Fender Super Champ XD?

[neilshane]

Anyone here using a Super Champ XD? How are the jazz tones? I know it has a modeled version of the JazzKing. Any good? I have an opportunity to pick one up fairly cheaply, but I'm trying to determine if it's worth it or if I should just save up for a Blues Junior.

By the way, I'm purely a bedroom player, not a gigging musician.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

If there was one best amp, we'd all either own it or be saving up for it

It all depends on the sound you like. Have you played a JazzKing? There's one that's been sitting for years at music store near me, so I've played it several times, and it's a great jazz amp, and a pity it was discontinued. It's a clean 140W SS amp with a 15" speaker and a lush reverb tank. And it's loud, but since it's SS you can get a good quiet sound, too.

On the tother hand, the SCXD is a 15W Tube amp with a 10" speaker and DSP (digital signal processing). I have no idea how close it comes to sounding like the JazzKing, but they're completely different amps.

It may come down to how much you like the modeling. Opinions vary, and by a lot. Some people find some modeling unconvincing. Others find modeling amps useful, say in a cover band where you need to at least "approximate" a lot of different sounds. I think you're going to have to see what it sounds like to your ears.

SS versus Tube. Any reason both your choices are both tube amps? When it comes to inexpensive modeling amps, I know there will be a lot of Roland Cube suggestions: 30, 60, 80X. You should definitely play some of them to see what you think.

Perhaps it would help if you gave some more information: price range, what sound you're looking for, what sort of guitars you'll play through the amp, what features you'd like, etc...

EDIT: here's a thread from the Tele forum with lots of opinions from SCXD owners: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-owner...p-xd-club.html

[neilshane]

Thanks a lot Big Daddy. Very helpful stuff.

I'm what most of you guys on this board would probably deem a complete newbie. I've dabbled in guitar for a number of years, but am certainly no technician. I have no delusions of ever making it big, or even getting a steady gig. I just love jazz and love the way it sounds on guitar so I've recently decided to get a bit more serious in my studies.

I play a 1999 Fender American Standard Tele, which really has an amazingly mellow jazz tone from the neck pickup. I also have a cheap Washburn jazz box.

I currently have a Crate V18 112, which I don't particularly care for. It's very bass heavy and the tone is not the greatest.

While I love jazz, it's not the only thing I play. I also like the blues. So I'm looking for versatile amp that sounds decent for bedroom jamming but something I can also grow with in case I do ever start playing with others.

I guess part of what appeals to me about the SCXD is it's versatility of tones. And it's price. I'm not looking to spend more than about $300. The SCXD is widely available for around $200 used. I've also seen Blues Juniors going for a bit over $300, so I could stretch and do that as well.

I feel like I'm partial to tube amp tone. But at the same time, I'm certainly not dead set against a Roland.

Hope that answers some questions.

[derek]

I like the Champ series real well, particularly for the bedroom player. I particularly like the Champ 600. There was a guy at guitar camp this past summer who had one with him, and I was really surprised by the sound.

Most bedroom amps around here seem to be Roland Cube series. Great little amps for the $.

[monkmiles]

I can let you know in a few days about the SCXD. I have one on its way to me. They modeling preamps with tube power amps. Im expexting it to be just the ticket for my drummer-less jazz trio. I have been using a Cube 30 that works well. We play small restaurants where I need a small and light combo...rather than my bulkier tube amps. The SCXD might be a good middle ground for me.

[whiskywheels]

I had a SCXD, and was very pleased with the tone through the clean channel, when using my Ibanez AF75 for a fairly traditional hollowbody jazz tone.. Nice & clean, but with rich subtle harmonics and overtones. I think it sounds better than my cube 60 and 80. I sold it 'cos I thought the amp models were rubbish, and needed a lot of tweaking to work acceptably, but I wish I'd kept it just for the clean channel. As I also play blues & rock I wanted an amp with a nice smooth creamy overdrive channel, so now use a Blackstar HT-5 combo, which does the clean and dirty well. I also have the cubes of course, but I still regret selling the SCXD.

[neilshane]

Thanks Whiskey. Good to know. If I can get one used for $200, it doesn't sound like a terrible mistake. By clean channel, do you mean Channel 1 or the JazzKing setting?

[DegoL]

I have one. For that price I would go for it. It's a nice versatile amp perfect for playing at home, and also loud enough for a small gig or rehearsal. Has a lot of bells an whistles you won't ever use if you only play jazz, but also some nice clean tones. There's a blackface, a tweed, and a JazzKing model that will work for jazz, plus some effects, delay chorus, reverbs, etc. Sounds a lot warmer than my old Roland SuperCube.

[Stackabones]

I love mine. The clean channel is quite nice, and a few models are usable (but a couple are for the metal heads). This amp has that chimey Fender quality, and the reverb is beautiful. Some of the effects I rather enjoy -- especially the Vibratone. The Jazz King voicing isn't too bad, but I prefer the regular clean channel.

Since it is a 10" speaker, you may have some problems with the lower frequency response. But you can run a line out to a cabinet (if you have one) and it's cool. I ran mine into a 12" Crate cab w/Celestion speaker and it was fine. This kinda defeats the purpose of the amp -- which is to be smaller gig/bedroom amp. So having to take an extra cab just defeats the purpose. Be cool with your levels and your lows and this amp is a champ.

[monkmiles]

Just got my SCXD and spent a couple hours playing it. Initial impression is very good. I have a jazz gig tomorrow night I plan to use it on, which will help me form a stronger opinion too.

Initially my favorite channels are the blackface clean (channel 1 and voice #4), tweed clean (voice #1), and jazz king (voice #15).

[whiskywheels]

Thanks Whiskey. Good to know. If I can get one used for $200, it doesn't sound like a terrible mistake. By clean channel, do you mean Channel 1 or the JazzKing setting?

Yeh, I mean channel 1. This is making me think maybe I'll look out for a used one. I wish Fender made a more basic version without all the amp models.

[Will Chen]

I thought the JazzKing setting on the SCXD was pretty good. However, when the amp was cranked up to the loudest settings, the low end will rattle the tubes and mine had some chassis rattle as well which made it questionable for live work unless miced up or playing with a fairly quiet group, YMMV. It's definitely one of the better modeling amps out there. I hope Fender releases a 30 watt version at some point with a mid range control and dedicated reverb. that would be a very sweet amp...

[Jazzin']

If you are on a budget, you should audition the following,

• FM25 - This amp has a similar DSP section, a classic Fender tone stack, and is suitable for home practice.
• Frontman 212R - This amp sounds more like the Jazz-King or Twin to me, has a lot more punch and volume, but the reverb is weak.

I use a RV600 pedal for a lot of my amps, since it provides consistent reverb, and a large number of reverb choices in addition to a "long spring."

I also sometimes use the V-TONE ACOUSTIC ADI21 for,

• Direct-to-PA - this provides a nice "tube tone" without lugging around an amp
• Mid Sweep EQ - This allows me to get the "sweed spot" of the bass, middle, and trebble matched to the guitar and room acoustics
• Blend and Level - This dials in just the right amount of "tube and acoustic" tone

The FM25 street price is around $100 and the Frontman 212R is under $300. The RV600 and ADI21 pedals are insignificant in cost and usable for many venues, including studio or PC recording.

IMHO, these are value products, fantastic for intermediate guitarists and adequate for professional applications.

However, if you are a seasoned pro, you probably won't be reading this forum for advice.

[monkmiles]

Used my new SCXD on a gig last night. It was a restaurant gig, playing standards in a trio (without a drummer - guitar, vibes, bass). It worked really well in this format, which is my regular jazz band.

I used channel 1 the whole time, which is the blackface clean. This channel sounds fantastic. It seems to have some good color over the Jazz King channel (which I find similar to the Roland JC tone). I started with the EQ for bass at 6 and trebale at 5....but finished with both flat at 5.

It was plenty powerful enough, as I kept the volume between 2 and 3. I had planned on swapping the stock speaker with a Jensen Neo 10" I have laying around. Because it would most likely provide a little more volume as it's probably more efficient than the stock speaker. But now I'm not so sure I'll bother swapping. If someone needed a tad more power in a bigger band setting, switching to a more efficient speaker probably would help though.

I used the srping reverb effect and like the sound of the reverb...but any it can get very boingy if you put the effect level above say 3 or 4 or so...I find I liked it around 2.5, which oddly enough is where I like the reverb set on my Princeton Reverb too.

The portability of the SCXD is great. It's 24lbs and pretty small. This is a big deal for me when playing restaurant gigs and toting the amp around for rehearsals. I'll also be using this for practicing at home. I do wish it had a headphone output though. It has a line out but that doesn't mute the speaker. I'm considering getting a Weber Headphone Tap which would allo for this though.

So I will say I prefer the tone of the SCXD over the Roland Cube amps. I don't know if it's the power tubes that make the difference or what, but the SCXD does have that tube amp feel when you play/hear it. The Cube can get close when you up the gain on its blackpanel model, but not quite to the point of the SCXD.

[neilshane]

Thanks Martin!

I got my SCXD yesterday. I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore it, but I will say the Channel 1 Blackface clean is really amazing. Gorgeous tone. And I really dig the Jazz King setting as well.

I was saddened that the amp seems to have some audible hum or hiss when I use some of the Channel 2 settings, including the Jazz King setting. It may be the wall outlet I have the amp plugged into or I may need to invest in a hum eliminator to help cure it. It also hummed pretty badly when I plugged in my archtop. But that could be the guitar more than the amp. It's a cheap Washburn Oscar Schmidt OE40.

Anyway, good jazz tones from this amp. I just need to address the hum.

[monkmiles]

Thanks Martin!

My screenname consists of two of my favs (Pat Martino and Joe Pass). So just as a fyi, my name isn't actually Martin.

I was saddened that the amp seems to have some audible hum or hiss when I use some of the Channel 2 settings, including the Jazz King setting. It may be the wall outlet I have the amp plugged into or I may need to invest in a hum eliminator to help cure it. It also hummed pretty badly when I plugged in my archtop. But that could be the guitar more than the amp. It's a cheap Washburn Oscar Schmidt OE40.

Anyway, good jazz tones from this amp. I just need to address the hum.

Is it a hum or a hiss? I will say I noticeed a little hiss on mine. I noticed it when playing alone at home, just me and the amp. But didn't hear it at all when playing the gig. I'll have to check to see if I hear it more from certain models, but I thought it was a more constant hiss than something that changed from model to model. But I'll check that.

It sounds like poweramp tube hiss to me, but I'm not sure. Because I can't hear it live, I don't think it's a big deal to me. But if would be a big deal if I was micing for recording I think. It could be that a simple powertube swap would help. But I really don't know.

Anyone else had any hiss?

[neilshane]

Update-

I plugged my SCXD into a different plug last night and the hissing noise is greatly eliminated. That makes me very happy!

I also played a lot more last night on the Jazz King setting, which I'm really digging. It sounds fantastic with my hollow body guitar.

All in all, I'm really happy with the amp so far. I can't argue with the price and it seems like a great practice/small gig amp.

[Teobeck]

FWIW - Another pro player hipped me to a Weber lower efficiency Sig 10 ALNiCo speaker which will give you great bass and articulate high register notes at lower volumes for low price of $40, and it sounds marvelous. Incredible improvement. It's also better than the stock speaker at high volumes as well, and clears up the effects. I compared it with Jensen C10Q ceramic, and the ceramic is just too bright, as is the stock speaker.

I also have a Fargen Blackbird (30W) with a 12" Weber 10A150 very efficient ALNiCo speaker (similar to an Eminence Red Fang ALNiCo), both expensive, which I use when we have a drummer at blues gigs, and it doesn't sound any better than Sig 10 above at lower volumes.

[monkmiles]

SO I've now done a couple gigs and a couple rehearsals with my Super Champ XD. I really love it!

I typically just use channel 1 (black face) for my jazz playing. And it really sounds nice, the power tubes seem to really add that chime.

As for the effects, they're decent but not very tweakable. I use the spring reverb effect on lightly and that sounds nice. And I totally dig the vibratone effect on it for a rotating speaker effect! I did one tune with it at a gig but don't use it a ton.

In the end, I think it makes for a great, portable, versatile, jazz amp for those who don't need a high powered amp. I play in a trio, so those who do duo, trio, or quartet could probably use it. I use to use my Cube 30 as my go to grab & go jamp combo, but the Super Champ XD has surpassed it.

[Teobeck]

If you try a Weber Sig 10S you'll be surprised at how much fuller, deeper, and more pronounced an ALNiCo speaker is over the stock ceramic. Speaker changes are no more than undoing the screws, detaching the 2 wires, and switch and reattach. No soldering needed.

[monkmiles]

Speaker changes are no more than undoing the screws, detaching the 2 wires, and switch and reattach. No soldering needed.

Yea, I swap speakers in amps somewhat frequently. I have a Jensen Neo 10" I've been meaning to try in my SCXD, but haven't gotten around to it.

[Masato Watanebe]

Check out my videos! I use a SCXD and my custom telecaster with 2 humbacker pickups.

[Flyin' Brian]

I have a SCXD that's been put into a JD Newell cabinet with a single 12" speaker.

The tube (non modeling) channel sounds great for any kind of clean playing. The effects included are very usable and the change to the 12" speaker just makes it what it should have been when it came out of the factory.

It's excellent for jazz, and even with the bigger cabinet, it's portable and inexpensive.

[va3ux]

Brian, which 12" speaker did you settle on with the amp in the larger cabinet?

[Flyin' Brian]

Phil I have a Warehouse WGS ET65,which is actually a "British" voiced speaker. I should explain that I like tones that are a little more crisp than the standard "jazz' sound. In fact I don't own a guitar with humbucking pickups (even my archtop) because they sound to muffled to me.

The WGS worked well with the Fralin P-92 pickups in my Heritage Sweet 16 and Heritage Prospect as well as the Fralin split blade singles on my Strat and Tele and Fralin hum free P-90s on my Jazzmaster, both with very clean jazz and country settings and with overdrive. They're reasonable too.