Trouble Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 Got tubes in from TubeDepot (man they are quick),powered it up in the bathroom (dark) looked okay so brought it in the living room and plugged H150 in. Played for a few minutes twisted all the knobs, treble knob is a little scratchy and volume seems a little stiff but everything works. Vibrato still works but I've never had a footswitch for it. I couldn't resist maxing it for a couple mins. I honestly forgot how good this little thing sounds! Now that I know it works I'm going to pull the chassis and do some cleaning, the outside was covered in house dust when I pulled it out of the closet so I'm sure the inside is too. I'm tickled to death should have never let this little gem sit idle for so long! I do have a couple questions, what is the best way to clean the pots, and is there a way I can find the exact build date? Here is the backstory for anyone who is interested. My Grandfather bought this amp new (not sure exactly when). He was a bass player at the time and thought he could use this amp to practice at home, which we all know is a no no. A week after he bought it the speaker was blown so he took it back and it was replaced under warranty but the dealer explained why not to play a bass through it. Since he couldn't use it for a practice amp it saw very little use for a long time. When I started playing guitar I was allowed to use it whenever I wanted but being a kid I didn't appreciate it much. (wasn't a Marshall Stack) When my grandfather died I still had the amp so I hung onto it more for sentiment than anything but I still really didn't appreciate it for what it was. In the early 90's my other grandfather gave my his super reverb that was in pretty bad shape. In the process of having it rebuilt I begin to find out just what I had with the little Champ. I began using it from time to time when playing at acoustic and living room volumes, but evenually lost the power tube while moving it around and it has been sitting in the closet every since. I gotta say, my two Grandfathers were immensely cool without eving knowing it, these old fender amps are two of my most prized possesions!
Gitfiddler Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 Hey Trouble, that was a great story. My very first amp was a Vibro Champ that my dad bought me new when I was 13. Amps and gear in general, given to us at a young age can be life changing and extremely sentimental. Enjoy your Champ reunion.
Trouble Posted June 9, 2011 Author Posted June 9, 2011 My first amp was a piece of crap, had a six inch speaker housed in a plastic cabinet, solid state and just loud enough to make the plastic rattle. I dont remember what brand. I had use of the Vibro Champ at the same time but anytime I played with anyone I would always try to borrow my grandfathers Randall bass amp, it wasn't a great amp for guitar but it was really loud, as a kid that seemed to be the most important thing!
Trouble Posted June 9, 2011 Author Posted June 9, 2011 While I had it apart to clean it I looked for a date and couldn't find one, there is a tag that says serial number but there is no number just a single letter.(m I think) does anyone know how to date this thing? I always thought it was from the early 80's but now I'm thinking maybe the 70's just from others I've seen on the net. It has been a long time since I've played through it and I noticed that there is no noticable volume difference between 5 and 10, but the breakup increases noticably with every turn of the volume knob above 5. Does that sound right? seems like I remember it having a bit more head room than that but that could be the new tubes or poor memory?
FredZepp Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 Hey, I've got one of those. And I believe that I got it with my first decent electric ( a LP copy ) back in the 70's. I was really into trying to achieve concert volumes back then, so I managed to blow the original speaker.. replaced that with a bad one, and then left it at my dads house for 30+ years. I recently put a Weber in it and love the amp. And that Tremelo. It loves overdrive pedals...
schundog Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 Very nice amp, White Man... Oops, sorry, I thought I was your Father-In-Law for a minute... (I cracked up at your story about that in another thread!)
Trouble Posted June 9, 2011 Author Posted June 9, 2011 Very nice amp, White Man... Oops, sorry, I thought I was your Father-In-Law for a minute... (I cracked up at your story about that in another thread!) No harm done I' have definatly been called worse, by the way that is a beautiful guitar in your signature what is that finish, almond?
Trouble Posted June 9, 2011 Author Posted June 9, 2011 Hey, I've got one of those. And I believe that I got it with my first decent electric ( a LP copy ) back in the 70's. I was really into trying to achieve concert volumes back then, so I managed to blow the original speaker.. replaced that with a bad one, and then left it at my dads house for 30+ years. I recently put a Weber in it and love the amp. And that Tremelo. It loves overdrive pedals... Yeah it does take pedals well, I'm thinking of building a reverb tank and a extension cab with a 10 or 12, and just playing through that instead of the stock 8 inch.(mainly to extend the life of the old speaker} I know building a stand alone reverb tank is fairly easy wonder if I could do it and mount it in the bottom of the champ. Hmmm....
schundog Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 No harm done I' have definatly been called worse, by the way that is a beautiful guitar in your signature what is that finish, almond? Thanks, man. That's an H-155 Millenium, semi-hollow with no f holes, and I BELIEVE it's ChestnutBurst; I opened up the compartment once to check, but now I can't remember! Keep rockin' that Champ, and take care of that lip!
tulk1 Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 Too friggin' cool! And a great story to go with it. Treasure it.
Trouble Posted June 9, 2011 Author Posted June 9, 2011 Thanks guys, almost like I got a new amp I've really been digging it!
Trouble Posted June 11, 2011 Author Posted June 11, 2011 Thanks guys, almost like I got a new amp I've really been digging it! I did a little research and found a website to date fender amps from serial# on chassis, turns out my vibro champ is a 1978 model, and my super reverb is from 1966 and the 31st super made that year. I don't really know why that is important,(doesn't change how they sound knowing the date) but I wanted to know and now I do. I had always thought that my Champ was from the mid 80's, I don't really know where I got that idea. Oh well, for some reason it seemed important to me and thought I would share.
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