Should I sell my Fender Super Champ to get a...

Recently, I picked up a Fender Super Champ XD for the princely sum of $125.  If you ask me, that's a pretty great price for a "mostly-tube" Fender amp that has some very usable bells and whistles. But while I'm really happy with the price to performance ratio of this particular piece of gear, getting too good of a deal gets me thinking about what else I could have if I sold it.

Before I get into what I could have, I should restate that I really do like the amp.  The Bassman and JTM-ish settings, colored with a good dose of the delay/reverb combination, yield some very classic tones that respond well to volume control, and I find myself banging away on the guitar more than fiddling with the amp most of the time.  That's a really good sign.

In fact, I've had such fun with it that it's really got me thinking that I need something like the Wampler Ethereal to better replicate this sound in my other amp (the Maz 8 with the much more involved pedal board).  It's funny though, because I'm pretty sure one of the reasons I like this little Fender so much is that it is very much a "guitar-cord-amp" kind of amp. 

Simple.

Still though, might there be an opportunity to sell and acquire?  I needed to find out, and after a week I have an offer at $300.  So what's out there?

Squier Classic Vibe... Esquire? - $400

I'm typically not a fan of someone who has made major modifications to a guitar and then tries to sell it for the same price as you could get the stock one for on the used market, but full credit to this entry, as it looks pretty damn good.


I think the grain of the body really does it for me, and while I think I prefer the look of the blackguard, I can't help but wonder if the white is what is bringing out the grain in this example (though then I look at the back and think "nah, just a good camera).

But no thank you.  First, it is more than three bills.  Second, it is still a Squier - I own two, and they're good guitars, but not great. With the guitar collection now over 10, I'm only looking to add things that are completely unlike anything I own.  This isn't one of them.

But if you're looking for a guitar with tons of, well, VIBE, for $400, you could do worse.

Airline Roy Smeck? - $500

Who the heck is Roy Smeck?

Too easy.  But seriously, how cool is this guitar?

The depth of the body makes me think this is a semi-hollow without the holes, F or otherwise. A super vintage-y tremolo along with some tidy lines and a cool pickguard add up to something that definitely qualifies as different.

I've never touched an Airline, so I have no idea what we're talking in terms of quality, but the looks are off the charts.  No chance here though, as this is seriously over budget.

Too bad.

Squier Semi-Hollow - $250

This Korean-made hollow body has to be approaching 15 years old, around the time that Squier was doing versions of Guild guitars, FMIC having recently acquired Guild at the time... I think.  Google it, I'm not your mother.


Either way, word was that these were pretty decent instruments for the money, and this looks like a nice clean example.  The uncovered black pickups and pretty sterile cherry color are a bit uninspiring, but the headstock inlay is nice and I bet with new pups this would be a looker.

Having said that... Replacing pickups in a thinline is not something I'm keen on doing (I've heard it's a pain...), and though I'm keen to own a semi, this isn't quite right, in the same way that the Epiphone dot isn't quite right either.

Pass.

Danelectro French Toast -$35

I wouldn't need to sell the Chanp to buy this, but unfortunately it is located a little farther than I am willing to drive for a $35 dollar pedal.

I recall that when the food series first came out, more than a couple of magazines (hey, this was pre-YouTube) had this one as the best of the lot.  I'd love to have this to screw around with (never had an octave thing-a-ma-bob), but I'm not driving out of my way to get it...

Not more than 10 minutes anyway.


Conclusion

I'm not sure that I'm ready to move.  I'm not using the Champ much, but another guitar has to be pretty unique in order to get my attention...

Now this on the other hand..








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