0

Fender Champion 20 Electric Guitar Amplifier Review

Music Authority may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.

Trying hard to bring out the modern high-gain sound along with the wide range of tones while you play the guitar? Yes, then all you need is a great sounding guitar amplifier. So, we tested and tried the Fender Champion 20 and wrote down a whole review for you.

A Deep Dive Into The Fender Champion 20

Fender is a widely acknowledged brand for guitar amplifiers and basses. At present Fender offers a wide range of guitars and related musical accessories built-in with the best features.

Ever since its entry into the market, the Fender amps are considered among legendary musical instruments manufacturers. The company has also come a long way in terms of its model and design. From the early tweed amp models to the Blackfire and Silverface offerings of the 60s and 70s music, Fender has defined the sound of popular music for decades. And, Fender Champion 20 is one such creation.

This amazing guitar amp is undoubtedly the most versatile one in an inexpensive price range. It gives a classic Fender tone, which is perfect for virtually any style of music. This amp delivers world-recognized Fender clean and overdrive tones alongside an assortment of British and modern musical flavors. Whether it is jazz or country, blues, or metal, with this amp it is easy to dial up the right sound. Moreover, the amp also has a built-in palette of effects, which allows the guitar players to choose from. It includes reverb, delay/echo, chorus, tremolo, vibration, and more.

Apart from the effects and impressive tonal quality, Champion 20 has an 8’’ speaker with 7 control switches that have separate functionalities. These include the volume, gain, voice, treble, bass, FX level, FX, and a switch to set the delay and tremolo effects. Well, it also includes an input jack, headphone output, and an AUX input.

Every functional switch has been categorically set throughout the top section of the amp. Fender Champion 20 is basically a steal in terms of price and it’s a complete package as it has phenomenal features all at your fingertips. Even the dial works quite well, which allows the players to move between the tones.

Read Related Article: Fender Champion 100 Guitar Amplifier Review

Who’s It For?

Compact, easy to handle, and versatile enough to catch up with any style while playing the guitar, this 20 watts Champion 20 amp is definitely the ideal choice for beginners. Besides, it’s specially designed for those who practice for long hours.

Since it’s quite compact as mentioned, Fender Champion 20 can be carried along for practice sessions anywhere, even your bedroom. Also, it is well-suited for guitarists who play in small gigs such as in coffee houses. But it’s not enough for professional on-stage performances, as it requires more power and 20 watts isn’t enough.

The best part, Fender Champion 20 produces a polished sound that enhances individual practice to a great extent at an affordable price. On the whole, it is a perfect guitar amp for beginners and for those who need one for regular practicing but can’t shell out a lot of money for the same.

What We Like About Fender Champion 20

Fender Champion 20 stands out among its contemporary budget-friendly solid-state amps because of its exceptional sound quality. The in-built effects are easy to modulate, which can change the overall sound. It even allows the guitar player to do quite a lot of experiments while playing.

Its onboard effects convey a versatile wealth of tonal coloring, atmospherics, and textures while playing the guitar. Besides, it features a single channel with selectable amp voicings, which includes Blackface, British, Metal, Jazz, and Tweed to provide the players with a huge tonal variety. So, beginners will always be able to experiment with different genres of music with the Fender Champion 20.

Moreover, the Champion 20 has a 1/8’’ auxiliary input and headphone jack. The auxiliary jack makes jamming of favorite tunes easy. The headphones jack is another add on in this model as it’s specifically built for convenient personal listening while practicing.

See Related Topic: Best Portable PA System

What We Don’t Like About Fender Champion 20

Although the amp is unarguably best among other affordable solid-state guitar amps available in the market today, yet some users have experienced some limitations here as well. One downfall that has been stated by many users is that the tone needs improvement.

Another shortcoming of this amp is that it doesn’t support large gigs, as it isn’t powerful enough. Also, some buyers have complained about its portability. Although its light-weighted, it lacks the required adequate portability features which other amps have.

What’s Included?

The Fender Champion 20 doesn’t come along with any additional accessories. No amp stand is provided and not even the cable comes with the product. The cable is quite an essential part of the amp and should have been offered with it. Unfortunately, these have to be brought separately. And, if you are looking to protect your amp from dust and dirt, well, you’ll have to buy an amp cover too.

Overview Of Features

1. Sound Shaping: Making high-quality sounds with this amp isn’t very tough. Whatever musical style the guitarist wants to play, that sound can be shaped through the equalizer section in the controls of the amp. As the equalizer includes both bass and treble functions, it helps in sound shaping for the better tone and music.

Also, the gain control helps in the same and you can easily select the amount of gain needed while playing. Lastly, the 8-inch speaker is also capable of producing great sound when used. On a whole, Fender Champion 20 aces sound shaping with its diverse control features.

2. Voicing Control: Champion 20’s most unique aspect is its voicing control. And for this, the player needs to use the dial knob to get clear tones and even the distorted effects. Moreover, the 17 amp models help to cover for whatever musical genre the guitarist plays

3. Amp models: Out of all features of Fender Champion 20, its four amp models are most impressive. These four amp models are not only adjustable but also have different functions in terms of sound.

• Tweed– This amp model creates early Fender tones of the 40s to the 60s. Alongside it allows you to dial tones similar to the famous twin amps, which are the Bassman, the Twin Deluxe, and the Princeton.
  As it is known for such popular tones, the Tweed Amp model has the ability to produce a beautiful clean tone. Sometimes it is also able to power up the tones with a crunch, which was commonly used in the tracks of that era.
• Blackface– Followed by the Tweed amp model, Fender launched a new style of amp called Blackface. This model features black hat-shaped controls and black vinyl (tolex). With this Blackface model, Fender introduced a new circuitry and aesthetics in the Champion 20 amplifier.
• British– This amp model offers both British and American tones. It enables you to get a wide range of different voices, which helps in getting varied tones while playing. Moreover, British amp tones are quite similar to Vox tunes and the amp has three British Vox models in-built. Mostly, the sounds produced resonate tunes similar to the classic rock music of the 1960s and the 70s.
• Metal– This setting offers more gain required for producing a more metal type of tone. Although it might not be the main strength of this model it’s better than the metal tone. And, with this setting, you can achieve the classic metal sounds from the 1980s to 90s.

4. Effects: Fender Champion 20 is worth its price mainly for the in-built effects. Unlike other amps on the market, there is no need to buy additional effects. Alongside saving money, this amp is undoubtedly capable of producing a variety of sounds. Plus, they are easy to set up; with just tap of a button, the player can set the delay and tremolo. Also, these effects are accessible by adjusting the dial.

See Related Article: Fender Duo-Sonic HS Electric Guitar

On the whole, these features are a great way for new players to experiment with, without shelling out a dime for a pedalboard.

Review Summary

This solid-state guitar amp has proven to be the perfect choice for practice gigs and amateur performers. The amp offers outstanding models, not to mention effects, which paves way for the new players to experiment more with style and tones, all in a budget.

Also, Fender Champion 20 is incomplete without a dose of stylish design. Its black Bronco vinyl covering with silver grille cloth and vintage styled knobs gives it a completely old school vibe. This stylish look perfectly matches its sonic character and sound quality.

However, if you’re expecting a $500 plus tube sound from this amp at this price, then, unfortunately, it’s not so. After all, this amp isn’t for professional performances or gigs.
Nevertheless, it is a complete package with a plethora of impressive features, which makes it one of the best amplifiers under $150 on the market.

We hope this review on the Fender Champion 20 will help you make a decision if you plan to buy it.

Read also:

Fender Duo-Sonic HS Electric Guitar Review – 2021 Deep Dive