Members Mr. Twang Posted January 21, 2007 Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 Seeing that video of the new Fender Champ with the 6" speaker got me thinking about what the reasonable Champ clones are. Who makes a good, reasonably priced clone with an eight-inch speaker? Or is the best option an old silverface original with an eight-inch speaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Supreme Pancake Posted January 21, 2007 Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 Where is said link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members M900 Posted January 21, 2007 Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 http://www.stf-electronics.com/ has a kit for the Champ, both as a head and as a combo. Still cheaper to buy a Silverface though, if you want a combo. c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hbar Posted January 21, 2007 Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 I think your best bet would be to get the real deal. All the boutique versions will be significantly higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members erksin Posted January 21, 2007 Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 Silvertone - a model 1481 from the mid '60s to be exact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SirJackdeFuzz Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 Forget about the Champ - this gentleman from Texas can make you ANT Fender you want, or a combonation of fenders into one combo of your liking ! DO NOT restrict yourself to jutst a Champ mate ! http://www.celticamplifiers.com/ If i am not misteaken, he makes a 5E3 clone, 100% PTP hand wire'd, laq. TWEED, speaker of your choice, top quality cab woods, and everything is made by one man, with LOVE !!! For only $800.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChitownTerror Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 Forget about the Champ - this gentleman from Texas can make you ANT Fender you want, or a combonation of fenders into one combo of your liking ! DO NOT restrict yourself to jutst a Champ mate ! http://www.celticamplifiers.com/ If i am not misteaken, he makes a 5E3 clone, 100% PTP hand wire'd, laq. TWEED, speaker of your choice, top quality cab woods, and everything is made by one man, with LOVE !!! For only $800.00 $800 is way too much for a low wattage amp IMO. My blackface bassman cost fraction of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Televator Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 $800 is way too much for a low wattage amp IMO. My blackface bassman cost fraction of that. Agreed; $800 is crazy---mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 Considering Fender is going to charge at least 1500 and the last figure I heard $1700+ for their PTP Tweed Deluxe clone $800 doesn't seem crazy to me really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChitownTerror Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 Considering Fender is going to charge at least 1500 and the last figure I heard $1700+ for their PTP Tweed Deluxe clone $800 doesn't seem crazy to me really. That's because they're not targeting the average player. And just because Fender's catering to the bat{censored} crazy corksniffer-market, doesn't make the $800 any more reasonably priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrSage Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 I think your best bet would be to get the real deal. All the boutique versions will be significantly higher. Yes. You can get a vintage silverface Champ and pay to have it completely retubed and overhauled for less than a hand-made Champ clone would cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members godard Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 You can find SF Fender Champs for $200 nowdays, you couldn't possibly build anything better for less. If you want better look at a Victoria or something, but if you want cheaper SF Fender's are probably the best deal going on the amp market today IMHO (as a SF Vibrochamp owner). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KRAA!! Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 An Epiphone Valve Jr. has the same general vibe as a Champ for a lot cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundchaser59 Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 An Epiphone Valve Jr. has the same general vibe as a Champ for a lot cheaper. $99 bucks, and I think it sounds better. Especially if you do the super easy Hammond 125ESE transformer mod on it, $45 bucks, and stick a Jensen C8R speaker in it, $25 bucks.... but you'll be plugging it into a 4x12 anyway, right?? And it wont need a cap job as soon as you take it home like the vintage models will. With all the other amps available out there, why would you spend $800 bucks on a Champ? If you are going to do that, you might as well buy a vintage Super Champ for $700, retube and hit it with a Delta Demon.....waaaaay more versatile than a straight Champ. I know because I still have my 1965 Champ.....had it for 33 years now. This forum implies that you are going to run it with some kind of effects?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 The $800 was for a Tweed Deluxe clone, not a champ. $800 for a champ is indeed silly. And I agree just because Fender does one thing doesn't mean 800 bucks is a lot...its reasonable for what it is. A vintage Tweed Deluxe isn't going to be anywhere near that price. I agree with the consensus that just buying a SF Champ or one of those Silvertones is the best option. Despite rising prices they're still pretty reasonable I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrSage Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 You can find SF Fender Champs for $200 nowdays Not very often. Rarely below $300 these days, as people are suddenly feeling that anything "vintage" should be sold for huge dollars. To make matters worse, people are paying those big dollars. It's not uncommon to see people asking $350 for SF champs, and stores are asking up to $600 for them. Ridiculous. They're very plentiful. But they do come up for $200 every once in a while. $300 - $350 is pretty common, and still a better deal than you'll get for a hand-built, quality Champ. For reference, I paid around $400 for a tweed Champ kit that I had to assemble myself. Add an amp tech's hourly fee on top of that and you'll be up to $600 or $650 pretty easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WarofGhosts Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 Keep an eye on these friends of mine http://portcitymusicsupply.com they will be doing an 8 watt amp very soon that from what I've heard of the proto sounds incredible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SirJackdeFuzz Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 The $800 was for a Tweed Deluxe clone, not a champ. $800 for a champ is indeed silly. And I agree just because Fender does one thing doesn't mean 800 bucks is a lot...its reasonable for what it is. A vintage Tweed Deluxe isn't going to be anywhere near that price. I agree with the consensus that just buying a SF Champ or one of those Silvertones is the best option. Despite rising prices they're still pretty reasonable I think. . . . oh shite, how the hell did i get all mixed-up between a CHAMP and a TWEED DeLuxe . . . I feel like a right idiot now OK, so i still think $800.00 for a (much higher wattage) Tweed DeLuxe is an awsome price - and there is one in my near future too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 . . . oh shite, how the hell did i get all mixed-up between a CHAMP and a TWEED DeLuxe . . . I feel like a right idiot now OK, so i still think $800.00 for a (much higher wattage) Tweed DeLuxe is an awsome price - and there is one in my near future too The Champ 600 isn't going to be handwired PTP though...although that doesn't mean it will be a crappy amp. We'll just have to see when they start hitting stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Uma Floresta Posted January 22, 2007 Members Share Posted January 22, 2007 I've read that this one is supposed to have a champish sound (though I've never played a Champ): http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-Tube-12A-Practice-Amp?sku=481230 $100, tube preamp, solid state power amp, treble and bass, mid shift button, headphone out, line out, speaker out. I just got one the other day. The cleans are pretty, sounds nicer than your average little practice amp. I think the tube makes an audible difference. The speaker is a Celestion (8 inch), but some people have reported success with other speakers, or bigger cabs. On the gain channel it sounds like crap unless you use only a little gain. A lot of gain and it almost sounds like a defective old fuzz, but not necessarily in a good way. I've heard changing out the cheap stock Chinese tube for something nicer makes a big difference. There are also a lot of mods you can do to it, which I will attempt eventually. Anyway, it sounds pretty good. You could use it to drive another amp, or a cab. Sounds nice with an OD pedal and a 7 band EQ. I got some nicer Fendery sounds from it (nothing earth shattering, but nice). I really need to play it more to come to any real conclusions about it, though. But it seems to be a nice little practice amp for very little money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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