Ok, Seriously...(PRRI and PJr. content)

[s360guitarist]

A lot of love for the Princeton Reverb Reissue and the Pro Jr. here on the site. Of course, both are highly regarded amps in there own right, but is the PRRI really all that much better,

I know this may be a tough call for some and easy for others. BUT, they are really both 10" boxes from Fender, one with 84's and the other with 6's. One has some bells and whistles and the other not so much...

The easiest difference to call is the price. Is the PRRI really worth it? I know that on paper it might not seem so and a test drive might reveal that the PRRI is very much worth it.

I know I will get a bunch of info on tubes and rectifiers and Mexico and etc. I am just looking for some opinions. This is NOT a "what is better", more of a "are they all that different and is the difference really worth the cash."

No stone throwing please. All the best to everyone.

 

[eugenedunn]

To answer that question , you need to decide if you like a cleaner, glassy Fender tone or the more mid-rangey darker tweedy tone. There's the key issue.

 

[imwjl]

I can't tell you what to do but I like the Princeton tone and the price I got at Full Compass was lower than most popular places change.

It's my favorite amp and I've had others including EL84.

 

[Nash]

I'm more a fan of the tweed tone so I'd say the PJr. is better, or at least I would have until I played a PRRI a few weeks back. I plugged in not expecting much, but I was thoroughly impressed with how good it sounded. I didn't get any overdrive out of it because I was in GC and didn't want to look like *that* idiot with the amp cranked so I can't speak for that, but even clean it had a thick, warm characteristic to it that I definitely had not associated with non tweed Fenders and especially the PR. I've never actually played a PJr. so I can't be certain because my opinion is based on youtube clips which is also where I got the idea that the PRRI was a bright thin sounding amp, but I think it sounds boxy whereas the PR has a bigger sound.

 

[gaddis]

I don't know much about the Pro Jr, but looking at the specs I see that it doesn't have reverb or vibrato. The PRRI has both. One of the reasons the PR was popular in the studios is that it was the smallest Fender amp that had these effects. Many people like at least a small amount of reverb in their sound, so having an amp with reverb could be one factor that strongly influences a decision. The vibrato is probably not used all that often by most people, but when you want it it's there, and the PR has one of the best vibratos around.

 

[tomfarnan]

I've only played through an original BF Princeton but it is one cool amp and (I may get shot for saying this) but I think the best sounding BF style amp match for tele, particularly at low to moderate volume. With the volume level at between 5 and 7 the sustain and warmth from these amps is just magical with single-coil teles and unless you're playing in a really loud band this is a good jam level from my experience. That's without any effects, but the vibrato and reverb on these amps are really pretty too.

The Pro JR is heaps of fun. Plug in and dial up a great tone no matter what, especially with a tele. It's more of a tweedy tone though, lean in to the strings and it breaks up. Does Keith Richards nicely and most of your soul and blues type licks.

If you want to sound like Keef buy a Pro JR, if you want that smoother SRV thing or the swampy vibrato thing or to play like Jim Campilongo or Chet go with the PRRI. Oh, and if you want exceptionally good value buy a Pro JR.

 

[leebman]

I think the prri is worth the extra cash its one of the best sounding amps I've played through it has that classic fender sound. The pro junior doesn't it has to be 6v6's. I'm not knocking the sound of the pro junior its just different. Now its down to your own taste do you need reverb tremolo etc, are you looking for fender cleans or more middley rock tones ?

 

[maestrovert]

the P-Jr i tried was a bit boxy sounding...the PRRI is much better sounding to my ear....an' as i much prefer the tonality of 6V6s to EL-84s anyway, i went with the PRRI.

 

[gaddis]

the P-Jr i tried was a bit boxy sounding...the PRRI is much better sounding to my ear ......

I think a little touch of reverb goes a long way towards keeping a small amp from sounding boxy.

 

[Hoodster]

If you'd ever played these amps you'd know they have absolutely nothing in common tone-wise. Just get out there and play them--it's not as if they are hard to find.

 

[tiktok]

Other than being roughly the same size and being made by Fender, the amps really have nothing in common, although they're both good for what they do. They just do different things...

 

[s360guitarist]

Thanks everyone for the input.

Hoodster: Please tell me you were not getting snippy in your post. Sorry if I interpreted it wrong but it stinks of gearpages tone snobbery to high heaven. If I am wrong then I apologize in advance. Anyway, I've played them both. My question is this, and I'll say it again. "Are the differences worth it?"

There is no wrong or right answer here, just looking for some input.

To be fair I will give you my opinion. I think the PRRI is a far superior amp tone wise for me, maybe not others. On the flip side there are 7 major chords and I can play 5 of them really well. That being said I am looking for some justification to spend like 500 more on one amp over the other.

 

[eugenedunn]

That being said I am looking for some justification to spend like 500 more on one amp over the other.

A tough question...... akin to asking if a Custom Shop Tele has over ten times the value of a Squire Tele. Both play decently, both sound decent through an amplifier. You could get through a gig with either one. Only you can decide based on your amount of discretionary funds and overall passion if the Custom Shop Tele will inspire you over the long haul. That's the most intangible of parameters. Whether you get inspirational performance...... the dollar amount is rarely proportional when you get to that point.

I say you need to plunk down the extra dough and get the PRRI, which will serve you in more situations over a longer period of time and provide more flexibility over a wider set of circumstances.

 

[eugenedunn]

7 major what?

Oh yeah...... I wanna know what the "7 major chords" are......

 

[maestrovert]

Oh yeah...... I wanna know what the "7 major chords" are......

probably the 1st 7 letters of the alphabet i bet.....aka A B C D E F G, but he neglected to mention which position(s)....and then there's inversions....

so yeah, i wanna know too !

 

[s360guitarist]

eugendunn: Thanks for the reply. Precisely put and pretty much the route I intend to take if I can find a non-rattle PRRI.

P.S. Sorry about the generalization on chords. Reference was to major chords in an open position. (A to G. I have been practicing so much that I know the power chord versions of each one too. Hell, I can even do Em! (Ok, kidding around a little - sorry.)

 

[milocj]

Hell, I can even do Em! (Ok, kidding around a little - sorry.)

Does this mean that you can't play an Em?

I have to go along with eugenedunn for the most part. I disagree a little bit with his Custom Shop analogy only because you are getting some true extra features for your money with the PRRI, whereas the CS guitar could be a feature for feature comparison to a Squier. It does clearly illustrate that only you can decide if the different tones are worth the extra money for your needs.

To add a little bit more, I do think that a fair portion of the price difference can be accounted for in the extra parts that a PRRI has (if looked at from a retail price perspective). You have 4 additional pots and knobs, several more tubes/tube sockets, a larger chassis, a choke and reverb transformer, the reverb pan and related parts, etc. I'm sure that I'll get slammed for saying that, but at a retail level the additional parts and labor add up pretty fast once they go through all of the various accounting stages and mark ups.

I also think that the PRRI is built a little bit sturdier. I haven't seen the insides but I believe that the pots actually attach to the face of the chassis in addition to the circuit board instead of just being pcb mounted.

Basically, the PRRI can do more than the Pro Jr without any need for you to have a greater skill level, so it seems to me that the price difference can be more easily justified if those additional features are things that you will use right now or in the near future.

 

[eugenedunn]

OK, one last comment from me to mix the pot........ If you don't need the 15 watts and extra volume, how about a late model silverface Vibrochamp or Champ and a reissue Fender outboard 3-knob reverb unit? That rig could put you potentially in the same dollar range, and be a low volume, fabulous toned rig.

 

[s360guitarist]

Yep, need the volume. The old Super Champs had the power though.

 

[Ben Harmless]

Taking a wider perspective, I strongly (but respectfully) disagree with the notion that the PJ and the PRRI have nothing in common. They both sound a whole lot more like each other than either one does a Marshall or a Vox.

In my mind, the big questions boil down to whether you like the overall tonality of the PRRI over the PJ, and whether you need the 'verb and trem. Then you've just got to decide what those things are worth to you.

For me, I'd pick up the PJ in a heartbeat. I actually like those driven EL84s a whole lot.

For a slightly less personal endorsement, I'll just say that I've heard people make fantastic music out of both amps, and their choice of amp wasn't a sacrifice in any instance.