Fender 57 champ tweed. Is there a more affordable alternative

[sleazy pot pie]

I have a joyo sweet baby 5f1 that i really like. While i dont have anythi g to compare it to, it definitely sounds like what i was hoping it would.

I hade to add a capacitor to the board that was left out of the original fender schematic, i forget what it is for exactly, IT WAS THE CATHODE BIAS but it really made it into a beast.

I beleive the amp is also sold in the uk under the brand Fame.

I paid 150$ for mine brand new.

 

[Alamo]

^^ yep.
Joyo JTA-05
https://www.musicstore.de/en_GB/GBP/Fame-JTA-05-Sweet-Baby-Combo-/art-GIT0032351-000

Tube Amp Doctor 5F1

(link removed)

 

[Squire Televille]

The VHT Special 6 is IMO the best bang for the buck in the US, about $250.
I don't know of its availability elsewhere.
I especially appreciate the old-school hand-wired-eyelet circuit board.
I absolutely love it with a different 10" driver in it... an Eminence Legend AlNiCo 1028K (+$75).
It comes with a nice footswitch so you can choose between tweed 5F1 Champ and 5F2 Princeton modes (naughty, and nice).

 

[RoscoeElegante]

Not, at all, to diss all the great advice and options here. But consider the cheapest route to this sound, and a good representation of it, at that:
https://reverb.com/item/14400520-joyo-american-sound
(Not associated w/ seller.)
Turn its Voice knob to the right of 12 o'clock, and this cheapo pedal does a great job getting a clean amp into Tweed break-up territory.


I'll probably still get a little Tweed, such as a Champ, to make sizzle, one of these days. But in the meantime, this pedal is a great substitute.

 

[charlie chitlin]

I have a Joyo American Sound as a backup "amp".
I haven't had to use it yet, but I played with it pretty extensively at rehearsal, so I'd be familiar with it if I had to break it out.
It's designed to be plugged straight into the PA, which is what I did.
As the owner of several nice, vintage tweed Fenders, I can say that this pedal sounds shockingly good at any price.
But for $27, it's a freakin' miracle.

 

[Alamo]

It's designed to be plugged straight into the PA, which is what I did.

That's not it's only purpose.
I use it infront of Fender amps, Blues Deluxe, SF Champ and other odd balls, to dial in another Fender amp sound.
it takes pedals infront and after it pretty well too.
darn good tool box, imo.

 

[charlie chitlin]

That's not it's only purpose.
I use it infront of Fender amps, Blues Deluxe, SF Champ and other odd balls, to dial in another Fender amp sound.
it takes pedals infront and after it pretty well too.
darn good tool box, imo.

I also tested mine into a clean amp and it sounded good, but I bought it as a backup if my amp croaks at a gig, so I mostly tested it as such.

 

[TimmyV]

Not, at all, to diss all the great advice and options here. But consider the cheapest route to this sound, and a good representation of it, at that:
https://reverb.com/item/14400520-joyo-american-sound
(Not associated w/ seller.)
Turn its Voice knob to the right of 12 o'clock, and this cheapo pedal does a great job getting a clean amp into Tweed break-up territory.


I'll probably still get a little Tweed, such as a Champ, to make sizzle, one of these days. But in the meantime, this pedal is a great substitute.

That’s a great pedal I used to use one in front of a the Peavey Bandits clean channel. It nailed the fender sound. I sold the Bandit so I sold the pedal.

 

[RadioFM74]

I have a Mojotone kit that I bought secondhand. It had been badly assembled so it needed to go to my tech friend for a complete once-over. Even with that, I got me a great 5F1 with a Weber speaker for 1/3 of the price of a Fender 57 Custom....

Victoria is another reputed tweed clone builder - you might find something used.

I second what other said: to get a 5F1 to distort you need to turn it up way louder than what's usually accepted as "home volume". But it's a wonderful amp to have regardless...

 

[bluescube]

Find a used VHT Standard 12. It's 5E3 clone not in a tweed covered chassis. Hand wired and all.

 

[Jakeboy]

Less expensive alternatives abound. I recommend Lil Dawg. Way cheaper.

The key is using an old alnico....the ones from the 50s and 60s are readily available...I pull them out of old donor organs...and they are inefficient....not loud at all so you can crank that 5 watter right up there. Love my 5f1 with a 12” Old USA alnico.

 

[alnicopu]

Get in touch with Eric (Muchxs). Hes not here much anymore but I talk on the phone with him weekly. I did a deal with him on a 5f1 tweed champ build of his. Even sent a 6x9 speaker baffle for it. Killer amp!! He knows who to source the good stuff from and builds his own cabs. He also finished an “unbuildable” kit of a Princeton Reverb I was gonna throw up on Fleabay just to get rid of. He sent it back complete with a Twin Reverb tone stack, mid control and quality parts he had. That thing goes from Twin Reverb clean all the way up the dial to Tweed Deluxe as you dial in the mids. The black knob in the pick is concentric for bass and treble. Quality, keeper stuff. Just so you know. I get not a dime out of this endorsement. PM me and I’ll put you in touch.

 

[JDRNoPro]

I have a muchxs built 5F1 too (and one of his 5E3's) and it is (both are) outstanding!

 

[alnicopu]

I have a muchxs built 5F1 too (and one of his 5E3's) and it is (both are) outstanding!

He also packed both like they were gonna be dropped into a war zone. The shipping company could have thrown them out to my driveway at 30 mph and I could have gigged either one the same night.

 

[con brio]

As a few others have said, a 5 watt amp still packs a bunch of volume if you are just looking for home use. An alternative to the champ if you can find one is a Fender Greta + a suitable cab. The greta is approximately a tweed Princeton running at 1 watt (it uses a 12at7 or 12au7 or similar in the powerstage instead of a 6v6; both valves in the dual triode are operating in parallel so it’s still single ended). The internal 4” is more of a gag than anything. Maybe you could use it for a very specific recording sound, but in practice you want to run it into an external cab.

 

[noah330]

Look for an old Rickenbacker M8 they’re out there and are about $500-$600.

 

[Stratandtele]

You guys have gotten me all fired up!

But I don't know jack about electronics........

Building a champ is not difficult, with good instructions, a good soldering iron, and some patience you can build one in a couple evenings.Its the simplest possible tube amp, theres literally only ~ 26 parts. Uncle Doug on YouTube has some great instuctional videos on how a tube amp works. There is plenty of reading material, and people on rthis forum to help. Mojotone makes excellent kits and ships worldwide. Two things though, get up to speed on amp safety, and look out. Building amps is addictive....

 

[Backbeat8]

I have not tried any of the Roland Blues Cubes but they boast in their actual blurb that their amp does a great imitation of the Fender specifically....I am leaning towards them being honest, and that the amp probably does sound quite good and breaks up very close to a real tube amp, and they take pride in their modelling etc so try those. Very much cheaper than and actual 57

*actually wait, check that, it doesn say the 57 specifically, but I think when I read it it made me think of the 57 in the way they describe it.

Going far beyond modeling, Rolands Tube Logic design philosophy starts with carefully reproducing the inner workings of the revered tweed-era tube amp in every way, from guitar input to speaker output.

Roland Blues Cube Hot 30W 1X12 Combo Guitar Amplifier

 

[Silverface]

You guys have gotten me all fired up!

But I don't know jack about electronics........

And therein lies the rub.

There are only a couple of kit makers that supply fairly instructions, including a bit of electronics education. Most simply include pictures of were the parts go and a few "assembly" instructions - like a plastic model kit. The sellers make the assumption that you will bring the electronics knowledge with you.

While many have successfully assembled kits like that a good percentage run into problems as they don't understand "lead dress" (how wires need to be routed - and there are specific guidelines), don't understand amplifier soldering techniques, and don't have any way of simply checking connections. There is a big difference between "building" an amp and simply assembling the parts.

At absolute bare minimum you need a good soldering iron - preferably one with variable temperature (and knowledge of what temperature is needed for what); the correct type of solder, some flux, and a cheap "solder sucker"a decent multimeter (most $40-60 ones are OK for amp work; $10 Harbor Freight meters are worthless) AND the knowledge of how to use it; experience soldering pickups, pots and switches on guitars; **understand electronics and amplifier-specific safety**; and decent mechanical skills.

With those things you can "assemble" an amp- but won't have any idea what you are doing or what to do if something goes wrong. Studying some *basic* electronics (buy a book or borrow one from a library) education is invaluable, and understanding the basics of how *tube* amps work will make the job exponentially easier.

There are those who will tell you it's no problem to build an amp like a Champ, but those with zero electronics knowledge usually run into problems - and it's generally difficult and time consuming to explain the solutions to them. So I don't recommend doing it 3unless you have at least some basic electronics knowledge in addition to the "essentials" list.

And if you have never worked on any guitar electronics and don't already have basic tools I wouldn't even think about it - buy a clone, or a vintage Magnatone, Airline, Danelectro or other less-expensive (than a Fender) vintage amp. But be careful with those - one neophyte rule is to look at the tubes and add up the first digits on each one - if they consist of some numbers around 50 or 35 and the total adds up to 110 or more do NOT buy it - those are known as "widowmakers" and there is a danger of electrocution.

If you DO buy a vintage amp You need to understand that even a small Champ-like tube amp will likely need $100 or so in service.e All tube amps need to have some specific parts replaced every 15 years or so not including tubes), and most used vintage amps need to have this done - so you also need to know where to find a good, qualified amplifier tech.

If I were you I'd stick with newer but used clones. Less chance it will need service for several years.

 

[screamin eagle]

Despite needing a service, I'd go along with the others who suggested an old Valco, Ohau, Magnatone amp. Even a Kay 703 could work (Doesn't Keith Richards play one).

A new kit would be optimum if you want to spend that much, or a Vintage 47 single ended amp. Octal preamp tubes are very cool sounding.