Thanks for the comment. That's a big reason I did the review, because I did a ton of research and they almost always focused on selling the amp instead of presenting what it actually sounds like.

If you haven't yet, you should look into an attenuator. You would run the head into the attenuator and from there to the cab, and it'll reduce the volume (usually about 20 dB) so that you can get your high gain tone at a safe volume for home use

@@chrishogan6458 I have thought of doing just that, actually. Thank you for the suggestion!

best amp i own. I have several tube amps including a blues junior which totally blows - I have tried and tried to like it over the years. but this amp is sick. I have a fender pro reverb reissue which I like but I play this - not that. I have three other tube amps and this is by far my favorite.

Why its need extra eq?

Great advice..Dweebenheim I was on the fence about this head Until I read about your tube switch...I wanted less sharp tones and less breakup meaning a little more head room then I was hearing thanks 😎👍

can you explain that more to a non-tech oriented person like me? how is it different than a typical line out? I have no clue but would love to know. thanks!

so, btw, does that mean I could take the line out into a more powerful head for stage volume? I've never used line out for anything.

Thanks for the comment!.. recorded with my phone 6.

Actually, both channels make use of digital voicing, and then both channels make use of all three tubes. The 12AX7 takes the signal from whichever channel is in use, boosts it, and then phase inverts the signal to the power tubes. (I got this information from the BillM mod site, and he is one of the experts on the circuit of these amps). You might ask "why two channels if they are essentially the same?" because you get to switch between a clean and a gain/master volume channel of your choice, and this makes it very versatile for live show use.

Hey Tommy, thanks for the comment! I guess I'm confused about the 12ax7. They market it as a preamp tube, but I have read some other stuff where guys are saying it's a phase inverter (splitter) and a preamp. Do you know how it works specifically? I'm interested in learning. Thanks!

Randy Alberts Thanks man! I'm not sure what a DAW is. I have used the line out and it's decent. It always sounds better with a mic and maybe a high pass filter. Hope that helps. There is a German guy who made a really good review. Even though I couldn't understand anything he said, his playing and sounds were excellent. I will post!

Randy Alberts kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z5plgdF3v5eqfoE.html and one more...

Randy Alberts kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r9yTeaeT2cqbfXU.html Those were the best reviews I found during my research. Good luck.

very cool Zach, thanks. I'll check these out & subscribe, gotta hear more of your pickin' dude (fyi DAW = digital audio workstation apps on mac/pc like GarageBand etc.) Anyway found out the Champ's usb port does send audio to daw but, of course yeah,like you say better sound by taking the effort to mic the amp up right. cheers!

Now i need a Tele.... 😉

yeahitsmlj I had the gain on 10 and I had it on one of the reverb settings on maybe 2 or 3 on the Fx gain and then the overall volume was between 2-3. I learned you had to set your bass a little lower... maybe 3 or 4 and your treble around 5-6. I adjusted the mid in fender fuse to about 5-6. That’s about it. Also... an American fender guitar helps a lot.

Zach Altis dude! Thank you so much. Looking into getting a relatively cheaper setup up for my strat and this sounds nice!

CentaurusRelax314 thanks. From STL.? This is a 98 American standard tele. All original. I lined it with foil to reduce feedback.. helped a lot. They are versatile, you can get a lot of sounds out of them. I love it.

St Louis? No, sorry. Thanks for the tele info.

haha; I am. You sold me on the head and extension cab; nice playing

A year later, i just figured out the "STL" question. No, "314" is a room number, not an area code reference!

Dude, you need a Tele.

If your a marshall type guy buy a marshall. fender is far more chimey and doesn't do the same type of compression at all. Closest they come to marshall on compression or gain would be on the super sonic 22... thats a great amp as well

rossauce12 I would look at the Fender Blues Jr if that's what your going for. The superchamp will allow for more sounds, but the blues he is best for straight tube blackface blues tone.

Did you change the stock speaker on the XD cabinet ? How do you access to the speaker ? Front grill ?

Ajoep I use a Marshall 4x12 cabinet which sounds great. The Fender Fuse software allows you to change the cabinet sound to fully tailor the sound. This is seriously the best amp I have had in year with regard to sound quality and versatility.

Ajoep I did not change the speaker. You would unscrew the back and it will pull apart.

yeah, I agree. I don't get why it doesn't get more hype. However, I DO know why fender doesnt make this with a foot controller and better effects and presets - it would destroy all their other amp sales!!!! seriously, this thing is sick. I have the combo - I think I want a head. I wish someone would make some kind of mod to do just this. I would pay a thousand bucks for that as this amp can do freaking everything amazingly well.

@@coppulor6500 Why would you want the head. You can hook up a combo to a cab by unplugging the speaker cable in the back of the combo and running a speaker cable from the combo to a 8 ohm cab. Combo is light and small and not bulky. You can rest it on top of a cab. This way you have a combo for practicing and gigging. Don't understand why people buy the head version. Doesn't make sense.

I would check out Texas blues alley

+Fredrik Fredriksen If you google justinguitar you can learn guitar from the very beginging... its free or you can donate if you wish, the guy is probably one of the best tutors you will find..... he's a likeable guy which also matters...lol.

Lots of good pedals out there for blues tones. My favorite is the Ibanez ts9 tube screamer. In regards to the amp, you can get some good blues tones. I hit channel 6 and 7 in my second video review of this amp, those are a good example of bluesy sounds.

Hey, I believe it is a possibility that will cause issues with the tubes and transformer if you don't have a load attached. I use an audio interface on the direct out and haven't had any issues. Great question, I hadn't thought about it. You can't hook up headphones to the direct out, btw.

Hey Sam, I really like this amp. I don't know if it's better than the hot rod, just different. Not near as much power, but that's why I chose it cause I don't gig. If I were to get a different can I would get a custom cab with 2x 10s... Eminence greenback or something similar. Just watch your ohms. The voices and effects make this amp more flexible than the hot rod. The reverb not as good as the spring reverb. It's a rockin little amp! I misspoke in the video, I had the deville! Hope that helps.

Why would that happen? It's a dial setting, not digital?

antiflx yes

As long as your ohms are correct! This thing would sound way better through a 2x10 or 2x12....4x12! Do you have a post of what it sounds like with the marshal cab?

Can I use the speakers of a solid state fender frontman 212 with the super champ x2?

Francisco de Souza it totally depends on your ohms. The superchamp x2 has an 8 ohm min on its speaker out. So I’d recommend hitting 8 ohms, but I believe you might be able to go up to 16 ohms... Check manual before doing that. Check ohms on the speakers. I would not hook up 4 ohms to it.

For home studio, no gigs, jist jamming with other guitar, bass and jam tracks.

callmedeno I’m not 100% sure. I think it sounds better with the cab. I haven’t played the combo. Good luck!

To record a tube amp at low volume or silent recording you’re going to want to get a reactive load box like the Torpedo Captor. It will allow you to get the best tone out of your tube amp without waking other residents or neighbors. I use the combo with the Captor and absolutely love the tone. The captor has a built in cab simulator or you can build a cab using their Wall of Sound software DAW plugin. You would run speaker out from the combo to the captor. Xlr or line out from the Captor to your audio interface. Audio interface to your DAW. That is a bulletproof way to silent record a tube amp while ensuring you’re preserving the tube tone.

Is it "digital " pre or merely solid state pre?

Yes the input goes into TL072 op amps, such as peavey, stomp pedals, sound mixer boards etc have used for years. The 12AX7 one half gets the voltage swing up to level to drive the output tube grids the other half is a phase inverter required to drive a push pull circuit.

Allan Ardon yea, you can play at low volumes and maintain a decent sound. No fx loop. Plenty of effects though!

Mariano Di Fiore translate please and I might be able to answer your question. Thanks!

I am from Argentina I wanted to ask you if this amplifier usually has software flaws since my pc does not recognize the device when I connect it :( Fender software what would it be?

Previously if I recognized it but now it is not taken by the pc :( it seems that it is a software problem and in the official page there is no solution

There is no headphone jack. You can hook it up to your computer via usb and listen to it that way. But caution using the head without a load attached (speaker).

Zach Altis as it can damage the tubes

Stock American tele pickups.

Hey Paul, thanks for the comment. I believe he main difference between the xd and x2 is the flexibility to adjust modeling on the x2. I have never played an xd, so I don't really know how they match up. I'd say that if the xd has everything you need and want, it is a bit cheaper if you can find one. If you already have a cab, the x2 head is only $300. The reason I got it was because of #1 - tubes and then because of fender fuse ability to customize every Chanel and effect.. You can save them to the head. Some sounds I don't care for, but some I love. Don't recommend for gigging. Hope that helps.

+Paul Shaw the voicing are a bit different on CH2. The Hot Rod amp settings are gone from the X2 and the others are switched up and around. That was one reason I opted for the XD, however, this amp is a stellar little amp and the USB flexibility is great. I have the XD, but am looking for an X2 also.

Just curious, why not recommended for gigging?

+Scott Fuller it just doesn't get loud enough. If you mic it it will do great. It's only 15 watts. Or if you have a direct out into a pa it would work.

@@zachaltis why not people gig with the fender blues junior and that's 15 watts

DucksDeLucks For this review I used a pedal to show what the clean Chanel sounded like with nothing and with a pedal... just to cover that basis. The rest of the review has no pedals. This amp has way too many features to go through them all so I just focused on the channels with some reverb to show its potential to sound great. Thanks for the comment, rock on!

I agree, I ended up selling it. I run a positive grid spark now.

Coppulor I agree. The foot switch would be huge... I’d buy a bigger one with those options and keep this one for practice.

Zach Altis give me a foot controller for this mythical 50/100 watt super champ - one like the helix foot controller or like the one for the axe rack units, give me 100 presets or even just 50 and an a/b bank switch and attached expression pedal or two, better effect control and a small screen and i'd pay $1500 for the whole shebang. This amp sounds and feels so good, it would solve all my wants/problems. Sigh. I'm waiting to see how the mooer ge-300 feels when it comes out. Check out the vid here for blues sounds for the ge 200. If the unit feels as good as it sounds (and the 200 sounds great) then watch out. The thing is the super champ feels awesome - as good as it sounds! I feel zero disconnect and zero digital thinness. Dnag it fender makes me cray cray sometimes

@@zachaltis You can buy a footswitch

Thanks for the comment. I don’t have this amp any more, but yes the clean channel was not a voice. Every time I changed the voice selector though, that was a new voice. It was a good amp, I just moved more digital.

Mary Browning Thanks Mary! Hopefully people get a good idea of what the amp sounds like! I still love it a year later.