I made me one myself. From scratch. I selected a circuit and transformers that allow the amp to run on 6v6 (5-ish watts) or 6L6 (15-ish watts). I had a custom lacquer tweed pine cab built for it and a used 10” alnico Alessandro circa ‘59 . Learned a lot. Love the tone.
Really really nice clean classic Fender clean tones-and great smooth playing as usual Shane. My first amp was a Fender Champ silverface from circa 1977 which I received from my parents at Christmas-still have it along with the Fender Mustang guitar they gave me.
@@charlesbolton8471 that is amazing. I have a 68 Ampeg that uses a printed board. That was a period of major transition in electronics. I expected mine to be hand wired when I started having problems. Disappointed to find it wasn't.
A well-balanced, honest review as ever. It sounds good but I'm not part of the target market for this one. Your demos and reviews are always helpful and constructive.
Thanks a lot, Simon. This is definitely an amp that will appeal to a smaller audience and I am not the target audience with it whatsoever even though I usually love Fender amps.
Recently let mine go. It’s an absolutely wonderful recording amp but impractical for just about any other use for most (although Julian Lage gigs one just fine in the jazz world) so it just became a bit of a luxury and the cash could become something that worked harder for me. Spot on about the cleaner side of things being the sweeter spots….the crank to 12 and really roll off on guitar does work, but I preferred 6 as well to get some grit if needed but be capable of dropping down and still having space in the clean rather than it compressing.
Rather than blasting this amp on 10, I wanted to see how it handled cleaner tones and how it also worked with pedals. My pros and cons are listed at the end. 0:00 - About & Disclaimer 0:40 - Jam Track 3:08 - ’57 Champ Overview 4:38 - Clean Stratocaster Tones 6:57 - Telecaster & Overdrive 8:47 - Who is this amplifier for? - ►Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/QO6dm3 ►Thomann - bit.ly/3DzZy3u ►Sky Music - alnk.to/bEcwTPv
G’day Lefty! Just scrolling through your videos. Have you done a review of Carr Super Bee amplifiers? If you could get a hold of one that would be great 👍
Even though these are popular they are still underrated. Love the 57 custom Champ. I use it dimed but also on 2-3 with a blackbird tube preamp pedal for two extra channels. Dined it does the flame thrower thing perfectly. Layla.. Killer amp.
If you're gonna play at low amp volume turn your guitar volume all the way up to 8-10. This basically removes the guitar volume from the circuit and allows all the top end of the pickups to get to and drive the amp. Turning your guitar volume all the way up and setting your volume with the amp volume control works with any any amp or guitar combo. Talk to any studio guitarist and they wiil tell you that they always turn their guitar volume all the way up and control the overall volume at the amp. The reason behind this is that with the guitar volume all the way up the guitar signal is "driving" the amp at max voltage. Also playing with the guitar volume turned down you loose some of the high frequency tones that your pickups put out. Try it and you'll see what I mean.
I've had one of these for a while now, I never turn it to 10, usually 5 at most. With my hum bucker guitars it has a really nice overdrive around 3-4. I have literally never put a pedal into it. Most often I use it as a practice amp, so I just adjust the volume until I have a tone I'm happy with.
@@NS-tc9kk Loud is a relative term. It's not nearly as loud as my 20W or 100W amps, I don't think it gets very loud. But people who aren't used to electric guitar volumes have told me they think it is loud. So YMMV.
@@NS-tc9kk I don't have this amp, but have the '57 Custom Deluxe which is 12 watts through a 12" speaker. That does not get painfully loud in the slightest so I doubt a smaller 5 watt amp would. I've tried to use that amp live with a drummer and I had to have it fully cranked to be heard at all without going through a microphone into a PA. It was fun, but proved to me that these types of amps do not get loud enough. If it can't be heard over a drummer, it can't be painfully loud unless you have it strapped to your head! Great for home use and low volume gigs and rehearsals though. The '57 Deluxe is great as a pedal platform.
I've had one for a few years and I love it. I find with the vol around 7 I can use my volume knob and get a whole range of nice tones. I've only ever used one pedal with it, a cheap sky surfer reverb pedal, because I missed having reverb in the amp!
right. pedals and cables all over the place for this little thing. The appeal of it is that it is small, tweed , Fender, and tube- but all the add ons necessary take that away. See my comment above.
I think what Clapton and others did was to turn the amp all the way up, but then use their guitar volume and tone controls to roll back and find the perfect tone. Something maybe to try with other amps in the future. Good luck!
Excellent video. Yes, Eric Clapton recorded the Layla album on a '57 Champ. I was floored when I learned that. To me, Eric's sound on that album achieved the perfect guitar tone.
For sure it is not an heavy metal amp, not a Super Reverb, but this is the best studio recording amp of Nashville, best harmonica amp, and for me the best gigging amp with a sm 57 in front of it !!! Even my fiddle sound warm and beautiful in that little amp, this is a keeper for me ! Good review Shane !
I have an 57 champ one of a kind special build. In a tweed platform it runs a 6l6 at about 7 or 8 watts. Currently its Sylvania. Hand wired. Jensen 8 inch speaker, one volume knob. Except it's on a bigger chassis. It's over 20 years old. I have played it live many times. Without any with peddles. Without peddles volume goes to about invisible 7 and shape sound with tone and volume on strat. Great for Blues. Strat only old single coils , no humbuckers. When peddles through front end . Volume maybe 5. All knobs on strat dimed. I swear when recording if amp not seen . No one can tell what I'm playing through . Sound can get explosive between 7 and 10. But absolutely no need to go over 7. No crackles or hums. The amp was built by an old bass player I use to know. Then I had it tweaked by an electrical engineer at work who loved all things tube. He really dialed it in. I'll be buried with it. Left handed also. The amp being played here and mine are extremely close in tone. But I will say the harmonics I can get at invisible 7 are the big difference.
Got a practically new one on reverb for $750. Got a standard C tuned strat with zexcoil vintage pick ups and a warmoth roasted maple neck. Sounds heavenly. So glad I got this little amp. ❤❤❤❤
No doubt the Champ is a legendary amp. They sound incredible around halfway up the dial but like mush when they're cranked. The price on them is insane, though. For half the price or less, you can get a VHT Special 6 with essentially the same circuit, also hand wired, and with a 10-inch speaker, more tone control, and more features in general. I'd love to see you review one of those, or the Special 6 Ultra.
You can build a homebrew version that sounds identical quite cheaply. I built my own 5e3 tweed deluxe. Probably only cost 4-500 Australian dollars, but I wasn't keeping track. The only expensive components are the transformers and valves (tubes to you Yanks out there).
You could also buy a Laney Cub 10 with vol, gain and tone. I also own a VHT Special 6 and the Laney smokes it. Haven't tried the Champ but from what I hear here, I prefer the Laney.
“The price on the 1959 hand wired Plexi is insane just get a DSL has way more features” 🤣🤣 how you sound. And Neil Young Joe Walsh etc etc are gonna have to disagree on the cranked thing lol but is this TGP like not every amp has to be for you bro. There are more differences like ss rectified, mfd, made in china. It’s a completely different amp, it sounds fendery that’s about it, not like a champ. And furthermore no one who loves tweeds are gonna look at that vht and want anything to do with it. 1,100 brand new for a hand wired, made in America vintage replica Fender amp, is a pretty okay price relatively speaking.
@@emossg Marshall came close with the Class 5. I do love mine and in principle it was a great idea but just never had the build quality, clarity of tone or 'magic' to be a mini BB or Plexi :(
Horses for courses man- you have to know what you’re getting into when you buy a champ. If you like the 12 inch speaker of the tone king gremlin chances are you probably would prefer a tweed deluxe over a champ. Part of the champs charm is the small/broken/fuzzy sound. And I’m not saying either is a better amp- it just sounds like the 8 inch speaker isn’t for you and you’d prefer a bigger fuller tone. But the imperfections that make the champ unlikeable for some people is what makes it so unique and great and it can’t really be replicated in a 12 inch speaker amp
@@nickk8650 I wanted to like the amp, i bought one because im a huge fan of julian lage's tone. i just couldnt make it do what my heros can make it do.
Amp over pedals. And you can attenuate both volume and frequency with the guitar. Most guitars (my Jackson super-strat has tone only, no volume)..You've said your preference is wide-open pots on the guitar but you should give pots a chance. Especially on your Teles! Especially with P-90s! Especially with humbuckers! Yesterday I played a Gtetsch for the first time. Talk about pickups! Man! Now I need another guitar. Anyway, nice amp and TY for content.
I always appreciate your honest reviews Shane. So basically it doesn't sound too good at low volume or at high volume and definitely not so great with humbuckers 😀 The amp sounds good at a certain spot like you mentioned, i really liked the strat sound. Apart from being expensive i think that the real issue here is that it's not a versatile amp. I feel like this amp might be just for the Fender enthusiastic.
I know its been a minute since your post , but you might want to look up how many artists have used this amp to record with. This and the tweed deluxe are probably the most recorded amps of all time.
I'm on my second 57 Champ (the previous version - pretty much identical to this but with just 'Fender' on the badge, rather than 'Fender Champ', and built between 2009 and whenever they stopped doing them before this latest reincarnation). Let's get the price out of the way first - I bought both of them used, €500 (killer deal) for the first one, and about €750 for the second (good deal not in super clean condition though) - so the price isn't really an issue if you get them at prices that can be recouped on resale. I mostly play it on 5.5 with a nice Tele, volume rolled off to almost nothing on the guitar - and its one of the nicest fullest living room clean sounds imaginable - much better than guitar vol on full and amp vol on 2.5-3. At 5.5 with the tele's vol down, it sounds compressed but jangly - its fantastic. With my Les Paul I put it on about 3.5 or 4 and ride the vol and tone knobs and it sounds really cool, thick and smokey but clean. So far with my strat I can't get it to sound great without a pedal - except on the middle and bridge pups - my bigger amps bring out the best in the strat. I do have a KoT a Beano boost and a Bad Bob incoming, which may help there. For dirt I like the Boss TB-2W with the Tele and LP - no need for 'verb or delay with this amp
Thanks for this review! I recently purchased an amp kit from a company here in the USA called Mojotone. It's supposed to be based on (or derived from, or in imitation of, or something) the Fender 50s "Tweed 5F1" amp circuit. I don't know what specific differences there are between what I got and the actual Fender amp, other than using a 12AX7 preamp tube instead of 12AY7. I hope when I get it put together it will sound half as good as this!
i have a point to point wired 22 watt Fender Deluxe Reverb (made by Dale Sherlock in Melbourne ) amp with valve rectification .incredible clean tones , but when it's cranked to 11 sounds like a Marshall stack AC/DC would be proud to use .
That's a nice amp Set it to 5 1/2 with some pedals - EQ, reverb, Trem and maybe a little boost I have a Champion 600 Same amp just not hand wired I upgraded it with a new grill cloth, Weber speaker and Tung Sol's It's my main amp for home use
Really great demo. The tone of the amp up and down the dial is great to my ears, BUT - and forgive me if someone else has brought this up - if only the tubes didn't rattle in response to certain frequencies! It was quite evident in the clean sounds that were demoed (from 5.17 onwards). I know small combo amps are prone to extraneous noises due to the proximity of tubes to the speaker, I had a similar issue years ago with a Tweed (pre-Hotrod) Blues Deluxe. That said, I have a '75 SF Bronco amp (re-badged Vibro Champ) that has no such issues. Surely there's a DIY fix other than running through a separate speaker cab, but that rattle wouldn't pass muster at any recording session.
Well agree in your cool demo. The Fender '57 Custom Champ does shine especially in the clean tones straight through amp, and/or with effects. Harmonics are ultra clear, beautiful sounding amp with my Fender Strat guitars. Recently used a vintage TS9 overdrive to push a little more O.D. gain during recording track, amp volume at six . The warm overdrive tone on that lead track sounds. Love the cool natural overdrive from amp as well. Very versatile amp for recording. Yes indeed as mentioned...was used during Layla sessions by Eric Clapton. Many other great guitar players/legions from various studios, past to present recordings. Many "big time guitar players/legions" own the real deal original amp (with resonates more than the reissue). But nevertheless...this is extremely close to the real deal for far far less than what one would pay for an original in good working condition, tech go through amp, repair any issues. The reissue will eventually sound warmer as the speaker fully breaks in. One can also upgrade/use other tubes for personal tonal/sound preference. Hand down...love my Fender Custom '57 Champ. Cheers.
Great job! I hesitate to buy the new Fender 68 vibro champ 5w, or a 1w Supro Delta King, or a Harley Benton Tube 5, to play at home only. I wonder if the 68 vibro 5w is not too loud for a home use? I have a Fender Blues Junior lacq. Tweed but it’s really too loud, even at 20%!... what do you think? Thank You
This is my first amp, and yes it does season well. I find w/ peddles and the Vol at 4-5 and vol / tone varied daily, at least for a silver sky. Nice sounds you were getting there. All 3 sound great!
@@atomfaust I like mine allot, had it a few years now as my only amp and it is broken in. Getting better tones all the time and almost always have it set on just below 4. It tends to run hot in temperature and I have replaced the tubes twice in 3 years as a precaution, but maybe not necessary. The SS sounds lovely without pedals but I use 2, almost always have the caitlainbread topanga on and the D&M Drive on about 50% of the time depending on mood. It seems to take them OK, but really doesn’t need them since it has broken in… that said…. I am looking for my second amp just because marketing seems to be working on me. Maybe a princeton or the magnatone next. Hehe
Edit to above: I should say I still only have the one guitar, the SS which is also getting broken in, I use these at home together and noodle for my own entertainment usually several hours a week, I don’t record and I have never taken either out of the house. For me.. it is great, but has me wondering what else I would enjoy. Not sure I would ever sell either unless I needed food on the table.
I own one, and in my opinion it's not very ice picky at all. It's warm as hell, could almost say it muddy. But it's exceptional for a default blues tone. this amp is wonderfully warm. It doesn't like the neck pickup on my strat, it's great for playing through the bridge pickup with a full, warm tone, and sometimes playing through the middle pickup. This amp is as much a sound effect as it is an amp. I love it for what it is! (My preferred volume setting is 4.5. And also, I cranked this thing once... it'll hurt your ears just fine if that's what you desire. My only criticism is the hum. This thing does hum and I'm not sure if it's due to the circuit design, or that I bought it used and it was shipped to me. But lately, I've noticed the hum creates a dissonance when I play the open low E and the open B strings. That's annoying, and I think I'll have to take it in. Bummer.)
Yeah, same comment before I read this. The 20 watt artist amp looks nice at $600 too. I’ve got a Mesa boogie studio .22 (from about 1990), so I never need a new one.
Thanks Shane!! It's a great choice for a music room and for capturing those simple vintage Fender tones & working through your pedals. Whether the price point is worth it is totally subjective, but it does fill a niche... I have had this in my Sweetwater cart on several different occasions. If I can work the right "demo" deal, I just might push "buy now" 😂😂
@@derektalasek795 How are you liking it so far? I've ordered a '68 Vibro Champ reissue on backorder but it's already been 5 months and they have a Champ in stock instead so tempted to go with that.
@@sisdl15 A Vibro Champ is a silver face style amp isn't it? I would think the '57 Champ would sound completely different. I love the '57 champ for what it is: a blues/rock machine. I also have an EL84 style 15 watt Bad Cat amp, it's wonderful for clean pure tones at low volume, but I was playing the lead part of Freddie King's Washout through it and it just wasn't hittin right. I plugged into the '57 Champ and bam 💥 sounded just like the blues. That's what the '57 Champ does. It's very warm and thick, and if you're really ripping it, it's got this extra bit of juice that can surprise you. If that's what your looking for, get it. I also like it for being hand wired and in a solid pine cab, but dang pricey lol.
Great demo of a great amp. When I found out Clapton recorded the Layla album using an amp like this one, I was surprised. You can get a lot out of a low watt amp.
Save your cash and get a Harley Benton (EU)or Stage Right (USA) 5 watt amp for about $130 and swap out the tubes for JJ's or Amp Dr. and you will get almost the same tones. Add in a $25 Behringer Digital Reverb pedal and you have an amazing home practice setup. I love mine setup this way.
I just got that Harley Benton 5W/1W(with the integrated attenuator) for 80 EUR used but like in mint condition. It has a tone control and a celestion 8inch speaker and it sounds pretty much the same. Its the perfect pedal platform.
If you run a Joyo American sound into it you get a huge range of really good Fender tones as well. I'm amazed and stoked with my chinese champ clone with Joyo and a reverb pedal in front.
How does this compare to the Joyo sweet baby amp? The 57 champ is $1000 U.S. The joyo sweet baby amp is $250 stew Mac has a 57 tweed kit for $750. Outside of the Weber 8 what’s the big difference in price? I know the joyo isn’t in a pine enclosure & isn’t hand wired but an almost $750 price increase is bonkers IMO. I was thinking about getting the joyo sweet baby as a practice amp. Quick question should I go with a Fender Princeton 65 dsp or Fender Princeton chorus as a home practice amp both are $100 bucks a piece?
It's nice, certainly good clean. You said it was quite 'bright'? It sounded quite DARK to me! Maybe it was the miking! It sounded ok cranked, but kept clean, with an od pedal was fuller sounding! (Still a tad dark to me tho!) Nice 1 Shane! \m/
Sounds great! Been wanting to get one of these champs. What are you running your guitar volumes at? Imagine it must be very reactive to your volume/tone controls with it having only one volume control?
As a lefty with severe GAS, it's not often that you save me money Shane, but I think you've helped me out on this occasion! Any chance of a '68 Custom Vibro Champ review?
❤Nice video and amp man. I built a 52 Princeton clone yep 5 watts but with a tone control and a 1 watt attenuator switch. I sound like I was a kidd again playing on one smiling from ear to ear. Have a good one.
If you get the chance try a '57 Deluxe. There's so many tones in that amp without even using a pedal. Also, I bet that Champ will darken up a bit as the speaker breaks in. I've got a 50's style Weber in my SF Champ and it's definitely not bright.
hello, nice video and I think I will pump it. I visited some music shops in Italy to buy it, because I noticed that the metal plate with the Fender 75 writing is missing on the back of the amplifier, perhaps they were not produced in the USA, however the cost is around 1500 €. I wanted to know what you thought. Thank you
I put my 335 through one today. It stayed clean really loud, but it got boomy after 4. It was so bassy. It would be perfect with a Tele. Better yet, get an Achillies Nyx from Labros at Achillies Amps. It’s a Tweed Champ with a Marshall OD switch, a bigger cab and speaker and an effects loop.
I think it is worth it. It is a great sounding amp. Both warm and bright, very touch-sensitive. I have dealt with some rattles on certain notes (even new tubes can be unreliable), but with a new (good) 6V6 power tube, all is well. I don't miss the reverb. Using it at church, they won't let me go past 3 and a half or 4. It still cuts through the mix. Using it at home I still stay around 4. But this one goes to 12.
Sounds amazing under the hands of a pro player, not surprised there . Is it going to give me a real tweed tone at a reasonable volume with a Gibson? Never been happy with tweed pedals I’ve tried. I’d love the ‘57 tweed deluxe, but I know it would be too loud at the edge of breakup. I’d love to get a great blues tone without a lot of pedals. Great demo as always!
A Bugera V5 or a Mono Price are good amps for the money. But, the hardwired, tube rectifier Fender Champ is on a different level. A Point to point hand crafted amp will last a lifetime. No comparison between the aforementioned ones and the Champ. Now the hand wired Harmony 8418 at $399($299 used) is close, but no real breakup.
I tried a 57 Champ in 2019 and it was superb. The notes feel like they are sucked out of the guitar. I was too weak to buy an amp without a tone control, so I bought a Princeton.
A lovely little amp to use around the house. I am going to see how much they cost now...... Yes they do cost a bit. One for the future, I own a twenty year old Tele 50's reissue and would like to match that up with this amp
I love mine. I put a Jensen P8R in it, a set of NOS RCA tubes, added a SurfyBear Metal reverb pedal/tank and a JHS tidewater trem behind my usual pedal board for some nice clean silver/blackface chimey tones. Keep the volume on 4 (humbuckers, right on the edge of breakup) and you have a serious pedal platform. I have a Klone at the end of my gain staging pedals that I use to hit the front end of the amp hard to bring it into natural overdrive.
Eric Clapton uses his Vibro Champ (his signature more sophisticated version of the Champ) on his "I Still Do" album which works very well except for a couple of songs where there was heavy post production effects that struggled to work. Miked with a single SM57 from what I saw on the video and no where near the centre of the speaker plus from what he said turned up full. I think you could get a lot out of the amp as a recording amp with pedals a lot of the time.
For the price buy a usable amp which would be a tween deluxe. Diff in price might be $200.00. Plus you can play it at home and even gig with it. Great amp. Add a reverb box and it sounds better than a deluxe reverb.
This amp in the clean tone, will truly tell if someone can really play the guitar well opposed to hiding behind a ton of effects and pedals. Long lost art 😂
I’m my opinion, the 5f1 circuit sounds great… through bigger speakers. It’s the small driver that kills it for me. Building one as a head now, then will be modifying it to run 6L6s instead of the 6V6. Through a proper cab, you’ve got something great.
I wish the attenuation on these was more gradual and that it had tone control. For now I got a Pro Junior and added an attenuator. But ... If I had to do it all over again - and I might, I would get a Blues Jr because you can manipulate volume and natural distortion and clean tones with the master and volume controls. The Eric Clapton models of tweed amps should be brought out again. I regret not getting one of those buggers!
It's still a little wooly even when it's clean, but that's what these are known and loved for and why they're killer studio amps. I'd love to add one of these to my collection.
At trushack -Yes, wooly when "clean" is the perfect description for this amp. In my perfect world, a tone control on this, but then it would not be what it is. Pro Jr is not a perfect alternative imo..I tried...but no...because they are so much louder. Thinking about old vibro champ or new vibro champ custom...?
I bought the Champ 600 when the last RI was on clearance. The speaker is too small for OD and Fuzz. The 8in Weber is definitely a lusty upgrade! I just run my Champ 600 through an external cab if I want to get nasty without the volume. Can you unplug the speaker on this Champ and run through an external cab?
I snagged a Harmony 5watt 8418 Limited RI . More than happy with it. Can’t go wrong with a champ tho. Boss blues driver into fender champ/blues junior is a great desert island combination
Absolutely (on both counts: the Champ and BJ). I don't follow rules well, so I even like my old ds-1 into the BJ (with the Eminence Humbolt Hempster speaker). Just fun, that's all any of this is for 99.999999 percent of us.
I've got a 1966 champ style supro, and it sounds awesome. Had a silverface vibro champ too but I actually preferred the supro. I traded it for twin of all things... must have found the VC a bit anemic.
I love this amp. Will buy it i guess, but one thing i dont get is. Everyone says „its been used by many famous guitar players“ blabla „many famous recordings“ blabla but the only example people have for that is Eric Clapton and especially Layla. So who are those other players and famous recordings?
As well as the 5f1 kits mentioned by other posters there are pre-made Chinese clones available. Donner do one as do Artist. I have one that’s available here In the UK branded Juketone and the model name is True Blood. It costs a quarter of what this does and has a 10” Celestion speaker
i had one of these.. sent it back to sweetwater after 3-4 days. Just wasnt a fan of the tiny speaker. 1 years later i bought a 57 twin tweed reissue and i couldnt be more happy. Granted i have to use a attenuator with it.. but thats okay by me.
Yeah, bought a Marshall Origin 5 on Shane's recommendation for 20% of the price of this Fender and it's awesome. Not quite my old 1970s Bluesbreaker for sure but damn great for recording, writing and practising. As you say, at over £1k GBP I couldn't see me buying that unless I needed it for my private jet between gigs for jamming lol (PS: do not have private jet)
I thought that the amp full sounded better. You should have tried the amp on full AND the overdrive with gain=min, level=full, tone to taste to have the amp's sound boosted and tailored with the tone of the pedal. Small tweed amps have the reputation that cranked and with a TS-style pedal are "small Marshalls" used in numerous recordings.
