Fender Champion 600

hardly any...

This is not really a review...
I just wanted to comment on a simple mod for this amp and encourage everyone who thinks about doing the same to do it!

You know this amp sounds nice and clean, it??s light and pretty, and it doesn??t cost a lot of money - but the overdrive is nothing to write home about.

I had read about the hardwired tone-stack inside and that it would rob a lot of gain from the signal. Some people recommended to take out the tone-stack in order to achieve a louder, more agressive sound.
I had this done by a competent tech and he incorporated a switch that lets me go from stock to modified with ease.

Let me say that this simple mod is well worth doing.
The amp becomes a whole lot louder and it has lots of gain. You can still get nice cleans at lower settings, but it gets really raunchy when turned up a bit.
A nice, hot blues/rock sound - more along the line of what made the Fender "Champ" famous.
In stock-form the volume usually kicks in around 7 on the dial. On the "mod"-setting, the useable range starts at 3 and goes all the way up to 12. You can use your guitars volume-knob to go from clean and mellow to "wild". I really like it!
It??s worth noting that the stock-speaker has trouble keeping up with such a lot of sound. I played the amp through the 8"-speaker in my tweed champ and it sounded a lot better - very good in fact.
On the "mod"-setting the amp will be LOUD for playing around the house - but you can just flip the switch to the "stock"-setting and everything is as nice and clean as it was before.
The only drawback i can see is that the noise-floor will rise a bit when switched to the "mod"-setting. Not to an annoying level, though, but i thought I??d better mention it.

So, that??s two points off for the weak stock-speaker and the added noise.

too young to tell...

never needed any...

I??ve been playing for 25 years, and I have/had lots of amps to compare to - including a ??61 tweed champ.
Everyone looking for more TONE from this little amp should try the mod described above.
It??s simple, it??s cheap and it??s well worth it.

This is the re-issue model. Built in 2008?

This amp has beautiful sound quality IF IF IF IF you change the tubes. I've had two of them with the same problem each time. There was an audible "sizzle" at all volumes and a frequent "pffffft, pffffffft" sound. Fender was very good about replacing the first one. On the second one I just decided to start changing tubes. I have an American tube in the pre-amp and a Russian tube in the output now and this baby ROCKS. It is rings like a bell. Absolutely gorgeous tone.

See problem above. FENDER has slashed the prices on these amps so evidently other people have had the same problem and now they're not selling. Get rid of the Chinese tubes that come with this amp and you will probably have an amp you absolutely love.

FENDER was great about replacing the first amp, no questions asked. I'm sure they would have replaced the second one, too. But the third amp would have had the same issues. So I just decided to see if I could fix it. BINGO.

I give this amp a 10 with non-chinese tubes. With the stock tubes it is an infuriating 2 at best.

prity simple 1vol 1 speaker

when I got this I was looking at a the new buget pocket size tube amps and checking peoples demo's on youtube but most of them seemed to have that small amp boxy sound and no matter how I tried to like them they were never going to do this one didn't it has a good clear sound and for a tiny amp doesn't have that nasty sound , I just love its clean saound great for jazz I did get an MXR micro amp pedal to overdrive the front end a bit for a little moe exitement but thats it , its as simple a pure a sound as I going to get and it only upsets the neighbors if I play after mid-night !

fine so far

I think the best of the cheap small amps going if I were doing it again I might try the laney cub8 looks promising but wasn't available when I got this six months ago

On / Off switch and Volume are only controls. 6" speaker. 4 ohm minimum speaker out.

Chimey Fender tube tone. Perfect for what it is.

No-brainer for $149!

Tiny, lightweight tube amp. Looks like the old "tv front" fender amps. Five watts, 6" speaker, 1 12AX7, 1 6V6. Power on/off, master volume. That's it. But it's all you need...

If you're into blues and blues-rock. And you've ever played a classic tube amp at full volume, you know nothing else out there can give you that sound, and especially, that FEEL.
But a lot of amps, even lower-wattage ones like the Fender Pro Junior, can often be too loud. I like My Pro Junior, but at 15 tube watts, it's too much a lot of the time. I barely get to crank it, so it's used as a clean amp.
So I tried out this amp in the store, using a Telecaster. And here's what I found...

At 3, the amp is barely even audible.
At 6, the amp is still clean, but on the verge of breakup.
At full volume, the amp is distorted in that cool, raw, edgy, bluesy way, but...
...you can actually USE it at low volumes!!!

I think part of this is due to the wattage of the amp, obviously, but I'd also attribute it to the speaker, which is a big part of the sound, too.
To clean it up? Play softer, or turn down the volume a little. Too bright? Turn down the tone control on the guitar.

This lightweight and low-volume tube amp would be a recording guitarist's or low-volume gigger's dream.

Just tried it in the store. Can't speak to that. But, at least it's a very basic circuit and shouldn't be too hard to fix.

There are lots of great clean amps out there. But for tube drive at a reasonable volume? Not a lot of that. And it's cheap! Definitely worth checking out!!!

First, let me say that I bought this amp for harp. I have used other tube amps, modified them, used pedals, mics, the whole gammut to find the sound I'm after. The fender Champion 600 is the ONLY amp that has the goods. Mind you, if you are after a round, warm harp tone, forget it!
I really wish this amp has separate gain controls, but I must say that the overall volume gets close to peaking at around 6. After that, you just boost the gain, so it really does work well for me.

If you have ever heard Darrell Mansfield blow harp, then you know what I'm after. It's got to have that tube honk, which this amp does. But it also needs a shimmery high that only Fender amps seem to be able to achieve. Hits it spot on. Since I am a hopeless tone freak, I swapped the preamp 12AX7 for a 12AT7 which allows more volume before distortion. But with my Shure Green bullet mic, it still gets crunchy real fast. I changed the Chinese 6V6 for a JJ Tesla tube, but did not notice any tone difference.I also found that a Boss 7 band EQ with the 400 & 800 MhZ slammed gives the harp the extra depth and honk I seek. I set the volume at 8.5 and it sounds like a dream.I tried using an Eminence 10" speaker and lost all of the beautiful tone the stock Fender 6" puts out, so the Fender stays in.

Bought it used. No problems so far.

Once again, it produces the exact tone I want. Blows the other ones I've tried away. I must also add that this amp produces some excellent guitar tones. I like tube warmth, but I hate it to sound like a pillow is in front of it like many lower priced tube amps do.
I use a Telecaster and get the most amazing, beautiful tones I can imagine.
I'd really like to have the exact tone with about 20 watts, though. If you mic this amp, you have to fuss with the EQ to try to replicate the tone through a PA. Reverb would also be nice. No effects loop available. So sad. You really don't want to run a reverb pedal in front of it. Better to add it in the PA mix.

Nothing. This amp is as barebones as it gets. For technology dating back to 1949, you're lucky that it has what it has! That's the point though. This amp is a perfect throwback to what bedroom practice amps used to be. It really is versatile though. People don't give this thing enough credit.

On, off, volume. LED light. That's it. all you need.

Excellent. It's a fender. Bass is pretty impressive. Clear 1-7, gets noisy above that. The tone is just amazing. It's exactly what I want in a bedroom amp. I have a Fender Stratocaster Mexican and a Gretsch G5135PS Patrick Stump Stump-O-Matic. I've not tried the Gretsch on it yet, but this is the type of amp you need to be playing your Strat through. I believe that it brings out the tone.

I give it a 9 because the sound is a tiny bit "flat"

I wouldn't say this is a gigging amp. Not only because of it's size, but it's not the type of amp that I'd throw in my trunk and go gig with.

I've seen 100% original Champ 600's, that are still working great to this day. So I'd say that it's extremely reliable if you treat it right. Fender amps seem to be.

Never dealt with customer support there.

You need one of these amps if you appreciate classic musical equipment. Not worth it if you play heavy metal, but blues, rock, jazz, pop, pop-punk, will all sound great with it.

I just love this amp. I don't even know, it's just fabulous and I love it and I would buy it over again in a heartbeat. I fell in love within 10 minutes. Buy one, do yourself a favor!

First up, I??m a Jazz guitarist. Features of this chinese-made amp are minimum but totally sufficient for me. Pure tube, great looks, perfect for living-room practice and quiet playing along with a CD. Power is enough, hellya!

I use a Hagstrom HJ 600, strings gauge 13. Pure Jazz player. First I was very skeptical about a 5W all-tube amp wih a 6-inch speaker. As a Jazz guitar player I was afraid it could break too soon and people kept telling me: yes, it breaks early. For louder events I??m playing over a blues junior with JJs and it serves well. I was pretty confused what to do because I needed a practice amp for traveling and suchlike things. Roland Cube? Champion 600? Valve Junior? So I went to the local music store and told the guy I wanted to play the champ 600 with a Hagstrom (Humbuckers needed). And I told him I didn??t want any distortion no matter how warm. He brought me a Viking, and put the cable into the LOW input. The tone was amazing. Brilliant. Dry. The speaker had quite some work and snarled and farted but I knew time would solve that. I just said ok and bought another champ in original package. At home I plugged in my HJ 600 and the tone was perfect. No farting, no speaker prob, just dry, brilliant, perfect jazz tone. I don??t even miss any reverb. So with all the stock-parts I??m utterly happy already. And I understand why people are so nuts about the tone and link the amp to a larger cabinet. I only want one tone. It??s THE tone. Kind of fierce because it reveals every slight mistake. I basically play over the low input and it??s fabulous. You can do so many things with the tone knobs on the guitar. Hooked to the BJ-speaker 1"12 the sound is completely jazz-combo-worthy. I never would have thought!!! I love it. If you??re thinking of buying one of these - go try it out. And make sure you??ve got some money at hand. You??ll take it!

jst bought it.

no need so far

I??ve been playing for 20 years now and after classical guitar, rock and blues with all the effect-GAS I came back to the very simple set-up and just play Jazzguitar. That??s it for me. I??d get another one instantly anytime. I chose this one because it sounds like 200% tube and that??s not what I had expected. It has everything I was looking for: simplicity and tone.

What a amp! nails the fender tone with my strat. a lot louder then the hot rod amps

Low input nails blues tone High input nails SRV tone

its a fender!!

take it to a repair guy check the tubes

most people like me like to hear the tone of that guitar you are playing. this amp like my super reverb gives you that. I paid $1200 for my super reverb I only paid $189 for the Champ 300. Amp looks great too, You can also plug a marshall cab or a 1-12 cab and play a venue with the amp. what a Luxury!!! some of the fools that put down this amp need to learn what tone is

This is a brief entry to talk about hum reduction in the Champion 600 amp. Features gets 5/10 because this guy only has one volume control and 2 input jacks by design.

Limited variety of tones but decently warm. Distortion at full volume may or may not suit the user's taste. The stock speaker is a little harsh at full volume setting of the amp when the guitar volume is also high.

Having been inside the amp for a long period of time, it's decently put together. PCB solder eyelets from component side to foil side are good quality. With good soldering skills you can change parts without inflicting damage to the foils. Components are decent, considering the price of the amp.

Fender has a decent warranty if you need to use it.

Never mind an overall rating. To reduce hum, either you or a qualified technician can perform the "filament heater elevated voltage" trick. Unsolder the ground ends of the filament 100 Ohm resistors and move them (immediately beside it) to the 6V6 cathode resistor and make a soldered connection. This is an old tube amp trick to reduce hum. It worked like a charm and costs nothing (no parts needed).
Keep the ribbon cable (from input jacks to main board) tight to the chassis. For good measure lay some metal ductwork tape over the ribbon.