What's That Noise? FENDER CHAMPION 600 My 5 Watt Secret!

First video of my new Series 'What's That Noise?'

[@warrendreher9316]

Nice to hear someone who concentrates on tone and phrasing, not high speed and gnat notes. Great review. I may have to get one of these amps. Thanks.

[@AroldoLuvisottoNeto]

Now this is how a demo should be done. Thanks for taking the time to share this video with us.

[@drewtobias4923]

Thank-you for watching! More coming soon!

[@FrankNStein-cp6qm]

I found one a few yrs back for $75.. I swapped out the speaker with an 8" Alnico robbed from an old Hammond organ.. it barely fit, but what a significant mod.. I also used the old vintage grill cloth.. oh yeah....... 😳

[@andredegiant3876]

Going on forums, everyone and their mom seems to be modding these. But online, it’s hard to find videos with a modded version, and in the few comparison videos there are, I vastly prefer the stock version. Sometimes mods can completely rob an amp of its unique charm and character, killer sounds and playing btw 🤘

[@merwinjm]

Like most KZbin videos, the sounds presented rely heavily on other effects, and this video is no exception. He uses a $180 reverb pedal and $400 (used) over drive on a $200 amp. I modded my Champion 600 several years ago. A video showing the before/after would be a snoozer - especially without adding effects like OP did. The changes I made were an attempt at getting it to be the best version of the amp it is ( essentially a "blackface" A763 Champ with hard wired tone controls and solid state rectifier). The main mods being a new speaker (huge difference), new tubes (better but not earth shattering) and some mods to the power supply to make up for the solid state rectification (HexFreds) and to quiet her down - she's now studio quality quiet. It's interesting that some want to turn it into a tweed 5F1 or a baby Marshall. If you've already got a backface champ, then have at it. It's a lot of fun for not too much money.

[@danielballs2760]

Finally a video about one of these amps where it's not modded to hell and back great video

[@joserra79]

In my opinion...some minor mods are just necessary. The original baffle cloth is like covering the speaker with a grandma´s blanket. The stock tubes are just microphonic crap. Everything else is pretty decent and the amp sounds very nice.

[@auntjenifer7774]

Dude, this amp in this video is modded way way way past anything others have done with this amp. This amp is modded with a tremolo some how because the pilot light was fluttering like a tremolo tube amp does, though he's saying he's using a pedal the pilot light was still flutter so IDK 🤷

[@drewtobias4923]

@@auntjenifer7774 the fluttering light is because of the frame rate on my camera!

[@marcospintor1333]

My buddy has this amp and had me play through it. He hyped it up and was skeptical because of how small it was. After playing it, I got jealous but I’m happy to say I’m an owner of one now lol

[@opus1952]

I bought one of these Champs, mainly for the simplicity. The only pedals I have are my Boss tuner and my Boss reverb and I'm made up with it all. You play great by the way. 😎👍🎸

[@drewtobias4923]

That’s great to hear! It’s always important to Inspire yourself to play! Thank you for watching 🤘🏼

[@alanstrainor]

Gorgeous playing and great video. I have had my Fender Champion 600 for 14 years now, but haven't used it in a long while. I modded mine with an upgraded speaker and tubes which made a huge difference, but I'm a reverb addict so tended not to use it. Must pick up a reverb and get this bad boy back out.

[@merwinjm]

The nice thing about the Champion 600 is it take effects in front of the amp well. No need for an effects loop when running a delay or reverb. I've got a $50 Sonicake Ambience reverb / delay pedal that sounds great on my little amp (it sounds great on the big ones too).

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

Upgraded with a Jensen speaker and good tubes make this a killer small amp. Very nice Strat.

[@bradnelson2637]

I have one…I put new JJ tubes and a 6” Jensen MOD speaker in it……really brings it to life…

[@TomClarkSouthLondon]

So now it is NOT the same amp😟

[@gouvernor]

I think I bought of of these in the early 00s. Pulled it out recently, replaced the tubes and now my kid is learning to play on it. Sounds great in the video. I think i'm going to put some time on it and try it with a Mythos Golden Fleece as a single pedal setup.

[@drewtobias4923]

Sounds like a good plan there!

[@dankobutorac3533]

If all the reviewers were more about playing and less gear talk, I'd watch more reviews. Love this.

[@lucasdan09]

A pleasure watch this video! Greetings from Argentina!

[@HeyjAjSayJ]

This is a great pedal platform in its stock form. Modding it to try to make it sound like a 50s original is futile. 6.5" speaker, no master volume, no valve rectification means you'll have a hard time getting a nice tone without pedals.

[@cgavin1]

I'm not disagreeing with you re: the way this circuit sounds stock. But. Speaker size is fine (for practicing). I'd put a Weber alnico in there. Its easy and cheap to build an L-Pad for $40 (search KZbin for tone twins attenuator) to control the volume. I mount mine inside the cabinet with wood screws. Re: tube rectifier, believe it or not, valve rectifier in single ended amps makes no difference to the tone whatsoever. There is no "sag" in a single ended 5w amp. Therefore there is no benefit whatsoever to using a tube. Just another expense and point of failure. Diodes will last forever and be 100% consistent until the sun burns out. The only reason they used a 5Y3 tube in the original was because suitable diodes didn't exist until the 1960's. Believe me, if Leo had access to 1N4007 diodes he would have used them. No question. Using diodes allows for more filtration, which tightens it up a lot; which is a major problem with these prone-to-farty amps. Finally, these sound great with a tube screamer in to a 12" extension (search KZbin for Arrigo Martelli Fender Champion 600). One thing I do agree on is that this champ circuit sucks.. it was never designed to go through a 6" speaker. Good news is that its about $30 in parts to convert it to a hand wired tweed 5F1 circuit though. I see these go used for

[@antonymcewan9987]

That is some sweet tone!

[@christovammatheus5208]

Cheers mate. Cool video. 👍🏻🍻

[@merwinjm]

Nice video and I love my Champion 600, but you've got an effects stack that is double the price of the amp. The secret of the Champion 600 is that under the hood, it's basically a blackface (A763) champ.

[@jordonmartin760]

Hey, nice playing and tones.

[@drewtobias4923]

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the video! 🤘🏼

[@robertruamps5680]

Great review and demo, you should do more like this.

[@drewtobias4923]

I have been thinking lately to do more…. I feel like everything has been done on KZbin on guitars lately… but thank-you for watching!

[@robertruamps5680]

It's true, everything has already been done about guitars and stuff but however it's the way YOU do it that changes everything ;)

[@drewtobias4923]

@@robertruamps5680 😂 the sweetest thing I’ve heard all day! I’ll work on something 🤘🏼

[@jonhollinsworth8785]

Nice video, enjoyed your playing. Been thinking of getting this amp as it’s super simple instead of having a million options of my katana.

[@drewtobias4923]

Glad you enjoyed it! If you have pedals it can be lots of fun! Seriously reverb makes a huge difference!

[@jackgriffithsmusic]

Nice work Drew! Your vibrato is killer 👌

[@drewtobias4923]

Too kind! 🤟🏼

[@rafaeldiasms]

Reminds me of Clapton’s vibrato

[@updem]

I honestly love my little champ, it died on me due to a poorly grounded outlet, need to see if I can get it fixed.

[@franciscoespinozaurrutia7645]

great demo ....thanks

[@killnoni5032]

But hey, how did you record this brilliant piece of review that made me instantly subbed! Also you're the responsible if this little monster is still sellin around!

[@drewtobias4923]

Love this comment! made me smile. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Hopefully I'll do another video soon!

[@budgetbarista]

It might sound okay in the room but in this recording, it sounds dead and thin. Especially with the Paul, which should sound full and rich, the compression threshold is just too low to get a useable clean tone. No judgment at all to your playing - it was great, but I've heard better sounding solid state amps. With the jump in quality of digital units like Strymon's Irridium, UA's Ruby and the ToneX, I'm afraid cheaper low-wattage tube amps like this are becoming obsolete. I owned a 1967 Vibro Champ for a bit that was a pretty great sounding amp but Champs really excel at one thing - dimed overdrive for recording.

[@journeyquest1]

I put Tung Sol tubes and an 8 Weber ceramic speaker. Much better.

[@drewtobias4923]

Oh really!? I’ll have to look into that! Cheers for the comment 🤟🏼

[@franciscojavierherreraespi9359]

Hy, i got The champion, genuine amp and Great,. How do you put The 8 weber. I would like how to do, thanks

[@joserra79]

@@franciscojavierherreraespi9359 Custom bigger cabinet, no other options available.

[@davidlalremruata]

How do they fit all the tubes in there?!!?😅🎵🎸👍

[@auntjenifer7774]

All the tubes !? These have 2 tubes😜

[@alexlykos18]

Hey, cool video! What's your signal chain for recording? Which mic-preamp? Thanks!

[@drewtobias4923]

I’m using a Shure SM7B mic into a focusrite scarlett 2i2 audio interface and recording on Logic Pro X. Thanks for watching! 🤘🏼

[@marcmistermarc]

That is a lovely Strat - what model is it?

[@drewtobias4923]

It’s a 57 Fender custom shop (Journeyman relic) And the colour is Candy Tangerine!

[@sylvainpero9645]

Did you put it round 10 cause there's too much background noise. I have a champion 600 and there's a bit background noise, I'm trying to fix this.

[@sylvainpero9645]

I've found how to stop the noise on my champion 600. I bought a Behringer hum destroyer and it works good.

[@TroopyJohn]

yo this dudes sick. pump out some more vids

[@jroobz]

subbed!

[@igordemoraeslenzi]

Hey! Great review! Quick question: are they noisy? Because yours sounds great!

[@drewtobias4923]

Hello! If you mean Noisy as in like a buzzing noise before you play, then that tends to be earthing with your pickups. Single coil pickups genuinely are more prone to buzz than humbuckers. Humbuckers (Buck The Hum) But if you mean Loud then the Champ is good for practice and recording or a jam with a friend. It's not ideal in a band situation. the drums would be too overpowering! Thanks for watching! Hope this helps!

[@donnaadams6855]

Hi would this amp be good for me to use at home as I only want a clean sound and low volume because of neighbours , I live in a block of flats?

[@drewtobias4923]

Hello! All flats are different so it’s hard to say…. It might be worth looking into something like the Boss Waza- Air headphones which are around the £300 mark. There brilliant for playing in solan e at home! They are about £50 more than the fender champ amp! But might be well worth it!

[@alectait2593]

I played this in a flat with noise-conscious neighbours. Its not very loud but the sounds breaks up at low volumes bcuz of this. Had it on about 7/8 when in the room and no complaints from nextdoor

[@merwinjm]

Running clean, this amp, or frankly any tube amp is fine for apartment or bedroom use. The challenge is when you try to run the amp harder, getting it to distort naturally. Even the 4W champ, run that way, can be too loud for apartment use. The solution is a distortion pedal.

[@AqworldsAuildere]

Great demo! Does it feel boxy, a thing that small amps are known for??

[@drewtobias4923]

I would say yes when the volume is on 10! But I would fully recommend a reverb pedal. Game changer! Thanks for watching 🤘🏼

[@HeyjAjSayJ]

Changing the grill cloth to a more open thread fabric helps a lot. Also removing the back panel if you're playing clean.

[@davidlalremruata]

The site I was gonna buy it from uodated their inventory n this amp was no longer there. I so very very badly wanted it.

[@davidgordon7673]

There are always a bunch for sale on reverb dot com. I got a used one there and I love it.

[@NDWoj]

Thinking about one of these...what's your opinion on swapping the grill cloth?

[@bobbillers8331]

I did. Found a supplier who had normal Fender cloth, changed to an 8" speaker and also took the upgrade wiring from the guy who sells on eBay. Gives a standby switch and also a 2w mode. Best thing I ever did. Oh, and I changed to decent valves too .It sounds awesome and the guitar players in my band love it. ) I play bass ! ) The new cloth looks great and does not dull the high end. It's a bit of a challenge with the speaker as you have to move the transformer a bit but easy really, nothing beyond a competent DIY person who knows how to use a soldering iron.

[@HeyjAjSayJ]

It's a must. The stock grill cloth is so tightly knit (whatever fabric it is) that you can't blow/breathe through it, imagine those poor soundwaves.

[@KESTER1]

Is this a Tube-Amp?

[@drewtobias4923]

Yes indeed! In England we call them Valves!