Before going on to launch a brand of amps under his own name, Paul Rivera worked as a designer at Fender in the ‘80s. Some of Paul’s notable amps include the Princeton Reverb II, the Deluxe Reverb II, and the Super Champ. These were the last hand-wired amps in Fender’s production line until the 1993 launch of the Custom series, and they featured switching between clean and high-gain channels. The channel switching was a first for Fender and was their attempt at staking a claim in a market spearheaded by Mesa Boogie. After Rivera left, Fender’s production line changed to more cost-effective PCB construction.

The Rivera-era amps presented an opportunity for collectors to snag a hand-wired Fender amp for a fraction of the price of its Blackface and Silverface siblings. The 18W Super Champ, which was the only point-to-point-wired Champ tube amp in Fender’s history to include both reverb and channel switching, garnered serious attention after it was discontinued and became a highly sought after item.

Fans have longed for the day when Fender would reissue the Super Champ, and it recently heeded their calls with the Super Champ XD ($299.99 street). So how does it stand up to the original?

A Champ For The New Millennium
Although both units are tube amps, there are significant differences between the XD and its predecessor in terms of design and construction. The original Super Champ is a fairly straightforward hand-wired amp with all-tube preamp and power-amp sections producing 18 watts. On the other hand, the Super Champ XD has PCB construction, includes a DSP front-end, and offers 15 watts.

These differences were a controversial topic between two camps of Fender amp fans—the traditionalists and those that embraced current technology. To many, adding DSP to a Super Champ was sacrilege. But don’t let the addition of the DSP chip fool you. The Super Champ XD is a real tube amp, driven by a single 12AX7 in the preamp section and two 6V6s in the power section.

Two Voices Plus
The Super Champ XD’s front panel is laid out in a typical two-channel fashion: a knob for Volume 1, a button for Channel Select, and knobs for Gain, Volume 2, Voice, Treble, Bass, FX Level, and FX Select. Channel one yields a typical Fender clean sound while channel two offers 16 modeled options selected by the Voice knob. The sounds range from Tweed and British to Jazz and Acoustic. The Voice control itself only displays numbers 1–16 so you’ll need to consult the manual to get the full details on each voice. The most likely application of the Super Champ XD would be to dial up settings for both the clean channel and one favorite alternate voicing in channel 2, and then switch between the two sounds rather than attempt to have immediate access to all of the voicings in channel 2.

The FX Select dial lets you choose effects such as Vibratone, Delay, Reverb (and Reverb + Delay), Chorus, and Tremolo, with a total of 16 possible settings. Details of the effects (delay time, reverb room type, etc.) are in the manual. The parameters are factory set, and you won’t be able to tap in a tempo. Nonetheless, the factory settings are very musical.

The rear panel sports the power cord socket, the power switch, a speaker output, a line output, and a footswitch jack. When the footswitch is connected, the Channel Select button on the front panel is disabled.

Footswitch Frenzy
One element that added to the mystique of the original Super Champ was its proprietary footswitch. On many amps, a generic footswitch can be used to change channels, but with the Super Champ, you had to use its specific footswitch. The footswitch became a major selling point for vintage Super Champs; the inclusion of one added greatly to the amp’s value.

The Super Champ XD’s footswitch is also proprietary, but it is not included with the amp. However, it’s the same footswitch that is used with Fender’s FM65DSP amp.

In The Ring
I used the Super Champ XD unmiked with a loud band and didn’t have any issues with clean headroom. I had the amp elevated and I don’t think I ever needed the volume past 7. When I used some of the high-gain sounds, it sometimes seemed like the specially designed 10-inch speaker had trouble handling louder volume levels. But, overall, it performed like a champ.

There is a volume difference when switching between some presets in channel 2, which is not a surprise. You wouldn’t really expect the Acoustic voicing to be as loud as the Metal voicing, even with the same level settings. As I mentioned earlier, most users will probably just stick to one clean sound and one alternate sound from channel 2, rather than attempt to switch in real time between different voices in channel 2. Although it would be nice to go from say, Acoustic to Hot Rod (both channel 2 voices) I don't think that is the intention of the amp.

Contender To The Throne
I compared the Super Champ XD to my vintage Super Champ and, surprisingly, the XD sounds fuller and warmer than the older version. The original Super Champ also had a weird quirk where the reverb level would lower when you changed to the high-gain channel. This isn’t an issue with the XD.

Against Fender’s current production models, the popular 15W all-tube Blues Jr. is probably the Super Champ XD’s closest competitor. The most noticeable difference between both amps is that the Blues Jr. houses a 12-inch speaker, eschews DSP effects, and streets at about $200 more. Which of the two amps is better is a matter of personal preference, as they both sound great.

Does the XD Get The Crown?
The Super Champ XD can cover the needs of most gigs in a portable self-contained package. Many of the fundamental guitar sounds you’re likely to use are available in this amplifier. If your sound is heavily based on pedals, the Super Champ XD is also an excellent pedal platform.

The amp’s clean sound has that unmistakable Fender signature that no other manufacturer has been able to accurately replicate. Even if the Super Champ XD were a single-channel amp with just that Fender sound, it would be a killer buy. Factor in all of the sounds available from Channel 2, and that the amp weighs a manageable 24 pounds, and you have a winning combo.

Pros: Excellent sounds.

Cons: None

NYC-based guitarist Joe Charupakorn writes for Guitar Edge magazine and is a best-selling author and editor for Hal Leonard Corporation. Visit him on the web at joecharupakorn.com.