Fender Champion Amplifiers
Posted: 04 Oct 2021, 20:04
This will possibly come as a surprise to many people who know me and the amplifiers I've been associated with over the past twenty or so years, but I feel the need to share the findings of my experience with the very modestly priced Fender Champion range of combos. They are solid state amps rather than the valve type that we've been brainwashed into believing are the 'only' type worth bothering about, but I decided to investigate and I have completely changed my outlook and I'm now using a Fender Champion 100 2 x 12.
It looks like a Twin Reverb with it's black and silver livery and I have to say it sounds like one too, should you so wish. It also has a second channel that provides models of the Fender Tweed amps, Vox AC30, Marshall and Roland Jazz Chorus. I sold my two expensive Fender Tone Masters' recently for virtually what I payed for them and picked up a 2 x 10 Fender Princeton for £125 and was that impressed with it that when this Fender Champion 100 2 x 12 cropped up for £160 - as new, I took a gamble and bought it.
I found that the Princeton is slightly underpowered at only 25 watts so that's why I looked at the Champion. I was initially of the impression that these were cheap amps that didn't sound good, but I couldn't be more wrong. I was amazed that the very expensive upmarket Tone Masters' sounded exactly as the original Twin Reverb and DeLuxe Reverbs' but these comparatively very cheap Fender models sound just as good.
I realise that there's the Katana out there too - I have one, but the Fender Champion isn't as comprehensive or complicated and does the business for Hank sounds at a fraction of the cost, you pays your money and makes your choice. For me, the Fender looks better on stage and delivers accurate Fender tones and a very close AC30 sound too.
I'm so pleased I took the time to try them and today I set up my Zoom G5n with the Vox AC-30 sound and played through my Shadows repertoire and it sounded exactly like my own AC30. It goes without saying that it sounds amazing with the TVS3 and Atlantis, but I haven't got the Meazzi back yet to try it.
The good news is that the full range of Champion amps down to the 20 watt version have the same tones and the prices are an absolute steal. Recommended !
It looks like a Twin Reverb with it's black and silver livery and I have to say it sounds like one too, should you so wish. It also has a second channel that provides models of the Fender Tweed amps, Vox AC30, Marshall and Roland Jazz Chorus. I sold my two expensive Fender Tone Masters' recently for virtually what I payed for them and picked up a 2 x 10 Fender Princeton for £125 and was that impressed with it that when this Fender Champion 100 2 x 12 cropped up for £160 - as new, I took a gamble and bought it.
I found that the Princeton is slightly underpowered at only 25 watts so that's why I looked at the Champion. I was initially of the impression that these were cheap amps that didn't sound good, but I couldn't be more wrong. I was amazed that the very expensive upmarket Tone Masters' sounded exactly as the original Twin Reverb and DeLuxe Reverbs' but these comparatively very cheap Fender models sound just as good.
I realise that there's the Katana out there too - I have one, but the Fender Champion isn't as comprehensive or complicated and does the business for Hank sounds at a fraction of the cost, you pays your money and makes your choice. For me, the Fender looks better on stage and delivers accurate Fender tones and a very close AC30 sound too.
I'm so pleased I took the time to try them and today I set up my Zoom G5n with the Vox AC-30 sound and played through my Shadows repertoire and it sounded exactly like my own AC30. It goes without saying that it sounds amazing with the TVS3 and Atlantis, but I haven't got the Meazzi back yet to try it.
The good news is that the full range of Champion amps down to the 20 watt version have the same tones and the prices are an absolute steal. Recommended !