Fender Champ XD - how did I miss these?

[Lev]

Just noticed an advert in this months Guitarist magazine for the Fender Champ XD for $300!!! Wow $300 for a new Fender Tube amp, but it gets better

15 Watt Tube “Class AB” Power Amp.
"Voice" Control with 16 Different Amp Voicings Delivering Various Clean and Overdriven Tones for any Style of Music: Blues, Rock, Country, Jazz, Metal, and More.
16 DSP Effects (Vibratone Slow; Vibratone Fast; Delay 130ms; Delay 300ms; Delay 450ms; Large Room Reverb; Concert Hall Reverb; Classic Fender Spring Reverb; Reverb+Delay; Fast Chorus; Deep Chorus; Chorus+Delay; Chorus+Reverb; Tremolo Low Speed; Tremolo Medium Speed; Tremolo High Speed).
External Speaker Output Allows use with External Speaker Cabinet Line Output.

Check this demo out!

-aGMTrL0pGg

[Tone2TheBone]

Looks like a must have amp Lev. Fender's making some cool stuff these days.

[piebaldpython]

Walked into Sam Ash today to check out amps and heard a guy just tearing it up over in the corner, so I go over and VOILA, he's testing out the Super Champ XD. Have to say this is a loud, clear amp and the clean channel was really nice with great sound to it. The other channel is where you get the other 16 amp/cabinet "voicings". Two power tubes, one pre-amp tube and then SS with the effects and voicings. Sturdy thing to that looks like it could survive a header off the roof.

[mrmudcat]

Buy it already!! Didnt I suggest these at one time during your amp buying journey:beer:

[piebaldpython]

Hey MUD,
Buy this, even over the Tech 21 Trademark 30????? Isn't that the amp you loved?? ahhahaha Funny thing is that I was talking to the sales dude at Sam Ash after listening to the Fender XD. The guy's been around, knows his stuff and so I toss out the Trademark 30 name. He has NONE of those in his store but tells me that he has the 60, the one you have I think. Anyway, he raved on and on about that Tech 21 saying that it was about the BEST home playing amp one could have. However, he did say that the XD was really top shelf and that in a gigging situation where you might want some tube power, the Fender might win out. ahhahhahahahhaha

:thwap: My apologies MUD, that was WINGSDAD who had the Trademark 60. I haven't heard the Trademark 30 yet, but I gotta say the Fender SCXD impressed the heck out of me.

[piebaldpython]

http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&topic_number=648268&offset=293
The even have a section of the Fender Forum devoted exclusively to the SCXD amp. Damn near 300 posts, including ace modder BillM.

[mrmudcat]

Its calling your name!! :beer:

[Justaguyin_nc]

the Youtube demos found for this sound great...:bravo:

At 299... tubes and modeling..

The features are as follows:

2-Channels, one "Fender Blackface Clean", the other a 16 voice choice of
1) Tweed - Early Tweed Champ
2) Tweed - Fat Vintage Tweed Bassman
3) Tweed - Overdriven Tweed
4) Blackface - Bright Vintage Early Blackface
5) Blackface - Bright Slightly Overdriven Early Blackface
6) Blackface - Bright Heavily Overdriven Early Blackface
7) British - Bright Jangly Early British Combo
8) British - Overdriven Early High-Gain British Stack
9) British - High-Gain Modern British Stack
10) Hot Rod - High-Gain Overdriven Fender Hot Rod Series
11) Hot Rod - High-Gain Distortion Boutique
12) Hot Rod - High-Gain More Sustain
13) Metal - Darker Super High-Gain Scooped Metal
14) Metal - Sustained Super High-Gain Scooped Fender Metalhead
15) Jazz - Clean Optimized Fender Jazz King
16) Acoustic - Super Clean Acoustasonic

Both channels can use the built-in Effects controlled by the FX Level pot. The effects are as follows:

Vibratone - Rotating Baffle, Slow
Vibratone - Rotating Baffle, Fast
Delay - 130ms Slapback
Delay - 300ms
Delay - 450ms
Reverb - Large Room
Reverb - Concert Hall
Reverb - Classic Fender Spring
Reverb - Reverb+Delay
Chorus - Fast Sweep
Chorus - Deep Sweep
Chorus - Chorus + Delay
Chorus - Chorus + Reverb
Tremolo - Low Speed
Tremolo - Medium Speed
Tremolo - High Speed

Treble and Bass Tone Controls - which work on all channels. Wide and very useful ranges. No Mid, no mid pull, sad but true.

1 - 12AX7 Preamp, 2- 6V6 Output Tubes, Footswitch Available (but not reviewed here)

Speaker 10" Ceramic Fender "Special Design"
External Speaker Jack
Footswitch Jack
Line Out - Recording or Sound Reinforcement

Might just find a place in my room...:thwap:

[piebaldpython]

Yeah, that SCXD and the Tech 21 Trademark 30 are like two sirens on my shoulders; calling me to come and play. lolol
And the top it all off, the oh-so-sweet Palomino all tube 15W is down to $280.00 ahhahahhahaahhahaahha

[Lev]

if only it had an FX loop. Apparently the built in FX aren't tweakable, you only get 3 delay time settings to chose from - I think this would start to annoy me after a while.

[piebaldpython]

Well LEV, I see your point. Now for me, I really don't care about FX (chorus, flanger, wah, etc), I just want an amp that'll sound really good ( and REAL too) for blues/slide/ZZ type of stuff. I don't need bells and whistles, so the issues of FX is kind of a negative I won't touch much. So, the SCDX is a hybrid tube/SS, the Tech 21 is state of the art analog SANSAMP technology, the Palomino 15w is totally tubular and the Kustom HV-30 is a tube/SS hybrid (not as tubey as the SCXD though) that has garnered rave reviews too.

[Tone2TheBone]

So do you owners of this amp really like it? Is it loud enough? How is the low end on it?

[Jampy]

That is a real fine amp you found there :bravo:
And at that price point looks to be a real value for any home or small gig playing. I am starting to get back into amps and have been looking for some cool small modeling amps. That one is one to keep me eyes on :AOK:

[Rabies]

So do you owners of this amp really like it?

Yes!


Is it loud enough?

For home playing and maybe small gigging, it's plenty loud.


How is the low end on it?

I was very surprised with the low end. Not boomy like my AD30VT was, but not at all whimpy like I expected it might be.


If you're a big fan of Fender amp sounds, this is your budget amp. If you NEED any other sounds to be as convincing as possible, you will be disappointed. IMO the AD30VT does all of the higher gain stuff way better.

I just can't get enough of channel one and settings 1 and 2 on the second channel. :master:

[Tone2TheBone]

Yes!



For home playing and maybe small gigging, it's plenty loud.



I was very surprised with the low end. Not boomy like my AD30VT was, but not at all whimpy like I expected it might be.


If you're a big fan of Fender amp sounds, this is your budget amp. If you NEED any other sounds to be as convincing as possible, you will be disappointed. IMO the AD30VT does all of the higher gain stuff way better.

I just can't get enough of channel one and settings 1 and 2 on the second channel. :master:

Interesting. Thanks for your take on the SCXD!

[Tone2TheBone]

Revisiting this thread because I'm getting....gulp...gas. The high gain settings on some of the youtube vids sound pretty good. I understand what you mean about the Vox AD30VT being better at the highest gain settings but for a Fender amp they're right in the modded Marshall territory. I always preferred the tone of the JCM800 model on the Vox anyway. Having said this yes I know you get a Fender amp for the Fender clean sounds and this little sucker sounds dang good on the lower knob settings on the blackface modes. And the digital reverb sounds killer!

Thanks Rabies for your reply. Who else owns one here?

[Duff]

I put the Ragin Cajun Emminence speaker in my new SCXD and it is really a cool amp. I use it daily. Play myself to sleep.

The clean channel is way cleaner than my HRDx with lots of clean headroom. The Ragin Cajun is around 100dB where the stock spkr was about 95 or so, I believe; so it is a lot louder with the Ragin Cajun, which cost 64 USD from MF. Put it in myself. Apply a lot of force to speaker screws to compress the baffle and allow the machine threads to engage the built in mounting nuts, instead of getting longer machine screws; it works and you get a tight fit with no puncturing of the grill cloth by longer screws.

The clean is great. I use lots of the voiced settings on channel two. There are like 10 or 12 Fender amp voices to choose from and British and Higain, plus one acoustasonic setting on the voicing. On channel two you also have gain and volume controls to add gain to any voice that already has gain factored in. Such as one voice might be a softly driven tweed and the next voice a harder driven tweed, etc. with the blackface and silverface. Also has Hot Rod Deluxe voice, Jazzsomething voice, etc. You have another knob to adjust the effect selected's depth, and the effects have level settings on the effects knob. Some effects are combined and there is a separate reverb and delay that are not combined.

It is a deep well of tonal possibilities that won't be fathomed anytime soon by me and I play it a lot. Voices I never used I find highly interesting as time goes on. The amp is very, very dynamic and responds differently to every guitar I have and to picking dynamics extremely well.

I'd have to say it is easily my favorite amp. The Ragin Cajin is about three or four times as heavy as the stock speaker, seemingly. Cranked it rocks and will rattle the walls downstairs and definitely draw the disconcerted attention of the neighbors during the day at high volume and probably they can hear it at low volumes when I play in the middle of the night; and I live in the country. The sticks.

I got a Vox DA5 which is cool for what it is and I like it a lot for its portability and overall excellent sounds; but it doesn't stand head to head next to the SCXD; the SCXD is way sweet but the Vox sits on top of it or along side of it by my bed and gets played in the shadow of the SCXD without intimidation. The SCXD probably lulls it to sleep along with me. If they could be buddies they probably would be. They both hang tight right close to me.

I rarely use a pedal with either of these amps, except for my Sonic Stomp, sonic maximizer; which may or may not enhance the sound because both amps are already really good at what they do; but the sonic stomp gives you some bass and treble control to adjust. There is no blanket to pull off of either of these two amps mentioned above; so the sonic stomp doesn't work that way and probably isn't necessary but just something to use for the fun of experimentation.

The SCXD seems to be a superior product with a really outstanding Fender clean, if you have ever had an amp with a really clean Fender sound. Way cleaner than my HRDx. No comparison really. Of course the HRDx will really rip at high volume and in that case the clean would cut thru really well, drownding out even the most aggressive acoustic drummer. Mine is a tweed with the Jensen P12n. How's, "Hey! Turn down that amp!", sound? Better than, "Hey, you need to get a louder amp."?

The SCXD would hang in there with a drummer that knows how to play soft, so to speak. A lot of drummers, however, don't know how to play soft and only play LOUD. Probably comes from lots of gigging. I am a drummer first and a guitar player of any seriousness only in recent years. I know how to play soft and do blues jams, etc. where everybody can hear everybody else and themselves. You know what I mean. It's a much appreciated talent.

So, the SCXD can hold its own in a moderated setting with a relaxed drummer that can play at less than full blast. Of course the other players would have to be at realistic levels too, rather than at Woodstock volume. But it is more than a practice amp and is considered twenty tube watts in Europe and fifteen in the US. Something about it being difficult to actually determine the specific number of watts a tube amp puts out. Different formulas or something. I guess it's a dynamic type thing.

Hope this helps someone out.

The SCXD is really a super champ when you look at its price and listen to it. You won't be able to evaluate it in an hour though. It's too deep. There is some speculation that it may eclipse the Blues Jr., which costs way more and, well, you know - not to offend anyone.

Bill M the old Blues Jr. guru is now heavily involved with the SCXD, experimenting, modifying, etc. His initial observations have been encouraging.

There is a long discourse on the SCXD on the fenderforum.com with over a thousand posts in a short time. All of the reports, with the exception of a small fraction, are outstanding; and the amp has been accepted by the super serious Fender dudes that hang out over there. Their endorsement I would take seriously because they are very critical and knowledgeable and discuss very expensive Fender amps and old Fender amps that they hold in great renown; like great champions both old and new. So the SCXD is lucky to be accepted among such company, at least initially. It's not always like that there when Fender comes out with a new amp.

Good luck with yours if you get one. Reliability has not seemed to be a problem. Supposed to be a good design.

Duffy

PS: Remember, different guitars will sound way different thru it. It's really sensitive to the different pickups and electronics.

[Tone2TheBone]

Excellent information Duffy thank you.

[Robert]

How did I miss them? I haven't paid attention until Tone started yapping about them.

Well that demo didn't sound as good as my Vox AD50VT... to my ears anyway.

[Rabies]

How did I miss them? I haven't paid attention until Tone started yapping about them.

Well that demo didn't sound as good as my Vox AD50VT... to my ears anyway.

Maybe this demo might be a slightly better example:

S98RccQUvKc

It really is a fun amp. Of course, everything is not for everyone, but I'm happy with my trade out. :AOK:

[Duff]

It's a great amp. Looks great. Traditional Fender look and great Fender sound.

Consider the Ragin Cajun if you haven't already put one in. You can push down hard and the stock screws will work for a nice tight mount.


Duffy

[Rabies]

After the honeymoon, I still love this thing. I'm really surprised that there is not more love for them here.

I've even found a couple more voices that I really love. Voice 8, the Marshall Plexi voice, is loads of fun. I'm still really bummed out with voice 7, the Vox voice. It's just kind of...let's say, uhm...fecal. :AOK:

[Duff]

Try the Ragin Cajun upgrade to the speaker and get way more volume and a great tone to the voices.

Duff

[marnold]

Try the Ragin Cajun upgrade to the speaker and get way more volume and a great tone to the voices.
A Ragin Cajun was one that I was also considering for my AD30VT. Most people seem to have gone with the much more expensive Celestion G10 for that application, though.

[TS808]

A Ragin Cajun was one that I was also considering for my AD30VT. Most people seem to have gone with the much more expensive Celestion G10 for that application, though.

The Ragin Cajun is a pretty good speaker from what I've read about it, but there's a reason folks are getting the G10 for the Vox Valvetronix amps. Be careful when adding a speaker like the Ragin Cajun to a modeling amp as it may color the tone too much, and not sound like the amps that the AD30VT is supposed to model.

The Celestion G10 and G12 work well because of their flatter frequency response, allowing the digital modeling to sound more like the amps and their respective speakers.

I've seen people use Eminence Screaming Eagles on their Line 6 modelers or Madison Minstrels. The most popular with the Vox series seems to be the Celestion G10 of G12. Jensen makes a good speaker for modelers too, but I can't remember the name, and it's pretty affordable.

[marnold]

Jensen makes a good speaker for modelers too, but I can't remember the name, and it's pretty affordable.
Could I nudge you into looking it up for me?

[TS808]

Could I nudge you into looking it up for me?

Yes....they are called the "MOD" series..and to think I couldn't remember that. Here is straight from Jensen:

Designed specifically for today’s modeling amps that require a speaker to provide transparent tone without coloring from the digital amp source.


Also, in searching other forums, other recommended Eminence speakers for the Valvetronix amps are Eminence Ramrods, Screaming Eagles, and the Red, White, and Blues speaker.

I know the Jensens come in a 10" size, not sure about the Eminence though.

[Robert]

I have the Red, White and Blues in my Hellhound. Nice speaker.

[Robert]

Maybe this demo might be a slightly better example:

S98RccQUvKc

It really is a fun amp. Of course, everything is not for everyone, but I'm happy with my trade out. :AOK:

Hmm, me likey. That ain't bad. Sounds a little bit like my Hellhound meets the Valvetronix in a dark alley late at night. :dude:

[marnold]

Yes....they are called the "MOD" series..and to think I couldn't remember that. Here is straight from Jensen:

Designed specifically for today’s modeling amps that require a speaker to provide transparent tone without coloring from the digital amp source.

That sounds like it might just be the thing. MF has the 10" 35W version for $35, so the price is certainly right. Hmmm.

As I been playing louder with my AD30VT, I'm considering the whole speaker thing more strongly.