Another Princeton Forum

[Jazzy-Will]

I prefer a 12” speaker in a Princeton, so I’ll stop right there.

 

[Mike Simpson]

If one ignores the Pull Boost, it is not there.

If there was two Princeton reverbs for sale, same price and condition and one was a 79 pull boost and the other was a 74 without it which one would you pick?

I had a pull boost PR, I bought it at a good price and sold it. Not a bad amp but why include the trash circuit if you can get one without it.

 

[Wally]

Emi GA10 is a sweet speaker

Another cool thing about Princetons is you can plug in to input 2 to get a slight volume drop, maybe a little smoother highs, maybe a little "fatter." I think it's just a db cut, but whatever it's doing, it lets you turn up into the sweet spot zone without it being as loud or strident in the highs. Really nice if you want some breakup at lower volumes. Great for recording, low vol home use, maybe worth trying if sound guys are saying you're too loud as someone mentioned above.

That is a 6db cut. One can achieve the same thing in the #1 input with a volume reduction at the guitar….if one has a linear taper pot or a treble bypass con an audio pot. With this approach, one then can lean into the overdrive area by turning that guitar output up.
Fwiw, the ‘sweet spot’ is not determined by the number on the number on the volume pot at the amp.
The true sweet spot when one cuts 6db prior to the first stage will be on up the dial.

 

[Peegoo]

I say in such a case, all responders are free to suggest anything at that point. Ommv…

I always say: never buy an amp and try to turn it into something it was not originally intended to be. These projects usually turn into a dog's breakfast.

Okay, despite that, I did mod a 2009 '65 PRRI by replacing the undersized OT with a better unit, installed a Weber 10F150 speaker, replaced the tube rectifier with a Copper Cap, fixed the buzzing baffle problem, and added 14" tilt-back legs.

I was wanting a DR in a smaller PR form factor, and I came pretty close. Yeah, I know the tone stack, etc., is different, but I wanted louder cleaner lows and less sag, and I did achieve that.

 

[clydethecat]

For a PRRI, I'd think the essential mods would be to re-wire the heaters to get them off the circuit board, move any output tube grid resistors off the board and onto the tube sockets, clean up the transformer wiring, change push-on connectors to soldered connections - general reliability/longevity mods.

And slow down the trem.

 

[turftone]

That is a 6db cut. One can achieve the same thing in the #1 input with a volume reduction at the guitar….if one has a linear taper pot or a treble bypass con an audio pot. With this approach, one then can lean into the overdrive area by turning that guitar output up.
Fwiw, the ‘sweet spot’ is not determined by the number on the number on the volume pot at the amp.
The true sweet spot when one cuts 6db prior to the first stage will be on up the dial.

Thx for info. I wasn't sure what it was doing or if it was psychological. It definitely sounded different to me than just turning down the guitar volume. Must be one of those psycho acoustic things ;-)

 

[Chicken Curry]

I've got problems with mine rattling all over the place, multiple areas. The only mod I would do is to get rid of all the rattle, that might include electrical components like the tube sockets!

 

[Fatknuckle]

I rolled my own. Chassis and faceplate from AES. Used a larger Hammond PT for a deluxe, and a 20-watt OT. Mods for deeper, slower tremolo, and a dwell control added. Speaker is a Weber 12F150, awesome tone.

 

[kuch]

I owned a 65 PRRI for a long time. I thought of switching out the speaker and picked up a Eminence GA10 SC64. I never installed it. IMO the 65 sounds great stock for what I wanted; sparkly cleans.
Since I mostly play at home and jam with friends, I recently sold my 65PRRI and picked up a TM PR. I love it. I'm thinking of maybe installing the SC64, but I love the way it sounds stock.

Have fun in your search.

 

[Augustin187]

OP could have just as well put an ad on Craigslist:

Seeking free entertainment while my wife watches TV.
No experience needed.

Well now I own a 65 reissue and a Chris Stapleton. So not exactly a tourist. I’m here for info and I record for a living. In fact my CS will likely be coming to you on hulu this fall. And my wife. Coming to her too lol

 

[Augustin187]

I owned a 65 PRRI for a long time. I thought of switching out the speaker and picked up a Eminence GA10 SC64. I never installed it. IMO the 65 sounds great stock for what I wanted; sparkly cleans.
Since I mostly play at home and jam with friends, I recently sold my 65PRRI and picked up a TM PR. I love it. I'm thinking of maybe installing the SC64, but I love the way it sounds stock.

Have fun in your search.

Could be the fresh unbroken in speaker
Could be the 10 vs 12”
Could be the natural of the 65’s Jensen vs the cannabis rex
Could be all of that accumulated or none of it

But

The reverb on my 65 RI sounds very different than the sweetwater tweed Princeton I had

 

[telemnemonics]

Well now I own a 65 reissue and a Chris Stapleton. So not exactly a tourist. I’m here for info and I record for a living. In fact my CS will likely be coming to you on hulu this fall. And my wife. Coming to her too lol

Actually I commend you for being curious but NOT modding your Princeton!

They are the most popular unsatisfactory amp in history.
Followed by the 5e3 and Blues Jr.

My feeling has long been that Leo got it wrong making the PR and DR two models with separated features that should have been shared.

Just stuff the damn DR into the sensible PR box and toss that pointless extra channel that makes the small amp big.
My 6g2 is too weak and my SF Princeton is a gutted chassis with something like a tweedy Vibrolux circuit.

I loved Fender sproing until the 90s when I got tired of the fakey spring boing and moved to AD.
And finally digital reverb got tolerable a couple of years ago.

 

[Highway 49]

They are the most popular unsatisfactory amp in history.

So much time absorbed in trying to make it work for me. On paper it's a great, nicely portable, amp - small, low wattage, built in reverb and tremolo, looks killer, and sometimes sounds great, but seems to need so much special treatment (speaker changes, unusual approach to EQ, I've even thought I need a different guitar or pickups). But anyway, we live and (hopefully) learn, and now I'm wondering what the most popular satisfactory amp in history would be...

 

[gwjensen]

I'm confused by Princetons. I had an RI about ten years ago that was just okay, but ultimately not satisfying, despite speaker swaps, so I sold it and and never tried another one since, but there's tons of players that swear by them... Aside from the Champ, which I love, I'm thinking it might be the most polarizing Fender amp...

 

[Augustin187]

I owned a 65 PRRI for a long time. I thought of switching out the speaker and picked up a Eminence GA10 SC64. I never installed it. IMO the 65 sounds great stock for what I wanted; sparkly cleans.
Since I mostly play at home and jam with friends, I recently sold my 65PRRI and picked up a TM PR. I love it. I'm thinking of maybe installing the SC64, but I love the way it sounds stock.

Have fun in your search.

Could be the fresh unbroken in speaker
Could be the 10 vs 12”
Could be the natural of the 65’s Jensen vs the cannabis rex
Could be all of that accumulated or none of it

But

The reverb on my 65 RI sounds very different than the sweetwater tweed Princeton I h

Actually I commend you for being curious but NOT modding your Princeton!

They are the most popular unsatisfactory amp in history.
Followed by the 5e3 and Blues Jr.

My feeling has long been that Leo got it wrong making the PR and DR two models with separated features that should have been shared.

Just stuff the damn DR into the sensible PR box and toss that pointless extra channel that makes the small amp big.
My 6g2 is too weak and my SF Princeton is a gutted chassis with something like a tweedy Vibrolux circuit.

I loved Fender sproing until the 90s when I got tired of the fakey spring boing and moved to AD.
And finally digital reverb got tolerable a couple of years ago.

best reverb on the planet is digital imho
The bricasti m7 and I have a plate an AKG bx20 and a chamber

But the prong sounds like the thing it is so certainly useful you know what I mean?

What’s your fave fender amp? Maybe you spelled it out but I’m not knowledgeable enough to interpret

 

[Augustin187]

I'm confused by Princetons. I had an RI about ten years ago that was just okay, but ultimately not satisfying, despite speaker swaps, so I sold it and and never tried another one since, but there's tons of players that swear by them... Aside from the Champ, which I love, I'm thinking it might be the most polarizing Fender amp...

I’m going to research the gender style amp categories i don’t even know them - what’s everyone’s fave and why

 

[Highway 49]

I’m going to research the gender style amp categories i don’t even know them - what’s everyone’s fave and why

I love my tweed Champs… but I’m so perverse, that today I’m really enjoying my Princeton Reverb - I don’t know if it’s the speaker swap or the EQ pedal, or maybe I’m just playing into what the amp does better.
Anyway, the tweed Champs is, I think, great: it always sounds good, it’s so portable, and so useable at low volume, and great mic’d at any volume you like. I think I like most that you can just plug in and you’re off. I like least that it doesn’t have reverb… but nothing is perfect

 

[gwjensen]

I love my tweed Champs… but I’m so perverse, that today I’m really enjoying my Princeton Reverb - I don’t know if it’s the speaker swap or the EQ pedal, or maybe I’m just playing into what the amp does better.
Anyway, the tweed Champs is, I think, great: it always sounds good, it’s so portable, and so useable at low volume, and great mic’d at any volume you like. I think I like most that you can just plug in and you’re off. I like least that it doesn’t have reverb… but nothing is perfect

A bird of a feather here regarding tweed Champs, but not sure I agree that it would be perfect with a built-in reverb. That would require a serious alteration to the circuit and to the cabinet to accommodate the pan... might be good, but not the same... Might lose the juicy, chewy, tactile qualities, for lack of better descriptors, that make it so special...

 

[Augustin187]

I love my tweed Champs… but I’m so perverse, that today I’m really enjoying my Princeton Reverb - I don’t know if it’s the speaker swap or the EQ pedal, or maybe I’m just playing into what the amp does better.
Anyway, the tweed Champs is, I think, great: it always sounds good, it’s so portable, and so useable at low volume, and great mic’d at any volume you like. I think I like most that you can just plug in and you’re off. I like least that it doesn’t have reverb… but nothing is perfect

We are talking the 1 knob 8” speaker champ?

That puppy is zero clean?

 

[elpico]

A bird of a feather here regarding tweed Champs, but not sure I agree that it would be perfect with a built-in reverb. That would require a serious alteration to the circuit and to the cabinet to accommodate the pan... might be good, but not the same... Might lose the juicy, chewy, tactile qualities, for lack of better descriptors, that make it so special...

If the goal is to make the amp sound the same as a 5F1 when the reverb knob is on zero, you could certainly achieve that.

I agree that if fender had produced a "champ reverb" though, that wouldn't be what they did. It would've been like a single ended princeton reverb and would sound quite different from the 5F1.

 

[Tony65x55]

Buy a 70’s pre pull boost silverface Princeton Reverb. The end.

Or buy a pull boost silverface PR and never pull the boost - EVER!