Question to Jim and all on this forum.

Samueltherobot

Thank you in advanced for your replies and time.
I would like to know for those of you that have the Princeton Reverbs.

How do you like them?

What are some of the best mods in terms of speakers and circuitry?

Does anyone use them in a live setting?

Im going to receive my Princeton in the next few days. The 68 custom Princeton. I'm so excited for it. I feel like it has an amazing tone that you just can't find in other amps and would like to gig with it almost exclusively!

Thank you for your time everyone!

-Samuel

ruger9

Don't go crazy modding it. I did that with a PRRI, and was never happy with it. I guess I'm just not a Princeton guy (not a blackface Princeton guy, anyway). I can't make them sound like Jim does LOL.

My advice:
-check the bias, make sure it isn't biased cold. Jim actually biases his hot, and I think it sounds better.
-if you want to experiment with different tube brands, it's easy to do, there might be SUBTLE tonal improvement
-if you want to experiment with different speakers, it's easy to do and will have the greatest tonal change

BUT: I encourage you to either love the amp as-is, or find another amp. With my PRRI, I did tubes, bias, output transformer, speaker, added a filter cap, even put in a mid control... I could never get the tone I wanted. That lesson taught me that if I don't already at least really like an amp out of the box (after the speaker is broken in), then just move on.

Samueltherobot

Thank you for your reply ruger9!

Yeah I really loved the amp already!
I think the most I'll do is maybe bias it a little hotter and I know I'm for sure going to upgrade to a more efferent 10 inch speaker. It was honestly a decision between a Deluxe Reverb and the Princeton. I think I found the DR to have a clearer tone but I don't really like the brightness of them. When I played the Princeton it really fattened up my tele and gave it a ticker tone. I feel like all the strings ring out very clearly and warm. Rather than have those high E & B strings sound so ice picky sometimes!

Thanks again!

-Sam

Samueltherobot

I'm also wondering if I should upgrade to the Celestion G-10 or the Celestion G-10 Gold?

Thanks for your time

-Sammy

JimCampilongo

Hi Sammy- This is my 2 cents...

http://jimcampilongo.com/about/gear.php

cwilliams

I use a Princeton exclusively (after taking a lesson with Jim and hearing one in person I left having to find one). It is a 1966 but at this point so much has been modded that it is a mutt. My opinion is that the more time you spend with one you will make the right mods FOR YOU. On mine I did a few internal mods, use a non original speaker etc. etc. But only after using it for a good while.

"Best Mods" or "Best Speakers" do not exist, it really varies from player to player. If you use the amp enough when you make a mod you will know if it was better for you or not.

Same goes for live playing. Works for some but may not depending on the setting.

ruger9

I too like the PR more than the DR, and for the same reasons.

As far the speaker, the G-10 vs the Gold.... it's really a personal preference thing, we can discuss speaker tone all day, but until you put it in YOUR amp and play it the way YOU play, you won't know.... I encourage you to just start buying & trying. You'll find a speaker you dig better than the stock C10R (which isn't a very good speaker if you are planning on using any amount of gain. It's nice when played clean tho...)

If I had it to do over again, the G10, Gold, and probably a Tone Tubby hemp cone (which is a very warm speaker, but I like that- more of a Fender tweed/brownface tone than a blackface/silverface tone) are the ones I would try, personally. I also really liked the Celestion Greenback in mine (but again- I like things WARM)

Samueltherobot

Thank you for all your feedback!

-Sammy

jtmccann

I am new to the forum and this is my first posting. But it's a topic that is at the forefront of my mind right now because I'm focusing on amp tones. I've tried many, many amps -- including high-end boutique amps that I won't name -- and I am left with only my Princeton Reverbs. They are affordable, light weight, and sound excellent.

I don't have any of the older, vintage versions. I own the 65 Reissue and the 68 reissue. I like them both for different reasons -- although they have their quirks here and there.

I recently modified my 65 Reissue because I love deep, rich reverb and both of these amps -- while they come with decent reverb -- are not exactly what I wanted. I had a local guitar tech/repairman but in a new reverb tank in my 65 Reissue. I changed it to a three-spring, long-delay reverb with metal ends -- I am told that many newer amps come with plastic or nylon ends that may add to noise.

The reverb modification resulted in a fantastic sounding reverb. I actually don't go past 4 now, otherwise it gets into deep, cavernous territory which may be good for ambient things, but not for playing live or for practice. When the mod was completed, the tech -- who sells vintage gear -- did not want to give the amp back to me. It really sounds great. I typically run my amps in stereo and I often use an Eventide Space pedal, but I actually like the new reverb mod as a change.

I still tend to get a lot of buzzing from my reverb tanks, which I think is an issue with the power in the old house in which I live, but the mod cut down on that.

Just thought I'd add to the discussion.

Joe McCann

Samueltherobot

If you don't mind me asking what reverb tank did you purchase and how much did it cost?

Thanks again

-Sammy

Tak

IMO, a spring reverb in a fender amp never sound good until you play it pretty loud. Even though it's played loud most of the modern reverb tanks sound stiff and cold.
I just use a reverb pedal (EBS Dynaverb, which has no spring reverb setting though) which sounds fantastic in any situation.
Having the reverb circuit adds fair amount of gain in the preamp, so it's not a waste even if you don't use it.

ruger9

joe mccan:

Man, I thought the reverb on the 65 PRRI was KILLER. I wouldn't change a thing. How does the reverb on the '68CPR compare? (because Fender effed it up on the Super-Sonic 22: it's nice, but it ain't PRRI nice....)

jtmccann

Sorry I took so long to reply, but I had to speak with the amp tech who replaced the reverb tank. It seems that the tank he used had been lying around his shop for quite some time and he was not sure of the exact make or model. However, the nearest he could tell is that it was one of the last made USA Accutronics tank that is no longer manufactured here. But here are the details that might help you find a similar one. It is a three spring tank with a long decay time -- around 4 seconds -- and one of the main differences between the tank that came from the factory and the replacement tank is that the replacement has metal housings for the input and output transducers rather than plastic/nylon on the factory tank. The reason for this choice was noise reduction.

Although I cannot disagree that the original reverb was nice, I was getting a lot of buzzing on the amp when the reverb was turned past 2 and it only got worse the higher I went. I do not have this problem on the 68 Custom Reissue Princeton, but that reverb is not as deep and of course the tone circuit is different from the 65 PRRI. So, I initially wanted to modify the reverb to get rid of the buzzing. I've read posts elsewhere of people who returned the 65 PRRI due to that issue, but I love the amp and wanted to keep it. The amp tech recommended replacing the tank and that cut down on the buzzing quite a bit. But his particular replacement tank selection was based on my personal preference for very long decay and deep/"surfable" reverb. I realize everything is personal preference.

The reverb on the 68 reissue is OK, but I'm not sure I would modify it. When I run the amps in stereo, I have a deep, long decay on one side and a shorter, less rich reverb on the other side. Plus, toying with different depth and speed settings on the tremolo makes for some interesting sounds. I highly recommend toying with a stereo set-up. I like the simplicity of the Princeton when I want to use pedals and just the amp volume and tone. But a different Princeton on each side is really fun to play with.

As for driving the amp to get deeper reverb, I don't play that loud. I do mostly clean fingerstyle stuff at bedroom or small listening space volume levels. But both amps have their own really nice distortion when driven hard. They are great, versatile amps for what I do.

Hope the above answers your questions.

Joe

ruger9

My 65PRRI didn't have any buzzer noise on the reverb, but my Super-Sonic 22 does. It's minor, but enough to be annoying if you're playing alone at home. There is no fix for this issue. I am assuming the new "68 Custom" series has this newer Reverb circuit on it for some reason (not as deep, not as lush... my 65PRRI on 5 out-reverbed my SS22 reverb on 10.).... it's a shame, because the more Fender-vintage-style reverb (like on the DRRI/PRRI) is one of the big things Fender is known for, and it looks like their newer designs do not have it

Tak

In my case, buzz was from a cheap reverb cable which I bought new. I think it's the same as Fender factory cable. So give it a try replacing one amp's cable to another.

awp

I really like my PRRI. It is all stock and I don't understand the dislike of the C10r speaker. It sounds really nice to my ears. Maybe it is because I don't drive my Princeton into heavy overdrive or use much distortion. I am a reverb junky (possibly more so than Jim :-) ). I did replace my v3 with a Tung-sol 12ax7 which has a bit more gain than the stock tube. The net effect is a bit more depth in the reverb as well as a warmer overall sound.

I agree with the above statements. If you dont like the amp out of the box then move on and don't burn money trying to mod the amp to be something it isn't.

Cheers
Warren

ruger9

Oh, I've tried everything- new cable, new PAN, the buzz on the SS series is in the circuit. I think it mainly comes from the reverb in/out being placed so close (only a couple inches away) from one of the transformers- poor design. If you'll notice, on the RIs, the reverb in/out is on the back of the amp- and nowhere near either of the transformers.

Of course, that doesn't explain the the comparatively weak reverb on the SS series, compared to the RIs. Again, it's in the circuit.

clyde

I have a 67 PR that I use live all the time. The only mod I made was putting a 12'' speaker in it. Some people don't like that idea but it fits my purposes very well. The PR is an amazing amp in general. I've seen Jim play the 55 Bar a few times. It's a pretty small place and it never fails to amaze me how Jim's PR with a 10'' speaker easily keeps up with his drummer Josh Dion, who in my opinion hits really hard at times.

The two best PR players I've ever heard are Jim and Kenny Vaughn. Both play teles through them and they have different sounds, both great in their own way. Somehow Kenny can make a PR sound almost like a Twin on those low strings.