Princeton Reverbs, the best amp ever?

[cusackmusic]

Who here has played through a Princeton Reverb? Who thinks they rule? Obviously not for the high gain high volume crowd, but they are great for small, and mic'ed gigs, and they sound killer. Great Tremolo too. Any comments?

Jon

[the_pedal_nazi]

Who here has played through a Princeton Reverb? Who thinks they rule? Obviously not for the high gain high volume crowd, but they are great for small, and mic'ed gigs, and they sound killer. Great Tremolo too. Any comments?

Jon

Here is a clip (and many more you can click on the right) of my boy Fatback with a vintage Princeton reverb on 2!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=540580937612098631


Decide for yourself...

[fatback]

works for me.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_2323.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_3211.jpg


and for trem, their older bro is the bomb!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_3210.jpg


(hi guys, the waters seem very clear in these parts :) )

[Bümbox]

Here is a clip (and many more you can click on the right) of my boy Fatback with a vintage Princeton reverb on 2!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=540580937612098631


Decide for yourself...

OMG, simply cool. It's been a while since I saw tapping licks that were that tasteful.

[fatback]

cheers. I don't do too much of the tappity-tap these days, but it's fun to bust out now and then for giggles.

I've been hearing great things about your amps and look forward to trying one out.

[Bümbox]

cheers. I don't do too much of the tappity-tap these days, but it's fun to bust out now and then for giggles.


I dig. I'm checking out the Sanford and Son thing right now. Google's a beautiful thing and your vids are cool.

I've been hearing great things about your amps and look forward to trying one out.

I'd love for you to check one out. Get ahold of me and I'll hook you up.

[Tomo]

I love all Fender amps. Princeton Reverb. Great small gig/practice amp.

Mine is right next my computer. 10" Eminence's Legend 105 in.

Great studio amp as well. It's nice to have this in your home.

I also like Fender Pro Reverb. 2 12. Not heavy. 40 watts.
Great gig amp.

It's nice to have a few choices.



Tomo

[MikeyG]

Here is a clip (and many more you can click on the right) of my boy Fatback with a vintage Princeton reverb on 2!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=540580937612098631


Decide for yourself...

That's a great tone, but it's the pedal, not the Princeton.... Need to hear it clean to evaluate properly....

I tried one a long time ago, I thought it was a little small sounding. Tone was great, just not enough oomph.

[Pablomago]

I've decided that my next amp will be a Princeton Reverb, either a silverface or a kit. I want to squeeze a 12" in it and do a few other minor mods (add a middle control and a couple of other things, but no hacks). At one of the last gigs I played I used a Deluxe Reverb and a Vox AC-15 and it was too loud. And that was with an eight piece jam band. My plan is to mic the PR and run the mic into a sub mixer that I use with my acoustic rig that has a nice rack mount effects unit in the loop for reverb, delay and chorus. Then run the line out from the mixer to the PA. Having an amp that I can pick up with one hand and carry up a flight of stairs appeals to me.

It's just too bad that they've gotten so expensive. Wish I thought of this ten years ago. 20/20 hindsight...

[cusackmusic]

Yeah, I've paid top dollar for 2 of them. I got a pretty good deal on one. It seems that you need to pay 500-1000 for a silver face, depending on condition.

Jon

[talpa]

Hi all -just landing in from PP/TGP etc - this is great!

I love my Silvertone 1333 tweed Princeton copy. 2 6V6s is a great little tone that isn't little. I can get EJ with my TC sustain and Keely TS9 mod in the chain with the Silvertone dimed....funny. The vibrato is broken though. I wish I could mod it into a reverb channel.

It's my favorite house amp. I even swap the same 6V6s into my Germino C40 lol.

Jim

[erksin]

I'm more partial to this amp:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/erksin/63GibsonFalcon.jpg

Similar to a BFPR (a little bit of tweed mixed in), but much fuller in the low-end and smoother highs.

I also really dig this one, but it's quite different than a BFPR:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/erksin/64Princeton.jpg

[Jakeddy]

While not a reverb I thought I'd share my Princeton, it's a 1960 that was rescued from a dumpster. The guy who found it walked into my shop and ask me if I'd give him $10.00 for it, I answered I'll give you $20.00.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/jakeddy/Picture003.jpg

[JKoeth]

If I were to obtain a Princeton Reverb from ebay, what would I look for.
Year? Black/Silver face? Speaker?

[jus1beer]

I like princeten reverbs, I had a black face 1964 if I remember correctly. I played many a gig with it. It got stolen six or eight years ago and I bought a Deluxe. I think Chet Atkins played thru a Princeton reverb, thats what I heard any way. They have a nice tone.
Allen

[craise]

If I were to obtain a Princeton Reverb from ebay, what would I look for.
Year? Black/Silver face? Speaker?

IMHO
Look for a BF with orignal Jensen gold sticker speaker! SF is fine but will need BFing and speaker upgrade.
Here's mine
64 Princeton Reverb(with orig jensen) and 65 Vibro Champ

http://home.comcast.net/~mastermindmusic//myfenders.jpg

Plus these = Heaven ! ;)

http://home.comcast.net/~mastermindmusic//BJFe_Collection.JPG

[JKoeth]

Is there a modern day equivalent? Boutique perhaps?

[Wakarusa]

Is there a modern day equivalent? Boutique perhaps?

Sure.. where shall I send it? :)

One of the nice things about the PR is that, like the Champ, the circuit stayed virtually unchanged throughout the blackface/silverface run. In the later amps they got sloppy with the lead dress and threw in some nasty capacitors to correct for it, but it's trivial to put them back right -- unlike some of the other designs where there were more significant changes.

I use a '66 BFPR as my "grab 'n go" and for woodshedding in the shop (it lives under the bench). With a good set of tubes, an efficient speaker (I like the Weber 10A125), and a mod to allow bias adjustments it becomes a brawler. FWIW, it's the cathodyne/split-load phase inverter that gives the PR the sweet compressed tones that you just can't get in the DR. The other tip is to regularly clean the control pots (or have them serviced by your tech). That sweet bias-vary tremolo beats hell out of the other blackface LDR-based trems, but also puts a front panel pot in the output tube's bias path. A scratchy pot here means melted tubes.

[craise]

Is there a modern day equivalent? Boutique perhaps?

I've hear nothing but good things about this one.
http://www.allenamps.com/sweetspot.html

But I've got to say, there is some major mojo that goes along with the vintage BF stuff.
1. They've lasted 40 years...they'll last 40 more at least.
2. they are only going up in value.
If boutique or all original vintage cost the same I would go for the vintage. IMHO, YMMV ect.. :)
I'm sure you could find a great sounding boutique too!
I've never compared a Princenton Reverb to a regular Princenton non reverb.
But, I've read that the non is cleaner... they go for less than a PR. Maybe another option if you don't use amp reverb.
Yes a early silverface should be exactly like a BF...till around 76-77? right? wakarusa?
Good (non fender, utah) speaker and good (RCA Blackplate) Tubes make all the difference in the world for that vintage sound and feel.
good luck!
:D

[craise]

Oh my!! Check this out... a New "Recording" Fender Princeton!
:eek:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Princeton/

http://fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2152000000

[Wakarusa]

Oh my!! Check this out... a New "Recording" Fender Princeton!
:eek:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Princeton/

http://fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2152000000

Bwahahahahaha! Wonder what's next? It's actually taking me a minute to think of a model they haven't "re-issued" yet... Tremolux maybe? No wait...

"New from Fender, for all of you who've missed the superior tone of a transformer phase inverter, the re-issue MusicMaster Bass!"

Oh yeah, been forever since I've played a non-reverb Princeton, but I do own a '64 Deluxe (no reverb) that is exceptionally sweet sounding. And some of the minor changes appear in Princetons, Champs, you name it, without changes in circuit designation, as early as '69.

[No Code 5]

Oh my!! Check this out... a New "Recording" Fender Princeton!
:eek:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Princeton/

http://fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2152000000

This has my interest... if it has the same attention to detail as some of the reissues and the attenuator works well this could be a great amp to have around.

Fender has done a good job copying circuits in other reissues. I am not that excited about the OD/Compressor, but the rest of the amp has it on my list.

[Eero]

12I went maybe three weeks ago to my local Guitar Center in Larchmont, New York. I had NO intention of buying anything, and particularly no intention of buying anything for myself. As it turned out, they had this PR, which they said was from 1968, and available for $999. I don't know what came to me, but I just bought it on the spot. Maybe I thought I could get rid off it and even return it, if I didn't like it....

Oh my... I can't sell this to anybody, she is definitely a keeper. I am not an expert, but I checked that at least the transformers are from 1967, so there was some truth to what the sales clerk told me. The only complaint I have is that I didn't buy one, maybe 7 years ago....

Eero

[glendrix]

I'm more partial to this amp:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/erksin/63GibsonFalcon.jpg

Similar to a BFPR (a little bit of tweed mixed in), but much fuller in the low-end and smoother highs.

I also really dig this one, but it's quite different than a BFPR:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/erksin/64Princeton.jpg


What is the difference between the non reverb BF Princeton and the reverb version (other than of couse the reverb). Is that it or are they sonically different in other ways?

[erksin]

What is the difference between the non reverb BF Princeton and the reverb version (other than of couse the reverb). Is that it or are they sonically different in other ways?

Mine is a '64 transitional Brownface circuit in Blackface covering (6G2) - not the same as the subsequent BF circuit (AA964).

The 6G2 has more mids and gain.

[mtlin]

What is the difference between the non reverb BF Princeton and the reverb version (other than of couse the reverb). Is that it or are they sonically different in other ways?

I believe the Reverb models have more gain on account of the extra gain stage used to drive the reverb. Non-reverb Princetons stay clean up until 10 on the volume and aren't all that loud. There are, however, lots of different ways to mod them to make up for the missing gain.

Best,

Martin

[dan_o]

Yes, although I use a vintage twin reverb as a stage amp I just purchased a 1968 all original Princeton Reverb on eBay. Mint; doesn't appear to have been played for more than a few months in the house if that. Been in the closet for 38 years. It's pure blackface heaven. My Blues Junior has a for sale sign on it. When I tested it on stage, it was pure cream on 5. Definitely couldn't face it - it's just wicked loud. People were telling me to get one 4 years ago but I just wouldn't listen. I paid a pretty penny for it but now that I have one I can see why. I also had a/b'd a vintage princeton rev. against a vintage deluxe rev. and personally liked the princeton - just my opinion at a low to moderate volume as they are both among the best amps ever made.

[Ratty]

PR is a good amp, but for my money the Deluse Reverb is the best all-around amp Fender ever made.

[Cody McLain]

Old thread I know.. but I wanted to shout on my '66 PR. It's a killer amp withthe reversable mods that are out there. WIth the right speaker (Webber something or other), tubes and those mods, mine hangs with a DR or similar quite well. I love how it compresses around half volume and through a 2x12 cab turned up with my TIM, it is a killer rock sound. Glad I got mine when they were a couple of bills though. ;)

[Tomo]

I still own and use my Princeton Reveb. I had a chance to play Carr's Mercury at gig in NY. That amp was only 8 watts.. but it was great for some clean and boost for the gain.

Tomo