Super Champ XD?

[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....d=39749&page=1


http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.....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:



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:



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





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



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

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