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Post subject: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:12 pm
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So I'm a VOX guy (let's just get that out there) but my VOX AC30 is in the shop getting new tubes and I borrowed a friend's Fender Super Champ XD. This amp really rocks for a $300 amp. Does Fender make a slightly larger version of this amp? I just used the clean channel and don't need all that DSP stuff. Is this amp really a pure tube amp? I see where it has 1 12ax7 and 2 6v6.

I am very confused because I feel like selling my very expensive AC30cc2x and buying this $300 15 watt 10 inch hybrid.

Should I become a Fender guy? If so, any recs on an amp that sounds like the Fender Super Champ XD but is maybe just a single channel 15 watter with 6v6's and a 12 inch?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:06 pm
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Yes, you should become a Fender guy! Welcome to the forum. The Super Champ XD is a nice little combo but it is not a pure tube amp. The voices and effects are digital. Some sound pretty good and others not so much. The SCXD is part of the "Vintage Modified" series and the next larger amp in that group is the Deluxe VM which is 40W with a 12" speaker. Some refer to these amps as vintage molested for their lack of pure tube design, and I'll admit I too prefer the original formula. However for a lower priced amp they are pretty decent in my opinion.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:15 pm
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What if you're running through the clean channel (doesn't have all those voicings associated with channel 2), is it pure tube then assuming it bypasses all those digital artifacts?

What about the Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb - 1x12, 22 watts, 6v6s? Well that give me the Super Champ sound in a slightly large wattage with pure tube?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:38 pm
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+1 for going fender.

The DRRI will also be a bigger sound with a 12" speaker, tube rectifier, and great tube driven reverb. Another option is the Princeton Reverb reissue: similar to the Deluxe Reverb but with a 10" speaker and 15 watts But for $100 more the Deluxe Reverb reissue would be a better value.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:42 pm
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The Deluxe Reverb is the all time Fender blackface amp. Great tone and if you like the clean channel on the SCXD you'll love the DR. It is the Fender sound. While the SCXD is a good amp, it isn't inthe same class as the Deluxe Reverb. My understanding is that even the clean channel on the SCXD is digital. Don't let that keep you from buying it if you like it though. The SCXD has many fans and is a good amp but it isn't in the same league as a Deluxe Reverb. If you check around you can find good used reissues which are known on the forum as the DRRI for somewhere around $600. Good luck.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:33 pm
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l88vette wrote:
The Deluxe Reverb is the all time Fender blackface amp. Great tone and if you like the clean channel on the SCXD you'll love the DR. It is the Fender sound. While the SCXD is a good amp, it isn't inthe same class as the Deluxe Reverb. My understanding is that even the clean channel on the SCXD is digital. Don't let that keep you from buying it if you like it though. The SCXD has many fans and is a good amp but it isn't in the same league as a Deluxe Reverb. If you check around you can find good used reissues which are known on the forum as the DRRI for somewhere around $600. Good luck.


+1!

The DRRI fans are legion, and with good reason. If there were ever a "jack of all trades" Fender tube amp, that's the one.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:20 am
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Already started my search - I think it's really going to come down to either the PRRI or the DRRI (got some guy trying to get me in the Supersonic 22, not sure about that amp) but my only concern is the speaker size - 10 inch vs 12 inch. How much of an affect did that have on my sound when I played through the SCXD? I've always played through 12 inch speakers. I'd hate to get the DRRI and realize the 10 inch speaker played a giant part.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:06 am
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Just one question. Why sell the AC30?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:53 pm
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Can't afford both :(

I played a PRRI, a new Blues Jr and a Vibrolux Reverb today. I'm really starting to like the 10 inch speaker. The PRRI was my least favorite with the Vibrolux being my fav. The Blues Jr sounded great but I'm starting to realize the 10 inch potential to cut through a mix. The Vibrolux was LOUD but I use pedals for everything so I just need clean headroom. I hope to play a DRRI soon but I'm really sold on the 10 inch speaker.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:52 pm
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Another question... which fender amps being made now will have the closest sound to the brownface?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:46 am
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Vidarr wrote:
Another question... which fender amps being made now will have the closest sound to the brownface?


I'd suggest the CVR would fit into that territory, at least the one I had struck me as a kind of cross between a Tweed and a Blackface.

Snowy


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:05 am
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The closest amp in FMIC's recent history to come close to a true brownface tone was the now-discontinued '63 Vibroverb re-issue. The cathode-follower tone stack was nearly identical to the original 6G16 design and the repro ceramic speakers did a passable emulation of the vintage 10K5-1 Oxfords. The only real deviation from Leo's original layout was the change from a tube rectifier to a solid-state diode stack.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:55 am
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No457 Snowy wrote:
Vidarr wrote:
Another question... which fender amps being made now will have the closest sound to the brownface?


I'd suggest the CVR would fit into that territory, at least the one I had struck me as a kind of cross between a Tweed and a Blackface.

Snowy


I'm really only concerned about the slight "ice pick" sound coming from the PRRI and the CVR. From what I've read, the brownface is warmer. What did you mean by a cross between a Tweed and Blackface? Is that essentially the brownface sound? The CVR was the best but I felt like as I increased the volume it didn't warmer up as much as it did become brittle (that could be my lack of experience with the Fender tone stack too).


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:41 pm
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Vidarr wrote:
No457 Snowy wrote:
Vidarr wrote:
Another question... which fender amps being made now will have the closest sound to the brownface?


I'd suggest the CVR would fit into that territory, at least the one I had struck me as a kind of cross between a Tweed and a Blackface.

Snowy


I'm really only concerned about the slight "ice pick" sound coming from the PRRI and the CVR. From what I've read, the brownface is warmer. What did you mean by a cross between a Tweed and Blackface? Is that essentially the brownface sound? The CVR was the best but I felt like as I increased the volume it didn't warmer up as much as it did become brittle (that could be my lack of experience with the Fender tone stack too).


The description "cross between a Tweed and a Blackface" was the best way I could describe what I heard from my CVR. It definitely had a dose of Blackface vibe in there, as well as the cosmetics, but the Tweed vibe was coming through as well, with an early break up and there seemed to be a slight "furryness" around the notes even at lower volumes. It sounded a bit like a more polite Tweed, tighter bass, a little bit more headroom and a little less midrange.

In my simpleton mind I think of that as a Brownface type sound, where Fender was evolving the Tweed amps into the ultimate Fender tone of the Blackface (think Deluxe Reverb), trying to clean up that nasty distortion, tighten the bass and reduced midrange.

I guess my description is crappy but it's just the feel I got from the amp, kind of like Fender had wrapped it in the wrong cosmetics.

Snowy


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Post subject: Re: Fender Super Champ XD
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:33 am
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Your description is fine, Snowy. I appreciate all the help.

So I played the through Super Champ XD again last night in the studio and wow, such a great sound, very warm on the high end without that ice pick feel I've been getting.

So I really think the 10 inch speakers have a lot to do with the sound - punchy, tight, cuts through the mix, stays out of the bass range and good for the country alt I'm doing. But I also want to get an amp that's versatile. I haven't played the DRRI yet and I'm thinking it may have the sound I'm looking for. Would it be crazy to get the DRRI and then get a 2x10 cab rated at 8 ohms and run it through the cab? I'd have a 12 inch when needed and the 10 inch sound I want.


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