Another bump for the non-reverb thread! I am trying to figure out the real date that this Princeton non-reverb amp was made. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have visited the various sites that have Fender dating information and I am still unsure of what I really have. I was thinking it was made between 1974 – 76, but the serial number and transformer codes remain a mystery to me.
The rear of the chassis is stamped with A (single space here) 17819 and centered under the “Made in U.S.A.” is the number “71”. The main power transformer has CSA 827 EIA 606-737. According to what I have read here and other places, it was made the 37th week of 1977. If you look closely at the transformer wiring, you can see it was repaired or replaced at some point in its life. The heat shrink tubing is nicely done so the original transformer was blown and replaced with this one. Maybe it was sent out and repaired and then replaced. The output transformer has 022913-606-3-46 stamped on it. Would that indicate that it was made the 46th week of 1973? There is a faint blue stamp on the side of the chassis that reads “T-4”. The amp came with a 10” Oxford with a tag # of - 023010 465420 10J4-5B and blue Fender decal on back of the magnet.
The tube chart is missing the info regarding the circuit number but it shows the factory tubes that it shipped with when it was made. I have a 5U4 rectifier tube and I think they were used in later model Princeton amps. The number “71” seen under the made in U.S.A. is confusing. The other Silverface Princeton’s I have seen never have a number under it. Is it possible the chassis is from 1971, has a rebuilt or replaced power transformer from 1977, and an output transformer from 1973 with the orange thread grill from 1975 or later? Any help in solving my Princeton mystery would be great!
As an aside, the new Jensen C12K arrived, see my earlier post, and is now in the Princeton. The other C12K is back in the DRRI where it belongs. Just for kicks, I hooked up the DRRI speaker to the external speaker jack on the Princeton. With both 12’s going last night, I really, really liked it!
