Comments on: Hot-Rodding The New Fender Champion 600!

By: Upgrading a Fender Champion 600 Amplifier to an 8″ Jensen Speaker « diymusician

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:24:15 +0000

[...] the amp after finding some articles online. I came across John Frondelli’s article on Upgrading the Champion 600 and since I work in NYC, I decided to stop in and pick up his upgrade kit. While his kit [...]

By: Matthew Helyar

Matthew Helyar — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:14:00 +0000

Fender 5B1 champ wasn’t a dual triode preamp, it was a 6SJ7 single small signal pentode. 12AX7s weren’t used until the 5E1. Also, the old champ wouldn’t have sagged as it’s Class A single ended. Tube recifier wouldn’t do anything for those except drop a constant voltage. Please do some research before publishing.nnThis preamp’s not a lot like the old champs though. both triodes are cathode bypassed for extra gain and there’s a fixed tonestack in between that wasn’t there before. The poweramp’s pretty similar though. It’s most similar to the 5E1, but with the 2nd triode cathode bypassed and the extra tonestack, and it should be easy to mod back to roughly 5E1 by bypassing the tonestack and removing that capacitor, or removing the first triode’s cathode cap too for roughly 5F1.n

By: nomadh

nomadh — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:31:00 +0000

I just did the neg feedback mod and in the tone I lifted it so I totally skip the tone stack also. Just the tone mod by itself doubles the vol and kicks the gain into overdrive. Yanking the neg FB just makes it a wild gain monster at max.nUnfortunately I think the junky tube couldn’t handle it and it shorted out and took my OT with it. Any good info on repairing and troubleshooting.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:57:00 +0000

I have done this mod and the only thing that disappoints me is the increased fizzing sound on the upper frequencies. It is worse when using an overdrive pedal. How can this be eliminated?

By: Tom Edmister

Tom Edmister — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:18:00 +0000

I did all of the mods and it really improved the tone of this amp. It has much more gain on tap but can still clean up nice with the volume on the guitar. I put R7 on a switch. It gets more gain and treble boost with R7 removed. I switch it back to stock to get a less treble tone.

By: Tom Edmister

Tom Edmister — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:12:00 +0000

I did all of these mods and I have to say I really like this amp now.

By: KF4GAU

KF4GAU — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:34:00 +0000

Overall, the is a great and helpful article. I’d love to see some before and after licks. Might be a worthwhile mod to add a second dual triode for gain and keep the three knob tone stack.nnOne nitpick, though. Only class AB amps experience dynamic voltage sag due to the high rectifier tube impedance. Class A amps won’t experience this due to the fact that the final is biased at high current draw even at zero signal.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:18:22 +0000

Just got the component kit today and soldered in all five components and removed the R7. I am loving my sound! I may want to get a 10″ to maybe gig with it.

By: Brando

Brando — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:56:25 +0000

Newbie here.

When you remove the r7 resistor do you have to place a jumper wire in its place, or just

unsolder?

By: Timmy Huges

Timmy Huges — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:12:16 +0000

I just bought mine and loved the sound right away. I didn’t want to do anything drastic so I simply removed the R7 neg fb resistor. That alone changed the voice, still warm but more top end when needed! I won’t be re-attaching it and I know my Champ has a unique voice!!

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:39:41 +0000

Will this mod increase the gain and distortion at lower volume ie 7?
Will the OD at 10-12 be increased?
I’ve read that the stock speaker is good after breakin is that true?
Thanks

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:34:33 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by 300guitars: Fender Champion 600 amplifier mods!!! Here is the DIY article. http://bit.ly/8Cogy...

By: Fender Champion 600 - My Les Paul Forums

Fender Champion 600 - My Les Paul Forums — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:11:34 +0000

[...] mods you can do to improve the amp. This link will give you some idea of what you are up against. DIY: Hot Rodding the New Fender Champion 600 | 300Guitars.com I like these small inexpensive amps just because I like to tinker. They certainly aren’t going to [...]

By: The Best of 300guitars 2008! | 300Guitars.com

The Best of 300guitars 2008! | 300Guitars.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:06:09 +0000

[...] DIY: Hot-Rodding The New Fender Champion 600! [...]

By: Amp Reccomendation - My Les Paul Forums

Amp Reccomendation - My Les Paul Forums — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:50:59 +0000

[...] to some mods – notably an EQ and a feedback circuit for the preamp. It doesn’t seem impossible. DIY: Hot-Rodding The New Fender Champion 600! | 300Guitars.com Take a look at this…. __________________ KP Les Paul Standard Plus Top Heritage Cherry [...]

By: Squeeze More Tone Out Of Your Fender Champion 600 or Gretsch G5222 Amp! | 300Guitars.com

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:08:21 +0000

[...] juice from your Fender Champion 600 or Gretsch G5222 amp? Check out JR Frondelli’s article DIY: Hot Rodding The New Fender

By: DIY: Hot-Rodding The New Gretsch G5222 Electromatic Amp! | 300Guitars.com

DIY: Hot-Rodding The New Gretsch G5222 Electromatic Amp! | 300Guitars.com — Wed, 14 May 2008 05:42:41 +0000

[...] For all you Gretsch G5222 amp owners that want to get more tone out of your amp see the article DIY: Hot Rodding The New Fender Champion 600 by John Frondelli on the Articles page. Both amps are electronically the same so the article will [...]