I decided to try my hand at making another amp. David Allen sells a VibroChamp/Champ sized chassis that will accomodate many different amp circuits (3-9 pins, 4-octals; 2-inputs, 6-control pots, power switch, pilot light on the front panel; 3-1/4" jacks and fuse on the backpanel; plus some extra holes for experimenting!). I didn't want to get too far in over my head, so I picked a simple, low powered circuit to duplicate - the Fender 5E1 Tweed Champ.

I talked with David Allen (www.allenamps.com) about what parts I'd need to build this amp, and he just happened to have everything in stock! The 5E1 has ONLY a volume control, and I wanted a single tone control as well. David was kind enough to draw out a way to add the tone control to the circuit. Using the 5E1 layout diagram and schematics, I was able to populate the board with the components I received from Allen Amplification. I had to do more 'thinking' with building this amp - none of the excellent documentation which was included with the Class Act came with this!!

I then mounted the hardware to the chassis. I found that the Power Transformer was too close to the Pilot Light. David suggested cutting off the stud on the Power Transformer for clearance (which he points out on his web site for this chassis). Since I wasn't using the rear octal hole directly behind the Power Transformer, I decided to just move the transformer back .500" (half-inch) by milling a larger cut-out and drilling new holes.

I got the components soldered on the board, and started connecting the wires to the various components on the chassis. I used a star ground scheme for the grounded side of the board.

After I first decided to do this project, I checked eBay for cabinets. I was fortunate enough to find an auction for a late '70s Champ cabinet with no chassis! I ended up winning the auction and took delivery of the cabinet. It even included the chassis mounting straps, Fender logo, and stock speaker!

David Allen offers a complete, finished 1x10 or 1x12 Champ cabinet for $275 (head cab is $200). Amadillo Amp Works also sells cabinets - the Champ sized ones go for $90 bare and $215 complete. You can check out Armadillo at: http://www.amprestoration.com/.

A friend of mine gave me some old, worn out knobs from a real Fender blackface amp, which I've decided to leave on it for now (adds "character"!). I also will need some type of faceplate, buy I want to do something different than just putting on a stock looking faceplate. When I decide upon what it is and get it done, I will post some pics of it (or if anyone has some cool ideas, let me know!).

This project took me a day to complete. I waited until all the parts arrived before starting.Fortunately, it fired up (not literally!) on the first try, and really gets that 'grind' when dimed, especially through the stock 8" speaker! I have tried both a 6K6 and 6V6 power tube in this amp. The 6K6 has a lower volume and breaks up sooner. The 6V6 has more clean headroom and a higher volume. David assured me that his transformers will also allow a 6L6 tube to be used, which I was able to try and it too sounds good! Similar to the 6V6, but cleaner. The trannies both run very cool with any of the tube combinations, and of course, no rebiasing or other adjustment is required when changing tubes.

This project was a LOT different from the Class Act kit I did. The kits from David Allen are COMPLETE, so no running around getting knobs, cabs, screws, cords, etc. and this really saves a lot of time. Usually you don't know what you need until you're ready to actually use it - so you have to go find whatever it is you need. The documentation is also not as inclusive - both from the layout view and assembly instructions (none!). This particular circuit is NOT nearly as versatile as the Class Act, but I was looking for a low-powered tweed-sounding amp this time around, and that's just what I got!

So this was a fun, quick project that yielded another great sounding, fun little amp!

March 20, 2001
I am still really enjoying this amp! This is the first amp I've used that actually tames the bridge pickup of a Tele without backing off the tone knob! I guess it's the tube saturation and speaker near-overload condition when playing with the volume maxed. The neck position pickup is sounding slightly 'boomy' to me now! I've been switching back and forth between playing it 'dry' and using my Alesis Nanoverb to add a little reverb to the signal! I was also very surprised at the dynamics of the amp - it responds well to pick attack, and cleans up nicely at lower volume settings.

I tried the Tweed Champ through a Fender 10" Blue Frame alnico reissue (used in my Princeton Reverb). The sound level is much higher, and the speaker isn't nearly as driven as the smaller 8" Champ one. I personally like the overdriven tone I get with the smaller speaker!

December 15, 2001
I got a Weber signature P8RS speaker in today, and installed it into the Tweed Champ. It's an alnico and is 8 ohms (6.5 measured). The output tranny used in this amp prefers an 8 ohm load rather than the 3.2 ohm of the stock Champ speaker.

Impressions .... it's a much better speaker than the stock Fender speaker. It still has the "grind" I was looking for, but not the "farty," rattling type sounds that the stock speaker exhibited. It cleans up nicely at lower volumes too. The volume level is about the same as the stock speaker, which is a plus in my situation! Typically the ceramic speakers from Weber have quite a volume level jump resulting from the higher efficiency. This alnico version doesn't have that, so you can keep the tube distortion going in the amp without increasing the volume (at the same knob setting).

Another "great value" speaker from Weber (http://www.tedweber.com)!

May 20, 2008
I found a NOS Silverface Champ faceplate which I purchased and installed. Got new Fender style knobs and 3/8" chrome plugs for the unused holes in the faceplate area. Here's what it looks like now:

5E1 Tweed Project Bill of Materials

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