whats the word on the champion 600?

[eddiewagner]

hi guys, i just read that everybody takes the little fenders apart as fast as they can. i wouuld like it a s a practice amp, since my old practice amp makes some weird noises. i like the look of the fender a lot. but i don´t want to spend any money in modding. i lso have a 1x8" celesion cab, that i might connect to the champion 600. does it sound good straight out of the box or not?
eddie

[xjazzy]

Yes it sounds... when connected to a bigger speaker and cranked!

[Rob DiStefano]

I just bought one off a TDPRI'er - with a bone stock circuit and speaker, the tone was far too nasal for my liking (as expected).

For my tastes, the stock speaker is a huge weak link in this amp. Though through re-baffling and some other mods you can shoehorn an 8" in that tiny cab, but I wanted the C600 as a "shop amp" and wasn't interested in playing at any sorta elevated volume levels, so I opted for a Weber Sig AlNICO 6". In the long run, after spending some time "breaking it in", this speaker really improved the headroom and tone, along with lifting the R19 to remove the "tone stack". Other than that, I regrilled with wicker cane, stuck in a set of JJ's and a preamp shield.

When fed with single coils she's got a meaty and thick tone with a hint of overdrive, using a Strat or Tele neck pickup and the volume knob set to noon. Flick the pup switch to the bridge position and she growls very nicely. Advancing the vol knob past noon invites a hornet's nest invasion, ending in beehive chaos when dimed (hey, it's a 6" speaker - it just can't be pushed really hard - IMHO).

Yeah, yeah, yeah - the C600 is PCB based - but it'll serve my purposes well, for now. If the circuit craps out, I'll just reinvent it as a PTP sorta/kinda 5F1.

[eddiewagner]

he rob, this is what i want it for: a cool "shop amp". i just ordered one online. i really hope it makes no hums and buzzes. what does lifting the r 19 mean? do i have to do that? i hope not!!!!

[ruger9]

Rob- did you consider lifting R7 (the NFB)... the original C600 had no NFB. If not, why not? I just picked up a C600 and am basically doing exactly what you did- except I was probably goinf to life the NFB, and then make it switchable (maybe) with a push-pull.

[eddiewagner]

you guys are are way into lifting.

[Rob DiStefano]

My particular C600 is reasonably quiet ... actually, very quiet - until it goes near my fluorescent shop lamps! buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...............

"R19" is clearly labeled on the PCB and "lifiting" it means to either desolder or snip off any one leg of that resistor. This kills the in-yer-face raunchy tone circuit.

I did lift R7, but the results weren't what I wanted, which is a more subdued tone, with more headroom, not less. So R7 stays put.

Oh yeah, FWIW, the OT wants to see a 4 ohm load.

One other thing - that stock speaker grille would concern me, looks like it'll stifle tone more than allow it to pass through. I'd suggest to regrille or just remove it.

[xjazzy]

With R7 lifted I have a lot more sparkle and more treble. It works great with P-90's. Not so great with the tele bridge PU.

[ruger9]

lifting the NFB INCREASED headroom??? That's the exact opposite of everything I've ever read about NFBs...

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by ruger9

lifting the NFB INCREASED headroom??? That's the exact opposite of everything I've ever read about NFBs...

Each amp needs to be apprised for its own unique attributes and the user's intentions. With R7 lifted on my C600, it added "grit" and an earlier break up - with R7 left in place, the amp sounds "warmer" and stays "cleaner" for my tastes. This is pretty much the exact same thing for me with my GA5's, except all the other GA5 mods I used tamed it so much that it sounded better WITHOUT the 47k NFB resistor.

[eddiewagner]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

with R7 left in place, the amp sounds "warmer" and stays "cleaner" for my tastes.

that´s the way, ah aha, i like it.

[Tele295]

Out of the box, the C600 I played in the store sounded just like my '54 wide panel Champ, although without the tired 54 y.o. speaker

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by Tele295

Out of the box, the C600 I played in the store sounded just like my '54 wide panel Champ, although without the tired 54 y.o. speaker

That's not "tired" man, that's MAGIC!

[ruger9]

THIS is what a C600 should sound like... (and IMHO the MM mods sound like crap)...



Don't know why the embed isn't working... here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVGWICF5-i8

[xjazzy]

That video isn't a good example of the sound of the modded Champ.

Here is mine:

[TeleFunking]

ruger9
Man...the '51 original Champ sounds AMAZING!!!
Is there any way to mod a new one to sound just like the old one!?

[ruger9]

yours does sound very good... but it's not really a fair compariosn... you're pumping thru a 12" speaker, right?

[eddiewagner]

far is i can see the original rules bigtime for my taste. the old one is good too. the mm-modded is weird to me.

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by TeleFunking

ruger9
Man...the '51 original Champ sounds AMAZING!!!
Is there any way to mod a new one to sound just like the old one!?

Not really. The preamp tube is a 6SJ7. It would require a complete re-wire, pretty much.

[xjazzy]

Originally Posted by ruger9

yours does sound very good... but it's not really a fair compariosn... you're pumping thru a 12" speaker, right?

You're right

[Klaus Kemmerling]

Hi Eddie,
I have a Champion 600 for about one year now. I like the sound the way it is without any modification for home use. This little amps sound suprisingly round warm and big when used in a living room. I even did gigs with it (with band) but in these cases I plugged it into a small 1x12 cabinet.

I hope you will have fun with the amp.
Greetings from Koeln ;-)
Klaus

[TheBear]

My Champ came with a set of tubes, a Jensen Mod6, and a couple of missing resistors. It sounds wonderful and is very responsive to tube changes. I'm going to perform ebay seller "Alnicomagnet"s silverface (AA764?) mod soon and hopefully that will make it even better.

I also tried the Epiphone Valve Jr halfstack a while back and did not like it at all with a Tele.

[tonfarbe]

I also put a Jensen MOD 6 in mine + it was an obvious sound improvement towards "rounder" and "fuller".
You can get a Jensen MOD 6 from Tube-Town for 24 Euro.
I love my Champion 600 'cause it's perfect for playing in the living room.
I also plan to buy another one for my studio to run it through a 12" speaker.

[Twangyo]

Hey Eddie
The champion 600 sounds ok right out of the box.
I didn't change anything on the circuitboard, only changed the
speakercloth,( which is like cardboard ).
That's something you can do without getting electrocuted.

Hayo

[eddiewagner]

thanks for the infos friends. that will be quite a hard time to wait until christmas....