cheap fender amp rant

[harpspitfire]

just a rant while digging info on the web, i recently picked up a used fender champion 30dsp- looking for specs and reviews i found threads saying its the same circuit as the FM25, another saying its the same as the Frontman 25r, really, some mentioned the champion 40, really, i dont understand where this crap comes from- the FM 25 has voicings, along with the champion 40, honestly, ive owned the frontman 25r, while a decent practice amp, QC was garbage and alot were noisy, the champion 40 i bought new was sent back to GC, the case came damaged, with a discount i might of kept it, but wasnt thrilled with a boxey cold sound at that price, all these amps have different watts and speaker pn #'s with other things, now this champion 30dsp to me is a great little sounding practice amp- i like the 3 band eq in it, i wish my super champ XD was designed like this instead of that voicing nonsense, with the 3 band EQ and gain, i dial in any tone i want instead of fiddling thru amp mode numbers i cant even see

[Dadzmad]

I've got a 1999 thereabouts Champion 110 which has a paper sticker indicating MIM over the "made in USA" on the back plate. I believe this amp a the fore runner of your 30. IMHO these are great SS amps that are louder than they should be and turn down nicely. Easy to pack around when I go visiting. I also will run the level line out from my Trace Elliot acoustic amp into this one for a two amp stereo kind of thing.

Like anything else they were made to a price point. A few years ago I put a light 10" WGS Veteran speaker in it to get a snappier sound and replaced the cardboard tube spring reverb with a short body MOD 3 spring unit. Together about a $65 upgrade at the time. I've read about others putting a nice Eminence speaker in one of these but it seemed like an expensive upgrade to an inexpensive amp.

Although I've got a nice tube amp I use this one nearly every night while I am in the house during the winter. Sounds great clean at volumes low enough not to disturb "she who watches TV" downstairs.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by harpspitfire

... I've owned the Frontman 25r, while a decent practice amp, QC was garbage and a lot were noisy...

I'm very surprised - I worked with a guy who owned one (with a replacement Eminence speaker), seen/played a few others, and never encountered the problems you mention - but speaking as the (happy) owner of a final-run "blackface-Twin clone" Frontman 212R I'll be the first to agree with you that the current Champion SS combos are a step down from their predecessors...

[harpspitfire]

wasnt the sound of the 25r, it was decent enough, mine had excessive hum and buzz, i did look at a couple others, 2 actually and the same issue existed but not as bad, probably just my bad luck eh? it seems a majority of older 2/12 amps are good for live playing, i even had a heathkit 2-12 i was impressed with, i just have no use for a large amp these days playing in my family room for fun, if i was in the market these days, i wouldnt mind having a silvertone 1484 but re-tubed, capped, and 3 prong conversion

[roylor4]

If you still have the 25r, you can gut it, replace the speaker and add an input jack. That's what I did w/mine. It makes a great, low-cost cab and pairs fantastic with my Orange Micro Terror (fantastic little hybrid amp, BTW).