All user reviews for the Fender Champion 30

I purchased this amplifier new for about $250. Purchased at was then Mars Music (since gone out of business at that location). I was looking for a step up from my tiny Crate practice amp. I had joined a basement band and needed something bigger and more versitile.

The amp was perfect for me at the time. Small and light enough to easilly cary around, yet loud enough to hear over our drummer in the basement.

The clean channel has a nice Fender tone, and the distortion didn't sound horrible either.

It doesn't come with a footswitch, but I bought a Roland switch for about $20 that works fine.

Having two inputs in nice too.

The amp began to distort even the clean channel when turned up more than 5 or so. The reverb was pretty weak.

I have heard horror stories about these amps suddenly going dead. I've never had that problem at all. I've owned it for 2 years now and the only problem it has is that the 1st input connection is going bad - I have to wiggle the cord around a bit. I'm sure this would be a fairly cheap repair, but I've just been too lazy to have it worked on.

The bottom line is that this is a pretty good step up from those 10-15 watt practice amps that every new guiatrist (including me) seems to aquire. It'll hold it's own in a basement, but that's about the extent of it's gigging ability.

The model I have has been replaced with one with some digital effects built in - I think it's called the Champion 30 DSP.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought the amp for around $220 at a independant music store (support local music scene).I needed a powerful but compact box to sit in with that could also double for playing at a yard party.

The amp has a great bark and a impressive bite. the two channels makes it so versitale and the dual input for normal and hotter feeds gives it so much range. having such a big selection of built in effects can eliminate the chore of more cable, another add on pedal and one more thing too carry to and from the truck. Its solid construction can handle being moved and bumped.I also find they made the cabinet with a large access to the back i can store a couple sets of strings, a electronic tuner, handtowel and wax to keep with it.

i havent had any failures or signs of poor workmanship that many others claimed.the main fault i find myself commmiting is turning up the gain and effects levels too much in attempts to bring out more of the sounds, just because it can pump it out.Wish it had a headphone jack, surpised it didnt.

it is light enough for a younger player or hobbyist to take with them to jams and houses, but stout enough to handle being bumped and stand its own space when played thru. the face and dials are easy to see and use, too bad they didnt put a headphone jack in it (huge oversite or market ploy to get a buyer to upgrade for headphone play).

given the versitality, rugged construction,the big bark and big bite it makes, and even though the multi inputs are always a luxery, its the sound and wide selection of built in effects that makes it well worth having for low $200's jam amp. any one who would need more than this puppy delivers shouldnt be with the 30's anyway.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

i got this amp about 2 months ago for $220 US.

this amp sounds ok but i keep getting static on the clean channel and the input is loose.

i had it only for 2 months and it broke. i turned it on and nothing happened.i tried a different outlet and same thing. i returned it to the dealer and didnt get a new amp for another 3 months. the new one i got was just as bad as the first. this is by far the worst amp ever.

the input potz and reverb potz fell off the circuit board. the power chord supply input is also loose.

please dont judge this amp by just my review , it might have been just a bad amp , but if you really want a good amp for 200 bucks then go buy a peavey . theyre reliable and built like a tank .

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

It was a gift, but was purchased at Guitar Center. I liked the features, price, and sound, and recommended it as a good gift.

The sound is more than adequate. Nice clean tone, decent overdrive, and plenty of volume for a home use only piece of gear.

It regularly blows the line fuse when switched on. I've replaced it 5 times in a year, and now usually just leave it on.

Both input channel jacks quit working, also the channel select switch jack.

Poor soldering (actually solderability) on the input jacks and poor mechanical design of the jack results in fractured solder joints and loss of contact. The solder does not wet well to the leads (process defect), and any stress from use or just tightening the panel nuts (mechanical design) breaks them loose.

Until they fix their manufacturing problems in Mexico, don't even go near it unless you like to solder and have the unit die on you regularly. Even routing your cords through the handle will not fix this one because it's close to failing before it ever leaves the factory.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this amp on E-Bay for $150. It was bought for my nephew who has out grown his dinky first amp.

It is fairly light and easy for a 15 year old to haul around the neighborhood. It has a simple no nonsense construction that I appreciate since I'm the one that has to fix it if it breaks.

There was only one problem when I got this amp. The external speaker jack wasn't completely soldered into its spot on the circuit board. Upon further investigation I found 2 more faulty connections. After making repairs, the amp is as good as new. I would expect better of Fender.

The amp is built very rugged. After fixing what may or not be a problem for these amps, I believe it to be a very well made unit. Fender needs to step up its quality control though.

Lots of bang for just a few bucks. My nephew plays metal and grunge in a garage band. They are pretty good if thats your thing. The Champion 30 is perfect for his needs. Portable and powerful. What more could a budding metal head need?

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I paid $216 at musiciansfriend.com

The sound is excellent for the price. I was very happy with my purchase.

I was pleased with the amp until about the third day I used it. The amp just wouldn't turn on. I went on the internet and did some research on the amp. I found that many other people were experiencing the same problems as well, the amp would just flat out stop working. From what I read, apparently only the amps made in 2002 were experiencing this problem. There was even one instance where an individual had the same problem not once but twice after exchanging the first one. I called up fender to ask them if there was a bad batch of champion 30s and their only response was, "not that I know of." The customer service rep was not helpful at all.

The quality is good for it's price.

Do not buy this amp!!!! Avoid at all costs, or at least wait until all of the bad amps are taken out of the bunch.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this unit at Music & Arts Center in Atlanta because my old amp (a $20 Yamaha)wasn't powerful enough for me and band. It has been great for the money ($200).

Dual inputs allow for more flexibility, not forcing people I want to jam with to take their amps. Great distortion that can be controled by the Gain knob for either light or heavy distortion. Awesome reverb for rythem parts, or just to sound chorusy. Finally, it is LOUD and leaves room for improvement with speaker out jack.

There is nothing that I don't like about this unit.

15.5"x17"x8.5", not too big or small. Very high quality. Has cool vintage looking speaker.

A great buy for the money. I can't reccomend a better amp for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this amp for about $206 dollars. It's a pretty loud amp for it's size to just play in the garage or jam in small gigs and with friends.

What I like about this amp is it's clean channel and overdrive. They sound great!

The only thing I dont't like about this product is that I wish it had a headphone jack and a cd input but it's cool I can live without it.

This amp is built rock solid and it will last till it's the end of the world

Bottom line is that it's a great amp for a begginer maybe even a pro. It handles all type of music I play from Eric Clapton to Hard Rock.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Fender Champion 30 is a small solid state practice amplifier that is part of the expansive line of SS Fender amps made since the late 90s. This model has two channels, one for clean and one for overdrive. The clean channel has a single volume conrol where the drive channel has separate gain and volume controls. Each channel shares a single 3 band EQ containing bass, middle and treble controls. There is also auxiliary and headphone jacks, onboard reverb and a dual button footswitch is available as well. It has a single speaker and puts out 30 watts of power overall.

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound out of this amp is surprisingly simple. It is small and not home to the greatest circuitry in the world but it still can sound fairly good given the right settings. I've used one for various applications and it has had enough power for small gigs and jams without question. I found that the best way to get good tones out of this amp is to crank the mids and turn the treble very low or off. Doing so clears up any harsh or fizzy sounds and rounds the amp out with a nice smooth tone that is very tubelike overall. The reverb on this amp is also excellent; not too apparent but with enough juice to add some nice sustain.

SOUNDS

This amp, despite being a practice type still sounds very good given the right settings. With a typical SSS Strat I was able to conjure up some great classic clean sounds and some cool smooth lead tones that had a decent Eric Johnson kinda vibe to them. It has that certain Fender sparkle to the tone that I find excellent overall. Switching to an HSS Washburn superstrat yielded some awesome thicker clean and high gain tones that had more girth and punch than with single coils. The channels each sound surprising given what the amp has to offer. It's pretty clear sounding overall. Not what I'd classify as too high gain but still with enough saturation for rock styles.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think this amp is a good little tool for someone who wants a portable yet decent sounding small combo on a budget. It combines that classy Fender look with a few great tones that work for a variety of styles and in a variety of contexts. They can be had used for about $150 which is a decent deal for a decent little amp. Definitely worth a look!