Fender 57 Champ as a Pedal Platform?!?

#fenderchamp #fenderamps #guitar #guitaramp
Can you use the 57 Champ as a pedal platform? Let's find out! Using a Keeley Katana Mini, Dunlop Cry Baby, Vick Audio Mount Pleasant, Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe, Keeley Monterey & Darkside and an HX Stomp into a Fender 57 Champ Reissue with a Fender American Original 50s Telecaster.

This was not a sponsored review.

Thanks for watching! Please remember to like, share and subscribe. If you want to support my channel, please follow the links below to listen to music. You can listen via Spotify, download via Bandcamp, or visit my webpage and hit the tip jar! And stop by the forum to join in on the conversation. I've also listed Amazon Affiliate links to my gear further down.

Also, if you're interested in the gear I use, you can find some of it on Amazon. These are Affiliate Links, and if you shop through here, I earn a small commission which helps support me make these videos!

Guitar Gear:

Studio Gear:

Disclaimer: I do basic audio editing on my videos to account for the microphones, preamp and room. This editing, mostly light EQ and compression, is intended to give you the most accurate representation of how the featured gear actually sounds. NO editing is done to misrepresent how the featured gear sounds in any way.

I also use gear in my videos that I originally received through review deals with the companies. Anything other than whats stated as a sponsored feature is used entirely of my own volition, and no additional sponsorship is involved.

[macoperer]

As I mentioned in another comment. Your videos convinced me to buy this amp. It's Awesome!

[angusorvid]

This is my favorite kind of setup. I've played a lot of gigs with Fender combos pushed with pedals. I would turn the amp enough to get the tubes churning and kick it in the right places with the pedal. I was never a rabid Marshall fan. I owned many Marshalls and just sold another combo recently. I find Fenders just have a lot of body and I prefer pedals for gain anyways. I like that warm Fender rumble and Fender cleans are the best. Also, Fenders are LOUD and clear and punch way above their weight.

[seanflynn]

The Fender Pro Jr. is the best (or worst) kept secret for pedal platforms. Vol and Tone, louder then the Champ. It cuts through a 5 piece band. The champ is great, just also consider the Pro Jr for these kinds of tone quests and studio work as well.

[vcsuwar]

I love my Fender Champ but the circuit architecture EQs it quite flat, which to the human ear can sound very midrange-to-treble forward. It can sound brittle. I've found that the most important pedal to get a more neutral "pedal platform" sound is an EQ pedal. My favorite is the JHS Haunting Mids, but a Boss EQ pedal will get you there just fine. I just add some lower mids to the sound and it's really pleasant.

[bruceman]

Your channel helped me a lot!

I sold my 57 champ and bought a handwired princeton reverb and I couldn't be happier! Thanks!

[nekkon]

Every time I see an upload of yours which is about gear, I really look forward to the dad jokes in there!

[davidbeal]

Great vid, Jack. You make that Champ sound so great right at the opening.
I have had a Champ reissue for a couple years, and it's one of my most cherished possessions. I do use it with pedals (OD, + delay, mostly), but now I'm inspired to expand my horizons.
Why shouldn't a Champ be a great pedal platform? It should, by design. It should work great live, with a very good PA system. It should work perfectly for practice and song writing (that's how I use mine), and should be killer for recording. You demonstrate all of those approaches quite well. (I really liked your playing with that Mt Pleasant pedal.)
Of course, a Champ should make guitar players go weak just all by itself.
Thanks for another inspiring video.
(Hey, could you demonstrate that stereo Blues Jr idea someday? I'd watch that!)

[soulpuma]

Always had a thing for the Champ, this brings me much close to buy one… or two.

[dcjway]

My 57 Champ is my home practice amp and I always run my pedal board with it. It’s a clean little amp that truly is a blank canvas to paint my tone on. Great video Jack. It also pairs well with my R7 LP Custom, must have been a good year for gear.

[spider]

Nice! I always wondered what a Flint in front of that 57 champ would would do. Nice pedal board👍🏻 I have the Dark Side🙂

[dean-marr]

Luv my 57 champ reissue without anything and with pedals. I bought it around 2010 for 999 cdn and total worth the price even though pricey

[markford]

Good review. I would have also liked to see how the amp responds to guitar volume knob changes. Cheers

[alexw]

57 champ into a Jan Ray, then into milkman reverb and harmonic tremolo, straight into guitar and I am good to go for hours. Fuzz sounds really good thru the champ. Only effect I noticed not sounding great was delay, as my repeats got really dirty and washed out from the Volante. Maybe a different delay would offer different results…. All in all, a really cool amp if you plan to add your own external effects.

[Josedelmar]

Helllooo!! Very good review, I see your dark side pedal, a good one, have one question, can you replicate pink floyd dsom tones as Time with this pedal and this amp?

[tincupmike]

Sounds great. Hx stomp sounded sweet through it.

[PaulSmith-qzre]

Hello Jack great vid bro can't beat the champ

[ErikSWE]

Seems like it takes pedals really well. I'm torn between getting a 57 Champ and a Blues Deluxe for playing at home, having tried a Hot Rod Deluxe at home volume I think I'd be able to use the Blues Deluxe the same way but obviously the Champ is better suited for the task. If the champ had a speaker output I wouldn't even consider the Blues Deluxe but as it is now you're stuck with the 8" speaker unless you do some extensive modding and even with a decent reverb pedal you can't really make up for the boxy sound of such a small speaker.

[Amish_Trivedi]

I'm really really torn on what amp to buy for home and you're making such a great case for this one! You asked us to comment on what sounded better between boost and overdrive at the 9whatever mark— I thought the overdrive sounded because as the boost felt a little harsh to me. The Mount Pleasant, it seemed to me, allowed you to dig in vs pull back based on your playing, which is always a good place to be. The second you hit the strings with the boost, it felt quite gritty and it didn't taper at all.

[michelleneeds]

Know this vid is old now but I'll ask anyway, was the last bit with the hx stomp running into the front f the champ? Not into your DAW to sound as close to the champ as possible? You prob said ths and I missed it lol! If so was really impressed with how big you managed to make it sound whilst still maintaining those "Tweedy" characteristics!

[mwpv]

Nice tones! I use my Champ even at small to medium gigs with great success