Champ 600 Owners Club

Looking through the new "owners" threads and didn't see one for this popular bedroom amp.....so here it is.

I was wondering if the threads that contained the "mods" to be done to each amp will be moved to their respective threads now that we have things broken down like they are.

I love my Champ and will be looking to do some mods to it when I get my bench set up in the garage.......hoping for a good soldering station for Fathers Day:lol:

Chris

Thought I might as well post links to the threads and sites that inspired me to get one of these sweet little amps so if folks wish to mod them the links will be here.

Champion 600 Upgrades
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/95897-champion-600-upgrades.html

Why do people love champs?
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/160107-why-do-people-love-champs.html

Fender Champ using the Mercury Magnetics upgrade kit
http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/mainframe.htm

akavalve mods for the champ 600
http://akavalve.blogspot.com/2009/01/fender-champion-600-input-voicing-mod.html

John Frondelli on Hot-Rodding the Fender Champion 600
http://300guitars.com/index.php/articles/interview-john-frondelli-on-hot-rodding-the-fender-champion-600/

Champ 600 Upgrade Kit Installation
http://www.specialtyguitars.com/champ-kit-install.html

FENDER CHAMP 600 KIT CH6
http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1916

these are a few from my own bookmarks, feel free to post any sites you may have found about our little friend.

Excellent Links...thanks for posting those.

I love mine, although it isn't a 600 reissue proper anymore with its eyeletboard, tone control and a extra switches.

Thanks for the links! I think the sewatt.com Champ section is very useful, it has annotated pictures of the PCB and lots of mods. It does require registration though.

Thanks CJ!

Always nice to have stuff altogether in one place.

PB

count me in. mine is a christmas present from my wife. love the sound for practicing and got used to the slight hum (if there's an easy way to get rid of that, tell me anyway).

Bought mine when they first hit the stores. Someday I may replace the speaker(sounds fine, as is) but right now it's stock except for a new set of JJ's.

i love my little champ it is brilliant!!!! and the looks are to die for! i want to fit a jensen ch6 soon. any thoughts?

I'm sure I posted on most of those threads! I have a modified one with a Jensen speaker & upgraded tubes (covered in the links before anyone asks). A great amp

My speaker swap (Champion 600) slide show link (http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/?action=view&current=32216609.pbw)

If you look in the lower left corner, you;ll see that the Champion 600 makes a great pedestal for Darth Vador's helmet (and they sound great too)......

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/008.jpg


Did someone say bedroom amp? I got your bedroom amp right here!

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/Bedroomamp.jpg

John

Proud to say I joined the club last night. Picked one up off of CL for $150. The guy said it was completely stock, but when I got home and took off the back plate I noticed an EHX 6V6GT and a Sovtek 12AX7-WA. Probably will still replaces them with JJ's, but has anyone else seen a stock Champ with those tubes?

i have a champ 600 WITH the Mercury Magnetics Kit

and it is a different amp!

i cant compare it to the 57 tweed champ reissue...but thats just because i dont have it...yet!!!

but i can say its fun to play with and tone wise its there!

i saw a couple people on this forum change the grille cloth from that felt to a nicer looking vintage houndstooth?
not sure exactly what it is but i want it!

...I´ll play too, bought mine new. Upgraded it straight away with JJ tubes and a Jensen Chicago 6". It sounds great and is loud enough to scare the neighbours :shock:

mine's still stock...

the tubes rattle a bit, I'll upgrade when it gets bad, or if I use it for recording, but right now, it really is just a bedroom amp, so it's fine for now.

I just got a used Fender Champ 600 last night. Running it parallel with a Gretsch 5222 I got a couple of months back. Loving some Stereo Champ action!

I got one last week. Absolutely perfect for a practice amp...I can now ditch the headphones and give my ears a rest!

I like mine, but mainly for the way it looks if Im honest.

I wish it didn't buzz so much!

Steve G .try seating the tubes properly .It tends to cough, spit ,splutter ,and buzz with loose tubes ,as do we all .:lol:

Steve G .try seating the tubes properly .It tends to cough, spit ,splutter ,and buzz with loose tubes ,as do we all .:lol:

thanks, ill have a look!

i'll play! just ordered one off evilbay last night and haven't gotten it yet but am stoked. thanks for the links for the mods. not having played it and may not do anything but maybe a tube swap, i think i want it to break up earlier is something in mind.

I joined this club today. Great little sound!

I'm in. I've had mine for a few months now. First thing I did was switch out the tubes with a EHX 6V6 and a TAD 12AX7. Instant improvement with that.

I just ordered a fully ribbed 6" Weber Alnico speaker. I'm hoping this will not fart out as much as the stock speaker. And its fairly cheap mod to experiment.

Just got my Champ 600 last week for 134.99 and it sounds fantastic. It does rattle and buzz a bit. Everything is stock - kungfumailman

I've had mine for about a year and a half now. I did some mods to it to lower the noise a bit, but they didn't really seem to make a huge impact on it. It has a bit of an idle hum, but the JJ tubes I put in helped a bit. Tonally, other than the tubes, I just replaced the grill cloth with some blonde Fender style cloth I had laying around (no more flapping) and clipped C3, one of the cathode bypass caps. This lowers the preamp gain a bit and make the amp's full volume grind less harsh and more usable. That said, the amp's cleans, while quiet, are excellent. I am happy with the stock speaker and won't replace it unless it gets blown. It even fits in my backpack! Definitely a great apartment/practice amp.

I have a new champ 600 and the sound with a multi effects digitech rp155 sounds killer. My question is: can I do any harm to the amp by using a effects unit? I am new to the multi effects unit world. so I don't know if there any watt requirements for running them through a small amp. It does work quite well with this small amp. I can get many tones and many different levels of gain. I also play the amp with no effects and It sounds great with the volume below 10, more than that it buzzes and sounds not so good. -Kungfumailman

While waiting on my new speaker to come in, I decided to change the grill cloth to something thinner. I used a dark brown old navy shirt that fit the champ well. Using tacs it took a while, but it came out well.

Also, I messed up some tolex on the bottom right getting a screw out so I decided to turn it into a relic. I sprayed all of the tolex with some amber lacquer I had from reranch. It mellowed out the amp and gave a nice slight relic feel. Here is a crappy webcam pic.

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs162.snc1/6048_633077291168_29703542_37232681_6501630_n.jpg

I posted this in amp central station also and then realized this is more appropriate.
Has anyone done the ECC832 preamp tube swap? I am looking for extended clean tone, not worried about volume much. I actually only use this for bedroom size room use. I would like to know about what to expect tonewise vs stock tubes. If you did it and like it did you then complete the bias mod or just leave it alone.
Thanks, Tim

Just joined on Friday. Picked it up at GC and have had a great weekend messing with it. Great sound, even stock and really enjoy getting this much goodness from such a tiny and inexpensive package. Great, straightforward no-frills amp. Nice balance to the Twin Reverb and not nearly as heavy. :)

is there a way to get rid of the hum?

we use it for the harp (and I have one in my appartment also), but for recordings it's useless with that hum.

Yay !!, got mine at last in a flawlessly executed deal with TDPRI's Steve G, i'm reckoning on using it to record in favour of the PodII i'm always raving about, tried it today and was knocked out by the tightness of tone, maybe a swap to a 12AT7 for a little less dirt but me likeee !! :grin:
Steve has done a resistor mod and added a Jensen speaker and i can't find much to not like but yeah ..... there is a hum but i'm sure i can live with that.

I guess I get to join this club, received a new Champion 600 from my son as a belated birthday present!

You'll like this...curious as to what tubes were in it, as under another thread I had heard they were sometimes using EH and Sovtek instead of Chinese. Well, the tubes came out easily, even without taking off the back: The 6V6 is "Made in China December 2007" however the preamp is a Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA, pretty good.

Power tube goes back in easy enough...CANNOT get the preamp tube back in...check pin orientation with inspection mirror..nope, won't go. Take back off. No better. Harumph! Down to the workbench, take out the chassis, STILL won't go in. Tube socket looks like two-part, start to unscrew, only the base for the shield comes off, but now I can see the pins well. All are lined up, won't go in! Nothing is bent, all the contacts are there. Well, if I can only do this once, open up the cache, and grab a NOS Amphenol 7025. With great effort, almost to the point of breaking the tube, it slides home.

Thats some tight tube socket!

Ok, its open, grab an RCA 6V6GT while I'm at it, and get 'er all back together.

Ahhhhh, very nice! Even better through my Tremolux cab with a Reverend speaker in it.

This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship...if I don't have the urge to change the preamp tube again!:lol:

I have one since Jan. 2008. Mine did never hum (but stock tubes were crap)

Didn't change the grill cloth yet since I look for a similar color one (but with no blanket effect! :)
Otherwise I'll use salt&pepper grill cloth or the cane and black version of s&p

I use NOS tubes and no back panel. I love it.
Even with the stock speaker after a good break-up (but it will get a 6'' Jensen soon; too expensive to get a Weber shipped here)

I plan some mods but I keep playing it like this.

Oh, best "mod" was to use a small guitar stand (http://www.herculesstands.com/guitars/GS402B.html) for it to acoustically decouple it from the room.
Absolutely great now. It was exciting very annoying low-mid room modes otherwise.
Not easy to see, but it is on the stand on my pictures.

Take a look at the akavalve (http://akavalve.blogspot.com/2009/01/fender-champion-600-input-voicing-mod.html) mods. You'll learn a lot.

.

I just got my Champ 600 custom head and cabinet done. I took the amp out of the original cabinet and took it to a friend of mine who has woodworking skills. I also brought two 1950's alnico speakers probably out of an organ or jukebox and said can you build me a matching piggyback head 210 cabinet? The best part is the tone! This Champ 600 sounds epic with the closed back cab and vintage low watt speakers.

wooooooow, beautiful!!!

Very nice kungfumailman !

I plugged my champ in my vox ad60 speaker yesterday and wow wonderful.
Now I just need to make a speaker cable to make switching easyer. Maybe I gonna put a weber Sig 6" in the champ.

Just got mine a couple of weeks ago. Great little amp. No hum. :)

Hello all, I've had mine for a while now, Still the stock speaker in her. I did a bunch of mods including popping a JJ 6v6 and taking out a B+ dropping resistor with it. I like the tone just fine, And it sits on my work desk for testing pedal designs and whatnot.


Here's a pic:

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq21/racerx29/Champ600.jpg


Next mod it to do a PTP build in there when I get the time. :cool:

Hello all, just got mine tonight and am loving it. Sounds great so far. No humming. I think I'll play on it a while to see if it develops any issues before doing any changes. Everyones pictures look great! I like what you all have done!

And thanks cjburr for the links!

Hi folks just thought I would let you all know I stuffed a weber blue pup in mine.
8 inches set off center and mighty close to that 6v6. So yes it can be done.
Looking forward to modding this bugger. sounds great

what's the grill cloth? looks good

Hello all, I've had mine for a while now, Still the stock speaker in her. I did a bunch of mods including popping a JJ 6v6 and taking out a B+ dropping resistor with it. I like the tone just fine, And it sits on my work desk for testing pedal designs and whatnot.


Here's a pic:

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq21/racerx29/Champ600.jpg


Next mod it to do a PTP build in there when I get the time. :cool:

I'm in:
http://onfinite.com/libraries/1419024/097.jpg

I am in :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/talmir/otherguitars.jpg

I'm in:
http://onfinite.com/libraries/1419024/097.jpg

beautiful picture!
Is that your Classic MIM 50s? Looks creamy and nice in sepia...!

Thanks.
Yes it's Classic 50's.

I just got mine and love it. It holds its own against my other amps: Victoria, Trainwreck and Dumble clones, Cornell, and DRRI. With a little ZenDrive2, Maxon Delay, and Fender Tube Reverb and positioning the amp sideways, I have such a beautiful, natural, almost acoustic guitar kind of sound. I know its funny to use all these devices, but I find them useful for giving my sounds the kind of presence and space that I want. The other amps are more versatile, even using just the volume knob on my Tele, but once I have found the sweet spot for this li'l guy, he puts it out. It is a great rest from the intensity of those other amps. This is simpler and creates a lighter atmosphere in the room. The hum is not too noticeable to me.

If you are looking for a good bedroom amp, this is a good choice.

I just got my Champ 600 custom head and cabinet done. I took the amp out of the original cabinet and took it to a friend of mine who has woodworking skills. I also brought two 1950's alnico speakers probably out of an organ or jukebox and said can you build me a matching piggyback head 210 cabinet? The best part is the tone! This Champ 600 sounds epic with the closed back cab and vintage low watt speakers.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/amp-owners-clubs/33948d1256532207t-champ-600-owners-club-img_3002-jpg

Would you consider posting a YouTube video of you playing through this rig??

I would love to hear it. That's one of the coolest projects that I've seen in some time.

Very Cool.

John

Fake vintage photo of my Due Sonic and Champ 600....

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/041Vintage.jpg

I have had mine for a year now and love it so much that I ma going to buy the tweed Gretsch version too. I have had zero issues with this amp and it is bone stock...I can never have too much tweed in my life so I'm gonna buy the Gretsch. :-)

Hi - nosuch

To get rid of the hum try this kit on ebay. The instructions are great and easy to follow with really useful step by step photos on the CD. The difference is great. Next to no hum and if you do the 5E1 mod a great step up in tone too.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alnicomagnet-Mod-Kit-5E1-5F1-Champion-600-Gretsch-G5222_W0QQitemZ360130977382QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_M usicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item53d97a9e66#ht_1 0977wt_941

I have had one of these great little amps for a year or so. The only mod was replacing the stock valves with JJ's, kept the stock speaker and play with the back open. Difference in tone and presence with the new valves was like night and day.

Mine has never been noisy, maybe I'm lucky.

A fantastic amp for times when you can't play loud but still want to push the valves hard for a decent tone. All in all a great little box....love it!

I'm the proud new owner of one of these lil gems. I just got it tonight from MF and am really happy with it.

My piney Esquire is a little sharp for it, even with a .033 vitamin Q (which is a jump up from the .012 I had in there) but my mij strat sounds very nice.

I'm not into the overdriven sound so muc, but the everything is still brand new. What I'm into is the clean warm tube tone at low volumes.

I believe playing/ practicing clean makes you a much better musician, and lately I've had access to a ton of effects...so playing clean is a nice change of pace.

Bought mine in 2007 I've replaced the original tubes with Tung-Sol reissues but other than that no mods... :cool:

I'm in. Just got mine yesterday at GC for $89 new (w/ coupon) ~ Love it!

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/NewFenderChampion600005PB.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/NewFenderChampion600006PB.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/NewFenderChampion600013PB.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/NewFenderChampion600018PB.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/NewFenderChampion600022PB.jpg

Dude, that is a killer deal! I play my champ through a 2-10 cabinet and it sounds awesome.

I have had mine for a year now and love it so much that I ma going to buy the tweed Gretsch version too. I have had zero issues with this amp and it is bone stock...I can never have too much tweed in my life so I'm gonna buy the Gretsch. :-)

I have the Gretsch version and love it!... Put in a Weber speaker, JJ tubes, changed the grill cloth and tinted the tweed. I've owned it for about a year and it has served me well.

the tinted tweed looks great.

What did you used?
I'd like to do the same to a tweed case but no idea what to look for locally.

the tinted tweed looks great.

What did you used?
I'd like to do the same to a tweed case but no idea what to look for locally.


I used an amber shellac. The brand I used was Zinsser. I would caution to use it sparingly as it got pretty dark in only a couple of coats.

Great, thank you!

Dude, that is a killer deal! I play my champ through a 2-10 cabinet and it sounds awesome.

Yeah, I thought so, too!

I may hook this one up to a cab before long - I'd like to hear this thing thru a 2X10 cab alright!..

Merry Xmas for me! Proud new Champ 600 Papa here!

Can't wait to hear how it sounds with my different axes!

Lur

finally I can join. merry xmas to me

I'm in too. I got one for Christmas while they were $99 at GC. Now to decide if I want to make any mods to it.

Count me in, gang! Got me one for Christmas...

I haven't taken it out of the box yet, but it is destined to be driven to the very gates!

(I'm still dialing in a used Blues Jr I bought on Craigslist for $275 - 1998 black tolex - so it's next in line for exploration)

I figure this amp and a Crybaby will end up doing 'bedroom duty' away from the rest of my gear and music room.

Sort of a 'situation' amp, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, I thought so, too!

I may hook this one up to a cab before long - I'd like to hear this thing thru a 2X10 cab alright!..

I like to plug 'er into a 4x12 every once in awhile, crazy sound from that lil' box.

I like to plug 'er into a 4x12 every once in awhile, crazy sound from that lil' box.

Yep, I would LOVE to hear this little thing plugged into a cab, which I haven't done yet. I've had mine about a week or so and I'm still lovin' it stock..


Good match-up:

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/TeleandChamp600017PB.jpg

jcSDGE6g1ZY

I'm in as well, Christmas present from the inlaws. It's pairing well with my recently acquired vintage 1970 Harmony H64 hollowbody, found a sweet spot tonight, plugged into the High input, volume around 8, Ibanez TS-7 tubescreamer in front, don't recall the settings on the pedal, and it's downstairs...

axenut

I'm in as well, Christmas present from the inlaws. It's pairing well with my recently acquired vintage 1970 Harmony H64 hollowbody, found a sweet spot tonight, plugged into the High input, volume around 8, Ibanez TS-7 tubescreamer in front, don't recall the settings on the pedal, and it's downstairs...

axenut

Congrats! Best bang for buck I've had in a long time!

I'm in. I wasn't in the market but a $99 price tag was too hard to pass up. I want to mod it, but I might divert all those man-hours into actual playing. Lord knows I need it!

I've had one for a few weeks now. I think it's been a good thing. The lack of controls on the amp has made me really experiment with changing the sound by using the guitar instead.

thanks for the demo. What's the guitar and pickups?

jcSDGE6g1ZY

Me too! I bought myself one for Christmas and I'm really liking it so far. No mods planned as of yet - I've got plenty of amps so I'll probably leave this one as is. Put the volume right on 12 and keep it there, use the guitar volume to control things - sounds great!

I've had mine for a while.

Documented my conversion here:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/131272-champ-600-5f1-conversion.html

Wish I'd known I coulda gotten a new one for $99 at GC - I might have bought a few more.

-Kevin

I'm using my Champion 600 for bedroom/living room low volume practice, works great for what I'm doing with it.. But I made a new baffle board and swapped the speaker around to the front with real grill cloth.

http://www.daveharper.com/Webpics/Champ600-1.JPG


http://www.daveharper.com/Webpics/Champ600-2.JPG

Hi All,
I'll be in the club on friday...my Champion 600 will be here tomorrow and my Jensen Mod6-15 will be here today. Before I decide on any mods, I'm going to run the 600 through a test period. But I figured I'd have the speaker on hand just in case. Really looking forward to this little jewel.

Thanks to all your input.

later

Changing the grill cloth (or better, blanket :) to something more transparent is very advisable when you install the new speaker.

Good idea.....probably one of those things to do when the speaker is out. I'm going to give the stock setup a try before I start on the mods.

I'll get pics too.

I just got mine a few days ago. Sounds so sweet with my 2008 MIM Tele; totally stock.
I got this thing assuming I would be doing mods after reading a lot of the previous posts. I guess I got lucky with this one, don't see any need to change anything.
I have been playing after everyone is asleep, with it cranked to that tube amp sweet spot with no complaints.
Today, I took it to rehearsal. Un-amplified Martin Acoustic, electric bass, and my new rig. Myself and the Martin player sharing lead and harmony vocals without a P.A.
The new rig blended in perfectly, with that wonderful tube tone in perfect balance with the other instruments. Multiple compliments.
Previously, I have been using my Blues Jr. with these guys, but sounded anemic at suitable volume levels. The BJ is perfect when we have a P.A. and a drummer.

I'm in, thanks to my generous friends. I planned to do some mods, more for fun than anything, but it sounds so good stock.

Got mine last week, came with a Tung-Sol 12AX7 and "Made in China Dec. 2007" 6V6; I just ordered a new power tube (Tung-Sol), and am looking forward to installing it. Still, even with the crappy stock tube, this little thing has miles of tone and won't break concrete when it's cranked! I have a Nady SP-something mic hooked up through a Behringer mixer, and hope to record something (I'm getting desperate--this might as well read "anything") soon. SM57's and Mackie gear have to wait until I get my hands on one of the new Squiers...

One happy owner here. Upgraded the tubes and the speaker to a Weber. No other mods needed for my use.

The tower of (lo) power:
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs463.snc3/25420_1202227427435_1581060695_30414402_2619873_n. jpg

I've had mine for a couple of months now and it really is a super little 5 watt amp. I did buy the Jensen replacement speaker (based on input from the forum) but so far I really haven't had the need to replace the stock speaker. For what it is, the tone is really surprising and quite nice. Great little amp, I don't regret the purchase.

later.

I'm in. Purchased tonight for 80.00 still in the box. Best 80.00 I have spent. Tone this little thing pumps out is amazing. I played until I got the evil eye from the wifey. Strat sounds so sweet.

Only one problem.........now i am gassing for a tele again to play on this little whopper!!

This club needs a bump!!

Been over a week now and I am loving this little amp. I haven't plugged in my Vox in a week. I took this little monster to the garage and the acoustics were unreal. Cranked and the sound was jumpin off the walls. Soooo glad I made this purchase. This little thing is a keeper all the way. After some reading up and some advice some members I may change the tubes down the road, but this thing is great stock.

Stand up 600 owners. Best impulse buy ever. This is Pandora's mini box of tone!

Just bought one yesterday.

I like it! Even stock, it's really nice. I might mod it in the future, but I'm one happy guitarist right now.

This club needs a bump!!

Been over a week now and I am loving this little amp. I haven't plugged in my Vox in a week. I took this little monster to the garage and the acoustics were unreal. Cranked and the sound was jumpin off the walls. Soooo glad I made this purchase. This little thing is a keeper all the way. After some reading up and some advice some members I may change the tubes down the road, but this thing is great stock.

Stand up 600 owners. Best impulse buy ever. This is Pandora's mini box of tone!

At wich volume do you get that great tone?
Also, wich pickups are you using on that setup? Do you make the amp breakup without pedals?

I've hooked my Champ 600 up to this

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Native-Instruments-Guitar-Rig-4-KONTROL-Edition-SoftwareHardware-Combo?sku=704505

and I'm really loving life right now. I can get any tone under the sun at bedroom levels or cranked to 12 if the wife and kids aren't home :twisted:

As much as I like to tinker with my toys using this software lets me get more from the stock set up than I ever dreamed possible.......I'm sure I'll succumb to the soldering bug sometime but that won't happen for a while now.

At wich volume do you get that great tone?
Also, wich pickups are you using on that setup? Do you make the amp breakup without pedals?

My Volume is always at 10-12, I use the guitar volume. Using a strat. Best low volume response is middle clean. Great clean sparkling strat tone. Put it between middle and neck, turn up the volume and it breaks up nice. Not a "tubescreamer" sound, but it brinks on the edge of nice distortion. Plenty of breakup for a strat. Great solo rock or hard blues sound. I have a JB JR in the bridge and it breaks up pretty good, but to me the neck/mid sounds better. I admit it sounded great clean in the bedroom, but I never heard the breakup I wanted, sound muffled...............until I hit the garage. HUGE difference. The acoustics are great. Pretty loud for 5 watts.

I am thinking of adding a pedal for more overdrive. Thinking Bad monkey. But for now it sounds great to me.

Okay, so I've had my champ 600 for about 6 months now, I am so curious as to what it would sound like with some mods. So I have tube replacements for the stock ones, 1 each - tung-sol 12ax7 and 6v6gt and I have the jensen mod speaker. I'm not sure what to hope for but I'll keep you posted. :cool:

I think those are good tube choices that will provide more clarity and smoothness at all ranges. As for the Jensen, I put one in mine recently but almost think I like the stocker better - to be fair, I haven't really spent enough time with it though. Contrary to what others have reported, it almost seems quieter and fizzier at high volumes than stock :confused: - again, I need to spend spend more time with it to be certain.

Been wondering what happened to all the Champion 600 love!

I recently did a little modding as well. Placed a Vox 8" speaker in there (same baffle but it's offset so "enough" is there to sound great). That speaker is 8ohms so I also set it up so that I can also plug it in to another 8ohm cabinet, driving all speakers at once, all at 4 ohms.

Also started making these:

http://www.champstand.com/Assets/sample.jpg

I call it the "ChampStand (http://www.champstand.com/)". Also has velcro straps which I sometimes use when playing out at church. It's amazing how these amps sound once you get them at about waist level.

Next mod for me will probably be a microphone clip setup.

I still love mine and use it very often at reharsal.
My tele with the GT-6 through it sound amazingly better than direct to the sound board!

I think those are good tube choices that will provide more clarity and smoothness at all ranges. As for the Jensen, I put one in mine recently but almost think I like the stocker better - to be fair, I haven't really spent enough time with it though. Contrary to what others have reported, it almost seems quieter and fizzier at high volumes than stock :confused: - again, I need to spend spend more time with it to be certain.


I think what I'll do is, replace the tubes and play through it for awhile and check out the differences with the new tubes. Then maybe, replace the speaker, to see if I can tell the difference. I like the stock tones, I'm just curious as to the tone differences with the mods.

The champ 600 really is a very nice 5 watt amp, for what it is.

New owner and think it sounds great for low volume practicing! The cleans are just fantastic, and I think the dirtys are getting better as I put some time on the speaker and tubes (all stock).

BIG QUESTION - can I plug the Champ 600 into my 16 ohm Epiphone speaker cab? Fender's manual says 4 ohm minimum, and I've searched online and found lots of conflicting info. I'm dying to try the Champ with the 12" speaker in the Epi cab, but don't want to break the amp. Anyone have a DEFINITIVE answer - yes or no?

I've had my 600 for a few months, probably my favorite small practice amp I've ever had. Did the Weber Alnico speaker and Tung Sol 12AX7 tube swap, definitely an improvement. Would also like to do the mod BooneDog did to reverse the speaker so the controls are in front.

I've had my 600 for a few months, probably my favorite small practice amp I've ever had. Did the Weber Alnico speaker and Tung Sol 12AX7 tube swap, definitely an improvement. Would also like to do the mod BooneDog did to reverse the speaker so the controls are in front.


Was it difficult to remove the tubes? thnx.

FenderNic321 - Actually a friend did it for me, he said it was easy, I wasn't around when he did it though. I have heard of people having problems with tubes not wanting to come out easily but he had no issue. The new speaker does make it a bit tighter in there because the magnet is larger.

FenderNic321 - Actually a friend did it for me, he said it was easy, I wasn't around when he did it though. I have heard of people having problems with tubes not wanting to come out easily but he had no issue. The new speaker does make it a bit tighter in there because the magnet is larger.

Cool - thanks for the info.

New owner and think it sounds great for low volume practicing! The cleans are just fantastic, and I think the dirtys are getting better as I put some time on the speaker and tubes (all stock).

BIG QUESTION - can I plug the Champ 600 into my 16 ohm Epiphone speaker cab? Fender's manual says 4 ohm minimum, and I've searched online and found lots of conflicting info. I'm dying to try the Champ with the 12" speaker in the Epi cab, but don't want to break the amp. Anyone have a DEFINITIVE answer - yes or no?

Welcome!

No problem at all doing that. The danger would be to plug, say, a 2 ohm load into the amp. In that case, the flow of power is increased to where the amp can't keep up, basically frying it. (not a technical explanation but hey)

Plugging a 16 ohm speaker into the C600 will work, but the amp won't work as efficiently as it would with a 4 ohm load. No danger however.

Thanks Faraldi! I contact Fender earlier today and their response was "No, don't do it! You'll blow up the amp." He said it's only safe to run it into 4 ohms or less, despite the manual saying 4 ohm minimum. It's interesting how much confusion is out there over this!

Thanks Faraldi! I contact Fender earlier today and their response was "No, don't do it! You'll blow up the amp." He said it's only safe to run it into 4 ohms or less, despite the manual saying 4 ohm minimum. It's interesting how much confusion is out there over this!

Holy #$%!!!

Funny thing is that there aren't many speakers available that are actually less than 4 ohms (unless you wire a bunch together or hook up some "kickers") :razz:

Again, you're fine with any impedance above 4 ohms. In fact, my Champion 600 is loaded with an 8" Vox speaker that is 8 ohms. Even though its not as efficient, the difference isn't drastic and it sounds fantastic.

Reason I did this is because I'm building a speaker cabinet with a 10" Eminence Ragin Cajun (which is also 8 ohms). So, wired in parallel, I will have a 4 ohm load (efficient for the amp) and will be running a 10" and 8" speaker.

(No this was not the original reason for building the cab. Just a cool second use)

Oh and let the tubes cool before messing with the output jack. They get freakin hot!

Been wondering what happened to all the Champion 600 love!

I recently did a little modding as well. Placed a Vox 8" speaker in there (same baffle but it's offset so "enough" is there to sound great). That speaker is 8ohms so I also set it up so that I can also plug it in to another 8ohm cabinet, driving all speakers at once, all at 4 ohms.

Also started making these:

http://www.champstand.com/Assets/sample.jpg

I call it the "ChampStand (http://www.champstand.com/)". Also has velcro straps which I sometimes use when playing out at church. It's amazing how these amps sound once you get them at about waist level.

Next mod for me will probably be a microphone clip setup.

Hmmm........ I have a spare PF15R 8" speaker kicking around..........and some new oxblood grille cloth I've been meaning to install on either the existing baffle or a new one......actually enough to do two. How much do you think the 8ohm load reduced volume on the 600? And how about compared to stock 6"?

The "ChampStand" is a neat and elegantly simple idea, Joe. Hopefully lots of folks will want one.:smile: My 600 sits atop my SFSR - all small amps sound so much better (and bigger) when elevated off the floor.

ok, well this weekend I replaced the stock speaker with the Jensen Mod 6.....with just the speaker change the tone to me seems to be a bit "thicker"/"fatter", whereas to me the stock speaker tone seemed to come across "brighter". I do like the change so far, I should have my new Tung-Sol tubes today, so I'm going to replace the stock tubes tonight. We'll see how that goes.

so far so good.

Okay, I got the new Tung-Sol tubes last night.....removed the old tubes.....the mods came into play because everytime I turned the amp on there was a horrible "static" noise. After looking at the old tubes I discovered the 12ax7 was totally black inside and it was stamped with a date of 2007, which is kind of weird because I bought the amp new from MF maybe 4 months ago. So I guess they had it boxed up for 3 years.

Anyway, in go the new tubes, very easy to replace. So, it now has the Jensen Mod 6 speaker and the new tubes. All I can say is what a difference. With the mods the amp really has a nice warm / fat tone, all my guitars really sound nice thru it.

I think for a total of 60 bucks the mods were worth it. And it was easy to do.

FenderNic321 - Glad the swap worked so well, it really is a night and day improvement I think. Something else I've been thinking about doing is putting the R7 and R19 resistors on toggles for different levels of distortion. I've heard of people disconnecting them or changing them for more distortion but I'm thinking if they were toggled then I could get the best of several worlds (as I don't like fx pedals). I usually play clean but occasionally would like more distortion just for the fun of it. If anyone has thoughts on this please share them, I'm definitely not an amp tech.

FenderNic321 - Glad the swap worked so well, it really is a night and day improvement I think. Something else I've been thinking about doing is putting the R7 and R19 resistors on toggles for different levels of distortion. I've heard of people disconnecting them or changing them for more distortion but I'm thinking if they were toggled then I could get the best of several worlds (as I don't like fx pedals). I usually play clean but occasionally would like more distortion just for the fun of it. If anyone has thoughts on this please share them, I'm definitely not an amp tech.

I don't know anything about resistors or toggles, what I did was about all I can do when it comes to amps and mods.
I typically plug a cable in to the amp and guitar and away i go. I played my 55 thinskin tele all night thru the champ and when those tubes warmed up the champ just came alive. The tone was so warm and creamy. I just might have to get another one - mod it and put them together.

keep us posted on your quest.

One correction and one question. First, the correction--my first post stated that my C600 came with a TS 12AX7; it was actually a Sovtek--I will replace this soon. The 6V6GT is now a Tung-Sol, and I completely shielded the amp cavity, but I still get quite a bit of hum...hopefully a new tube fixes this.

Now, for the question. I helped a friend fix an old jukebox, and in return, received an unloaded 4x12 closed back Crate cabinet. I'm looking at ordering a set of celestions from Avatar speakers, and want input as to whether I get:

G1230MG 8 ohm speakers for $100 shipped (30W power handling ea.)., or

Super 65 16 ohm speakers for $125 shipped (65W power handling ea.)

I'm thinking that the extra $25 is well worth being able to hit 4 ohms exactly, but thought that I'd check in here first. Or, if anyone has other ideas, I'll definitely consider them. I know that the champ poses no threat power-wise to these speakers, but who knows what else I may come across in the future...

Just picked up another Champ 600 today for a good price. I traded my last one for a Vox AC4TV and regreted the trade almost immediatly. The champ 600 is totally stock, so I will be able to mod it out the way I had my old one. Something to look forward to.

Just picked up another Champ 600 today for a good price. I traed my last one for a Vox AC4TV and regreted the trade almost immediatly. The champ 600 is totally stock, so I will be able to mod it out the way I had my old one. Something to look forward to.

Way to go! Congrats. Awesome little amp. I need to repair the volume pot on mine but once I do I'll be good to go.

Way to go! Congrats. Awesome little amp. I need to repair the volume pot on mine but once I do I'll be good to go.

That was the first thing I did tonight. The volume pot that comes with it is so cheap. Mine spun in circles. I instaled a quality Alpha 1 meg pot.

Did the mods I wanted,which was removing the tone stack using a .1 couplingcap from C1-J2, and switching out the cheapo Chinese tubes for a blackplate 6V6 and Rca 12AX7. I also replaced the speaker and changed the grillcover. Sounds sweet and looks better than before.

http://harmony.demont.net/myharmonies/Jaybird/championgrill2.jpg

When I installed the Weber Alnico 6 I decided to exchange the original grill cloth for OEM Fender Oxblood cloth. You perfectionists out there will notice how nicely the cloth lines are aligned to the TV cutout -- better than even Fender does it! My arm is sore from patting myself on the back :mrgreen:

http://perso.b2b2c.ca/nikos/px/001.jpg

When I installed the Weber Alnico 6 I decided to exchange the original grill cloth for OEM Fender Oxblood cloth. You perfectionists out there will notice how nicely the cloth lines are aligned to the TV cutout -- better than even Fender does it! My arm is sore from patting myself on the back :mrgreen:

http://perso.b2b2c.ca/nikos/px/001.jpg

I dig this. Nice.

Thanks Faraldi! I contact Fender earlier today and their response was "No, don't do it! You'll blow up the amp." He said it's only safe to run it into 4 ohms or less, despite the manual saying 4 ohm minimum. It's interesting how much confusion is out there over this!

Hi Spayne99,
I have my champion 600 plugged to a 16 Ohm Isolation-Cab with Vintage 30 for recording, no probs at all. I was thinking about changing the output transformer for a Hammond SE, but I don´t think it is necessary. sounds great!
Best wishes from Germany

Getting mine tomorrow. Have never even played through one but just thought it'd be a cool little amp to have. Can't wait to try it out!

Getting mine delivered today!
I will be the proud owner of a super champ xd [rehearsal room] and champion 600 [apartment]
Its a great time to be a guitar player!

Any of you guys have an extra peice of grill cloth laying around? Thats the one mod I plan on doing for sure as well as RCA 6v6's and 7025 tubes.
My super champ xd sounds amazing with these tubes so the 600 will get em too.

Changed the stock tubes in mine to a Electro harmonix 12AX7 and the power tube to a Sovtec 6V6gt .
Also changed the speaker to a Jensen mod .

It sounds great , clear and much louder but i miss the sparkling break up of the stock speaker .
I'll try to get one of those weber alnico sig 6" speakers .
Hope i'll get there again .

Changed the stock tubes in mine to a Electro harmonix 12AX7 and the power tube to a Sovtec 6V6gt .
Also changed the speaker to a Jensen mod .

It sounds great , clear and much louder but i miss the sparkling break up of the stock speaker .
I'll try to get one of those weber alnico sig 6" speakers .
Hope i'll get there again .

That's funny, I tried a Jensen Mod in mine and could not tell the difference. They were so much alike that I thought Jensen made the stock speakers. I guess everyones ears are different. I endeed up putting in a nice alnico 6" speaker that I founfd in an old record player I had. Sounds much better. I will add that I use my amp for harmonica, so I am looking for a different sound than a guitarist.

I got my Champ 600 from GC used for $79 back in Feb! Cool deal since it already came with a Jensen MOD speaker. I just got the mod kit (components only) from DBM Audio (John Frondelli) and got it done in less than an hour. What a difference, I love the tweed style break up and tone. I know someone here did a 2x10 cab upgrade and what I wanted to know is if this would make the Champ gig worthy, being loud enough? I'm holding off on grill cloth change and the 8" speaker upgrade to see if having a 1x12" or 2x10" cab would make it loud enough for gigs.

Thanks guys!

Here is my little gem! This amp is amazing as is. No mods will ever go on this one!
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/ADKTeleman/DSC_0023.jpg

My buddy likes to play his early Yamaha APX 12 string through my 600. Totally opens up the sound, without knocking pictures off the walls.......

Here is my little gem! This amp is amazing as is. No mods will ever go on this one!
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/ADKTeleman/DSC_0023.jpg


I agree wholeheartedly! I don't see how mine could sound any better than it already does stock ~ :grin:

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/telechamp/Champ_600_DSCN0405PB.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/2LPJRSpringChamp-B.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/1SpringKingClose-B.jpg

John

found a great old 70's tesla speaker for this amp,check the magnet compared to the stocker.Its louder, breaks up a little earlier and adds more compression.
This little amp is really the perfect apartment amp,but it might do really well for recording too!. :grin:

You didn't have clearance problems with the tubes? The magnet is big! XD

Actually,yes I did,very good observation!
I'm running a shorter RCA 6k6 Tube though so it just clears the magnet.
Its still louder than the stock speaker with a 6v6,and I kinda like the tweedy tone of the 6k6 tube. Hopefully it can take the voltage!

I had mixed experiences with 6K6. Some didn't resist and some were nice, but warm. I'm shure some switchable solution can be achieved in order to use 6V6 or 6K6 without trouble

Here's mine.

Mods include...
(1) Mercury Magnetics kit (group buy @ Wattkins)
(2) VVR (power switch replaced with switched pot)
(3) Gain boost (volume push-pull pot)
(4) Oxblood grille cloth


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/kecline/Amps/champ600/DSC01602.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/kecline/Amps/champ600/DSC01598.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/kecline/Amps/champ600/champ4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/kecline/Amps/champ600/champ2.jpg

Here,s my effort at replacing the speaker cloth , hope you like it , it is Marshall material I got from my mate . Also the stock speaker was replaced with a Jensen 6"r.

It looks good!

Can you describe the change in tone with the new speaker plus a non-blanket :P grill cloth please?

I read the Jensen 6'' speaker gives tighter lows but less highs, am I right?

thanks

The change in tone is a much clearer sound all round ,not as muffled as before . The cloth taken off the amp is a very tight weave that you can not see through ,I would expect this to have some negative effect. As I,m not a Tele owner [yet] I,m not sure what kind of sounds everyone else is hearing , I,ve got a 175 clone so is quite bassy. Hope this helps you. PS ..I use a Pod Express through the amp and it also sounds much better.PPS the speaker shape is only visible at eye level .hb

Recently acquired this little beauty... :mrgreen:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/Fender1954Champ690-2_6.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/Fender1954Champ690Back_1.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/Fender1954Champ690Controls1_2.jpg

Nice find Ajay!

Any chance you could slide out the chassis and take some gut shots? I would love to see that.

That should have a 6SJ7 preamp tube in it. I'm in the middle of taking a new "600" and replacing it with the 5C1 circuit. PTP wiring via turret sockets.

Nice find Ajay!

Any chance you could slide out the chassis and take some gut shots? I would love to see that.

That should have a 6SJ7 preamp tube in it. I'm in the middle of taking a new "600" and replacing it with the 5C1 circuit. PTP wiring via turret sockets.

Ditto!

count me in. mine is a christmas present from my wife. love the sound for practicing and got used to the slight hum (if there's an easy way to get rid of that, tell me anyway).

Humbuckers.

Nice find Ajay!

Any chance you could slide out the chassis and take some gut shots? I would love to see that.

That should have a 6SJ7 preamp tube in it. I'm in the middle of taking a new "600" and replacing it with the 5C1 circuit. PTP wiring via turret sockets.

Sorry, I am not real keen on pulling it to pieces - I might mess it up! But I do have the original eBay photo of the chassis, so I hope this helps..

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/Fender1954Champion690AmpInternals1_1.jpg

Looking at it, it looks like the tranny has been replaced at some stage, but things like the pots are apparently original. I am NOT a vintage amp officianado, but I like the idea of owning an amp older than me... :mrgreen:

The eBay listing (from a store) did say that the tubes were 6SJ7 & 6V6GT & 5Y3GT, so I am assuming this is correct. This amp is also supposed to have been bought from Sam Hutton in L.A.

Sorry, I am not real keen on pulling it to pieces - I might mess it up! But I do have the original eBay photo of the chassis, so I hope this helps..

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/Fender1954Champion690AmpInternals1_1.jpg

Looking at it, it looks like the tranny has been replaced at some stage, but things like the pots are apparently original. I am NOT a vintage amp officianado, but I like the idea of owning an amp older than me... :mrgreen:

The eBay listing (from a store) did say that the tubes were 6SJ7 & 6V6GT & 5Y3GT, so I am assuming this is correct. This amp is also supposed to have been bought from Sam Hutton in L.A.

That is cool! It looks like all the grounds are soldered right to the copper chassis.I hate to use the 'mojo' word,but when you consider the fact that whoever wired that up is probably no longer with us,but the fruits of his labor[and tone]live on.
Thats special! :cool:

Thanks Ajay! That's exactly what I wanted to see.

That is cool! It looks like all the grounds are soldered right to the copper chassis.I hate to use the 'mojo' word,but when you consider the fact that whoever wired that up is probably no longer with us,but the fruits of his labor[and tone]live on.
Thats special! :cool:

It was also made near where I live (Fullerton). Of course, I wasn't alive then :lol:

Found another gut shot...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/kecline/Amps/champ600/kalchamp51.jpg

wow the original transformer is even smaller....

Took my 690 down to my local Fender dealer last night and we did a side by side comparison of the 1954 vs. the current Fender reissue.

Interestingly, the older amp DID sound better as far as all were concerned, not as harsh in the high end. :mrgreen:

Very similar in volume however. :wink:

Mine lasted about a month stock(i have the gretsch version,the circ.board still says fender),mods that I have done:
-shellaced the tweed(it's the gretsch model)
-swapped out the preamp tube to a phillips I had
-replaced the grill cloth with a black mesh hockey jersey fabric
-did the tone bypass mod with a switch to go back and forth from modded to stock
I had a real hard time modding this amp as I was basically voiding a warranty on an amp I would be driving the pee out of.
Hmmm maybe it's time to get another.

ok, I finally got one.

I've been taking guitar lessons again (for the first time in 15 years) but wasn't practicing at all because I keep all my large amps covered and cased. Bought one of these to leave in the living room.

I just happened to be on Fender's site looking at Tele's (just bought a thin-skin '52) and was wondering what they made in a small tube amp. I knew they were making a little recording amp for around a grand back a few years ago but was really surprised that they were making this Champ 600. Was even more surprised when I found out MSRP was $200 - they were selling for $150 - and that when I called GC, they had a perfect condition used one for $100. - SOLD!

The only thing is, I do have that slight static that comes and goes. I've used two different guitars and two different cables. May start swapping tubes.

I actually have a set of Yellow Jackets from a Fender Concert that I was trying to tone down. Anyone try a Yellow Jacket in a 600? It'd make it an EL84 power tube. Would ya even bother?

Oh, and I ran it to the internal speaker cabinet in my SWR Redhead. Its a 2x10 8-ohm. Wow!!!!

Got this bag from the local library , perfect for carrying the "600 ".:grin:

Nice, gives new meaning to "Sack and Save!"

I've been having intermittant static problems with my 600. Tube swaps would fix it for while but eventually the static always came back. I was thinking it had to be a heat issue but then remembered the note that came with my new tubes about cleaning the sockets. Quick trip to Radio Shack for some contact cleaner, problem solved! The romance begins anew.

I just bought a new champion 600 yesterday. I'm happy with it for now, but will soon replace the tubes with JJ's (mine came with the cheap Chinese tubes) and install a Weber speaker and oxblood grill cloth. Unfortunately, mine does have some hum. Maybe the new tubes will help, at least I hope so. It was the only one in stock, so I didn't get to compare it to another one. I'm debating between the alnico and ceramic Weber, and have read of clearance problems with the alnico.

New tubes (JJ's) made a noticeable difference in mine; much better sound and I think less hum too. I just replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen Mod. Not too impressed with it so far. I think it really brought out the lows and mids in an amp that to me seemed to have too much bass already. It also seems to be a lot more directional. I'll give it a week or so to break in before making a final decision. Overall though, I love these amps!

maybe with the Jensen mod it would be good to lower or eliminate one of the bypass caps that are pushing the lows too much

It is said that the J Mod will give tighter lows

Replaced the factory tubes with JJ's. The stock 12AX7 was actually a Sovtek. I'll keep the original tubes as spares, just in case I need them at some point. Still has the hum too, much to my dismay. I have considered going to an 8" Weber alnico speaker(with a new baffle), but my just stick in a ceramic Weber signature 6" speaker and some oxblood grill cloth.

I forgot to add, the JJ tubes did improve the tone quite a bit, at least to my ears.

I've had mine since December'ish and love it. I like to take it to work and work on my Tele chops during some downtime. I just recently came across some threads about different mods for this little guy and I will surely be doing some of those in the very near future. New tubes, speaker, grille cloth, and I was thinking about possibly adding a Standby switch.

I got one today. I took a chance and bought one from MF that did not work for $58 shipped.

The fuse was blown and the volume pot spun all the way around. Fixed with a new fuse and just tightened up the volume pot.

Sounds great with a Tele and Bad Monkey in front of it.

I will change tubes in time (it has the stock Chinese 6V6 and a Sovtek preamp) and maybe fit an 8" speaker but to tell you the truth, the 6" sounds ok for what I do with it.

Sounds way better than I had hoped for. I no longer am looking for a SF champ. Sure they are better, but at 1/6th the price, this little guy will do for now.

I got one today. I took a chance and bought one from MF that did not work for $58 shipped.

The fuse was blown and the volume pot spun all the way around. Fixed with a new fuse and just tightened up the volume pot.

Sounds great with a Tele and Bad Monkey in front of it.

I will change tubes in time (it has the stock Chinese 6V6 and a Sovtek preamp) and maybe fit an 8" speaker but to tell you the truth, the 6" sounds ok for what I do with it.

Sounds way better than I had hoped for. I no longer am looking for a SF champ. Sure they are better, but at 1/6th the price, this little guy will do for now.

Nice score! $58, wow.

Just upgraded my Champion 600 tonight. I used the following parts:


8" Jensen Mod
12AX7LPS Sovtek
6V6 JJ
Philco Brown Diamond Grille cloth
[$68 shipped from Antique Electronic Supply]

http://upload.pbase.com/image/127229597.jpg

Its a hack job, without much attention to detail, but it works. My initial impression is that it has tons more headroom on the low channel. Very little breakup all the way up to 12, using my Esquire. The High channel breaks up around 6, but it is more subtle than I thought it would be.

Of course once all of this wears in, it will change. My hope for this was exactly what I hear now, so I hope it doesn't change too much. It is much more clean, clear and LOUD than it was with the old (blown) 6" and that is what I like.

I'll join the club. I've had mine for about a year and a half now and love it for what it's worth. I'm gonna get around to modding it sooner or later, but I'm not quite sure what to do yet. Lots of options.

Finally got to gig with mine at the Maverick festival a couple of weeks ago.
It was in the 'unplugged room' with capacity of about 30 or 40 folks and treated acoustically so all through the day there were no electric anythings in there and it sounded wonderful.
The festival were happy for me to use the Champ (you can almost see the corner of it between my stomach and my left knee) so they ran me some AC in and Roger and I went for it, a first for both of us and the Champ sounded just knock out -- i'm a happy camper !!

http://www.fotothing.com/photos/e49/e49778b75a28d2843a12f7a2a1c657ae.jpg

Got a Champ 600 for a practice amp to use while traveling. Pretty fair sounding amp for the money, but I love to tinker so.... I installed the Mercury Magnetics upgrade kit, which includes power & output trannys, a choke and a Weber Signature 6" speaker. I replaced the Chinese tubes with NOS, GE6V6GTA & GE7025. Wow, this is a great little amp, now!
Both my SG with P-90's & my Stratocaster sound awesome with the volume knob up around 7 or 8. It took me about 5-6 hrs to install the upgrades.

Added an 8-inch Weber speaker, Tung-Sol 6V6, and RCA 12ax7 to mine.

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~scherer/tele3.jpg

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~scherer/tele4.jpg

Did you modify the baffleboard ?

That was the first thing I did tonight. The volume pot that comes with it is so cheap. Mine spun in circles. I instaled a quality Alpha 1 meg pot.

Hi

New to these forums... :)

I just got a used champ the other day. The volume pot on mine also spins in circles and it doesn't "connect" all across its range (it goes in steps with cracking and scratching in between).

Should I try to clean it? Change it (with what value and type of pot - linear or logarithmic)? Or just return the amp as it was advertised as as good as new?

Also, it doesn't seem that loud. I used to have a tiny terror combo (g12h celestion speaker) and at the 7w setting it was way louder than this one...

In the end, I have a 2x12 orange cab with vintage 30 celestion speakers. I guess the 2 speakers ar 8ohm conected in series - can i conect them in parallel to get a 4ohm cab for the champ?

Thanks!

I replaced my volume pot with a 1 meg audio. After doing a few of the initial mods (Removed fixed tone stack) change some caps for different values) the volume of the amp was more. If you do not feel comfortable doing some work on your amp, it is probably wiser to return it and get one that works properly.

I want to get one to replace my old travel amp (a little ss Kustom that I got for free) that got lost in a messy breakup and My smallest amp is now a 25 watter with a 12" speaker (not as portable as my Kustom was). Now I just need to find $150 :roll:

(I've played a few 600s and I love them)

ebh88;

I got my champ as "not working" for cheap. One issue was the volume pot spun around.
I took the chassis out. When I spun the volume pot I could see that the 4 little claws that are to hold the pot together were not tight. I used needle nosed pliers (or maybe a flat screwdriver) and pressed them towards the pot body. Problem fixed. p.s. don't press the claws too tight or it won't spin.

Good luck.

Ok, I'm in! I just bought a champ 600 today to practice with and I'm in love with the clean tone. The grit on the high gain input is nice for some things too.

My tele's sound awesome through the 600 but my strat really shines through this thing. I'm definitely going to do some recording with it.

I think I'll play it awhile and let the tubes settle in before I decide if they need changing

this is an oldie. sn 4121, 1952, i think?
all original, caps, tubes, chord, speaker, everything.
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz111/chippertheripper/6935d06f.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz111/chippertheripper/15f61065.jpg
sorry for the cell phone pics.

I just finished gutting and rebuilding my Champ 600 from a pc to semi point to point with a tube rectifier. I also upgraded the transformers and eliminated the FB loop. It is now a 5F1. It was a challenge, but rewarding in both new knowledge, and a nice sounding little amp.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb367/jaybird803/Champ600hard40001.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb367/jaybird803/Champ60050001.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb367/jaybird803/Champ60040001.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb367/jaybird803/Champ60030001.jpg
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb367/jaybird803/Champ60010001.jpg

Count me in the club. I got a Champion 600 in November. Since then I've replaced the stock Sovtek 12AX7 with a JJ 12Ax7 and the Chinese 6V6 with a Tung-Sol. I replaced the speaker grill with some door screen material. I reworked the first preamp stage with a different plate resistor, cathode resistor and cathode bypass capacitor. I kept the tone stack in the circuit but doubled the value of midrange resistor and replaced the treble coupling cap with a silver mica. I also replaced the second stage coupling cap with an orange drop. Plus, I cut out the negative feedback resistor.

I think that's all I will do to the amp. It sounds great but I don't like the speaker that much. Instead of replacing the speaker, I'd rather just build a cabinet with one or two twelve inch speakers and plug it in.

Gary

With a fulltone OCD straight into the champ I've got a muffled, buzzy, crappy overdrive and that with drive set to 0.

I put a tech21 Blonde (character knob on 10-11) between the OCD and the Champ and now got a great crunchy or overdrive tone.

I used an epiphone riviera with mini-hum pickups for this test.

My speaker swap (Champion 600) slide show link (http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/?action=view&current=32216609.pbw)

If you look in the lower left corner, you;ll see that the Champion 600 makes a great pedestal for Darth Vador's helmet (and they sound great too)......

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/008.jpg


Did someone say bedroom amp? I got your bedroom amp right here!

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/Bedroomamp.jpg

John

Ha! Funniest thing I've seen today. Nice job!

I just finished my head and cab conversion. It sure sounds sweet hooked to a cab.

Jaybird, which output transformer did you use?

Jaybird, which output transformer did you use?
Fernando, I used a 8/4 ohm triad OT that I had lying around in my parts bin. It works well.

Guys,

Threw these posts up on the C600 Mod board, but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring here as well.

Mods:
Grill Cloth - "Bourbon Wicker"
Remove Back
Jensen C8R 8"

Tubes:
Tung-Sol 6v6
EH 12ay7
UOS Raytheon 6v6
UOS Telefunken 12ax7

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c351c0a085&view=att&th=12fe0c0f24914e78&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c351c0a085&view=att&th=12fea999b46a1be8&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw

Have one for awhile...put JJ tubes and weber alnico 6 in it.... probably change the grillcloth to a fender wheat...LUV IT!!!!!!

Here are some Pic's of my Speaker, Tubes, and Grill Cloth Upgrade. Went with the Weber sig 6", Oxblood Cloth, and Tung Sol Tubes. The Tube Pic shows the original, Tung Sol and a JJ for size reference.

I just ordered one, I think I am going to use a potato sack for the grill cloth.
l5SwXc8y6kQ

me too! it's a great colour and texture imo and very sound transparent



... this will make potato sack cloth go up in eFly though

me too! it's a great colour and texture imo and very sound transparent



... this will make potato sack cloth go up in eFly though

:lol: Invest in your potato sacks now!

WoW. I swear, I have Keith Richards' sound on "Midnight Rambler" at my feet , with this Champ 600. I am floored at how good this sounds. Whoever calls this a squawk box is probably into Toto. I think I'm going to leave the speaker in and build a little extension cab for it. I am digging the hell out of this. I don't have any significant hum or buzzing issues. I hold the guitar, and it's dead quiet. If anybody has one that is humming or buzzing out of the box, exchange it..they shouldn't do that. Nice to get rid of the headphone practice rig. Sounds good with every single one of my guitars, Teisco, Les Paul, Tele, Lap steel,,,the Kay Archtop is really flooring me. I feel like a kid again.

Whoever calls this a squawk box is probably into Toto.

ROTFLMAO!:lol:

I love my Champ 600 as it is (stock), though I've been thinking of swapping out the tubes, but I've wondered if there's a simple way to make it break up a bit at a lower volume? I live in an apartment and can't really turn it up all that much. Of course, I could use an overdrive pedal but a big part of the Champ's appeal to me is that it's simple. One knob, one switch and that's it.

Last Thursday I played my Champ 600 in a Theatre with an organ player and an actress singing Kozmic Blues by Janis Joplin. It sounded posh and had just the right volume for that application.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/P1010830.JPG

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/P1010829.JPG

Here is mine. I thought the biggest limitation was the 6" speaker so I "rehoused" it!

Speaker question - Fender Champ 600 / Gretsch G5222

So here’s the deal. A buddy and I are going to do some minor modding to his Champ 600 and my (yet to be purchased) Gretsch G5222 amps. We are not gigging or recording, just want something small to tool around on.

The mods will not involve any electronics work. We’ll be swapping the tubes (suggestions welcomed, but keep them reasonable as we don’t want to pay a fortune for NOS tubes from some Russian space station or whatnot).

We picked up some oxblood with gold strip speaker cloth (that matches my tweed Blues Junior) so that will be going on. We also picked up some tweed tolex and will be tweeding the Champ. Both amps will be getting a coat of lightly tinted shellac.

As for speakers, what can you tell me about the stock speaker, other than everyone says it’s bad. Is it? What sort of breakup does it have? Early? Mid? Late?

We’re looking at the Weber site at the 6” signature series alnico speaker and have the choice of early, mid or late breakup. I have yet to play through this amp (either stock or with a weber) and am wondering how early is early? How much headroom is there with late breakup? Would the mid breakup be a better all around speaker – being cleaner on the low input and crunchy enough on the high input?

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Speaker question - Fender Champ 600 / Gretsch G5222

We picked up some oxblood with gold strip speaker cloth (that matches my tweed Blues Junior) so that will be going on. We also picked up some tweed tolex and will be tweeding the Champ. Both amps will be getting a coat of lightly tinted shellac.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

I don't think shellac is going to work over tolex. ( I may be wrong but I've never heard of that). If you want to to tinting, you will want to get actual Tweed cloth, not the tolex looking tweed.

I don't think shellac is going to work over tolex. ( I may be wrong but I've never heard of that). If you want to to tinting, you will want to get actual Tweed cloth, not the tolex looking tweed.


Sorry, it is the actual tweed cloth we ordered from a cabinet maker in Winnipeg. Will be putting it down with contact cement. On the Gretsch-talk forum and Gretsch pages there have been people who have been using tinted shellac on their tweeds. There's a good image here.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.174755519249943.45171.167989519926543

Yea, it's all good if you're doing it over the cloth stuff. That's what you want. They do sell an actual tolex (the vinyl stuff) that's a 'tweed look'. That's what I thought you had bought when you said tweed tolex.

Have fun experimenting with the components. It's pretty interesting at the differences with tubes and speakers. If you've not done it, go back through this whole thread and search for champion 600 mods. There is a ton of information.

Oh, and it's not hard to fit an 8 inch speaker in there either. I used to build baffle boards just for that.

Sorry, it is the actual tweed cloth we ordered from a cabinet maker in Winnipeg. Will be putting it down with contact cement. On the Gretsch-talk forum and Gretsch pages there have been people who have been using tinted shellac on their tweeds. There's a good image here.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.174755519249943.45171.167989519926543

Here's a link to my Champion 600 story (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/95897-champion-600-upgrades-16.html#post3340884)

I just wanted to mention again how touch responsive the grid leak biasing makes the 5C1 version. I set the amp to 12 and play with my fingers. Light touch nice clean sound, dig harder and the grit starts to come through. Not the same overdriven sound as the 5F1, a little sweeter sounding. It does respond well to being pushed by clean boost boxes like a Zvex SHO, then the overdrive gets a little wilder.

Grid leak bias and an octal preamp tube is such a sweet combo. RAWK!

I've had mine for a while, but just changed the stock speaker to a Jensen Mod 6-15 and the grill cloth to Fender wheat (tan & brown) this past week. I left the stock tubes in for now (Sovtek preamp, EHX power). Now I do NOT have the ear of Eric Johnson, but I can definitely tell a significant difference and like it...tighter bass and improved sound overall IMHO! :mrgreen:


http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae192/crmacaluso/ChampFront.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae192/crmacaluso/ChampAngle.jpg

I love my Champ 600 as it is (stock), though I've been thinking of swapping out the tubes, but I've wondered if there's a simple way to make it break up a bit at a lower volume? I live in an apartment and can't really turn it up all that much. Of course, I could use an overdrive pedal but a big part of the Champ's appeal to me is that it's simple. One knob, one switch and that's it.

im an apartment dweller too-
i messed about with my 600 quite a bit, but ended up with it basically stock, but with one resistor (r19-15k stock) swapped out for a 33k. fattens up the gain a bit, breaks up a bit better, more mids.
i tried removing the tonestack, and also played with the nfb loop, but preferred the sound with just the resistor swap. i think i put an electro harmonix 12ax7 in it too.
i put it on a little foot stool with carpet underneath to decouple it from the floor, and i can crank it all night.
usually goosed with a rangemaster or hornby skewes type boost.
but even without the boost, it sounds great.
i have a couple other 5 watt amps, but with 8 or 10 inch speakers- they are too loud for 3 am playing in my apartment. the champion 600 is perfect, and doesnt sound at all small or boxy when mic-ed up close.

Power tube retention "clip" - Has anyone else had the issue where the metal clip that holds the power tube in place is so tight to the transformer that it's difficult to get the tube out easily? I was planning on removing the clip and taking some of the metal off with a wire snip or similar to get some clearance making it easier to remove and insert the 6V6 tube. Does this seem like the best approach?

axenut

Count me in as of yesterday. Love this little amp. Was a little worried when I went to pick it up though. The first Guitar Center I went to had one. It was in a box, and when he went to pick it up he heard glass shifting in the box. Turns out the power tube was broken and bent. Went to another Guitar Center and they had two on the floor. Couldn't get the first one to work! The one I did get works great. I love the clean sound I get out of it with my 52 Reissue. Not looking to modify just yet. When the tubes go out I will upgrade them, but other than that I can't see changing a thing.

Hi everyone, hope someone can shed some light on my little dilemma. I bought my Champ 600 brand new a couple of weeks ago, and I cannot stress how much I love it.
However, not a week went by and the little guy shut down in mid playing session (about 35 to 45 mins into it), and wouldn’t come back on. Volume was kept at about 8-10. It didn't show any signs of trouble before this happened. It did get pretty warm, but it's my first tube amp and I don't know how normal this is or how warm is normal. The next day it was still dead, so naturally I took it back to the shop, but when the tech guy had a look at it, it all worked fine (of course!). He looked inside and said to have checked absolutely everything and that nothing was wrong with it, as I could clearly see, and he plugged in a guitar and gave it a test run.
So...
I get back home, and (of course!) it does it again, shuts down just 5 mins into my playing session, but this time, it comes back on almost instantly. The rest of the playtime went without any glitches (1 hour aprox.).
That same evening got together with some friends and out came the Champ (which I display very proudly!), and as to be expected it did it again. However this time it gave more clues (or at least I think that’s what they were) as to what the problem is. It did it twice and both times the volume went down slowly until the red light went out.

I love my Champ and I really want this relationship to work! Can someone please advise what the cause of the problem might be (because the tech guy seems to be out of ideas).

Together with the Champ I was using:
Cort Z-Custom
iPad with AmpKit, Amplitube and GarageBand
AmpKit Link
iRig
Cort Noiseless cables
Generic cables

Thank you for the suggestion. [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?p=27822079#post27822079]
Went inside to check the tubes and they appear to be quite steady, no rattle or lose feel, but like I said, it is my first time with tubes. As I was testing to see if I placed the tubes back correctly I encountered something interesting. When I fliped the switch on the light flickered for a moment, switched it back off and this time I slowly fliped it towards the on position, when I was aprox 3/4 of the way the amp powered up and stayed on as long as I kept it there. To further test this I went all the way (from the 3/4 position) and it stayed on, however a small tap to the switch made it go off.
Regretfully when I tried to replicate this a second time it did not work. No flickering, no nothing.
Does this mean that it's the switch? or some other power related issue? Can I discard the tubes as a possible culprit?

Thank you.

Check the Power connections , fuses etc .

Since you just bought it new, insist the store send it in to Fender, even though it's very likely just a connection on the switch. Fender will just replace it most likely or authorize the tech to replace the parts. This is an exceptionally easy amp to work on for a pcb amp, but once you open it up and do anything the warranty will be voided. Your tech is Fender-authorized, right?

BTW, I'm in the club now, too. I bought one used and the bias mod and cathode bypass mods had already been done. I bypassed the tone stack with a .0047 cap and did akavalve's "presence plus" mod with a 22uf cap. I also did akavalve's "input voicing" on the low channel so it's more of a bright channel. I also replaced the farty, flappy grill cloth and put NOS 6v6 and 12ax7s in it. All of these mods really opened up the tone. At first I was trying hard to like it, especially because any amp without on-board tremolo is a hard sell for me, but now I'm really digging it. I think I'll still replace the speaker, but I'm not in a rush now.

Wohoo I just joined the club today!
This is an awesome little amp.

I think I have found THE sound in the little Champ.........

I modified the tone stack by putting a 250K pot on place of R20 / R21 for a treble control and put a pot in place of R22 for a bass control.

I took the OT out of an Epi Valve Jr head that I never liked and put it in the Champ. That gave me taps for 4, 8 and 16 ohms, so my speaker choice is wide open.

While I had it open I dressed the wiring around to eliminate most of the noise….. especially the the wiring from the main board to the volume pot.

I hooked it all up to a 10” Eminence 1028K Alnico speaker.
The clean sounds that come from this little amp are very nice to my ears. I am presently working on a custom cabinet to turn it into a combo.

Count me in as a member, too. I picked up a used but pristine Champ 600 from GC for $99.95. I swear it must have been a floor model...it SMELLED new and when I popped off the back cover, there was barely any dust inside.

I've put in a JJ 12AX7 and a Tung-Sol 6V6, along with a Weber Sig 6 Alnico partial-ribbed speaker. I also bought some oxblood/tan cloth and replaced that thick velour-like stuff. (BTW, I've got quite a bit of extra cloth...anyone planning on doing this, PM me; I'll sell ya some cheap.)

All in all, it's a sweet sounding little amp. Even on 3 late at night so I don't disturb the missus, it sounds good.

im in! just got mine yesterday...i would post a pic but how many have we seen already lol.....its got a super clean tone, blows me away...i do want to get some kind of upgrade (mercury magnetics or something) just for a little more dirt, dont really want a pedal...im sure theres a plethora of options so i guess its thread search time ...any suggestions pm me...

...just for a little more dirt, dont really want a pedal...im sure theres a plethora of options so i guess its thread search time ...any suggestions pm me...
Google akavalve. The guy has the simplest, best mods, in my opinion.

Kay guys, read most of the modifications thread and decided to do some today.

As of now I've successfully changed the grill blanket to a thinner piece of fabric, new tubes (JJ 6V6 and Sovtech 12ax7), and did the R19 and R7 lifts complete with toggle switches on the back.

I'll post pics here shortly.

Is the Weber 6" worth it or should I be happy with the cheezoid one that came with the amp?

EDITED TO ADD PICS:

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/8072/img0878r.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6425/img0879he.jpg

If you've done all that. Might as well spring for an 8" and make a new baffle...
Oh and reserve mod posts for mod threads, as opposed to owner's threads, please.

I've been playing one of these for about a year now. I have changed the speaker and tubes, but nothing else. This has become my favorite amp! I love the sounds in this little box.

Of course, my only complaint is that it isn't loud enough for anything but a bedroom. If a guy was looking for a bigger amp with a similar sound, where would he begin? Is an external cab sufficient? How loud can you get with this thing and a cab?


EG

Lifting the R19 resister makes the amp about a 1/3rd louder, may be a good way to go for you.

Is that the one that also increases gain? I do not need more gain.

EG

I've just acquired my second Champion 600. I made my first one into a 5C1 circuit because I had the vintage parts available. I recently overhauled a couple of early fifties 5C1 Champs and they sounded so good I had to have my own.

I'm trying to do the same thing to the second one on the cheap by reusing the power and output transformers. At present the power supply is giving me a little trouble figuring it out without a center tap on the HV winding. Has anyone else tried this? Ideas? I am trying to use a 6X5 rectifier tube.

By the way the filament winding will support the additional load, it's running at 6.4v with tubes installed-6X5, 6V6, 6SJ7. Here are some shots of the first one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4395.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4394.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4393.jpg

Is that the one that also increases gain? I do not need more gain.

EG

Lifting R19 defeats most of the fixed tone stack.

Blog entry as promised, an attempt to explain what and how I did to the poor thing:

http://theoldweirdamerica.blogspot.com/2011/10/modding-fender-600-champion.html

EDIT: Elias, lifting the R19 grounds out the Princeton type tone circuit and basically returns the whole amp circuit to a Tweed type as originally designed as I understand it.

It certainly sounds A LOT like my '59 Bassman when I ground that bitch out. It gets extremely fuzzy at volume like my Bassman.

I've just acquired my second Champion 600. I made my first one into a 5C1 circuit because I had the vintage parts available. I recently overhauled a couple of early fifties 5C1 Champs and they sounded so good I had to have my own.

I'm trying to do the same thing to the second one on the cheap by reusing the power and output transformers. At present the power supply is giving me a little trouble figuring it out without a center tap on the HV winding. Has anyone else tried this? Ideas? I am trying to use a 6X5 rectifier tube.

By the way the filament winding will support the additional load, it's running at 6.4v with tubes installed-6X5, 6V6, 6SJ7. Here are some shots of the first one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4395.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4394.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4393.jpg

I went the 5C1 route with my Champion 600. I had someone else do it. They kept the original power and output transformers and the SS rectifier. The cool trick they did for me was to setup one input as grid leak bias and the other as cathode based. The grid leak input is much more touch responsive. I started with the 6SJ7 as the pre amp tube, but ended up using a 6SH7 - it seemed to have more presence and less "brittle" sound.

I went the 5C1 route with my Champion 600. I had someone else do it. They kept the original power and output transformers and the SS rectifier. The cool trick they did for me was to setup one input as grid leak bias and the other as cathode based. The grid leak input is much more touch responsive. I started with the 6SJ7 as the pre amp tube, but ended up using a 6SH7 - it seemed to have more presence and less "brittle" sound.

The 5C1 is much more interesting I think. I just got finished wiring up my second one using the original transformers and a 6X5 tube rectifier. I've got a Weber 6x9 oval ceramic speaker ordered.

How do you like the sound of the original iron in this application?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/rluedeman/DSCN4484.jpg

I really don't have much to compare it to. I have played a vinatge 5C1 only once, but that was enough to convince me to go the 5C1 route rather than the 5F1. The clean sound IMHO is very detailed. The grid leak bias I think is the real key here to this version of the amp. The touch responsiveness makes playing a joy - it has caused me to change my playing style and I rarely use a pick these days. I just turn it up to 12 and let my fingers control the amount of overdrive. The 6SH7 gives a little more gain than the
6SJ7. It is nice to have options with the pre amp tubes.

I am not that technical, but to me the overdriven sound of the 5C1 sings while an overdriven 5F1 squawks (not that squakwing is a bad thing).

I am interested in hearing if you have experienced something similar with your 5C1s.

The guys that did the work on my amp are called
http://memphisdauphin.com/

I'm gonna have to dig around in the stash for a 6SH7 and give it a whirl. A guy I know brings me amps to fix and he came up with a couple of early fifties 5C1s. Once I overhauled the first one, that was it-I had to try and duplicate it while I still had an original in my hands.

EDIT: I had one 6SH7 in the archives. It makes a substantial difference. And a good one as well. I'll have to get a few over on fleabay for this next project. The one I had was an Arcturus, dated July 1960 and it had been in the box all those years waiting for me to come along.

Glad you liked the 6SH7. The ones I were labeled Hytron.

Can I ask why you went with an oval speaker?

Glad you liked the 6SH7. The ones I were labeled Hytron.

Can I ask why you went with an oval speaker?

Hytron's good stuff, they were bought by CBS in the fifties and made very rugged tubes, by far the most abuse tolerant 6V6s out there, at least until the JJ 6V6 came along.

I'd seen a reference to somebody trying the oval speaker in a Champion 600 and I figured it'd be cool, I've got the real estate for it. Maybe it might have a little more muscle. If it sucks, it'll give me a good reason to make a new, more original baffle for my National Sportsman amp. That had two oval speakers that were completely destroyed when I got it, oval speakers weren't available at the time so I used an 8 inch and a 6 inch Weber.

I just joined this club this morning - after several weeks of making up my mind which little practice amp to buy. Eventually decided on this over a Mustang 1, Blackstar HT5 and Marshall Class 5 - although the Mustang and Marshall were close contenders!

This one seems to be a good all rounder. Maybe not perfect but hey it's a cheap small amp - in fact it was half the price they were selling for when they first came out. Still nowhere near as cheap as you lucky so-and-so's in the US can get them for but it'll save me having to fire up my 57 Twin every time I want to have a quiet practice.

It sounds pretty good to me straight out the box - no doubt it could be improved in many ways but I don't have the skills or inclination to start tinkering with something that's working fine for me!

Must say the various YouTube vids of this thing are pretty accurate. There's one where the guy compares on old 1951 Champ 600 with a brand new stock one and one with the upgraded transformer kit. OK, the original 60 year old amp does sound better than the other two but I actually prefer the tone from the stock amp rather than the upgraded one which has way more hum out of it and it sounds too thick and almost muddy to my ears.

When it's cranked up it sounds great with my home made Esquire and LP. Don't like it so much with my Clapton strat - sounds a bit thin and weedy for some reason - until the mid boost is dialled in and the TBX backed off. I haven't had the chance to try out my MIM strat with Fat 50's yet but will do that later tonight if I get the time.

My only slight grizzle is that I have to take the back off so that I can hook it up to my 2x10 cab. It would be a lot easier if there was a big enough hole in the back to be able to get my hand in and connect the cable. But it's a mild inconvenience as I'll probably just leave the back off unless I'm going to take it out of the house - might even just get a large enough carrier bag for it to go in! Who needs a road case??!!!!

I've only had it a couple of hours but so far I'm loving it!! Should have got one ages ago!

Blog entry as promised, an attempt to explain what and how I did to the poor thing:

http://theoldweirdamerica.blogspot.com/2011/10/modding-fender-600-champion.html

EDIT: Elias, lifting the R19 grounds out the Princeton type tone circuit and basically returns the whole amp circuit to a Tweed type as originally designed as I understand it.

It certainly sounds A LOT like my '59 Bassman when I ground that bitch out. It gets extremely fuzzy at volume like my Bassman.

I guess I wont be lifting R19 then, I love the clean tone of my stock champion 600! Only did the grill cloth swap and put RCA tubes in all around and I wouldn't change anything.
Now, where can I get a 15-30 watt amp that has this exact tone on the cheap?

I plan on doing the grill cloth change but would like to keep the original.
Does anyone have a template or measurments so I can make a new baffle board first?

Here's a template I drew up from my original Champ 600 baffle.

You should be able to print it out at 100% scaling to get an exact fit 1:1.

http://www.larkstreet.com/list/pict/1956Esquire.jpg

This picture I found in another thread. The place is Lark Street Music in Teaneck NJ. The amp on the mantle is the Champ I played that made me fall in love with the 5C1 version of the amp. Unfortunately, the amp is not for sale. I had a very hard time getting the owner to let me play through it. I received one of the worst evil eye stares, when I tried to turn the volume up on the amp.

Lovely combination of guitar and amp!

Been playing with my new baby quite a bit in the last couple of days.

It seems to sound best with my old MIJ tele/esquire which makes it really bark! A close second is my MIM strat and/or LP.

I changed the wiring on my 2x10 cab last night so that it now presents the amp with a 4 ohm load and it does seem to be a bit louder than it was when the speakers were in series and giving a 16 ohm load. More headroom.

The larger cab also gives the tone a more airy reverby tone to it.

But recording the amp sounds great using the internal speaker.

I love the fact that I can plug the guitar in and not need to worry about overdrive pedals. Turn the amp right up and hit the strings hard gives as much overdrive as I want to hear. A Hotcake or Barber Tone Press set to give a clean boost just adds to the overall grit but in a good way - and makes the amp sound a good bit louder.

So far this has to be one of the best amp purchases I've made - and one of the cheapest!

Thanks for the template!! I t will really help!

http://www.larkstreet.com/list/pict/1956Esquire.jpg

This picture I found in another thread. The place is Lark Street Music in Teaneck NJ. The amp on the mantle is the Champ I played that made me fall in love with the 5C1 version of the amp. Unfortunately, the amp is not for sale. I had a very hard time getting the owner to let me play through it. I received one of the worst evil eye stares, when I tried to turn the volume up on the amp.

Beautiful combination! Off topic, but I assume that's also a vintage Esquire - notice that it appears to be a one piece body.

Have not played my RI Champion 600 much lately due to other more recent acquisitions, but after reading this thread, I'm going to. :smile:

Just finished a new combo cabinet for mine. It has a 10 in. eminence alnico speaker in it. I know it kinda goes against the grain of what this little amp was made for, but wow!! It really sounds good.

Nice! I like it.

I think I'll do that to mine, also. I finally yanked the grill cloth last night.
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/EliasGraves/OklahomaCity-20111027-00486.jpg

In love with this little amp all over again! I can't believe Fender used an old parka for crillcloth. :o

EG

I used my new Champ 600 with 2x10 extension cab for the first time at our band practice last night and was absolutely amazed that it kept up with the rest of the band and wasn't overpowered and lost in the mix!

It was competing with a fairly loud drummer and bass player and the other guitarist's Pro Junior.

To be fair, the Champ was turned all the way up while the Pro Jr was only on about 3 - 4 but I only needed to use my Tone Press and Les Lius to boost the signal when I was doing a solo. The rest of the time it sat in the mix at a good level for rhythm playing.

I really expected that it might not be loud enough to stay up with the rest but it surprised me - yet again.

What a great little amp this is!

I've had a Champ 600 for about 3 years + ....love it for what it is
as far as I'm concerned it's a keeper

i have kept mine pretty much stock so far except for power tube changes

I generally use mine for when i want to do some finger style electric playing
with a nice clean gritty slippery old school type of sound

here's a couple of tunes where I used my Champ 600 on most of the guitar tracks
btw ...i wound up playing all the instruments on both tunes except for the drums

main guitar on this recording is a Strat played finger style through my Champ

The Twangler

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=7293774

some 7 string played finger style through my Champ

Seven String Guitar Strut

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=6849752

Kenny

Here's a template I drew up from my original Champ 600 baffle.

You should be able to print it out at 100% scaling to get an exact fit 1:1.

Just came across this - thanks, mysticwhiskey :smile:. I want to make an xtra baffle to try new oxblood grille cloth and to try other speakers. I've had the cloth and T nuts to do so for awhile but haven't gotten around to pulling the stock baffle out to measure it.

With your pattern I can just build from that - and also keep my stock baffle intact with the orig. cloth (which I want to do). Again, thanks for sharing it!

I want to thank mysticwhiskey, too: The day may come when I get off my lazy butt and put something more attractive and less thick in there.
I've had mine for just over three years, and I've loved it right along.
I have friends who have been (blessed?) born with "ultra discerning ears", however: I clearly do not have them.
This amp has sounded great to me. W/ Pedals, or straight in, I know that I can take it on the back porch and have great tube tone.
(Ignorance is bliss??)
DS

I'm usually on TAG but I stumbled across this club and wondered if oddballs can join?

Hammond 300 series PT Edcor 5K 10W OT. ST 5Y3 & 6V6G, 5693. I later changed the input cap to a fancier Kimber that I had in the parts box. Dead quite, everyone who tries it loves it. Fun build.

I'm prolly going to add a 8ohm 25W chassis mount R to the line out so I can use it as a Flash Gordon overdrive.

That's a pretty slick rig. The Champion 600 is more like a Model T Ford. It's a platform to work from and they're cheap to acquire. Come to think of it I have a 20w SE Stancor output that could be fun to mount in my next one after I get the second one finished. The second one was to see how cheap I could build a 5C1 with tube rectification. Got the speaker Friday but I haven't had time to work on it. There's a local musician swap meet here next weekend and I plan to take both of them to it to show off a little.

Has anyone tried a lap steel through a Champ 600? I'm wondering if it would come closer to the vintage tones than I've been able to get with my Blues Jr.

me , my Tele and my Champ 600 playing some finger style

( my tone got taken out by a crappy camera mic, but the playing is good ..lol )

22WUAzr1A6o

Kenny

Very nice. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" happens to be the best song in the world.

I haven't tried my lap steel through the Champ 600 yet but it should sound fine so long as you're getting a tone you like from the instrument.

I'll go and experiment later today if I get a chance and let you know.

Very nice. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" happens to be the best song in the world.

thank you Prairie Dawg for the listen
yes I agree "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is one of the greatest tunes ever written


Kenny

Has anyone tried a lap steel through a Champ 600? I'm wondering if it would come closer to the vintage tones than I've been able to get with my Blues Jr.

Don't know if I was hearing 'vintage' tones or not but I went down to the music room yesterday and plugged my lap steel into the Champ and it was a lovely rich tone that was coming from the speaker. It sounded every bit as good as plugging it into my 57 Twin.

That helps a good deal, Del. Thanks.

I was going to grab a Vox Pathfinder off cl, but then a Champion 600 popped up as well. and, the seller is 2 miles away, and I've bought from him before. He says the amp is 3 months old and I've no reason to doubt him. Nice guy.

My only question is, are these like the Epi VJr as far as there being different versions of them ? Also, besides tubes and grill cloth, any "must do immediately" upgrades ? Are the volume pots that fragile ?

(I've got 2 old 6"/ 4 ohm alnico speakers)

tia

Lifting R19 defeats most of the fixed tone stack.

By lifting, does that mean simply cutting a lead, or does it have to be replaced by a jumper ?

Seems like something I'd like to do because I'm going to be using a Barber Barb EQ with my Champion 600. Or will it matter ?

Also, besides tubes and grill cloth, any "must do immediately" upgrades ? Are the volume pots that fragile ?


Despite all the internet "knowledge" there are no "must do immediately" mods.
Ihave mine stock for years and it works fine and sounds fab.

I guess - judging by all the folk here who have modified these amps - there may well be things that can be improved about it. But, having had mine for about 3 weeks now and played it almost to the exclusion of my 57 Twin (!), I can say that I'm not in a hurry to do anything with mine. It sounds absolutely fine to me as it came out the shop.

I'd get some use out of the tubes as well before changing them. If you like the tones you're hearing why rush into spending money just for the sake of it?

Just to prove how impressed I am with this little baby, here's a link to a song I recorded a couple of weeks ago just after I bought the Champ 600. Both electric guitars tracks were my Samick 335 copy into the Champ (with a Boss DD2 giving some ambience to the lead track). http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11162082&q=hi&newref=1

Despite all the internet "knowledge" there are no "must do immediately" mods.
Ihave mine stock for years and it works fine and sounds fab.



I guess - judging by all the folk here who have modified these amps - there may well be things that can be improved about it. But, having had mine for about 3 weeks now and played it almost to the exclusion of my 57 Twin (!), I can say that I'm not in a hurry to do anything with mine. It sounds absolutely fine to me as it came out the shop.

I'd get some use out of the tubes as well before changing them. If you like the tones you're hearing why rush into spending money just for the sake of it?

Just to prove how impressed I am with this little baby, here's a link to a song I recorded a couple of weeks ago just after I bought the Champ 600. Both electric guitars tracks were my Samick 335 copy into the Champ (with a Boss DD2 giving some ambience to the lead track). http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11162082&q=hi&newref=1

Oh, I won't sink a lot of money in one. I'd get a silver face Champ before I'd do that.

@ Del
You a JJ cale fan ? That tune sounds like you could be. Good stuff.

Yes, I guess I do enjoy Mr Cale's songs. It was only after I recorded this that and let someone else hear it that they heard the same coming through. I honestly hadn't thought about it and wasn't trying to copy anything in particular. The overall feel of the song just seemed to fall into that style!

Had mine for six months before I did any thing to it. didn't sound bad at all!
I finally swapped out the grill cloth. big diff in clarity! Also had an nos 5751 sitting around I stuck in it.
All in all, I very pleased and don't plan any more mods!