Pick your favourite Champ

[ratherdashing]

I am thinking of grabbing a Fender Champ when a good one comes up on the used market. If you were going to pick one up, which one would you like?

Remember that value-for-dollar is a consideration here. I don't want a collector's item - I want to actually play through this thing.

So which era/model do you think has the nicest tone? Which ones should be avoided?

I am also curious about the new Champion 600. Anyone tried one yet?

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I like tweed.

 

[Curly]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

tweed champs are expensive

SFs are probably the best bang-for-buck.

check out a Pro Junior while you're waiting

 

[LoFiBrian]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I've played all but the tweed...and the BF vibrochamp was amazing!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I'd take a BF Vibrochamp, but then again I don't know much.

 

[Smilemon]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

The new one is pretty nice.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

try the champion 600, costs as much or less as a nice pedal and sounds pretty good. I'm sure it would be seriously smokin with some good tubes. If you want to go with something older, i'd vote silverface because they are still pretty cheap.

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I like MY SF vibrochamp. More so than a couple stock BF vibrochamps I've checked out since I got the SF. Mine Has been modded though, so thats probably got alot to do with it. Its got a new cab (solid pine) and has a 10inch speaker (a weber of some sort I can't remember right now), and I think a Couple mods to the Tone stack, but I'm not Possitive cause I got it used an the shop Claimed the circut was stock, but when i opened it up there appeared to be a few differences from the circut diagrams I've seen. But I dunno for sure.

Anyways....For anyone that said they prefer the BF vibrochamps over the SF, I gotta point out that The Champs and Vibrochamps never recieved any circut changes, or component changes. The SF and BF ones are Identical, in all but face plate. So SF is deffinately better bang for the buck than BF considering you'de be paying more for a black Face plate, and thats it. (other than collectablity of course)

 

[Corbic]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I love the tone of a cranked tweed Champ. The tone on the Layla album was amazing, IMO, and that was recorded with a tiny tweed Champ.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

Well, they're all cool in their own way.

But what about the Rivera-era Super Champ? -check out forum member wahwah's myspace for a very compelling argument as to why that amp is killer...

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

Tweed Champ with a tone control... equals Tweed Princeton! Make sure it has a 10" speaker too...

Mostly kidding - I've never played a Blackface/Silverface Champ or Vibro Champ.

I would like to build an amp that's switchable between a Tweed Princeton and a BF Vibro Champ - that would cover a lot of useful ground for me. Anybody else think that would be cool?

Chip

 

[butnut]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

A forum bro (sorry forgot) told me about a BF Champ for sale in a local shop. Think I paid 250 shipped which was a nice deal...was about 2 years ago. It was decent cosmetic wise, but I always mod my stuff...with a Weber Alnico, this bad boy sounds wicked dimed out.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I picked up a 64 a few years ago and it's killer for $300. I've read though that the silver face amps kept the black face circuits a lot longer than some other amps did. Not sure how long, but I think it was until around 68 or 70. Someone will probably post the right years.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

The SF seems to be the least expensive on the used market (obviously).

Can anyone comment on the tonal difference between the Champ and Vibro Champ, vibrato aside? Having that thing in the circuit has to do something even when off, right? I know I've heard that about other Fender amps.

I forgot about the Super Champ. There's also the Champ II from the early 80's, and the Champ 12 from the late 80's, both are all tube. If anyone has any info about those, I would appreciate it as well.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

My Favorite Champ is my tweed Princeton. Same as a tweed Champ but with a tone control. I have mine in an old Fender Harvard cabinet, which uses the same chassis size as the Princeton so it fits right in, but allows me to use it with a 10" speaker. Very cool! This amp's original cab completely fell apart from constant use...I took lessons through it in 1966 and then went back and bought it from Hewitt's Music in Dearborn Michigan sometime in the mid 70's. So I've been playing through this amp for over forty years.

Lew

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

Nice Lew. I'd love a tweed Princeton, but I doubt I'll find one that's affordable anytime soon.

 

[cream123]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I am my favorite champ!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I am my favorite champ!

I should have voted for Muhammad Ali then!

Lew

 

[Sprinter]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I prefer the tweed Champs. I had a '78 silverface Champ that sounded great, too. I also owned a '67, & '77 Vibro Champ, and I didn't care for them at all. Currently I have a '56 Princeton, which is a Champ with a tone knob.

Sprinter

 

[tubeman87]

Re: Pick your favourite Champ

I've had a silverface vibro champ, which is good, I've tried the tweed champs and they are the best imo. Last month I bought a Champ 600 and replaced the stock tubes (cheap chinese tubes) and replace them with Tungsol tubes. Wow, what a difference that made. It's now very full and warm very musical. Even my mother in law, who was visiting and has no intreset in guitar playing, had to say that it had a great sound to it. I'd recommend anyone looking for a champ to check one of these out, change the tubes and be very suprised.