AA1164 Blackface Princeton Reverb DIYLC Layout

[robrob]

Here's a first draft of the 1964 AA1164 blackface Princeton Reverb layout. The hi-res jpg, pdf and DIYLC file can be downloaded here: https://robrobinette.com/AA1164_Princeton_Reverb.htm

Please let me know if you see any errors.

 

[blues bondsman]

Have you done the 5E3 without mods in this format ?
I for one would like that very much !!!

Thanks Rob

 

[robrob]

Have you done the 5E3 without mods in this format ?

 

[blues bondsman]

Awesome !
Thank You

 

[King Fan]

Hallelujah!!!! Wee-haaaa. Rob, thanks, I always wished you'd do the AA1164.

For one thing, when I built one I wished a thousand times I could read about it on your site.

But for another thing, I'm gonna suggest the PR is a very straightforward yet totally distinctive amp. Sure, some folks like to increase the PT, OT, or speaker size, and you can get some mileage out of a mids pot and some NFB levels, but unlike the 5E3 or the AB763, a lot of folks find this amp neither needs or wants a ton of mods.

Now, Maestro, don't take that as a challenge!! But I will say, a 470K PI grid stopper is killer on this amp...

 

[LudwigvonBirk]

.

 

[LudwigvonBirk]

Nice drawing of this classic circuit, looks very good on first review. Thanks much for bringing this one onto your site.

Looking fwd to the eventual mods section- there's a lot of cool things one can to do a PR for -5 dollars in parts.

 

[King Fan]

Wow, Rob, did you add some material overnight? Or maybe I just stopped reading down the page in my excitement to post a big Thank You here.

Either way, I like what you say about mods.

 

[robrob]

Yes, I am adding material to the Princeton Reverb page.

 

[jhundt]

... But I will say, a 470K PI grid stopper is killer on this amp...

what does the grid-stopper do, in your experience, to help the sound of the amp?

I am familiar with the theory, have read and heard much about it. I have not tried it yet in my Princeton because I have never encountered the problem that this is intended to solve, probably because of my playing style which does not call for much high-volume distortion. Clean chords, rhythm etc, no leads...

But I would be very interested to hear your experience. First-hand reports are often worth more than theory articles when talking about amp sounds.

 

[King Fan]

Thanks, @jhundt . Yeah, reports are helpful -- but they do involve *words.* Words --> tone is not an easy journey, in either direction.

Let's see: the PI grid stopper is like the crema on a good espresso. Seriously, it sweetens the OD. I've read the PR is famous for it's 'snarly' or 'snotty' OD, and likewise it's a subtle OD, so a subtle snarl? The grid stopper makes it sweeter -- like a tough street kid being genuinely nice to his grandmother -- but it's still edgy, just smoother, warmer, more genuine. Also, it makes you want to hear the OD -- I'd say it makes it more noticeable and more desirable.

If you've done this on a 5e3, it's a bit less dramatic here, since PR OD is not tweed. *But* it's the same direction -- less rasp, more sing. Rounder, richer.

OK, words, right. You'll see Rob is a fan in his newly added mods description. He's also way better than me at explaining double distortion.

Here's the best thing about it -- it's the easiest mod in the world.



If you like it when you tack it in place, putting it on a switch is the second easiest mod in the world, though I liked it so much I said why bother. Putting in a 1M pot is... well, you get the idea.

 

[Hear2learn]

Rob, Great website. Amazing amount of content.
Question about Princeton Reverbs. Do you know why many (including mine) have an AA764 tube chart and a GZ34?

 

[robrob]

Fender wasn't a stickler for documenting what actually went out the door. My guess is they had GZ34s and no 5U4GBs on hand.

 

[robrob]

I added some signal flow charts to the Princeton Reverb page. The colors match between the schematic and layout:

 

[King Fan]

Rob, Great website. Amazing amount of content.
Question about Princeton Reverbs. Do you know why many (including mine) have an AA764 tube chart and a GZ34?

Also, the 'AA764' tube chart was just a printing or clerical error at Fender. Some folks thought they’d discovered an AA764 PR schematic a few years back but turned out it was just photoshopped.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DADGAD]

Rob,

Thank you for the AA1164 Princeton layout. I appreciate your amp topic posts!

 

[robrob]

I did find an error on how the phase inverter was powered. It's fixed now in the V1.3 version of the layout.

 

[schmee]

Cool.
Interestingly, for any of you building a PR. The stock amp can get gnarly and nasty in any but the smallest venue. I discovered in the last couple of years that one simple thing changes that. I would have never guessed it really. I have built several amps based on the PR, mostly higher powered ones.
One early 70's PR chassis I have I returned to stock except one thing: The power transformer was a big one and that chassis had been butchered to accommodate it. So I left the big PT in there for now. The amp is amazing at holding up in a gig situation. Pretty surprising actually. I had previously thought that the "nasty" was coming from the Phase Invertor the PR uses (being different than the larger amps). It turns out.. not so. I have tried just a larger Deluxe style Output Transformer in a PR before, and it's a bit better, but still gnarly. The thing in this amp that is now different from stock is the large Power Tranny. It's a killer amp with great tone and plenty of headroom.

 

[Paul Strat]

Thank you Sir for this layout!
I went back and made some changes to a PR build I have a nasty buzz with and used your layout as a reference. You previously commented on the thread.
If you don’t mind taking another look at the newest pics and changes, I’d appreciate it. Still can’t kill the buzz

 

[robrob]

I'll take a look.