Members The Birdman Posted November 22, 2007 Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 I got this last Saturday, but haven't had time to take pictures yet (and we all KNOW that a HNAD without pictures STINKS). But here it is: Also seen in the pictures....my Fender Blues Deluxe, directly behind it, and my Fender Jimmie Vaughan sig Strat, connected to it. I also have a Champion 600, out of sight behind them. THIS AMP ROCKS! Yes, the amp models and effects are solid-state. But the sound is better than my Roland Cube 30. You can hear the harmonics that you get from a tube amp, and DON'T from a solid-state modeling amp. My favorite set-up is on voice 2, Bassman with moderate overdrive, with reverb. Sounds like a pretty good imitation of the Blues Deluxe that way., and is my preferred tone for blues. The higher gain voices are a little shaky.....there's some modeling "fuzz" that doesn't sound so good. Don't get this to play super high-gain stuff. If you wanted the Champion 600 with effects, this is it. This is the amp I wanted in the first place....the Champ 600 is good, but I had to run it with an OD pedal and a reverb pedal to be a happy camper. And even then the 6-inch speaker was limiting. Although it has an 8-inch speaker, even pedal-to-the-metal is tolerable for volume in a house. If you like Bassman, DRRI or Vox AC15/30, this is definitely worth a look, and I would definitely take it over the Vox Valvetronix amps (I've tried them). Just my opinion. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted November 22, 2007 Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soups41 Posted November 22, 2007 Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 how do you like the Fender Blues Deluxe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Birdman Posted November 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 I love the Blues Deluxe...it's my favorite amp. It's almost impossible to play it above "2" on volume in my house, though......that's why I got the Champion 600, and now, the Vibro Champ XD. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted November 22, 2007 Members Share Posted November 22, 2007 Sweet amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Cool review. I'm hoping to sell my flextone II for the super champ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Birdman Posted November 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 The Super Champ is cool, I tried it, too. But it is LOUD. In fact, it's 15 watts, same as the Pro Junior and Blues Junior, so I presume it could be used for some smaller gigs if you could live with the 10-inch speaker. The models and effects are the same as my Vibro Champ....but there are two channels to its one. It is a tiny bit taller than the Vibro also. I didn't realize they were so close in size and features....when I went to buy the amp, I almost bought a Super Champ by mistake....until the price came up and I realized my error. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Minitruth Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 The Super Champ is cool, I tried it, too. But it is LOUD. In fact, it's 15 watts, same as the Pro Junior and Blues Junior, so I presume it could be used for some smaller gigs if you could live with the 10-inch speaker. The models and effects are the same as my Vibro Champ....but there are two channels to its one. It is a tiny bit taller than the Vibro also. I didn't realize they were so close in size and features....when I went to buy the amp, I almost bought a Super Champ by mistake....until the price came up and I realized my error. Roger Both have outputs for speaker cabs, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Birdman Posted November 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Yes. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carguy Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Looks like a great amp. HNAD!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rufus21 Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Does the owners' manual describe what each of the voicings is attempting to replicate, or do you just have to figure it out based on your own experience? And if so, could you perhaps list them for us? I'm looking to buy a small modelling amp that's supposed to have tubelike sound, and so far it's bbeen looking like the Valvetronix is the way to go. But you like this better. Would you explain why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheKinks Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Congrats on the new amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Does the owners' manual describe what each of the voicings is attempting to replicate, or do you just have to figure it out based on your own experience? And if so, could you perhaps list them for us? I'm looking to buy a small modelling amp that's supposed to have tubelike sound, and so far it's bbeen looking like the Valvetronix is the way to go. But you like this better. Would you explain why? The 16 selections are the same as the FM25/65 DSP amps I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 And HNAD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members odo Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 HNAD looks good for night time playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil051300 Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Congrats, thats great. The Cube 30 is by no means a lousy amp, so it must be quite impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Birdman Posted November 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 rufus21, I had to go get the manual to get a listing of the voices/models. This is the short version of what it says: 1) Early Tweed Champ2) Early Tweed Bassman3) Heavily overdriven Tweed4) Early Blackface5) Slightly overdriven Blackface6) Heavily overdriven Blackface7) Early British combo (my guess is Vox AC30)8) Overdriven early high-gain British stack (probably Marshall)9) High-gain distorted modern British stack10) High-gain overdriven Fender Hot Rod11) High-gain distorted boutique amp12) More gain, more sustain13) Dark super high-gain scooped metal tone14) Sustained super high-gain scooped metal tone like Fender Metalhead15) Clean jazz like Fender Jazz King16) Super clean acoustic like Fender Acoustisonic 12 through 14 are the ones I was referring to earlier....there's some fuzz/noise in the decay on those tones that is annoying. If you're after those sounds, this isn't your amp. My favorites are numbers 2, 4, and 5. I tried the Valvetronix amps about a year ago with every intention of buying one. The models didn't have the tone I was looking for; the pre-amp tube didn't seem to really add anything to the tone and complexity of sound. I ended up buying a Roland Cube 30, which I thought was better for what I wanted, the Blackface, Tweed and Vox models. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 HNAD thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 The Super Champ is cool, I tried it, too. But it is LOUD. In fact, it's 15 watts, same as the Pro Junior and Blues Junior, so I presume it could be used for some smaller gigs if you could live with the 10-inch speaker. I got my Super Champ XD yesterday, and it sounds great at low volume levels - to me, that's the beauty of the hybrid design; since you aren't getting tube distortion anyway, the higher wattage and bigger speaker give you some headroom. And when you do turn it up, the speaker doesn't fart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 12 through 14 are the ones I was referring to earlier....there's some fuzz/noise in the decay on those tones that is annoying. Roger: I agree that the high-gain sounds are the weak link here (not that anyone buys a Fender to get modern scooped tone), but if you lower the gain setting, a lot of the fizziness dissipates. Same goes for the Hot Rod settings -- I was diming the gain on my Super Champ and it sounded pretty chintzy, but after dialing the gain down to 4 or lower I got some decent breakup tones, especially after adjusting the treble a bit. Hey -- is your Vibro as quiet as my Super? Just idling, mine is virtually silent compared to the hum of the Champion 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Birdman Posted November 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Oldskool, a great point....I checked that, and sure enough, dialing the gain down does allieviate the fizzy/fuzz problem on the high-gain voices. But....if you're playing high-gain, why would you WANT to do that???? It kinda defeats the purpose! (laughing) Yes, I noticed that the Vibro Champ is fairly quiet compared to the 600. About in the same league as my Blues Deluxe for noise. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 How's the reverb? I think I may sell my Flex II after Christmas and see if I can get a Super Champ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 HNAD. Since it's using SS for the gain stage, I suspect if you can isolate the input op-amp - probably a T2072 or something like that - and upgrade it to one with higher headroom, you'll eliminate the fizz and get a better overall sounding amp. I did that to my V8 and it was a day/night difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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