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John Larson · Post by **John Larson** » 27 Apr 2024 11:32 am

Love those little amps, a local music store had one for a while and I had so much fun playing it. A strat in position 4 and some verb nails the "sultans of swing" tone.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 27 Apr 2024 11:58 am

I'm having a blast with this one. It's given me new incentive to practice and learn new riffs.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 28 Apr 2024 2:02 pm

I love my '79 Silverface Champ for lap steel and guitar.

Great little amp, plus it's serviceable. Never plugged a pedal steel into it, which I'm hesitant to do with its vintage 8" unoriginal Jensen. I use my '79 Princeton Reverb with a K110 JBL when I need something smaller than a PV 400.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 28 Apr 2024 3:31 pm

Great picture, Jack. That Champ looks to be in nice condition. I know what you mean about "serviceable". Most modern reissues have PCB's, and amp techs hate working on them.

John Larson · Post by **John Larson** » 29 Apr 2024 7:27 am

Doug,

Have you tried the 5W on pedal steel? Do you like it? I've thought about picking one up for steel but I'm worried it would break up too early with the high output of most pedal steel pickups.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 29 Apr 2024 9:00 am

John Larson wrote:Doug,

Have you tried the 5W on pedal steel? Do you like it? I've thought about picking one up for steel but I'm worried it would break up too early with the high output of most pedal steel pickups.

Yes, I'm playing a pedal steel in the short clip I posted in this thread... a Carter S-10 with a George L's humbucker. I have the amp volume on 2 (with no volume pedal). The sound is clean until the volume is about 4. Anything above 4 and the amp starts to sound crappy (in my opinion) for steel guitar. Of course, it sounds wonderful for regular guitar at any volume. I bought the amp for home playing and recording, and it does that perfectly.

As to be expected, the amp doesn't have a lot of Lows, but the highs are really sweet (with the volume below 4). I A-B'd the Champ and my Quilter TT-12 and switched back and forth several times. I set the attenuator (Master) on the Quilter down to about 15W. To my ear, the Champ is more satisfying and fun to play through. It has that sparkly Fender sound at low volumes. Of course, the Quilter has more Lows and a broader range of tones. (larger cabinet, bigger speaker).

I had some musician friends over the other day and I played through both amps for them, and they preferred the sound of the Champ. I wasn't playing at bandstand volume though, I had the volume set at 3. Again, it's a fun amp for quiet, home playing. When it comes to a band gig though, I will continue to use my TT-12 or TT-15.

Joseph Lazo · Post by **Joseph Lazo** » 10 May 2024 5:23 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:I just purchased a '68 Vibro Champ Reverb (reissue) for home playing and recording. It sounds surprisingly good at low volumes.

I made a short iPhone video: Carter pedal steel (w/George L's humbucker) plugged directly into the amp. The amp volume is on 2. No effects other than the reverb in the amp. No volume pedal. This reissue has a 10" speaker (the originals had an 8"), and it has digital hall reverb. Two 12AX7 preamp tubes and and one 6V6.

-----> https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6RkByiO ... lqcXRxaG8x

It twangs! It sparkles! It's a Champ!

I've been wanting to check one of these out, but no place around me ever has one. On a scale of 1 to 10, how close do you think its reverb comes to a real Fender reverb?

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 10 May 2024 5:58 pm

On a scale of 1 to 10, how close do you think its reverb comes to a real Fender reverb?

I'd say about a 7. It's a digital hall reverb, and to my ear it sounds really good. I was skeptical at first and I wondered why Fender didn't go with a digital "spring" reverb, but this reverb sounds great, as does the tremolo.

The Steel Guitar Forum

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Re: Demo - 5 Watt Fender tube amp - Vibro Champ Reverb