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Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:00 pm
by I _ATE_NewJersey
Looks like Fender has reissued the Champion 600 again, for those of you who, like me, missed them before. I picked one up this past Monday for only $150. I thought maybe it was NOS but the manufacture date on mine is August of this year, with a sticker on the outside of the box that says to not sell before November 16th, 2014. Looks like Jaguars and Jazzmasters aren't the only things to get a soft release from Fender this Fall. They seem to be retailing all over the place now for $199.

You can be as thrilled or dismayed by this news as you like. All I can say is:

Let the modding begin!

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 1:23 pm
by shoule79
I liked mine after i swapped out the muffling grill cloth for something thinner and put in better tubes. I plan on doing some of the mods at some point. It sounds good with my tele and jazzmaster, but is a tad flatulent with my les paul and shrill with my jag.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:39 pm
by jdr1014
Very interesting and kinda odd.......not on Fender's website........but neither are the new Classic Series offsets :fp:.

I've got one from a few years ago and changed tubes and grill cloth like shoule 79 did. I also did the popular mod of changing stock speaker to an inexpensive Jensen
"Mod". but I honestly think the stock one isn't bad once broken in.

They are fun little amps and sound quite good with a few inexpensive changes. Just don't expect it to be a Tweed Bassman or 5E3 Deluxe :) !

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:03 pm
by I _ATE_NewJersey
Yeah, I don't know what Fender's marketing strategy, or lack of one, is this Fall what with how quiet they've been with the new offsets in the Classic series and now this amp re-reissue? ???

I think I'm gonna keep the stock speaker and grill cloth for now ( :? so plush! :? ). Running a jag through the hot channel with both the amp and guitar cranked does sound a bit harsh: kinduva combination of a distorted (but not in a good way), farty low-end with accompanying brittle highs. Otherwise it has sounds about as warm, full and Fendery as a 6 inch amp can be, especially when I drop a spring reverb in front of it. So, I'm gonna break it in and see what happens. I've seen the mods, like the Jensen MOD you mentioned JDR1014 and also the Weber, but I'm not sure what I'd switch to just yet.

The stock tubes in mine are Shuguang. I'm gonna leave them in for now and swap them out when I get bored. I guess I'll get a set of JJs, or maybe TungSol. Idunno? I need to watch some of the youtube and see/hear how the different tubes sound in them.

Either way, my new Champion 600 feels like a win for me after passing these up the last time, and then missing the Excelsior.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:17 pm
by shoule79
A new grill can look pretty good.

Image

I had some leftover ac30 diamond grill on there for awhile too, but ended up liking the look of the blue.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:16 pm
by boomlights
GC was blowing these out as their doorbusters on Black Friday, and the day before I saw one location with stacks & stacks of them, but today: all gone! I had figured it was a dead stock deal, but I suppose not.

Weirder still: the Gretsch G5222, which is almost the identical amp price-point & otherwise, was still in stock right before Thanksgiving via a few e-tailers (always the tube amp I pointed out to people for under $200, as it was quietly, but still readily, available), but today: all gone! EDIT: It's now on pre-order at several places!

I guess the $399 & up models just weren't catching on (though they all did look.........interesting :squint: ).

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:58 am
by furtherpale
started life as the (identical... all internals were branded fender) gretsch equivilant.... which just had a yellow tweed cloth cover instead

Image

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:30 pm
by jdr1014
I'm still surprised at the availability of these again...........wonder if they are "old stock" from Fender?

The Gretsch G5222 has the same internals, but aside from the obvious cosmetic differences also has a different back panel design.

@ I ate NJ: I think getting that speaker fully broken in is a good plan and once done, is a pretty good match for the amp. If you don't mind the volume "attenuation" from the stock heavy grill cloth, tube replacement is a good and inexpensive mod. I'd suggest Tung Sols for new manufacture tubes. IIRC the stock preamp tube on some of these comes out pretty hard - just be patient and carefully wiggle it in a slight circular fashion while applying pressure to pull it - it will come out eventually.

One other thing - some reported the stock grill cloth (if loose) could produce a "flapping" noise but mine didn't. Loose grill cloth can usually be "tightened" with a little heat from a hair dryer.

Enjoy!

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:46 pm
by Con-Tiki!
furtherpale wrote:started life as the (identical... all internals were branded fender) gretsch equivilant.... which just had a yellow tweed cloth cover instead

Image
Is that Tim's supro/5222 build?
Hmm, maybe not.

Anyway, he proved you could really build a cool amp out of one of those.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:57 pm
by furtherpale
Con-Tiki! wrote:
furtherpale wrote:started life as the (identical... all internals were branded fender) gretsch equivilant.... which just had a yellow tweed cloth cover instead

Image
Is that Tim's supro/5222 build?
Hmm, maybe not.

Anyway, he proved you could really build a cool amp out of one of those.

just an 8" weber, shellac and a fender keyring (i did the r19 lift... don't quote me on the number, but the one that removes the tone stack)... it's the perfect little "grab 'n' go" amp for jams etc

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:56 am
by I _ATE_NewJersey
Looks like these are back on sale for 150 American at Musician's Friend.

Shoule79, that blue cloth looks really cool! Still, I'm going to keep the stuffed-animal-hide grill cloth until I change out the speaker. If I change out the speaker.

jdr1014, I think I prefer the Tung Sol 6V6, too, since it should add more of a vintage tweed voice that I am looking for. And thanks for the bit of advice on pulling the tubes on this specific amp.

And furtherpale, that modded Gretsch looks amazing! I'm a sucker for shellacked tweed. Probably sounds good, too. ;)

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 3:24 pm
by shoule79
I _ATE_NewJersey wrote:Shoule79, that blue cloth looks really cool! Still, I'm going to keep the stuffed-animal-hide grill cloth until I change out the speaker. If I change out the speaker.
I think there is still some of the blue material left. If you ever want some just shoot me a PM.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:42 pm
by I _ATE_NewJersey
shoule79 wrote:
I _ATE_NewJersey wrote:Shoule79, that blue cloth looks really cool! Still, I'm going to keep the stuffed-animal-hide grill cloth until I change out the speaker. If I change out the speaker.
I think there is still some of the blue material left. If you ever want some just shoot me a PM.
Very cool of you, Shoule79!

I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:35 pm
by Booneja
I was actually about to post on here to see if anyone has ever modded one of these before and there was already a thread about the amp! I've had one for a while and can't say I'm crazy about the way the sound. Has anyone done the Mercury Magnetics mod? The videos I've seen with them sound real good but it's pricey for a $150 amp mod.

Re: Fender Champion 600 reissue reissue!?

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 7:28 pm
by furtherpale
I _ATE_NewJersey wrote:Looks like these are back on sale for 150 American at Musician's Friend.

Shoule79, that blue cloth looks really cool! Still, I'm going to keep the stuffed-animal-hide grill cloth until I change out the speaker. If I change out the speaker.

jdr1014, I think I prefer the Tung Sol 6V6, too, since it should add more of a vintage tweed voice that I am looking for. And thanks for the bit of advice on pulling the tubes on this specific amp.

And furtherpale, that modded Gretsch looks amazing! I'm a sucker for shellacked tweed. Probably sounds good, too.

ty....considering how little I have invested in it, and how light it is... it sounds amazing...