Fender '57 Custom Champ 1x8" 5-watt Tube Combo Amp Reviews

Some people say that Fender's '57 Custom Champ is a one trick pony. But…. It's my trick and it's my pony. This little amp fits my needs perfectly. I play in a little blues band thats more about intensity than volume. I love being able to push the Champ into a little break up without pealing paint off of the walls. I now only need a little reverb pedal and I'm good to go. Kudos to Ben Stokes for taking such good care of me. Again. And now that Sweetwater ships from its new facility in Phoenix, I get next day service.

It's so simple; yet so good!! Fulltone Full Drive 2 and Bogner Ecstasy Blue pedals sound great through it, but no pedals sound great too. Single coil, or Humbucker a okay! Read all the reviews and see if it's right for you. I'm glad I bought one: the tone is worth the price to me.

The classic Fender Champ tube tone that no other amp can match. It's money well spent , construction is rock solid and takes pedals exceedingly well. Portable and lightweight as well. No wonder it's on so many legendary recordings. My advice, pull the trigger on this one. You won't be disappointed.

Ok folks this is a well built lightweight tube amp that feels sturdy and sounds pretty darn good. I typically have it set between 3-4 so I won't upset the neighbors. Anything past that it gets surprisingly loud. I'm pretty confident this amp can be used for smaller gigs and I plan on using it for my church which is a smaller room that this amp will definitely have no problem filling up with sound and I won't have to max out the volume knob either. Pedals sound good on it as well. Happy with my purchase. It was between this amp and the pro junior but I liked the build material, the American made, and hardwired qualities of this amp. Price stung a bit but I'll get lots of use out of this amp.

Plug into input 2 for warm clean tone, no pedals or eq needed, it's perfect every time- single coil or paf, you can't go wrong. Plug into input 1 for perfect warm crunch, modified tube screamers have nothing on this.

Thank you, Sam Hillman, for finding my new amp. It's amazing and everything I ever wanted in a home sized amp.

Total honesty- this amp took a lot of getting used to for me. I purchased on a whim after my other Champ ('73 Silverface) had to go to the shop. I love my other champ and I couldn't be without one- who can beat the portability and beautiful tone? I'm not an amp history expert but the '73 has a treble and bass knob, 3x as complicated as this amp with just a volume knob!

I play low-volume funk, soul, r&b, folk-rock, little mix of everything but mostly smaller rooms at home and at brewery gigs. I am learning to crank this amp to the overdrive tone I want, and dial back on the volume knob. I play a strat or a tele and I pair it with a Strymon Flint and it is the perfect rig for me. Even a three-knob delay like a Carbon Copy can achieve a little bit of slapback to give you some more depth.

One thing I have noticed- versus the 73 Champ- is that this is SIGNFICANTLY louder, which is great because it means it can "cut through the mix" to use an overused term, and it doesn't get overwhelmed by a good drummer with ear/dynamics. If you're playing hard rock this might not be for you, but it works great for what I want to play and my goals as a guitarst.

Bottom line is that if you play small rooms or record a lot, this is a really flexible amp which sounds beautiful and you can carry your entire rig- and even have a spare hand.

A lot of folks complain about everything these days. The only way you could complain about this amp, is if you have no idea how to play through a tube amp. For reference, my main amps are a 1970 Fender Dual Showman Reverb, and a 1969 Fender Bassman.

The key to any Fender tube amp, is to crank it to the maximum gain you want, and control overdrive from the guitar volume pot. The Champ simplifies everything. 9-11 is saturation central. It's hard to get a bad sound. Incredibly responsive to pick attack and volume pot. If you can't find a tone in this amp that you like, you're just being contrary, or you have no clue what you're doing. Go touch some grass, nerd.

A truly superb amplifier. Well built, excellent tone, and dripping with sonic superiority.

As an aging rocker/jazzer I tend to live in the past when things were simpler and more analog than digital. I enjoy accurate reissue instruments and this '57 Champ by Fender is a great example. Paring this amp with my reissue guitar is an awesome and amazing opportunity to have the same thing I would have gotten as a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's and it's brand new! It's a good thing when you put down your hard earned money for something and when it's all done you are happy and would do it all over again with the venue you dealt with. Thanks to Sweetwater and the quality of customer service they afforded for this transaction. Rob A

Sure, you can get modeling amps and pedals to instantly create any tone you can imagine, but this simple yet solid amp will teach you how to create tones naturally, which is s real talent in itself. It taught me that your fingers, the guitar, and amp work best when regarded as ONE unit, not three. The knobs on your guitar are an extension of your amp's controls. Took me 40 years if playing and this amp to learn that!

Great little hand wired amp as is, but I use a Mesa Boogie 1x12 Closed back extension cab with it. Class A chime! I like a Mesa Boogie 1x12 cab for sound. The 57 Champ has a unique Class A 6V6 circuit that sounds great cranked. The amp allows for a seperate extension cab to be plugged in. Great maximum sound at a low volume. Lots of money for this setup but far superior sound to Fender's Hot Rod line.

This and a Princeton reverb are the only amplifiers I use. I have a 1975 Silverface Champ that is wonderful for sweet highs and jangly strums. This 57 reissue is absolutely perfect for thicker, more rounded tones. Nails twang every time and sits perfectly on my shelf. It's small but it's the real deal. Bedroom, recording, rehearsal, honestly mic it up and play a gig. Worth every penny.

My son Russell just loves this Amp. My mother passed away and left him $1,000. I put in the additional money. I told him to get something very nice with this money as a keepsake. He has wanted this Amp for a very long time. It sounds really good and we are both very happy with it. Thank you very much.

Nancy Verne

If ever you needed a grab and go amp, this is the one.

The 57 champ is a great amp really packs a punch for 5 watts, I've had many amp, solid state, amp modelers, this one is my favorite simple easy too use and get great tones good breakup around 6 and about 3.5 add some overdrive, chorus and delay sounds great, when I'm not using my 57 custom deluxe or deluxe reverb. I have been using it about 4 months, gets better every time I play it, using a Strat and Tele with custom pups and wiring. Thanks too Sweetwater for there great customer service.

NICE. Nuff said.

The perfect bedroom amp for clean tone, worth every penny! Thanks Ryan for your help as always

First off, this amp is wonderfully constructed. Not a flaw on it. I honestly was skeptical about spending this much on such a small amp. But I love chasing the twang tones. This amp fit the bill perfectly. It will be my new dedicated in-house practice amp. You can get some really nice clean tones with the volume low, then a Lil crunch when you crank the volume all the way up on the amp then control the volume from the guitar. I have not tried running a pedal through it yet, so YMMV on that. I'm having fun with it so far. I think this is one of the few amps that will never leave my collection. Honestly, this and a Princeton Reverb may be the only amps I'll ever need!

Normally I like to wait before posting a review. That said, after playing this for an hour I feel like I took $ in guitar lessons. The 35 year old Schecter Strat that I keep out on my sofa to noodle around with, which I've always viewed as more of a Pop guitar, produced sounds I'd never heard before. The nuances in this amp are phenomenal.

I'm a living room musician, re-entering the electric guitar world after a long break. And I'm exploring new guitars and amps. Partly, I bought the Champ to simplify my learning curve. I made the right decision.

I want to thank Dave Cody for providing inspiration, knowledge, and guidance. And sometimes calming me down when I come to him with the latest idea from a YouTube video. Over the last three months he's helped me navigate the complexity by keeping me focused – what sound am I looking for? – while suggesting ways of achieving that sound. Every suggestion has increased my understanding, even when I don't take it. To my surprise, the sound I thought I wanted isn't the sound I ended up wanting. I can't thank him enough.

*** My Ideal Palette ***

Classic Blues/Rock/Country. More Fender (guitars and amps) and Gibson (Heritage/PRS) Hollowbody than Les Paul and Marshall. But branching out to a Vox amp and a PRS Silver Sky. Natural distortion, towards the cleaner side, with less being more. Then pedals.

This is not an inexpensive amp, considering its size and power. But it's a beautiful little amp, considering its Fender Custom Shop pedigree.

I had been contemplating its purchase for a long time. "Hand wired" and all the rest that makes this a Fender Custom special amp is what I couldn't let go of. So I talked to my Sweetwater Sales Engineer Ed Nystrom about it - and got honest and accurate information from him. Ed doesn't do a "sales pitch" - he shares information that is derived from the product itself, and from his customer, and he can know him. If I was wanting something this amp doesn't offer, Ed would tell me. This is my third Sweetwater purchase with Ed, and I know Ed keeps me on the "straight and narrow" as he interprets what he hears me saying. This is very reassuring. And what he heard me saying he said was a match for the reality of this Fender amplifier.

So, out of the box this small but expensive amplifier made evident the success of this purchase.

My Telecaster has fine vocal cords, and this Fender '57 Custom Champ amplifier gives the Telecaster a voice that is most pleasing to me.

John McNeill
Springfield, South Dakota

So much tone and vibrancy. I love this amp. I'll never call it or trade it. I'll pass it to a descendant.

Not just great for practice --- it's just a pleasure to play. The difference that volume knob makes. --- from very clean to breakup. --- is pretty astounding. More impactful, and better sound, than just about any other amp I have played (since late 1974). I have always loved fender amps and have owned more than I care to admit, but I really didn't know about this little. gem. Worth the money? These days any amp I play and still want to keep is worth the money. I have owned way too many that I almost instant wanted to rid of.

I did not buy this amp expecting to use it much with pedals ...... but it works surprising well with pedals. Lately, I have been playing it with a OCD Ge to make somewhat "flat" sounding guitars come alive. (That's just an example.) I wouldn't use it with a lot of fuzz, but some respectful blues O/D? Sure.

I got this amp for several reasons. The first being, I wanted an all-tube amp, in a small combo that was appropriate for home use. 5 watts, 8-inch speaker seemed to fit the bill. Secondly, I wanted premium components and hand-wiring to make it sound as big and heavy as possible to compensate for how small it is. Lastly, I was influenced by playing classical Spanish guitar over the past year to get an electric rig that was minimalistic, so that all the personality and dynamics were coming from my playing. I thought the champ, with it's single volume knob, would keep this from turning into a ham radio project. I'm just getting back into electric guitar and I wanted to focus solely on my fundamentals as a player. And Lastly, I wanted to tap into some iconic Fender amp tones I'd heard countless recordings.

Construction: This thing is a little tank, nothing feels cheap or flimsy. Even with it's light weight, it feels solid. I'm shocked at how coarse the tweed feels. It's definitely not meant for garment use. The power switch is heavy duty and doesn't look like it'd break easily. Nothing is loose on this thing, no rattles, even dimed.

Tone: Simple, pure, transparent. The EQ sounds fairly flat, so it's a well balanced tone, that's full and rounded. Important note, it's decidedly a vintage tonality, think 50's, 60's, and some 70's. And most important of all, it has very little gain on tap. You will get some grit and bite by cranking the input 1 (especially with humbuckers), but don't expect the overdrive you'd find on a Deluxe or Bassman tweed. In those amps you could feed 1 input into the other, effectively giving you a gain knob, not with the Champ. For my purposes, I love it, I was looking for a "pushed clean" tone that sizzles and crackles, but not the saturation levels of a full on distortion overdrive. Input 2 cuts off the highest frequencies and provides some attenuation, meaning it's not as loud as the input 1, so you can set the volume higher on it. Input 2 is also mellower so better for Jazzy, more vintage stuff. Input 1 is better for country and vintage rock tones.

Volume: This thing is powerful. Like any good Fender, it cuts through with a piercing volume, but it's never grating to the ears. Honestly, I don't think I can go higher then 5 without having problems with neighbors (I live in an apartment). That means for my purposes, there's plenty of headroom to use pedals with it. The other important thing is the sensitivity to your attack. If you're at 4, and you bash your strings you can make it sound like 7. If your at 7, you can play delicately and make it sound like it's at 4. Also, when coupled with quality volume knobs on your guitar, you can really dial in volume and tone with high sensitivity.

Conclusion: I'm blown away at how big this thing sounds. I was worried the 8-inch speaker, wouldn't be able to handle humbuckers at high volume. Not the case, the saturation is warm and full with plenty of bite and no fart out. You're gonna need a pedal for serious "dirt" tones, but it's just not the tool for that job. This thing does first wave rock n'roll tones, 50's Pop, late 60's Rolling Stones tones, and Classic Southern Rock stuff really well, among other things.

I felt compelled after owning this amp for a few days to write this review. I've probably owned 50-60 amps in my 25-ish years of playing. This little guy with my Thinline Telecaster with P90s is one of the best amps I've heard EVER!! The compression, fullness, warmth, sensitivity down to the smell of the tubes cooking and pine from the cabinet makes the amp an experience to play!! It is very inspiring and addicting to play! The only amp that I've owned that I think slightly compared to this amp is a Swart Atomic Space Tone I owned a few years back. But believe me when I say this amp sounds better and is more versatile.! Do not delay! Get one immediately while you can!

I didn't need this but I wanted it. Now that I have it, I need it. Incredible tone, particularly with SD single coils. I totally love it.

This may be the very best practice amp ever. Excellent. Sounds fantastic. I spent the extra money and got 1956 RCA black plate tubes and changed the preamp tube to a 12AX7 as the original amp had. This even made a fantastic amp even better. And as usual Sweetwater was great , my sales man Jacob is absolutely the best, always there for me. I would highly recommend this amp . Expensive but woth the money.

Mine rattled out of the box at a moderate volume. Called Fender and they said it's common, look for something loose. Took the back off the amp but didn't see anything loose, everything looked fine. Reassembled... just played it and played it and things settled in I guess. Started out 2 stars but it's 5 stars now. Absolutely beautiful amp. Incredibly simple, just one dial, volume, which is apparently all that is required to get beautifully thick, saturated guitar tone (playing a Gibson LP). Breaks up beautifully at around 6 on the volume, and it's incredibly loud despite it's size. Some may balk at the price, so did I. But I've spent way more on amps and guitars and this one is sitting right there at a good value all things considered.

This! I have many tube amps: classic fender tube amps, botique amps and modern modeling amps. This one-knob wonder beats them all! My second favorite amp is a two-knob Dr Z. Point being, there is joy in simple tone shaping with one knob on the amp, and two on the guitar. (I play mostly teles). If you need volume and projection, you'll need to mic into a pa, but for studio, living room or barn, this amp beats them alll for tone. Ive heard (and ignored) all the low-watt amp rules about never play above 3, or you must open it up all the way....all not true. This rolls from clean to perfect moderate crunch all within manageable volumes,along with the guitar controls. Having just one knob really forced me to learn the basics of tone. You'd be surprised how much you can get out of these simple circuits. At first, was tempted to upgrade speaker, but decided against it. Not sure there is an 8" better suited speaker available. At a $1000 price point for 5 watts, fender had the ability NOT to cut corners on components or construction. I honestly have no complaints or faults to mention.

This amp is great right out of the box. I'd recommend playing straight into this amp no effects for max tonal bliss. Brought to a blues jam and someone commented, at berklee all we had were fenders, I hate fenders but I love that amp. I'd buy one.

Ive been wanting a Fender amp recently and did my research on their lineup. I saw the cost of the 57' Champ and thought well what's so special about this. After doing some reading and listening I took a leap to order it without trying it in person as there wasn't a champ to demo in my city but I knew if I hated it I would exchange for a Princeton or Deluxe. Turns out the videos and reviews are right the Champ is a great amp. The cleans are beautiful and full, the overdrive is pure classic rock n roll. Its very sensitive to what you pick with and how you pick so you can get a variety of sounds. I found it odd that if I used the narrow side my pick (Dunlop tortex) it sounded darker, but with the fat side it was amazingly clean. I think it sounds best at 8-10 and using your guitar volume to dictate the type of sound. I think its best played as is, you don't need a reverb it has this room filling sound. Maybe a drive pedal if you want distortion at low volumes, but I really love the sound as is.
The build quality is excellent, it feels solid and looks so good just sitting there. My only issue is the idle hum, though its quiet and I don't notice it when playing and if recording with my phone I can't hear it. A trade off is that I actually don't hear my single coils hum as loud on standard B,M,N positions.
My final thought is I'm definitely keeping it, if I got something else I know I'd miss it. It has such a great sound and is small enough to go anywhere without being a pain. I have a 1x12 combo I really like so for me the champ is something different and I'm really having a lot of fun playing it. It has all the Fender sound I was looking for and build quality that will last a lifetime.

I watched multiple YouTube videos of first rate Fender Telecaster guitarists, and others, playing and reviewing this amp. I was struck by how preferable the sound is to my 2009 printed circuit board Fender Vibro Champ. Like other reviewers here, I came to feel no real loss with the '57 Custom Champ's lack of digital amp emulations, digital effects, tone controls or a gain control.

The sound is so good that little of that matters. There is a clarity, depth, roundness, smoothness and dimension to the notes; a crispness to the attack; a separation of the sound of each string from the others; a clarion ring to chords pulled in unison with 3 fingers and the thumb, that aren't quite there in the Vibrochamp or other tube amp I own.

Plug, play and grin. I have recorded a few tracks in my DAW and they sound great.

There may be that unicorn boutique amp out there that tops this amp. I'm happy with what I bought and I am not looking.

I think it is well worth the seemingly high price, and with a week of playing it, I am very satisfied and suffer no remorse. It is a loud 5 watts, too.

I was excited but thought maybe the hype was a little too much - wrong! If anything this amp is even better than advertised, and I'm shocked it took me 10 years after Fender started making it to find out about it. Get one. Tiny little beast of a tone box. I've already recorded with it an it's a little screamer! The video here is after having played it (using a Tele) for just a couple minutes and hitting it with a little overdrive with the amp volume somewhere between 4-5.

This amp has absolutely blown my mind. It has revealed tone, hidden from me, tucked within my guitars. I spend so much time tweaking the volume/tone knobs on my instruments generating the sweetest sounds and large smiles. The amp is exceptionally small and light and it does take pedals well if you are so inclined. However, the amp does not need pedals as it just sounds great directly connected to the guitar. From my perspective, it is worth every cent. Great job Fender!!

For a man cave amp or a practice amp I don't think it gets any better. The tone that I get from this amp is so great. Each turn of the knob just gets sweeter. I played my Strat through it and it's perfect but my tele really shines with this amp. It's on the pricey side but I'm ok with it. The build quality is fantastic and it a gorgeous little amp. Very light so I can take it to whatever room I'm practicing in.

I love this thing, it's got a real woody growl, it cleans up nice and sounds great with pedals but it doesn't need them. I typically leave mine on 12 and use the guitar to shape the sound, then if i need a bit more I kick on my fender santa anna distortion pedal and away we go. it works extremely well with a tube screamer and my crybaby has a really nice creamy tone through it. my other amps have been getting neglected since I got it. It seems like a lot of money for a 5 watt amp but it sounds great I think its work it. I haven't heard any buzzing or 60hz hum though mine, its dead quiet when idle even with the vol at 12. It's so handy also, it weigh's nothing, all my other amps are big and heavy not that I mind packing them around but this one doesn't take up much room it's light and sounds great. I dont think it would keep up with a drum kit without mic'n it up maybe in a small room on a chair pointed right at the drummer. but that's not why I got it I got it because it is a low power amp with a bad *** reputation and it doesn't disappoint. I cant say it's my favorite amp because they are all my favorite, lol meaning I've got different ones for different purposes.

Just got this amp and it is exactly perfect for what it does. A great practice amp that also records extremely well. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about an amp like this doing what I needed it to do. However after just a few notes and chords I quickly realized that this is a tone machine!!! It can be heard on countless classic recordings and it echos the tweed tone of its bigger counterparts. Classic rock, blues, country and jazz can be achieved with a few minor tweaks on the volume knob of the amp and guitar volume and tone knobs. Well constructed and presented! Way to go Fender!

I bought this at the end of 2017. I admit to being partial to fender tube amps. This is a pure amp; no bells, whistles, etc. My other Fender tube combo amps have built in tube reverb, the Champ does not. I'm using a reverb pedal (plate effect selected) and a delay pedal (just a tad). It fills out the sound and I use this set up exclusively for practicing. The sound (while not being a powerhouse wattage wise), is clean and full. Live, it would be easy to mike up through a P.A. system. At first I balked at the price. But now, with a few years into it, I have no remorse. Worth every penny.

I purchased 2 of these little guys One for me and one for my dad and We are in love. The only thing bad I have to say about these amps is the Tube rattle when cranked. I bought some tube dampers and that helped a ton but I wish Fender would figure that out. Besides that it's the best little amp I've ever had it has great tones and you can pick it up with one finger.

The Champ is the perfect practice amp.It is a Tone Machine.Every turn of the volume knob reveals something new.Crystal clear at low volume,and when you crank it up,you get what I like to call,the "KEEF" Sound.Very Cool.

This amp has a lot to offer players that are looking for a touch sensitive lower wattage platform. Spend enough time with it and you"ll hear some beautiful harmonic overtones produced at around 5-6 on the volume control. Higher volumes produce a lot more distortion, however below 6 still generates great sustain and the 8" speaker doesn"t flub as much as on the higher settings. Build quality is excellent , very comparable to the 50"s fender tweeds I"ve owned.

As most of you know this app has been around for many years... Some of the finest recordings ever done in the rock and roll Kingdom have been done on this amp. If you're looking for an amp that will do all of the great tones that you've heard over the years then look no further this is the amp for you. You can just roll the volume up and turn the volume down on your guitar for clean tones then turn the guitar volume up and get the greatest breakup you're ever going to hear... My highest recommendation not only a great sounding amp just plain fun to play.
If you want to use it in a club, just mic it.

Love it! Turn it all the way up and let the knobs on your Tele be your guide!

I"ve recorded with an original Fender champ that was owned by the studio many years ago. I"ve been looking for one for my home studio ever since. The price of an original champ was beyond reach and reliability would always be in question. 60 year old capacitors are known to be problematic.

When I discovered Fender was reissuing an exact point-to-point wired replica of the 57 champ I pulled the trigger and placed an order. The 57 Custom Champ exceeded my expectations. This little 5 watt amp is a tone monster. If you are looking for real Fender tube tone at a recordable volume level the 57 custom champ will not disappoint.

Great service in purchasing and great Fender Custom Champ Amplifier, "57 Reissue. Love the simplicity of the amp and great sound. Sweetwater got me just what I wanted and quickly. Was packaged great in shipping too.
Thanks

I absolutely love this amplifier. I hesitated for awhile on buying this because of not being entirely sure of the size and whether it would have enough tonal options for me. My wonderful wife got me this for Christmas last December (yes, I am a very lucky man!) and I have never looked back. It is wonderful. I have not changed one of the tubes the way many do to make it break up sooner, because I play clean a lot. But it breaks up the way it came stock beautifully. Responds to attack incredibly well. It gets loud. It takes pedals very well. I don't use my Princeton Reverb much any more, although that is another great Fender amplifier. Buy this one! it is expensive, but I really don't think you will regret it.

I think the title sums it up. Regret not getting one sooner. Definitely a must have in your tone toolbox. It"s worth the price IMO.

I bought for recording and it really has blown me away! It has a naturally percussive sound when played hard. Plug straight in, turn up the volume at least to 6, and use the volume on the guitar to control the gain. I found I don't even reach for my pedals. 

For the reader wanting details:

I always swap out stock tubes for JJs in my amps. For this Champ, I did the JJ version of the 6V6S and 5Y3S for the power and rectifier. Being that there is no tone knob, I tried the stock 12AY7, a JJ 5751, a JJ ECC803S (long plate 12AX7), and a JJ ECC83S (short plate 12AX7) in the preamp slot to see what I liked the best. 

The stock 12AY7 was too boxy and dull sounding. I found that I gravitated toward the JJ ECC83S while playing my Strat (with vintage noiseless pickups). However, while playing my Gibson ES-339 (with burst bucker pickups) I really enjoyed the ECC803S. 

I hate the sound of my Strat with the long plate 12AX7 in this amp, wheras the Gibson really shines beautifully! For me, the tone of the Strat is absolutely breathtaking through a short plate 12AX7 inside. I may try a JJ ECC83MG (a medium plate 12AX7) but since I bought this amp specifically for recording, I don't mind swapping the preamp tube depending on the guitar I'm playing. The two guitars sound completely different so it only makes that different tubes provide the contrasting compliments.

For reference: I generally play blues & blues/jazz/funk infused rock. My main amp for years has been a tweed reissue Fender Bassman. I use a Blues Driver & TS808 (both Keeley mods) along with my volume on the guitar to control the layers of gain. 

I never thought I could find an amp that would make me forget about my Bassman or utilizing pedals for that matter. It is truly a wonderful amp and worth the money. 

Note: If you have never played on a handwired tube amp and are skeptical of spending the extra money for one, then I highly advise you to seek one out in a music store to test. If you can't hear the difference, then spending the extra money probably isn't worth it. 

40 years as a semi-pro guitar player and the happy owner of among others a 1985 Marshall 800 Lead, a 1963 Vox AC10, a Fender Vibroking and a Fender EC Twinolux. Then along comes this little 5 watts... and puts them all in their place. This amp is miraculous! It's tone is the best my guitars and my ears have ever experienced - drops of pure blue honey dripping from the sky when played softly and sweet red hot overdrive when played forcefully. Its articulate enough for small clubs, cuts though everything in the exact right spectrum of frequencies with warmth and charm. Where were you all of my life, baby?

Orifginally billed as a "student amp", the champ has survived and gained an amazing pedigree as a studio favorite. I became interested in this amp after hearing one many years ago. Later I learned about its place in classic rock history. Layla, early ZZ Top and others, You"ve known it"s voice for years without really knowing it. As a practice amp, it might be a little loud for cranked overdrive at home. But those 5 watts sing. No tone control? You won"t miss it. Words come to mind like flawless, perfection and classic. Its got Leo"s fingerprints all over it. It"s quickly becoming my favorite "Grab and Go" amp. Thanks to Brandon for helping get it to me quickly. Thanks Fender and Sweetwater.

I am in love with this amp. The way it looks, the way it sounds , the way it"s built. A little expensive but worth every dime.

Yes this amp is expensive. A very special amp in every way. You will not regret owning one. Call Randy@ ext. 1780.

I'm building a mini Wet/Dry/Wet rig and using the two 57' Champs for my Wet Stereo signal and my Edge Deluxe for the Dry signal. After playing my 57' Champ for a year now, I'm way beyond sold on the tone of these awesome little monster amps for low volume bedroom playing and studio work. This is going to be a lot of fun. Thanks again Kent for all your great assistance!

Unreal sound and what a beautiful job Fender does of Hand Wiring these vintage reproduction Amps! Two channels are great to have. Wether you are knocking around in the house, using it for a warm up amp in the dressing room, Miking it on stage or in the Studio, it is no wonder so many grammy winning artist have turned to the little Champ to get their tone! I really love it. I also own one of the same reissue hard wired Custom Pro115 and it is the same story, takes pedals great and deliver what it claims!!

It has been six months since I wrote my first review of the Fender Champ. In my first review, I gave the amp a 5 Star rating. After 6 months of playing the amp 3 to 4 times a week, the tone on this little 5 Watt amp seems to get better and better. Buying the Champ was one of my better decisions, still a 5 Star rating. As always, thank you to Aaron Cieslikowski for expert advice and help.

This is an incredible, well-made amp. There"s a reason it"s a classic. I leave yhe pedal board at home with this amp! I used Joe at Sweetwater and he was fantastic. Sweetwater always does their best to cut you a better deal than the competition. My only recommendation is that you swap out the 12AY7 pre-amp tube for a 12AX7 tube IF you want more gain and breakup at a lower volume. A 12AX7 (the higher gain tube is basically the same as an ECC83 tube so that works too. I chose to do this because I wanted to get that beautiful natural overdrive without having to crank it too high. 5 Watts doesn"t sound like much but it"s plenty loud for jamming, small gigs or gigs where you mic the amp. It breaks up at middle-ish volume with the original 12AY7 tube, but not until it"s at about 6 on the volume knob. Keep the 12AY7 if you want more headroom for clean tones.

Expensive, but it"s a high quality amp that I am always excited about playing.

I've only had this little beauty for a week and love it already.

Build quality is excellent and the electronics/wiring are a work of art. It's the perfect practice amp and I would imagine it's perfect for the studio too.... well, it's good enough for Keef and Eric, so it's good enough for me lol.

Also, many thanks to Mike Baldonado, he's a very nice and helpful fella indeed.

I received the fender Champ about four weeks ago, I also own a Fender 57 Reissue Bandmaster. In comparison, the Bandmaster does beat the Champ in range, especially in the bass. However, the Champ is equipped with one 8-inch speaker, the Bandmaster is equipped with three 10-inch speakers, and when I ordered the Champ, I did not expect that performance of the two amps would sound the same. On the other hand, quality wise the amps are constructed exactly the same, it is small in comparison to the Bandmaster and easily transportable, and for a little 5-watt amp that weighs in at about 15 pounds, the sound is like a dream, clear and pure or dirty, whichever is your perspective. The price of this little amp is high; however, worth every penny and a great representation of Fender amps. As always, thank you to Aaron Cieslikowski for expert advice and help.

off the charts good. beautiful cleans, breaks up nice, one pot (vol) lets you find the right tone with you guitar and get to know it/them better - and makes things simple but allows for nuance. only regret is i didn't get this 10 years ago. a true gem.

I bought this amp for recording and I gotta say its just the sound I was after. I didn't want an amp with bells and whistles. just something with tone and vibe. the champ checks those boxes and then some. its plenty loud for practice and recording. its so mid-range focused that it will poke out in a dense mix easily. in a sparse mix its a thing of beauty. I put the reissue 63 fender spring in front of it and its an amazing combo. the price is up there but I feel the value is strong with this amp. I am not a collector of amps. I just wanted one strong, simple guitar amp to trust and I got that in the Champ.

Buy one ... perfect, just like the old days. I bought the Champ and an Edge Custom Deluxe ... both are exactly what I needed for volume and tonal quality. These amps will not dissappoint.

I run hot and cold with electric guitar often because all of the amp, effects and guitar controls can be endlessly tweaked and it ends up being more of the focus than playing. Not so with this amp. You can decide for yourself about the value of the historic circuit and the Fender nameplate, but for me, the tone that comes from this thing, the simple design and controls along with the compact size and weight is just right. The guitar plugged straight into the amp gives me all of the rich tweed experience I want without any random or unwanted other sounds and it's easy to move around to different rooms and hear natural effects from the surroundings. It is better for single coils in my view, but that's subjective and not meant to exclude humbuckers. Plenty loud for home use, more low end than I thought (relatively speaking) and high quality from the construction and hand-wired build.

Many thanks to Brian Kerns and Sweetwater for their usual great experience. Easy to take for granted since it is so consistent but not to be understated!

First, it's loud. More than loud enough to run your children out of the house, and turn your spouse in an raving lunatic banging on the doors of your music room.

Second, clean tone sounds great - with breakup starting to occur above 4'ish on the single dial.

Third, once you get above 4 the volume increases until about 5 or 6, after which going further introduces a additional breakup.

Fourth, that breakup is what you're paying the big bucks for. Think 'La Grange' and revel in that tweedy goodness.

Some additional comments - pairs well with Klon-style pedals (Tumnus or Archer especially), also works well w/ an EP Booster, particularly w/ single coils to bring the edge of breakup at lower volumes.

All in all, a wonderful amp and the one I use more than any other.

Unbelievable little amp! Why would anyone spend $ on a 5 watt amp you might ask. Monster tone is my answer! No tone control just volume. Tone control is not necessary. Amp is super responsive to guitar inputs. 1-3 on volume gives rich, warm, clean tones. 3-6 gets a little dirtier and really starts to be responsive to pick dynamics. After 6 you get some really tasty breakup and distortion. All depending on your guitar inputs. This little gem sounds a lot louder than 5 watts too. FYI I do not represent manufacturer or seller in anyway. I'm just your average ordinary guy that loves great guitar sound. Amp is pedal friendly but is awesome dry too. This is a great studio amp. Haven't done it yet but I'm sure it would mike up for live gigs too. The originals are legends in the studio. Fender has captured the past and you can get your hands on one. Have zero regrets on spending the $ on it. Gonna give kudos to my man at Sweetwater Sam Hillman for the help ordering and prompt delivery. Sweetwater is #1 place to buy online. I'm not kissing anybody's rear when I say that. You're not anonymous after the sale either. Get one of these pint sized power houses and put a smile on your face!

This is one of those amps you have to play to believe. I've watched plenty of demos of this and been underwhelmed, but my curiousity got the best of me. I nearly pulled the trigger on the EC Vibro Champ a few years ago and didn't (shame on me, as tremolo is part of my sound). This little vintage box absolutely rocks. Beautiful clean tones and snarling overdriven ones. Sounded beautiful in the house, but I wanted to see if it could cut it in a live setting. My mainstay amp is a Princeton Reverb Reissue and it's never going anywhere, but I use a mic at my regular gig and if I turn it up past 5 (even on the low input) I catch grief from my so called "sound men". I used this the first weekend I got it and put the volume at 9, put the Senhieser on the grille and WHOA! It sounded huge. A good guitar is all you need, but it loved every pedal from my small board. I never thought I'd say this, but with this amp I didn't even miss not having reverb. My bass and acoustic player couldn't stop smiling at the sound coming out of this.

I could go on but long story short; if you love and have to have that pure vintage Fender tweed sound and got the bread (or an understanding spouse), this is almost a must have. Worth every dime. I was blessed enough to save on a demo model and my fantastic sales engineer Jimmy Hart got it to me at light speed. I love shopping at Sweetwater because of the old school personal attention care and follow up they give their customers.

Love this thing, great clean tones, but I have to say, I tend to use a OD pedal and keep it at 3-4. It's loud, you can crank it for breakup in a larger room/hall, but this is no bedroom amp. That said, it's beautiful, classic Fender cleans, and is as easy as it gets to use. So no, it's not a "practice amp," but you could record it mic'd, or use in small clubs. I was lucky to get a small discount from its 1K price tag right when COVID hit, so I'll leave it up to the buyer if the current price is a good value. But if you're a Fender amp guy, you won't be disappointed.

Ive had all the amps, Mesas, Marshalls and many Fenders. All of them high wattage, big speaker combos or heads. The Champ was new to me. I was on a Duane Allman kick and wanted to check out the Champ. I expected the usual Fender cleans, but was surprised and bit disappointed when I first played it. No cleans to speak of, easily overdriven even by vintage single coil pickups etc. However, once you get the tubes hot and a few hours on the speaker, then it starts to sound like it should.
The Champ does one thing perfectly, sounding like a Champ. A VERY expensive one trick pony, but its good at what it does.
If youre looking for the 70's era Clappo sound, this amp will do it, once you get it warm and break that speaker in.
Just dont expect it to do anything else. Its a low watt, small speaker, small cab box. "Layla"=YES, "Everything Else"=Probably Not.

I bought one of these last year and have no regrets. Out of my collection of amps and guitars, my Champ a cord and a mid 90s American Telecaster are my go to everyday picks. It is nice to clear out all the clutter now and then. It can seem pricey, and it is, but as it breaks in you will wonder why you waited.

I was hoping that I wouldn't be disappointed with the 8 inch speaker and small cabinet size. The '57 Custom Champ is even better than I expected. And it's even better with old/NOS tubes. It's on the expensive side for what it is, but not much more than the Mojo kit fully assembled. The amp on 7 just rips. A very satisfyingly loud 5 watts. I own other amps and this thing has really become my new favorite to just plug in direct. Guitar, cord, amp. So simple.

I've been through a few amps before this one. Mesa Boogie RectoVerb combo, 65 Fender Princeton, and a couple of Allen Amplification combos. All good amps but didn't suit my needs, basically they're too loud and the Mesa didn't sound good with my distortion pedals. I overlooked the Champ before because of the 5 watts and no tone knob. Who knew 5 watts is what I needed? The amp sounds very good, very balanced tones, I could hear all the frequencies well with this amp. I could turn it up to 4 or 5 and get feedback. It's a nice looking amp. There's some small rattling going on when the volume is turned up, something needs to be tightened. After around 9 or 10 on the volume the volume doesn't increase. It's a very full warm sounding amp, takes my pedals well, and I'm really surprised by how much I like the sound. The first input is louder and brighter compared to the second, the second is more bassy, there's the tone control, IMO. I find this to be genius. It's well built minus the small rattling( hence the 4.5 stars) and it comes with a nice cover. I wish it had features like the Eric Clapton Champ, that tremolo, and if it could be reduced to 1 watt. My new favorite amp along with my Vibro Champ XD.

Does exactly what I hoped it would do. This is a little tone monster. I have a Mesa Boogie Mark V which I absolutely love. But the pure simplicity of this little amp with a Tele and a little analog delay are something that every guitar player should experience. Tone for days. Fender, this is a real winner!

I waited over 3 months for this little hand-wired Champ and it was absolutely worth it! It looks great in our studio and also in my living room, but even if it were an eyesore, the sound it emits would justify it. One of the nicest low-watt amps in my arsenal, it goes from sweet to beautifully broken up with the flick of the guitar's volume knob. It's very responsive to playing dynamics with rich overtones across the spectrum. It's eminently recordable, too. I'd share a sample track if I could, but you'll just have to take my word for it. I would absolutely recommend this amp!

this is my first time buying a handwired amp. i was looking for something small and bedroom friendly that has a nice sound and early breakup as I can only play so loud with my living situation. ive heard various points of view over the years with some people saying that handwiring makes a big difference in terms of harmonics, quality of tone, reliability and other advantages compared to pcb. ive also heard some people say it doesn't honestly make a big difference as long as the pcb is a good quality and built well. I also have heard similar head to head point of views on the difference between alnico and ceramic speakers with many saying that alnico is a better speaker and more musical in its sound and that ceramic is often brighter and more harsh vs the warm musical sound of alnico. Anyhow I am mentioning this because part of the reason I bought this amplifier was honestly curiosity as to find out was there any truth to the stereotypes. Also I had a 68 custom champ a few months ago and it was a great amplifier for my specific situation and that amp is pcb with a ceramic speaker so this seemed like a perfect way to test out those myths.

Verdict: Overall I like the amp and it is well suited to what I need out of an amp, however I don't like it enough to give it 5 stars and I am deducting 1 star for these reasons. In regards to the myths and stereotypes about this amp ive gotta say im gonna have to agree with the camp that says handwiring honestly doesn't make that big of a difference in terms of tone and harmonics. I actually liked the 68 champ I had better. I think the tone of the 68 champ combined with the onboard trem and reverb make it a better buy. Im not saying I don't like this amp but what I am saying is that the tone and harmonic foundation of the sound are almost identical to the 68 but with 68 you get reverb and tremolo for 300 dollars less... Anyhow for that reason im deducting one star and also im pretty sure it came with a bad tube because im getting intermittent feedback at volumes that aren't loud enough to produce it naturally. Also for any of the people who would respond to this and say well maybe that is all true but you can't argue about point to point being more reliable and repairable I am incline to agree however I live in a very small town with no guitar shops which means no one that could repair it anyhow so for me I pretty much buy amps and when they die I will just buy another one because ive heard too many people on YouTube saying not to go in the back of an amp and try to repair anything yourself or it will kill you and so that means there's nobody to learn how to DIY repair... anyhow my point being im not sure the reliability and repair factor would matter for me anyway so I don't really count that as a positive.

I played through one of these '57 Champs at a jam and couldn't get that sound out of my mind. I saw a discount on Fender products so I bought it. It's a great living room amp. It sounds like the original. Worth every penny!

This little guy was just what I was looking for. I just love the tone and the simple control layout. I would have given her a 5 stars but the power switch light stop working on day three. Hopefully the bulb is a simple fix.

This amp has great basic sound that is very sensitive to what guitar is plugged in and how its being played. It starts to get dirty around 4 but it all depends on what kind of pickup/electronic setup is plugged in. It makes good pickups sound really good,but if anything is lacking in your electronics- which may not be to noticeable through other amps- this amp will make it stick out like a sore thumb. I prefer it through a separate speaker as the 8" just doesn't sound good to me when cranked.

Far short of what I expected from a hand made amp from the heralded " Fender Custom Shop". The amp has a very noticeable 60 Hz hum right out of the box with no instrument connected. I understand that all hand wired tube amps have some hum to them but the level of hum on this amp is so high that it is distracting and indicative that something is wrong with the amp. I inspected the wiring and tubes and found multiple manufacturing quality issues - there were conductor clippings floating loosely around/under the eyelet board and chassis from where component leads were cut to fit as well as wires with split insulation exposing conductors. I am not an electronics expert but if my untrained eye can spot obvious quality issues like this I wonder what caliber of technician Fender has working in its top tier amp shop. Or maybe Fender just doesn't care about quality.

Given this amp is sold at a premium price, it is sad that the quality and performance of the amp can't even match the quality of amps that were built at low cost shops and sold at half the price. My advice, don't buy from the Fender Custom Shop. Save your money and buy elsewhere, or if you are set on a top quality amp, purchase one from a real boutique shop where you will get the kind of quality and performance you paid for.