The Fender Champ, Five Watts of Famous Tones; or The Need for Tweed 

I love this statement - "If you have a 5-watt Fender and a 5-watt Marshall and one Fender style guitar and one Gibson style guitar you will be hard pressed to find excuses to not make classic tones all day long.". I definitely agree!

This video validates what took me about 25 years to realize. A tweed champ, Hall of Fame pedal, and an LP is all that I need. Thanks. :)

I love the smell of 12AX7s in the morning... it smells like... oh shit, my amps on fire again

I love my 1980 Silver Face Vibro Champ. I inherited it from my brother. My dad bought it for him brand new in 1980. Brother and dad have passed on. The SFVC is a little piece of them.

I had never heard of Julian Lage until this morning. Thanks for the heads up and the info on the Champ. Today was a good learning day 😀👍

I stumbled upon a 1978 Fender Champ in 1995 being sold on consignment at a music shop near Fort Knox, KY, for 75 bucks (I think that's what I gave for it) ... still had the paperwork in a plastic bag at the bottom of the cabinet. I still have the amp and that paperwork. A Frank Zappa fan, I bought it for the reference in the title track of Joe's Garage: "And a cheesy little amp/With a sign on the front said "Fender Champ" ... It's been a treasure lo these past 26 years.

I discovered this channel yesterday and what a pleasure! More of this classics, please! Great job.

Well done on the history lesson! I am building a 1958 champ clone currently and this is inspirational!

My first guitar and amp was a Fender Mustang & Champ Amp that my mom and dad gave me for christmas back in '66 when I was 13. Wish I still had those today.

I love my little homebuilt tweed Champ but I still find it too loud if I want an overdriven sound. I built a quarter watt amp using 1950's battery radio valves and it's great for cranking up for a tweed Deluxe tone without others complaining. Yes, I love tiny amps.

Dan Lurie just got another sale thanks to you. I just got the desktop version of the champ and it has proven to be a beast. Thank you for all the well researched and easy to follow content for us vintage gear enthusiasts.

Another wonderful and Informative Session. I happen to have a custom made Champ with an Amperex 6SJ7 Preamp tube and a 6V6, amazing sound!

I purchased a Super Champ Fender amp New in the early 80's, an it is still Rockin ! It is truly a Super Champ living up to it's name , in Tone & Dependability .

Just discovered your channel, love what you're doing here ! The Fender Champ was my fav amp for doing studio work and often used it as a pre-amp into a Marshall stack on live gigs, such a powerful little beast !

Been using a Champ as one of my studio amps for several years now. Love it! Great informational video. Thanks.

This is fascinating to me. I’m a klutzy hobbyist player trying to close the circuit between my brain and my left hand. These ideas are a whole new world for me. Thanks!

...I have the prototype for the "Super Champ"....it has a label on the rear of the chassis that reads, "when done please return to Paul Rivera in R&D"............

Another guy who makes a GREAT amp is Terry at D-Labs from Battle Creek, MI. He makes a unique little 10w called an Opti-Plexer. Push/Pull V/T/B and the "Opti-Plex" control. Got mine hooked up through a pair of 8" Celestion vintage speakers. Great amp. D-Labs has a RU-vid channel where he repairs vintage amps and all.

Your videos are brilliant. Keep up the great work! Thanks

Always, ALWAYS super happy to see a new Keith vid! That Dave Cobb Rig Rundown was just fantastically informative and entertaining.

"An old blackface Champ is actually what I did ‘Funk #49’ on. A blackface Champ and a Tele, straight in.” -Joe Walsh, from an interview in Guitar World Magazine, June 2012

My first amp in 1967 was a used Champ my mom bought me for $40 at a yard sale! It wasn't loud enough for me at the time. My mom scored another garage sale amp the next year: a Silvertone head atop a 6x10" speaker cab. I graduated to a silver face twin reverb in the 80s. Then in 95 I got a newly introduced hot rod deluxe 40 watt, which is what I use today still. It's a little too powerful but I still like it. I wish I had that old Champ. My brother still has a silver face Champ he uses at home.

Shoutouts to these videos. I'm sure you could easily make extended, like 30-60 minute episodes of these, that were enjoyable as well.

You do such an excellent job on your videos. I have a '76 Vibro Champ that my uncle left me. Awesome amps!

In about '93 I started getting decent studio work as a guitarist. I'd played out professionally for over 10 years by that time, and I really thought I understood equipment. I owned excellent gear, and not to brag but I was known among other players for having really good tone. I did a couple of sessions that the artist and producer really liked, and before I knew it I was being called regularly for all sorts of projects. On one of these sessions I was booked for a singer-songwriter at an old-house-turned-recording-studio. I showed up with my usual tool box: a Tele, Strat, and Les Paul, and for amps an '87 Marshall Silver Jubilee with 2x12 cab and a Mesa Boogie Mk III 100 watt Simul-Class, and of course a rack of effects. I was READY! Except I wasn't. EVERYTHING I threw at the tracks were USELESS! I had all this wonderful, LARGE and POWERFUL equipment, yet my tone SUCKED!!! Everything sounded small and buzzy in this particular studio. At about hour 3 the engineer had enough. He said, "I've got an idea" and left the room. Two minutes later he returned with a 1973 Fender Vibro-Champ and an original TS-808. Ten minutes later (I swear on all that's holy) I was recording the absolute most massive tones of my life! I've still got those recordings somewhere, and they changed my life forever.

Excellent video, thank you! I've just discovered your channel & subbed!

Stumbled upon your channel about a month ago and I LOVE it. Keep doing what you’re doing.

Nice video! You were constantly spouting facts and specs, most informative! I have a thing for small tube amps, and I’ve noticed a few lately that are 5 watt, and a 15 watt that have a one watt button on the front. I’ve never played with only one watt? I’ve got two Crate 508’s. Well, actually I loaned one to a friend, and I found it easier to go buy another than to ask for mine back! Also a killer little amp, loads of tone and character.

I've playing live, outdoor, rock, keg party gigs with a mic'd tweed champ and an EQ pedal. We had to tape the amp to the tarp/stage and the Mic to the cab. The other guitarist used a tiny PV exactly the same size as the fender and an EDI. The bass DI no amp, just sidefill. The soundman Loved Us. He had total control, the singer get could hear clearly through the crap wedge monitors because they contained only him as we played through only sidefill and our 5 watters. The drummer used what is normally the bass amp as a monitor. This was a teen kegged party so we only had a portable 1500watt generator to run the whole show and it worked fukkin great.

I have Tone King Imperial MK II and I can get those Champ sounds on a lead channel with attenuator. Also love my Marshall SL5 amp. Great RU-vid channel! subscribed! :)

So appreciate what your doing.. Hope that things get sorted out with RU-vid soon so that all the channels that deal with music instruction are not unfairly demonitized.. Stay Awesome!!!!!!!

Yet another thorough, concise and extremely educational presentation on a fantastic piece of equipment. Many years ago I was fortunate enough to be good friends with the great Tom Dowd. When he saw the 100 watt Marshall stack and the 50 watt Soldano amp I was trying to record with, he sat me down and gave me the talk. I was living in a 5 watt world and never knew it. You as usual are spot on agin. Can't wait to see your next presentation.

I don't have a champ but I play through a Blackstar ht5 at home and usually run it at 0.5w. Unless I'm trying to rattle the neighbours, half a watt is enough. ✌️🇦🇺

I have a 79 Silverface. Got it used at a guitar store with a broken tube socket .Fixed the socket and retubed for $30. Best amp I ever had.

Thanks Keith for such as awesome video! Now I NEED a Fender Champ...

Awesome tone, great professional production and very informative. Thanks for this channel

Small amps with less knobs are teaching me how to find it with my fingers instead of pedals. My whole rig is a National 1210, a Victoria 5112 and a Dr.Z M12 with a Strymon Flint and a Sacred Cow Klone. I have one a Strat made from a warmoth neck and MJT body. I always record people with the bare essentials before adding any other colouring or effects to the mix. I find that if you record it right in the dry run with simple tools, you can pretty much throw it into an LA2A as is and master the whole thing with two knobs.

Nice video. I've got a '59 Gibson Skylark and an HT-5 Metal so I definitely appreciate what you're doing here. Might be a good channel for me.

I got a custom 57 a few weeks ago. I found it used and practically brand new condition. I love it! I’ve been playing the guitar straight through the amp. It has become a new way of playing and I’ll never go back to another amp. Thanks for the video!!

Thanks for your historical videos, you have a wonderful speaking voice. Very professional. Cheers

Keith - always love what you do. Never miss a thing. Just a point of feedback for this one: maybe turn off the blues in the background; we’re here to listen to you brother. Again, always love your work.

Wish the 5 amp doctrine was more popular back in the 70s, would have made life as a roadie so much easier. I've managed to get my dosage down from 50 to 5 watts by a careful reduction programme. Keep spreading the word brother. Thanks.

man you pack a good lesson in so little time love this show. i had a 79 vibro camp i regret parting with and that was 2003

Your thing about a Fender style guitar, a Gibson-style guitar, a Marshall, and a Champ, and making music all the time is so true! I'm in a creative state of grace right this moment, with my Jazzmaster and my Riviera P93 (which I keep in open G), and my British-style amp (in this case, an AC4), and my Fender - in this case, a Princeton. Lovely channel, I respect your clear passion for history!

This is a sweet little amp. I love low wattage amps. I have a Black Heart Little Giant 5 watt class A head with two Blackheart 1x10 cabs. Like a mini-stack. It sounds so good. And plenty loud enough. This would be a nice addition. I also had the Marshall Class 5 combo amp. I had to sell it to pay for a lawyer, but that's a whole other story. I was going to try and find another, but this may take it's place. Nice review and back story. A lot I didn't know. Liked and subbed

I got a fantastic deal on a slightly used Custom Champ and I have to say it’s fantastic. The cleans with the volume at 4 on a Strat are amazing... punchy, clean and smooth. You’d never expect it. So responsive with the volume at ten, using the guitar volume to control your tone. It doesn’t sound or feel like an 8” speaker.

Great to bump into this channel ... For quite a long time, (Since 2001?) I've owned a 5Watt TopHat Prince Royale. (EF86 Pre-amp, EL84 Power, 5Y3 Rectifier) The Cone is an 8" Top Hat custom. Gigged with a mic, but mostly studio and practice sessions. Note also: Rhett Shull (/rshull07) recently suggested a similar bedroom rig (my go-to, all this time.) Teeny amp and a reverb pedal. It's a way of cleaning up bad habits, that's for sure.

I got a Hand Made 5w Champ and every time i turn it on i get more in love with it. It's amazing how good it takes drive/distortion pedals.

Super cool series! I have a fender champ 600 ri. I’m gunna mod it to the original specs of the original champs. Great find for under 100 bucks, but are hard to find under 180 now!

Right now I’m using an Ibanez tube screamer amp that I’m in love with . It’s the fender style 2 6v6 2 ax7 style , with a tube screamer circuit on the front . It’s switchable 5 or 15 watts .

Excellent vid! The Fender Champ rules! Just found a 1976 Silverface Champ in MINT condition for a song and a dance :)

I love the KIS (keep it simple) method so when i came across this channel i was thrilled! I am new to electric guitar (acoustic guitar only for the last two years) and was having a hard time understanding amps and all the gear that go along with them. Now it is all becoming clear to me and i am ready to buy my first amp. It will be a Fender Champ or a Champ that is under a different moniker. Thank you so much for all your great videos i have learned a lot and will be a better guitar player for it.

I slowly came down from 100 watt 412 to 50, 20, 12... I think I did it with age and not gigging. What was said about the Champ at 3 is the same for the 5E3. I run mine a bit higher at 7, but it depends on what I want to do. At 7 the 5E3 is a gut punch and pairs great with my Laney Lionheart in a wet/dry rig. My pedalboard slowly dropped pedals until I had no use for a board at all. With 2 Lovepedal's, Black Deluxe and their JTM and a Mr Black Deluxe Plus in the effects loop, I'm happy. The digital reverb on the Laney is fine for me and does the job, if I want more, I can use the Mr Black; which has a ton on reverb. The Laney Lionheart 212 is such a great amp, it's certainly it's own sound, not Vox, closer to Fender, just well rounded and neutral. I can easily get the sound I want from it. Haven't tried their 5watt, but I assume it's similar. You can get great deals on used ones, as I did. Great video, I subscribed after seeing your Princeton video--great video.

Just came from Ricks live chat, subscribed!

Great presentation, thanks. I had a Princeton from about ‘75 to around ‘82 when I traded it for a Hiwatt Custom 50. I still have the Hiwatt, but I do miss the Princeton. My guitar teacher back in the ‘70’s had many Fender amps, tweed and black tolex, including a Champ.

Nice job!!!! Thanks for your time

A cheezie little amp, with a sign on the front said Fender Champ and a second hand guitar, it was a Stratocaster with a whammy bar.

Fascinating stuff. I've used 15W amps for most of the last 15 or so years (except a brief foray in a metal band when they just didn't cut it). Recently stepped down to a pair of 10 watters. I guess the main reason I've never looked at 5W (other than the Lionheart, which I think is an awesome amp, that I've been meaning to pick up once I sell 3-4 of my current collection) is that I like 12" speakers too much. And a little bit more headroom than Champs typically offer IME.

First amp I owned was a brand new SF in '73 my Mom bought for me with the condition I worked and paid her back. Great amp and a life lesson ta boot! Blew the speaker and sold it to a friend in '76. Wish I still had it.

I built a Champ kit supplied by Trinity Amps - The Tramp. It's the basic circuit + tone stack you can toggle in and out of the circuit and bias switches to allow all kinds of octal tubes in place of the 6v6. I've been running it with an el34 and it's a wonderful thing. It sounds like heaven when I run it in stereo with a Vox AC15.

I just want to go on record and say the "electric" version of Layla is hands down better than the acoustic version. No contest imo.

Since I got 57 Champ reissue, the search for the perfect tone is finally over :) Sometimes I need something louder, but the Champ is the perfect one.

Time well spent !!!!! Great video !

I bought a 1967 blackface Vibro Champ in April 2018. I love it. I don't play out much these days, but it's great to play with in my apartment and occasionally to jam with friends. I was surprised how loud a 5-watt tube amp can get.

I make tube amps for a hobby and 5w is the IDEAL power output for home and recording

It seems as I get older, my amps have become smaller and better

I discovered your channel through this video just last night and, low and behold, a 5-watt Bad Cat Cougar appears today (via the local GC). The cosmos is speaking to me, so of course I picked it up. (I've owned a number of Champs, including a Super Champ, but none any more recently than 2006 or so)

Your videos are always concise informative and interesting

Great content. My daily driver is a Marshall jvm one watt combo. The 50th anniversary one. I will never part with it.

Around 2010 I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a showroom condition bone-stock 1965 Super Reverb from Eric Bradley at 30th street Guitars in New York. He tried to talk me into an early 60s Champ instead, and like a dumb kid I went for the big Super because it looked cooler. Since I live in an apartment, the Super doesn’t get much use. I wish I could go back and get the Champ instead.

Just subbed after learning about you on Beato's channel! Great video and awesome tones! I really want one of those Champs!

Awesome that you mentioned Supro and Oahu regarding these as Valco had similar tone. I'd love to see you do a Short history on Valco amps.

The Swart “Atomic Space Tone jr” amp takes everything about the 5w Fender Champ circuit, but does it much better with better quality parts and construction.

To add the tweeds dont like 125 @ the wall either so pairing those with brown box and lowering the voltage and % to find the sweet spots is KING on those amps. I Own a Dumble 50 in bassman platform and using the brown box and lowering the voltage and % down instantly makes that circuit sound better.. It is far too aggressive @ 125 but bring it down and suddenly it behaves and you can also bring up the volumes to let the amp breathe more. The Dumble is a hybrid of other circuits and instead of 68 its something else combined.. Regardless its two other designs with borrowed ideas from other pre existing amps such as tweeds and even circuits from across the pond. What I know is they behave better at lower voltages which the amps were originally designed to run on... You set both volumes on 7 and adjust to taste but running it lower instantly sounds better less strained. The amp belongs in a nice studio to be recorded somewhere so its for sale....

Excellent Series !!! Thank you for posting !!!

I have scratch built three Champs. Two with the upgraded 18 W power trans... One built with a custom aluminum chassis. The third was a custom cab out of Oak with mahogany trim. The idea was point to point, minimum wiring with vintage cloth wire. Amazing little amps.

I picked up a 1969 Champ-Amp for.... wait for it............$20! And yes, that as this year, 2020.

Had a Champ, liked it a lot, but went to a Princeton Reverb. And with the a/b push pull output and early phase inversion circuit it may not get as clean, but getting Fender spring reverb and trem, makes sounds I prefer.

I got my first electric guitar in '69 at age 14. Rented a blackface Vibro-Champ from a local music store for $4.00 a month. Hogan's House of Music, Lawndale California. Loved that amp. Went through the "bigger is better" phase for a lotta years. Now, rarely use any Fender amp without "Champ" on it! My Super Champ XD has been my go-to for 13 years now......even large venues. Either miced or use the line out feature. Great video.

As always Keith awesome content I own a champ x2 and love it. It was the best bang for the buck as a got it in a deal when I bought a used strat.

I use my 1959 Champ with a Weber 8” speaker.

Worked in a little two bit studio years ago and it was kind of funny how a large majority of guitar players chose my little Champ to record with!Most everybody usually made big fun of the Champ but when push came to shove it was always that Champ that saved the day!

I have one of its grandkids, a blackface Vibro Champ rescued from the landfill. Played a H54 Harmony Rocket through it in a swing band for 10 years. You could not break it. Loved humbuckers and harmonicas too!

Having recently restored a circa 1954 5D1 I noted that the earliest versions had a single 6SJ7 preamp tube , and from the 5E1 onwards they used the 12ax7 . This Champ is now my favourite amp that's ever been through the workshop . I couldn't make a bad sound with it .

I've always wanted an old Champ but they do not come up for sale up here very often[Canada] and when a Champ comes up for sale they are quite pricey. I found a 1970's Garnet Gnome hand wired 5 watts not a Champ but for the price i cannot complain!

I used to be all about 100 watt Marshalls when I was a young man. Now that I'm older I wish I'd have discovered the magic of low wattage and 6V6 tubes earlier...

I have a boutique version of a champ, it has a bit more tone control and it is made by a smaller amp builder. absolutely amazing, 5watt perfection!! Also, new to the Chanel, love it, subbed!!

Amazing info. Thanks much! I'm definitely into getting an amp like yours or a Champ clone ASAP ...

You can build a 57 Tweed Champ amplifier kit - no cabinet - no speaker - for under $275 US + shipping - build the cabinet for under $40 - put in the speaker of your choice from $50 to $110 . But of course you need to be able to solder and have a basic understanding of electricity. Still you could get away with a Champ for around $425 or buy one already done for about $800 - 850. Sweetwater sells them new for about $1000. It all depends on your abilities and your budget as you chase the "Holy Grail" of guitar sound.

Had an original late 50's tweed Champ, bought it at a yard sale for $75 ...yes traded it and a non reverse Gibson Firebird with P90"s for a Fender twin. Don't miss the little fart box at all, do miss the Gibson.

For the past several years the amp I use most has been a mid-1950 Oahu Sunshine by Valco with either the Les Paul or the G&L. 4 watts into an 8 inch speaker. The big stuff hardly gets used, except by my metalhead grandson. But he is 16 now and starting to come around. I can't believe I spent so many years thinking a Deluxe Reverb was too under powered to cut the mustard.

Excellent content. I have a Laney Lionheart 5 watter that I got used from when they were made in the UK. A good Five watt amp is something special.

I have a 1962 Champ and a 1962 Fender Music Master guitar. Treasured possessions.

Watching this after ordering a 40w marshall

I love my amps! Fender Bassbreaker 15 LTD Tweed, THR10x, Fly3, Katana50, Friedman Runt 20. The BB,THR,& Katana all have great editors! XLR on Runt is unbelievable for recording! The Fly mic'd is reediculous! Every night its tough to choose.

Cool video. I've got a little amp with what's basically a Champ circuit. It's a Silvertone 1481 from the early 60's. My Papa gave it to me in the mid 90's. Was my first real amp.

I'm going to have to call you out regarding the statement that Fender was an Amp company before a Guitar company . Leo Fender was making guitars back to the very beginning of K&F ... Steel Guitars . Long before there were ( vertical ) solid body guitars . The very name of the Champ comes from it being introduced as the companion piece of the very sucuessfull Champion Lap Steel .

Every amp has its own sound, where one man’s dream amp can be another’s nightmare. I run a fairly large studio and associated media lab (one of the largest and most advanced in the country), where we are doing a range of philanthropic and for profit recording, mixing, mastering and other things. When setting up the studio I noticed that many of the newer amps (Class A tube, hybrids/push-pull, D’s. AB’s and others) had to make various compromises to reach their markets. This was much less the case with some of the older Vintage amps, where costs and markups were much different than they are now. We eval’d dozens of brands, hundreds of amps, as well as their Helix, AxeFX, Headrush, Kemper amp sim and related alternatives. While the purchase of the Line 6 Helix and Kemper profiler were easy decisions for us, finding top amps was much harder. Many of the top 60’s and 70’s vintage amps with some work were solid and supported getting the sound many of us grew up with and often hear live and recorded today, some of the Italian and US (e.g. The Amplifier Company Bimbo and 3100 of Italy and the Jackson Amp Company of Texas) were phenomenal in their depth and breadth of available power, clarity and control. Also, they were 15-25% the price of the vintage Fenders, Marshall’s, Trainwreck’s, Dumble’s and others, while offering better options for studio work. In the studio, having a low true class A power 5-7 Watt and below, provides the greatest flexibility- at least when using the right recording techniques and mics. Some of the biggest disappointments were the new Fender, Vox and Marshall’s. You can say they are very different than what their vintage and boutique equivalents are, but you cannot really compare them to what they are supposed to represent. If they provide what you want and like, that’s great. However, for us, there was a pronounced lack of consistency within the model lines, tendency towards uncontrollable microphonics at various levels, a lack of core transformer power and various associated issues resulting from those and other factors. This results in newer amps amps that lacked the ability reach soaring power and control, and the effortless stability across a wide range of frequencies and dynamics. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is amazing that they can do as well as they do given the necessary cost constraints modern manufacturers work within. Specifically, the intrinsic 4-5 fold markup from manufacturing to retailer means to sell a $500 - $1,000 amp they must be able to make it at under $200. While that may be reasonable for a Class D amp and certain digital hybrids, there is no way to do that well on a true Class A, given that a vintage level of reserve power transformer alone will cost almost that. Unfortunately, this fact, coupled with nostalgia, component scavenging and other factors have pushed the process of many of the great amps out of the reach of many musicians. For many amp sims, post production tricks and the like are better options. We had hoped to really like the newest Marshall, Fender and Vox, and initially thought that $1,000 was a relative bargain to the vintage they are supposed to model. However, while they have their own sound that some may find desirable, they do not compare with the real vintage, nor the top amp sims in the hands of someone with a bit of knowledge and patience. I believe this is why the boutique market is so large and diverse (and almost i possible to do profitably- hence how many come and go quickly). In any event, if you want a true rock sound of the 60’s, 70’s that you cannot get out of the newer amps (and you don’t have the time to track down one of the great boutiques at a reasonable price), consider checking out one of the latest Amp sims. It takes a little time and effort to find or create great virtually equivalent sound to almost anything, but they are a hell of a lot closer in fidelity, significantly cheaper and more flexible than any of the $500-1,500 vintage reissue style modern amps that we’ve come across.

Although my studio is in NY, just ordered a Honeyboy 5 from Andy Smith, a custom tube amp builder in the UK. Have experienced tremendous custom service from Andy and eagerly await delivery.

Bob, great video. Glad I stumbled upon it. I don't have a Champ bud do have a 53 DeLuxe and a 54 Princeton. Love them both but there is a special sweetness in the little Princeton that I love.