Members geetarLAXjunkie Posted November 23, 2015 Members Share Posted November 23, 2015 I caught the Julian Lage Trio on Saturday night in Kansas City. Simply fantastic. Julian played a telecaster straight into a vintage tweed Fender Champ. No pedals, no nonsense. Tone was jazzy when he rolled off the volume a bit, but gritty and articulate when at full volume. My question is, does anyone have recommendations for a similar amp currently in production? Vintage tweed Champs regularly go for $2k online, and you don't get to plug in and play before pulling the trigger. I'm in the market for something SMALL that I can crank at home to get a natural overdrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted November 23, 2015 Members Share Posted November 23, 2015 The circuits are very common. You can even buy kits. They are very easy to build. Just don't skimp on buying the speaker. The speaker makes a huge difference in how they sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 24, 2015 Members Share Posted November 24, 2015 Circuit: 5F1 Output: ~5W Single Ended Class A All Tube Amplifier Cathode Biased Build time: 4 hours Difficulty: 1 out of 5 (Beginner) 1 JJ 6v6 Vacuum Tube 1 JJ 5Y3 Vacuum Tube 1 JJ 12AX7 Vacuum Tube Speakers: 1 Mojotone American Vintage AV8C/ 4ohm 15 Watts Nominal Resistors and Capacitors: Carbon Comp. Sprague, TAD, Orange drop 10" Install Power Cord Original Fender Style Black Fiberboard w/ Eyelets http://www.mojotone.com/Holiday-Sales/Cinco-De-Mayo-2015/Mojotone-Tweed-Champ-Style-Amplifier-Kit#.VlPDbUskZSV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geetarLAXjunkie Posted November 24, 2015 Author Members Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thanks. I'm intrigued. Speaker suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geetarLAXjunkie Posted November 24, 2015 Author Members Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thanks. Any experience with this build kit? I'm not exactly what most would call "mechanically inclined," but I love the idea of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted November 25, 2015 Members Share Posted November 25, 2015 i would not buy a kit with and cab for an 8" speaker. they tend to sound farty when cranked and also they sound small. tubeampdoctor has also one with a 12" cab http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?products_id=3366&url_node_name=TAD_Amp_Kits_AMP_Kits_TWEED&language=en but i fear they do not offer 120V version but send them an email. you could also go the BYOC road with a tweed royal, which is switchable between champ and deluxe. i built one myself and i'm very happy with it. main advantage of the BYOC is, that they have great step by step building instructions http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/amps-cabs-1/products/tweedroyalcombo but this is bigger than a champ and its slightly bigger than a tweed deluxe one other thing, a tweed champ is not a bedroom friendly amp, if you crank it not only a baby next room will wake up, but also your neighbors will be easily annoyed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 28, 2015 Members Share Posted November 28, 2015 Most Champ cabs can take a 10" speaker. I like a ceramic Weber 10" 3.2 ohm speaker in mine. Vintage Champs are ridiculously priced for what you are getting in terms of features and components. There's nothing special about a vintage Champ vs. a modern kit-built one in terms of durability and tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted December 14, 2015 Members Share Posted December 14, 2015 jeff morton is who you want to build you a tweed champ mortatone amplification https://www.facebook.com/Mortatone-507683179337966/ here is the tremolux 5E9-A he built for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sirfun Posted December 15, 2015 Members Share Posted December 15, 2015 Vintage tweed Fender Champ the best amp in the known history of man !! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted December 15, 2015 Members Share Posted December 15, 2015 the best amp in the known history of man !! ) I don't know man. My buddy had an original Tweed all the years we grew up playing together. Other then it being a good practice amp I was not impressed with it much, Of course you could buy one for $25 back in those days. The thing wasn't even loud enough to rehearse with unless you put it up at ear level. That was never any good because loud PA's were hard to come by. PAS's with two columns were all most bands could afford and having an amp up high blasted your ears so you couldn't hear the vocals. Set it on the floor and it sounded like a mosquito in the background. The amp is just a beginners amp and its greatly underpowered for gigging at 5 watts unless you mic the thing. I can sing over a vintage champ "without a microphone" Cleans disappear at very low volume so cranking it up means you give up the clean tone option for allot of music you may play. You're stuck with drive tones for just about everything. You have to mic the amp and pump it through the mains for the audience and the stage monitors so the other players can hear you. That can make for more PA gear you have to haul so you really aren't saving your back unless you always use a House PA or pay someone to do sound for you. My rule of thumb for a live amp is its got to be loud enough to match the drummers hardest hits on the cymbals and snare running clean. I used to have a 15W champ and that one was highly underpowered too. All it was good for was driving my voice box horn. Sounded pretty good for that. Most amps under 15 watts will need a megaphone in front of them to compete with a normal drummer, Some 12W tube amps can be OK depending on the music type, but 22~30 is the lowest I'd ever gig with. I want to have the ability to produce some clean tones at half volume which is about half volume on most tube amps. Even 30W is a bit anemic for me. I like being able to get those Santana like sustains from the strings standing at the mic maybe 4~5' from the amp. I can do that with a 50W but with a 30W I'd need it directly in back of me tilted up which is too claustrophobic for me unless its a rinky dink stage where space is a big factor. I like having at least some space to move around and don't like having to be in such tight proximity to the amp where I'm tripping over the thing. Especially when you have stage lights shining down and can see jack. I can get buy with 5' between the amp and mic. 10~12' is better. I set the guitar so its on the verge of having the strings self sustain when standing at the mic. Then I can I step back from the mic to get the strings to self sustain without having to jack with volume pedals. I can do that with a 50W tube or 100W SS amp in most cases. Micing a low wattage amp isn't the same thing. I'd have to use an EBow or Sustainiac pickup to do the same with a low wattage rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wallywanker Posted December 16, 2015 Members Share Posted December 16, 2015 My rule of thumb for a live amp is its got to be loud enough to match the drummers hardest hits on the cymbals and snare running clean. i'm in total agreement...i love a pristine clear punchy clean - if you have that you can go anywhere from there, but if you don't have it to start with there's no effect that will get you there. and i say that as a fender lover, no champ, but have a princeton, deluxe, twin, and quad reverb - best clean sound ever. even though i'm basically a strat/superstrat kinda guy i gotta say a tele through a deluxe or twin is the kind of sublime you just can't get anywhere else ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 17, 2015 Members Share Posted December 17, 2015 no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 17, 2015 Members Share Posted December 17, 2015 If I could only have one amp on a desert island it would be a Magnatone 260 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted December 17, 2015 Members Share Posted December 17, 2015 Quad Reverb… doesn't that weigh as much as a small car?Is it the 135 Watt version?Do you move it around? I find the 70 Watt Super Reverb a near impossible lug and that's only got 10" speakers in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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