Anyone try a Fender hand wired '57 Champ RI amp?

[octagon]

Looks pretty cool but they cost $999

[paologregorio]

Now that's just plain silly price-wise!

[octagon]

Now that's just plain silly price-wise!

I think these are made in the Fender custom shop and are meant to compete with the Victoria 518 and other boo-teak Champ copies.

[JakeK]

I can't tell the tonal difference between a hand-wired and a PCB (printed circuit board). Why pay $1k for an amp that isn't even 10 watts?

[jps]

Why pay $1k for an amp that isn't even 10 watts?

...because watts aren't everything when it comes to tone.

[collin]

hype hype hype.

It sounds alright. It certainly doesn't sound $1000 good.

I'd never pay that much for an amp you can't gig with (though this amp is obviously marketed as a recording special amp).

[octagon]

hype hype hype.

It sounds alright. It certainly doesn't sound $1000 good.

I'd never pay that much for an amp you can't gig with (though this amp is obviously marketed as a recording special amp).

Why couldn't you gig with it?

[JakeK]

Why couldn't you gig with it?

You couldn't hear it over the drums.

[FretlessOnly]

And you sure couldn't hear it over my bass!

But sure; you could gig with it at a coffee house or something like that.

[wmthor]

You couldn't hear it over the drums.

Mic it and that problem's solved.

[peewee]

Why buy a reissue when you can get the real deal for the same price?

http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-and-re ... d-reg-1958

Jeffery is spot on in his comment about wattage not equating tone. One of the amps that has been getting the most usage lately on my gigs is a 1995 USA made Fender Pro Jr. I've had the junk components removed from it and a Weber speaker replaced the original, but this thing is 15 watts of blistering tone in a package the size of the tweed Champ; one volume control and one tone control. When paired with my P90 goldtop, it'll hurt you and holds it's own with a Deluxe Reverb. I own a number of vintage Fender amps from a 1959 5E3 Deluxe, a 1966 Super Reverb and a 1966 Deluxe Reverb and the little Pro Jr. delivers the goods!

Don't believe me? It's the amp that being used on the Kurt Crandall clips in the Groove Yard forum and more than held it's own with a 50 watt Vero 4x10 harp amp and a G-K 800RB bass rig. The volume was set at maybe 1/4 of the way up on "Spider In My Stew".

The best usage for a little tweed Champ is in the studio. Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons and many others are huge fans of these and recorded many a classic guitar track with them - Like Richards stated in an old Guitar Player interview , and I'm paraphrasing here, "The biggest tone comes from the smallest amps".

[octagon]

Why buy a reissue when you can get the real deal for the same price?

http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-and-re ... d-reg-1958

Too bad Elderly won't ship used amps.

[peewee]

Why buy a reissue when you can get the real deal for the same price?

http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-and-re ... d-reg-1958

Too bad Elderly won't ship used amps.

Ditto!

[collin]

Why couldn't you gig with it?

You couldn't hear it over the drums.

Yeah, exactly.

I said gig----a coffee house hardly counts. I meant a real gig. (kidding!).

For larger places----rarely are you somewhere that has a PA good or large enough to Mic that tiny amp both for the audience and stage monitors. There simply wouldn't be enough stage volume to hear it over the drums.

[1965]

Why pay $1k for an amp that isn't even 10 watts?

I disagree with that. I've got a Swart Space Tone Reverb that I've been using in the studio lately. My AC30 would rip heads off with the amount of saturation that I've been running it at. The key is how it sounds right in front of the speaker. Smaller amps sound like they're in small boxes to our ears, but if you put a mic up next to it can't tell the difference between them and a larger amp. Unfortunately, I've gotta sell this one very soon because I'm going back to university and don't have room to take it with me.