Fender is giving its popular Champion series a light makeover. The changes to the three Fender Champion II models are mostly in the details. The most noticeable new feature in all three models is USB-C! The manufacturer has also increased the wattage slightly in the smallest and middle models.
Fender Champion II 100: New Look and USB-C
The three original models with 20, 40, or 100 watts were positioned as direct competitors to the ever popular Katana series from Boss. In contrast to the modern-looking Boss amps, Fender brought the classic Twin Reverb look to the Champion series. Its largest model, the Champion 100, offered a choice between two voicings.
The second generation of Fender Champion II has kept this pretty much the same. You’ve got a clean channel and a more distorted voicing, each with separate EQ and effects. The clean channel has a two-band EQ for adjusting bass and treble, while the distortion has a three-band EQ that additionally lets you lower and raise the mids separately.
You can still switch between different distortion settings using the “Voice” control. “FX Level” used to control the effect level in the first generation and is now called “Modify.” The aux and phone connections (both mini-jack) as well as the pre-out and PWR-IN have also been retained. You can still choose from reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo, vibratone, and other effects in terms of effects. There’s also a new USB-C port on the back.
The product description doesn’t mention all the features this will enable, but if you look at similar products, you can probably install firmware updates and change effects or amps. You might even be able to record directly via the amp. The Fender Champion II 100 is available at Thomann*
Champion II 25 and Champion II 50
The two smaller amps of the new Fender Champion II series have been tweaked to be more powerful than the first generation. The smallest practice amp now has 25 watts instead of 20, and the medium version comes with 50 watts instead of 40. The 8-inch speaker is the same as the Fender Champion II 25 and you also get the same selectable effects: reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo, vibrato, and more.
The Champion II 50 looks to be the same, however, both models now come with a USB-C port likle the 100-watt version. If you look more closely, you’ll see a “Firmware” button next to it.
Fender Champion II 25 is available at Thomann, and the medium-sized Champion II 50 is also available at Thomann*.
More on Fender’s new Amp series
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