Fender 57 Custom Champ: One Year Review!
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- Опубликовано: 13 авг 2022
- #fender #fenderamps #guitar #guitaramp @fender
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Welcome to this in depth one year review of the Fender 57 Custom Champ! Phrases like One Trick Pony get thrown around with this amp - well, here's what I think! Let us know what you think in the comments.
And here is a link to where you can download my 57 Coach Line 6 HX Stomp Preset:
jackfossett.com/downloads
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My goodness what was that AMAZING intro song? I want to download it, and then send the artist the finest meats and cheeses in all the land! jackfossett.bandcamp.com/track/glass-ballerina-2
I love my little champ. Its just a “practice amp” but that means every time I practice it sounds great with minimal fussing.
Same with me, however I only have a cheap clone, but they sound very close since i changed the tubes and speaker.
I keep my volume on 2 or 3 almost all the time and it sounds great clean with my electric and acoustic guitars, unless I want to get some anger out and then I crank it up and listen to the goodness. You really can't beat it for a practice or small gig amp imo
With an intro like that, who needs the rest of the video lol
I have this amp and it was worth every penny. I happen to love the champ sound, so it works for me. I use it for practice and recording, and sometimes I'll put pedals in front, but often I just play it as is.
Yes. I want it. That tone. Thanks for the video Jack!
This amp always draws my interest. The size and clean tone is what I am drawn to along with just the nostalgia of a Fender 57 tweed. The only tube amp I own is a 65 Princeton that I love. There is an appeal to just looking at this little Champ. Thanks Jack, great presentation.
That intro was crazy good. Great video, Jack!
The tone is absolutely great and I do love it, I’ve played on a 53 and a 57 reissue, but for me nothing can justify buying a $1200 practice amp…not now at least….but maybe not ever.
Love the tone you’re getting with the tele starting around 15:10. Exceptional
I got to talk to Julian Lage after a concert once here in Atlanta and he said a Champ and a Tele was the perfect combo.
He's right, I had a mex tele 97 I think loved it . I traded it and some cash for a new American Strat 2003 Hated it . Went back to teles American and Mex. Loving it again. I realized I'm a tele guy .
your reviews are the best.
I love mine, they got it right in the 50's
Another like from me! Acoustic guitar with a little reverb and an EQ pedal. Amazing!
Thanks man. Really enjoyed this video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've owned a 57 Champ clone from a renowned builder for 2 years and love it. WGS speaker and Coke bottle tubes. It is a studio amp. It does have it's unique sound, though loves pedals. You can coax a lot of tones from this little package. Hand wired and simplicity make it bulletproof. If you're on stage there's tons of other choices. Loved the vid and the intro is killer.
Thanks for sharing your take on this amp! Sounded like you were getting a huge range of sounds from it ~
So nice to hear it without any effects near the end. Many people review these with delay and reverb and it kind of ruins the review for me. I want to hear the amp. You really did that well. The Les Paul too. Covered a lot there. I also liked when you showed the volume settings for different sounds.
Exactly - and why mic up to another amp when you want the pure sound of that particular amp? Makes zero sense 😮 Good job Jack 🎉
Definitely my next amp.
Bought one that had been in a closet since new . Great clean and a beast on full gain .
Great info - thanks so much - your reviews are always down to earth and very spot on. I'm so conflicted regarding this amp - on the one hand I'd love to build one from a kit - however 'out the door' the kits are only a few hundred less than the Fender. I also want the Victoria as you can find the fender and the vict for around the same price used @ 900 or so. Something about running with 3 tubes is very attractive as I just ordered new tubes for my Bad Cat - which really sucked as the prices have gone up so much on tubes (badcat has 9 tubes!) - anyhow - it will be the fender or the victoria for me. Then again it might be the TubeDepot kit (best kit - price point, ease of build (great PCB board and instructions) and quality) as I can get it for @200 less w/o the cab and speaker. Thanks again.
Hi Jack
Love the intro and your candy apple Strat 👍
I also have the same amp
Changed speaker to a Jensen P8R Alnico which sounds much better than stock Webber speaker
Use the amp with Boss GT1
Without Amp Sim and and a bit of EQ to Expand the frequency response.
Also Reverb ,Tremelo ,Delay Rotary effects
Love the amp for home use
I use my alot at home and a tweed deluxe on stage. Love the champ, especially the cleaner settings.
The les paul dimed out sounds epic.
This amp with a little tape delay is pretty hard to beat in my book. Love mine
I very much agree!
That intro was so damn good! Already regret selling mine
There is no greater desire for a piece of gear than for one you regret selling.
I run my champ in stereo w a milkman mini stack that has a 8inch Jupiter ceramic. Sounds great! As a bedroom player its all i need!
Dont have one, not in the market for one but thank you for making a great video on it. That volume at 3 clean was really sweet
Thans! It really is
Your videos are the reason I bought mine. Awesome amp!
Got one, love it. Like everything else in the world it has its strong points and weak points. I love the clean sound. Perfect for bedroom playing. Beautiful thing to look down at while you play too. That in itself has value in my opinion.
That Les Paul kick in is fire.
Great video. I would love for you to do a comparison between this and the Pro Jr IV, since they are quite “similar” (both small, tweed, simple amps, even though the champ is smaller), and then also, comparing both to the Blues Jr
It was a Champ used on Layla. Eric and Duane were both using it. I'm a "Vox guy" but Clapton is probably my biggest hero and the sounds on Layla are insanely awesome. I would tell people if they want a great small tube amp to get an AC10. They're phenomenal and less than half the price.
Great video! Are we getting a video of one year with the 68 Vibro champ reverb?
Also, just an ideia (and question) how does it sound in a wet dry rig with the 68 vibro champ? (57 being dry, 68 wet - I imagine the 68 have more clean headroom than the 57).
Thanks for the great videos!
I bought the 5 W tone king gremlin, sold it within a few weeks. I thought my blues Junior sounded much better. That experience makes me reluctant to get the 57 champ.
I hear Fleetwood mac vibes big time in this demo, man is this beautiful tone, ive been eyeing this comb .
Great musical intro!
Thank you! It’s part of an original piece called Glass Ballerina
I build my own amps, I don’t use kits though. You can spend ~$1000 on parts if you want to, but it’s entirely unnecessary. If you make your own chassis and cabinet, a Champ build can come in under $300. The most expensive thing will be the speaker.
Home Depot pine boards are perfectly fine for Tweed amp cabs, knots and all.
I build Audio Amps also. I was looking at the schematic, an the 5F1 circuit appears to be a Single Ended amp (SET). All of the guitar amps I own are Push Pull amps. They use Push Pull circuits to get more watts. I believe the difference we are hearing in tone, is the (SET) versus the (Push pull) circuit. In Audio Amps, most everyone agrees that single ended amps has a better tone than Push Pull, all things being equal OPT an capacitors an resistor quality. Why couldn’t a person build the 5F1 in stereo instead of Mono. It would take another SET output transformer, an about 8 or 10 resistors, an Caps. Just a thought, I’m thinking it would sound good
I have a reverb unit I run this amp into. It really sounds great, add an overdrive or fuzz. It’s really nice. I played outdoor shows without a drummer and it worked fine. This is also my 2nd amp set up to my main louder amp and pedalboard.
Honestly a reverb alone with this amp just takes it into a whole new world of tone.
I love the champ circuit. I think the cabinet does no favors to the little amp...same amp, but In an 1x12 and a different speaker, it sounds much more amazing
I'm lucky enough to have an original 57 Champ. I often use pedals through it with the volume at 3. Mine came with a mod to cabinet which I've never used. Been thinking about getting a Boss tube amp expander and hearing the f51 up to 100w thru a cabinet speaker, just for fun!
I would say what your getting is Quality over Quantity is what your getting here with this Legendary Fender 57 Champ Amplifier ! ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Great song!
I bought mine used on Reverb for $825 + $50 shipping. It was advertised as being in excellent condition, and it was....appearance-wise. Had a buzzing noise that turned out to be a torn speaker cone. Still ahead of the game compared to buying one new, so I went ahead and kept it. I put an 8" Eminence Patriot 820H in it for $110. Not sure what the original speaker would've sounded like but I'm happy with the way it sounds now. And I'm still "only" out $985 after paying for the amp, the speaker swap, and shipping, which was better than paying $1,300 new. Is a Fender 57 Custom Champ worth $1,300? What one is willing to pay is a personal choice. For me, after playing it a while, I'm glad I didn't pay $1,300 for one. But for $985, I'm okay with it.
Had mine for just over a year now. This is the greatest solo practice amp of all time...if all the tasty goods are coming from your hands. The EQ is so beautifully balanced, not a single harsh frequency pokes out at you. The tone is so perfect out the box, and so easy to contain, that it also 'moonlights' as a recording studio darling. Admittedly the overdrive tone is an acquired taste and not for everyone. I like to pare it with a Boss BD-2, it tightens things up, adds aggression, but keeps the overall character intact. But IT IS NOT A GIGGING AMP, never has been never will be. The price point for this amp is a steal for this caliber of tone and construction. Pared with a 50's spec LP burst, gives you an idea of what that guitar was designed to sound like, perfection.
Take a look at Julian Lage’s - I’ll Be Seeing You- Live in LA performance. One of my favorite live tones ever, and it’s straight into a Champ with no pedals. Not a large room or very loud band though.
Great vid my man. Btw, did you hit the lottery ? How do you afford all the fantastic gear???
I've read somewhere that at one point Clapton used a Champ to drive a Leslie, which I presume means the output of the Champ put through the attenuated input of a 145 or 147 amplifier, since there are hefty load resistors in various impedance configurations meant to take the output of home organs with internal amps running around 10-15 watts. Seems to me that, at least on intuition, front-loading the legwork of a rotary speaker tone stack to a well regarded class A amp could have nice results. If I ever get around to refurbishing the motors on my 147 and then meet someone with a champ, I'll have to ask them if they'd be up for an experiment
Hello Jack great vid you can't beat the champ
ummmm I've seen some of your videos and in Super Reverb I saw that you had the Eminence De Alejandro mounted (I have it in the Delta King 10") ...and now the Jupiter in this one, I have the Jupiter in a Supersonic 60W, and the The change is impressive once the stock Celestion V30 is removed and installedJupiter, ...good video...thank you!!
Sounds pretty cool 😎 I was real close to getting a champ but I found a slightly more expensive amp with more of what I was wanting. Still though I have a nostalgic NEED for this amp😂
Right? I feel like no matter what amp I get I'd still need this :-) Gotta be that little tweed charm I guess.
Would love some more details on the speaker upgrade and the differences you hear
Good lord that was amazing playing ! And I love that amp.. I have the tweed blues jr and about to order the champ!! I need something that I can carry easily and has a great sound so this is perfect😊 Thanks
How does it compare to your blues junior?
@@frankswildyear I use the blues jr way more. The champ is good for great clean tones And natural distortion but to be honest it doesn’t have what I’m looking for. With no tone controls it really is a one trick pony for me anyway. I use it when I need something light to carry and just take a delay and reverb pedal put it on 6 and plug into #2 and It’s ok. Plenty loud enough for jam sessions. I can see why it’s a great studio amp. Hope that helps. I would buy the Fender 68 custom vibro champ if I could do it all over again. 🙂
@@julielocke-balish1707 thanks for your reply, I’ve thought about buying one for years, but every time I play one, it just sounds kinda flat and uninspiring. I can get some SRV sounds and great nasty tones from my blues Junior.
You didn't get the manual.. you wouldn't read it anyway 😂 that's me! Really like your videos really informative.
I had a blues junior but always thought too loud just for at home but sounded amazing is this a good alternative
Great vid Jack, great playing, great points. Was just playing my 65 Princeton, then the Champ, Champ is kinda cool but it is crazy pills that I paid more for the Champ, Princeton sounds approximately 5,000% better.
KISMET! That's exactly the fence I've been on and I need versatility for a wide range of guitars & styles. You're the 3rd person who said that and 3rd time's a charm, THANKS!
What wattage Jupiter speaker did you put in yours? I just went to there site and they offer the alnico 8" 4 ohm in 15 or 25watt. I have 2 of these champs and love them. They sound awesome in stereo. I would like to change the speaker in one to compare the difference. Thanks for the video.
After watching your "Champ" vid I looked up the audition scene from "La Bamba" the Ritchie Valens story because the sound is perfect. I dont know for shure if they used a champ for the guitar sound for that scene but I know it can sound like that when you push it . Your champ sounds great!
I shamefully haven’t seen that movie yet but I’ve heard great things - worth watching?
Hello! This Little amp is terrific! I like it`s clean tone! As to my mind - it`s a great choice for fender vintage RI guitars. How does it sound with 12au7 preamp tube? or 12ay7 can provide enough clean tone at 2d input.
I’m so happy to see someone rep Borat’s son, Huey Lewis. And the Champ. 👍🏻
I actually have two tweed deluxe kits out of China. Not Uber mojotone kits, but I figured it will get the job done.
Would love to see you review the vicy verb.
I have a Bandmaster Tweed 57 with 3x10 inch alnico speakers. This IS what you want. One negative: it gets to loud with overdrive or distortion pedals, but hey... let it shine and you do not need those pedals. The amps were used by "The Who".
My David Allen Chihuahua fills this niche and isn't that much more expensive for a "boutique amp". It's much more versatile than a champ. That being said I liked mine a lot even though I find it to be a weird amp niche. Many people buy for drive tones knowing you can't crank a twin at home but this is still a LOUD amp if you're trying to drive it at home. And if you're just going to play it clean might as well get a Princeton (or something else in that range) and rely on pedals. I like the fuller sound of a Princeton or even a clean DRRI more.
I guess I'd describe like this: I wouldn't spend the money on a new one but if I got a good deal I'd be happy to keep one.
i have the amp. pushing my tele on bridge pickup broken up is pure bliss
Built one with Celestion 12” Greenback. Found it a little dark with Fender Guitars so i dropped the two 68k resistors for 22k.
That’s a gorgeous Les Paul!!! BTW 😊
I have it, and I love it. It’s simple, takes pedals well and is a lot of fun. That being said I do not gig with it, but as you said it is a great studio amp. For gigs I use a Fender Pro Reverb, it’s like half a Twin with all the tone.
I’m looking for a small amp for home studio. My concern and question is is there hiss/ humming noise, is it noticeable specially when not strumming?
@@apostolicway2604 this amp is very clean and also takes pedals well. Checkout Clapton’s Lala album and Julian Lage Arclight, both recorded using a Fender 5 watt Tweed Champ.
@@dcjway
Will do, thank you
The 57 Tweed Champ is amazing. It’s so fast that it feels like the notes are being sucked out of my guitar before I’ve finished picking. The Champ is about $2,200 in my country.
I have a clone that cost me 200aud and with changing tubes, speaker and installing one capacitor it sounds very very close to a real champ when clean or cranked. In fact I like it more then the reissue champ my friend has.
I've been thinking to rewire the electrics by hand and use all the recommended capacitors etc, but its not needed imo and ill only do that if it even breaks down, been playing it almost daily for 2 years and it hasn't skipped a beat. If anything I'd like to change the cab to something made from real wood and slightly increase its size so the sound can get a bit more full, but I think an external cab with a couple big speakers would be more versatile.
Anyway my point is, a cheap clone champ is so close if not better then the original with a couple mods. I wouldn't worry if you cannot afford the original like me, buy the clone, change the tubes, maybe the cap and your good. The stock speaker on clones sound pretty good and you don't need the change unless you really love clean sounds, if not then any speaker isn't going to satisfy your low volume/clean tones and all you need to do is turn it up. So don't be sad if you cannot afford 2000 for a 5w amp, just spend 200 and get the same thing in a different colour ;)
While this is an overview for this amp, I am curious how closely you can replicate the tonal characteristics and clean to overdriven characteristics of this amp to another popular 5w, and the one I own, Supro DK 10. The DK10 comes with a 12AX7 preamp and 6V6 power amp. It comes with in essence a high gain and low gain channel by having an onboard boost, along with an overdrive channel. And of course it has what this one doesn’t with the beautiful spring reverb.
So with the options available on that DK10 I wonder what gain, boost, EQ, and master volume settings could get you close to the three different amp tones demonstrated here.
Cheese n onion Jack, the intro music was excellent.
Thank you sir!
I heard a guitar player with a band last night, playing a Tele through a champ, I couldn’t believe the sound he was getting out of that little amp with 1 10” speaker.
Except it’s an 8” speaker
It sounds good between 3 and 7, IMO. 10 is just messy, particularly with humbuckers. I would love to have one running a 10" speaker instead of 8" so the lows are handled better (or mod it with a built-in high pass filter).
I have one, have to get it fixed, was playing through an outlet that I suspect wasn't wired great and she just died.
I have this amp. Does it sound better after breaking it in? It sounds great and I only bought because I wanted something tiny with high end tone. I compared it with the 1k Supro and I find the Champ to sound and feel incredibly superior, even w one knob. Still, make sure you need it and play it before dropping 1k on it.
Have you ever run that through a bigger cabinet. I'm pretty sure there is no demos of that on any other channels. I would love to hear that through a bigger cabinet.
5 string open g player here. KR apparently always uses a Champ in studio.
Can this amp provide that Tele tone for which KR is famous?
"if i'd *had* the manual i wouldn't have read it anyway". He's all of us.
Hey. With this on 12, can I have a band rehearsal with bass and drums? Without PA, that is. Cause I already have band rehearsal with a 15 watt valve amp but only halfway on volume.
Carr Raleigh is a much better home practice / recording amp than the Fender champ for most people. Better built, more versatile, more reliable.
personally, I think the Champ needs some serious help in the tone stack department.
bass, middle, treble might be a bit much, but how about two tone mod 3 way switches? ...for 1200 bucks, comon fender.
I’m curious what the SPL is with the Tele? Would this be too loud for an apartment setting?
Not sure if you will respond but thinking about getting this amp used 900 from guitar center in excellent condition. I'm also looking into 67 vibro champ. So I just bought fender American vintage 61 strat. I have a blackstar ht5 that I like in particular on Gian channel but not enchanted with clean tones, so I want great amp for clean/ classic od tones. I also play at home so any tube amp over 5 watts be too much. Any way you have any feedback on the 2 amps I mentioned as well am I being too fussy about that blackstar clean channel. I do like the minimal controls really on both the vibro champ and really minamal on 57.
Never mind just saw shootouts video
as for your question, Jack; I just got an OAH-05, and found your channel looking for speaker options, ( thanks for all the Jupiter demos )
but I am very happy with the amp, and glad I have the extra funds to put a studio tube rig together, that I wouldn't have otherwise.
EDIT: quick question, is that the 10SA-P ?, or no, that would be an 8
Thanks! Yes it's the 8.
@@JackFossett ok...I gotta listen to this again.
@@JackFossett do you think the 10 would be better for recording ? I know I can get more bass with mic placement, but I tune C# standard.
It would give you a wider frequency range, otherwise I can only speculate, Ive never tried it.
A Champ for a Champ ;😉
*kisses bicep* 💪
As a practise amp or a recording tool it is flawless.....................plug in ANY guitar, twiddle a few knobs and it ALWAYS sounds good.
Drop in a 5751 or a 12Ax7 in the pre-amp, and you got a 57 champ.
Your NOT going to gig with it, your NOT going to keep up with a band without being mic'd through front of house.
This amp is priced on the high end because it is a high-end fender product.
A base squire strat does 80% of what a custom shop fender does.................but if you want that 20%, you gotta pay.
This champ is hand wired like the originals, and sounds just as good if not better than the originals.
What color is the les paul? Is that a 50s std or a 59 reissue?
When you put the Lester on 12 input 1, is your guitar vol maxed out? Mine seriously farts on 12 and Lester vol full on.. I am running stock speaker but have the 12ax7 in there.
Full volume - that speaker makes a big difference
Ted Weber Tweed Champ 5E1. Nickels on the dollar.
Not compared to other amps, but just looking at what it is - a very simple circuit, with very few components - i would say it is overpriced.
Keytone offers an amp in Champ size with a 8" speaker, but having the Tweed Princeton (5F2) circuit, which is basically a Champ with a Tone control,
handwired in China, for €260,-.
Of course the components aren`t the best, but I can tell you it sounds really good and is a great platform for mods and upgrades.
Even with better components (this amp doesn`t have a lot in it, doesn`t take long to handwire them together) there is no reason it should cost more than say maybe $ 800,-,
I guess.
Jack a tweed amp doesn’t sound like a fuzz face, it sounds more like an Astrotone fuzz.
…I’ll allow it.
Hablemos claro: le falta cuerpo, es solo un bello juguete.
I have a Swart Atomic Jr. thats a champ style amp with reverb, Used to have a Victoria 518, both amps use better quality components than the Fender and are worth the extra money in my opinion.
Swart make great amps
In my opinion the Bugera v5 is not far off from the 57 champ sound wise and If you dont like the sound on the bugera right off the box you can mod it pretty easily and It's still way cheaper.
I don't have the champ but one friend has it and I tried it many times and we compared them with the bugera v5 and It's really close little bit different but not in a bad way.
I haven’t tried one but I’m inclined to believe you - I’ve always been impressed by Bugera amps. They punch way above their weight.
@@JackFossett If you haven't tried one of them you should I think your gonna be surprised how good they are.
And If you get one do a video It's gonna be very interesting to see what you have to say about it.
How would you say this amp compares to your 68 custom vibrochamp reverb tone wise? Versatility wise?
Gotcha covered! ruclips.net/video/4HsVmJl-EGc/видео.html
I watched the whole video and you obviously know more than I do, so just a noob opinion. If you changed the speaker and the tube, then you aren’t really reviewing the same amp anymore. I do appreciate you try to explain how the stock one might sound.
Astro tone fuzz, this is the sound of Tweed, Jack. ruclips.net/video/4OVCmb-7BKQ/видео.html
One trick pony is a term used for non creative players. It's not just in the hands. Learn to use your brain. It can even tell you to put strings on your guitar. And ?
I own the Champ more than a year and it still has a noise even with volume on zero. Its not a BIG noise, but... And as I hear YOUR Champ is absolutely quiet. Am I right?
might have a bad tube