Champion 300 Review

It combines great tones, killer looks and ease of use with the excitement of Fender DSP effects. It includes reverb, delay, chorus, flange, tremolo and more! And also it features the same legendary "dynamic" touch-sensitive response you expect from a Fender. With features like these, other amps can't touch it!

Features:	9.3
Sound:	8.8
Reliability:	9.3
Impression:	9.8
Overall rating:	9.3
Users rating:	7.5
Comments:	9

overall: 8.8

Featured review by: info2new, on july 31, 2006

Price paid: $ 465

Purchased from: Malta

Features: This amp is very suitable for the styles I play, although my style should include Marshall amps, I use this Fender Amp, because it's easy, and the sound qualtiy is much clearer, in my opinion. I play styles such as Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, etc. The amp features 2 inputs one for regular pickups the second for high output (active) pickups. Volume dial. Channel select to switch between gain and clean channels. Gain dial-adjusts distortion and seperate volume dial for gain channel. Channel indicator lights up when gain channel is selected. Dials for treble, mid, and bass. Seperate volume dial for effects-onboard effects are Vibratone, 3 levels of delay, 4 levels of reverb including combo of reverb and delay, 4 levels of chorus including combo of chorus and delay-chorus and reverb, 2 levels of flange and 2 levels of tremelo. External footswitch input for optional Fender 1-button pedal. Input for headphones for silent practicing. Large red light indicates power is on or off. Power switch on back and power socke, power cord included. // 8

Sound: I use a Gibson Les Paul Classic and a Fender Stratocaster with this Amp, both go well on it, though Fender is better, because it has the match, and sound qualtiy together. It suits perfect to play those Pink Floyd, and Guns N' Roses tunes, but it's not really meant for, Black Sabbath or AC/DC. It does the classic Fender big-amp clean better than any other small amp I've heard, like some have said, it sounds like a little Twin or Deluxe. With the gain channel on about 3 it's also capable of some killer blues & classic rock tone, and it truly does respond to the guitar volume & tone controls in a more lifelike way than most SS amps. But, the clean channel is voiced a bit on the bright side as some have also mentioned. This is easy to fix by opening 'er up and soldering another capacitor across C10. Without looking I believe I used about a 100 or 120 pF, silver mica (although a ceramic disk will work). The part designators are marked on the circuit board and you don't even have to unsolder anything. Experiment with different values, but I found that once you go over a certain size you start losing clarity & punch. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I'd gig with it, I always do, Wether there's an excelent PA or just Mic'ed, but check those input jacks first, and whatever you do don't drop it. I had my amp broken down, alot of times, but thats because I didn't care of the Input Jacks, I used to drop them on the floor, etc. but If you take really care of it, it turns out to be a perfect amp. I certainly can depend on it, and I will keep on doing shows with it in the future. // 9

Impression: For around the apartment this is by far the most fun amp I have. With a P90 neck pickup I can nail original Santana, Eric's Woman tone, early AC/DC, or any number of classic blues sounds. Does justice to my Strats & Teles, PRS Soapbar SE, & humbuckers. It responds well to external pedals (FullDrive, TS9, choruses, etc) as long as you don't overdrive the input with excessive pedal gain. Funny how Fender's been trying for over 30 years to build good overdrive into their amps and usually the results are not so great, or worse. Somehow they succeeded in doing it in this little thing. SS and all. I have been playing oover 6 years now and I own a Marshall amp, Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, and 2 acoustics. I use effects with it too, wether it's a Wah, delay or distortion, It's perfect for the job. If it was stolen or lost I would definately buy another one if I have the cash. I wish it had a pedal switch though, because you would easily change effects and sounds from it, but I guess it's cool the way it is too. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on may 18, 2005

Price paid: $ 229

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: The Fender Champion 300 has dual inputs feeding into a single Fender special design 10" speaker that provides 30-watts of solid-state power. I also appreciate the onboard DSP effects, 16 variations in all, including vibratone, reverb, delay, tremolo, chorus, and flange. There is also a FX level dial which is handy for adjusting the level of each effect. The amp has 2 channels, clean and drive, and individual volume control for each and a single three-band EQ for both. // 10

Sound: I chose this amp over the others that I was looking at for its clean channel, and Fender doesn't disappoint. The clean channel is clear even at high volumes and works perfectly with my acoustic-electric. If you leave the amp alone it has a very soft buzz most of the time, but it becomes practically unnoticeable as soon as you start playing and you'd never hear it unless you were listening for it. The distortion channel is fairly noisy even at low volumes, however, and only seems to get worse as you go higher. Again though, I wasn't looking for a real brutal distortion amp or else I'd have gone with a Line 6 or Crate. The effects are pretty diverse for an amp of its price range and I've been pretty happy with them so far. The amp is not particularly as loud as some, it is only 30-watts after all, but I think it would be able to hold alright in a jam session or perhaps for smaller venues. // 8

Reliability & Durability: In terms of reliability I can say at least that it hasn't broken down on me yet. I cannot say that I'd expect to have it go anytime soon though, partly because Fender has a good reputation and also because I don't tend to push amps much. Especially in its purpose as mostly a practice amp for me I don't think I'll have any problems with it anytime soon. All the dials and switches feel solid and I don't think I'll have much of a problem there either. I haven't gotten around to playing any gigs yet, but besides the fact that I don't have money to get a backup for it, from what I've seen of it so far I think I could trust it without a backup. // 8

Impression: I play mostly rock but I've been known to pick a few songs in other areas as well really just whatever I feel like at the time. So far it's handled everything I play pretty well; I haven't had many complaints with it. I've been playing about a year now and this is the first amp that I've purchased but I did lots of research in stores and online and talked to some of my friends before I finally settled on this one. For what I wanted it is perfect. If it were stolen I would be temped to get another of the Champion series but maybe with a bit more wattage. I probably wouldn't be willing to spend the extra money to go up to the next one though, so I think I'd probably settle quite contentedly for the same one. The final decision is: for its price range this amp is simply the best I have found yet for its features and sound output. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: NightGLower, on january 29, 2007

Price paid: $ 158

Purchased from: Axe Music

Features: This SS amp is really really impressive for the price, I bought it to build up gear again since I moved and sold everything I had. I can play all I want with this, makes a really good practice amp or even you can use it on a small gig. Features 2 input jacks one for normal passive pickups and other for active pickups, a lot of dials so you can shape the sound as you please, making it darker for your metalish riffs or brighter for killer solos. Has also a digital sound processor which you could add a variety of effects, really good feature for the price, the effects go from vibratone to tremolo, reverb, delay, chorus, a flange; and you can even mix some of them that are pre-built in the dial, you can control with a dial the amount of processing you want. oh and a footboard input, and the so needed headphone jack. // 9

Sound: Well regarding sound I would have to make a list, I've played a whole lot through it, a Schecter 007, an ESP M-1000, an Ibanez RGT42DX, and I played a huge variety of styles, from Dream Theater, rush, pagans mind kind of proggy, to dragon force, night wish, Iron Maiden, Santana, Guns N' Roses, Creed, and everything is a big 10 to this amp suit my style so far (that is a whole lot of this mixed) the clean channel is impressive I crank that amp to the maximum and it delivers just a mellow buzz you don't notice unless you listen closely, the overdrive channel is really lousy, suits for really low (7 strings, low tuned) riffs, but also for a really bright solo if you play with the EQ a bit, the distortion is good, not excellent if you are looking for massive distortion try a Crate or a Messa instead. // 10

Reliability & Durability: In this field I don't have much to say since I have only had it for a little while, but it looks really sturdy, maybe if you don't take the proper care the front layer will rip open, or the dials may fall down if you don't treat them right but besides that it's really really sturdy, all is protected you can even put the power cord in a little Velcro holder in the back. // 10

Impression: I play mostly progressive rock, it works perfect for the gain because it's not excessive or too weak, the clean channel is so good it's unreal for the price paid, I've been playing for almost 6 years now and this is the best you can buy as a practice amp or band rehearsal amp, for a gig I like to go big so mostly I just rent a big stack and play through it. If this were stolen I would buy a new one right away or go bigger don't know, depends on my bank account. the best of this amp is the on light, big Red crystal in the front that impresses me when I play at night, it's so better than the square on switch. I wish it had separate FX control for each channel, or a little chip to save those settings. But I can't complain it's the best of the best in that price range. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: laffyjam, on august 02, 2005

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This amp has built in effects featuring flange, chorus, reverb, delay, tremelo, and vibratone. This amp has clean and overdrive channel switching and it has a headphone jack and a footswitch jack. This amp is a very versitile amp, it can be used with alot of styles of music and the effects on the amp are useful too. // 10

Sound: I mainly play this amp with a Fender American Telecaster with a hot rails pickup in the bridge and I play mainly metal. The distortion on this amp is great for like an Iron Maiden or Judas Priest sound. The distortion is very smooth when the volume is low on the amp, but when you turn the volume up it gets a little rougher. This amp is not noisy at all on distortion or clean channel, and the clean channel stays clean for how high you put the volume up to. The only problem I've had with this amp is the clean channel doesn't handle my hot rail humbucker very well, and when you play a low string hard the amp makes a little crackling noise. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This amp is a great amp for small gigs and practicing with a band. And I could rely on this amp. // 10

Impression: This is a good amp for a fairly cheap price. I've been playing for about 2 years and I think this is the best amp I've had so far. // 10

Comments

[rohi22]

this is a realy amp

for a very cheap price

[ross1234]

mine broke...well the lead thing did which is really weird anyway

[TJK-frosterfreq]

i have one, and it's very good if you want to like practice or just jam out or something, im not sure about doing gigs with it though...

[Jonny92]

I have one and i chose it after trying out many of the same sized Marshalls and Crate amps and it's by far the best, i only have one problem, the distortion with high gaing gives too much feedback, but i mainly use my pedal so it sorta that out. 10/10 for me

[ydx5224]

2months afer buying my champion 300 it stopped working. Fender apparently have had a lot of problems with this amp, and have now discontinued it, as well as all the repair parts. I have now replaced it with a Fender FM 210R which, im hoping will be better. I'll post a review of that when I get it!!

[the boogieman]

the best amp ive heard for $350(back when they were in production) and under

[bulbasaurkid]

when i bought this amp used, it sounded great, but then two weeks ago i bought a used les paul, and bam the amp when any distortion is used even froma pedal, it makes a horrible high pitched squeal,any help or info would be appreciated, so email me at [e-mail]

[childofsin]

i have this amp. and it says on the back next to the power cord that it draws 90w. but everyone says its 30w. so how do i lose 2/3 of total power between the wall and the speaker?

[Edby]

My school has this amp. Due to stories of people's older brothers using the amp etc i'd make a guess that this amp has been used vigourously every day for about 10 years and still going fine!