Installing Our Fender® Champion 600 Reissue Tone Upgrade Kit

Champ 600 Upgrade Kit Installation

These upgrades improve the tone of the factory design of the Fender® Champion 600 Reissue amplifier; they do not change the circuitry from stock. We are simply using higher quality, better sounding components of the same value (except the preamp filter cap, which is slightly reduced in value) to improve the tone and feel of the amplifier.

You've probably noticed that the Jupiter tone caps are much larger than the capacitors they are replacing. This is because they are full-sized components, designed for optimal tone and for use on hand-wired, point-to-point vintage style circuit boards. Though this presents a challenge on a printed circuit board amp such as the Champion 600 Reissue, the end result will be worth the effort. Due to these and other challenges, it is recommended that these modifications be performed when you are at your best and able to take your time. You may wish to download a pdf version of the Champ 600 schematic.

Disclaimer: Specialty Guitars, LLC is in no way liable for damage caused to yourself or your amplifier in installing this kit. We recommend that you educate yourself on the proper discharging of filter capacitors before beginning work on your amp. If you do not feel confident to install this kit, including taking the necessary safety precautions, we strongly recommend that you take your amplifier to a qualified amplifier technician.

Step By Step Instructions

One thing that this amplifier invariably needs is power tube bias adjustment. The Champion 600 Reissues that we have seen have had the 6V6 power tube biased for too much power dissipation. The correct power dissipation for a 6V6 is considered to be between 12W and 14W (12W for vintage 6V6s and up to 14W for some of the newer 6V6s). The Champion 600s that we have seen were biased for between 15.5W and 16.5W. This is simply too high and does not sound optimal. We have found that the installation of a 200 Ohm to 240 Ohm 2W resistor in series with the factory installed 470 Ohm resister in R10 will achieve approximately 12W to 13W power dissipation.

There is much more that can be done should you wish to take it further. This amplifier, like all single ended amplifiers, would greatly benefit from hum reduction achieved through a DC filament supply. You will find that there are countless threads on countless message boards dealing with modifications to the Fender® Champion 600 reissue and if you wish to carry things further we suggest that you search out some of these threads.

Guitar & Bass Wiring Diagrams

Guitar Wiring Diagrams

We will be expanding our selection of guitar wiring diagrams, however the diagrams below provide the most common schematics for wiring your guitar.

Viewing our wiring diagrams requires Adobe Acrobat Reader .  If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free here.

• Stratocaster® Wiring Diagram
• Telecaster® Wiring Diagram
• Telecaster® With 4-Way Switch Diagram
• Esquire® Wiring Diagram
• Les Paul® Wiring Diagram

Notes on Electronics

Notes on Electronics

Potentiometers

Guitars with humbucking pickups typically use 500K-ohm potentiometers (pots), and guitars with single coil pickups typically use 250K-ohm pots. There are several exceptions here, and in some cases, other pot values are used. A couple of examples are: Gretsch guitars typically use 500K-ohm pots regardless of pickup type. Gibson uses 300K-ohm pots in many guitars. This is one of the reasons many people choose our Les Paul wiring kits. They prefer the tone of the 500K-ohm pots over the 300K-ohm.

When a volume or tone pot is turned to "10", a small amount of the guitar's signal is still passing through it to ground. Because of this, it still has an effect on the guitar's tone. Our ears perceive this loss of signal to ground as being mostly the "high end" or high frequencies. The lower the value of the pot, the more of the high frequencies seem to be lost to ground. The higher the value, the lower the loss.

Guitars with single coil pickups, such as most Fenders, use the lower 250K-ohm pots, sending more of the over-abundant high frequencies to ground, making for a more pleasing tone than if it were otherwise. Guitars with humbucking pickups, such as most Gibsons, use the higher 500K-ohm pots, sending fewer of the less plentiful high frequencies to ground. Even with this pot value "manipulation" of the signals, guitars with single coil pickups typically output more, and higher, high frequencies than guitars with humbucking pickups. This is just the nature of the beast. The phenomenon that reduces hum in humbucking pickups also reduces some of the pickup's high frequencies.

Tone Capacitors

The value of the capacitor (cap) connected to the tone pot will have an effect on the tone as well even when the tone pot is on "10". Many players can hear this, some cannot. Most of us can hear the difference in cap value when the tone is turned down towards "0" from "10". The tone control's cap value is something that you may wish to experiment with to "dial in" your desired tone. The lower value cap will pass the highest frequencies to ground. As the cap value is increased, the "gate opens wider", allowing additional, lower high frequencies to pass to ground as well. For a guitar that seems overly bright, try installing a higher value tone cap. For one that is overly dark, try a lower value cap. Again, the effect is very subtle.

"Treble Bleed" Capacitors

Quite often, when a volume pot is turned down, our ears perceive the treble frequencies being reduced in a disproportionately high amount as compared to the bass frequencies. To counter this phenomenon, a "treble bleed" or "treble bypass" capacitor is sometimes used. The treble bleed cap is typically soldered across the "signal in" and the "signal out" legs of the volume pot. (See our Tele® Wiring Diagram and our Strat® Wiring Diagram for examples.) The common value for this cap is .001�F (microfarads). You may wish to experiment with this if you are experiencing a noticeable treble loss as you turn down your volume control. Some guitar and amp combinations do not really output much, if any, of the treble frequencies in question to begin with. If this is the case, or if you do not use your volume control, this issue is of no concern.

Notes on Pickups

Notes on Pickups

There are so many guitar pickups to choose from these days that it can be mind-boggling. You may have noticed that our pickup selection leans heavily towards various vintage style and progressive style pickups, however, we would be happy to order any pickups from the Fender pickup line or from the Seymour Duncan and Antiquity™ lines for you. If you are looking for pickups to make your guitar sound just right, then grab a guitar, pull up a chair, and let's jam!

The types of music that you play, and the tonal characteristics of your guitar are just a couple of the factors to consider when choosing pickups.

Please take a look at our pickup descriptions, and feel free to contact us with any questions. You may wish to check out Seymour Duncan's Tone Wizard as well.

Humbucking Pickup Covers

In the 60's and 70's, the wisdom of the day held that the humbucking pickup's metal covers would increase the treble response. This was the start of the "exposed bobbins" craze that is still fairly prevalent today. Today's wisdom holds that the vintage style nickel or gold plated covers made from traditional nickel/silver have little if any effect on the pickup's treble output. More and more of today's players have realized this, and now prefer covered humbuckers. We prefer and recommend them as well. Not just for aesthetic reasons, but because of the added shielding against noise, and protection for the coils from spilled beer, your guitar pick, & sweat. Seymour Duncan's humbucker covers are made of nickel/silver, as are the SD accessory covers that we sell.

Humbucking Pickup Cover Installation

We recommend that this task be performed only by an experienced guitar technician. Installation of a humbucking pickup cover is best done with a 35 - 50 watt soldering iron, and there is risk of damaging both the pickup and the person doing the soldering.

1. Remove the outer wrap of black tape from the pickup. Failure to do so will cause the sides of the cover to bulge, which in turn will cause other problems.
2. We will go over two ways to "pot" the cover so it will not cause feedback. The first involves pouring a small amount of melted paraffin into the cover, before inserting the pickup into it. The second uses a strip of electrical tape.

   1. Paraffin Method:

      Melt a small amount of paraffin wax (available in the canning section of your grocery store) in a double boiler. Carefully pour about ½ - 1 tsp into the cover, making certain to drizzle it evenly, then insert the pickup into the cover. Make certain that the adjustable polepiece screws are sticking out of the cover holes properly, that the pickup is fully inserted, and that the cover has no bulges. You will probably need to clean some paraffin off of the polepieces and cover. Use caution when handling the cover, as the melted wax will cause the metal to become hot.

   2. Electrical Tape Method:

      This is the easiest and fastest method; although not as traditional as the paraffin method, it is also quite effective. In this method, the inside of the pickup cover actually rests against the electrical tape, which keeps the cover from vibrating against the pickup.
      
      Carefully place a strip of common, black, electrical tape across the pickup, from bass end to treble end, in-between the 2 rows of polepieces. Trim the tape neatly at the edges, and make certain there are no wrinkles, bubbles or folds. This is not a situation where "if one is good, two must be better". Use one strip of tape only. Insert the pickup into the cover. Make certain that the adjustable polepiece screws are sticking out of the cover holes properly, that the pickup is fully inserted, and that the cover has no bulges.
3. It is recommended to use a soldering pencil of approximately 35 - 50 watts for soldering the cover to the pickup base. A small solder connection must be made on each side of the pickup (the adjustable polepiece side, and the opposite side -- see photo). With a small flat-blade screwdriver, or a small wire brush, gently scratch the pickup base, and the inside of the cover, in the spots where the solder connections will be made. This exposes clean, un-oxidized metal for the solder to adhere to.
4. Apply small amounts of paste flux to the spots to be soldered. Make certain your soldering iron is fully warmed up and that the tip is properly tinned. Apply some solder to the iron's tip, and then apply the tip to the prepped areas of the pickup base and the cover at the same time. Apply some more solder to the junction. It is imperative that heat not be applied for too long or damage to the pickup may occur. When you see that the solder has flowed to the base and cover, remove the iron, and allow to cool. Do not handle the pickup until it has fully cooled. Repeat these steps on the other side of the pickup.
5. When cool, you may wish to carefully clean any flux residue with an acid brush or a cotton swab, and alcohol.
6. Re-install your pickups and go rock out!

Stratocaster® Pickups

The magnet stagger of vintage style Strat^® pickups does not really match up correctly to modern fret board radii and to the lighter gauged strings commonly used these days. The vintage stagger was designed to accommodate wound G strings and fret boards with a 7-¼" radius. The problem is often most noticeable with the Bridge pickup of a staggered vintage style set. In raising the Bridge pickup so that the height is best for most of the strings, the G string magnet (pole piece) is often too close to the G string. This causes the G string to be out of balance with the other strings, and causes the strange warble and intonation problems inherent in this scenario.

The Neck and Middle pickups in a vintage set are usually set a bit lower, so this imbalance may not be as noticeable. One way to minimize this is to lower the Bridge pickup, but this may make it too weak in relation to the other pickups. There are several options to consider.

First, is to install one of our High Output Base Plates on the Bridge pickup. This could give the Bridge pickup the necessary "oomph" to help it balance properly with the other pickups.

Another option is to switch to a flat magnet (pole piece) Bridge pickup. Flat magnet Strat® pickups have a bit more midrange and slightly different tone in general due to the different magnetic field. But what if you want the classic vintage style tone of staggered magnets without the problems?

Well, we have an answer for you. Consder a vintage style pickup combination that has become quite popular lately among Strat® slingers, and for good reason. This is a "mixed" set with staggered magnet pickups for the Neck and Middle positions (where the traditional character of the staggered magnets is most noticeable, but causes the least trouble), and a flat magnet pickup for the Bridge position (where the staggered magnet character is less noticeable but causes the most trouble). In addition to having a bit more midrange, the flat magnet pickup can be set closer to the strings for increased and balanced output. You may still wish to add a High Output Base Plate to the Bridge pickup.

Installation of High Output Base Plate

We prefer this method of installation because it does not require the removal of a pre-installed pickup. Put a thin layer of contact cement, wood glue, silicone adhesive, or other adhesive to the masking tape side of the base plate. Then install with glue side against the base of the pickup making certain the plate is properly oriented. Allow the glue to dry. Solder the ground braid on the plate to the ground wire lug of the pickup (this is usually the lug the black wire is soldered to).

Soldering Iron Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks for Proper Care of Your Soldering Iron

It is very important to "tin" your soldering iron's tip properly before the first use, and periodically afterward so that it will be shiny and heat conductive all over the very tip. If the tip is not shiny, then its heat transfer will be poor, and you will have difficulty making good soldering joints. It's sort of like "seasoning" an iron skillet if you will.

There are several ways to tin a tip, but this method is effective and works with just solder and a damp sponge. Use caution when tinning your soldering iron; it will get very hot.

1. Get a damp sponge, install a new tip, and plug in the iron.
2. When the soldering iron is hot, flow a bunch of solder all over the tip so that that whole area all the way around is coated with solder. It will smoke quite a bit.
3. With the damp sponge on a heat-resistant surface, "quench" the tip on it, rolling the entire tip around on the sponge. It will steam and hiss.
4. For best results, repeat a second time.
5. Your soldering iron tip should be nice and shiny. Now you are ready to solder.

After using your soldering iron, and before unplugging it, glob up the tip with solder, and leave the solder on the tip. Unplug the iron and allow to cool. This coating of solder will protect the tip from oxidation, so that the soldering iron will work well in the future.

Do not scrape the tip with a wire brush or anything abrasive, as this removes the conductive coating.

Stringing Sperzel Tuners

Stringing Sperzel Locking Tuners and Sound Lock Tuners

Sperzel Locking tuners and Sound Lock tuners are a wonderful advancement in precision tuning. Their unique design aids in getting into tune, staying in tune, and rapid re-stringing.

Sperzel's unique design and precise manufacturing tolerances eliminate shaft wobble, backlash, and end-play, greatly reducing your guitar's tuning problems. The housing extends further up the shaft, with the bushing threads on the outside, keeping the shaft "solid as a rock".

The locking feature eliminates the need for multiple string wraps, and trem users won't need a locking nut. Restringing is lightning fast! The 6 in line tuners are height staggered, allowing the removal of the string trees.

Here's how the Locking Tuners work

Sperzel Sound Lock Tuners

Sperzel Sound Lock tuners have the same precision tuning gear mechanism as the Locking tuners. The differences are in the vintage style open housing, and the Sound Lock feature that locks the strings in a different manner.

About Our Trem Blocks

Callaham Heavy Steel Tremolo Blocks

Made to Pre-CBS original specifications by Callaham Guitars, these tremolo blocks are precision-made in the United States and are exact replicas of the tremolo blocks used in the original 50's Stratocasters®. Just like the 50's Strat® trem blocks, these blocks are made from heavy, cold rolled steel and weigh a full 10oz (280g), producing incredible sustain, note clarity and response. The string ball ends seat just inside the trem block, as opposed to seating halfway up, which also increases sustain and tone transfer while minimizing the risk of a broken string becoming lodged in the block.

In trying to replicate the sound of the original 50's Strats®, many players focus on the guitar's pickups. While the pickups are extremely important to the guitar's sound, without a vintage spec trem block, your guitar will never achieve that same clear bell-like sustain and response.

Leo Fender designed the strings to pass through an accurately machined steel inertia block. This is one of the main factors that gives all original pre-CBS Strats® fitted with tremolo their clear, bell-like sustain. But, unique features of its original design have been compromised to keep production costs down. Callaham steel blocks are the most accurately machined blocks to original specs available.

The Mexi Standard player is in for a very pleasant surprise as well. Replacing the thin 5oz factory stock zinc alloy trem block (shown at left) with one of these vintage spec Mexi trem blocks will have an incredible impact on your guitar's tone and sustain.

As a matter of fact, switching to one of these trem blocks, and installing a new set of pickups, and a set of Sperzel 6 In Line tuners will make your Mexi standard a guitar that can stand shoulder to shoulder with almost any Stratocaster® out there.

Notes on Tubes

Notes on Tubes

All of the new production preamp tubes out today seem to have at least one characteristic or another that isn't quite right compared to the NOS American and European made tubes.

NOS preamp tubes such as RCA, GE, and Mullard are unbeatable. But, these are very expensive, so it's not always possible to use them. We have found the JJ 12AX7s to be one of the best new production tubes available. No, they are not perfect, but as stated, none of the new production tubes are. JJ's 12AX7 is one of several designs based on the wonderful German Telefunken. They seem to have the best combination of tonal characteristics, low microphonics, and reliability of any of the 12AX7s available today.

If you want to go the NOS tube route, there are many knowledgeable and reputable tube vendors on the net.

JJ 6V6s also seem to be about the best new production 6V6 tube available today. They have a nice lively tone, are very reliable, and can handle high voltages with ease.

There are several excellent 6L6s being made today. The Groove Tube/Fender 6L6GE is a copy of the short bottle GE 6L6, made on old GE equipment, with a percentage of NOS parts. With its nice breakup, and shimmering clean tone, it is about as close to NOS as you can get.

New tubes tend to sound their best after a short break-in period of five or so hours.

Notes on Tuning

Keeping Your Guitar in Tune

Getting your guitar in tune can be a problem, but most often when guitar players talk about tuning problems, they are talking about problems with staying in tune. Many factors contribute to difficulties with keeping your guitar in tune, and complex technical discussions are beyond the scope of this article. However, binding at the nut, the many problems associated with tuning machines, and loose fitting bridges and bridge parts are among the biggest contributors to difficulties with staying in tune, and are a good starting point for troubleshooting your tuning instability problems.

The string nut's slots should support the strings properly without binding the strings. The slots must be properly shaped and polished to accomplish this. You may be thinking, "What difference does it make? As long as the string is in tune, it shouldn't make any difference if it is in a bind in the nut slot." If your guitar has a tremolo bridge, when you use it to lower the strings' pitch, it loosens the tension of the strings. This causes a portion of each string to slide from the fretboard side of the nut, through the slot, to the headstock side of the nut. When the tremolo is released to return the strings to standard pitch, ideally, the strings should slide back through the slots to return to their original position. However, if the strings bind in the slots, the resulting pitch will be sharp. Likewise, using the tremolo to pull the strings sharp can result in the strings being flat after the tremolo is released. Proper slot shaping, polishing, and the use of one of the various lubes on the market for this purpose will all contribute to eliminating binding.

Binding can also cause problems with non-tremolo guitars as changes in tension of the strings from bending notes can result in strings becoming sharp or flat.

Tuning machines can also cause intonation problems. Shaft wobble, backlash, end-play, and multiple string wraps can all cause the strings to go sharp or flat during playing. Many tuning machines suffer from slippage so badly that a single whole-step bend can cause a string to go terribly flat. These are the reasons that we so strongly recommend Sperzel Trim Lock or Sound Lock tuners. Sperzel's locking feature effectively eliminates shaft wobble, backlash, end-play, and slippage by doing away with multiple string wraps. Sperzel Trim Lock and Sound Lock tuners also allow for very quick string changes.

Quite often, Gibson-style tune-o-matic bridges are somewhat loose on their posts. This can also cause problems staying in tune, and we recommend TonePros locking bridges to eliminate this looseness, and increase sustain. TonePros locking tailpieces and locking studs provide these same benefits for the Stop Tailpiece as well.