Chico, CA, United States
About this listing
In 1982, Fender hired Paul Rivera as marketing director to specify and help design a whole new range of amplifiers to meet the contemporary requirements of musicians. His direction of the engineering team resulted in some legendary amps, including the Super Champ. Rivera went on to found his own amplifier company bearing his name, and the Rivera-era Fender amps are now understood to represent one of the most significant chapters in the company's post-CBS history. Fenders from the Rivera era are sought after and for good reason — this fine 1982 Super Champ, although being only an 18-watt amp, is brutally loud, with classic Fender reverb and master and lead volume options that let you play an entire show. The circuit is what makes the Super Champ technically distinctive. The Super Champ utilized a 12AX7 for the first and second stage preamp, a 12AT7 for the spring reverb driver tube, while a triple-triode 6C10 compactron serves three functions: one section as a third stage preamp for additional gain, one as the phase inverter, and one as recovery for the spring reverb. The 6C10 is a rare compactron tube — a multi-section tube in a single envelope that Fender specified here to pack extraordinary circuit complexity into a very small chassis.When the volume knob is pulled, signal from the 12AT7 reverb driver is re-routed, resulting in higher gain — the pull for lead function that gives the Super Champ its switchable extra gain stage. Two 6V6 power tubes deliver 18 watts into the 10" cabinet with original spring reverb tank intact. The speaker has been upgraded to an Electro-Voice Force 10 — a non-original substitution that is disclosed honestly and is in fact the upgrade that experienced Super Champ players specifically seek out. The EV speaker upgrade is a well-documented and commonly recommended modification for the Super Champ — the stock Fender Special Design 10" was not the amp's strongest point, and the EV Force 10 brings significantly more headroom, clarity, and low-end authority to the platform. Original Schumacher power, output, and reverb transformers, all dating to early 1982. Original filter caps — notable on a 40-year-old amplifier. Original pots. Original black tolex, silver sparkle grille cloth, pine cabinet and baffle, all in excellent condition throughout. No cover or footswitch.We tested all the tubes and cleaned the pots and tube sockets to get it 100% ready to go.Mahar's Vintage Guitars is a brick-and-mortar and web-based retailer. We are happy to talk with you before you make a purchase. Please reach out if you feel so inclined! We cross market our items here and on our own site, so items are subject to sale elsewhere at any time (however we will never cancel a sale if it happens here first). See our profile here, our Google reviews as well as our 100% positive Reverb feedback. Also, Reverb limits us to only 25 pictures of our items. There is a good chance we have more. Contact us if you’d like to see them.No sales tax for direct sale customers outside California. Reverb sales are always taxed.SPECIFICATIONS:Date: 3-1-1982Where Is Date Noted?: serial#Weight: 32lbs 13ozDimensions: w 17" x h 14" x d 8-1/4"Watts: 18 wattsCase/Cover?: noneCovering Material: tolexCovering Color: blackCovering Original?: yesCabinet Material: pineCabinet Condition: excellentCabinet Repairs/Changes: noneCabinet Original?: yesGrille Style: silver sparkleGrille Condition: excellentGrille Original?: yesBaffle Material: pineBaffle Condition: excellentBaffle Original?: yesBaffle Repairs/Changes: noneChassis Material: sheet metalChassis Condition: excellentChassis Original?: yesChassis Repairs/Changes: noneKnobs Original?: yesHandle Material: rubberHandle Original?: yesSpeaker 1 Brand: EV Force 10Speaker 1 Size: 10"Speaker 1 Condition: very goodSpeaker Original?: noPower Transformer Manufacturer: SchumacherPower Transformer Manufacturer Code: 606Power Transformer Date Code: 208Power Transformer Original?: yesOutput Transformer Manufacturer: SchumacherOutput Transformer Manufacturer Code: 606Output Transformer Date Code: 112Output Transformer Original?: yesReverb Transformer Manufacturer: SchumacherReverb Transformer Manufacturer Code: 606Reverb Transformer Date Code: 112Reverb Transformer Original?: yesReverb Onboard: yesReverb Tank Original?: yesTremolo Or Vibrato Onboard: noPedal Included?: noPower Tubes: 2 x 6V6Power Tube Brand: FenderPreamp Tubes: 6C10, 12AX7, ECC83Preamp Tube Brand: Fender, JJPotentiometers Original?: yesFilter Caps: originalInternal Repairs: nonePower Cable: yesAccessories Included: noneDocumentation: noneSmells?: noneShipping PolicyBy completing your purchase you are agreeing to this shipping policy. Shipments require signature on delivery, no exceptions. Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely. If there is damage, retain all packing materials intact, photograph them immediately, and send the photos to .Amplifiers: We take additional precautions to prevent common shipping damage. Depending on the amp, this may include removing tubes, pulling the chassis from the cabinet if heavy transformers present a drop risk, or removing heavy speakers that could crack baffles in transit. Reassembly is required on delivery — we label everything clearly. These measures add to shipping costs but reflect hard-won experience. All amps are tested in our shop upon intake and again before shipping. We cover shipping damage but cannot be responsible for the failure of vintage components in instruments that are 20 to 50-plus years old.
PriceC$2,906.78
+ C$225.28 Shipping
