fender champ pedal 1974 Fender Vibro Champ – Telluride Music Co

fender champ pedal 1974 Fender Vibro Champ – Telluride Music CoNothing beats a champ! Since 1948, the Champ has been one of the most sought after and useful Fender amplifiers. While the model evolved quite a bit through the decades, the basic concept has always been the same: a simple single ended tube amp that produces great tone at low volumes. The Champ is the ultimate practice amp, and it's also a tried and true studio tool. But for those of us who live in small spaces (or who would rather rock out at lower

Nothing beats a champ! Since 1948, the Champ has been one of the most sought-after and useful Fender amplifiers. While the model evolved quite a bit through the decades, the basic concept has always been the same: a simple single-ended tube amp that produces great tone at low volumes. The Champ is the ultimate practice amp, and it's also a tried and true studio tool. But for those of us who live in small spaces (or who would rather rock out at lower levels), the Champ allows for refined, saturated tone without needing to crank the decibels.

In 1964—building off the success of the Champ—Fender introduced the 6-watt Vibro Champ, which added tube-driven tremolo without sacrificing any of the original tone. Many Fender fans argue that—out of all the multitudes of sounds produced over the years—the Vibro Champ produces the sweetest, most natural tremolo effect. Relative to other designs, the tremolo circuit in the Vibro Champ a lot simpler. The VC tremolo circuit functions by shifting the bias on the second 12AX7 preamp tube, which creates a rich, soft pulsating sound. Unlike bigger amps (which shift the bias on the power tubes), the dry guitar signal does not pass through the tremolo circuitry so it does not effect the fidelity of the signal.

This 1974 Fender Vibro Champ is in excellent condition, and it has been nicely preserved over the years. It is a great example of the "Silverface" cosmetics released in 1969. It has a safe 3-prong power cord and its original Oxford 8" speaker (which dates to the 38th week of '73). The capacitors have been replaced, so the amp is properly serviced and optimized to its full potential. The output transformer dates to 1973, and the power transformer dates to early 1974. All of the pots date to late '73. Most of the metal parts show some rust and tarnishing—authentic vibe on a vintage amplifier!

This '74 Vibro Champ is the perfect practice or recording amp. It sounds fantastic and runs quiet. With cosmetics this clean, it'll look great in your living room, too. The tone is rich, harmonic and articulate, even with the old speaker in place. A lot of folks would upgrade the speaker for more bass content and greater overall headroom, but honestly the Oxford speaker in this '74 VC may surprise you. Great amp!