Super Champ XD?

[Brian Krashpad]

I just ran across one of these in a pawn.

Like new.

It's tagged at $250, but since I can get one brand new for $299, I'm pretty sure I can get the seller down to $200.

Anyone have any experience with these? They seem to have a pretty good rep, for what they are. I do not expect it to sound like an original Champ, or any of the way more expensive Fenders, but apparently even without all the DSP effects, the clean channel is good, and the amp reportedly takes pedals well. Also, I have a 2x12 open-back DIY cab with a couple Celestion Silverbacks in it that I could hook it up to for more oomph.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Cash is currently burning hole in pocket so RSVP ASAP, haha!

[piebaldpython]

Get it but pay no more than $200 to the pawn shop. They are great amps, highly thought of and if you don't like the speaker, the Rajin' Cajun is perfect for the SCXD.

DUFF on the forum has one and he raves about it. If it's in pawn, test her out first as it just seems odd that an SCXD is in. Maybe something isn't right with it??

[Perfect Stranger]

A truly nice little amp. I have one and love it. Be sure and reset the bias
and you may want to consider a new speaker since you gig so much. I have
the Ragin' Cajun and it rawks!

[bigG]

It's a great amp! Get it for the cleans only. If you like some of the DSP, that's icing! Beautiful, rounded Fender clean tones!

[Brian Krashpad]

A truly nice little amp. I have one and love it. Be sure and reset the bias
and you may want to consider a new speaker since you gig so much. I have
the Ragin' Cajun and it rawks!

I doubt I'd ever use for gigs, this is more for around Casa Krashpad, and maybe church or closer to acousticish-level things.

I can hook it to a 2x12 Celestion cab or even my Risson 4x12 for more oomph if I need or want to go there.

What's all this about resetting bias?

[Brian Krashpad]

SCORE!

Just went back, checked all around the clock on the effects, everything seems to work, even hooked it up to my open-back 2x12. Plenty loud, sounds good.

Total damage?

$175 USD!

[duhvoodooman]

Nice! Krash, you are, without doubt, the King of the Great Gear Deal!


DVM --> :master: :rockon: <-- Krash

[oldguy]

Great deal! I love mine.

[street music]

I LOVE MY super champ!

[Gil Janus]

I love mine. :AOK:

Congrats - I think that you will like it :bravo:

Rock on :dude:

Gil :cool:

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks guys.

DVM, as far as scoring killer deals, I'm on good terms with this particular pawnbroker. He's a good guy. I told him my "rule of thumb" being half of "street," but also let him know that I realized this was a VERY clean amp and let him know that my rule of thumb was not an absolute barrier. The $175 price was one he gave me, and I think very fair.

I make a point of going in once or twice a week (this pawn is just a couple blocks from my office), and buying DVD's (they're only $3, after all) to support him in some small way between large purchases, and have also done him some small favors over the years (such as suggesting simple things he could do, like tightening tuning pegs on guitars that are slipping, and one time even pricing an item for him on the fly, when he had some kids interested in something that he hadn't priced yet). He also knows that I have tons of guitars and amps and am thus not "needy" of anything he has, but will buy a good deal.

It's good to know your pawnbroker by his first name.

And of course, it helps to live in a town with a very large land-grant state university, a very large community college that doubles as a satellite campus for a private upper division university, and a thriving music scene. The ratio of musicians to normal people here is through the roof. Makes for much better pawn inventory.

Off to church to try her out! WIll use as my stage monitor and line out to my bigger 1x15 rig (which I can never hear, since it's in front of me and pointed away, towards the congregation)

[mrmudcat]

Sweet!!

[birv2]

I'd love to hear your "review" after hearing and playing it live.

I've noodled with it a lot at GC, and really like some of the sounds. If it were a bit louder, I might be tempted...

[Tone2TheBone]

Dude that's an awesome deal congrats.

[Robert]

I am tempted to buy one of these. Congrats!

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks guys. Wanted to buy the foot switch from Sweetwater, which sells it for $19.99, but it is out of stock. Musician's Friend's price is $24.99, but they price-matched, so that should be here not for this weekend, but hopefully the next.

Am really liking the Vox voicing.

[Tone2TheBone]

How loud does it actually get Brian? Can you crank it and smile? You know...that "yeah it's loud enough" smile? I love the clean tones on that sucker.

[Brian Krashpad]

How loud does it actually get Brian? Can you crank it and smile? You know...that "yeah it's loud enough" smile? I love the clean tones on that sucker.

Oh, it's loud enough. Certainly more than enough to drown out any stereo system I've ever owned. I was playing it a couple days ago in the office over lunch, and between 0 and 1 there's nothing and right about at 1 it comes in pretty loud, I had to back it off very carefully to find that very small area where I actually got sound and where it was suddenly pretty loud for not disturbing people. I would think you could play in a low-volume band with this, especially hooked up to a bigger cab to move more air.

Sunday night we did a no drums/no PA practice with Crash Pad to learn a new song the kids wrote, and for purposes of following along with them at low volume, it was fine, despite that the bassist has a 2x15 cab and the other guitarist has a Vox Valvetronics 100w into a 4x12. Obviously, they weren't blasting, but it was fine for that sort of practice where you don't have to match drum volume.

[Jimi75]

I think I gotta get one, too. Krash did you conect it wiht a 4x12 cab? That's what I would plan to do.

[oldguy]

Hooked mine up to the Avatar 2x12 loaded w/ Celestions awhile back..........
L-O-U-D !!!

[Brian Krashpad]

I think I gotta get one, too. Krash did you conect it with a 4x12 cab? That's what I would plan to do.

Haven't yet. I'm not really looking on this as one of my "gigging" amps-- I have a 50W Sovtek tube head and a 60W Sunn tube head for that, with a 40W '66 Fender Super in reserve.

This will be my home, low-volume practice, and church amp, methinks.

I did try it out with my open-back 2x12 with a couple Celestion silverbacks in it at the pawn, sounded fine and plenty loud.

[Perfect Stranger]

Be sure and re-bias it, as I've said before. The factory noramlly sets them very
low. Resetting the bias will make a world of difference. It will come alive.

[Mike S.]

I was in the market for a new tube practice amp, and sampled quite a number of makes and models. The Super Champ XD was a clear winner for me in this price range. Great tone, good selection of built in effects, and great clean, Fender tones with nice 2nd channel distortion/overdrive. Not great for, or intended as, a metalist's dream amp mind you, but that isn't my cup of tea anyway.

Only real thing missing from this is an effects loop, but for the price this omission is perfectly acceptable.

I would suggest this as a great all around practice, studio, and possibly small gig amp.

[Tone2TheBone]

Trying to resurrect these SCXD threads. You guys still using them? Perfect Stranger...what is the process to re-bias these amphs? Can regular schmoes do it? Does it make the amph any louder than it is? The stock speaker for me has always sounded good. I love the 6V6 Fender tone and am still loving it. Anyone else?

[oldguy]

Trying to resurrect these SCXD threads. You guys still using them? Perfect Stranger...what is the process to re-bias these amphs? Can regular schmoes do it? Does it make the amph any louder than it is? The stock speaker for me has always sounded good. I love the 6V6 Fender tone and am still loving it. Anyone else?

Still like mine, Rob!

I'll steer you to a couple of sites that explain the re-bias procedure.......if you do it, be careful. High voltages inside!


http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=39749&page=1


http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=11815

I haven't done it yet, mine still sounds good stock, but I've thought about trying it just to see if it makes a difference.

[Tone2TheBone]

Thanks for the links Glenn. I'm happy with mine too and I'm skeered of high voltage amphs! I wish Voodooman lived closer. Do you happen to have any youtube videos with your Super Champ XD?

[oldguy]

No, I don't. Our camcorder shot craps on us and I quit doing vids.

FWIW, I spent this morning biasing my Super Champ XD. It's really not hard, took me about an hour.
I went reeaalll slow, though, didn't want to get shocked!
Mine was biased hot, around 48 milliamp reading on r20.
I lowered it to 40........ I can't hear much difference.

I plugged it into an ext. cab loaded with a Celestion 12" speaker and it sounds way fuller than the stock speaker in the little Champ cab.
I may try some JJ 6v6's from Eurotubes later. They are supposed to be a good upgrade.

[Brian Krashpad]

An update, since this has been resurrected of late.

I play mine every Sunday in church. We have electric drums, so it's just a stage monitor there, lined out to PA. Here's me next to it (on its amp stand) hiding during a choir number:

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/309809_241949529177674_100000878877786_624190_1314 745_n.jpg

When we play outside church or otherwise w/live drums, I leave it as a stage monitor and line it out to a bigger tube amp in the backline, and mic the bigger amp if necessary. On the left is the Super Champ XD, which is lined out to my '60's Sunn 200S 60W tube head and DIY Celestion 2x12 cab (can be seen partially, to the right behind me), with the Sunn rig mic'd:

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/221738_1940211194813_1528413628_32130123_1495745_n .jpg

Different gig, same stage, different guitar, same rig:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/578910_3748942767267_1387263150_3495494_827739021_ n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/559375_3748948167402_1387263150_3495502_377065786_ n.jpg

SC XD nestled in with the vocal monitors (on nearest end):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/545781_353146044742912_120443414679844_981942_2780 24701_n.jpg

Also, though I hadn't intended to, by quirk of fate I ended up doing all my guitar parts on the Crash Pad album mic'ing the SC XD. So any actual leads you hear are the SC XD (with the exception of a couple lines in the song "Stevo" played by our rhythm guitarist), as is one of the rhythm guitars (the other is my Sovtek head I usually use live, in to the 2x12 above, which I lent to our rhythm guitarist for the sessions). All leads, and all but one of my rhythm tracks (also on "Stevo") are the honeyburst Les Paul pic'd above:


http://soundcloud.com/brian-krashpad (http://soundcloud.com/brian-krashpad)

PLAY LOUD! Setting is on the Vox model, channel 7. I pretty much live there.