Fender Princeton ?

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Has anyone tried a fender Princeton amp for steel? I was curious how the stock 10" speaker would sound.

Geo

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I have used a 72 PR for steel in the studio. Jerry Brightman and I tested every Performance steel through it. He loved it. But mine is modified. Allen PT, Dr. Z OT. Power supply modded to be the same as the one in the DR. It's now 20 watts. But,,,, 12" Celestion speaker. So I really haven't answered your question at all! 8^)
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I ahve used the Princeton reissue and an older original quite a bit. A new speaker will take a while to break before it sounds good to my ears.

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/1974%20Fender%20Princeton%20Reverb/1974%20Fender%20Princeton%20Reverb.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Princeton%20Reverb/Princeton%20Reverb.html

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

I see the new RI has tremolo and reverb and 15 watts. I like the sound of the DR and TR, but they have a 12" speaker versus the 10" in the PR and was wondering if they have somewhat the same sound, altho understandably not the power for larger venues etc.

Geo

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I have the Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb 22W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp with Celestion G12V-70 Speaker. The reverb is not that great but the tone-stack versatiliy between the channels is pretty cool. I don't really have the speaker broken in but none of my tube amps has the warmth or pristine reverb of the original 1974 Princeton reverb.

Miguel Saldana · From: San Antonio, Texas

In general terms I would say yes, the Princeton is certainly a relative of a Deluxe or Twin. It has a deep and complex clean tone with a mid-scoop that Fender is known for, but you should expect lower clean headroom compared to the others.

The RI's are considered by most to have a brighter/harsher high end in comparison to vintage, but many factors come into play with this.

I have a vintage Showman and VibroChamp and can say that the little VibroChamp with 8" speaker can be a joy to play. I'm sure you could get a lot of mileage from a Princeton.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I use Princeton Reverbs for recording and low-volume gigs routinely, for both guitar and steel. Believe it or not, I generally prefer silverface Princetons to blackface - I've had several of each over the years. It just seems to me that the silverface PRs have a little more clean juice. My guess is that they had somewhat more robust transformers, the ones on my blackfaces were a touch small. A lot of the guys I work with seriously whine if I don't use my Princetons on a recording. My Rev preamp sound heavenly, they know it, I can do everything direct, and we are all gonna love what comes out (thank you, Brad). But dammit, they want that Princeton mic'd up, no effects except the amp's reverb. It's a different culture.

Assuming I actually get an original speaker in a PR (many got blown years ago), I don't generally use it. But I definitely prefer a 10" speaker in that little box, rather than try to shoehorn a 12" speaker in. I just think the 10" resonates better in that little box, IMHO, YMMV, no problemo. The originals - typically Jensen (spkr code 220) or Oxford (spkr code 465) in a blackface and Oxford, Utah (spkr code 328) in a silverface - tend to sound a bit ratty to me, and I know it will eventually blow if I use it a lot. If I'm lucky enough to get a CTS (spkr code 137), I love 'em, and they're pretty robust. But in most cases, I generally store an original speaker and upgrade to a more modern speaker with more bottom end, clarity, efficiency, and handling capacity. Lately, I've been using a '74 with a 10" JBL MI-series speaker and a '75 with a real heavy-duty 10" Electro-Harmonix speaker. But I've also used the heavy-duty Webers - generally a 35-50-watt stamped-frame speaker with a decent-sized magnet works fine, but I have to say that a 10" JBL or EV (if you're lucky enough to find one and it fits) does sound great, to me at least.

Of course, without strong PA front/monitor support, a Princeton (or a Deluxe) Reverb will never keep up with a loud rhythm section alone. But if the stage volume is low or I have good monitoring and FOH support, I love them.

On the reissue Princeton/Deluxe/etc Reverb amps. Meh. I can usually find a silverface in decent working order for around the same amount of money, and to my ears there is absolutely no contest. Tweaked up, it's hard to beat an old silverface amp, and the difference in "maintainability" is gigantic. Until you (or your amp tech) have torn your hair out a few times fooling around with modern thin-PCB amps, you have not lived, is all I can say. Not a particular slam against Fender - pretty much all mass-produced amps are like this now. Much cheaper to build, but a total PITA to maintain, IMHO.

Daniel Policarpo · From: Kansas City

The Princeton Reverb is probably my favorite sounding Fender amp. It is awesome for steel, but obviously for bigger gigs may be limited unless like Dave mentions above, you have a decent monitor and output situation going on. Even then, I like to feel my rig rumble a little in a stage situation. Bass players shouldn't have all the fun.

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Lots of favorable comments about this amp. I'm a dyed in the wool Fender Amp person, I never could get the tone I like from other brands, not that they aren't good, just not what I like.

I doubt I'll be able to find one in this area so I will probably end up ordering one. I'm not needing a lot of power these days, but if/when I do I still have the TR and DR that have plenty of horse power.

Geo

edit for typo's (fingers moving faster than my brain)

Howard Steinberg · From: St. Petersburg, Florida , USA

I have been using a late 70's silverface PR for practice. It has the Weber version of the C10Q which was a significant upgrade for the original Oxford speaker that was in this amp. Weber renamed their speaker models awhile back. Not sure of what it is called today. It sounds really nice in a small room without great need for volume.
_________________
Justice Pro Lite (4-5), Justice D-10 (8-5)x2 , Quilter Steelaire, Hilton Pedal, BJ's bar.

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

depends on what you need it for.
if you want to go play jobs at clubs, concerts and festivals, no. it won't cut it. nor will a deluxe reverb.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Jerry Brightman played the Patsy show with my 20 watt, 12" PR. He loved that amp!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

i played a patsy show also. plays are a lot softer dynamic than the real world of barrooms and beyond.

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Thanks for your input, but I would use a Princeton for practice or anytime I don't need the horse power. As I said before, my twin reverb will be sufficient for anything that would require more ooooooommmmmmppppphhhhhh.

Geo

Daniel Policarpo · From: Kansas City

A lot of folks change out the stock speaker, because they want a little more output, but since you already have the power in other amps, I think you will find the stock speaker just fine for what it does. The reissues of these Princeton Reverbs sound pretty dang good!

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Thanks Daniel. It should arrive tomorrow and I'll post my opinion after I give a little time to settle in.

Just a little off the subject, I just received a call from Craig Baker just checking in to see if my "Lil Izzy" was working to my satisfaction. Now that's customer service¡!!!!!!! Oh yes, I don't leave home without it!

Geo

Michael Dulin · From: Indiana, USA

I use a Reissue quite often and like it very well. It is somewhat modified. Ragin' Cajun speaker, higher output transformer and JJ tubes. Clean up to pretty loud and good tone. I can recommend it. If I need to be louder I use a Deluxe reissue.MD

Dean Parks · From: Sherman Oaks, California, USA

A 60s or 70s Princeton NON reverb holds up for steel much better than a Princeton Reverb, it's a different architecture. Russ Pahl records with one. I have one, and steel sounds really good, both with the stock 10", or a remote 12" Celestion cab.

I've not tried it on a gig. Maybe too weak for the usual volume level, tho I'd like to find a regular steel gig with that level!

For guitar, it is too clean for me, even with a jazz guitar... I like a bit of spread, even if it doesn't read as breakup, and guitar won't spread it.

Pedal steel can be made to spread slightly with a Princeton, so that the whole system acts more guitarish. Tonally the highs are not piercing and the lows are not boomy, solving a problem usually inherent in pedal steel (for me).

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Amp just arrived, unpacked it and had a test drive. For home use and small venues it should be just fine. Reverb sounded ok to me, but I use a DD2 so that's moot.

Geo

Chris Bauer · From: Nashville, TN USA

I wanted a Princeton forever for lap steel but never found one when I had the cash to buy it. That changed last month and I got a '76 non-reverb. For grins I tried it for recording pedal steel and haven't looked back. After all these years of hauling boat anchors with huge speakers, it never occurred to me that low wattage and a 10 inch speaker could sound so good. Clear as a bell and it sits in mixes incredibly well.

For most club work? Probably not for me. But for super low volume venues and certainly for recording, I'm sold.

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

10/4 Chris.

Geo

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

Congrats on the new amp, George.

You no longer need 'advice' but just to chime in;

I have a Milkman Creamer that is based on the PR.
Loosely based, maybe, but still, close enough. What a wonderful amp with steel.
But I made what seems to be a mistake when ordering it---I ordered it in a custom cabinet with a 15" speaker, figuring that this would make it more perfect for steel.
I like it a LOT more driving a 12" cabinet and amazingly, I assembled an 8" rig that sounds spectacular.
This all applies to home playing and recording. I would not hesitate to use it for a quieter gig. Definitely not a bar gig.
Living and learning.

Quentin Hickey · From: Nova Scotia, Canada

I would love to try a 65 princeton with a celestion 12". Great for practice and recording. Not having mid control wouldnt bother me that much consisdering complete tube circuit.

George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Yesterday, I had a last minute call to play bass at a venue about the size of a VFW/Legion club.

Problem: I have my music room all torn apart waiting for new carpet and all my amps except my new Princeton buried in the garage. Since I was told we will be mic'd (used my direct box) I thought why not see if this little 10" speaker will work. I used my 80' Gibson SG thru it and it had very good tone for a small amp.

Geo

Walter Glockler · From: Northern New Mexico

I use a Princeton silver face with a 12 inch Cannabis Rex for lap steel - nice.

Forum Index > Electronics	Goto page 1, 2 Next	Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic