Specializing in the Fender Champ Amplifiers
and maybe a few more goodies!
Alright already, I'm working on the page!
After numerous demands, a death threat and the recent acquisition of a scanner
by a friend of mine,the faithful will now receive
*****NEW STUFF!*****
Presently in the works are:
A picture gallery of Champions/Champs/Vibrochamps/Bronco's
On line owner's manual and circuit diagrams <-DIG THIS, IT'S NEW!
The rest of the 5881 mod
PARTS!
General price guide
Restoration Tips and Tricks
So stay tuned!
(or else!)
YES! The pictures have arrived. What I have learned so far is that I am dangerous with a camera. Maybe a real camera and a tripod next time. That auto-focus has a mind of its own. I warn you ahead of time they are not the best, but I intend to try again very soon. In the mean time, I will post what I can sort of fix.
Just Found! This is a '52 Champion 600. It is not the first one (year wise I believe it was '49) but it is pretty darned close. This one is a 'tweed' tolexed amp with a 6 inch speaker. There were also 800's which (guess what) had 8 inch speakers.The very first ones were two-tone leatherette. The design of the circuit only seemed to change in a few values between then and now. Of course the early ones had octal preamp tubes as the 9-pin 12AX7's weren't out yet. I sure would like a picture of a leatherette one! I would also like to play one!
Ok, the first thing is my Champ. Actually it is a '73 Vibro-Champ, but take away the tremolo circuit and it is your basic (and I mean basic!) Champ layout. It is a "Silver Face" that has a few nondestructive modifications. I bought it because the restoration would consist of wiping off the dust! It still had the original tubes in it. The 6V6GT said Fender! (it's really an RCA) It also had the original literature in the envelope! Even the stupid little tag that hung on the volume knob! At $125, how could I say no? Here is the front. Now to the mods. Looking in the back, the speaker is an Eminence 8SC which is inexpensive and very capable of handling whatever comes out of the 5881 I switched for the 6V6GT. For the purists, here is the original speaker tucked safely out of harms way in the Eminence box.I also replaced the 5Y3GT with a home-made solid state rectifier. Some people may thumb their noses at this idea, but we are talking about a Champ! There is no way on this planet that a single 6V6GT can cause a 5Y3GT to start drooping. The 6V6GT will droop first, so in an effort to squeeze out a hair more than the rated 6 Watts (yes 6, and it's RMS!) I elected to use 1N4007 diodes. They also don't need to be replaced. Watch out for this mod on older Champs! The DC voltage goes up and your old multisection caps may go BANG!
The other modifications are internal. You see, the way I like to play it is WIDE OPEN. Although Mr. Fender gave us some real bang for the buck with these models, cheap was the way he did it. So some components had tolerances that were really not enough. Take for example, the cathode bypass capacitor. After burning up a few of these babies (and my favorite American 6V6GT!) I took heed and replaced it with a 100V part. Viola! No more punch through. A new speaker (so I could save the old one), some new Sovetek 12AX7WXT's and some fresh batteries in my seventies? Electra, and POW! There went my other favorite American 6V6GT! Ouch! Those puppies are getting expensive! So I regrouped and dug an original 1964 JAN 5881 (still in the box) out of my tubes and said Fry this monseur Champ!
The beauty is that the Champs are Class A amplifiers. That is to say, one tube amplifies the whole cycle instead of Class B or AB or AB1 in which two tubes share the duty cycle. The duties may or may not overlap depending on the class. One does the positive portion, the other the negative. In Class A, if the idle plate currents are close enough, and the basing (pin out) is the same, just switch bottles. So I did. A little red glow around the plate mating edges. Not bad , but not too good either. Solution: adjust the cathode resistor to reduce plate current. And since the frequency response is directly related to cathode resistance and capacitance, I'll need to adjust that too. I'll tell you all about it when I get that done. For now I just needed to prove I didn't die or was just plain lying. Enjoy the pictures! I am working on the history and some more touching up of pictures. If anyone has an early Champion 600 or 800 I sure would like a picture of it! And I'd even put it on this page to impress your friends! Watch for more text and links to picture to appear in the above! Cheers!
Just for grins, here are a few pictures of my cat who prefers to be called "a viscious creature of the wild."
He saw a nature program and now believes he was stolen from a pride on the Serengheti as a kitten.....
Vincent, biting the hand that feeds him.
Vinny not too happy about me chasing him around with that flashing thing.
Here's some more of Mr. Fender's fine products. These two in particular as they are both owned by friends of mine.
(I know it is hard to believe I have friends)
The first is a sweet sounding '63 Princeton. It is a 'Brown Face' with the tan tolex and leather strap. It was restored to original by undoing the tremolo-to-gain-stage mod that someone had done to it. Really. Next time buy a Mesa Boogie if it doesn't give you enough crunch. Here is the back
Next is an amp I've never liked -until this one! The Twin Reverb, long standing as the 100 Watt anchor of Rock and Roll has highs that are just plain rude with the Bright switch off! Why that thing is there I'll never know. No head room at all. On 3 the thing is grunging up like it landed in a mud puddle. Enter the '65 Pre-CBS (by one month) Black Face Twin Reverb with the absolutely astounding factory upgrade JBL's! It made a believer out of me in no less than the amount of time it took the volume knob to get to 5. This baby is creamy. I've convinced my friend to let me 'store' it for him for a while. It even sounds great with my bass playing through it!
Last but not least, you should never own these things unless you intend to play them, so here are my guitars (see used guitars, and guitar repair experts). From left to right, Electra (year unknown) with early active electronics: good for rythm and cut through leads-destroyer of 6V6's! Lipstick, my Korean '87 Squire Bullet that has out performed several American Standards in tone and range, my '92 Mexican Jazz in Lake Placid Blue (my favorite Fender Color) with EMG's and a pearly pickguard. I recently recovered my crome pickup covers that every one takes off because they get in the way. They are seventies vintage I believe. I'm thinking of putting in some inserts and some Zeus screws for quick removal so I can have the best of both worlds. And finally, in the background on her back as usual, my early seventies Yammaha G52A Classical that has put up with my antics when others would not. Even after I glued the darned bridge back on! Scared the heck out of me "You got- You got- You got the babies!" GOINK! Then I realized the only things holding the strings on the guitar were the tuning pegs and my fingers! WAAAAAAA! But she's all better now. (whew!)
I still have a pile of picture to touch up, and have reserved thursday nights to do so. So check back on fridays to get the latest! Coming soon: A scan of my original documentation including circuit diagram and owner's manual! Stay tuned into the real world and stop by again!
Like all good web sites, this one is under constant construction. Please bookmark this page and tell your friends about it. There's a ton of good stuff about the Champ headed this way, including pictures, history, tips on maintenance and repair, modifications and other assorted tid-bits. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon.
(Not affiliated with, supported by, or in any way representative of the Fender Company. I just like the Champ. So there. Find out more about guitar amps here.)
