Champion II 50 Guitar Amp, 50 Watts, with 2-Year Warranty, Features 12 Built-In Effects Models

This thing ROCKS! I strongly recommend purchasing the additional / optional foot switch, but otherwise this thing is 100% ready to rock right out of the box. FIrst, it's a great looking amp with contemporary black-on-black styling. Second, all channels sound great - clean, muddy, dirty, crunchy - whatever you're after, this amp can do it. Operation goes something like this: Basically you have two channels and one mini effects rack. Call Channel 1 "Clean" - no modulation, no overdrive, just some voltage and a speaker. Call Channel 2 "Modded" - this is where the fun starts. Channel 2 has a gain control, independent volume from channel 1, and several presets to help you lock in your tone. Basically it's an amp emulator with a combination of amp "voicings" and effects from fuzz to distortion. You can get that neat, warm Vox tone, a really crunchy sort of Marshall sound, and more. It's not the most sophisticated sound mixer in the world, but if you're playing at home as a hobbyist, it's plenty. Then you've got the "Effects" selector. Here's a two-channel EQ (bass & treble) plus a host of effects like you'd get from various stomp boxes: Reverb, Tremolo, Chorus, Delay, and also a "timer" control for the Wah, Tremolo, and Delay effects. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the knack it's simple. The level of effect can be adjusted from light to very, very heavy. For my part: I don't mess around with the effects too much - I have stomp boxes for that. I do like to put Channel 2 on full distortion because it gives me a toothier crunch than my Big Muff can. The reverb is excellent, so I take advantage of that, but personally I only use the tremolo, delay, chorus (etc) when I want to sort of experiment with the sound. in other words, it helps me make up my mind if I want to buy another stomp box or not (ie "wow, this sounds really cool with tremolo on...maybe I should buy a trem peddle...). It's got an auxiliar input if you have a drum machine, emulator, or if you just want to jam a long to tracks on another device that you want to hear through the amp. It also has a headphone jack (my neighbors are grateful for that one). I have yet to turn this thing up to 11. Frankly it shakes my teeth at about 5. Given the wattage and speaker, this is probably a fine amp for smaller gigs as well as home practice. Now just between you, me, and the wall: I am a pretty low-tech sort of dude. The newer amps with all sorts of digital emulation, downoadable presets, direct-to-USB porting for computer play...it's neat, but it's not necessary, and I frankly don't want to spend the time learning something I'm never gonna use. I just want to plug in and rock out - this is the right amp for that. VERDICT: BUY. It's an excellent home practice amp, solid effects sampler, and perfectly capable small-gig amp. ALSO: Get the foot switch!

This small amp is a nice bang for your dollar! I am an old guy who plays acoustic/electric guitar and electric guitar. I just use this amp in my home for my own pleasure. It has a lot of power for being small in size and has very nice sound quality. I'm not a real accomplished guitar player...but this amp probably makes me sound better than I really play...lol! It has a few effects that are nice as well. I love the reverb. I've only had the amp for a few days, if it lasts a while I will be extremely pleased with my purchase.

After using the amplifier for a few months and reading up on the new digital modeling amps, I think the best way to describe the Champion 40 is that it's a modeling amplifier for people who don't want to connect their guitar amp to their phone or the Internet. Instead of dozens/hundreds of amp sounds and effects and configurations, the Champion series gives you a fixed number of solid amp sounds through an interface that looks, feels, and works just like a regular old-school amplifier. It makes the newer tech in solid-state amplifier much more accessible. I'll also add that I've since picked up a small tube amp which I love, but I have one favorite guitar where I still prefer running it through the Champion's Deluxe or Princeton Reverb voices. Rest of the original write-up follows. I'm mostly a hobby player, playing for fun and to accompany/supervise my son during his music practice. I've never owned a "real" amp, playing through an early-1990's vintage Crate practice amp and a Pignose. Both were functional: I'd play through them so I could hear my Strat, but I never loved how my guitar sounded through either of them. The pandemic has led to me playing a lot more, so I finally decided to splurge on a better practice amp. I don't have a lot of experience with amps, and the pandemic meant I couldn't try any in person before buying something. I settled on the Champion 40 one based on comments and videos of recent Fender solid-state amps. The other amp I considered was a Bugera v5 tube amp, but I went with the Champion 40 for its versatility and to avoid the maintenance that I know tube amps require. The best thing I can say about this amp is that I feel like my guitar suddenly has tone, whether through the clean channel or through the voice channel. I play more than I did before because I like hearing my guitar talking through it. It's a simple amp that's easy to operate and doesn't have as much complexity as something like the Fender Mustang line, but you can still get plenty of versatility with the amp voices and effects provided. A lot of the built-in effects are gimmicky, but I like the way the reverb effects sound and I'm not into effects anyway. The marketing says the clean channel is modeled after a classic Twin blackface sound, and I'd agree based on how close it is to the Twin voice on the other channel with the gain turned down. Finally, while looks are the least important aspect of an amp, I love the classic Fender blackface look of the Champion 40. I also like the usability of the blackface angled front panel over top-mounted controls (as on the Fender tweed amps or the Mustang line), so it's not just about the looks. I am sure there are lots of amps in this price range that would satisfy my needs, and which would sound as good or better. I'm also sure I could spend 2-5 times as much money a tube amp to get better tone. The bottom line is that I love the way this amp looks, works, and sounds, and I feel like I got a whole lot of amplifier for the money. It's an amp I can grow with for quite a while.

Initially I ordered the 40W but the shipment got lost and never showed up so I ordered the 50W and am glad the 40 never arrived. I didn’t get a chance to play the 40 so I can’t compare but the 50XL has a better speaker with more power for only a few more dollars. Unless you are an absolute beginner trying to decide if guitar is for you and you never plan to play out, I would only order the 50W and above. If you’re looking for a ton of effects and gadgets and the ability to download and “tech” out, this may not be for you but it has a few amp models and all of the basic effects like reverb, delay, chorus, etc. and they all sound great. (The Wah effect is ok, but if you use that a lot you probably have a dedicated pedal) This amp in my view covers every music style, sounds awesome and is LOUD! This could easily handle small to medium venues, anything outside of that would get mic’d anyway. If there was a downside, I would say that there is not an output to connect directly to a board, or audio interface. I’ve been using this for about 2 years now and that hasn’t been an issue. I plug directly into my audio interface when recording and don’t use the amp. I’m currently using an older Zoom multi effects medal and all I can say is wow…. It sounds great with my Fender Strat (MIM) I primarily play blues and jazz, but have fooled around with some rock and metal and they all sound great. BTW… the one disadvantage of having all your effects in your amp as opposed to a pedal board or processor is that if you find the sound you like with the amp effects, you’re married to that amp and if you have problems with the amp you’re screwed. Although I love this amp, I can record without it or play through another sound system because my effects come primarily from my pedal. Hope this helps, but get the 50W or higher…. You’ll thank me later 😉

Years ago I bought the Mustang amp and was disappointed with all the simulated tones as all I wanted was a pure sound. Plus it was a single 12" speaker but it could still make your ears ring. In its defense, there are a few simulated tones that were pleasing to play but most of them sounded distorted. So, the Mrs. and I got in a fight so I decided to treat myself to a new amp. After reading other reviews from those much more proficient than I, I took the plunge. WOW, what an amp. The first channel is "clean" but can still be modulated. The two 12" speakers do not disappoint and I'm confident you could fill up most concert venues (albeit moderate size) with no problem. Or you can select the second channel and go crazy with settings I have only begun to explore. The only reason for the 4-star rating on versatility (and I think this is a small point) is that you can only plug in one guitar so you can't "share" with another player. It's a little hefty to carry around with just the handle as I think it's just north of 40 lb. I'm a little long in the tooth so I had my son bring it upstairs. Plus it's a bit bulky so it really offsets your center of gravity which adds a degree of difficulty in lifting and transporting it. Sorry, I cannot discuss the nuances of different settings so I'll defer to those professionals who have waxed poetic about it's capabilities. I content myself with how it projects power and clarity at low levels and makes my mid-level playing sound good. I'm confident if you want to crank it up it will take you as loud as you want to go and depending on the time of day, you may get a visit from local law enforcement! You don't need to hear from me that you can go crazy price-wise with guitar amps but at this price point, I think you'd be hard pressed to justify why you need to spend that much more when this one can definitely carry the load. FWIW, I haven't had the master volume above 3 so there's a lot of "Star Trek" space left! Enjoy.

This amp sounds great for such a lightweight amp and has so many possible voices - nothing that's going to blow a stadium away but a bedroom masterpiece for sure. Enjoy.

I bought this amp as a replacement for an older solid-state Fender amp I used for rehearsal. I like Fender's tube amps and gig with a Blues Junior, Deluxe Reverb, Blues DeVille, or '65 Super Reverb Reissue. Great tube sound (after some tweaks) but those amps are heavy and since we rehearse in a small space they are unnecessarily powerful. The Champion 40 is light and has a good sounding 12" speaker. Fender is getting better with solid-state and the Champion 40 sounds louder than the 60 watt solid state amp it replaced. The Champion 40 has two channels, blackface clean and selectable amp. The clean channel is good for the basics but I use the selectable channel most often. You can dial the selector from tweed to blackface to british to metal. There is more than one variation per amp model and an LED changes color as you turn through the different models. Surprisingly good sounds for a budget amp. The built-in effects are simple but effective. Reverb, chorus, flange, delay, phaser, vibrato, and tremolo. You can't adjust parameters of the effects but there is an effects level knob to control the mix. I use mine for surfy reverb and slapback rockabilly. A cool feature is a "tap" button that lets you set the repeat time for effects like tremolo and delay. Fender lists a part number for an optional 2-button footswitch for this amp but I couldn't find it on their website. Not really necessary though as the channel switch button and FX Level knob are easy to use. Just be sure not to plug your guitar into the footswitch jack on the front. The amp has an 1/8" aux input for playing along with recorded music and an 1/8" jack for headphones. There are treble and bass knobs that control the tone for both channels. Although it can't touch a Twin Reverb for volume, this amp is surprisingly loud. As a practice amp or for small gigs that don't require a lot of volume it works. Best of all, it's only 19 lbs! Stash a chord and small tuner in your gig bag and with the built in effects this is a "one easy trip from the car" kind of amplifier.

I "grew up" in the 1960's with a Fender Super Reverb, and used a Twin Reverb in the 1980's-2000's. The Twin was lost in Hurricane Katrina (all I have left is the beefy cast metal Fender nameplate). I went amp-less for several years, then bought a gadget called FootNote that combines a pedal board with a practice amp. That worked "OK" at best---too large for a pedal board, too quiet for an amp. So I treated myself to a Fender Champion 40 and am very, very pleased with the quality and sound (and light weight!). It's clearly not a military-grade device, but then neither am I. This amp will likely outlast me, and that's plenty good enough. The amp has excellent tone on the clean side, similar to a Twin etc. The dirty side has some nice adjustments (as heard in the demo videos). It's plenty loud enough for practice and small venues, and will mic just as well as any other amp for larger venues. The reverb and effects are very good, with less "digital" sound than I am used to with simulated effects. Still, I prefer my separate Boss pedals that have a lot more control for the delay and chorus. But the Champion effects are plenty good enough for practice without hauling out my pedalboard. BTW, the amp works fine with a two button footswitch P/N 0071359000 (which isn't clear in the online info or brief instruction manual). The footswitch controls the clean-dirty selection as well as effect off-on. The switch seems very well made and came with the required 1/4" cord. So if you are a purist and like hauling 50-70 pound amps then get yourself a real Deluxe or Twin with nice hot tubes. But if you want a low price amp with very good sound and simple features this is a hard deal to beat.