Blackface Champ

[Nightclub Dwight]

I just picked up a 1966 Fender Champ off of Craigs list.  I've been working on getting this amp since January 31.  =CB= graciously checked out photos online and advised me that it looked good to him, so with his blessings I set out to buy the amp.

I emailed the guy the day it was listed, and we made plans for me to check it out.  But then that week we got about three feet of snow, and the city closed down for about a week.  During that time I kept pushing our appointment back as the roads were closed and I couldn't get out to see the amp.  We got hit with another blizzard, then another, and my appointment kept being pushed back.  Finally, when I could get my car out onto the roads, the guy stopped returning my emails and phone calls.  I figured someone was able to travel during the storms and beat me to the amp.

I kept checking, sending a random email every few weeks, and finally my persistance paid off when he emailed me out of the blue this week.  I wasted no time and immediately went up and bought the amp.

So far it is everything I had hoped for.  Creamy delicious tube breakup starts at about 3 or 4 on the volume knob.  As you crank the amp it breaks up more, but never gets too loud for bedroom use.  I haven't used any pedals with it yet; just plugged in straight it sounds fantastic. I haven't had time to fully enjoy it yet.

Edit:
Don't know why I can never get photos to work here.  Here are the links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8122723@N05/4324646440/

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4323905931_c85e5cc62f.jpg

 

[Tonar8352]

Small amps rock!  Nice score but be careful of amp addiction, you can’t stop at just one.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

Small amps rock!  Nice score but be careful of amp addiction, you can’t stop at just one.  :icon_thumright:

I know.....now I'm on the hunt for a 5E3 clone.

 

[Mor Paul]

Man, that things CLEAN.

 

[Tonar8352]

I know.....now I'm on the hunt for a 5E3 clone.

I have an Uncle Spot clone, here it next to my 58 Vibrolux.  The Spot is a screaming little amp, you should check him out.
Here is a sound clip of it dimed with my Les Paul.

 

[Mor Paul]

Man, that sounds nice. I can't wait to play the Tonarcaster through the future '56 Bassman/Super.

 

[jimh]

That sounds ace!
Tonar, you have to post the rest of that song.  I wanna hear the whole thing  :blob7:

Gotta love little amps.  ccasion14:

 

[Superlizard]

Congrats... you now have a better sounding amp than many.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

I've had the opportunity to use the Champ a bit now.  I'm absolutely in love with the tone with everything dimed.  It rocks, but sort of cleans up with the volume control on the guitar.  I just love that power tube distortion.  When you let a chord sustain, the dynamics of all the wonderful harmonics and such make it sound almost like there is a slight vintage tremolo going on--the notes just ring and sustain and the longer it goes on the more overtones you can hear making the tone seem to almost vibrate.

I guess some things are a little worn out though.  After playing for ten minutes or so I get a buzzy sound in the lower frequencies.  It almost sounds like a blown speaker, but after playing five or ten minutes more the buzz dissapears--only to come back later on.  I'm not sure what exactly is causing that, but I guess I should let a good technician take a peek and replace whatever is necessary.

 

[mayfly]

Hey Tonar,

you should really get your house re-wired to have a safety ground around those dangerous amps!

 

[Superlizard]

I've had the opportunity to use the Champ a bit now.  I'm absolutely in love with the tone with everything dimed.  It rocks, but sort of cleans up with the volume control on the guitar.  I just love that power tube distortion.  When you let a chord sustain, the dynamics of all the wonderful harmonics and such make it sound almost like there is a slight vintage tremolo going on--the notes just ring and sustain and the longer it goes on the more overtones you can hear making the tone seem to almost vibrate.

I guess some things are a little worn out though.  After playing for ten minutes or so I get a buzzy sound in the lower frequencies.  It almost sounds like a blown speaker, but after playing five or ten minutes more the buzz dissapears--only to come back later on.  I'm not sure what exactly is causing that, but I guess I should let a good technician take a peek and replace whatever is necessary.

Electrolytic caps in old amps are usually dried out... which can cause AC ripple in your DC IIRC AC/DC.  heheheh

 

[tfarny]

Nice score! Old small Fenders are where it's at for sure. One great sound beats 99 mediocre sounds every single time.

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

I want one.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

I must say, this vintage amp was a bargain too.  For less money than most of those cool new little "lunchbox" low power amp heads, I scored this vintage classic.  Really, it was cheaper than any new amp that'd I'd consider buying. 

For tone purposes it can't be beat.  And while I'll never sell it (made that mistake once before), I figure it will continue to appreciate in value.  I wanted to get one now while I could still afford it!  I see these going on Gbase for double what I paid.

 

[Cagey]

I wish I'd have known when I was a grasshopper that someday Champs would be desireable. Back then, they were considered garbage. Only students used them. You could buy them for next to nothing if you couldn't find one in the trash somewhere.

Of course, I know me. If I'd had the money back then to stockpile a boatload of Champs, I wouldn't have done it. I would have bought a Marshall stack, a Les Paul and a Chevelle Super Sport to carry them. Oh, and a big ol' bag o' weed! <grin>