2018 Fender Amplifier Shootout - Hot Rod Deluxe IV - Mustang GT 100 - Champion 100
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ธ.ค. 2024
- Fender amplifiers are held in the highest esteem by guitar players worldwide. Paired with a Custom Shop Stratocaster and one has a tone beast! Our own Chris McKee and Cooper Greenberg are going to put three new-for-2018 amplifiers through their paces; solid state, tube/valve and modeling are put to the test! Play A Note, Change Your Life!
Fender Champion 100 → www.alamomusic...
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I love my champion 100. I play blues and this amp can get fantastic tones without any pedals. I also own tube amps. Love the champion 100!
Ditto.
2:42 hot rod
3:43 champion 100
4:42 mustang
In my opinion for the money, the Champion sounded the best! I liked the brightness and chi-my sound that it provides. 100 watts is plenty volume for me too. There is no problem trying to hang in there when volume is needed. It delivers! It can do pretty much everything that I would use it for. What’s cool about it, is it’s simplicity! Great product!
I have to say I really liked the Champion 100. The cleans were really nice. I have a Mustang GT100 and it lacks that real amp feel. The HRD is a classic clean pedal amp and does so many things right. I have five tube amps but I do believe the Champion will find a spot in my house. Sometimes I just want a good sound at a low, neighbor-friendly volume, and the Champion 100 does it.
My son plays a Champion 100, one of the best per dollar purchases you can make. Great amp.
As a lifelong deluxe/Twin player, I couldn't agree more. It's a beast. No problems using it for a gig. LOVE the new XL version as well.
@@LeviBulger Felix, have you, by chance, compared either Champion 100 to a Tone Master Twin (again, either version). I'm wondering (when using the Champion in the Twin Reverb mode on the gain channel) if the Tone Master is 3X better? Thanks!
@@bb_lz9790 Hi, yes I have bought and returned the Tone Master Twin. I sold my Champion a couple of months ago because I wasn't using it, but it was definitely a great amp for the money and I want to get a 100xl sometime. First of all, no I definitely don't think the TM is worth 3x as much because the tone isn't 3x better. It's definitely a nice tone and sounds really big and clean, but the Champion has a pretty close approximation of that sound anyway. The TM has more projection, but nowhere near the amount of a real Twin, which is what I've used for years. The biggest drawback for me about the TM, is that it does not take overdrive pedals well at all. It's also especially bad with fuzz. My Twin Reverb is the opposite and sounds amazing with everything I plug in front of it. The Champion isn't exactly better at taking pedals because the problem lies in the fact that they are digital modelers. But the Champion doesn't really need OD pedals because it has all those amp models which sound fantastic. I think the TM has the better clean tone overall, but it is way overpriced. I would say at best it should be worth twice what a champion is worth. And that's also because of the speakers and cab emulationa, etc. The attenuator is also a big selling point. Depending on your needs, I can't recommend the TM. The Twin Reissue is cheaper in the used market and is so much better. I would even take the deluxe reverb over either Tone Master. But bang for buck, the champion 100xl is honestly really good. I loved the old champion and i think the new one sounds even better.
@@bb_lz9790 What are your needs in an amp? Do you have a band, play at home, record? Do you need 100 watts? Are you mostly looking for the Twin sound?
@@LeviBulger Thank you for your comments!!!
Mostly play at home, but like a bigger sounding amp even though I don't play loud. I've played in bands and do get together with friends for a band reunion/public performance every few years. Don't ever record. Music style is essentially classic rock.
I've owned a blackface twin decades ago and currently use a Yamaha G100-212 II which is both schematically and sonically pretty Fendery (for a solid state amp). Paul Rivera was involved in the design team for the Series II Yamaha amps.
Recently started messing with pedals for overdrive, etc. and the Yamaha seems pretty happy with them.
I just happened upon a video about the Champion perhaps 6 months ago and was amazed at how great it seemed to sound. Recently thought about the Tone Master and then recalled the Champion, hence my questions.
The Yamaha will probably outlive me, but I always wonder if something more modern would be a good choice. I've grown tired of tube amps that sound great one day and beg to be thrown out the window the next. I'm getting too old for that nonsense!
Thanks again for your insight on the Tone Master and Champion, I really appreciate it!
I think it's pretty clear how the HRD has a natural warm tone than the other 2. No brainers here
Just got the Champion 100. Sounds awesome!
Champion 100 & hot rod 👍
The Hot Rod Deluxe sounds so much more "natural". I prefer the Hot Rod Deluxe. Thanks for the comparison.
yeah for 400 dollars more you must be getting simething better right ;)
EG covers Lolol seriously “I like that more expensive tube amp. Sounds good!”
Yeah, ya think? Lol
Agree.
@@parishadjicostis5237 exactly. Back the treble down and then the tone on your guitar a little you get get the same amps
You can really get great sounds from all 3, I have owned 2 and a great player auditioned the champion for me and l played it too. The settings in the video can be adjusted many other ways. So maybe try them in person, use more than one setting on the controls on your guitar, you might like it! Peace!
Of the three the Fender Champ 100 sounds more crisp cleaner and brighter found out my son ordered one for me for my birthday boy I can't wait
Wow do we ever have a great palette of choices these days. I am still a tube lover and this video doesn't change that.
The Hot Rod Deluxe sounds so warm and inviting, kind of like a christmas dinner at grandma's. The Champion 100 sounds good as well, but it's more like coming home to mom's cooking after a week of hard work. Then the Mustang sounds like the after effects of Taco Tuesday by comparison.
Yes, I was very hungry when I wrote this comment... Still, great comparison video!
I really like the HRD, but for the bang for buck, I love the Champion. I use my Champion in parallel with a Peavey Valveking, and I find that the thinner, cooler tonality of the solid state amp really compliments the rich, luscious, full bodied tonality of the Valveking. The combined sounds work very well together, and the onboard effects of the Champion really add a nice shimmery undertone to the overall sound. Best of both worlds to my ears....
I personally think that the Champion 100 is the most balanced. I play blues/psychedelic (I know I’m old school) so I think that’s the most versatile and best for its price. The Mustang just has too much bass and mid so it’s soothing but, not very bright for my liking. A little of the same for the Hot Rod but, that’s just my opinion. But, with the pedals and effects I will be using, I think the Champion 100 is the best fit. Thank you for the video! 🙂
On the Mustang, can't you EQ the bass and add some highs to your liking ?
@@jimdep6542 I’ve tried the Mustang before. I’m not sure if you are familiar with audio recording equipment but, the Mustang is like a condenser mic and the Champion is like a dynamic mic. While it is possible to EQ the Mustang to get that brightness, you are very limited to how you can do it and you may need a pedal to adjust the sound for it to be a bit more spacious. On the other hand, the Champion is easier to condense by increasing the bass and mid volumes whilst it not sounding so muddy and thick. There are some pre-amps for it to make it sound very thick but, the volume textures are still pretty different. So technically you could adjust the Mustang to your liking, I just think your options are a little more limited than the Champion. That’s just me, though.
@@valdoggold Interesting. I'd think that with all the Mustang's deep editing, especially with the FUSE software that you'd be able to dial it in to suit your tastes.
@@jimdep6542 See that’s what makes it a “no” for me. It’s digital. And so you are going to get more of a digital emulation of the sounds like what Line 6 does and not dials so it sounds like a tube amp. Even though the Champion 100 itself isn’t a tube amp (I don’t think it is, at least), it sounds almost identical to one because the pre-amps have a very authentic tone and texture to them. It doesn’t have that digital sound. I’m old school.
@@valdoggold I'm old school too and the Champion series are digital amps also, but the controls are set up more like a traditional amp. When the Mustangs came out, one of the complaints people had were that they had too many features and were overwhelmed. Fender pretty much repackaged the Mustangs into a more familiar knob set up and called it the Champion series, but it had less editing features and didn't turn people off by mentioning computers or software. They look different on the outside by the engine under the hood is pretty much the same....and that's not a bad thing.
For me, the best sounding of these 3 is the Champion 100. I'm grateful for these comparison videos. They really clarify things in my mind. Thanks Alamo!!
Thank you. I'm very much in the market for a DeVille IV actually. You two always do a great job! You changed shirts!
Hya, loved the review,just got a champion 100, love it,can i ask for settings on the clean channel,would be very helpful,many thanks, 💯
The hot rod sounds so good. Not a fan of the other 2 and was really hoping I would but no comparison. Thank you for the solid review on these 3 amps.
HRD for the win!! As for pure tone richness per se, it's a none question, HRD is just stand out from the crowd here.
I’m gonna grab a Champion 100 because I found one for $225. What a steal!
So how's everyting going with the Champion? You like it? I sure love mine!
That hot rod sounds great
Good comparison. In the future if I may suggest keep the slide in graphic of the amp and effect box on screen while each is played. Makes much easier when jumping back and forth to replay each.
I've been watching Champion 100 reviews for 2 weeks now, and it seems that lots of amps are better than the Champion 100. But i'm still going to buy that one because it's on budget and I'm just looking for a clean tone and i'll let my pedals do the work for the drive, distorted and other stuff. Great video!
I'm in the same boat, I have a nice pedalboard ready for it, gonna try to get some gilmour sounds out of it LOL
Ace Ajax hey you will not be sorry. You can really have fun with any of these 3, I had the deluxe for 2 years, and the Mustang for 1 now. Both can give great tones, and my friend manages a guitar center in ocala, he is a great great player and he played the champion in person, and he adjusted it a couple ways and it sounded great. I didn’t sound that great but it was me. As long as you buy it for the job it is capable of, all 3 are fine choices.
Look at the Boss Katana 100. I prefer it.
Update: I went to the nearest store nearby(Yupangco) and i checked if they have the Fender Champion 100. They said that they will have stock on February 2019, so one employee told me to look at the Mustang GT 100.... To make the long story short, i bought the Mustang 100. For me, it sounds great! But i think i'm not using it's full potential, maybe i need the footswitch and play along with the presets, amps and built-in effects on the amp. And i didn't regret buying it. Having a Champion, Twin-reverb, British amps , etc. just felt awesome.
@Ace Ajax I know you posted this a year ago and so probably have long had your Champion, but for others reading now. You won't be disappointed. Among the seven amps I currently own and use, in conjunction with two other 2 x12" combos including a digital full modeller and tube 6L6, I've got this amp. Arguably the best value for money best kept secret out there if Fender tones are what you're seeking. Incredibly versatile, and works equally well tonally at home studio sound levels as it will gigging with a drummer. And of course, no standby warm up time required. To the anachronistic personality types who can't deal with change. Guys, you need to face it. In 2020, digital HAS caught up. Deal with it. No need to dish out derogatory ego serving nonsense because someone chooses to pay half as much for a solid state amp which sounds just as good.
1. Hot deluxe
2. Champion 100
3. Mustang
Funny but I ranked them the same way. I think if you plan on letting you pedals do the talking more than your amp the Champion is the way to go. Loud and clean AF so you can make any sound you want instead of Fender making the choices for you.
All a matter of taste and money. I gig with a casino into the Champion 100. Both are light. Both are affordable. And if either broke, I'd get another. Oh, and I use an Xvive U2 wireless to connect them.
The vast majority here forgot to add "for my liking" at the beginning.
Also, how good it sounds depends on the particular guitar you use (and same model, same year, may behave different) the way you equalize the guitar - pedal - amp combo, the mic used for recording, the earphones you use and your ears among many other factors.
The best amp is the one that sounds great for you and your gear. So go out there and try them live :)
who's that guy , slammi'n it?,, he's got some chops, i might add!,, nice to see some people, keeping the torch of rock, and roll, alive!,, keep up the good work, hello from connecticut, gene, k., thanks, for excellent vid.,,
Champion 100, my amp.
I love it
For ever....
I saw this smokin’ hot babe at a recent rock show. All sounds the same to her. The audience will never tell the difference.
@@soofitnsexy And then you woke up!
I was watching another amp video and I said the exact same thing! Maybe 2 people in the whole audience will care about tone.
I went to see a band last week. The singer (who only plays rhythm) had three guitars, and played them all at various points in the gig. Presumably because he needed different tones, I can’t imagine that it was for different feel as he only played bar chords. Unfortunately for him, both the PA and the soundman operating it were second grade and each guitar sounded exactly the same. Further, the audience was already on their feet and wanting to dance and just got fed up by him taking so long between songs to change his guitar. I’ll bet very few of them understood why.
If you’re interested, the lead guitarist went into a Line 6 amp and used four or five different sounds through the whole gig, only one guitar, not even a spare in case of string breaks.
So, yeah, go for all the different tone you like: chances are most people in the audience will neither care nor understand. (Unless, of course, you play blues, in which case you are _only_ playing to other musicians…!)
The recorded clean of the champion 100 sounds better then what’s been recorded in this video.
Hot Rod. I still play a old Fender Vibrolux I got used in 72.
I set up my Mustang V2 3 100 Watt. Reconfigured all hundred presets. It is killer. Especially when you get your volume & settings to work with you and make it actually sound like a real tube or as close. The new Mustangs in my opinion a tech fun but sound and look like a toy amp in my opinion although the GTX breathes out in front better than the last GT Models. Nothing like a Tube.
Yeah, I agree with you on that. The newer GT Mustangs sound a little flat to me.....less lively.
1) Hot rod deluxe IV
2) Champion 100
3) Mustang GT 100
Man I wish Fender could figure out why any distortion above a crunch gets so nasily and compressed on the GT and fix it via a firmware update. If and when they ever do - I'll buy one.
Thanks for the demo! Chris, I’d like to know if you guys just plugged the GT in right out the box or did you a) update the software to v2 (supposed to improve the sound) and b) spend any time trying to tweak the preset you used (the presets seam to have to be “personalised” in order to get a better sound out of the GT)?
I have both the hot rod deluxe and the champion 100. As far as clean goes the champion does a good job but the hot rod deluxe has a beautiful rich, full tone. On the crunch side neither of them inspire me. The overdrive on the hot rod to my ears is hideous. It's like drinking water from rung out dirty socks. But on the plus side it takes pedals really well.
they are all good !, it depends on one's needs, budget, and playing level, i have fender tube, and mustang amps, love my fender amps, then,... one can go to another level, and check out boutique, or custom amps, magnatone, etc.,, all boils down to money, but fender gives great sound, without busting the bank!,,..
I really love the way that hot rod sounds to me in my ear it's the best one but for the money I'm going to go with the fender champion 100
I also had this champion 100 for almost 7 years. Very solid with very good sound after enough breaking period..walla
It's a keeper indeed. A rare gem among so many.
Hot Rod. Fat, full, luscious. In fairness, I own one. Run a Boss Blues Driver pedal through it. Heaven to me.
Nice playing, Cooper. I think the thing that makes solid state seem worse than it is, is the choice of speakers. Playing a tube with a quality 1x12 vs. a solid state with a lower quality 1x12 is no contest. Then a solid state with a 2x12 at an even lower price point is a waste of time. I know this isn't a comparison but just a demo. I have owned Fender solid state and I had a lot of fun with those amps. I think the Champion 100 XL is great for the money. I can't speak about the Mustang GTX. I haven't played it. The Tone Master Twin Reverb seems like a gem but, no usb, no speaker options and no pre-amp out or power in? At that price? If it didn't have the Fender name on it the company would go under.
Having a powerful Champion 100, you are guaranteed to have several amps sounds in one, just try.
I have my hot rod, but something made it so it doesn’t function as well as it used to :(( so now I’m getting a champion 100
Did you?
this is where im at right now😢
Wow what song were you playing for the clean tone? Something original?
I think the HRD subjectively sounds the best but is limited in features
The Mustang GT has all the features you could ask for but takes a lot of fiddling to get it to sound alright
And the Champ has a good balance of the two.
Great playing, love the mustang.
Champ 100 is a bad ass amp ... Sounded to me like it was the brightest of the 3 on clean and for sure diff on the boost .... Just sayin
Did you guys attempt to get the same clean tone on all 3 amps?
thats impossible
Solid state amps are very different from digital modeling amps...one has transistors the other uses digital logic gates
I mean to be fair the modeling amp has transistors too but they are amplifying an analog signal generated from a digital to analog converter which come from a digitally processed signal which comes from and analog signal. It sounds bad when you say the whole signal chain out loud.
Sounds like if You up the mids and lower some treble, Champion could be closer to the rest of them.
How do I learn to play like this guitar player??? Like where do I start. I've been playing for 10 years and have some pretty solid playing now but cant noodle around on the neck like that. Its like the one thing im missing. Where do I start??
I tried a fender champion 100 and I recall a much better sound than you got on this video for some reason
@aliengtr Same here. They sound wonderful in person but for some reason TH-cam reviews all have them sound fizzy.
@@fatandsassy1510 TH-cam compression kills all the nice amp tones.
Slightly off-topic, are the Fender Mustang I-IV series of amps the same as the Fender Mustang GT series of amps?
Not sure why you had reverb on the deluxe but had the ither two amps dry.. Not a fair tone comparison..
I own a Champion 50xl and love the amp voicings on the modeling channel. I believe the voicings on the 100 are the same. I don't believe the clean channel is modeled and I rarely use it. The clean demo for the champion sounded like it used the non modeled channel. when it should have used the modeling channel and one of the black face models like the twin, deluxe or princeton. They all sound excellent and would give the HRD a much better run the money. But as demoed, the HRD sounded much much warmer and full than the champion or mustang. Other than low cost , one other big bonus for the champion is the low weight. 40 lbs i believe. the 50xl is 19 lbs. I recommend that amp over the 100. I don't think anyone needs a 100 watt 2x12 guitar amp these days. i've owned a mustang in the past and highly recommend not buying one. They are preset based amps which drive me crazy with the knobs that only provide temporary changes unless saved to the preset. too many settings. too distracting.
You must also see the musicians face when comparing those amps. The most ugly face they do the most nice tone they're hearing lol
Hot Rod Deluxe. The other 2 are not even in the same category. Still depends on what you are looking for, but to me valve amps are the thing!
The statement in your second sentence is clearly as absurd as it is exaggerative, but unsurprising. Reason can't prevail when one is afflicted by the emotion of bias blindness.
It seems that you cant accept that your high priced HRD sound quality is being compared to a much cheaper Champ 100😅. I guess you cant tell which is which if the demo is made blind and only ears can tell
Hahaha, this comment is 4 years ago. The prices now are a lot higher. But I like everything nowadays. Tube amps, modelling amps and processors. People change. Haha. 😆
What band tone would you suggest this can replicate? Btw Love Alamo Music Center! Chris is a LEGEND! 😄🎸🤘
I've been using a Hot Rod Deville 4 x 10 for some time but bought a Champion 100 a couple of years ago. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in its performance. It doesn't seem to pack the punch of the Hot Rod. I thought it would be nice to have the in built effects. Problem is, it's quite limited as you can't mix the effects. I like to use the flanger effect with some delay but had to use either a separate pedal for the flanger or the delay. For it's price though it's not a bad amp. It is a very light amp in comparison to the Hot Rod but I've gone back to using the Hot Rod because it does sound better with my pedal choices. Just have to be careful picking it up as it is quite heavy. lol.
Didn't like the sound of the Mustang in this demo. Sounded like a 3" speaker in a shoe box in my opinion. Each to their own I suppose.
Hod rod deluxe definitely sounds richer and warmer
Richer? What the hell does that mean?
Listening with headphones...the hot rod wins hands down.....mustang a distant 2nd ....champion 3rd by a mile....imo
Same for me
Your headphones are clearly broken ;). I personally liked the champion most, then the hotrod , then the mustang.
You (and the vast majority here) forgot to add "for my liking" at the beginning.
How good it sounds depend on the particular guitar you use (and same model, same year may behave different) the way you equalize the guitar - pedal - amp combo, the mic used for recording, the earphones you use and your ears among many other factors.
The best amp is the one that sounds great for you and your gear. So go out there and try them live :)
@@DiegoThoms he added "imo" at the end..
@@iehen IMO= "it doesn't matter to anyone else"
Solid State/Modeling are the best Tube amps are most certainly Not superior over solid State/Modeling Amps haven't been for 20 years
HOT ROD
Im actually surprised by the fender mustang gt clean sound here..sounds fuller to me and warmer than the champion 100
Tube,,all day,,
Damn, the GT just doesn't handle overdrive well at all. I'd take the Champion any day of the week.
I cann't get over the number of people who like the champion. It sounds A-W-E-F-U-L. It's overly compressed, muffled, completely lacking in dynamics. I guess it must be what people are familiar with so it sounds good to them.
I think they all sounded great clean. but when you added the distortion, it was clear the the hot rod deluxe was the best, the champion was trash, and the mustang was somewhere in between.
I'd bet you $1000.00 that a great guitar player with their own pedal board could easily make it so you couldn't tell the difference. Trash? Hmm. Loud clean tones gives the player and his pedals all the choice they need to make great sounds. I have several great amps. A 68 fender twin reverb, a Marshall 50 watt valve head with a Marshall 4 by 12 slant cab, and (cough) a 1985 Peavey Classic VTX tube combo amp that sounds surprisingly awesome.
Now I have a Fender Champion 100. Why? It's solid state and cheap so you can bounce it around, very little financial risk, and when I played it at a local music store with my effects it sounded fantastic. Perhaps you need to stop listening with your wallet and start listening with you ears.
Tube wins
Tube wins= "I'm a bedroom guitar hero"
I have a mustang gt 100. I hate it. i’ll change it with a Bugera v22 infinium
Al champion 100 se le puede poner bocinas celestion vintage 30 suena mejor
I just bought a HRD IV around 2 weeks ago. Iˋm very happy with this amp, even at home. The Mustang sounds really poor for my ears. Have the old Mustang that sounds a lot better. But valve is the best...
Where’s the fucking other half of the one where you made us guess which fucking amp it was
With the GT you can model almost everything ....but it's a very bad sounding amp compared to the previous version. I'd never buy a Mustang GT! Go for the Mustang III v.2 instead.
Francesco Mele ok, tell me more! I am interested in a modeling amp. Is the 3 v2 the newest release or is it a high end model of the mustang? I’m new to these amps and trying to learn as much as possible, thanks and hope you can further help.
@@vs4571 , the stock presets in the Mustang III are horrible, download those you like the best from the online store for free.
The Fender Mustang III v2 is the realese before the GT version, it's heavier than the GT, but sounds much better once you get into settings. I'd suggest to go for the III because it's easier to set on the fly, instead of connecting it to the pc and you can use the 4 buttons switch (sold separately) because it's very useful live.
Yeh i bought one when they got superceded. Got a great deal. It's an awesome amp if you dial in some tones and know what yr doing.
when,... a guy, can get , a fender mustang( modeling amp, mustang,, 1, , for..119.00, ),, and, it sounds good, out of the box!,,,.. i added, extension, out, extra sound dampening, ( inside cab),, try using a 12",, cab, she sounds , excellent, 20 watts , r.m.s., ( are we sure ?),, i think one could mod, this ,,( as i did ),, but,... i could record, with this,, and it is a great , little amp, and really, light weight, to carry, around,, but, i would like, a pre- amp, out ,, ( or d. i., in ), but how can you beat it , for, 120.00 ?
You really need to rethink the way you use comma's. Your comment is basically unreadable
@@DavidvdGulik Not sure if he intended it to be read in the voice of William Shatner or Christoper Walken.
@@DavidvdGulik You need to rethink the way you use apostrophes.
The low E string sounds so much better through tubes and really bad on the champ.
My Princeton Chorus from the 90s has better sound than the champ.
Proof?
I have a mustang. Good to know it's not just mine that sounds like shit.
Overall terrible tones!!!! The 100 sounds like a little girl in agony!!!
What an odd and creepy comparison. Seriously ? Little girl in agony ?
You need therapy. NOW!!!!!