# NAD ....1964 Fender Princeton ..Tuxedo



## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

So after a two week wait this guy finally came in. 

1964 Fender Princeton . 

And wow was it worth the wait . I have been searching for a Brownface Princeton and when this one popped up I had to get it as I absolutely love the Tuxedo era Fenders and of course it has all the brownface era insides . 6G2 circuit all untouched besides the mandatory 3 prong plug .

It plays very very well and has no hisses or pops . Tubes are Mullard and Sylvania which I think are original to it ??? 

The tremolo is sooo nice and pulsates perfectly . 

If anybody is contemplating a princeton...DO it ! This is going to start coming to small duo gigs with me . Will probably make a great pairing with my tele's . I'm a huge Marty Stuart fan and he and Kenny Vaughan use them live almost constantly .

Speaker is original as well .

Now to find a tweed Princeton....!!!

Thanks for checking it out . If you see anything you may know about about it or a Princeton that I don't , please let me know . I have a lot more pics ...lol


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## seadonkey (Feb 9, 2008)

Awesome amp, congrats!!!


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## blueshores_guy (Apr 8, 2007)

Nice find!
About a thousand years ago, even before I had a driver's licence, I had one just like that. Bought it new for $110, a vast fortune in the days of working weekends at the car wash for $1.00 per hour. Played a lot of Ventures stuff through it. 
I've never seen another one like it (white knobs, no reverb) until now.
Enjoy!


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

blueshores_guy said:


> Nice find!
> About a thousand years ago, even before I had a driver's licence, I had one just like that. Bought it new for $110, a vast fortune in the days of working weekends at the car wash for $1.00 per hour. Played a lot of Ventures stuff through it.
> I've never seen another one like it (white knobs, no reverb) until now.
> Enjoy!


Wow. Great story . That's ALOT of carwashing !

As soon as I found this I knew I needed to collect it . Not many of them around and they were made for only a limited time before they went to full Blackface . 

Anybody know how long the tuxedos lasted ?


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

I got one here. It's since gone. Really awesome amps. And cool looking too.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Tuxedo was '63-'64 iirc, blackface era maybe late '64 but '65+ generally, to '68.


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

keto said:


> Tuxedo was '63-'64 iirc, blackface era maybe late '64 but '65+ generally, to '68.


 Yeah , I think the tuxedos were mid 63 to early 64 . So not even a year in Fenders history . Really cool


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Enjoy that!


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

Budda said:


> Enjoy that!


Thanks ! I have been today . It's Really inspiring to get something that has such a nice tone and it's one of those ones that makes you want to practice/play more just to hear it


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Yassss Queen! That amp is lit!!! It's legit, not for noobs. I think that's what the kids say these days.

I have the same amp in brownface ('62) and it's going with me to my grave. Did you snag the one from TGS in Pt. Credit that had a drastic price drop? Love the tuxedo look. Congrats & enjoy that chewy trem & power tube crunch at reasonable volume.


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

Roryfan said:


> Yassss Queen! That amp is lit!!! It's legit, not for noobs. I think that's what the kids say these days.
> 
> I have the same amp in brownface ('62) and it's going with me to my grave. Did you snag the one from TGS in Pt. Credit that had a drastic price drop? Love the tuxedo look. Congrats & enjoy that chewy trem & power tube crunch at reasonable volume.


You nailed it !!! To the grave ...! 

I got it out of Jacksonville,Florida through a gear contact .


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

What speaker is in yours? Mine came with a RI Jensen that reminded me of my ex-wife's mother (shrill & farty) so on the advice of a well-respected amp tech I put in an Emi Lil Buddy. Solved the shrill problem but a little too dark with HBs, so now it has a Gold & I'm quite happy.


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

Roryfan said:


> What speaker is in yours? Mine came with a RI Jensen that reminded me of my ex-wife's mother (shrill & farty) so on the advice of a well-respected amp tech I put in an Emi Lil Buddy. Solved the shrill problem but a little too dark with HBs, so now it has a Gold & I'm quite happy.


I believe it's an Oxford 10j4. Sounds good for now . I know there are many upgrade/improvement options but I have no issue with what it's doing now . 

The Celestion Golds are pretty nice speakers though. It's a tempting thought


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

very nice amp, congrats!!

I have a PR clone I bought from StevieMac a few years back...it's a killer amp. thanks again Steve!


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

bolero said:


> very nice amp, congrats!!
> 
> I have a PR clone I bought from StevieMac a few years back...it's a killer amp. thanks again Steve!


Is it a Blackface clone ? Post a pic


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

MS41R8 said:


> I believe it's an Oxford 10j4. Sounds good for now . I know there are many upgrade/improvement options but I have no issue with what it's doing now .
> 
> The Celestion Golds are pretty nice speakers though. It's a tempting thought


Don't mess with it if you have the original speaker. Mine had already been swapped so there was no need to be precious about it. Plugged the amp into a 112 ext. cab that was loaded with a Gold & liked it so much I found a 10" for the Princeton. I'd also tried a Weber P10Q but the Gold had a nice chime & "held together" better when pushed.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Yes, great amps. I had a tuxedo 6G2. I sold it @sambonee, a member here. I promptly proceed to build my own clone in a head format. It's still sitting as shown in the pic below.

Awesome little amps. As mentioned, the pulsing bias wiggle trem is excellent. I have been busy with other projects, and the amp plays and sounds amazing. So I keep putting other jobs in front of it. Made my own face plate here. Home built cab. It'll be dressed in BF tolex and aged grill cloth.

One great feature of the 6G2 is it's lower volume when cranked up to full break up. Fender had so many amazing vintage amps, it's hard to pick a top favourite. I'd have to say there are at least 10 vintage Fenders that are the best of them all. I may just have to say that the 6G2 is my favourite Princeton of them all. The Princeton Reverb that followed the 6G2 gets the majority of love and attention. The 6G2 is a mighty good one, in it's own unique way.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

The 6G2 started out as a brown series amp. I believe it was introduced in 1961. As Fender was always evolving, and new series of amps were coming out, the Blackface series was well on it's way by early 1964. I assume the Reverb BF version of the Princeton was not quite ready for release by first half of 1964. So it appears Fender decided to dress up the 6G2 in black tolex to match the new line up of BF amps rolling out of the factory. I guess the thought was the brown knobs did not look right with the black tolex, so they went with creme. The faceplate surely matched the BF era amps. The amp was transitioning from Brown to Blackface, in stages it would seem. With the black tolex and white knobs it's nickname was earned, the "Tuxedo" Princeton. Like a black suit with a white bow tie I guess. So for about 6 months, the Tuxedo Princeton was built. A brief period in Fender history. Today is seems odd that they dropped such a great circuit so soon. However at the time, reverb was all the rage. The Princeton had to be updated and completely re-designed. Those owning one today hold an awesome piece of Fender history.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

I may have to get @Morattoampshop to make me one. 

@keithb7 , how did you make the faceplate?


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

A laser cutter was used. A 6G2 replica faceplate was scanned, then used Corel Draw to create the software template. 
I can cut more faceplates for anyone needing, however the "Fender and Princeton" text will not be offered for legal reasons.
Just the one built for me gets the Fender lettering.


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

I am dying to get my hands on a 6G2 Princeton more than ever now. I gigged last night with a buddy's '65 blackface NR, and for that smaller pub type context it was perfect. However I am more into the idea of the older 6G2 circuit as it would be a little warmer and with a bit more midrange than a typical blackface amp seems to have.

W.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I picked up an amp head from one of the last garage sales that Songbird had here in Ottawa, before they became Spaceman. It's a dual 6V6, two 12AX7, 5Y3 amp, and I had been wondering what to turn it into. One possibility was a 6G2, and the other was a 5E11 Vibrolux or 5F11 Tremolux, though I imagine the differences between them are more about the power transformer than anything else, and I have no idea what the specs on the power tranny are. One of those post-retirement projects. Happily, I have a mid-60's 12" Jensen to match it with.

But congrats on your new amp. I'm reminded of Martin Landau's line as Bela Logosi in the film "Ed Wood", where, upon seeing Vampira on TV, he tells Ed Wood (played by Johnny Depp): "I think she's a honey", with more than a hint of lust in his heart.


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

Thanks Keith for that bit of history . Your expertise is always appreciated . 

The trem is just so nice on these, the 6g2 circuit is just really impressive . 

Gigged it twice now in smaller club settings and it performed so well.

Here it is with a 1971 tele


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Damn I want a '71 Tele. To go with my '71 Vibrolux Reverb. It's a birth year thing. MJF$#


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

keithb7 said:


> Damn I want a '71 Tele. To go with my '71 Vibrolux Reverb. It's a birth year thing. MJF$#


It's probably getting listed soon actually. I just sold a 1971 and this one is up next . Slowly making room for my eventual goal of that 50's tele .


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## murraythek (Jun 1, 2013)

Congrats! I missed out on a pristine 62 Princeton in Victoria by a few hours.


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

Great looking amp! How are you enjoying it now that you've had it a while and used it a bunch? I've been on the hunt for one of these for a while and am looking at a couple that are identical to this.

W.


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## MS41R8 (Sep 26, 2016)

King Loudness said:


> Great looking amp! How are you enjoying it now that you've had it a while and used it a bunch? I've been on the hunt for one of these for a while and am looking at a couple that are identical to this.
> 
> W.


Absolutely love the amp ! Gigged it many times now with the several duos I play in and it has nothing but impressed me . I may try some different speaker options soon. Original works and sounds fine, just to preserve it if anything g


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

Just spotted a really nice all original tuxedo 6G2 that came up for sale. They just sound so damn good and they're hard to find at a good price anymore. Must admit, I'm awfully tempted...


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Please let @King Loudness know. He's hard up for one asap.


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

I'm actually just about to buy a silverface PR combo that I found locally for a good price. Would love a 6G2 but I can't really afford what they are getting these days, so I'm gonna let it sit as a bucket list item til I can pay for one and not go into the poorhouse, hah.

W.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Those tubes probably aren't original, but would be welcome in any amp!

It probably originally came with RCA and GE's.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

King Loudness said:


> I am dying to get my hands on a 6G2 Princeton more than ever now. I gigged last night with a buddy's '65 blackface NR, and for that smaller pub type context it was perfect. However I am more into the idea of the older 6G2 circuit as it would be a little warmer and with a bit more midrange than a typical blackface amp seems to have.
> 
> W.


Brown amps get no love, but to me they're the perfect mix of their older & younger siblings. BF Fenders have always sounded a little sterile to me & the smaller tweed combos rarely have enough clean headroom.


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