Fender Princeton Reverbs

[Boreas]

You forgot the Princeton Twin Reverb...

The best of them all!
.
View attachment 738936
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Boy, I don't know what that is, but I am liking it!! Did a quick search but came up empty.

 

[darkwaters]

Love my PRRI!

Carr and Vintage Sound build variations of the Princeton that get great reviews.

 

[Tall-Fir]

I second the notion of sending a chassis to David Allen of Allen Amplification! I sent him a PR blackface chassis. He beefed it up for me with larger transformers, now I have the A763 (?) circuit with about 26-28 watts and a RajinCajun 12 inch speaker. Great amp!

The amp/chassis had previously ran a 15 inch D140F for a pedal steel player with a larger cab. David Allen reblackfaced and did all the correct stuff for me to have great amp for the rest of my years. His cost is very reasonable and his turnaround time is surprisingly fast.

Just another PR story...

 

[JRShotgun]

There are differences. 68 is basically 65 with some mods and different speaker. Makes it a little more mid voiced and break up sooner. The old Princetons are slightly different also. Generally speaking I believe the Silverfaces have a little more clean headroom than the Black faces. If you get an old (vintage) Princeton, +3 on David Allen. He does excellent work on the old Fenders. He is a genuinely nice guy and VERY knowledgeable. I have sent several old Fenders to him including my 75 Princeton Reverb.

 

[King Fan]

Lotta great personal experience and endorsement here. Kinda diverse though. Back at the OP:

Is there any huge difference in the sound of these. I see that a lot of the '68s are in the used section of GCs website so people must not have been satisfied with them.

I don't know much about the handwired. The others have been discussed a ton over the years. There is a significant difference in the sound -- due to speakers if nothing else. Lotsa folks love their PRRI, but others find the Italian Jensens harsh and spiky. The CPR has a $35 Celestion in it -- and the very few circuit changes make obvious changes to the sound. Some folks really like 'em though. Having owned one, and read a ton about 'em, some of those folks are performers, who can turn 'em up in a bigger space. No other PR is famous for its dimed tone; Jim Campilongo has some special sauce that lets him do it.

If you live near a big music store, you should be able to test out the PRRI v. the CPR. Like I say, many find loyal owners... and those that don't are available on the second-hand market. Vintage has the advantage of handwired repairability, which is kinda important in 50-year-old amps.

It might be that a PRRI with a vintage speaker, or a vintage with an Italian Jensen, would sound pretty similar. You don't see many of either, though. The vintage have nicer cabs, depending on how old they are, and maybe a couple other advantages, including resale price.

Now. My endorsement? Vintage clone. I played the heck out of a PRRI, chose a CPR, but after a year, built a clone to original spec with a great vintage speaker. Year in and year out, my most versatile, best-sounding, general-purpose amp, my reference for good tone.

 

[jonnyfez]

My '67 and my bandmate's '76. They sound identical.
I bought mine in '87 for $200 when no one wanted them. It's my one most favorite piece of gear. I'd sell every guitar before selling that amp. It's perfect - loud or soft.

 

[dalandan]

I've never tried another Princeton but I do love my 1965 Princeton Reverb Reissue. It has THE tone for me.

I tried a silverface deluxe once. Not my thing. I like that blackface sound.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

My '67 and my bandmate's '76. They sound identical.
I bought mine in '87 for $200 when no one wanted them. It's my one most favorite piece of gear. I'd sell every guitar before selling that amp. It's perfect - loud or soft.View attachment 738971View attachment 738972

Great pic! Especially in light of all the Jazzmaster and SG talk here, lately.

 

[jonnyfez]

Great pic! Especially in light of all the Jazzmaster and SG talk here, lately.

Jazzmasters, SGs, and Teles play well together!

 

[Telecastoff1]

I went in to my local Music Go Round a few months ago to check out a late 70's Princeton Reverb. While playing my Tele thru it for several minutes, I noticed a used Vox AC15cc1 sitting two amps over. I asked to plug into the Vox and try that one out. The difference was like night and day. I bought the Vox. It was fuller sounding, had more clean headroom and just brought out the tones of my Tele so much better for my style of playing. And it was $300 less money than the little Princeton.

 

[telemaster03]

Last year I decided to look for a 70's PR, I wanted something not PCB. After several failed searches that resulted in dead ends I found pretty clean looking 78 model on Reverb that wasn't selling, it wasn't priced too high or anything. I think what scared people off was the seller stated it had been in a storage unit for a while and while it powered up it hadn't been tested well. He had provisions for returns so I made an offer, which was accepted. I paid $800 all told and when I took it to my tech for a once over he was astounded how good of shape it was in...it even came with the original Fender branded RCA tubes which tested fine. I changed the speaker out and bought an extra set of tubes, I love that little amp and I use it when we play smaller venues.

I don't know how it compares to the reissues, I know a lot of people like them. This amp has a cool factor that just appeals to me.

 

[schmee]

The 68 RI is noted for earlier breakup, for most people that's exactly what you don't want in a PR. However, for bedroom players it might be good.

 

[mgreene]

Love my PRRI!

Carr and Vintage Sound build variations of the Princeton that get great reviews.

Here is a "*hit or go blind" story involving the Carr Sportsman (PR clone/improvement).

OK, so I travels over to ATL, (about a 2hr drive from where I am) to buy a silver PR in excellent condition with a 10" EV! We negotiate over the phone for $800. I get there and it has a squealing tube - no biggie, it works and I know how PRs sound. I make him take to the car for me, with the I'm old gambit

So here is the nutty part. Whenever I go to ATL, I try to stop by one or two of of the fancy music stores. So I am on my way to the store from the Princeton guy and I get a low tire warning, its going down fast so I stop at the parts store and get some slime. Then I go to said fancy guitar store.

They have a Carr Sportsman with some really expensive NOS tubes. I try it. WOW! It is one of the best clean sounds I have ever heard! Just as I start to test it, a guy in the next room fires up a Marshall - I want kill him. I have a flat tire, 2 hours from home. I have a new to me PR in the trunk. My back hurts.

I can probably afford the Carr, but I have too many amps already and buying two amps in one day is too much, even for me. So I am a little stressed out and consider trading the PR for the Carr but I have never really heard what the EV sounds like. So as I am sitting there trying to figure out what to do - I figure that if it turns out that I have a cracked wheel and have to get a tow and then I would have ~$2500 of guitar amps in the trunk - not ideal.

So I figure that a fresh 1970's PR with a 10" EV doesnt show up every day, so it makes more sense to keep it than to trade for the Carr which I could order new if it came to that. I pat myself on the back for making a reasonable decision.

The tire keeps holding enough air so I only have to pump it up 2 or three times on the way home (late Sat afternoon - I figured that wouldnt be able to get a tire repair and certainly wouldnt be able to get a wheel).

That said - I am still kicking myself that I dont have the Carr even though I feel that I cant really justify it.

 

[cravenmonket]

I see that there are several versions of the classic amp out there now.

The classic (and expensive) 60s and 70s Princeton Reverbs.

The Princeton Reverb '65 RI which is a circuit board version with tubes.

The '68 Princeton Reverb RI which I think is a another circuit board/tube amp.

An Artist version that is handwired (and expensive).

There are in-between models, too. Several Limited Edition short run versions of the 65 and 68 reissues exist, primarily with different speakers than the standard RI. Enough people were switching out the stock 10" in their 65 to a 12" that Fender started doing it for them. I have a 12" Jensen in mine. A little more volume, and a bit more depth. And more "space" if that makes sense. I have never regretted dropping $1,100 on mine, and I've never wondered if an original vintage would sound "better". It sounds better than I am able to play, so I don't feel limited by my amplifier!

There is a reason these amps are popular.

 

[nedorama]

I have a 74 Princeton I bought for $250 back in 2000. I put a Weber C10Q in it and it has that great clean sound and takes pedals well at lower volume. I bought a 79 Pull-boost Princeton reverb a few years later, and after a few ended with a Kendrick Black Frame 10" that sounds great. The PR needs a new cap can, so I've been using the Princeton for recording, but miss the reverb...

 

[jguitarman]

I bought a '72 PR from a local mom and pop music store for $800. several years ago. The guy said an elderly lady brought it in who had bought it new and used it with her electric piano so I believe it has had light use. It had all original RCA's and original slip cover. I had a Mather cab built for it with blond tolex and wheat grill cloth and brownface plate and large enough to hold a 12" speaker. I call it the amp that Fender never built but should have. I use it for rehearsals and mostly use an original dripedge DR for gigs.
These are great little amps.

 

[Mike Simpson]

I gig with a 74 PR and have a 75 PR as a backup. I had a 79 PR but I sold it.
I don't care much for reissue PCB amps, I have owned a couple and sold them off.

 

[chet again]

I've got a '73 Silver Face I bought in 1988 for a whopping $100. It was a nice sounding amp but is currently in need of expert level repair (not the home hacking I'd do). Unfortunately, amp repair places I've tried are either flaky or see a vintage amp owner as a walking ATM they can make a huge withdrawal from.

The biggest issue with a PR for most people is that they expect "bedroom friendly" volume, only to discover that they can get quite loud. As I found out, even at 3 they can cause cranky suburban residential neighbors to call the cops. When (if) I get mine repaired, I'm going to use it mostly with a load box and IR loader although I probably could get away with more volume where I live now (except when my wife is watching Real Housewives).

I hear ya. I took my silverface Princeton in for a tech to look at it and I was kinda surprised at how much it would cost to fix it. The tech wasn't trying to gouge me but it does cost more than I was expecting. The guy is pretty fair so I might just have him fix it in the near future. His company is JJ Guitars in Omaha Ne.

You might consider him for fixing your amp. I also took my vintage 1965 Super Reverb in to him and he found that I had a bad speaker and went over the rest of the amp. He also fixed a Blueridge acoustic guitar I had which had a broken neck.

 

[Mike Simpson]

Unless it needs transformers or something besides usual maintenance it does not cost much to service a Silverface Princeton Reverb, I did all three that I owned. A cap can, a few caps and whatever tubes are bad. I service my own amps, it is not hard to do.

 

[chet again]

Unless it needs transformers or something besides usual maintenance it does not cost much to service a Silverface Princeton Reverb, I did all three that I owned. A cap can, a few caps and whatever tubes are bad. I service my own amps, it is not hard to do.

My Princeton needs a new transformer. I was playing it one day soon after I bought it on Ebay about 15 years ago and it started smoking and quit working.