my strat. It is driven by a 6v6gt tube in a circuit that requires no bais(self biasing design), which has a unique tube tone tone. It sounds like no other amp i have ever used/heard. It is also the first amp i have used that has a tube rectifier, which may account for the organic quality of the tone.

It has never broken down on me. My one complaint, if you would call it that, is that it seems to eat tubes to breakfast. I have been buying old and NOS tubes online. I can retube it and it may sound unbelievable for a month or two(tone that can make you smile on a bad day) and then rather quickly, looses tone and volume. New tubes=more smiles. Since this amp is self biasing, this isn't a big problem as much as it can be expensive(if your buying vintage tubes)

Since my amp is a 1967 pre-cbs, I didn't get a waranty. It has never broken down and from the looks of the wiring, it probably wont. Extremely simple innards.

I love the unique quality of the sound. If it were stolen, i would be heartbroken. It is small, light weight, pretty loud and cool looking(as if that matered). I dont know what else to compare it to. It is even great on stage, if your using a pa system w/monitors(and the sound guy is your friend). Also, since it is a pre-CBS, as lokg as i take care of it, it will always hold its value!

Serial says it's a 1973, stamp inside chasis says 1972.

For a tube amp, it has the BEST features - NONE. Bass, Treble, and Volume with two inputs (why two are needed IDK).

6 watts. All tube Class A with a tube rectifier. 4 ohms (actually 3.2). 8" speaker.

Oh, and a handle :)

Versatile for my music style? It can get "clean" and "dirty" sounds that are unique, but it can't be the ONLY amp one should have.

With a Les Paul ('57 RI with Alnico II humbuckers) it sounded like a LPaul. With a Telecaster (Alnico II single coils) it sounded like a Telecaster :)

DUH
That statement sounds ridiculous, but this is where the amp shines - the wood and pickups in a guitar can actually be heard... so can YOU. If you suck and bang the guitar it bangs back, if you finesse your strings it shows through the speakers.

Cranked the amp dirtied up and sounded very large. On 4.5 to 7.5 the amp sounded Clean to varying degrees (semi-very clean to a Fender Deluxe warm-clean), 8 to 10 it was large and mean (like a raunchy distortion should sound).

Most "youngsters" (although *I* am a youngster) will whine about the Bass and Treble not having much impact on the sound... it does, just not a wide sweeping effect like modern amps.

You can get a nice warm clean tone (Country, or otherwise), to a semi clean "Exile On Main Street" Rolling Stones tone (or Dwight Yoakam sounds), to a full bore Rockin tone. HOW? By plugging in the appropriate guitar, switching to the appropriate pickup(s), and using the GUITAR'S Volume and Tone control... never used 'em before I bought this amp... always wondered why they were on a guitar until now.

The amp is SO SIMPLE it is as honest as an amp can be. PICKUPS, WOOD, VOLUME, AND SPEAKERS have such a huge impact on the actual tone... this amp is the way they used to make em, and for that I am glad as hell. What you give it (fingers, pickups, wood), it gives back.

SPEAKERS
Find a speaker with a great deal more headroom, the distortion can sound like crap (flubby, and lack focus) due to poor bass handling. Alnico speakers can tame (warm) harsh Treble as well. Perhaps this amp could sound best in a 10" to 12" speaker scenario.

I opened the thing up since it was fuzzing out and dropping out. Was a loose connection. I could fix this thing if I had to, and I'm an electronic retard. I couldn't believe my eyes at how basic the wiring was.

No biasing required, plugged in a variety of preamp and power amp tubes to hear the SUBTLE (kids need to learn how important subtle is) differences. PLUG AND PLAY.

IDK.

This review is a "first impression" review.

I am impressed by everything (this amp is so simple, the word "everything" almost makes no sense), EXCEPT for the speaker. I can't help but have a prejudice against 8" speakers...

I will give a few high end ($) 8" speakers a chance and repost as I go, but I will also try the amp in my 8ohm 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30 cab (plugging into higher ohms is OK, it just will not be running at full power) as well. I may put her in a larger amp shell and drop in a 10" or 12" Alnico speaker, or turn her into a head unit. After I find "the" speaker scenario I will post my findings.

OTHERWISE
For the asking price of $180 this thing is GREAT. Some Class A 5watt amps available new are way expensive. This circuit is so basic and "honest", for the "Low Watt, All Tube" category this amp gets the "A plus" it has gotten since they were invented.

Shouldn't be your only amp, BUT every guitar player should have (at least) one in their amp collection.

1979 Silverface, replaced with Kendrick speaker. Plenty loud enough for home use. Replacement EH 6v6, original 5y3 and probably original 12ax7.

Have never heard black face version but would be surprised if it could sound any better than this. Have a swag of old tube amps, some sound as good/better at breakup but if you think you have a great clean sound and dont own a fender think again.

Certainly shows its age, tone controls probably not as effective as they once were. Tube sockets on the loose side.

There are a few other basic 5 watters around at the moment, if something happened to the champ i'd have a look.

Mine is an early 70's Champ (long tail logo). About 5W through an 8" speaker, volume/bass/treble controls and not much else. Has all the features I need for what I play. When I bought it the original blue label speaker and RCA tubes were still kicking, but I removed them for enhanced performance (see below).

I changed a couple of things on my amp - the speaker is now a Weber 8A125 alnico and I installed a JJ 12AX7 and 6V6. The rectifier was also changed to a Weber CopperCap.

Musically my main interests are 50s/60s blues and jazz - the Kings (BB, Freddy, Albert), Kenny Burrell, Grant Green and most of the horn players of that era. I play a Rickenbacker 330 with 11-50 strings (must be one of the only blues/jazz players using a Ric) and sometimes use an Aphek Peanut Butter overdrive box for solos.

These are such fantastic little amps. Upgrading to the Weber has resulted in less speaker breakup with a tad more volume and bass response, which works well for jazz. If you want more breakup, leave the stock speaker in the amp. Either way, an almost perfect amp for home or studio use.

Mine has never let me down. They are well designed and built, and the circuit is so simple that they are quite easy and inexpensive to service. Leo was a very smart man.

Also, upgrading to the Weber CopperCap means that the rectifier will never fail or need to be replaced.

The modern Fender company is no better than McDonalds - poor service, wasteful resource usage/management, exploitative work practices (I wonder how much the Mexican factory workers make per day), sloppy QA, all the while staffed by mindless automatons who don't know the product (and who can blame them since Fender produce about 8 billion different product lines these days). Do the world a favour - if you must have a Fender, buy a used one (recycle) or buy an instrument from a smaller company that is not listed on the NYSE. Leo must be rolling in his grave. End of rant!

Beautiful amp. These things sound and feel like a small Deluxe (sans reverb). And if the tone is happening, you don't really need reverb anyway.

It is a pre-1978 cause I bought it used from the second owner.

sounds like it did when I got it second hand in 1978

It has never let me down

none needed

I bought my Fender Champ in 1978 along with a L series Fender Telecaster for $300.00 bucks. They are still going strong. 5-8-2005. Just can't let go of either of them. The Tele barely survived the 1960's with all the psychedelic alterations done to it. It may not have the sticker and it may be kicked around a bit but that neck is like cream in your fingers. 1962 tele neck. Anyway See ya.

I am up to 23 Champ Amps now.

6 Tweed Champs (Five 8" Speakers & One 6" Speaker)
4 1964-67 Champ Amps (Blackface)
7 1964-67 Vibro Champ Amps (Blackface)
2 1968 Vibro Champ Amps (Silverface-Blackline)
2 1968 Bronco Amps (Silverface-Blackline)
1 1967 Bronco Amps (Silverface-Blackline)

1 1984 Super Champ (Blackface)

This is the first amp I bought back in 1971. I was in a basement playing in a band and we all had Champs. Now, a few years later I still enjoy them.

Back in the 1970s when I was in my basement band, I smoked a few, and I swear I was Hendrix.

Most of the amps still have the original telefunken 12AX7 tubes. Installed 3 prong grounded cords on the players amps. I load them up with NOS RCA tubes, Weber Speakers.

Installed new can caps on the amps I play and left the others stock for collectors value. Fender keeps making great parts for these amps, chassis straps, handles, etc. And thanks to Weber for making the best speakers in the World for the Champ and my other amps.

Keo Fender was a brilliant man, he designed the early amps to be serviced by removing 9 screws on the Blackface Champs, the power cord clip, the four screws on the top back panel and the four chassis strap screws. Slide the chassis out of the cab and you can easily repair any part of the amp. You then remove four more screws for the bottom back panel and then four more screws that hold the speaker baffle into the cab. remove the speaker baffle and you can work on the speaker, clean the entire amp cab and grillecloth.

then in early 1972 Fender/CBS changed the materials and glued-in the baffle to the cab making it "fixed". then they went downhill from there.

Then the Super Champ Came Along and it's the MacDaddy of all the Champs.

That's about it.

1972 silverface 6w,3 knobs,2 inputs...purchaced new in 1972 from Tom Lee Piano Company in Hong Kong....cost HK$100 (Aprox GB#10). it was my 12th birthday present.

Originally used with a Hofner Galaxie 60's model,but in the late 70's punk days,I shoved anything that needed amplifying through it...guitars,bass,keyboard etc

These days use it mainly for my acoustic guitars,harmonica,Danelectro 56U2...its an all tube amp (still with the original valves supplied!!)...It amazes me how versatile and sweet it is after all these years.

Now Ive grown up a bit and actually like hearing what I play....this amp just gets better and better..set the volume right,balance the two tones to your taste and you'll love what it can do...nothing fancy..just warm and beautiful.

I've been playing with this amp for over 32 years...it still has the original tubes that were supplied with it...so how reliable is that??

This amp has survived transportation from HongKong to the UK,plus general abuse during my Punk days,and it still goes on and on...I just dont know how those valves keep going on and on!

Never needed to contact them....but I'll give them a ten for making this beauty in the first place

If you can get hold of one of these incredible little amps...grab it with both hands...they may be small but they'e perfectly formed.

A pro musician friend of mine recently offererd to buy it from me at a rediculously high price...I turned him down.(I grew up with it after all!)

I love my Fender Champ!!!!

1971 (according to the chassis) - 2 inputs, vol, treble, bass - what more do you want?

I use it for practice/band rehearsal and sometimes as a boost on gigs (a/b switch) It's a LOUD little fecker! I use a Custom Vibrolux Reverb, a Bassman 10 and a Hot Rod Deluxe variously on gigs but this little beast is great for rehearsal - our drummer has sampled his kit into an electronic kit so the volume can be kept fairly low.....sometimes! Said drummer also played a string type thing from his keyboard through this and it was so bloody clean it was unbelievable! I'll rate it as a 10 cos the features are what i wanted - i.e. just great tone!

2 strats and a Sheraton. Covers (or, as we prefer 'interpretations' of songs by Beatles, Stones, Who, Crowded House, Coldplay, Steve Earle, Blues stuff etc. This amp sounds great for anything. Great simple circuit - no unwanted noise - and the tone controls WORK!!!!!
Clean till about two thirds up and then the most glorious bluesy break-up - no pedal needed!

I've had it for about 4 years - used regular and sometimes gigged flat out - original valves (tubes) and speaker - i wouldn't modify anything.
I have a spare set of valves but won't put them in till this baby needs them!

not applicable - if it goes bad i'll fix it - there's nothing in there that is scary or difficult!

When I stop going out to do gigs, I'll keep this one. My 13 year old daughter has started playing and I'm getting her to understand that you need a great basic sound to start with - she loves this amp! She's into Nirvana and Green Day etc so she uses pedals to push it so I guess she'll inherit it when i'm gone.....