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Hey all,
I find myself thinking about getting a Tweed Champ or clone.
I was following one on Reverb, but it just sold today! $600 seemed like a pretty good deal too.
Any opinions on the tweed champ as a jazz amp? too quiet/too much distortion to be useful?
What's a good price?
What should I look for in the world of handwired clones?
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11-12-2016 04:02 PM
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I love the Champ but it's an overdrive machine. You can have clean tones at low volumes but it is a bit limited. Another limitation is the 8" speaker. It's part of the charm but it limits the body people usually associate with a jazz sound. Many people actually use a champ circuit with a 12".
Originally Posted by Longways to Go
When I was in your shoes a while back I ended up going for a 5e3. A bit more headroom, 12" speaker and classic blue note jazz tone.
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Funny you asked for this !
I'm considering building me a 5F1 for fun (and to get cleverly busy on long winter nights !)
So, I'd be happy to get the feelings of owners
Mr Greentone will certainly chime in.
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Well, Julian Lage thinks it works well for jazz.........
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I use the 5f1 all the time at home. I have three that I built. (I have built more 5f1 amps than this, but I kept three.) One is completely stock. It uses the alnico 8" speaker and is a great little amp for low-volume music--every kind--around the house. The amp likes any guitar I plug into it.
However, the amp really comes to life with a Telecaster plugged into input #1 with the volume cranked (on the bridge pickup). With this setup you get the "Funk 49" tone in spades. Why not? It is the exact setup that Joe Walsh used to record the original song.
Still, I think that the amp is perfectly glorious at volume settings of 5 and below for use with any of my archtop guitars. It is a great home office amp to grab between work efforts, plug a guitar in and play a few songs.
A second 5f1 I run into a 4-ohm 10" speaker. It gets a very nice sound. The third 5f1 I built with parallel 6V6 power tubes for a "Champ" that is capable of running at about 8-10 watts. The amp is definitely a bit louder (both clean and distorted) than the other two. I run this amp into a 4x10 cabinet that is stuffed with 16-ohm speakers. With two speakers in parallel the cabinet sees an 8-ohm load. With all four speakers in parallel the speaker cabinet has a 4-ohm load, so it is great for the 5f1. The parallel 6V6 amp into this cabinet is truly awesome. It doesn't sound like a little "Champ" amp, but it sounds remarkably great as a clean amp, or as a small version of a "half stack" setup.
The 5f1 is one of the all-time great guitar amplifiers.Last edited by Greentone; 11-13-2016 at 05:14 PM.
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blille explained very well... I have a tweed champ I built for $400 and it's a great amp for what it is. If you want a tube amp with enough headroom for clean, warm, full-bodied jazz tone, I would aim for a 35-40 watt 2x6L6 with 12" open back or 10" closed back jazz cabinet such as Raezer's Edge. Champ is fine for low volume cleans in a small room or dimed with a tele bridge pup for classic take no prisoners raw overdrive.
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You just missed an excellent one that was for sale here by "vintagelove!" Oh well ...
As with many gear ideas, "it depends" on a number of factors; with amps, for example: are you gigging or playing at home? Solo playing, or with trio, 4-tet, big band, etc.? What kind of sound/"vibe" do you like? Are you using other amps -- if so, what do you like or dislike, that makes you want another? Solid, semi-, or hollow-body guitar(s)? And, budget (tweeds can be $400 - 2400)??
A little tweed can be a fantastic amp, for certain situations ...
[Check out the couple vids from this builder: Home Page ]
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My experience is the virtually all Champs are very sensitive to the pickup output level. I've enjoyed them a lot with a traditional Tele neck pickup but they just turned into overdriven noise with a medium output hum bucker.
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Nice playing by Fernando Rio in those Boot Hill videos. Texas born, Mexico raised, now a Floridian player and teacher. There's an interesting story there, I bet. Whatever it is, Fernando, I'm glad you're here.
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Yep. I call it the champ curse. Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
I'm guessing there's some rock dudes out there that might think differently.
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Not really a tweed (or to hijack the thread), but I've been eying Dave Allen's Chihuahua as a 1x10 6l6 combo for home use. I'm curious how that would fare with a humbucker equipped archtop for a clean but 'organic' sound? As I said, not looking to hijack, but the OP might find value in any responses, as well. If not, apologies up front.
Allen Amplification - Chihuahua
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This!!!!
Watch the full video to see the range of what to expect. If you regularly use humbuckers you could try replacing the 12AX7 with a lower gain tube to clean it up a bit (5751, 12AT7, etc.). A 5F1 tweed Champ is great for home use or recording. For gigging you might want something with a 10" speaker and/or a modified power section (2 6V6's or a single 6L6).
I also built my own 5F1 with Mercury Magnetics transformers and Tone Tubby 8" alnico speaker. Wonderful amp.
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Originally Posted by Longways to Go
Hello, here is the one I just sold. This is a sample with a tele (playing chords) and a 175, it sounds true to each guitar, but does impart some color (in other words it's not the most transparent amp, but the good part is it can add some mojo to a "meh" guitar). Note that this is a 10" speaker, and a 6L6 with classictone transformers. I would definitely go the custom direction with the bigger speaker and 6L6/6v6 potential iron. There is a bit of limiting on the track, but no eq, just guitar to amp.
My 2 cents, great recording amp. Gig ability depends on your needs. Classic tone, very dynamic.
Last edited by vintagelove; 11-12-2016 at 07:26 PM.
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Thanks, vintagelove. Nice playing!
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I sure have a tough time connecting this new era of his with who he was growing up. It's like he suddenly became a completely different player. It's going to be interesting to see where he goes with this. Originally Posted by MaxTwang
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The 5f1 was the first amp I build by my self from a TAD kit. The cab is a´53 Siemens tube radio loaded with 2x10" Jensen P10R. The sound is amazing, specially for jazz.
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Looks gorgeous. I've always wanted to do something like that. Glad someone did. Originally Posted by Valdez
The 5f1 was the first amp I build by my self from a TAD kit. The cab is a´53 Siemens tube radio loaded with 2x10" Jensen P10R. The sound is amazing, specially for jazz.
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Its hart to believe but you can get a 5f1 clone for 175€, with good reviews!
So you have a good base to play around with cabs and speakers.
Fame JTA-05 Sweet Baby Combo
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I don't think Julian Lage plays jazz in the traditional sense. He imporvises but he's not jazz the same way Wes Montgomery or Joe Pass were (for example). Originally Posted by boatheelmusic
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