Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

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green_mario
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Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by green_mario » Sat Jun 09, 2018 9:56 am

I am searching for that elusive perfect home/home-recording amp. I have my band/gig amp covered with a bassman, which I loooooove. I had a DRRI and I thought it sounded good at band volumes but at home I couldn't even get it to 1 on the volume knob and thought it sounded kind of bad at such low volumes. The Princeton Reverb looks like a better candidate. ALSO, I now have a Weber Minimass 50 attenuator (didn't have this while I owned the DRRI). I was hoping to use the Minimass on the princeton so I can get it running a little hotter (maybe 3 or 4 on the volume knob). If the princeton sounds awesome cranked to 10 with the attenuator, even better, but I'd settle for just knocking a little volume off if that sounds good. Any experience/input appreciated.

Sidequest: are vintage silver face princeton's worth the cost (~$1000?) or are the reissues just as good or better?
Very glued and greasy reverb sound

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:21 am

I have one of these:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifi ... ording-amp

Which is basically a reissue Princeton with a built in attenuator and compression and distortion.

It's a bit of a lemon, I'll get it sorted one day (the reverb cuts out), but I'll say you are on the right track. I literally do that, I put the volume up to almost 10 and then roll the attenuator down.

It does what you might think. It sounds good.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Maggieo » Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:53 am

I love my PRRI.

I turn it up and use my guitar's volume control.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by green_mario » Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:45 pm

Thanks for the replies
Larry Mal wrote:
Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:21 am
I put the volume up to almost 10 and then roll the attenuator down.

It does what you might think. It sounds good.
Would you say it gets more fuzzy, overdrive-y, or distortion-y? Also, how do pedals work with it while you have it attenuated?
Very glued and greasy reverb sound

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:53 pm

I mean, it all seems to work about the same as it ever would without the attenuator. The attenuator more or less does what it advertises, it just shunts off some of the signal before it hits the actual speaker, but doesn't change the signal much. So the amp distorts how it ever would distort and all that.

It's a little hard to say, though, since your ear perceives things that are more quiet differently.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Ursa Minor » Sat Jun 09, 2018 5:43 pm

I've had my 72 PR for nearly a decade. It's very easily the last amp i'll own. Princetons are really great. I think the new SF RIs are pretty great too. A close second.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Singlebladepickup » Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:52 am

Maggieo wrote:
Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:53 am
I love my PRRI.

I turn it up and use my guitar's volume control.
No experience with the reissues, but I do this with mine as well. Set on 3-4 with volume down sounds great at reasonable volumes.

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Larsongs » Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:10 pm

I have a Vox AC15 w/Blue Spkr. Great Amp! But even at low volumes w/ Top Boost, even though it sounds great, it's still loud for home practice volumes.

I bought a new Fender Reissue Princeton Reverb a couple years ago. It does everything well. Great for home practice, Recording & even Gigging. These little Amps can get pretty loud too. It Sounds great by itself & takes Pedals great as well. Especially great for traveling as it's small & not too heavy. Excellent all around Amp.

I play different Genres & use several different Guitars. Fenders, Gibsons, Ric's & Gretsch. All sound great with this Amp.

Lars

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by shoule79 » Mon Jun 11, 2018 4:11 pm

Maggieo wrote:
Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:53 am
I love my PRRI.

I turn it up and use my guitar's volume control.
I do this on my SFPR too. It’s my best sounding amp overall, but can be a bit loud for at home.

At home I usually use my Mesa 5:50 in 5 watt mode, especially if the wife/kids are in bed.

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by YUNGDIRTDOGG » Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:02 pm

I have the SFRI princeton and its a great little amp. I recently aquired a tweed champ reissue and it is perfect for your described needs. The champ is my favorite amp yet.

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Maggieo » Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:41 am

If you can find a used THD Univalve, those are great. They have a built-in Hotplate attenuator. Add a Strymon Flint for 'verb and 'trem;and you are copacetic.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by BoringPostcards » Thu Jun 14, 2018 4:02 pm

Nothing bad to say about Princetons. I'm biased though, as it's my favourite small amp of all time.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by wproffitt » Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:16 am

I have a SF model from 1977 and think it's the bee's knees. Set it to clean, and it's gorgeous! Put a pedal in front of it, and it can roar. It's plenty loud for my band needs. I mic it live, though, but in certain rooms, you wouldn't have to. It can be a little loud for home practice in a confined space, but just turn it down to 2 and don't stand right in front of it and you should be fine. If you have an attenuator, you could definitely get the tubes cooking, but, depending on what type of PR you get, the breakup is not the same as, say, a Deluxe Reverb. It's a little more raw sounding, to my ears.

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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by Arthon » Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:49 am

My favorite amp, and I dont own one anymore :'( Made some stupid gear choice for a band that no longer exist.

That said, I own a Orange Rocker 15 and it's great for what you are looking for. It have a bedroom switch so it can go from 15w, 7w, 1w and 0.5w. In 15w, it's louder then a Princeton Reverb since the speaker is way more efficient. The "natural" channel sound surprisingly good. It have a effect loop, so I run a good reverb pedal in it (cannot play without verb).

But, yeah, stop searching and go buy a Princeton Reverb. I like the reissue has much has the vintages ones, but a good speaker and good tubes are essential. I dont like the stock speaker in the standard Princeton Reverb, but they make many FSR with different speaker.
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Re: Amp quest: Teach me the ways of the Princeton Reverb

Post by wproffitt » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:08 am

Arthon wrote:
Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:49 am
My favorite amp, and I dont own one anymore :'( Made some stupid gear choice for a band that no longer exist.
That is a SAD story! I have two other amps and currently don’t play my PR quite as much because I’m so deeply smitten with my tweed Tremolux, but I KNOW I’ll be back to The Princeton at some point. The sound and “feel” are so good! Also, my wife gave it to me as a wedding gift.🙂

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