Fender Champion 50XL - Unboxing and First Impressions

Sorry for the shaky camera work but I have to say that since this vid I have warmed a little more to the amp but at this point in time I'm not sure if I like it.
Thank you for watching. :)

[@brandonanderson2066]

Side by side with the katana I picked this one. Cleans sounded so good in comparison. Downside is I might prefer pedal options over many of the effects.

[@DeltaJazzUK]

Fenders are for people who are more interested in clean tones rather than distortion. First choice for clean.

[@acousticshadow4032]

I have been a Fender TUBE amp guy for decades. Absolutely love them. But I'll take a Peavey when it comes to SS. My 1984 Backstage Plus (10" speaker ~ 35 watts) is the best little practice amp on the planet - especially for humbuckers. Single Coil? My 1983 Studio Pro 40 amp, with its 12" speaker and 40 watts. Found them both at a local auction for pennies.

[@jazznotes3802]

Yeah, Peavey makes some great solid state amps. Just picked up a 80W (100w if using an external cab) Peavey Bandit 112 red stripe for £50 and I’m literally blown away by just how good it sounds. The dynamic response is incredibly tube like. The best SS amp combo I’ve ever owned.

[@acousticshadow4032]

@@jazznotes3802 Preaching to the choir, bud! I also recently scoffed up a 1991 Peavey Bandit 112 Teal Stripe. Had to put a new reverb tank in it ($30), but no complaints for $125 total investment.

[@davestatham812]

nowt wrong with the tone its lovely, shame about the reverb hiss thing though, but katana still king to my ears, great vid as usual dave, top man😉👏👏👏

[@LauraSquirrel]

Yeah, a hissing reverb tank just sucks. I had a Randall that did that. It annoyed me to no end.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you very much. : )

[@1951kbz]

It was hard to hear the hissing and the eternal reverb in the video but that is exactly why I returned the original one I bought and the replacement. My Super Champ X2 is amazing so I had high hopes for this one but was really disappointed.

[@gwugluud]

This may be the only unboxing vid I've ever seen which didn't bore me, LOL. I remember you; you're the guy who has proven that SS amps Rule! Cheers from....*cringes with embarrassment*...Texas....

[@MindsetMastery75]

What's wrong with Texas? SRV and Dimebag were from Texas.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you very much. :)

[@bigfootsdead]

@@MindsetMastery75 what's wrong with texas? Its full of texans

[@BRZguy]

It sounds really good to me. It doesn't have that weird high end harshness that the Katana has which I quite like.

[@portuguesebeer5069]

Cool video! Its allways nice to unbox a new amp! Sounds Nice! Cheers from Portugal 🍺🤘

[@misterknightowlandco]

Sounds fine to me Dave. Does it sound as good as some others out there? Nope. Its not terrible though either. I think if a kid got this and a squier strat for xmas, which is the demographic im sure, theyd be fine with it. Its amazing how good beginner stuff has gotten in the last 15 years. Im getting to the point where im going to quit digging through pawnshops for old peaveys and start saving the time and just buy new from stores.

[@thedavesimpson]

Its certainly not a bad sounding amp I agree and I feel its a nice Fender sounding amp. Thank you for watching. : )

[@jltrem]

Being an old geezer who only plays at home for his own entertainment, I've been using a Fender Champion 20. Oddly, it doesn't have the reverb problems the 50 appears to have. I've played a Champion 40, didn't have the problem either so I can only assume the Champion 100 doesn't either, but the 50XL appears to be different animal.

[@mikeward7367]

Thanks for this Dave. I decided to try and properly learn to play aged 50 a couple of months ago (as part of my midlife crisis before arthritis or whatever sets in!) and bought myself the Katana 50 for Christmas. It was your effusive praise that swung me away from the Blackstar IDC40 and Marshall Code 50. Then, it wasn't even out of the box before people were saying the new Fender was better so I'm happy that you've killed my buyer's remorse ;) Plus, I don't think you can customise the effects with the Fender via USB like you can with the others at the same price point? That will also be a dealbreaker for many if true.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for watching and indeed you cannot customise the fender at all. Its no where near as good as the Katana. Have fun with your and thank you again. : )

[@davidmahoney1248]

I'll be sticking with my Super Champ X2.

[@Spartanm333]

To be honest Dave, if you played with my dogs bollocks, you would make them sound good :) you have a gift my friend and long may it continue. Love the honest reviews as well, no product buyout / bias here, just a players truth. Which is helpful. I bought a Marshall AS50D (worn in, great condition) for my son's acoustic gigs on your recommendation, no disappointment here. Just added Neutrik XLR (mic) and jack cables to round it out for reliability with the J45 he bought after 18 months work at Waitrose - blagged them that he was 17 when he was 15 :) top stuff. Means to an end. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWSylqKOntVprKc

[@y007p3]

Dogs bollocks? That just sounds wrong dude 😂

[@Spartanm333]

@@y007p3 Its Friday night, I'm chilling with a beer, and the hound is laid next to me, what can I say :) It just came to me.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for watching. : )

[@NiqScott]

To be honest, I'd pay to see that. The video where he relics them would be interesting, but I'd make sure I had a large supply of bandages and Savlon on hand.

[@jacoblopez659]

Hey Dave, my Fender Champion 100 sometimes does the same weird regenerating reverb thing. I've found it pretty much usually goes away after turning the amp off and then on again.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for the info. : )

Sounds good and open. Is that due to the bigger box and larger speaker?

[@thedavesimpson]

Possibly. Its very loud. :)

[@dsmalf]

Glad that I chose the Katana, thanks for the video

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for watching. : )

[@willkupers]

Cool video Dave. The first impression usually lingers. So this rascal will have to work hard on himself to become a real champ.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you very much and I agree. Its got a lot to do. :

[@leftbehind4030]

I quite liked the clean,but nothing much of the dirty as for no lead,rubbish reverb....well,but good its making some progress....not much though compared to your love of the Katana within 5 sec.

[@benedekgabor.]

I have the 40 Watt version of this amp and it's not bad at all. The blackface sounds are so good. (btw Dave, i've thinking on buying a Orange cr120c, but it sounds like a wet blanket over the cabinet. Can it be dialed out?

[@thedavesimpson]

It can be dialled out yeps. : )

[@trollfiddler]

I have the same problem with the reverb. Told Thomann and they said they couldn't reproduce it but I could return the amp. I couldn't be bothered as I like the reverb from my Turnip Greens pedal. Other than that it gives a great fender tone for home practice. I agree with you on the British tone, I never use it. Oh by the way the reverb behaves with single notes. Also you can stop the endless reverb and hissing by playing a single note, not a chord.

[@egnbigdave]

I bought my Orange Terror Bass 500 from Thomann in Germany - came with a euro plug lead but they had the foresight to throw in a UK kettle lead. Where did you get it from?

[@thedavesimpson]

I got it from GAK.

[@egnbigdave]

@@thedavesimpson that is pretty pants that GAK didn't include a UK lead.

[@johnnorth9355]

The lack of kettle lead says it all. The accountants have been all over this cost reducing it. Would have been great to see the original that the engineers designed before the dead head bread heads got their hands on it.

[@michaellilley6725]

I believe it's illegal in the UK to sell something which is incapable of working!! The law goes back to the days when dead head bread heads removed plugs. Things like washing machines, TV's etc; would come with a cable but no plug!! Saving all of 50p Right tight shites!!

[@deepiper6529]

Ok I am from Texas. What is this Kettle you speak of? A Kettle is something we brew coffee in here.

[@johnnorth9355]

@@deepiper6529 Hi Dee, hope all is good there in Texas ? A kettle lead is the power lead type for things such as Amps that need a direct plug into mains electricity. It can be bought separately as a $5 item or I guess you could steal the one from the coffee machine :-)

[@deepiper6529]

@@johnnorth9355 great! Thanks John!

[@noobwidagun]

I own a champion 40, no problems with the reverb. Sounds odd that they mess up with the 50 xl. 🤔

[@vexguine]

You live in a cool place, have a bunch of cool amps, has a wife that suports you and have a bunny as a pet. That's the definition of happiness to me. :))))) About the champion series: I own a fender champion 100 and 2 valve amps. Tube snob friends keep telling me to sell the fender and get another tube amp. I just can't. I love that amp. It's solid. It's fun to play. It's a real tool box. Also, 100 watts and 2 x12 speakers are all you need in this universe.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you very much. : )

[@BollocksUtwat]

I dunno why any tube snob would tell you to not have at least one SS you like. You can't play tube amps the way they're meant to be played at 2 in the morning.

[@vexguine]

@@BollocksUtwat Yes you can: attenuator, or master volume amps

[@BollocksUtwat]

@@vexguine Master volume isn't really a substitute for cranking it up and having the power run through it. Attenuators work better but they're an additional cost. At the end of the day the cork sniffers really have a real bug up their asses about "tone" or whatever so that even if you're just practicing in the middle of the night its no good if you're not doing it with tubes or whatever. Also there's something to be said for not needing to drive the tubes all the time thus extending their lives while you're puttering around practicing things that don't actually require you to use them.

[@vexguine]

@@BollocksUtwat not saying is a substitute... but an alternative for the application you mention. In my case, at night, i play with the guitar unplugged. If you NEED sound, master volume is a really good alt if u just have a tube amp, since you cant use phones, unless the amp has those simulated outs

[@jolocaberte2508]

hello, does yours create a "popping" sound as well when you turn it on/off?

[@Bernard-Shakey]

Clean tone sounds awesome, just what you'd want from a Fender amp. Er, hope you figure out the fx...

[@thedavesimpson]

I agree. Its a nice Fender sounding amp. :)

[@sadfvsdavn]

what kind of dog is that?

[@raymon8044]

The kind that chews on a carrot and says 'What's up doc'

[@gamer420blazeit]

Big chungus

[@PooNinja]

flopsy doodle

[@arranrosie1499]

Labradore

[@jltrem]

Lop eared terrier.

[@5tever7272]

Hello Dave. Is that Dave. You're my wife now Dave

[@thedavesimpson]

It is indeed. : )

[@y007p3]

steve 72 got any pegs?

[@5tever7272]

@@y007p3 twelevety :-)

[@LateBoomerGR]

Well, you tried to like it. I know the feeling. That's why I've been through a lot of gear. Me trying guitar gear is like most men in a strip club. I want to see everything in the place and would like to try it all out at least once. Unfortunately I cant afford it usually. It is what it is. Thanks Dave. As always, appreciated the insight and the video as a whole..

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for watching. : )

[@akaboo69]

Sounds good man

[@stevereed740]

The reverb voice is gated to have hiss. Check out other reviews with this amp on KZbin.

[@dantristanbautista9234]

Hi dave! Would you help me decide Between this and katana 50. I'm using my boss me80 and looking for a good sounding clean amp as a pedal platform and responds well in a low volume practice. Thanks man!

[@thedavesimpson]

I would go for the Katana. : )

[@dantristanbautista9234]

@@thedavesimpson I see... thanks!

[@kelalamusic9258]

Does the saying, "you get what you pay for" come to mind? It's a decent little amp for beginner players who want a simulation of affects without breaker mom and dad's bank account. Perhaps a little practice bedroom amp for accomplished players such as yourself? IMHO, the best amps for reverb are the Fender deluxe or twin reverb. They do come at a price, but oh that beautiful reverb sound.

[@eleazysoares08]

could you make us a video explaining what John does on the song Bicycle song. plsssss

[@garzy55]

Hi Dave. I recently bought the Mustang GT 40 and that was also without the UK lead. Great amp though.

[@dinosaursdoingtherobot850]

Wow that thing smokes the boss China makes some kick mass amps that amp sounds like David gilmour and svr love child

[@Wrguitar941]

I’m interested in this good for band use?

[@thedavesimpson]

Indeedy. :)

[@lukabanovic2937]

Review Len pls

[@thedavesimpson]

I'll see if he's up to doing an interview. :

[@MindsetMastery75]

The people online that are saying that, that amp is better than the Katana are the people who never owned or played through a Katana. Lol. Not even close thus far. Although it does have a nice Fender clean tone that i like. It just does not compare to the Katana.

[@LauraSquirrel]

Honestly, I've never actually played through either of these amps. HOWEVER, based on videos on what I have seen on Dave's channel, I would pick the Katana, IF I had to....but.....I don't. ORANGE CRUSH FOREVER!

[@LarryLido]

Dave. You may be getting too big to continue to reply to every comment, but thx for the video. Today I unboxed my brand new Katana-50 and I would have been crushed if said Fender amp was better. Also, I just realized that your main guitar is the same as mine, a Fender MIM Classic series 60’s reissue. Except mine is in Canary Diamond with a mint green scratchplate. I’ve had a difficult time getting mine set up correctly and even spent a substantial amount of money getting overpriced set-ups that weren’t correct. Can you please do a video on Fender set-ups or please share your measurements? That would truly be amazing...

[@LarryLido]

I just realized the oddness of asking for “your measurements”...

[@thedavesimpson]

I shall indeed get a video done for you on that. Give me a bit and I'll get there. Thank you for watching. :)

[@elijahs4785]

I have the champion 40 It’s a great amp if you’re on a budget

[@1951kbz]

I bought one a month or so ago and sent it back in two days. I thought the reverb was defective. Turns out the second one sounded just as bad.. Sent it back as well. Didn't care much for the looks of it either. Much prefer my Katana 50.

[@gerardmariano2556]

Dave what camera are you using?

[@thedavesimpson]

I am using the Zoom Q8. : )

[@gerardmariano2556]

@@thedavesimpson thanks Dave. I'll check that out. :)

[@vocalist-qw9lj]

there is an octover effect in there Dave but i never heard you play it!!!!!!!!!!

[@NiqScott]

Do you have kids? I've never heard you mention any, but I noticed the toys below the telly.

[@thedavesimpson]

I don;t have kids no. There for my Sisters Daughter when she comes over. : )

[@toneoverdrive]

Hmmmmmmm .... your not a "negative ninny" ...just saying how it makes you feel ..its lacking in something ..not sure what . maybe you will grow to like it ..or maybe not..great unboxing vid though ..thanks Dave.....rock on ....peace..

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you very much. :)

[@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040]

Good evening, obviously.

[@thedavesimpson]

And a good eve to you. : )

[@passenger128]

It looks very nice and cozy where you live (:

[@thedavesimpson]

It is indeed. Thank you. :

[@LauraSquirrel]

I applauded when I saw the manual. Ummmm.....they didn't give you a power cord??? What the hell???

[@thedavesimpson]

Me to. I was very happy. They did not and I'm not impressed by that at all. Silly Fender. : )

[@laurencewaring8039]

How did Len get his/her name?

[@thedavesimpson]

From the Tv Show Father Ted. He's named after Bishop Len Brennan. He has a fear of rabbits. : )

[@drmojo99]

Mine came with reverb, too bad yours didn't.

[@jimi4405]

drmojo99 😂😂

[@jltrem]

Two reviews from Sweetwater Sound- I want to give this amp a higher rating, but I love reverb when I play and the fact that there is never ending white noise when playing with reverb on this makes it difficult to rate any higher. There weren't any review on this when I originally bought it, but had I known about the reverb issue I would have looked elsewhere. Everything else about the amp is great. This amp has wonderful cleans, nice crunch and beautiful effects. The reverb is just awful and what's the point of a modeling amp if you still need to buy pedals? I really liked the clean channel for home practice but as another reviewer said something is wrong with the reverb. I don"t remember it sounding bad when I first played it but now it"s like a white noise static sound and literally goes on forever until you turn the effect off. I thought maybe it was just mine but it looks like other people are having the same issue. Surely they didn"t design it too sound that way.

[@bluwng]

jltrem if a digital processing amp, most likely a software update can fix.

[@MrDblStop]

Oh dear. This would be a deal breaker. I hope bluwng's suggestion that a software update might fix it turns out to be the answer. No other settings that can be tweaked?

[@misterknightowlandco]

Whats a kettle lead? You have to plug in your tea pot? Lol love british slang even if i dont get half of it

[@SwooopieShark]

In the UK, they don't use the same power outlet as us

[@misterknightowlandco]

@@SwooopieShark and? I asked what a kettle lead was. Not whether they use the same power as us or not. So a kettle lead is what we call the plug?

[@Spartanm333]

@@misterknightowlandco it's a British plug (for the wall outlet) to a standard output form that is used mostly on... kettles. Hence the slang for anything that uses one. Weirdly, even an Apple Mac (British version at least) uses a kettle lead. Amps use them, and anything that is portable and needs a bit of juice. Here you go... bit.ly/2HsXktY

[@misterknightowlandco]

@@Spartanm333 now that makes sense. Thank you.

[@areyouavinalaff]

a kettle lead is called a kettle lead because one end fits in a kettle... it also fits every other electrical appliance like TV, monitor, PC power source unit, printers, and amplifiers. because kettles draw the most power of those appliances in general, it;s safe to say, that, if you need a lead for any of those other appliances, you can take one from a kettle and it'll work fine.

[@areyouavinalaff]

1:22 the gap was for you to say "here's Davy" in a Jack Nicholson manner.

[@thedavesimpson]

Burgers. Missed that opportunity. : )

[@areyouavinalaff]

@@thedavesimpson there's still time.

[@bluwng]

Katana is at a higher level, it’s like comparing a filet mignon vs an apple.

[@mikemikemike701]

My cat hisses at me

[@beau-2222]

Len doesn't even know he's famous.

[@thedavesimpson]

That he does not and I'd be afraid of what he'd be like if he knew. hahahaha. : )

[@krauz111]

clean and crunch are ok, compare those to katana

[@thedavesimpson]

Shall do. : )

[@niq0las247]

Anybody else notice the jimi hendrix picture on the back of his headstock?

[@thedavesimpson]

:)

[@robotx4242]

With Fender these smaller amps just don't seem to deliver outside of great clean tones. Everything else seems hard to get to or nonexistent.

[@chrisjeneson5091]

It won´t take you long to read the manual Dave!

[@thedavesimpson]

Indeed. : )

[@acousticshadow4032]

Dave, I have watched you open a few boxes in the last week or so, and cringe every time I see you plunge a blade down the center seam. Please take my friendly advice, and make shallow slices along the two SIDES, first. Then lift the center up, to make a pup-tent/triangle, and slice down the center. This way, you don't cut something up - like a leather amp handle, etc. It's the way to open most any box/carton, etc. Trust me on this one, brother. I spent an entire career massaging cardboard.

[@thatpeterboy]

I had the smaller champ 20 the clean was great but the other settings were truly awful...and the hiss..yep made me sell the amp

[@LauraSquirrel]

Yeah, I had one of those back in the day. I hated that thing. So, I blew it up, intentionally. Something that I wouldn't do now. I was in a different state of mind back then.

[@dinosaursdoingtherobot850]

All digital reverbs sound like that

[@BollocksUtwat]

I feel like the reverbs, all three of them, on my Vibro Champ XD don't sound like that. No regenerating thing going on.

[@michaelshepherd1072]

A hardcopy manual, yessssss.......! Amp sucks, noooooo........! Nice rabbit. Bye Joe.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you. : )

[@alindstroms]

And a cheesy little amp With a sign on the front said "Fender Champ" And a second hand guitar It was a Stratocaster with a whammy bar Baumdadumbaumdadumbaumadum

[@chaddickerson1887]

I felt that way when I heard Rabea play it. Sounded aluminum and whiny to me. I have the Kat 50, and I was even more pleased with my amp after hearing "the latest greatest."

[@Doug5524]

Dave don't you ever apologise for telling the truth, and when companies try to get the most profit out of an item and make it cheap this is where it all goes wrong, pay another £30 to £50 and make it with better components, companies today put in cheap speakers as well ,please do not think that I don't like Fender I do I have two amps Fender blues Junior a Fender Deluxe Reverb and three electric Guitars by Fender USA and they are great instruments and amps but at £173.00 you can't expect much I would sooner save up and get a better quality product.

[@thedavesimpson]

Thank you for watching. : )

[@kealanzeeb330]

Bunny

[@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040]

I hate hissing amps. One wonders what they put in them that they do hiss and yet any of their siblings do not.

[@TheMetalgod100]

It's not even close to the boss katana

[@thedavesimpson]

I agree. : )

[@dinosaursdoingtherobot850]

Man I don't know what it is maybe you got lucky and got a good one maybe this amp is hit or miss from China but I have just looked at all the KZbin reviews and most of them sound like shit and the other half pretty good but the way yours sound in these clips blows them away

[@Rayzaa101]

Actually looking at a couple of videos of this and vs the Katana 50, this one is better.... Until you turn them both up all the way. Then the Katana 50 blows this one away. Wish this one had USB input to use the fuse software.

[@akaboo69]

Get a Marshall valvestate vs100 I promise you'll love it

[@thedavesimpson]

I did have one but sadly had to sell it. I know what you mean. They are awesome amps. :)

[@shadowsong1]

as far as i know....the katana is the same price.

[@paulmullins8425]

Only word l can think of is shoddy

[@bigsuthernman]

rabbit

[@fredericthom8113]

i don t know if i am stone or not , but your cat are strange ...

[@10brucelees]

sounds poor

[@rudemooddudehamburg]

Wtf is that a haircut?

[@thedavesimpson]

A mess. :)

[@josearqco]

I don't like that hiss sound!!, not my cup of tea.