All user reviews of 4/5 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 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

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!

It's a transistor amp with a clean channel and a channel distortion (but with only one eq for both channels)

it is a 30W with a 10 "speaker, but they feel good! I do not exceed 3 / 10 level volume by repeating (in a metal band), so power is more than enough to play at home, repeating or sound systems for concerts.

Level connections, there is a hi-z input, a low Z, a footswitch jack and plug "external speaker"

Settings as there is a volume for the clean channel, a noluma Do and a gain for distortion, a 3-band eq (bass, mid, high) and reverb. All controls are effective, I do not push souvnet the pots thoroughly, (or for the gain for metal sound)

UTILIZATION

The setup is really simple, and very easily found a good clear sound, balanced with low present (despite the HP 10 ") chalereux mids and treble and present accurate. Until then I was not at all a fan of Fender, but this amp made me forget engl marshall and company! For sound distortion lacks a little bass to the very heavy metal (the palm is not enough to present to my taste of death, but the black or style that requires less bass should be very good!) I managed to find 3 sound, clear sound, sound distortion and a versatile sound, you come very easily to have a sound that is both balanced in clear and with good uen distortion, eq, but two would have been much more pleasant to use.
No need for manual!
I put 8 for the small lack of bass in the eq and distortion, which manages the clean and distortion at the same time

SOUNDS

I play guitar with a mahogany with EMG (a 60 in the heats and H4 bridge) I manage to get all kinds of clean sounds thanks to the two microphones, sound blues (very round and warm) until its much slamming of reggea. I love this amp because it is very versatile in its light.
In disto it is more oriented sounds very saturated, but it can be quite a crunch sound, settings that are less simple for its clear, but it remains simple.

OVERALL OPINION

I use this amp for about 6 months, I like the fact that he has plenty of reserve power, clean sounds round and warm, saturated distos goods, etc. ...
I've tried several amps in the same price range (among others marshall, and a pevey engl tube that was worse than the).
It is also practical thanks to its weight (only 11kg) and its small size.
I would do without hesitation that choice, or I would take the above model for 2eq.