I’ve owned 6 Fender amps since I’ve played electric guitar. They have all opened up at a volume of approximately 4.5 ish. Which is a bit loud, except for the champ. I think this is the biggest selling point for this amp. I love the Vibrolux Reverb, but it didn’t have a loop to put a volume pedal to tame the volume.
My fender twin shatters teeth at 4.5! Sounds ace there though and very useful if the drummer is a hard hitter. I have a 5E3 clone which is a nice compromise between usable volume for practicing and loud enough for a smallish gig.
Fender used linear and J taper pots in their amps for decades. The newer amps have a lot of audio/log taper pots, hence the reason why the controls look so drastically different.
Great presentation. You lads are quite the fanatics with the pick up replacements. I just bought the American Pro II Strat mystic green/rosewood FB. Now checking out Amps.🤠
I can vouch that the Antiquity Surfer pickups are incredible. Easily the best pickups I've ever had on a strat, especially the bridge, which is slightly hotter but perfect.
The ’68 is expensive but well worth it. It seems to be louder and have more presence than the old Champ. I would guess the different speakers have a lot to do with it. The tube vs ss rectifier should be of less importance in a single ended amp. Bottom line: both amps sounds great.
Glad you found the review interesting. They’re very different beasts, defo. We’ve been thinking about doing a video running them into “proper” speaker cabs. Do you think that would be interesting? 😀
@@davespeakmanmusic I have the new Vibro Champ Reverb myself and I have tried it through a 212 cab with Fane alnico speakers. It sounds fantastic this way! Loud enough together with a drummer. Another fun thing to try: Set both the treble and bass on the new Vibro Champ to ”0”, reverb to ”2” and volume to ”10”. It will sound exactly like an old original Champ!
I’m looking for a amp to use at home, i use fuzz and my blues driver a lot. which amp do you think would be better for dirty tones at low volumes ? they seem super similar, i like how the 68 has reverb built in but then i like how the vintage is a classic !
Hey Daniel. Neither are quiet really! I think the original ones are better investments - the new one is great but no cheaper, the extra features can be covered with a pedal easily.
At around 11:15 he says u cant use the reissue with a drummer. Imo thats the speaker. If you get a more efficient speaker you can do that. Unless he means clean. If its about clean youll need at least 20-30 watts of headroom. Dirty these amps out of the box can hang but with a more efficient speaker can guarantee the volume. But headroom is different. For gigging youd need an extension cabinet with mics or just mic the front end but that depends on what sound someone is looking for. After all he said the old one was louder which comes down to the changed out speaker. Green and creambacks will be the same volume roughly. But a 10 inch alnico gold is a little louder. I know eminence makes a 10 inch speaker with around 100 db sensitivity. But i dont like eminence speakers.
@@davespeakmanmusic i think the one tube amp for all purposes is really a myth. Speakers is one thing but you need at least two. A small one for home use and a larger one for gigging. Luckily fender hot rods are cheap used. It’s worth while to spend more on a good amp for practice and rehearsals.
@@davespeakmanmusic well I’d say that’s overkill but you always need more tonal options. I’d recommend a good solid state like a jc120 as well because sometimes the pristine cleans are just what you need for things like jazz. But lab series amps are great too because you can dial in that compression and get a very tube like sound. One of the best tones I’ve heard was bb king live in japan and that was a solid state amp just before he got into lab series amps but the very slight breakup was amazing. The way i see it I’d rather have one guitar and a bunch of amps rather than one amp and a bunch of guitars. Theres nothing a strat or tele can’t do anyways.
It depends what you think low volume is really. It isn’t powerful enough to have a clean sound when playing with a drummer. It’s perfectly clean enough at the sort of volume you might have a TV at.
@@davespeakmanmusic Yes! I am considering that one! I am kinda looking at the Orange Rocker 15 also since it has a fx loop and the this headroom/bedroom thing going on. But it has no reverb, which is something I like to have on the amp itself.
@@davespeakmanmusic Love watching you guys just hang out, play and chat. Awesome video this, you should do more of them. (Maybe invite a local piano guy :D)
Probably. It depends what you want really. The vibro champ does one thing really well. I think for the money - they should have put a better speaker in it. I’d probably spend a bit more and go for the Princeton too.
The Fender 68 Vibro Champ Guitar Amplifier is outstanding.
Yea, nice little amp. Guy ended up selling his. I still have my original champ. Use it most days at home to practice!
It was a pleasure coming to help you with the video bro!
Yes yes yes. Let’s do another asap
@@davespeakmanmusic anytime!
Awesome demo guys. Super to see such different strats go at it.
Thanks! Much appreciated
I’ve owned 6 Fender amps since I’ve played electric guitar. They have all opened up at a volume of approximately 4.5 ish. Which is a bit loud, except for the champ. I think this is the biggest selling point for this amp. I love the Vibrolux Reverb, but it didn’t have a loop to put a volume pedal to tame the volume.
My fender twin shatters teeth at 4.5! Sounds ace there though and very useful if the drummer is a hard hitter. I have a 5E3 clone which is a nice compromise between usable volume for practicing and loud enough for a smallish gig.
Fender used linear and J taper pots in their amps for decades. The newer amps have a lot of audio/log taper pots, hence the reason why the controls look so drastically different.
Thanks for that, Matt. Makes total sense 😀
Great presentation. You lads are quite the fanatics with the pick up replacements. I just bought the American Pro II Strat mystic green/rosewood FB. Now checking out Amps.🤠
Thanks, Gary. Are there any amps you’d like us to do comparisons on? 😀
I can vouch that the Antiquity Surfer pickups are incredible. Easily the best pickups I've ever had on a strat, especially the bridge, which is slightly hotter but perfect.
They are perfect!
The ’68 is expensive but well worth it.
It seems to be louder and have more presence than the old Champ.
I would guess the different speakers have a lot to do with it.
The tube vs ss rectifier should be of less importance in a single ended amp.
Bottom line: both amps sounds great.
Glad you found the review interesting. They’re very different beasts, defo. We’ve been thinking about doing a video running them into “proper” speaker cabs. Do you think that would be interesting? 😀
@@davespeakmanmusic I have the new Vibro Champ Reverb myself and I have tried it through
a 212 cab with Fane alnico speakers. It sounds fantastic this way! Loud enough together with a drummer.
Another fun thing to try: Set both the treble and bass on the new Vibro Champ to ”0”, reverb to ”2” and volume to ”10”.
It will sound exactly like an old original Champ!
Thanks, Lars. Will defo give that a go. 😀😀
Great video ! Will this amp be to loud in an apartment setting ?
I think it’s usable in an apartment. It’s pretty loud when cranked, perhaps not loud enough to keep up with a drummer.
The tremolo sounds great!
I’m looking for a amp to use at home, i use fuzz and my blues driver a lot. which amp do you think would be better for dirty tones at low volumes ? they seem super similar, i like how the 68 has reverb built in but then i like how the vintage is a classic !
Hey Daniel. Neither are quiet really! I think the original ones are better investments - the new one is great but no cheaper, the extra features can be covered with a pedal easily.
Great demo guys!
Thanks, Jack! 😀
Nice review. Do you know how this compares to the Supro Delta king 10? Can't decide what to buy and will be hard to try both side by side.
For what the new ones cost I would definitely look for a proper point to point amp. Either something older or a second hand boutique thing. :-)
At around 11:15 he says u cant use the reissue with a drummer. Imo thats the speaker. If you get a more efficient speaker you can do that. Unless he means clean. If its about clean youll need at least 20-30 watts of headroom. Dirty these amps out of the box can hang but with a more efficient speaker can guarantee the volume. But headroom is different. For gigging youd need an extension cabinet with mics or just mic the front end but that depends on what sound someone is looking for. After all he said the old one was louder which comes down to the changed out speaker. Green and creambacks will be the same volume roughly. But a 10 inch alnico gold is a little louder. I know eminence makes a 10 inch speaker with around 100 db sensitivity. But i dont like eminence speakers.
Depends on the drummer I guess. It’s always great messing around with different speakers.
@@davespeakmanmusic i think the one tube amp for all purposes is really a myth. Speakers is one thing but you need at least two. A small one for home use and a larger one for gigging. Luckily fender hot rods are cheap used. It’s worth while to spend more on a good amp for practice and rehearsals.
Yea, at least. I have 9 guitar amps and still want more! 🤣
@@davespeakmanmusic well I’d say that’s overkill but you always need more tonal options. I’d recommend a good solid state like a jc120 as well because sometimes the pristine cleans are just what you need for things like jazz. But lab series amps are great too because you can dial in that compression and get a very tube like sound. One of the best tones I’ve heard was bb king live in japan and that was a solid state amp just before he got into lab series amps but the very slight breakup was amazing. The way i see it I’d rather have one guitar and a bunch of amps rather than one amp and a bunch of guitars. Theres nothing a strat or tele can’t do anyways.
I need a low output amp like that. I'm wondering though, if it breaks up early at low volumes, do you reckon it might be too silent for clean tones?
It depends what you think low volume is really. It isn’t powerful enough to have a clean sound when playing with a drummer. It’s perfectly clean enough at the sort of volume you might have a TV at.
@@davespeakmanmusic home use, no drummer :D. Sounds right up my alley then. TX!
The Princeton is also worth considering - they’re both great
@@davespeakmanmusic Yes! I am considering that one! I am kinda looking at the Orange Rocker 15 also since it has a fx loop and the this headroom/bedroom thing going on. But it has no reverb, which is something I like to have on the amp itself.
I think the Princeton has a proper spring reverb in. They can be a little boomy - is there anywhere you could try them out?
I have a new custom 68 vibro champ. It has a 6L6 power tube not a solid state rectifyer.
6L6 isn’t a rectifier - it’s a power tube. I would imagine it’s a 6v6 in your champ.
'74 on full tilt is the vibe
Yes! The new one is ace, but maybe sounds a bit too good!
For playing pink floyd and jimi hendrix srv this amp is good please ?
Hello. Yes, it would be okay. Think I’d probably go for the Princeton if you can afford it.
@@davespeakmanmusicWith the right pedals it should do. Rules of thumb 50% amp 50% fx and 50% practice 😂
Guy not messing about bothering with shoes :D
We don’t need shoes where we’re going…
@@davespeakmanmusic Love watching you guys just hang out, play and chat. Awesome video this, you should do more of them. (Maybe invite a local piano guy :D)
Good idea 👍
Fuzz pedals?
Hi Steven. Thanks for watching. Would you like us to do a video of the champs with pedals?
@@davespeakmanmusic Please
@@davespeakmanmusic yes please
A lot of hum from the amp.
Single ended power amps with single coil pickups do hum an awful lot! It’s kind of part of the sound tho. An A/B amp is much quieter.
If they're running fluorescent lights that may be the problem and not the amp.
There’s no fluorescent lights - just a single ended valve amp with single coil pickups. They are noisy, it’s part of the charm!
@@davespeakmanmusic I have 65 & 72 and they don't hum like that.
When was the last time the filter cap was checked or changed?
there are better practice amps at $700,
Probably. It depends what you want really. The vibro champ does one thing really well. I think for the money - they should have put a better speaker in it. I’d probably spend a bit more and go for the Princeton too.