Help needed IDing a Champ-like head

[jimmywaleseswhale]

Do you think a tiny 8' speaker is part of the charm I have a nice 1x12 Marshall cab with a Celestion V30. Would ideally like to keep the number of speakers down

[ChopSauce]

The Fame JTA-05 Sweet Baby Combo used to be an amazing Champ clone at a fraction of the cost. It's no more produced and I'm not sure it was ever imported in America.

What makes a reproduction expensive is the cost of the repro. chassis & cab - including the hardware. You can cut into the costs if you sacrify the cosmetics but it seems that the pine cab makes a part of the sound.

I know there are chinese copies of tweed Deluxe... for what's worth...

[Phil_S]

Do you think a tiny 8' speaker is part of the charm I have a nice 1x12 Marshall cab with a Celestion V30. Would ideally like to keep the number of speakers down

This is hard to answer. Tone is in the ear of the listener. Another factor is the cabinet itself, which can make a big speaker sound small or a little speaker sound big. I think you need to actually hear it to know whether it pleases you or not.

Remember, it is important to match speaker impedance to the output transformer. If there is a mismatch, don't do it.

Also, you can think about converting a store bought amp to a head. Cutting down a cab is harder than it may seem. IMO, buying or building a head cab is simpler.

[jimmywaleseswhale]

Yes, it's fair. All a part of the chain, so will make some difference

Any advice on which mass-produced mini-head or mini-amp is the most Champ like? Fame JTA-05 was mentioned but didn't find any for sale. Laney Cub8 gets mentioned on other forums but kind of contradictory if it has anything to do with Champ design. Bonus points if it's modifiable!

[ChopSauce]

I wouldn't convert an amp to a head, if it has a small speaker. I'd rather make the speaker plugged into the chassis, so I can connect any other cab, yet retain the usefullness of a light combo.

Do you think a tiny 8' speaker is part of the charm I have a nice 1x12 Marshall cab with a Celestion V30. Would ideally like to keep the number of speakers down

This is hard to answer. Tone is in the ear of the listener...

Just to add, not to correct: it depends on what you're after. Even with a 8" a blackface champ sound pretty big, when compared to a vintage AC4 (clone with a 10") from my experience. However, some claim that they are only worth recording at low volume so you might be disapointed if you're used to playing a 15-18 W amp through a 12" at fair volume.

... & to answer your last question:

- I'm no more sure I could read VHT amps were good for mods but one more time, I don't know anything about their availability in your country PLUS if it has a 6V6 tube for power, then it's very likely to be convertible to a champ circuit, which is something of the simplest amp, in its tweed version.