# Best hand wired Fender Champ'ish amp under 1000$?



## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

Hi guys, i'm looking for a quality lightweight grab and go amp. I just noticed today that Moog is now offering Valvetrain amps online, they have a Princeton clone going for 789$ has anyone tried one? They also have the Matamp Spirit for 649$, any ideas?

http://www.moogaudio.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=valvetrain&x=0&y=0


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Lil' Dawg Champster.

The one piece of gear I regret selling out of a LOT of gear. And WELL under your price range.

Do a google search, and you will likely get a ton of glowing reviews from various forums.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

You had a Valvetrain or an original Fender Champ?


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

torndownunit said:


> Lil' Dawg Champster.
> 
> The one piece of gear I regret selling out of a LOT of gear. And WELL under your price range.
> 
> Do a google search, and you will likely get a ton of glowing reviews from various forums.


The Lil' Dawg Champter looks awsome, amazin price too! I found another thread talking about it here.

http://guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?p=12800


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

Tweed Champ clone in a tweed princeton cab. Louder bigger 10" speaker makes all the difference in the world.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

Valvetrain also as the 1x12 version of the 5F2A Princeton circuit!

Check it out.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

zurn said:


> Valvetrain also as the 1x12 version of the 5F2A Princeton circuit!
> 
> Check it out.


Lil' Dawg makes those as well. He will make any Tweed era amp you want basically, in any configuration. Jim is an outstanding dude. I can't say enough good things about him.

I had the Champster Special and it was the best amp I ever owned. I stupidly decided I needed something bigger. I got him to build me a Super and sold the Champster, which was also a BEAUTIFUL amp. But, it ended up being way too much for my needs.

The build quality is stunning on his amps. If you want a lot of info on them, check out threads on the TDPRI. There are all kinds of different models of amps he's built there. 

The price for the quality is really tough to beat.

EDIT I dug up a photo of the Champster for you. I have a ton of photos of it if you wanted me to email them to you.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

torndownunit said:


> Lil' Dawg makes those as well. He will make any Tweed era amp you want basically, in any configuration. Jim is an outstanding dude. I can't say enough good things about him.
> 
> I had the Champster Special and it was the best amp I ever owned. I stupidly decided I needed something bigger. I got him to build me a Super and sold the Champster, which was also a BEAUTIFUL amp. But, it ended up being way too much for my needs.
> 
> ...


Wow thanks, they look awsome, he also makes them in the "lunchbox" format so you can use it as a head, sorta like Orange Tiny Terror and Vox Nightrain. Do you remember how much shipping and brokerage etc total cost was? Thanks for the pics.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Man, it's been a LONG time and I honestly can't remember. I owned that amp about 5 years ago now. I'd imagine his prices must have gone up a bit since then. But at the time, it was well less than any of the amps quoted believe it or not. Even if he did increase his prices, they would still likely be under those prices.

I know he shipped USPS so no brokerage. And I didn't get nailed for any taxes, though that is likely to happen. Since it's a US made amp, I don't think there are any duties (someone correct me on that if I am wrong).

If you email him, he will answer any questions you have.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

THANKS A LOT FOR THIS DISCOVERY!
This is a really nice builder! I put my name for a Mutt and a Pug!


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Ti-Ron said:


> THANKS A LOT FOR THIS DISCOVERY!
> This is a really nice builder! I put my name for a Mutt and a Pug!


Ya those 2 came well after my experiences with him. Supercool looking models. He was only doing Tweed and Tweed variations when I got the amps through him. But he was willing to try anything. He ventured into some British circuits as well.

While I don't own any of his amps anymore, I am very happy to hear any of you guys might be getting some built. Dealing with him was such a great experience, and I'd be thrilled to know he's getting more business.


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## Built4Speed (Aug 31, 2009)

I have to give my thumbs up to Jim and Lil Dawg Amps. I was looking at a Tweed Princeton chassis build for a 1x12" tweed cabinet. I had the cab built to house a cheap chinese tube amp (bad idea, don't ask), and figured I'd have to mod the cabinet to fit a new chassis. Jim was able to build a chassis that would actually fit in my cabinet without hacking it up, and he even offered to reverse the chassis layout (for a small fee) to better suit the cabinet. Just playing the waiting game now until the chassis shows up at my door, but I have no hesitation recommending him.


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