Thank you for calling out the 15K in the tone stack of the Champs. I replaced the 15K with the 6.8K resistor and swapped out the 8" speaker for the Warehouse G8C that you you used on a recent repair. What a great sounding low power amp. My '69 Vibro Champ sounds amazing. Have you considered running for President? You have my vote.
First amp I built was a blackface Champ circuit in a head cabinet. I ran it through my 2x12 loaded with Celestions and it sounded huge. I made a 1x12 combo cab for my tweed Champ clone, and it's a monster with a Weber 12F150A in it. And still light.
Having seen this a couple of weeks ago, I bought an inexpensive cabinet on Etsy from a guy who makes them in Utah and put in it a reissue Jensen ceramic speaker. Huge improvement
Lyle - Hope your Excalibre pieces and parts make it into your shop with no issues or shenanigans. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing that Top Boost, Excalibre Part Deux veraion :)
I built a new cabinet, covered it with tolex and installed my 1979 Vibro Champ chassis, 2 x 10, 8 ohm speakers, wired for 4 ohms. It has plenty of volume and range of tones, and is still light enough to carry around. Of course I kept the original cabinet with the stock AlNiCo 8 inch speaker just in case it ever is sold (when I'm gone).
Sounds decent with the 8" to be fair. They are made for practice/recording and tone was not as important as volume back in the day. Now we are greedy and want both 🙂
I built a champ circuit that used 6SL7 instead of a 12AX7. I run it through a 2-12” speaker loaded with Celestion Blues. It’s sounds glorious. The cabinet is switched for series and parallel.
Champs have a very pure signal path that translates into really awesome tone. When you really push an amp like this with a small speaker, you don't get a big clean sound with a lot of dynamic range. That's not what these amps are good for. What you get is amazing touch sensitivity, chime, and growl at a modest volume. Also, a really big part of the sound is the sensitivity and distortion of the small speaker. When you substitute with a larger speaker the amp is not powerful enough to give you the punch or the speaker distortion of a smaller speaker, and you lose a lot of the magic.
I play mine through a 1955 jensen p12r in a rather deep open back cab and its night and day compared to the original 8”. Very lush bottoms and a stunningly chimey top end.
I had a silver face Champ back in the ‘70s, when they were just used, not vintage. I never liked it until I plugged it into a 12’ speaker. As you see here, it sounds completely different, and much fuller.
I might be the only one that thinks the actual champ speaker sounds much better. It is an effect. And by using the 1x12 it basically sounds like you hooked the guitar into effects unit that's simulating a champ.
I like the 8" but getting a good new speaker - every SF champ I've bought the original speaker was blown. I have had a few, now 2 SF and a tweed clone - all have 8" speakers. If I want bigger I have a Princeton, deluxe reverb and more.... Champs have their own cool vibe, I think it's good to not use extra cabs. The physics of the 8" in the small cab work. Sticking a 10" is too cramped to resonate well. And external cabinets are against my religion😮
Champ will make every little thing that you play and amplify it, the original speaker is just fine, replacing the speaker to one that doesn't reproduce your crappy playing is ok too.
@@Blueguitar007 I thought the first speaker was nicer and had some more flavor as well. There was just something there. I bet the 12 inch sound much much better in the room but I have noticed that recording can be a leveler..
Neat one, Lyle. I put a WGS AlNiCo into my 64 VC and it sounds wonderful - much MUCH better than the orig. CTS AlNiCo. Then I made the "mistake" of hooking the amp up to a Webber P12N and my jaw dropped. As usual, your point is well taken.
I had a similar experience with the Vox VBM-1 (Brian May "Deacy" copy) when I first got it. Through its internal speaker, you get a very nasal, mid-focused tone, like many of Brian May's leads (unsurprisingly). However, into a 2x12 or 4x12, you get a much bigger, ballsier sound that's almost like a 5150.
I recently built a Champ with solid state rectification and a switch to select either a 6V6 or an EL84 for the output section. It sounds really great and with the mid boost push pull and bright push pull it works great with single coils and humbuckers (the humbuckers sound really great with the 15k mid resistor and the bright cap selected). I really couldnt be happier with how it turned out but im considering adding a choke a la 5E1 lol. I added a Hammond 194G choke to my Marshall DSL100HR and put in on a switch with the stock resistor so you can select one or the other for a different feel and i really love the way it feels and sounds with the choke but being able to get a less full/immediate feel by selecting the resistor instead is really nice. But thats a 100watt push pull amp so a choke is going to make a bigger difference in it than i imagine it would in a class A single ended amp like a Champ. But it might help to make the amp even quieter i would think. I added an artificial center tap to my build so its already really quiet unless you turn the volume up really high. Chokes are just so cheap and easy to install so i feel like i might as well lol. For a company selling thousands of units i can see chokes being a excessive cost but for a single amp/single choke its only about $15-$20 for a quality hammond choke. But i have a big problem fixing things that arent broke so maybe i should just leave well enough alone lol.
I have a 5 watt Princeton head clone built by second chance amps (got it off reverb) and it sounds SO good through my milkman 2x12 cab with Jupiter ceramic speakers. They also make a champ clone head I am thinking of purchasing.
i run my champ into a 1x12 cab with a 8 ohm evm12L it sounds great . i was told the ohm mismatch wasnt bad enough to hurt the amp , its a full big fat sound
I run an Eminence 820H hemp cone alnico in my 69’ champ which is extraordinarily better than the stock speaker. I’d buy it again. Sounds beautiful and no external cab.
the major prb of Champ is not the 8" speaker (unless it is defective of course) but the small Out Transformer. The Tiny Champ OT cuts bass and middle frequencies, they tried to compensate it with the 15kohm mid resistor, but that is not enough, tiny OT = tiny sound. Moreover, the one power tube Single Ended topology of the Champ requires a bigger OT compared to OT of a PushPull power stage in order to reproduce the same bass response. Said that, 4watt tube amp is too loud at home and not enough loud for gigging
Thanks, I bought a 1971 original Fender Champ speaker and reconed it to replace an aftermarket speaker in my 1976 Champ. I put a video up comparing what was in it and the '71. I think I'm going to try a 4 ohm 12" speaker after watching this. ?? What should the speaker's wattage be since it's a 6 watt amp ?? 🎸 thank you
I am a Champ freak..got a bunch of them--I use the Weber speakers 8 inch 4 ohm and they sound great! use them on jazz duet gigs w/an upright bass player and also in the studio,pretty much on every session..
@@PsionicAudio I’m sad to hear that. Ted advised me on speakers for several amp builds and he always nailed it. I think that there’s a 10A100 in my Tweed Princeton/Harvard spec’d by Ted. He really hit a home run on the 2 pairs of speakers that went into a BF Super Reverb build. The friend who commissioned the build is gone now, but that amp gets passed around several generations of a very musical family.
I put a warehouse g8c in place of the no name junk it had when a friend gifted me a 74 champ even my picky Amp tech at the Amp hole shop likes it but a extension cab with 12 sounds good I'm gonna try it thanks 😊
I’ve a Clark Lil Bit 5f1 tweed champ I got in 2005. Came with a 8” Weber Alnico Classic speaker. Tungsol 12ax7, NOS RCA power, NOS RCA 5y3. I mostly play Gibson guitars with p 90’s. Crank the amp and use the guitar tone and volume controls. I get tone like howling rabid she wolves in heat at midnight. I can go from Keith Richards to Billy Gibbons just using my pinky. The tweed champ is the sound of rock and roll.
I built a couple of tweed princeton copies; a 5f2a with an 8 inch speaker and a 5c2 with a 10. The 5c2 sounds way better, but until now I mostly chalked up the difference to the octal preamp tube. Neither speaker is anything to write home about (warehouse g8c and celestion 10 30 respectively,) but the difference seems a whole lot more than 2 inches of cone could account for.
I don’t know what fender put in these things, but I can tell you a Vox Pathfinder 15R 8” speaker can sound massive! I even installed a vintage Jensen C8R that had been reconed with a hemp cone - oh my god! Saying 8” speakers are small sounding is just a cop out - there are 8” speakers that sound huge, WGS makes one, Jupiter makes one, etc
Couldn't agree more. Once you re-calibrate to the smaller speaker, it's not small or boxy. It's also not a Princeton or Deluxe Reverb, but it's great! Just get them up off the ground. They're an "in your face" amp.
@@trbr1799 my 8” speakers shake the freaking floors! Also sometimes I get this massive acoustic coupling if I place my pathfinder on top of another bigger combo amp or extension cabinet, even though they aren’t in themselves being used! But take the speaker out of the combo and they are these small sounding things! And I am talking open back combos, which they claim shouldn’t be adding anything as per small thiele theory.
8" is its own thing. But it doesn't respond like a 10" or 12" which seems to be better suited for guitar music. The Vox PF15R seems like a great practice amp, but it's not a hand-wired Champ using nice Tubes (I am not even talking vintage ones), high-tolerance capacitors and resistors. I suppose the analogy will be, I love a good Mazda Miata and it's alot of fun, but it's not a Porsche Boxster no matter what tires you put on. A hand wired champ is simply a much better sounding amp that is held back by a tiny speaker - I know. I have one. The pathfinder is a good valued clean amp with acceptable gains. The 8" is for cost and weight saving. I suppose you can do it, but It just makes no practical sense putting 250 dollar speakers into a 100 dollar amp.
@@MintStiles check out this link! This speaker is way louder and more in your face than most if not all 10” I have tested and most 12’s. Makes this Pathfinder sound like a tweed champ. Shakes the walls and floors. The only way to get more brutal is to plug into an 2x12 extension cabinet of vintage 30s or something, the Eminence legend GB128 by itself is totally brutal, but most 12s don’t come close to that speaker. czcams.com/video/70jS1DmcJCI/video.html
@@voxpathfinder15r it's not about the perception of loudness, which is debatable depending on your setup, environment and even person listening to it. This is about how an speaker ultimately responds to various elements of your guitar. I get that you like that amp, but it's never going to be an AC15 into a 112 or AC30 into a 212. Speaker frequency response is also very subjective. They can be more efficient, but they don't always sound "better", it just depends.
Most of us have home studios and DAW recording platforms with way too many options for guitar or bass tones and settings. The Champ can't play any gigs, it's a sweet little tube amp but has no application these days. Clapton and many early artists used these in the studio because they could get great sustain from these little guys, not so now. My amps are all Fender vintage from 15 to 40 watts all tube which are great for gigs. The price for Champs is off the hook in my opinion, people are listing these from $600 to beyond a $1000. All I can say is the Fender Champ is a cute little amp. Maybe for a collector. Still learning to play but have been at it for more than 50 years now. Opened for many major artists, still having fun. Peace Los Angeles
Regardless of any speaker I connected to my Vibro Champ, that included an eight inch Warehouse replacement, an Eminence Red Fang Alnico and a few others, it always lacked range. Comparatively, my Princeton Reverb with a Celestion 10" Greenback or an Eminence blue frame alnico provided a very usable sound not achieved with the Champ. Sold the Champ and don't miss it.
@@PsionicAudio Not much lower end response, somewhat dull sound without much open articulation of strings. Not a sound that appeals to me. That amp had been serviced by reputable techs in Los Angeles.
Please, which 12" 4 ohm speaker might you recommend? - I'm going to follow your leas and slot my '61 blackface Champ into a RawCabs 1x12 cab. Thank you!
that champ has not much gain, if the volume was at 7!? my vibro-champs start to break up at around 4 and have a great classic rock sound at 7. there are new 8" speakers, that sound pretty good. most of my small amps have new speakers, as the originals blew at some point. I use them with a 2x12 too, if I want to play louder. I like 8" and the 2x12...
@@PsionicAudio no humbuckers, I play old teiscos, harmonys and supro guitars with not too much output. but yes the nfb is removed, just can't remember it made that much of a difference. both of my vibro-champs have new tubes (TAD 6V6 and "Mullard Style" 7025S, and a JJ 5Y3GT)
@@frankdou4132 I had a regular champ that was very sterile. For some reason vibrochamps break up and sound better to me. I have a killer 68 vibrochamp and its my go to. Sold everything else
@@greatwhite3676 mine are from 66 and 71, the 71 is the last amp I would sell, beside my 62 selmer selectortone automatic (which is a completely different animal. it is LOUD...) I have many other great amps but most of the time I use the 71 vibro-champ, it is the perfect amp for home use, recording and small gigs (I play a princeton-reverb clone for cleaner sounds and use the vibro-champ for a little dirt. loud enough if the drummer isn't insane...)
Champs shouldn't have bigger speakers. Buy a bigger amp if you want that. A good 15-20 watt Weber Alnico speaker and you'll have a great sounding amp. Lugging an extra cabinet around or taking up space at home is defeating the purpose. I
Thank you for calling out the 15K in the tone stack of the Champs. I replaced the 15K with the 6.8K resistor and swapped out the 8" speaker for the Warehouse G8C that you you used on a recent repair.
What a great sounding low power amp. My '69 Vibro Champ sounds amazing.
Have you considered running for President? You have my vote.
The charm of the Champ is the 8 speaker. I did the MojoTone 10 cab and swapped it back,
the 8" is way more chimey and beautiful. the 12" actually has more midrange honk.
I love Champs and Vibro Champs! I love them even more through my 2x12 cabinet! Great demo, Lyle.
First amp I built was a blackface Champ circuit in a head cabinet. I ran it through my 2x12 loaded with Celestions and it sounded huge. I made a 1x12 combo cab for my tweed Champ clone, and it's a monster with a Weber 12F150A in it. And still light.
Great demo, thanks Lyle. I've never heard a Champ through a proper speaker before! You might have tempted me to build one.....
Having seen this a couple of weeks ago, I bought an inexpensive cabinet on Etsy from a guy who makes them in Utah and put in it a reissue Jensen ceramic speaker. Huge improvement
I reconed my champ's 8in speaker. Really puts out now, and handles loud volumes much better than in its previous condition.
Lyle - Hope your Excalibre pieces and parts make it into your shop with no issues or shenanigans. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing that Top Boost, Excalibre Part Deux veraion :)
I built a new cabinet, covered it with tolex and installed my 1979 Vibro Champ chassis, 2 x 10, 8 ohm speakers, wired for 4 ohms. It has plenty of volume and range of tones, and is still light enough to carry around. Of course I kept the original cabinet with the stock AlNiCo 8 inch speaker just in case it ever is sold (when I'm gone).
Speakers are so underated :)
Sounds decent with the 8" to be fair. They are made for practice/recording and tone was not as important as volume back in the day. Now we are greedy and want both 🙂
Awesome!
I built a champ circuit that used 6SL7 instead of a 12AX7. I run it through a 2-12” speaker loaded with Celestion Blues. It’s sounds glorious. The cabinet is switched for series and parallel.
Champs have a very pure signal path that translates into really awesome tone. When you really push an amp like this with a small speaker, you don't get a big clean sound with a lot of dynamic range. That's not what these amps are good for. What you get is amazing touch sensitivity, chime, and growl at a modest volume. Also, a really big part of the sound is the sensitivity and distortion of the small speaker. When you substitute with a larger speaker the amp is not powerful enough to give you the punch or the speaker distortion of a smaller speaker, and you lose a lot of the magic.
I started using a 12" Jensen with my 5F2A and it really came alive. It was like getting a completely different amp.
I discovered the Jensen P10r and P12q, never used them before , now they go into every Fender amp I use. COOL.
I play mine through a 1955 jensen p12r in a rather deep open back cab and its night and day compared to the original 8”. Very lush bottoms and a stunningly chimey top end.
I had a silver face Champ back in the ‘70s, when they were just used, not vintage. I never liked it until I plugged it into a 12’ speaker. As you see here, it sounds completely different, and much fuller.
I might be the only one that thinks the actual champ speaker sounds much better. It is an effect. And by using the 1x12 it basically sounds like you hooked the guitar into effects unit that's simulating a champ.
I like the 8" but getting a good new speaker - every SF champ I've bought the original speaker was blown. I have had a few, now 2 SF and a tweed clone - all have 8" speakers. If I want bigger I have a Princeton, deluxe reverb and more.... Champs have their own cool vibe, I think it's good to not use extra cabs. The physics of the 8" in the small cab work. Sticking a 10" is too cramped to resonate well. And external cabinets are against my religion😮
Champ will make every little thing that you play and amplify it, the original speaker is just fine, replacing the speaker to one that doesn't reproduce your crappy playing is ok too.
was the original the first one? cause it did sound better by far
@@Blueguitar007 I thought the first speaker was nicer and had some more flavor as well. There was just something there. I bet the 12 inch sound much much better in the room but I have noticed that recording can be a leveler..
Neat one, Lyle. I put a WGS AlNiCo into my 64 VC and it sounds wonderful - much MUCH better than the orig. CTS AlNiCo. Then I made the "mistake" of hooking the amp up to a Webber P12N and my jaw dropped. As usual, your point is well taken.
I had a similar experience with the Vox VBM-1 (Brian May "Deacy" copy) when I first got it. Through its internal speaker, you get a very nasal, mid-focused tone, like many of Brian May's leads (unsurprisingly). However, into a 2x12 or 4x12, you get a much bigger, ballsier sound that's almost like a 5150.
I recently built a Champ with solid state rectification and a switch to select either a 6V6 or an EL84 for the output section. It sounds really great and with the mid boost push pull and bright push pull it works great with single coils and humbuckers (the humbuckers sound really great with the 15k mid resistor and the bright cap selected). I really couldnt be happier with how it turned out but im considering adding a choke a la 5E1 lol. I added a Hammond 194G choke to my Marshall DSL100HR and put in on a switch with the stock resistor so you can select one or the other for a different feel and i really love the way it feels and sounds with the choke but being able to get a less full/immediate feel by selecting the resistor instead is really nice. But thats a 100watt push pull amp so a choke is going to make a bigger difference in it than i imagine it would in a class A single ended amp like a Champ. But it might help to make the amp even quieter i would think. I added an artificial center tap to my build so its already really quiet unless you turn the volume up really high. Chokes are just so cheap and easy to install so i feel like i might as well lol. For a company selling thousands of units i can see chokes being a excessive cost but for a single amp/single choke its only about $15-$20 for a quality hammond choke. But i have a big problem fixing things that arent broke so maybe i should just leave well enough alone lol.
I have a 5 watt Princeton head clone built by second chance amps (got it off reverb) and it sounds SO good through my milkman 2x12 cab with Jupiter ceramic speakers. They also make a champ clone head I am thinking of purchasing.
That looks like my second amp (first one didn’t work) I got in 1980. I love running my Swart Junior and running it through my 2x12 with golds!
i run my champ into a 1x12 cab with a 8 ohm evm12L it sounds great . i was told the ohm mismatch wasnt bad enough to hurt the amp , its a full big fat sound
I run an Eminence 820H hemp cone alnico in my 69’ champ which is extraordinarily better than the stock speaker. I’d buy it again. Sounds beautiful and no external cab.
the major prb of Champ is not the 8" speaker (unless it is defective of course) but the small Out Transformer. The Tiny Champ OT cuts bass and middle frequencies, they tried to compensate it with the 15kohm mid resistor, but that is not enough, tiny OT = tiny sound. Moreover, the one power tube Single Ended topology of the Champ requires a bigger OT compared to OT of a PushPull power stage in order to reproduce the same bass response. Said that, 4watt tube amp is too loud at home and not enough loud for gigging
Thanks, I bought a 1971 original Fender Champ speaker and reconed it to replace an aftermarket speaker in my 1976 Champ. I put a video up comparing what was in it and the '71. I think I'm going to try a 4 ohm 12" speaker after watching this. ?? What should the speaker's wattage be since it's a 6 watt amp ?? 🎸 thank you
I am a Champ freak..got a bunch of them--I use the Weber speakers 8 inch 4 ohm and they sound great! use them on jazz duet gigs w/an upright bass player and also in the studio,pretty much on every session..
I used to always have very good results with Webers. But I've had a large number of duds since Ted passed. Makes them hard to recommend..
@@PsionicAudio I’m sad to hear that. Ted advised me on speakers for several amp builds and he always nailed it. I think that there’s a 10A100 in my Tweed Princeton/Harvard spec’d by Ted. He really hit a home run on the 2 pairs of speakers that went into a BF Super Reverb build. The friend who commissioned the build is gone now, but that amp gets passed around several generations of a very musical family.
@@PsionicAudio sorry that happened. ive had no problems-have had dud tubes once or twice...
I put a warehouse g8c in place of the no name junk it had when a friend gifted me a 74 champ even my picky Amp tech at the Amp hole shop likes it but a extension cab with 12 sounds good I'm gonna try it thanks 😊
0:59 1:18 quick comparison for people
I’ve a Clark Lil Bit 5f1 tweed champ I got in 2005. Came with a 8” Weber Alnico Classic speaker. Tungsol 12ax7, NOS RCA power, NOS RCA 5y3. I mostly play Gibson guitars with p 90’s. Crank the amp and use the guitar tone and volume controls. I get tone like howling rabid she wolves in heat at midnight. I can go from Keith Richards to Billy Gibbons just using my pinky. The tweed champ is the sound of rock and roll.
I love the champ with a 12” speaker I will find another one some day
Unfortunately 4 ohm 12" speakers are impossible to come by in Australia, shipping costs are insane
I run a pair of Celestion G10-N40 8ohms, wired up in parallel for 4ohms. So great, I prefer it to a 12. Any 2, 8ohm speakers will work.
I thought the original 8 inch sounded beautiful.
I built a couple of tweed princeton copies; a 5f2a with an 8 inch speaker and a 5c2 with a 10. The 5c2 sounds way better, but until now I mostly chalked up the difference to the octal preamp tube. Neither speaker is anything to write home about (warehouse g8c and celestion 10 30 respectively,) but the difference seems a whole lot more than 2 inches of cone could account for.
Now try a better 10". That 10 30 is kind of anemic and fails a lot in Princetons.
@@PsionicAudio What would your recommend for 5F2A? I am having one built now and I am not sure what speaker to get? I was thinking of Jensen P10Q,...
I don’t know what fender put in these things, but I can tell you a Vox Pathfinder 15R 8” speaker can sound massive! I even installed a vintage Jensen C8R that had been reconed with a hemp cone - oh my god! Saying 8” speakers are small sounding is just a cop out - there are 8” speakers that sound huge, WGS makes one, Jupiter makes one, etc
Couldn't agree more. Once you re-calibrate to the smaller speaker, it's not small or boxy. It's also not a Princeton or Deluxe Reverb, but it's great! Just get them up off the ground. They're an "in your face" amp.
@@trbr1799 my 8” speakers shake the freaking floors! Also sometimes I get this massive acoustic coupling if I place my pathfinder on top of another bigger combo amp or extension cabinet, even though they aren’t in themselves being used! But take the speaker out of the combo and they are these small sounding things! And I am talking open back combos, which they claim shouldn’t be adding anything as per small thiele theory.
8" is its own thing. But it doesn't respond like a 10" or 12" which seems to be better suited for guitar music. The Vox PF15R seems like a great practice amp, but it's not a hand-wired Champ using nice Tubes (I am not even talking vintage ones), high-tolerance capacitors and resistors. I suppose the analogy will be, I love a good Mazda Miata and it's alot of fun, but it's not a Porsche Boxster no matter what tires you put on. A hand wired champ is simply a much better sounding amp that is held back by a tiny speaker - I know. I have one. The pathfinder is a good valued clean amp with acceptable gains. The 8" is for cost and weight saving. I suppose you can do it, but It just makes no practical sense putting 250 dollar speakers into a 100 dollar amp.
@@MintStiles check out this link! This speaker is way louder and more in your face than most if not all 10” I have tested and most 12’s. Makes this Pathfinder sound like a tweed champ. Shakes the walls and floors. The only way to get more brutal is to plug into an 2x12 extension cabinet of vintage 30s or something, the Eminence legend GB128 by itself is totally brutal, but most 12s don’t come close to that speaker. czcams.com/video/70jS1DmcJCI/video.html
@@voxpathfinder15r it's not about the perception of loudness, which is debatable depending on your setup, environment and even person listening to it. This is about how an speaker ultimately responds to various elements of your guitar. I get that you like that amp, but it's never going to be an AC15 into a 112 or AC30 into a 212. Speaker frequency response is also very subjective. They can be more efficient, but they don't always sound "better", it just depends.
I run my 5F1 clone through a Celestion V30 and its glorious.
I’ve put an alnico Jensen 8 now if I put it past 2 it’s mega load it has a voltage control on back so can use anywhere in world.
Most of us have home studios and DAW recording platforms with way too many options for guitar or bass tones and settings. The Champ can't play any gigs, it's a sweet little tube amp but has no application these days. Clapton and many early artists used these in the studio because they could get great sustain from these little guys, not so now. My amps are all Fender vintage from 15 to 40 watts all tube which are great for gigs. The price for Champs is off the hook in my opinion, people are listing these from $600 to beyond a $1000. All I can say is the Fender Champ is a cute little amp. Maybe for a collector. Still learning to play but have been at it for more than 50 years now. Opened for many major artists, still having fun.
Peace Los Angeles
I have a 5f1 champ. It's got enough low end to use a bass speaker for a bass player!
Regardless of any speaker I connected to my Vibro Champ, that included an eight inch Warehouse replacement, an Eminence Red Fang Alnico and a few others, it always lacked range. Comparatively, my Princeton Reverb with a Celestion 10" Greenback or an Eminence blue frame alnico provided a very usable sound not achieved with the Champ. Sold the Champ and don't miss it.
What do you mean by "range"?
@@PsionicAudio Not much lower end response, somewhat dull sound without much open articulation of strings. Not a sound that appeals to me. That amp had been serviced by reputable techs in Los Angeles.
Joe Walsh said he recorded “Funk 49” with a Telecaster through a Champ.
That lick even sounds sweet through an old broken shitty speaker!
Please, which 12" 4 ohm speaker might you recommend?
- I'm going to follow your leas and slot my '61 blackface Champ into a RawCabs 1x12 cab. Thank you!
Computer speakers themselves are hardly a legitimate point of reference.
It was good enough for Clapton.
A champ might be suitable for Joe Walsh if a guy wants to make hit records with a tele. Just saying.
How much are these worth these days?
Isn't it an 8 ohm 10 inch? It is on my super champ. No less than 8 ohms.
The Super Champ is a totally different amp and can’t be compared. This guy is a professional amp technician - he knows the proper specs.
@@darwinsaye Oh, I know. I love my Super!
that champ has not much gain, if the volume was at 7!? my vibro-champs start to break up at around 4 and have a great classic rock sound at 7. there are new 8" speakers, that sound pretty good. most of my small amps have new speakers, as the originals blew at some point. I use them with a 2x12 too, if I want to play louder. I like 8" and the 2x12...
Are you using humbuckers? Do you have the NFB disconnected? Because this is what healthy BF/SH Champs sound like with a Strat on 7.
@@PsionicAudio no humbuckers, I play old teiscos, harmonys and supro guitars with not too much output. but yes the nfb is removed, just can't remember it made that much of a difference. both of my vibro-champs have new tubes (TAD 6V6 and "Mullard Style" 7025S, and a JJ 5Y3GT)
@@frankdou4132 I had a regular champ that was very sterile. For some reason vibrochamps break up and sound better to me. I have a killer 68 vibrochamp and its my go to. Sold everything else
@@greatwhite3676 mine are from 66 and 71, the 71 is the last amp I would sell, beside my 62 selmer selectortone automatic (which is a completely different animal. it is LOUD...) I have many other great amps but most of the time I use the 71 vibro-champ, it is the perfect amp for home use, recording and small gigs (I play a princeton-reverb clone for cleaner sounds and use the vibro-champ for a little dirt. loud enough if the drummer isn't insane...)
@@PsionicAudio Would you explain about the nfb
Champs shouldn't have bigger speakers. Buy a bigger amp if you want that. A good 15-20 watt Weber Alnico speaker and you'll have a great sounding amp. Lugging an extra cabinet around or taking up space at home is defeating the purpose.
I
that's a really weird thing to announce about a very subjective... subject