Fender "Champ" amp

[Dick.1]

I have recently acquired a rather nice 80's Fender (USA) guitar amp

Silicon rectifier & all valve for the rest (6v6 output stage)

The thing is ........ it sounds great ................. but does look as though it has the original valves which must surely be "tired" by now

I sucked a bit of "dust" out of it but apart from that have done nothing................

Now, would you

A......Give it a good going over changing parts as required
B......Just change the valves & do a "safety" check
C......Do nothing & just enjoy it until something becomes apparent

I've more or less made my mind up, but what does the panel think ?

Dick.

[Mark Hennessy]

I wouldn't change anything unless I knew it needed it. So I guess A, but given the relative newness of it, I'd be tempted to lean towards C.

Some electrolytic capacitors might be tired by now (easy to check), but the condition of the valves will depend on the use, and the "soundness" of the original design. Without a valve tester, it's harder to be sure about the condition of the valves. If this was hi-fi, you could measure harmonic distortion, but distortion is part of the deal with guitar amps...

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
These are good amps, the iffy Mallory caps improved greatly by the 80's . The 6V6 is a tough old bottle and even well down ones seem to still work well.
Personally if it isn't broke then.......... Option C for me.

[tiv48]

I would also go for C
i may check there is no positive volts on the control grids of the output valves .
Rob T

[valves4amps]

I'd go with Trevor and Rob on this , then enjoy it. Little amps like this last for decades because they are never 'giggied' and are relatively under used. The same valves in a radio would last this long and more. Enjoy!!!

Dave.

[Dick.1]

Thanks for the replies guys

It's option "C" for me (of course)

A while back I set about a Fender "Pro Junior" mainly to reduce hiss/hum etc..... I went as far as relocating the Power TX/changing the speaker & using carefully selected pre & power valves along with the usual cable dress & valve bases re-soldering as well as changing a few caps in the signal path & upping smoothing in the power line.

I finished up with a very quiet amp yes, but it seemed to have lost that touch of "sparkle" these amps have when they are working properly so it had to go, however the guy I sold it to thought it was so great to have a quiet Pro Junior in his studio that he came back a few weeks later for a bigger cab & 12" speaker to be fitted ( and I got to keep the original "tweed" cabinet)

I like this Champ & it'll do me now for the "duration" as they say

Dick.