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Post subject: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 8:16 pm
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I'm currently looking for a new amp and I read that Fender amps usually take effect pedals quite well. As I want something I can use my pedals with, I started looking into different Fender SS amps. I came across the Champion 100. First of all, I love its simplicity. In contrast, the Mustang is loaded with features, most of which I won't use any way. Secondly, with 2 whopping 12" speakers, I'm pretty sure I can use it as a practice amp at home but also for small gigs and band practice.

My question is: does anyone own one? And will this be a good choice for what I intend to use it for?

Ps: my main type of music is 90s rock/grunge and a bit of (modern) metal. Think Nirvana, Silverchair and the likes. I need an amp that will sound nice and clean but put a Fuzz/distortion pedal in front of it and it should be able to handle the dirt too. I play a Fender MIA strat and a Squier Venus (it's got a single pup and a bucker).


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 9:08 pm
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I owned one briefly. It sounded quite good both at low and high volume. The cleans in particular is what I was looking for and enjoyed, but those may not be what you need for your styles. It was an easy to use amp out of the box with no learning curve, unlike the Mustang line.

Mine developed a nasty crackle after a few short days and I ended up with a Mustang IV V2, which I played for several years.

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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 11:31 am
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Archtop Bill wrote:
I owned one briefly. It sounded quite good both at low and high volume. The cleans in particular is what I was looking for and enjoyed, but those may not be what you need for your styles. It was an easy to use amp out of the box with no learning curve, unlike the Mustang line.

Mine developed a nasty crackle after a few short days and I ended up with a Mustang IV V2, which I played for several years.


Thanks for the info.

If I may ask you some questions:
Did you try using it with pedals? Really interested in finding out if it plays well with different pedals.

What about the Mustang? Sound wise, is the clean channel equal or better? And what about using it with pedals?


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 9:07 pm
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I do not use pedals and really do not know how well the C100 takes them. The Mustang has a number of pedal emulation built in that can be dialed in either through the knobs or better yet through Fuse. C100 has some pedal emulations, but they are less versatile.

The Mustang's 65Twin model is quite good. This is the clean model I would use more often than not. The C100 clean was pretty good if not equal.

The Mustang not only uses Fuse and can be backed up, but you can record out through the USB using Ableton that comes bundled with the Mustangs. Fuse and the USB is what truly separates the Mustang line with the Champion line.

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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:56 am
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Archtop Bill wrote:
Fuse and the USB is what truly separates the Mustang line with the Champion line.


Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!
So clean channel-wise they're both good.

However reading more on the Mustangs I realized that the Mustangs come equipped with a Celestion speaker. I don't know much about speakers, but isn't that an upgrade to the stock Fender Specials in the C100? Which begs the question: why did Fender choose to use a non-Fender speaker in this line of amps?


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 6:13 am
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I own a Champion 100. Its a fine amp. I think it will handle all the effect pedals you have, no problem. Glad I got one. Its a good sounding amp.

I was using a combination of onboard effects with additional effects thru the effects loop. I hope you can dial in the tones you need.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:18 pm
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Channel 1 provides a clean tone based on Fender Blackface amplfiers such as the Twin Reverb amp.

from the manual. Thats why I think the pedals work well.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:52 pm
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jackhammer wrote:
Channel 1 provides a clean tone based on Fender Blackface amplfiers such as the Twin Reverb amp.

from the manual. Thats why I think the pedals work well.


A great amp for pedals, I read! The Champion is truly sounding like the type of amp I'm looking for... But, overall, the Mustang gets much better reviews. I just wonder if this is mainly because it's packed with a heap of effects etc or it's because it truly sounds better?

I'm even more confused now! :? What's even worse is I can't test neither of them out as the local music store doesn't carry them.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone own a Fender Champion (100)?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 9:02 pm
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At least the Mustang V2's have pretty good reliability records. They are getting a little stale in that there have no updates to their firmware nor updates to Fuse in a couple years.

I think either an MIII V 2, MIV V2 or C100 should serve you well. Hang on to your sales receipt to insure you have access to the five year warranty if you need it.

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