Fender Champ-Amp 5F1 Tube Amplifier (1962)
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Fender Champ-Amp 5F1 Model Tube Amplifier (1962), made in Fullerton, California, serial # C-17449, tweed fabric covering finish.
This is a beautifully preserved fairly late example of the final tweed-clad version of Fender's Champ; one of the finest we have seen. It has a tube-chart ink-stamp "LA" indicating it was assembled in January of 1962. By that point only the Champ (intended for students) retained its 1950s Tweed livery; the other larger Fender amps were well into their white and brown Tolex eras. Leo never wasted anything and one assumes they used up all the tweed covering in stock before re-designing the model to wear Tolex in 1963-4!
The serial number is C20380, indicating Fender had so far built something like 20,000 examples of this classic model in just over 7 years! This 5F1 features the slightly larger cabinet and an 8" speaker, an upgrade from earlier mid-50s models. As with any tweed Champ, it features just one "chicken head" volume knob and a single-ended 6V6-driven power section, yielding about 5 watts of output power. Like pretty much all of them, it sounds fantastic!
Height is 12 in. (30.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) width, and 8 in. (20.3 cm.) deep.
Externally, this cabinet is in fantastic shape for a nearly 63-year-old amplifier. The rather frail Tweed covering sports a very attractive and light amber patina with some minor typical edge wear and scuffing overall. The faceplate is very clean, save for some a few scratches and light wear. The grille cloth is in great shape with no notable tears or fraying and the handle is an attractive high quality leather replacement.
Electrically, the amp is nicely original, save for the speaker, which is what appears to be a mid-50s Jensen C8R, bearing the code 220-501, dating it to the 1st week of 1955. The speaker bears its original cone, which tests and sounds great. Both the power and output transformers are the original Schumachers, reading 606-146 and 606-140, dating them to the 46th and 40th week of 1961, respectively. The pot/switch is a replacement. The amp has otherwise received routine maintenance, including standard replacement of electrolytic caps, as well as a grounded 3-prong power cord and cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks as well as biased to spec.
Overall this is a very clean and fabulous sounding example of one of the great tweed classics, nowadays the most popular vintage choice for an under-the desk modern home studio rig and always a shop favorite here. Excellent - Condition.
This is a beautifully preserved fairly late example of the final tweed-clad version of Fender's Champ; one of the finest we have seen. It has a tube-chart ink-stamp "LA" indicating it was assembled in January of 1962. By that point only the Champ (intended for students) retained its 1950s Tweed livery; the other larger Fender amps were well into their white and brown Tolex eras. Leo never wasted anything and one assumes they used up all the tweed covering in stock before re-designing the model to wear Tolex in 1963-4!
The serial number is C20380, indicating Fender had so far built something like 20,000 examples of this classic model in just over 7 years! This 5F1 features the slightly larger cabinet and an 8" speaker, an upgrade from earlier mid-50s models. As with any tweed Champ, it features just one "chicken head" volume knob and a single-ended 6V6-driven power section, yielding about 5 watts of output power. Like pretty much all of them, it sounds fantastic!
Height is 12 in. (30.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) width, and 8 in. (20.3 cm.) deep.
Externally, this cabinet is in fantastic shape for a nearly 63-year-old amplifier. The rather frail Tweed covering sports a very attractive and light amber patina with some minor typical edge wear and scuffing overall. The faceplate is very clean, save for some a few scratches and light wear. The grille cloth is in great shape with no notable tears or fraying and the handle is an attractive high quality leather replacement.
Electrically, the amp is nicely original, save for the speaker, which is what appears to be a mid-50s Jensen C8R, bearing the code 220-501, dating it to the 1st week of 1955. The speaker bears its original cone, which tests and sounds great. Both the power and output transformers are the original Schumachers, reading 606-146 and 606-140, dating them to the 46th and 40th week of 1961, respectively. The pot/switch is a replacement. The amp has otherwise received routine maintenance, including standard replacement of electrolytic caps, as well as a grounded 3-prong power cord and cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks as well as biased to spec.
Overall this is a very clean and fabulous sounding example of one of the great tweed classics, nowadays the most popular vintage choice for an under-the desk modern home studio rig and always a shop favorite here. Excellent - Condition.