I have a mint, been in the closet champ for the past 30 some years fender silverface champ that even has the original RCA tubes. I had one of these before and even after I had it serviced it didn't sound as good as this one. But after hearing some clips of the mini Z that one of the members here posted, I was floored with the tones that were coming out of the sound samples. Let me know what you guys think. I am kinda strapped for cash but i think i could pull it off. I just got a airbrake and its on it way so i can use my marshall superbass head, but man the mini z has got me thinking. ohhhh the gasssssss
you own a classic amp that is rising in value... you're looking at a non-classic amp that will drop in value... you'll have to fork out a bunch of cash to make the switch... I wouldn't do it, ymmv
Personally I would keep the champ. I have a 70's silverface. Mine will never be worth that much since I have modded it some. But they are killer amps, and with some work, they can really scream.
I would keep the Champ as well. If you want a non-destructive, easily reversed, but good sounding mod, have a push/pull pot installed on the Volume control to defeat the tone stack (mid resistor gets lifted from ground). It will up the gain considerably and kick it into more of a tweed sounding territory. Either that, or get a single Yellowjacket converter to run an EL84 in the Champ.
wow you guys are keeping me grounded, thanks for the support. I was really leaning towards that mini z, but i think i might cure the gas and just order a weber sig 8 alnico speaker.
Sell me the Champ and buy the Z > no problem > sell the Z> look for another Champ. Chain,Chain, Chain...
I have a tweed champ, and the best thing that I did was upgrade to a 10" speaker. Very noticible improvment! For a small amp, I think that you'll be hard-pressed to find a better amp. I think that you can fit a 10" speaker in the silverface champs. You just have to cut a new speaker baffle and offset the speaker. YOu could also do what I did and buy a new cabinet.
Keep your Champ... These simple little circuits are very mod-friendly. The tonestack bypass mod is a good suggestion. Another great mod to try is to remove the negative feedback from the circuit. Really opens the Champ up and makes it gainier. I found it useful to have it both ways, so I put the -FB on a toggle switch. The amp will stay cleaner and sweeter with the -FB in the circuit, and get gainier and meaner with the -FB taken out... both ways still retain the great dynamics associated with this single-ended Class-A classic! You should also try it through 10" speakers (as was suggested), or even better yet, a 12" speaker. The Champ has plenty of power to drive a 12" speaker, and they sound particularly good through Celestion types - G12H's are a good match in particular. You could also have a new cab built for it... I'm having Bill at Sultone build a 1x12 combo cab for my Champ. (www.sultone.com) I love Z amps (the Ghia is my favorite amp of any), but for low watt tube tone it's hard to beat a Champ. If only owned one amp, it'd be the Ghia... If I owned, two, the second would always be a Champ.
I owned a Mini Z. Great amp, but it wasn't quite "it" for me. Now I'm looking for tweed or black face champ...chain chain chain
69MOJOSTRAT Heck no! The Mini Z is a completely different amp than a Fender Champ. The Z has an EL-84 and 1 12AX7. Dr. Z amps are fine amps. I was looking at the Mini Z along with the Star Nova, Fuchs Lucky 7, Carr Mercury and other low watt amps at one time. The price for the Mini Z is a good price for a new 5 watt amp. I meant, if you sell your Champ and buy a Mini Z and don't like it then go back and buy another Champ or whatever you want! G'olPeachPhan said it well "Keep your Champ". Teleplayer said it well "The Mini Z is a great amp"
