Fender Champion 600

[Jimi75]

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

[tunghaichuan***]

Cool review, thanks for posting. :

Hey folks,
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
Jimi

As one of those "technic mongers" (no offense taken) I just can't leave stuff alone. I am driven to modify

One thing to consider is that the amp comes stock with Chinese tubes. If you really like the tone you may consider picking up a few extras as all tubes eventually wear out.

The Champion 600 is cool because the preamp tube (12AX7) and power tube (6V6) are both cathode biased. While technically you can set the bias of a cathode bias amp, most of the time it is just plug and play. So since you love the amp as it is, great, play it and enjoy it. But when it comes time to replace the tubes, you may want to buy a few different types of 12AX7s and 6V6s to try out. Each different combination will give you different tones. You may like a new combination even better.

tung

[Jimi75]

Cool review, thanks for posting. :



As one of those "technic mongers" (no offense taken) I just can't leave stuff alone. I am driven to modify

One thing to consider is that the amp comes stock with Chinese tubes. If you really like the tone you may consider picking up a few extras as all tubes eventually wear out.

The Champion 600 is cool because the preamp tube (12AX7) and power tube (6V6) are both cathode biased. While technically you can set the bias of a cathode bias amp, most of the time it is just plug and play. So since you love the amp as it is, great, play it and enjoy it. But when it comes time to replace the tubes, you may want to buy a few different types of 12AX7s and 6V6s to try out. Each different combination will give you different tones. You may like a new combination even better.

tung

Tung, Thanks for these tipps. Sorry if I offended you with my utterance, but this was more of a joke. I will take your proposal into consideration when changing the tubes.

[tunghaichuan***]

Tung, Thanks for these tipps. Sorry if I offended you with my utterance, but this was more of a joke. I will take your proposal into consideration when changing the tubes.

Naw, no offense taken. It is a curse; I can't just leave well enough alone. :

The 6V6 is my all-time favorite tube. If you ever want any recommendations, let me know.

tung

[piebaldpython***]

Hey Tung, since you love 6V6 tubes, do you love the new Fender SCXD which is powered by two of them???

[tunghaichuan***]

Hey Tung, since you love 6V6 tubes, do you love the new Fender SCXD which is powered by two of them???

I've never tried one, but I'd like to. The price is right too.

I used two own a Rivera-era Super Champ, yet another amp I let get away from me and regularly kick myself over

tung

[Algonquin]

The Champion 600 is definately a cool looking little amp!

Congrats...

[oldguy]

Congrats, Jimi! Glad to hear you like your new Fender.:

[player***]

is this the critter in the link?http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Amp?sku=485054OMG now I have GAS

[Jimi75]

is this the critter in the link?http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Amp?sku=485054OMG now I have GAS

Si senor!

[kerc]

If you're gonna change tubes, I recommend Electro Harmonix. They are great!

[tot_Ou_tard]

Jini! It's great to have another Fretter with a Champion 600. I love mine.

[just strum]

Eventually I would like to get a tube amp for home use or small jam sessions, would this be an ideal amp for that?

It's on that long list of "things to buy" and this one certainly is in the ideal price range. It's about the least expensive tube amp I've seen.

[warren0728]

i have a friend who might want to buy my epi jr combo version 1 (the one with the hum)...maybe a champion 600 would make a nice replacement...

ww

[Tone2TheBone]

i have a friend who might want to buy my epi jr combo version 1 (the one with the hum)...maybe a champion 600 would make a nice replacement...

ww

It's a sweet sounding little amp Warren I say go for it.