Pro Jules Posted February 25, 2001 Share Posted February 25, 2001 I want to get one for recording: There is one 6 watt vibro champ with a not working Vibrato section that sounds FANTASTIC! and a fucked sounding 5 watt one Both look old and are valve I know the 5 what ones are rarer and perhaps better.. Which one to get? either one will need repairing... Also, wont the speaker be no good by now? Replacements? mods? Advice? TIA http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Jules This message has been edited by Julian standen on 02-24-2001 at 08:38 PM Jules Producer Julian Standen London, UK, Come hang here! http://www.gearslutz.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bob Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 The 5 watt one is probably Tweed and is definately better. According to Gerald Weber, the best Champ is the 5F1 with a strong low end and punchier attack. They were made between '59 and '62. They use a 4 ohm speaker. The Champ thing is that it is Class A with one power tube on all the time. This gives fuller possibly edgier tone. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top was know for overdriving Champs in the recording studio. Eric Clapton is said to have used a Champ for the Layla sessions. Dave Allen of Allen Amplification in Kentucky will overhaul it and is very reasonable. Give him a call at 859-485-6423. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro Jules Posted February 27, 2001 Author Share Posted February 27, 2001 I am in the UK! but Thanks! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Jules Jules Producer Julian Standen London, UK, Come hang here! http://www.gearslutz.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bob Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 I should have mentioned that you can pull out the brains, bubble wrap it and send it to Dave Allen. This is a regular part of his business. He has a chart on the cost for various replacement items and is very reasonable. Dave is expert in Fender amps. He makes and sells kits of Fender style amps. I have bought a vintage style output transformer, caps, etc. from him. I have called him several times on Fender amp issues and gotten some good advice. He is very easy to deal with. I saw Dave's ads in Vintage Guitar, 20th Century Guitar and other valve (tube) publications. His web site is: www.allenamps.com BTW for recording, I have a Tweed Champ and brown tolex Princeton, both '62's, and have no desire of getting a Pod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 Jukes, The VibroChamp sounds WAY different from the Champ, tweed or BF. Voltages are different, and there is more sag, due to the added circuitry. You can do an EQ / Vibrato bypass. This will get you close, but it won't sound like a tweed Champ. I know 'cause I tried. I finally modded the feedback, put in smaller filter caps, and changed the output tranny. Now it sounds killer, but for the money I spent (not to mention my time) I could have bought a Victoria 5F1 clone. That would be my recommendation, if in fact you really want that sound. With either the Victoria or the real 5F1: It's a cool bluesy thang, and you can get a great compressed lead tone out of it (all midrange though) but not so good for modern rock. Way too soft and spongy. Also pretty loose. the 8" speaker doesn't provide much back-inductance, so not a lot of "chunk." But hey, if it sounds "fantastick" to you, just buy the thing, why post the question? This message has been edited by Allan Speers on 02-28-2001 at 05:54 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro Jules Posted March 1, 2001 Author Share Posted March 1, 2001 Is the Tweed the king of the crop? I have seen one of them for sale.... Personaly the old look has no interest to me, just the sound. So perhaps I am willing to trade up to getting a tweed one. Tips? TIA Jules Jules Producer Julian Standen London, UK, Come hang here! http://www.gearslutz.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Jules, the tweed Champs are cool but not necessarily the best, it's a matter of taste really. I have a '65 black face Vibro Champ and I could probably get it to sound a little better if I modified it some, but it's still way cool. Still has the original speaker and it's fine! I really would not assume you were going to like the tweed better, just compare the two first. Honestly though, if I personally were going to get a killer vintage Fender amp for recording, I'd go for a Princeton, a Deluxe or a Vibrolux Reverb. The blackface Vibrolux is my absolute favorite. I have a stage amp, a '65 Pro Reverb, which sounds almost as good but boy I'd love a Vibrolux. You just can't beat that tone with any of the other Fender amps in my book. If you want that Stones "Some Girls" sound, like the sound on "Beast of Burden", get an old Princeton. Those are killer too! --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro Jules Posted March 4, 2001 Author Share Posted March 4, 2001 Cool tips Lee, thanks. Any idea how to get that Saterday Night Fever sound? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Jules Jules Producer Julian Standen London, UK, Come hang here! http://www.gearslutz.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted March 5, 2001 Share Posted March 5, 2001 GRRRRR Jules!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif Actually, I used to LIKE old Bee Gees, pre-disco era. "In My Own Time" is a fave of mine, and so is "To Love Somebody"... hell they had a LOT of great tunes back then. Although, one of my fave local bands does a cover of "In My Own Time", and it blows the cover off the original. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myles_rose Posted November 20, 2002 Share Posted November 20, 2002 Originally posted by Sir Bob: The 5 watt one is probably Tweed and is definately better. According to Gerald Weber, the best Champ is the 5F1 with a strong low end and punchier attack. They were made between '59 and '62. They use a 4 ohm speaker. The Champ thing is that it is Class A with one power tube on all the time. This gives fuller possibly edgier tone. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top was know for overdriving Champs in the recording studio. Eric Clapton is said to have used a Champ for the Layla sessions. Dave Allen of Allen Amplification in Kentucky will overhaul it and is very reasonable. Give him a call at 859-485-6423.Bob .... If you check around a bit about me, and know my age, you can be assured that on Layla, a tweed champ and a 12 watt tweed deluxe were used. Happy playing .... Myles S. Rose www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com www.la-economy.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/mylesr www.twitter.com/myles111us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey4s Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 Originally posted by Julian standen: I want to get one for recording: There is one 6 watt vibro champ with a not working Vibrato section that sounds FANTASTIC! and a fucked sounding 5 watt one Both look old and are valve I know the 5 what ones are rarer and perhaps better.. Which one to get? either one will need repairing... Also, wont the speaker be no good by now? Replacements? mods? Advice? TIA http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Jules This message has been edited by Julian standen on 02-24-2001 at 08:38 PMI like the 5F1 Tweed Champs or the 5F2 Tweed Princetons personaly. One option is to build your own. There are plenty of schematics available around the Internet. A 5F1 or 5F2 is about as simple as building an amp gets and you can get the Tweed sound for a lot less than buying an original or an aftermarket "Boutique" amp with high quality modern components. Casey4s My DIY Amp Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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