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the fender champ upgrade


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Posted

i've got an old 66 champ,had it a long time ,blew out this and that over the years,i decided to make into something so i put a bigger transformer in it(allen amplifiers) and 8 ohm output transformer and a 10 " jbl k series speaker mounted on a 1" this double density sound board,,some new jj tubes all around,and presto!!!!!!!!! a much better champ! kind of a mini deluxe now..

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Posted

i use to play my es330/p90's in a full tilt boogie band with that amp back when i just had the 8ohm jbl k in it,i'd burn up a few resistors every month or two, and eventually the output transformer, so i did the full upgrade..it is what it is, you know.but with two mics,through a pa, you'd be surprised what you can make it do..idle it on two and bring the gain up on the mics and you have a clean of clean,set a mic back a few feet and you have a rich mix(one close one far) .i'm happy to have it online and reliable ..i',m gonna hook up my 150 to it tonight,and see what's happening there.

Posted

it was purchased along with a few floor monitors from the sound company that provided the gear for the tour,it wound up in a club ,in new york,i bought them from the owner of the club. great speakers, it's all i use..they are in my deluxe amps , my supro thunderbolt, my kalamazoo.just about everything, cept my rolands.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

+1 for the hotrodded Champ route. Had a fun time a couple of nights ago, my band did a wedding gig way out in southern Utah red rock country at a small lodge close to the entrance of Capitol Reef National Park, band was supplying gear and PA. The four of us traveled 4 hours one way in a rented Suburban, so taking a small sized amp was the only option. My Frank-en-Champ ran right in its sweet spot for the gig and sounded awesome. I use a 60's University Diffusicone 8 inch speaker in mine, and both trannys have been swapped out, Power is an ebay scavenged Allen unit, output is a mongo sized eBay snatched 30 watt rated HIFI unit running 16 ohms to the jack.

 

Recently I got an oval back 2/12 cab and stuffed some 65 year old Altec 600b's in it and drove it with the Champ mutant at a small bar gig. That combination was pretty magical, a longtime gigging friend got goose bumps from some of the tones. A single ended amp done up right like a Fuchs Lucky 7, THD Univalve as examples, and vintage Fender silverface amps are still plentiful if not low priced as donor amps for mutant boutique rebuilds, which can be surprisingly and incredibly potent and musical. The best part out of a personal rebuild for better and sometimes worse is that since the owner built it, no tech in most cases is needed for repairs. I'm going to investigate doing up a serial fx loop in mine, if it works right I have a few vintage and boutique amps to sell...the tones are that good.

 

Next mutated Fender Silverface I do will have an IEC cutout and a power tranny for USA and Euro voltages.

Posted

Am known to have a liking for JBL MI-15 and G135 in guitar speakers, both types are relatively unknown and sound beyond great bluesy clear on gained up to metal-ly dirty as well as clean. Fave 15 speaker for guitar personally is Altec 418 series, hands down the nicest cleans of any 15 I've heard yet. They don't lie, they express the amp's output honestly, driven with great amps they sound fantastic.. Have driven both makes to unpleasantly loud with the Frank-en-Champ. JBL MI-15 doesn't weigh much and can get singing pretty hugely, sweetly loud on not a lot of watts. The bottom end with all these speakers is both very big and tight. Cone control is tough to beat with these, they don't cone cry, they've been at that one longer than most. The others mentioned are all pretty heavv-vvy, 15-ish pounds each. My ears tell my back that the weight is worth every ounce with any of these.

 

I bet that some very cool sounding very much lighter weight neodymium motor 15's for guitar can be had, just have to pay to get a great 15 inch speaker unless you are a talented ebay bottom feeder. :~)p

Posted

i have some jbl k and jbl e series 15 inch, don't get any cleaneer than that,, prolly the most effficient speaker ever made..all out volume out put with low input, super effficient.

Posted

Yep, feedback on the K's was that they do clean better than the dirt, that is why JBL came out with the G and MI series..to do both well, the G as well as the lower wattage MI series do great cleans too. They also saw duty in PA speakers, more so then in guitar cabs.

Posted

How would you compare the JBL's to similar EV10's? Those old EV's can handle 150 - 200 watts depending on model.

 

I'm running an EV10 in my little Champ II and it barks! But man, is it heavy!!

  • 3 weeks later...

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