'57 Custom Champ 1x8" 5-watt Tube Combo Amp Review

Great little amp as is, but I use a Mesa Boogie 1x12 closed back extension cab with it. Class A chime!

Great little hand wired amp as is, but I use a Mesa Boogie 1x12 Closed back extension cab with it. Class A chime! I like a Mesa Boogie 1x12 cab for sound. The 57 Champ has a unique Class A 6V6 circuit that sounds great cranked. The amp allows for a seperate extension cab to be plugged in. Great maximum sound at a low volume. Lots of money for this setup but far superior sound to… read more Fender's Hot Rod line.

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For Spartan Purist

I got this amp for several reasons. The first being, I wanted an all-tube amp, in a small combo that was appropriate for home use. 5 watts, 8-inch speaker seemed to fit the bill. Secondly, I wanted premium components and hand-wiring to make it sound as big and heavy as possible to compensate for how small it is. Lastly, I was influenced by playing classical Spanish guitar over the… read more past year to get an electric rig that was minimalistic, so that all the personality and dynamics were coming from my playing. I thought the champ, with it's single volume knob, would keep this from turning into a ham radio project. I'm just getting back into electric guitar and I wanted to focus solely on my fundamentals as a player. And Lastly, I wanted to tap into some iconic Fender amp tones I'd heard countless recordings. Construction: This thing is a little tank, nothing feels cheap or flimsy. Even with it's light weight, it feels solid. I'm shocked at how coarse the tweed feels. It's definitely not meant for garment use. The power switch is heavy duty and doesn't look like it'd break easily. Nothing is loose on this thing, no rattles, even dimed. Tone: Simple, pure, transparent. The EQ sounds fairly flat, so it's a well balanced tone, that's full and rounded. Important note, it's decidedly a vintage tonality, think 50's, 60's, and some 70's. And most important of all, it has very little gain on tap. You will get some grit and bite by cranking the input 1 (especially with humbuckers), but don't expect the overdrive you'd find on a Deluxe or Bassman tweed. In those amps you could feed 1 input into the other, effectively giving you a gain knob, not with the Champ. For my purposes, I love it, I was looking for a "pushed clean" tone that sizzles and crackles, but not the saturation levels of a full on distortion overdrive. Input 2 cuts off the highest frequencies and provides some attenuation, meaning it's not as loud as the input 1, so you can set the volume higher on it. Input 2 is also mellower so better for Jazzy, more vintage stuff. Input 1 is better for country and vintage rock tones. Volume: This thing is powerful. Like any good Fender, it cuts through with a piercing volume, but it's never grating to the ears. Honestly, I don't think I can go higher then 5 without having problems with neighbors (I live in an apartment). That means for my purposes, there's plenty of headroom to use pedals with it. The other important thing is the sensitivity to your attack. If you're at 4, and you bash your strings you can make it sound like 7. If your at 7, you can play delicately and make it sound like it's at 4. Also, when coupled with quality volume knobs on your guitar, you can really dial in volume and tone with high sensitivity. Conclusion: I'm blown away at how big this thing sounds. I was worried the 8-inch speaker, wouldn't be able to handle humbuckers at high volume. Not the case, the saturation is warm and full with plenty of bite and no fart out. You're gonna need a pedal for serious "dirt" tones, but it's just not the tool for that job. This thing does first wave rock n'roll tones, 50's Pop, late 60's Rolling Stones tones, and Classic Southern Rock stuff really well, among other things.

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Oozes Tone

I felt compelled after owning this amp for a few days to write this review. I've probably owned 50-60 amps in my 25-ish years of playing. This little guy with my Thinline Telecaster with P90s is one of the best amps I've heard EVER!! The compression, fullness, warmth, sensitivity down to the smell of the tubes cooking and pine from the cabinet makes the amp an experience to play!!… read more It is very inspiring and addicting to play! The only amp that I've owned that I think slightly compared to this amp is a Swart Atomic Space Tone I owned a few years back. But believe me when I say this amp sounds better and is more versatile.! Do not delay! Get one immediately while you can!

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Thought it was ok but now its great.

Mine rattled out of the box at a moderate volume. Called Fender and they said it's common, look for something loose. Took the back off the amp but didn't see anything loose, everything looked fine. Reassembled... just played it and played it and things settled in I guess. Started out 2 stars but it's 5 stars now. Absolutely beautiful amp. Incredibly simple, just one dial,… read more volume, which is apparently all that is required to get beautifully thick, saturated guitar tone (playing a Gibson LP). Breaks up beautifully at around 6 on the volume, and it's incredibly loud despite it's size. Some may balk at the price, so did I. But I've spent way more on amps and guitars and this one is sitting right there at a good value all things considered.

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Everything I was looking for

Ive been wanting a Fender amp recently and did my research on their lineup. I saw the cost of the 57' Champ and thought well what's so special about this. After doing some reading and listening I took a leap to order it without trying it in person as there wasn't a champ to demo in my city but I knew if I hated it I would exchange for a Princeton or Deluxe. Turns out the videos… read more and reviews are right the Champ is a great amp. The cleans are beautiful and full, the overdrive is pure classic rock n roll. Its very sensitive to what you pick with and how you pick so you can get a variety of sounds. I found it odd that if I used the narrow side my pick (Dunlop tortex) it sounded darker, but with the fat side it was amazingly clean. I think it sounds best at 8-10 and using your guitar volume to dictate the type of sound. I think its best played as is, you don't need a reverb it has this room filling sound. Maybe a drive pedal if you want distortion at low volumes, but I really love the sound as is. The build quality is excellent, it feels solid and looks so good just sitting there. My only issue is the idle hum, though its quiet and I don't notice it when playing and if recording with my phone I can't hear it. A trade off is that I actually don't hear my single coils hum as loud on standard B,M,N positions. My final thought is I'm definitely keeping it, if I got something else I know I'd miss it. It has such a great sound and is small enough to go anywhere without being a pain. I have a 1x12 combo I really like so for me the champ is something different and I'm really having a lot of fun playing it. It has all the Fender sound I was looking for and build quality that will last a lifetime.

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