[trumpus]

This is my first post here, in fact, I found the forum while searching for info on the Princeton (NR) amps. I just picked up a non-functional '68 and am planning on getting started getting it back into shape.

I was wondering if anyone had any feelings about some of the mods that are out there for the PR amps (Blueprinting, stokes, paul C) mods? Are these even applicable to the NR version? Perhaps someone could recommend a few 10" speakers that work well with this amp. Here's a copy of a post I made in another thread regarding this amp - feel free to comment!

Well, this has been a very fortuitous week indeed! I am the proud new owner of a very clean 1968 SF Drip Edge Princeton Non-Reverb.







Original tubes! - Mullard rectifier, RCA 6V6's, 12AX7 and 7025!



A friend of mine's father passed away and she found this when she was going through his things. She is not a guitar player in any way and knew I was into vintage amps. She gave me an unbelievably reasonable deal for this little guy, with the idea that I would have to end up putting some cash into it to get it up to speed.

So - the good news first...

- The amp is VERY clean. Not museum quality by any means, but very clean. It has one or two very small tears in the tolex and no tears in the grillcloth.
- It is the first SF year (a drip edge) and hence is a BF circuit.
- It has original tubes and I believe, and original speaker (but the label is missing)

Now, the bad news...

- The amp is essentially non-functional right now. When plugged in, the lamp lights and there is some sound, but it is *very, very* low. When I hit the strings hard the volume increases slightly and then fizzles, crackles and sputters. I'm not sure if this is a tube problem, cap/circuit issue or speaker problem because...
- The speaker wire, while original, is spliced in 2 places with duct tape
- The power cord is original for the first foot, and then is spliced, again with duct tape, to an old lamp cord (yikes!).

So - it seems I've got a bit of work to do. I've got an e-mail out to a new tech (Jim at Omega amps, about 2 hours away), one out to my local Fender tech in Raleigh and one out to Mike at KCA NOS tubes, since he fitted me with a nice set of tubes for my Vibrolux last year. I'm researching some upgrades/mods for the Princeton amps, of which there are apparently quite a few that are regarded as "essential" by the guys at TGP and the Fender forum. These include:

- "Blueprinting"
- "Stokes" and "Paul C" mods

I've also been told that I should consider
- Adding a standby switch and mid control to the back panel of the chassis
- Having a new baffle cut for a 12" speaker
- Replacing the OT with a beefier one, perhaps adding an adjustable bias to allow for 6L6's as well (this would bring the output to a level on par with a Deluxe Reverb)

As icing on the cake, when my friend gave me the amp, she told me there was a footswitch in the back. I thought it was going to be the switch for the vibrato, but boy was I wrong! Turns out it is an original Mu-Tron Micro V - the little brother of the Mutron III envelope filter. Apparently this was made in response to requests for a smaller version of the Mu-Tron III thagt could be powered by 9V. It is in relatively decent cosmetic shape, but, like the Princeton, doesn't work. Oddly enough, it suffers from a similar problem! Very low volume when engaged (essentially inaudible) but what I CAN hear, sounds as though the "effect" is working, but the output is low. I've got an e-mail out to a guy who specializes in fixing vintage Mutron effects, sso we'll see what comes of it!

It's been a good week, to say the least...I'm pretty psyched at the notion of getting this amp up and running. I love my Vibrolux, but man is that thing loud! 35W and no master basically means I can't turn it up past 3 (or 1.5 with humbuckers), making it a horrible amp for around the house. I'm thinking the 12W Princeton will be much more manageable.

Brian