Hello good people , its me again.
Finally , I bought a second hand MIM strat for 275$, now I got 500$ left for an amp+effects.

Now I'v been reading a lot about budget amps and I kind of came to those four: Mustang II/III , Frontman 25R , Vibro-Champ XD and Super Champ X2

Now I don't have any amp now (well apart from a small Peavey bass amp I borrowed from my friend) thus I'm looking to buy one that I'll be use for many years.

What I like about the Mustang II :
12 inch speaker
built in effects
vintage amp's simulations

However , for a person who is going to play Surf and Rautalanka/Shadows (well , maybe a bit of Dire Straits as well) all those effects and other combos are too much.

The Frontman 25R is three times cheaper and has aa reverb tank , though from what I'v understood is not that good and I'll still need to buy a reverb pedal.

Vibro-Champ XD and Super Champ X2 - don't know much about them apart that they have tubes and that should be cool ( unless they are hybrid? )

Any thoughts if on of those can serve as a main amp? Or should I same some money for more serious one?

Thanks ,
Mark.

Last edited: Sep 26, 2013 03:06:35

i want to also suggest the super champ x2 head and 12 cab that would be excellent.it will blow the mustang away.get some flatwound strings if you want a true surf sound.you wont regret a super champ

Well , 500$ for amp+ effect pedals if their not digital (which costs about 100$ each)

I'm living outside the US in a place where things are quite expansive.
In the local stores there is only the Blues Junior III , but it costs almost 700$. For that money they sell the Deluxe , but only the VM model (which I understood is a hybrid)

Last edited: Sep 23, 2013 03:44:15

When i played the super champ xd2 i didnt say wow but i thought this sounds pretty good for the price.i would like to get a princeton reverb at some point though.

I would go with a Super Champ XD, no question. I have the smaller 5W version for home and I'm so impressed with it. The guitar sounds are pretty convincing and the reverb is really impressive and very versatile. For my pick it up and play amp, this is what I use. The 15W version should be plenty loud enough to carry a bar, or to annoy the neighbours if need be.
The Super champ uses a modelling front end with a tube power stage. This means you can dial in the sound you want, then push it in the power stage for the sweet tube overdrive sound. You'd need a pretty hefty transistor amp to match a 15W tube amp.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Actually the only Vibro Champ XD they had there was the 5W . . . .

Last edited: Sep 23, 2013 09:43:25

The Mustang looks like a good learning tool. It has the mini jack in to plug in a MP3 player or headphone out from your computer, plus a headphone jack. Built in tuner is nice and the thing is tweakable via usb port. 12" speaker and 45 watts moves more air than the frontman(louder)and that could be usefull if you play in a band. My son has a Mustang I and he has beat the crap out of it and it is still running. My vote is Mustang.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thegreasemonkeyz

Re-reading the original post (always helps!) my advice would be in order:
1) Super champ X2 = loud enough for gigs, has tubes and modelling voices. Clear winner. Unless you need to play really loud gigs, this will suit just about anything. If you need a keeper, this is it.
2) Vibro Champ XD = excellent practice amp, has tubes and voices, really good recording amp. You'll need something else sooner or later
3) Mustang - wellll - it has different voices, you can connect it to a pc and fiddle with it. Probably good practice amp, and at least it's not a Frontman. Recommend getting the biggest one you can.
4) Frontman = Ummmmm. Well. Ummmm, well, I guess it's a Fender. It'll work.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Sep 24, 2013 07:07:08

I have a Mustang III and a Vibro-Champ XD, and they're both great for playing at home (I don't gig, so can't speak to that). The VC is a hybrid, as has been mentioned, and it's been utterly reliable. The blackface and British settings work great for surf, and the digital reverb is decent. Originally, I went to the store to buy a Blues Jr, but when I tested these two side by side for about 30 minutes, I opted for the VC. Sure, the BJ has spring reverb, but it's not good spring reverb; the VC's digital spring (and other) reverb settings sounded better to my ears. It also had loads of built-in effects, was plenty loud for home use, and a new one was half the price of a used Blues Jr. The VC's Achilles heel is its small (8") speaker.

The Mustang III took over as my practice amp about six months ago, and apart from the extra cost and bulk, it's far superior to the VC. More voices, more effects, much more tweakability -- two kinds of Fender spring reverb, and adjustable for dwell, tone, decay, and level. Sounds good enough that I don't bother to use my tank most of the time. The 12" Celestion speaker was a huge improvement over my VC (even with a Neomag in it), plus you can use headphones with it and plug in your MP3 player (or whatever) to use backing tracks while you play. Far too loud for an apartment, but since there are no tubes, you lose nothing by turning it down. Mostly, I use the Princeton, Deluxe, Vox, and Twin Reverb voices and just ignore all the 'metal' stuff. Does it sound just like a real Princeton? Probably not, but with a Jag and a tank -- or the onboard 'verb -- it sounds sweet and surfy as all gettout. I still love my old tube amps, but the Mustang is my most useful amp by far.

I was hiking for the last two days so sorry for the late response.

I'v managed to jump into a music store for 10 min 2 days ago and play a bit on the Mustang III and the VC. I definitely heard a more "light and round" sound from the VC , but the Mustang III gave out a tone that was definitely Surf (haven't tried the Super Champ x2)

I think its down now to Mustang III or Super Champ x2.
I stopped on these two for the modeling effects.
If the sound of SCX2 is the same as the VC than its a plus for me , though it is only 75$ less than the Mustang III , which has a bigger speaker.
Now I have no idea when or if I'll do gigs to take that into consideration , and for now I'll probably play at low volume at home.

Noel, yes here it is. It's not in English though the items are. Divide the price by for to get the $ value:
http://www.kley-zemer.co.il/?manufacturer=94&Category=105

I hope to find some time soon to check out the MIII and the SCX2.
I'll let you know one I'll make a decision.

Thank you all for your responses and opinions!

Cheers,
Mark.