Fender has announced the return of one of its top-selling guitar amps by unveiling the reissued Champion II range.
The Champion lineage can be traced all the way back to the late 1940s, when the original Champion 800 – which preceded the now-legendary Fender Champ – first arrived. However, when Fender revived the Champion design over a decade ago, it did so with plenty of modern twists.
These included onboard effects and multiple built-in amp voices, which helped position the Champions as some of the more versatile affordable combo amps on the market.
And they proved to be a hit: the Champion family has since been established as a force in the entry-level modeling amp world, and an early precursor to Fender’s more sophisticated modeling developments as seen in the Tone Master range.
Now, Fender has revisited and expanded the tried-and-trusted line with a trio of Champion II amps, which offer 24, 50 or 100 watts of output.
Naturally, there are a host of amp-specific specs (more on those in a bit), but across the board each Champion II unit offers built-in reverb, delay/echo, chorus, tremolo and Vibratone effects, which can be accessed and sculpted using the universal FX knob.
In operation, the delay times and tremolo speeds can be set using an easy-to-access, if slightly inconveniently placed, front-mounted TAP button, while a one-size-fits-all Voice parameter navigates between Classic, Modern British and Hi Gain amp modes.
These can be further refined through a range of onboard EQ controls, with each amp offering an assortment of Gain, Treble, Bass and Modify controls. They all also come equipped with a USB port, headphone output, and auxiliary input jack.
Notably, the two higher-watt amps both have two channels. While the Champion II 50 is slightly more conservative with its control placement – just channel-specific volume controls and one gain control can be found – the Champion II 100 is far more generous.
It offers a two-band EQ for the first channel, a three-band EQ for the second, independent effects knobs on both, and tap tempo buttons on both sides. An external footswitch for channel switching can also be bought.
“The Champion II amps are all about versatility and cater to any style of playing, whether it’s rock, country, blues and even metal,” says Fender. “These amps deliver Fender clean and overdrive tones, as well as incredible British and high gain amp models.
“No menus, no apps, just a familiar and intuitive interface that makes dialing in tones easy.”
The Champion II 25, 50 and 100 are available now for $129, $229, and $399, respectively
Visit Fender to find out more.
"The new Spark Edge grants you access to serious guitar tones, crystal-clear vocals, and bags of volume, all in a lightweight, portable package": Positive Grid Spark Edge review
“We’re going to release an end-all-be-all amplifier with his name on it”: Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Metallica are among the rock royalty who used José Arredondo’s legendary amps. Now Dave Friedman is honoring his legacy with a definitive model
