1975 Fender Silverface Champ

Recently acquired a vintage 1975 Fender Silverface Champ! I hope you all enjoy this video and find it helpful.

[@jerrysmiddlefinger930]

Dayum! A gift from the gods is what you have right there my friend. Even today’s reissue fender amps sound great, but there’s nothing better IMHO than a vintage fender.

[@Housephonestimes4]

The best amp has only three control knobs. Volume, bass and treble! I love your amp and your two guitars!

[@americanwavesaudio1962]

Lovely review. I appreciate your thoroughness in walking us through all the settings. I love my Champ!

[@samhyde6395]

Happy to see you're back making videos. Your Grateful Dead tutorials help me alot.

[@amoruzz]

Great amp! Put a WeberVST recommended speaker in there. You'll love the big tones! 👍

[@Fotosaurus56]

I bought one several years ago and the speaker was blown, so I bought a new speaker online. After some time I had the original one re-coned and I installed it. The replacement was brighter and more trebly sounding but I prefer the original. It is warmer and sounds fantastic all the way up with a vintage distortion pedal and an Epiphone Les Paul. Lots of punch. And you can crank it up without bothering your neighbors.

[@lookbovine]

To be broken in speakers need 8-10 hours of playing at high volume. Before that they sound stiff, trebly with undefined bass, but after that you’re good to go and won’t lack treble-to-high-mids that many vintage combo speakers tend to have. For some amps-guitar combos those can be ideal, but not if you want the most you can get out of the amp with different pedals and guitars.

[@mark130471]

I have a 70's Silverface Champ. The original speaker had blown. Replaced with a Jensen. Lots of headroom :-)

[@SergioFigaroa]

Same, sounds clean even at 10

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

Just re-watching this video, I say vibro-champ a lot haha but I really mean to say Champ!

[@moimeme7839]

That’s a very cool amp

[@everetbaker7619]

Somebody gave me a beautiful, almost mint "closet queen" 1976 vibro champ about a year ago... It's been amazing! Unfortunately, I need to replace the tubes now, so there goes the "all original" aspect, but hey, I didn't pay anything for it. They're great little amps.

[@bigbromiki1]

some places sell bew old stock tubes

[@captainkirk70]

@@bigbromiki1 They're all over on eBay

[@doncowie8653]

No amp should have original tubes, they are supposed to be changed. Amp will sound better with new tubes

[@scottym3]

I just bought one on ebay yesterday, should have it middle of next week. looking forward to it and hope there's nothing major wrong with it.

[@austin3276]

How'd it all work out? I'm seeing one tomorrow, like 20 miles from me.

[@scottym3]

@@austin3276 Well, I can't believe it's been 2 years since I bought it. It was a really nice amp and condition was pretty darn good. If I remember correctly all I did was put on a new handle and hardware. all else is really good. The bad news is that I haven't used it in quite some time. I'm 70 now and my hands and fingers just don't work like I'd like them too and haven't played any of my guitars for much too long. Could be time to think about selling it all. Just don't like the thought of that. Good luck with yours, let me know how that works out for you.

[@dalehamon4295]

I have a 66 Blackface Vibrochamp I did upgrade the speaker with a 10” eminence Red Fang 102.3 sensitivity and it keeps up with my 57 Fender Vibrolux

[@GuyNarnarian]

So these Silverface Champs have the same circuit as the Blackface all the way up to the 80s? I was looking at a 73' Champ and a 74' VibroChamp recently, both Silverface

[@tyler_]

Picked up a '68 SF Vibro Champ after watching your videos, especially the comparison with the reissue. I'm thrilled with it. Do you think there is enough headroom for pedals? Thanks, brother!

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

There is but I feel that anything past 4 on the dial and you will get some saturation. So if you're just playing at home then yes it should be fine! But at a jam you may be pushing it a bit, I dont think it would sound bad though!

[@Davphi7052]

Did you delete some of your videos? I went to revisit a video of yours about playing jerry licks and it wasnt there... Maybe im just dumb and it was never there... But it was a great helpful video nonetheless. Thank you for your contribution to the dead community.

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

Davphi7052 Actually you’re correct. I did delete some of my old videos that I thought maybe I could have done better, I may re-do them sometime in the future but I’m glad you found them helpful while they were still up. Thank you!

[@Spacecowboy42]

@@Lucas_Arredondo please do more tutorials. I always love trying my hand at some dead tunes. Definitely enjoyed your help on the way tutorial

[@socialdef3]

I picked one up in mint condition last month for $150. I need to put a three prong cable... but not sure if that eliminates the death cap issues that is known to kill the amp.

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

socialdef3 I would take the time to get it to a trusted amp tech and have it converted to a three prong cord. $150 is an amazing deal for these champs and if you want to enjoy it for years to come then I don’t believe having it looked at would hurt!

[@socialdef3]

@@Lucas_Arredondo You're right... I've been told that the three prong mod is a must. If I do that though, will I still have a need to take out the death cap? And do you think this amp can benefit from a speaker swap? There's a good local deal going for a Jensen Mod 8-20 that I hear are great for these amps.

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

socialdef3 I dont really know if its a must to remove the death cap after the three prong cord is added. But I would probably get that removed anyways. As far as speaker changes go...some people prefer to swap the stock speaker to preserve it for resale or originality purposes. If you feel that the stock speaker doesnt suit your playing needs then a new speaker probably wouldnt hurt, i’ve heard that the 8” replacement speakers for this amp go for cheap anyways!

[@JNava]

Hey Lucas! Hit me up, man! We gotta Jam out soon bro!

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

Joel Nava Hey man its been a while! I’m down to jam!

[@JNava]

Lucas_Arre bro me too! I need to hear & see you play dude! I remember last time we hung out we were “skaters” 😂 I’m going to be working nights very soon, so I’ll be free during the days or weekends.

[@Lucas_Arredondo]

Joel Nava Cool man yea I remember those days lol how can I contact you though? It’s not giving me the option to message you through KZbin, if you want you can try messaging me if it gives you the option!

[@jeperstone]

If you're just gonna strum then sell it and buy a cheap amp

[@JB-xz6dt]

Stop talking I don't care about your opinion or nothing man, I'm here to hear how it sounds