LagrangeCalvert
November 11th, 2007, 05:42 PM
I played this
http://www.music123.com/Fender-Vibro-Champ-XD-Guitar-Combo-Amp-483069-i1371396.Music123
The new Vibro Champ XD.... the best way I can describe this amp is a tube amp that models 16 types of tube tones from over the years. Controls are simple and easy to use and its a no fuss fender style layout. I played this amp with a Gibby SG and Fender thinline Tele...so I could get twang AND full set neck rock sound....here it goes.
Form and Features:
First off, I do NOT like amps that have knobs for the other knobs and so many options that unless I sit down for 2 hours to get 5 decent tones out of the uber channel selection and effects. That being said, the champ with its Volume,Gain, Treble, Bass , and a 16 position knob that voices the amp differently with each twist. There is also a Master knob for how much of the effects is blended into the signal and a DSP knob that reminds me of the Epi Valve series. Layout is simple and easy to use; Within minutes you can dial in a tone that you are looking for.
Tone's and such:
I sat down with the telecaster first and set the dial to 1 and spent an hour to get to the 16th setting....and did the same with the SG. That being said I am NOT going over every sound...but will give you a piece of my mind about the overall performance.
From the start I could use the voicing knob along with the treble/bass knobs to dial in some tones from Vox cleans, Fender chime w/ a little grit to Marshall lead tones to Uber gain and even a little silverface and bassman tones. Whats more is the volume and gain knobs really do play a part in the tone and breakup, unlike many modeling amps where it just adjusts the volume of the amp its emulating. Another cool thing about this amps "voicing" knob is that each setting has its own amount of output. This is telling me that their using the tubes to do the modeling rather than all circuit board as with some of the others. My only concern is that for a 5 watt tube amp its output isn't as much as I would like. My Valve JR's would drown this out even with the Vibro Champs Gain/Volume both on "11". Some of the voicing took more time than others to dial in a tone I prefered or could use with one or the other guitars, but that being said I did not find a voicing I couldn't use the entire time. The other thing that amazed me was the fact that some of the higher gained voicing didn't sound fuzzy OR the same...all - IIRC - 3 voicing were different and you could tell a difference in each. The only thing more I would ask for would be a foot switch that could be programmed to go to different settings OR a little memory/programming ability.
The effects were also decent for what the amp is. The delay was nice and flexible, so was the chorus and verb (but you deff. knew there wasn't springs in the back....BUT there was different kinds of verbs in each selection) worked nicely and fit well with the tonal options of the guitars and the voicing. Honestly nothing sounded too hokey and was much more flexible than the Vale Series Epiphone DSP's...they were actually useable.
In conclusion I really feel that in a world of modeling amps and uber pedals this little combo really stands out, especially for the price.
Pros: Very flexible tube tone with many different "voicings".
An unheard of amount of tube amps tucked into one amp for the price.
Cons: Not as much output as you would expect from 5 tube watts.
No foot switch or programing ability so your flexibility of tones is limited to your manual switching/no memory in the tones you carve out. The Effects are on or off...you can blend them but there is no foot switch to turn this on or off.
This is my take on it.....and I suggest some of you go out and do the same as I did and try it out. In no way am I affiliated with FENDER....not gettin paid for this review...and Im not pluggin their product...just thought some of you would like a heads up.
http://www.music123.com/Fender-Vibro-Champ-XD-Guitar-Combo-Amp-483069-i1371396.Music123
The new Vibro Champ XD.... the best way I can describe this amp is a tube amp that models 16 types of tube tones from over the years. Controls are simple and easy to use and its a no fuss fender style layout. I played this amp with a Gibby SG and Fender thinline Tele...so I could get twang AND full set neck rock sound....here it goes.
Form and Features:
First off, I do NOT like amps that have knobs for the other knobs and so many options that unless I sit down for 2 hours to get 5 decent tones out of the uber channel selection and effects. That being said, the champ with its Volume,Gain, Treble, Bass , and a 16 position knob that voices the amp differently with each twist. There is also a Master knob for how much of the effects is blended into the signal and a DSP knob that reminds me of the Epi Valve series. Layout is simple and easy to use; Within minutes you can dial in a tone that you are looking for.
Tone's and such:
I sat down with the telecaster first and set the dial to 1 and spent an hour to get to the 16th setting....and did the same with the SG. That being said I am NOT going over every sound...but will give you a piece of my mind about the overall performance.
From the start I could use the voicing knob along with the treble/bass knobs to dial in some tones from Vox cleans, Fender chime w/ a little grit to Marshall lead tones to Uber gain and even a little silverface and bassman tones. Whats more is the volume and gain knobs really do play a part in the tone and breakup, unlike many modeling amps where it just adjusts the volume of the amp its emulating. Another cool thing about this amps "voicing" knob is that each setting has its own amount of output. This is telling me that their using the tubes to do the modeling rather than all circuit board as with some of the others. My only concern is that for a 5 watt tube amp its output isn't as much as I would like. My Valve JR's would drown this out even with the Vibro Champs Gain/Volume both on "11". Some of the voicing took more time than others to dial in a tone I prefered or could use with one or the other guitars, but that being said I did not find a voicing I couldn't use the entire time. The other thing that amazed me was the fact that some of the higher gained voicing didn't sound fuzzy OR the same...all - IIRC - 3 voicing were different and you could tell a difference in each. The only thing more I would ask for would be a foot switch that could be programmed to go to different settings OR a little memory/programming ability.
The effects were also decent for what the amp is. The delay was nice and flexible, so was the chorus and verb (but you deff. knew there wasn't springs in the back....BUT there was different kinds of verbs in each selection) worked nicely and fit well with the tonal options of the guitars and the voicing. Honestly nothing sounded too hokey and was much more flexible than the Vale Series Epiphone DSP's...they were actually useable.
In conclusion I really feel that in a world of modeling amps and uber pedals this little combo really stands out, especially for the price.
Pros: Very flexible tube tone with many different "voicings".
An unheard of amount of tube amps tucked into one amp for the price.
Cons: Not as much output as you would expect from 5 tube watts.
No foot switch or programing ability so your flexibility of tones is limited to your manual switching/no memory in the tones you carve out. The Effects are on or off...you can blend them but there is no foot switch to turn this on or off.
This is my take on it.....and I suggest some of you go out and do the same as I did and try it out. In no way am I affiliated with FENDER....not gettin paid for this review...and Im not pluggin their product...just thought some of you would like a heads up.