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Fender Super Champ XD
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Fender Super Champ XD

Modelling Combo Guitar Amp from Fender

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Steve_Boudreaux Steve_Boudreaux

« Very Good Practice Amp, With Enough Power To Gig »

Published on 08/02/11 at 07:37
This is a hybrid guitar amp- part solid state, part tube, but different from most hybrids, in that it actually has tubes on BOTH the pre-amp and power-amp sides. The 12AX7 tube on the pre-amp side is not for pre amplification, but at least, it’s there! Two 6V6 tubes on the power side mean you can get power tube overdrive, if you either crank the amp, or run a speaker attenuator in-line- this amp has a jack and plug setup for the on-board speaker, so no need to install a jack.

This amp is advertised as 15 watts, which is probably accurate. Two output channels- clean and “effected,” with all the effects produced by a digital signal processor, or DSP. Amp models are sampled, and reproduced by the DSP, too. Connections include a single instrument input, headphone, and a single speaker out, which in addition to making it easier to run an attenuator, also makes it easier to drive a separate cab- two speaker outs would be nice, but are not provided.


UTILIZATION


The 16 amp models are all quite good, with the Acoustosonic and Champ models being among the best here. Other models like Jazz (after the Roland Jazz Chorus amps) and British are nice to have, and adequate, but I find only about half to one-third of the models are different enough to be worth using- there is considerable overlap between one amp model and the next. Effects are good, too, but limited, in that one can not have, say, reverb and tremolo at the same time. Some effects can be dual, but not all. Although parameters of all effects are not continuously variable- you only have three tremolo speeds, for instance- the level of the effects can be controlled- having control over only one parameter of an effect is just silly, so it’s nice to have both here.

The manual is easy to understand, and useful. I printed out a copy of the page that list the amp models and effects, and put it in the back of the amp, for quick reference.


SOUNDS

With it's own on-board effects, I don't feel the need to use many pedals with it- I use a wah pedal, and if I want both tremolo and reverb, I gotta use a pedal for one or the other. The clean channel is nice to have, for the usual switching between clean and distorted- one gripe I have is Fender uses propriatary foot switch circuitry, and you must buy different foot switches for different Fender amps- so there is an additional $40 expense, as the foot foot switch does not come standard with the amp.

Changing the stock ten inch speaker to a Eminence Ragin Cajun speaker is a popular mod, but I found the improvement was modest. In my opinion, this is not a cost-effective mod. Having that blue-framed speaker peeking out from the cab is cool looking, though.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a clear step above most practice amps, and can be gigged with if things don't get too loud. It does have a line-level out, so you can easily go to the board or a slaved amp with it's signal for more volume, if needed. Given it's versatility, the value is here. I've played many amps, including more than my share of little practice amps and "club" sized amps- this one bridges the gap between both. I would buy this amp again, and recommend it.