Fundraiser/Giveaway Super Champ XD Just Arrived

The Fender Super Champ XD that we're giving away with the GE Smith Tele just arrived from Fender today.

I'll get photos etc later. But I just spent a 1/2 hour with it and I wanted to get to the Amp forum to report on this amp.

I'll not go into all it's options or anything because it has a boat load of 'em. But let me just say, if you want a versatile practice or bedroom amp your ship has come in.

For me, and I'm sure a lot of other folks this is more like the affordable Princeton Reverb reissue we were all looking for.

If you know anything about this one it's Vintage "Modified". And by that they mean that it's a Tube amp with a bunch of digital "mods" made to it. You have two channels. The normal or vintage channel is just plain. It has great tube sound that sounds like authentic Fender tube amp to me. You can use the vintage channel with digital effects like echo, reverb, chorus or tremolo. One effect at a time. Or you can skip those and it's just a plain old Tube amp with two 6v6 power tubes.

These effects were OK but they won't replace your favorite stomp box. And the Reverb is nice but doesn't capture the Fender Spring Reverb sound all that well. There are 3 options for each effect.

It puts out 15 watts but it's not as loud as an 18 watt Princeton that's for sure.

The 2nd Channel is the Mod channel and it's got about 15 amp simulator type patches that can change the sound of the amp PLUS the 2nd channel has a Gain knob.

Some of these sounded really great. Others... well, didn't sound all that interesting to me.

It's plenty loud for playing at home but not for playing out without micing the amp. But I was playing the "vintage" side on 8 and it wasn't making the windows rattle. It also seemed to play clean pretty much all the way up the volume knob. But if you want dirty just hit the channel button and turn up the
Gain knob.

30 mins isn't enough time to suss the whole thing out. But it was enough for me to come away SUPER impressed. For an amp that retails for $299 this is going to be a favorite Bedroom/Practice amp for a LOT of people. It's one of the best I've played in a long time that fits that description.

I'm willing to say that for a Bedroom and Practice amp it may be the best one I've ever heard and does the name Super Champ proud.

I got some more time to play with this amp. I'm more impressed than I was yesterday.

First, it's louder than I thought yesterday. And, I may try it with an external speaker later. I have a Celestion V30 in my 1965 Princeton Reverb. So I can plug that into the Ext Speaker port.

Second, I think the DSP for the Fender Spring Reverb sounds very good. If anything it might be too clean. My experience with spring reverbs is that they sound a little staticy. This sounds so much like the real thing that I rocked the amp to see if it made a crack -- it didn't.

Third, I think some of the models are very good. About 50% of them in fact. And they are the ones I think that I would use the most -- the Tweed and Blackface models in three varieties of each were excellent.

Lastly, the 1st Channel, the one without the models is very good. It is just plain old good sounding Fender tube amp -- the low power kind. Not the Twin Reverb kind. But it was quite nice.

For the price especially, I think this will be a big seller and I think that even the naysayers -- and there are a lot of them here -- will really have some second thoughts about the amp. And, as a bedroom, practice, rehearsal/jam kind of amp it's perfect.

PS. One big nit -- it doesn't come with a footswitch. It's "optional" as in extra cost.

The normal or vintage channel is just plain. It has great tube sound that sounds like authentic Fender tube amp to me. You can use the vintage channel with digital effects like echo, reverb, chorus or tremolo. One effect at a time. Or you can skip those and it's just a plain old Tube amp with two 6v6 power tubes.


According to Shane at Fender R&D, even the vintage side is digital--it's one of the Blackface models from the Cyber series. You cannot bypass the digital front end of this amp on either channel and get "a plain old Tube amp with two 6v6 power tubes." UNFORTUNATELY.:sad:

You cannot bypass the digital front end of this amp on either channel and get "a plain old Tube amp with two 6v6 power tubes." UNFORTUNATELY.:sad:

I understand. I was talking about tone and feel. It sure sounds right and feels right. It sounds like tubes -- I've owned a good number of tube amps from a Pro Reverb, Princeton Reverb, All Tube Cambridge Reverb and AC-15 to PCB Tube amps like DRRI, HR Deluxe. And this one, sounds like "plain old tube amp with two 6v6 power tubes." Even if it's not that simple.

Good news, thanks!

Keep the reviews coming.