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Post subject: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:11 am
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Just bought a Champion 100 to keep up with other band members and be able to play out - seemed like a good choice for my budget given the good reviews I read online. It replaced a tube-based 5 watt Epiphone Valve Special with 10 inch speaker that sounded good for bedroom practice but was just too underpowered. It in turn was connected to a Digitech RP350, which I used to dial in tones. I am essentially new to using a knob based amp for the most part and so could use some tips from users on what settings to use for the various EQ knobs, gain settings, voice knob settings and effect knob settings. We are playing a variety of songs from blues to classic rock.


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:54 am
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Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:21 pm
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At one time I owned a Fender Rock Pro 1000. Basically a solid state 100 W amp with a Twin Reverb sound, plus a 12AX7 preamp tube for some distortion in Channel 2. The Champion 100 appears to be similar except for the preamp tube. Instead it has a voicing knob in the second channel and some built-in effects. There appears to be no digital computer or memory storage capability in this amp. It looks to be strictly analog and knob-based. Having said all this, I haven't played through a Champion amp, but having known Fender products for about 50 years, I'm confident you've bought a great amp.
The best advice I can give you is that you simply plug your guitar into the amp without using the RP350 and noodle with the tone controls, the built-in effects, and play some of the songs that your band will be playing. The amp appears to have enough flexibility built in to find some great sounds.
IF your repertoire is large enough that you have more than two settings (one for the clean "Twin" channel and one for the "Voice" channel) then you will need to take notes (and perhaps build a spreadsheet) for each song or genre as to the best settings and just be prepared to adjust knobs between songs or sets or however the band sets up your repertoire. Good luck and have fun!


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:31 am
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Thanks for your reply, your comment about the other amp with a preamp tube does lead me to wonder if there might be some kind of tube pedal that might add a bit of tube flavor to "sweeten" up the sound even more since it is a SS amp, any ideas there? It sounds pretty good for a solid state so far though, pretty warm considering. My last amp was an inexpensive tube amp so I was a bit concerned about a harsh sound (I had an old Roland SS amp a long, long time ago that sounded pretty awful) since the store I bought it from didn't have one out on the display floor to test out. I had researched reviews on sites like Musician's Friend, Amazon, Guitar Center, etc. and most of them were positive so I just took a chance. So far a pleasant surprise.


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 10:50 am
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You know anyone with a Tube Screamer pedal you could try out?


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:17 am
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I know someone with one of those. I always thought they were an analog pedal though - just meant to boost tube amps. I didn't realize the pedal itself had a tube in it. Thanks! Will try that.


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:02 pm
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Tube Screamers don't have a real vacuum tube in them, but they do sound pretty good. But what they are REALLY good at is driving the front end of a real tube amp, ala Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc. For $200 you could buy a Mustang Floor which can model many classic amps very well. I had one for a couple of years and when I suspected that Fender would be coming out with a Floor V2, I donated mine to my church worship team. More than a year and a half later Fender still has not come out with the Mustang Floor V2. So, in July I back-ordered a replacement Mustang Floor. GC said they just received another shipment and mine will be on its way by Wed. of this week. I use it to drive a real Twin Reverb Reissue and a real Deluxe Reverb Reissue, and also at church directly into the PA. But I also have two Mustang III V2's and a Mustang I V2. What is cool about the Mustang series is that you can afford to "own" all of the classic tube amps that they digitally model PLUS all of the famous effects that they digitally model without actually having to spend $100,000 to buy 'em all :)


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:54 pm
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:58 am
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I remember an old guitar processor model from Digitech that did have an actual 12ax7 preamp tube in it. I think it was an RP-100 perhaps? Surely some pedal has a similar real tube in it?


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:59 pm
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Professional Musician
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Vox Tone Lab has a tube.

http://www.amazon.com/Vox-ToneLab-Guita ... B0027I28E4

This is one example.


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 9:44 pm
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Rock Star
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Location: ohio
I believe the zoom g5 processor has a tube in it


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 1:45 pm
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You don't need all that crap. Plug in and try it out. If you must blow some additional money, a speaker change could help this amp.


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Post subject: Re: New Champion 100 owner seeking tips
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 7:59 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:49 am
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Wayne2 wrote:
You don't need all that crap. Plug in and try it out. If you must blow some additional money, a speaker change could help this amp.

Exactly, Give the amp a good workout & experiment w/the knobs before you start throwing your $$ around. For such a cheap amp I prolly wouldn't even change the speakers unless I already decided it's a keeper. I might put a compressor in front of it just to thicken the tone a bit but that's just because I like compressors.


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