Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JJretroTONEGOD on August 02, 2007, 12:27:42 AM

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: JJretroTONEGOD on August 02, 2007, 12:27:42 AM

Oh yes!

This is my next purchace! I tried one out today, and it made even a non BKP loaded PRS sound amasing. They are only £130 and it's the best 5 watt valve amp I've ever heard. I spend a good 30 minutes in Sound Control today playing around with it, and seeing as I'm looking for the PERFECT tone, this is finally it! I have found my dream amp and it's not even expensive. I've not even tried it out with my own axe yet I still know it's the best tone I've ever heard.

Here's a link to it:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_champion_600.htm?partner_id=25293

Do any of you guys own one? or had experiences with the Champ 600?

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: indysmith on August 02, 2007, 12:37:11 AM

i played one the other day too in a music shop! I LOVED it. I used a P90 equipped fender strat-o-sonic, that was also pretty nice.
After discovering that it also has a speaker out jack i was sold. Now I've just gotta buy one.
Funky lil amp - I wanna try it with an overdrive...

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: dave_mc on August 02, 2007, 10:43:55 PM

i haven't seen one anywhere, unfortunately. I think i'd need to try one first, my engl is pretty fendery on the clean channel, i'd need to see how different the champion is.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: the_bleeding on August 02, 2007, 11:56:55 PM

my buddy has original 57 (tweed) and a 70s (silverface) champs. They kick ass. Push the thing to full volume and use an overdrive and it gets SOOOOOOOOOO sweet.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: JJretroTONEGOD on August 03, 2007, 02:30:27 AM

Have you ever heard the tone Frank Zappa got on 'Water Melon In Easter Hay'? He used a champ, and an od pedal.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: Elliot on August 03, 2007, 11:46:37 AM

I have one - they are really good practice amps - tend to get a bit farty at high volumes, but its a blackface Champ in a tiny vintage box - so has the mojo to boot.

Changing the valves improves the tone - the cryo Brimar 6V6 from Watford Valves really improve the efficiency of the amp.

I also put a Jensen MOD 6" speaker in mine - £20 including postage from Tubedepot.com - this improves the combo's handling at driven end.

Compared to the Epi - its a fender all the way through - not the dark driven sound, rather the bluesy champ sound of yesterday.

Apparently there is a mod to disable the fixed blackface tonestack - which turns it into a Tweed champ - might try that.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: Philly Q on August 03, 2007, 12:11:41 PM

Quote from: Elliot

Compared to the Epi - its a fender all the way through - not the dark driven sound, rather the bluesy champ sound of yesterday.

That answered the question I hadn't asked yet.  Thanks Elliot.  :D

I wonder if that chap on eBay who sells modded Epi VJs will do the same with these?

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: plastercaster on August 03, 2007, 03:09:21 PM

Yeah, If these things are as moddable as the VJs then fender are surely onto a winner.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: dave_mc on August 03, 2007, 03:33:15 PM

^ i hear they aren't, but that is 100% hearsay.

Title: Fender champ 600!
Post by: Elliot on August 03, 2007, 04:06:58 PM

They have a very simple circuit and not much room

- the main modding would be in the tone stack - the Champ has a 'fixed' blackface era stack, so changing caps values or bypassing the stack is easy and gives different sounds.  Whether there is room to run switched mods is beyond my ability.

The FDP forum Champion 600 thread has a few mods already - check that out for more.