Jimi75
February 11th, 2008, 08:46 AM
Hey folks,
I have received my Champion 600 last Friday and I am already addicted to that little monster. The amp is designed in what I would call 50's Retro style, cream and brown, it has a leather handle and the overall impression of the manufacturing is perfect - no further discussion worth.
The amp has 5 watt, a special designed 6watt speaker. You have a high and low input. Of course you should plug a Strat into high and a Paul into low. The only poti on that amp is the volume knob that goes from 1 - 12. All jacks and knobs are on the back side of the amp, so you can entirely enjoy the beautiful front while playing some hot licks.
Okay, as always I heard technic mongers on different boards telling their stories about changing the tubes, the speaker and that there are sometimes amps that sound magically good without any change. Let me tell you that I have never been a technical guy and I have a different opinion on some of that Bogus. Seems as if I have picked one of the magic ones :)
To put it in a nutshell:
Plugging in a Strat, turning the poti to 5, you get kind of a "Sultans Of Swing" sound. Very clear and defined, the amp answers to your playing immediately and the sound is warm and supports your playing. Go for some Arpeggios and you know what I mean.
Plugging in a Paul, turning the poti to 5, too you get a very woody and warm sound. The definition of the single notes is exemplary, no matter which pick up you use.
Higher volumes bear higher distortion of course. To me the sound get a little too quacky here. Definitely better to use a pedal like a Tubescreamer or the Danelectro Fab Overdrive. The amp likes pedals, btu you have to tweak a little bit to get good results. I have attached the amp to a 4x12 box with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers (not my favourite ones!). It's pretty loud and really rocking.
If it were stolen, I would buy a new one straigh away. Don't wanna miss tha thing. The beautiful tube character woke my appetite for a tube amp again. Really folks, this is no comparison at all with a modeling amp, no matter how good the modeling might be. I once possessed the Fender Custom Vibrolux and I was blind and sold it in a hurry....
Fender did a great job with this Chinese Reissue of a classic. It is great to see how Fender succeeds in instructing Asian companies to build fine products that are reallyy worth of wearing the Fender name! Their high qualitiy management pays off here. May it be Fender amps or guitars, you really get a decent value for the money and I must admit that the strong quality controls have even get better since the time I was working for Fender.
If you are looking for a small tube amp, just to get a first step into the Tube Amp world, this amp might be the perfect choice.
Jimi
I have received my Champion 600 last Friday and I am already addicted to that little monster. The amp is designed in what I would call 50's Retro style, cream and brown, it has a leather handle and the overall impression of the manufacturing is perfect - no further discussion worth.
The amp has 5 watt, a special designed 6watt speaker. You have a high and low input. Of course you should plug a Strat into high and a Paul into low. The only poti on that amp is the volume knob that goes from 1 - 12. All jacks and knobs are on the back side of the amp, so you can entirely enjoy the beautiful front while playing some hot licks.
Okay, as always I heard technic mongers on different boards telling their stories about changing the tubes, the speaker and that there are sometimes amps that sound magically good without any change. Let me tell you that I have never been a technical guy and I have a different opinion on some of that Bogus. Seems as if I have picked one of the magic ones :)
To put it in a nutshell:
Plugging in a Strat, turning the poti to 5, you get kind of a "Sultans Of Swing" sound. Very clear and defined, the amp answers to your playing immediately and the sound is warm and supports your playing. Go for some Arpeggios and you know what I mean.
Plugging in a Paul, turning the poti to 5, too you get a very woody and warm sound. The definition of the single notes is exemplary, no matter which pick up you use.
Higher volumes bear higher distortion of course. To me the sound get a little too quacky here. Definitely better to use a pedal like a Tubescreamer or the Danelectro Fab Overdrive. The amp likes pedals, btu you have to tweak a little bit to get good results. I have attached the amp to a 4x12 box with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers (not my favourite ones!). It's pretty loud and really rocking.
If it were stolen, I would buy a new one straigh away. Don't wanna miss tha thing. The beautiful tube character woke my appetite for a tube amp again. Really folks, this is no comparison at all with a modeling amp, no matter how good the modeling might be. I once possessed the Fender Custom Vibrolux and I was blind and sold it in a hurry....
Fender did a great job with this Chinese Reissue of a classic. It is great to see how Fender succeeds in instructing Asian companies to build fine products that are reallyy worth of wearing the Fender name! Their high qualitiy management pays off here. May it be Fender amps or guitars, you really get a decent value for the money and I must admit that the strong quality controls have even get better since the time I was working for Fender.
If you are looking for a small tube amp, just to get a first step into the Tube Amp world, this amp might be the perfect choice.
Jimi