Champion 50XL 1x12" 50-watt Combo Amp Review

Great Lightweight Amp

Just purchased a Fender Champion 50XL from Sweetwater a few weeks ago. I needed something lighter that would be easier to move around than my Fender Deluxe Reverb or Peavey Bandit 112 that I would still be able to use for gigs at small venues. It has plenty of power and was able to cut through the mix and stay with the rest of the band. It sounds great, and my bandmates couldn't… read more believe all that sound was coming from such a small amp. The Celestial speaker certainly makes a difference, and it sounds great using my pedalboard as well. I recommend it to anyone who wants to save their back and is tired of lugging amps that weigh 40-60 pounds. It certainly met my needs! Thanks to my sales engineer, Tim Holsinger, for once again getting me a great deal!

---

Cancel Comment

Fender Champion 50XL 1x12" 50 Watt

So I have had this amp for a couple weeks now as my first amp. Yes I am a beginner!!! It is very easy to set up and play right out of the box. Literally plug it in and go. It will play very clean all the way to lots of distortion and reverb along with many other settings and features so I believe it will play just about anything you want and sounds great. I am very happy Sweetwater… read more reps for recommending this!!! Can't say enough about the support they offer. Especially when I was looking at the much more expensive amps and having little to no knowledge as what I was looking for. They definitely saved me lots of $$$. They definitely know their stuff over there.

---

Cancel Comment

Fender Champion 50XL

I'm getting older and after heart and back surgery, even my blues Jr. was too heavy to lug across a parking lot and through a crowded bar to a jam. I had previously sold my Fender Deluxw (too heavy and too powerful for bar jams). And I was seriously considering a Quilter but at $ that was a little steep. Then a friend (who is an Amp expert) recommended a Fender Champion 40. So… read more I called my local Guitar Center and found out they didn't have the 40 but they had the 50XL with the same dimensions and same low Weight (only 19 lbs!) as the 40. In addition, the 50 was on sale! That was a Saturday morning and I had a jam session that afternoon and GC was right on the way. I picked one up and took into the jam box and all. Sounded great with a band. Plenty of power, no problem, and this is a loud jam. Since then I've found it to very versatile. You can use it as a practice amp (it sounds great at low volume) and bring it to the jam and keeo up and actually sound as good as the big Fenders. And at 19 lbs it sure makes it easy to carry. Oh, and I almost forgot, the 50XL had a Celsestion speaker which sounds great. The 40 only has "specially made speaker" so the 50XL is a much better deal, not only in terms of power but tone. Actually, I don't usually care for modeling amps and this one takes a bit of fiddling with to get the tone(s) you like. I prefer to find one tone and stick with it. Only problem is I have a lot of guitars If you have this "problem" you'll find you have to change the settings for each guitar. This can throw you off if you've got it set for a strat then you chznge to a Gibson. But once you get it, the price, weight and value is worth it. It has a lot of effects but I only use reverb and delay which you can use together, which I do. I don't like using pedals so once I get the amp set up the way I like I use my pick-ups and volume control (on the guitar) for my tones. I was a little disappointed that there is not much difference on the clean channel and the first 3 or 4 settings of the gain channel, and the gain is not too noticeable as you increase it, mostly just increases the volume. I play mostly blues so I don't use a lot of tones and I don't use any of the distortion tones so can't really comment about them. All in all I'm thrilled with this amp and the low low price and low low weight and of coourse the sound. My Roland Cube 30 and my blues Jr. have been totally idle since I use the 50XL for everything; practice, jams and gigs.

---

Cancel Comment

Pleased beyond expectations!

I'll start by saying SW service was great. They are my go to for online buying, reviews, info, etc. i love this amp for it's simplicity of use live vs. amps like the Katana. It's sound is fantastic and better and much fuller than any impression I got from online videos. After 1 year no issues, peculiar noise etc. A secret I discovered sound wise is to set channel 2 to clean, set… read more gain at 3 o-clock and add distortion via pedals. The clean sound on channel 2 is much fuller than the actual Clean channel 1. Highly recommend this amp, highly recommend SW.

---

Cancel Comment

Amazing upgrade

This amp replaced a very reliable Fender FM15 that I used to test solid bodies I built... for others. I finally (after more than 50 years behind the drums) got serious about playing the guitar... for others. The 15 was great for testing, but just didn't have enough lung capacity to be heard in a rock band. This amp doesn't have that issue. In fact, I'm not sure I could stand the… read more max output without earplugs. It is LOUD. The voicing are well varied and the effects offer hours of Discovery time. Being on a budget, this amp is a great value for the money. Although I didn't get the optional foot switch, I probably will. I thought I didn't really need it, but if you typically play more than arms -length from the amp, save yourself some steps, even if you only use it to discover your sound. That said, I now find myself racing home from work so I can play. I feel like I'm 18 again...with 40 years experience.

---

Cancel Comment