TwangerWannabe
Tele-Afflicted
...and have no regrets. The TMDR is a nice amp, I just fell out of love with it very fast after the initial attraction that drew me to it (lightweight, attenuator, XLR out) wore off. The amp sounded good, but wasn't great. Part of the issue may be that I have never really been over the moon about Deluxes to begin with and have always preferred Princetons. Saw that Fender released the TMPR, but as nice as the TMDR sounds, it didn't have the same "feel" as a tube amp. Not wanting to go through the TM thing again I was left amp-less and contemplated what to do.
Had no idea that Fender released a new version of the Vibro Champ with reverb and a 10" speaker a little while ago (last year?). Yes, please!
I never play out these days, and the most I'll do is maybe go to a buddy's place and work out ideas, usually with both of us playing acoustic, or one on acoustic, the other on electric. The Vibri Champ fits the bill. I live in a small place. The Vibro Champ fits the bill again. Can easily stick a mic in front of it to record at home.
I was skeptical about this little amp after owning a few Champs from the past that were basically little fart machines if you turned them up, and never sounded great with that dinky little 8" speaker. This new Vibro Champ is a whole different animal. Killer sound, Fender sparkle in spades, beautiful cleans with a Strat or Tele and gets great sounds at modest volumes, and really opens up as yo turn up the amp and gets a little har to the sound as well, but will be loud when it starts doing that. Very dynamic and responsive (something I felt the TM lacked a little bit of) little amp. I haven't had an amp in a long time that has inspired me to play and got lost in it the other night having no idea how long I was playing until I realized how late it was.
No, it's not going to sound like a Twin Reverb, but it does sound better than trying to play a Twin Reverb in your apartment with the volume set as low at it will go when you know if you turn that Twin up just a hair more and you'll piss off the neighbors. The Vibro Champ offers really nice dynamics and you can dig in or back off and get some sweet cleans without making your ears bleed. It's like having a modestly powerful motorcycle that you can bang on and row through the gears in the city streets and rally enjoy compared to a big 'ole liter bike that you'll barely get out of second gear which is never any fun.
Yes, this little amp is expensive for what it is, but man, does it sound great!
As a side note, the other small amp I tried out that gets honorable mention is the Vox AC10. Costs half as much as the Vibro Champ, but despite not sounding as full and the reverb not coming close to the digital reverb on the Vibro Champ, I'd say this is a great amp for the money, and even better (and cheaper) if you can find one used.
Had no idea that Fender released a new version of the Vibro Champ with reverb and a 10" speaker a little while ago (last year?). Yes, please!
I never play out these days, and the most I'll do is maybe go to a buddy's place and work out ideas, usually with both of us playing acoustic, or one on acoustic, the other on electric. The Vibri Champ fits the bill. I live in a small place. The Vibro Champ fits the bill again. Can easily stick a mic in front of it to record at home.
I was skeptical about this little amp after owning a few Champs from the past that were basically little fart machines if you turned them up, and never sounded great with that dinky little 8" speaker. This new Vibro Champ is a whole different animal. Killer sound, Fender sparkle in spades, beautiful cleans with a Strat or Tele and gets great sounds at modest volumes, and really opens up as yo turn up the amp and gets a little har to the sound as well, but will be loud when it starts doing that. Very dynamic and responsive (something I felt the TM lacked a little bit of) little amp. I haven't had an amp in a long time that has inspired me to play and got lost in it the other night having no idea how long I was playing until I realized how late it was.
No, it's not going to sound like a Twin Reverb, but it does sound better than trying to play a Twin Reverb in your apartment with the volume set as low at it will go when you know if you turn that Twin up just a hair more and you'll piss off the neighbors. The Vibro Champ offers really nice dynamics and you can dig in or back off and get some sweet cleans without making your ears bleed. It's like having a modestly powerful motorcycle that you can bang on and row through the gears in the city streets and rally enjoy compared to a big 'ole liter bike that you'll barely get out of second gear which is never any fun.
Yes, this little amp is expensive for what it is, but man, does it sound great!
As a side note, the other small amp I tried out that gets honorable mention is the Vox AC10. Costs half as much as the Vibro Champ, but despite not sounding as full and the reverb not coming close to the digital reverb on the Vibro Champ, I'd say this is a great amp for the money, and even better (and cheaper) if you can find one used.
