fender champion 100 amp.

[andyj47]

hi shadfans, has anybody got or tried one of these,just wonderin, seem ok from the demos on tinternet.

[Stu's Dad]

Andy,

I quite fancy one of these myself (apart from the weight), and Dave Robinson, who's an inactive member here but an active member of the Shadowmusic
forum rates them highly. Fender amps have a Fender tone, not a Vox tone, but I've seen people with various pedals sound exactly like the Shadows. Have a look at this: youtu.be/iOrSASAVmI8

Len

[andyj47]

cheers len,yea i only found out about these by looking at some gear suppliers adverts,looked at all the demos,these must be the best value 2 by 12 amp at the moment.clean channel sounds like a twin reverb thinking of getting one !

[tedw]

Well, it is not a Fender Twin Reverb which of course costs upwards of 5 times as much, but comes quite close with a rich Fender clean although the high and low frequencies can sound a bit "solid state" if you ratchet up the volume too high. Be aware that whilst loud, it is certainly no match for a real Twin Reverb, but how often can you wind up one of those! The second channel offers a range of voicings including Vox which are frankly quite good - allegedly derived from the earlier Mustang Series or the Super Champ X2.

The Champion 100 is good for home users - you have auxiliary in for mp3 and headphones out for silent practice - handy additions that you certainly do not get with a Twin Reverb. Moreover you get channel switching so can switch easily from rhythm to lead volume or indeed clean to distortion if that is your thing: flexibility that the Twin Reverb does not offer. The built in effects are good, but limited and unsurprisingly there is no multi-tap delay facility.(Incidentally that can now be achieved with the Boss Katana 100). Personally I find it more intuitive than Katana, Mustang , whatever - offering limited modelling controlled by knobs!
I understand the amp takes pedals well but have yet to try that myself. Weighs in at around 40 lbs so little more than half the weight of a Twin Reverb and maybe built down to a price with an element of potential obsolescence like most things these days although it seems reasonably solid (unless you compare it with the old indestructible US built Peaveys!) Not really material, but for instance, the Fender logo is made of plastic rather than metal which maybe indicates that it is aimed at the lower end of the market.

Overall great value for money:as mentioned, one of very few 2x12 at that kind of price. And if all fails after 5 years or so, well you still have the cabinet and a couple of Fender speakers although perhaps not of the same quality as in their expensive amps.

[andyj47]

thanks for that ted,looks like a better deal than the ac30vr for the money,i would really only use the clean channel and it does sound like a twin on this channel.cheers,andy.