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mooseherman « Decent update on a classic! »
Published on 11/29/10 at 13:04This is a tube combo amplifier made by Fender. It is an update of the Classic Fender Champ model that was standard back in the days of old. It introduces some different amp sounds and a solid-state overdrive to the tube amp, so it is a hybrid of sorts. The clean tone, however, is all tube. There is one 1/4" input. There are two channels with a volume knob for each. The dirty channel also contains a gain knob, and a voice knob, which switches the tone between many different settings. There are two tone knobs (bass and treble), as well as an F/X level knob, and a knob to select F/X.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound might take a little bit of time with this amp, but I"m sure there is something you'll probably enjoy. It's just a matter of remembering which voices work best. Keep in mind that the best tones with this amp will be the ones closest to the original Champ. There isn't much need for a manual, but it will certainly be clear and useful if you want to take a look.
SOUNDS
This amp is relatively easy to get a good sound with. It's better than most modeling amps, for sure, but I find that it is relatively weak in comparison to a full-on tube amp. The effects are also kind of lame, to be honest. Te reverb is very fake-sounding, and not very useful. It doesn't have the great reverb of a Fender Twin Reverb. This isn't what I would generally expect from Fender. I would say that half of the tones are pretty awesome, Fender-style tones, and those tend to be the more in-your-face blues and bright rock tones. Once you get too rock-centric, and adding lots of gain, is where the amp starts to lose its flair.
OVERALL OPINION
I am a little disappointed with these amps. I feel like a real Fender Twin or a Champ is all you need for most people, yet Fender keeps making these amps with a million different sounds. The problem is that none of them sound all that great. Also, these amps break far more easily than a tube amp would. I guess this is what people want now, it's just a shame because most people could do a lot better if they just saved up a little more.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound might take a little bit of time with this amp, but I"m sure there is something you'll probably enjoy. It's just a matter of remembering which voices work best. Keep in mind that the best tones with this amp will be the ones closest to the original Champ. There isn't much need for a manual, but it will certainly be clear and useful if you want to take a look.
SOUNDS
This amp is relatively easy to get a good sound with. It's better than most modeling amps, for sure, but I find that it is relatively weak in comparison to a full-on tube amp. The effects are also kind of lame, to be honest. Te reverb is very fake-sounding, and not very useful. It doesn't have the great reverb of a Fender Twin Reverb. This isn't what I would generally expect from Fender. I would say that half of the tones are pretty awesome, Fender-style tones, and those tend to be the more in-your-face blues and bright rock tones. Once you get too rock-centric, and adding lots of gain, is where the amp starts to lose its flair.
OVERALL OPINION
I am a little disappointed with these amps. I feel like a real Fender Twin or a Champ is all you need for most people, yet Fender keeps making these amps with a million different sounds. The problem is that none of them sound all that great. Also, these amps break far more easily than a tube amp would. I guess this is what people want now, it's just a shame because most people could do a lot better if they just saved up a little more.