In praise of small Tube Amps!

[Larsongs]

Congrats! What made you buy new, out of curiosity?

Frankly, I am going to pay this off over four years at a cost of something like $27 a month, so it's easier to do it that way at an amount I won't notice than buy a used amp all at once. So I did Guitar Center credit.

It was a good price, a limited edition thing with solid pine cabinetry as an upgrade, and the 12" speaker that is arguably an upgrade over the 10". I got Guitar Center to knock a couple hundred off since Sweetwater was selling it and maybe still is for $1099.

I would have liked to bought one of those handwired ones, but don't want to spend that kind of money.

This will be my third Princeton: I had a real 70's silver face one that I traded for a 70's era Twin. The Princeton had been altered into having some kind of Mesa Boogie type distortion channel where the tremolo had been, that ended up pissing me off.

I also own a Princeton Recording amp, and frankly, I find it to be uninspiring and always have. So I might sell that on.

So I thought to just get a new, unaltered, bone stock new Princeton that should just work the way I expect it to when I turn it on, you know?

I hope the 12” modded version works well for you.

I found the 65 PRRI Amps to be perfect little Fender Amps right out of the box in it’s original 10” Stock design.. The little 10” Spkr has a great Sound!

Hope yours sounds great too! Enjoy!

[hulakatt]

I found the 65 PRRI Amps to be perfect little Fender Amps right out of the box in it’s original 10” Stock design.. The little 10” Spkr has a great Sound!

Hope yours sounds great too! Enjoy!

Yeah, out of all the Princeton Reverbs I played or owned, the only ones I really liked were the current, bone stock RI's with the 10". I had an old SF and I tried everything to make it sound "better", even replacing the cab and throwing in a nice 12" Weber. Everything I did just made it a little bit worse and it was so hard to notice until I gave up and put it all back to stock to sell it. At it's very best, it just did everything my tweed Deluxe did but not as good, the trem was weak and the reverb was also lackluster and brought nothing to the table.

The RI sounded good and strong with much more solid reverb and tremolo and I didn't want to like it.

[Larry Mal]

It should arrive today, I'll be sure to give some thoughts about it. I did watch a video of a shootout between two Princetons, and I preferred the 12" version over the 10" version. Of course, that's just a video.

[Larsongs]

I have a 65 DRRI & have the 12” Spkr & 22 Watt bigger & more powerful thing covered.. It is usually too loud for most applications, too heavy to travel with & takes up too much room in my Car..

The PRRI makes a lot of sense if you do want or need a 12” Spkr. But as mentioned in real life the 10” sounds so good & works so xlnt in most situations I saw no reason to change it..

I look forward to your review.. Congrats!

[marqueemoon]

It should arrive today, I'll be sure to give some thoughts about it. I did watch a video of a shootout between two Princetons, and I preferred the 12" version over the 10" version. Of course, that's just a video.

Of all the reissue Princetons I’ve tried the oxblood/black panel one with the 12” has been my favorite.

[jellodog]

Some lovely lil' amps here. I hope my praise for my small tube amp doesn't offend or break the logic and intentions of this thread, but:

I've been getting a lot of joy out of a "deconstructed" small pedalboard amp recently. That is to say my amp is composed from discreet amplification units. It's a hybrid of a rich tube preamp in a pedal enclosure (proper high plate voltages and all) into a solid-state power amp.

I'm using a MojoTone Lite open back cabinet containing a Neo Creamback and it sounds glorious, especially with the neck pickup on my Jazzmaster.



In the traditional vein, and more on topic: I still love a black panel Fender Princeton. Absolute classic. I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

[Shadoweclipse13]

It should arrive today, I'll be sure to give some thoughts about it. I did watch a video of a shootout between two Princetons, and I preferred the 12" version over the 10" version. Of course, that's just a video.

Of all the reissue Princetons I’ve tried the oxblood/black panel one with the 12” has been my favorite.

I think it's kinda cool that they are a bit different, either circuit or speaker, and not just cosmetically different. The tweed one is my favorite one aesthetically for sure. Never got to try one before falling in love with the sound of the standard 65 PRRI.

[Larsongs]

It should arrive today, I'll be sure to give some thoughts about it. I did watch a video of a shootout between two Princetons, and I preferred the 12" version over the 10" version. Of course, that's just a video.

Of all the reissue Princetons I’ve tried the oxblood/black panel one with the 12” has been my favorite.

I think it's kinda cool that they are a bit different, either circuit or speaker, and not just cosmetically different. The tweed one is my favorite one aesthetically for sure. Never got to try one before falling in love with the sound of the standard 65 PRRI.

One of the Lead Guitarists in our Band “The Fab-Tones” has the 68 PRRI Amp & it too is a great little Amp.. It’s an excellent contrast to the other Lead Guitarists 1971 Vintage Silverface Princeton Reverb & me the Rhythm Guitarists 65 PRRI..

[Maggieo]

I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

doooooooooo it


The Perfect Practice Rig, April 26, 2017 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

[jellodog]

I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

doooooooooo it

OMG. That is ridikoolus CUTE! <3 <3 <3

That's a real vintage one right? Given that they've become _very_ spendy, I think I'd have to have a go at building one.

[Maggieo]

I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

doooooooooo it

OMG. That is ridikoolus CUTE! <3 <3 <3

That's a real vintage one right? Given that they've become _very_ spendy, I think I'd have to have a go at building one.

Yep, it's a '66.

[hulakatt]

I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

doooooooooo it

OMG. That is ridikoolus CUTE! <3 <3 <3

That's a real vintage one right? Given that they've become _very_ spendy, I think I'd have to have a go at building one.

Gonna piece it together yourself or try the Mojotone kit?

[jellodog]

Gonna piece it together yourself or try the Mojotone kit?

Well this is gathering momentum fast isn't it? So I'm definitely making this thing now? haha.

Um... I don't know yet. I've been thinking about building an amp on and off for a year. I really wanted to build a Princeton head for the longest time, but reverb + trem is a lot more work for a first build. I'm not new to soldering though; I've made a couple of pedals in the past and I've got a nice Hakko soldering station.

Anyway, the thing is, I wanted to do it from scratch - turret board stuff. But I've just recently come to the conclusion that without the right tools for swaging etc., then it would be very hard to do at home. Also buying a bunch of separate components in Canada seems to be way more expensive than doing it in the US.

Soooo... off the top of my head, the MojoTone kit is probably the easiest and most cost effective route. I can always add/remove/mod stuff later.

One benefit to living in Canada is at least Hammond transformers are made here.

[JSett]

I'm also a little Vibro-Champ-curious.

doooooooooo it


The Perfect Practice Rig, April 26, 2017 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

Doooooooo it...



I've owned hundreds of amps over the years and this is 100% my favourite. Hands-down, no contest.

It has a Weber Classic Alnico in it and sounds huge. No farting out ever and the most delicious breakup.

[marqueemoon]

I liked my Vibro Champ, but I like my Swart STR Tremolo more.

I will say though that from a portability standpoint the Vibro Champ was awesome, and it was definitely gigged with.