My Princeton Reverb Story

tdu · June 27th, 2006, 06:04 AM

I had been wanting a Princeton Reverb for quite awhile. Forum member D_Schief had a modded one he sold to me for a great price since it was more of a "player" than a collectable. We did our transaction and he took it to a UPS store to be packed and mailed out.

The amp arrived and the box looked it had been thrown down the strairs a few times. The corners of the box were completely crushed. I opened up the box and the amp had been packed with no protection on the corners whatsoever, and very little packing throughout the rest of the box. 3 of the corners on the amp were damaged, and the reverb tank was shot. And while the tech wouldn't put it in the 'shipping damage' report because he couldn't say for sure if it was caused by the knocks it took, the speaker also wasn't working right.

D_Schief went above and beyond dealing with UPS and the packer and managed to get an insurance claim for a new cabinet from Allen and a new reverb tank! So big thanks to him for everything he did. Thanks as well to other forum members who gave me some info on previous claims they made with UPS. The claim went through with no problems, and I am sure a good part of the reason was it was one of THEIR locations that did that horrible packing job.

There are more bad parts to the story unfortunately. The first tech I took it to was new in town. I had a couple of references for him, so I thought I would give him a shot. I am not really that technically knowledgable when it comes to amps. I noticed the amp still wasn't working right, so I drove it an hour to a really good tech I had used before in another city. It turns out the original tech did NOTHING he said he did to the amp. And the reverb tank he used to replace the original was garbage. So I had to pay for the exact same repairs AGAIN.

The amp is sounding great now though, and the Allen cab should be for it soon. So it will be looking great as well. The second tech I took it to builds amps, and he had a bunch of new Weber speakers around so I got a new speaker at cost without having to pay duties, shipping, and taxes on it (the only way to get a Weber speaker here). When everything is put together I will post some photos.

sandman72202 · June 27th, 2006, 07:43 AM

sounds like you had the same UPS driver i had with my twin. glad you were able to get the insurance claim without too much hassle.

Tim Armstrong · June 27th, 2006, 10:44 AM

Glad it's all working out! By the way, I ended up keeping my Guitarmate. The buyer, a friend of mine, had some health issues come up, and while we were waiting for them to clear up, I fell back in love with it, so I refunded his money (which suited him just fine too).

So now, like you, I have a sweet PR and a sweet Traynor!

Cheers, Tim

tdu · June 27th, 2006, 02:42 PM

Tim, I will likely be selling the Traynor. In fact I have someone looking at it this weekend. While they are FANTASTIC sounding amps, the cabinets are just way to big and too heavy for me. Especially considering it's just a 25 watt combo. As you know, they are way oversized. Besides the fact that I would never want to lug it around, the house I am moving into soon is much smaller and I am not going to have the gear storage room.

I had looked into building the YGM-3 into a head actually, but I decided I would be better putting the money into getting the Princeton Reverb perfect. If the YGM-3's were a bit lighter, and a bit smaller they would be the absolute perfect amp IMO.

Paul in Colorado · June 27th, 2006, 05:28 PM

Hey, Tim,

Have you run the PR and the Traynor together yet? Try 'em with a delay pedal with one amp getting the wet signal. You'll love it.

Tim Armstrong · June 27th, 2006, 07:20 PM

Paul, it's an absolute shame to admit that I haven't played ANY electric guitar for a couple of months! I can't wait until next year, when we may have our new house built and I'll finally have the room to take things out of their cases and actually play them!

Cheers, Tim

Telecluster · July 3rd, 2006, 10:54 AM

Re the Princeton amp damage and UPS. Back in 1995-ish I worked in the UPS claims department. A couple of things I have observed: 1. ALWAYS buy their insurance. If it's the same these days as it was then, the first 100 bux of value is free and each additional hundred is 35 cents---these days maybe it's like 50 cents or a dollar or whatever. Often they are reasonable about claims, but I have seen situations where inspectors denied claims that I saw as perfectly valid. if that happens to you, just keep on them like a pit bull and go up the chain of command if need be. But if you don't buy the insurance, then your chances are pretty slim for getting resolution. If you pack the items yourself, be sure to use a box that is either new or at least has no wear and tear to it. some of the top reasons for claim denial are as follows: used corregated, insuficient tape, insuficient packing (not enough cushioning material) fragile on fragile (2 or more items in a box without sufficent partition). ---just some thoughts and "rememberings"

Mik · July 3rd, 2006, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Paul, it's an absolute shame to admit that I haven't played ANY electric guitar for a couple of months! I can't wait until next year, when we may have our new house built and I'll finally have the room to take things out of their cases and actually play them!

Cheers, Tim

Been in the same sit myself recently Tim, and with the recent Tele jam and a little help from my TDPRI friends, I'm "plugged" in again! Well a sweet new Martin is taking a little time away from the electrics though.

Mik

JohnnyAtomic · July 3rd, 2006, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telecluster

Often they are reasonable about claims, but I have seen situations where inspectors denied claims that I saw as perfectly valid.

I have shipped HUNDREDS of items, and I've had about 6 or so claims. EVERY SINGLE ONE was denied, but I fought them on every single one, and got paid for them all. I think they are denying every claim as a policy, then they get away free from paying on some. This is especially true of people aren't tenacious enough to fight them for the product (insurance) they deserve and paid for. Another case of NICE GUY FINISHES LAST.

Just my opinion.

Johnny Atomic

tdu · July 9th, 2006, 12:15 PM

Here is a photo of the Princeton in it's new Allen cabinet. It looks great. The extra 2 inches height makes it WAY easier to work on. The new Champster Special is in the photos as well because I had people wanting to see photos of both amps, so I killed 2 birds with one stone :)

I can't decide whether to put the Fender logo back on the front or not. I think it looks really good without it.....

JohnnyAtomic · July 10th, 2006, 11:15 AM

Leave the logos off, I have two 1964's without logos. I like the look. Fender didn't put logos on small amps (champs, princetons, deluxes, and vibrolux's) until 1965.

Johnny Atomic

tdu · July 10th, 2006, 02:55 PM

Ya it does look a lot cleaner without it...

June 27th, 2006, 06:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	My Princeton Reverb Story I had been wanting a Princeton Reverb for quite awhile. Forum member D_Schief had a modded one he sold to me for a great price since it was more of a "player" than a collectable. We did our transaction and he took it to a UPS store to be packed and mailed out. The amp arrived and the box looked it had been thrown down the strairs a few times. The corners of the box were completely crushed. I opened up the box and the amp had been packed with no protection on the corners whatsoever, and very little packing throughout the rest of the box. 3 of the corners on the amp were damaged, and the reverb tank was shot. And while the tech wouldn't put it in the 'shipping damage' report because he couldn't say for sure if it was caused by the knocks it took, the speaker also wasn't working right. D_Schief went above and beyond dealing with UPS and the packer and managed to get an insurance claim for a new cabinet from Allen and a new reverb tank! So big thanks to him for everything he did. Thanks as well to other forum members who gave me some info on previous claims they made with UPS. The claim went through with no problems, and I am sure a good part of the reason was it was one of THEIR locations that did that horrible packing job. There are more bad parts to the story unfortunately. The first tech I took it to was new in town. I had a couple of references for him, so I thought I would give him a shot. I am not really that technically knowledgable when it comes to amps. I noticed the amp still wasn't working right, so I drove it an hour to a really good tech I had used before in another city. It turns out the original tech did NOTHING he said he did to the amp. And the reverb tank he used to replace the original was garbage. So I had to pay for the exact same repairs AGAIN. The amp is sounding great now though, and the Allen cab should be for it soon. So it will be looking great as well. The second tech I took it to builds amps, and he had a bunch of new Weber speakers around so I got a new speaker at cost without having to pay duties, shipping, and taxes on it (the only way to get a Weber speaker here). When everything is put together I will post some photos. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

June 27th, 2006, 10:44 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 10,262	Glad it's all working out! By the way, I ended up keeping my Guitarmate. The buyer, a friend of mine, had some health issues come up, and while we were waiting for them to clear up, I fell back in love with it, so I refunded his money (which suited him just fine too). So now, like you, I have a sweet PR and a sweet Traynor! Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

June 27th, 2006, 02:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	Tim, I will likely be selling the Traynor. In fact I have someone looking at it this weekend. While they are FANTASTIC sounding amps, the cabinets are just way to big and too heavy for me. Especially considering it's just a 25 watt combo. As you know, they are way oversized. Besides the fact that I would never want to lug it around, the house I am moving into soon is much smaller and I am not going to have the gear storage room. I had looked into building the YGM-3 into a head actually, but I decided I would be better putting the money into getting the Princeton Reverb perfect. If the YGM-3's were a bit lighter, and a bit smaller they would be the absolute perfect amp IMO. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

June 27th, 2006, 07:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 10,262	Paul, it's an absolute shame to admit that I haven't played ANY electric guitar for a couple of months! I can't wait until next year, when we may have our new house built and I'll finally have the room to take things out of their cases and actually play them! Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

July 3rd, 2006, 10:54 AM	#7 (permalink)
Telecluster TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: South Texas (bubba!) Posts: 17	Re the Princeton amp damage and UPS. Back in 1995-ish I worked in the UPS claims department. A couple of things I have observed: 1. ALWAYS buy their insurance. If it's the same these days as it was then, the first 100 bux of value is free and each additional hundred is 35 cents---these days maybe it's like 50 cents or a dollar or whatever. Often they are reasonable about claims, but I have seen situations where inspectors denied claims that I saw as perfectly valid. if that happens to you, just keep on them like a pit bull and go up the chain of command if need be. But if you don't buy the insurance, then your chances are pretty slim for getting resolution. If you pack the items yourself, be sure to use a box that is either new or at least has no wear and tear to it. some of the top reasons for claim denial are as follows: used corregated, insuficient tape, insuficient packing (not enough cushioning material) fragile on fragile (2 or more items in a box without sufficent partition). ---just some thoughts and "rememberings" __________________ "The shoe is on the hand it fits There's really nothing much to it Whistle through your teeth and spit cause it's all right." ----Robert Hunter

June 27th, 2006, 07:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
sandman72202 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Arkansas, currently on walkabout Posts: 476	sounds like you had the same UPS driver i had with my twin. glad you were able to get the insurance claim without too much hassle.

June 27th, 2006, 05:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 56 Posts: 4,448 3 Photos	Hey, Tim, Have you run the PR and the Traynor together yet? Try 'em with a delay pedal with one amp getting the wet signal. You'll love it.

July 9th, 2006, 12:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	Here is a photo of the Princeton in it's new Allen cabinet. It looks great. The extra 2 inches height makes it WAY easier to work on. The new Champster Special is in the photos as well because I had people wanting to see photos of both amps, so I killed 2 birds with one stone :) I can't decide whether to put the Fender logo back on the front or not. I think it looks really good without it..... __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

July 10th, 2006, 11:15 AM	#11 (permalink)
JohnnyAtomic Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 1,352	Leave the logos off, I have two 1964's without logos. I like the look. Fender didn't put logos on small amps (champs, princetons, deluxes, and vibrolux's) until 1965. Johnny Atomic __________________ flaming hamper of rock! www.myspace.com/johnnyatomicmusic

July 10th, 2006, 02:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	Ya it does look a lot cleaner without it... __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff: