Fender has been the trusted brand for over seventy years, not just for electric or acoustic guitars but also for their amplifiers.
It is the most recognizable brand amongst guitar enthusiasts, and the more classic Fender amplifiers are one of the most coveted ones.
Here, we review the Fender Champion 20, which is the most affordable of the Champion line.
Is it the amplifier for you?
Let’s find out.
Contents
Pros
- A great beginner amplifier
- Well built from an established brand
- The amplifier’s clean tone
Cons
- No line-out output
- Not great for use in large gigs
- The amplifier does not back footswitch
Key Features
- Type: Solid State amplifier
- Output Power: 20 watts
- Voltage: 100 watts
- Dimensions: 12.75” H x 13.75 W x 7.5 D
- Overall Weight: 12 pounds
- Inputs: 1 x ¼: for instrument, 1 x ⅛ for auxiliary port
- Made of: MDF with Black Tolex
Onboard Effects
What a guitar amplifier does is more than just making the sound of your acoustic or electric guitar louder.
It also enriches your guitar tone, especially when the amplifier has effects, and the Fender Champion 20 has many built-in effects for your enjoyment.
These on-board effects can not only improve your overall tone, but they will save you money, too, because you won’t require to buy any additional guitar pedals anymore, especially if you’re a beginner.
The effects in the Fender Champion 20 are handy with a turn of a dial, and they include the delay, chorus, reverb, vibratome, flanger, wah, and the tremolo effect.
For the price of this guitar amplifier, that is a sizable and versatile range for you to experiment with!
Amp Modeling
This Fender Champion 20 boasts a variety of digital amplifier modeling.
From classic hard rock Fender sounds to the more contemporary genre like heavy metal, you will find all that and more in this Fender amplifier.
There is the classic Fender tweed sound with the Tweed Bassman, the Tweed Champ, and the Tweed Deluxe.
Blackface, British, and Metal ‘voices’ feature the 65 Twin Amp, 65 Princeton, 65 Deluxe, the 60’s, the ’70s, and 80’s British sound and for the metal the Super-Sonic, the ’90s, and the 2000 metal sound; all this sound will seem like you own multiple amplifiers.
You can access this sound by controlling the voice, the volume, and the treble dials.
With the Fender Champion 20, the sound you’ll access is endless, and for a beginner, this will open a wide diversity of other sound styles for you.
Headphone Jack
A budding guitar lover who just acquired his first amplifier would not be able to stop playing it, and the Fender Champion 20 amplifier made that easier for you with the inclusion of a headphone output jack.
Now, you can practice till midnight without your electric guitar and amplifier without waking up the whole block.
Classic Fender Amplifier Look
The Fender Champion 20 prides itself on its classic look reminiscent of the famous Blackface Fender amps line released in the early ’60s.
It has a black “Bronco” vinyl covering, a silver grille cloth, with skirted vintage-style control knobs.
This gorgeous-looking amplifier will truly bring you a slice of the past.
Who is it for?
The Fender Champion 20 is great for beginners looking for a reliable beginner amplifier from a trusted leader brand.
This amplifier will give them the pleasure of practicing on end and, at the same time, will give them enough features to be able to experiment and experience new sounds.
The Fender Champion 20 are also for smaller bands who have booked their first gig and are looking for a reliable individual amplifier that would do all the work and more.
Potential Drawbacks
A potential drawback to the Fender Champion 20 is not inherent problems brought about by the amplifier itself.
The potential drawback to this amplifier is that it lacks certain aspects that the other competitors might have an advantage at; this includes the lack of a footswitch and the fact that the amplifier doesn’t have an outlet to connect to a computer.
Although these are valid problems, Fender does not advertise this amplifier for recording, but this will be a problem for beginners looking to mix and record sounds on their own.
Conclusion
The Fender Champion 20 is a sturdy amplifier that has a great build and design and is pretty easy to use for a beginner.
There’s a variety of on-board pre-programmed effects that are perfect for a beginner to dip their toes in.
There is also a degree of customization and control with the skirted vintage-style knobs that are easy to manipulate.
This electric guitar amplifier has excellent clean sounds for you to practice alone using headphones or with your friends since it also has an aux jack.
You can never really go wrong because the Fender Champion 20 is truly a bang for your buck without compromising the quality and the variety of its features.
FAQs
Is the Fender Champion 20 amplifier worth it?
Yes, the Fender Champion 20 amplifier is definitely worth it.
With the variety of tone range and built-in amplifier effects for you to practice on and experiment it is more than worth its very affordable price.
The amplifier looks are also fantastic and have that classic Fender look that is usually more expensive than the average.
All in all, we deduce that the Fender Champion 20 is more than your money’s worth, especially for a beginner and practice amp.
What type of amplifier is the Fender Champion 20?
The Fender Champion 20 is a solid-state amplifier.
Most practice amplifiers are solid-state, meaning that they are very sturdy and very seldom need upkeep or repairs.
What is the contrast between the Fender Champion 20 and the Fender Champion 40?
There are many differences between the Fender Champion 20 and the Fender Champion 40.
The Champion 20 is more compact and more economical.
On the other hand, the Champion 40 is much bigger and more expensive than the former.
The main difference between the two is that the Champion 40 is much louder than the Champion 20 and is more suitable for gigs and more advanced musicians; it also caters to a footswitch.
But the effects that make an amplifier unique are essentially the same with both amplifiers.