# NAD! Fender Princeton Reverb FSR with 12" Cannabis Rex - Updated and Returned to store



## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

I've been gassing for a clean amp to use as a pedal platform for a while now and when I saw these on Long and McQuade's website I was hooked! What a looker and a 12" speaker to boot! I ended up tracking one down at the Markham store and they mailed it to me. The woman I dealt with was great there.

Check it out here:
Fender Musical Instruments - FSR 65 Princeton Rev Tweed w/12'' Cannabis Rex Speaker

I currently have a Phaez JTM 18 with a Voltage variable back cab running a 12" WGS Reaper - I love this amp but I can't afford to keep both amps so I'm doing some A/B tests over the next few weeks. The Phaez is very touch sensitive with a good master volume and nice natural overdrive. Problem is that it doesn't really have clean headroom. However it's got killer OD and no pedals required. Why the change of heart you ask .... just playing with less OD these days and so many great pedals to try out 

I haven't had a chance to play the Princeton a bunch yet but my initial impressions are that the cleans are amazing and gorgeous, very clear and I'm hearing my guitars in a brand new way. Piano like with strong bass and treble if that makes sense. The 12" inch C Rex speaker is full and warm but needs to break in. The verb and trem sound lush although the trem isn't as intense as some pedals I've tried. The headroom with the C Rex speaker is increased from the stock PRRI 10" Jensen but it also means that its way too loud for break up at home...not necessarily a bad thing though with the right OD pedal. The really cool thing I noticed right away was that the neck pickup on my 335 is a different animal altogether - I mean it was ok before but now it's fully usable and no longer muddy sounding. Great for chords and rhythm work. I could never do that convincingly with the Phaez. Tele sounds killer in all positions. I was A/B ing last night using a Tele with the Phaez set clean running a Flint for verb and trem and then switching to the Princeton with verb and trem....fascinating how different the two sound!

I'll keep this thread updated with my findings. Interested in hearing your experiences with these types of amps too! OD suggestions for a Princeton?

*Update 01/25/17: NEED ADVICE! !! *

Been playing the amp lots over the last week, and A/B ing with my Phaez. Princeton has gorgeous cleans and kills in this dpt., but the Phaez wins for the edge of breakup thing and full on gain since it has a master volume. Having said that though, the Phaez is a loud amp and sounds better overall with the master turned up somewhat vs home volume. The Princeton is too loud on edge on breakup for home playing, but will work perfectly jamming with buds in the sweet spot. I love the simplicity of the Princeton with one channel and that its an excellent pedal platform. I have a Klone coming to test out with it and also a RAT was suggested too...if I can get good drive sounds at low volume then I'm not as concerned about letting the Phaez go. 

Now the Cannabis Rex speaker - I'm kinda on the fence on it. It has GREAT cleans and lovely tones for jazz, country, low gain blues, etc., but pushed hard with a fuzz the gain tones are not so great IMO. Its like even more mids are missing from the sound when heavy drive is introduced. Last night I hooked up my 1x12 cab to the Princeton running a WGS Reaper 30 and the difference was huge - immediately back into Marshall-esque type tone with more mids, and great gain tones. The cleans on the Reaper are kinda muddy so I knew the C Rex would be better there. But now I'm unsure what to do. Returning the Princeton and keeping what I have has crossed my mind. Or should I keep it and let the C Rex break in and see how much it improves? Or do a speaker swap to something more British flavoured now? Also wondering since the voltage 1x12 cab is oversized and bigger than the Princeton cab will the Reaper sound much different inside the Princeton cab? All these things I've never considered before lol.! Need advice peeps! Thoughts? 
*
UPDATE 01/30/17 - RETURNED TO STORE AFTER EXTENSIVE TESTING! 
*
Pics!


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Congrats on a great amp. Lucky you got a 12 incher in it. I owned one for about 6 months and it was really nice even with the 10 in. stock speaker in it. I just couldnt justify that amount of money tied up into one amp so off it went. It had some really nice clean tones and i did not have any overdrive pedals at that time so cant comment. I played a really big hall with it miked and it sounded glorious even at 7 on the vol. I think you will be very happy. Best of luck trying out different pedals for it and keep us posted.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I have a Princeton Reverb clone I got from StevieMac ( thanks again! ) and it is fantastic

just about the right size, and loud enough to use with a band. Plus you can turn it up to the sweet spot, without annoying people

I have had good luck with an OCD pedal


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I've said it before but my Lil' King was a great amp as a 1 x 10 but became perfect when I made it a 1 x 12. I was looking very hard at the tweed Princeton until the Lil' King became available (thanks Fox Rox). Outstanding clean tone and it loves pedals. Congrats on a great amp.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

bolero said:


> I have a Princeton Reverb clone I got from StevieMac ( thanks again! ) and it is fantastic
> 
> just about the right size, and loud enough to use with a band. Plus you can turn it up to the sweet spot, without annoying people
> 
> I have had good luck with an OCD pedal


Yeah I was looking at an OCD too....never tried one. Does it sound natural and amp like?


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## arcalumis (Mar 26, 2012)

I recently had the chance to play a Headstrong Lil' King with a 12" speaker. Really wonderful clean tone, with delicious on-the-edge breakup at higher volume and some humbuckers. Wish they weren't so darned expensive!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Yeah, that's a nice one.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

arcalumis said:


> I recently had the chance to play a Headstrong Lil' King with a 12" speaker. Really wonderful clean tone, with delicious on-the-edge breakup at higher volume and some humbuckers. Wish they weren't so darned expensive!


It's a loud little amp, I think I might need an attenuator to get to that edge of breakup as we don't even practice that loud


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## arcalumis (Mar 26, 2012)

davetcan said:


> It's a loud little amp, I think I might need an attenuator to get to that edge of breakup as we don't even practice that loud


Let me know when you decide it's too loud and you want to sell!!


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

What do you think of the speaker with that combo? I have one sitting at home to go in my PR clone


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Oh the Rex 12" is da bomb baby!
I replaced the stock 12" in the Supersonic 22 with one, I really love it, just a tighter bottom end response & a more mellow top (takes off the shrill bright )

Edit: oh, HNAD!!! Enjoy.


Sent from my other other brain.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

cboutilier said:


> What do you think of the speaker with that combo? I have one sitting at home to go in my PR clone


I don't have much experience with PRRI's and this is the first time I've tried a Rex. So far it sounds very full and warm, excellent bass and clear highs. Big difference over the 10" Jensen PRRI. And it's not even broken in yet


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

davetcan said:


> It's a loud little amp, I think I might need an attenuator to get to that edge of breakup as we don't even practice that loud


I cranked mine up to 7 yesterday with humbuckers (335) and had some great OD tones. Way too loud for normal use though!!! That's why I'd like to find a nice transparent OD for lower volumes. I'm amazed at how loud this little amp is.


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

great looking amp. Happy NAD.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

canoeplayguitar said:


> Yeah I was looking at an OCD too....never tried one. Does it sound natural and amp like?


 well, I can't claim any pedal sounds as good as a cranked amp. But the OCD works very well, responds to gtr volume roll off nicely too

I just checked my "princeton" it has 6L6's and a 12" speaker. So I guess it's not really a princeton, I was mistaken. same front panel layout though


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

ps that is a very cool looking amp!! I dig the tweed & grill cloth

congrats, happy new ampday!


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

Love it, that is one sweet looking amp.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I played with a guy a few years ago the had a BF Princeton, it sounded terrific.

That's a great look with the tweed and nice to have the aftermarket speaker too.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

sulphur said:


> I played with a guy a few years ago the had a BF Princeton, it sounded terrific.
> 
> That's a great look with the tweed and nice to have the aftermarket speaker too.


Yeah that's what made me jump on it. Love the tweed look and the upgraded speaker for the same price is a no brainer.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

just updated the thread in my original post....


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

It's a tough question because we all hear things differently. I run a G12H30 Anniversary in mine and I love it, handles both clean and overdrives really well to MY ears. I knew that a lot of OD's wouldn't work with this traditional Fender circuit though so I immediately went out and picked up a Fulldrive 2 (thanks @mario ) as I knew it was tubescreamer based and would pump up the mids. Works great. The guys on "That Pedal Show" did a great video on how different amp styles react to different pedals. Can be a real eye opener if you haven't gone through as many amps as some of us 

Having said all of that I'll likely still pick up an attenuator at some point for home use.









canoeplayguitar said:


> *Update 01/25/17: NEED ADVICE! !! *
> 
> Been playing the amp lots over the last week, and A/B ing with my Phaez. Princeton has gorgeous cleans and kills in this dpt., but the Phaez wins for the edge of breakup thing and full on gain since it has a master volume. Having said that though, the Phaez is a loud amp and sounds better overall with the master turned up somewhat vs home volume. The Princeton is too loud on edge on breakup for home playing, but will work perfectly jamming with buds in the sweet spot. I love the simplicity of the Princeton with one channel and that its an excellent pedal platform. I have a Klone coming to test out with it and also a RAT was suggested too...if I can get good drive sounds at low volume then I'm not as concerned about letting the Phaez go.
> 
> ...


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

davetcan said:


> It's a tough question because we all hear things differently. I run a G12H30 Anniversary in mine and I love it, handles both clean and overdrives really well to MY ears. I knew that a lot of OD's wouldn't work with this traditional Fender circuit though so I immediately went out and picked up a Fulldrive 2 (thanks @mario ) as I knew it was tubescreamer based and would pump up the mids. Works great. The guys on "That Pedal Show" did a great video on how different amp styles react to different pedals. Can be a real eye opener if you haven't gone through as many amps as some of us
> 
> Having said all of that I'll likely still pick up an attenuator at some point for home use.


Happy the FD2 worked out for you. Did you ever get a chance to run it at 18 vts?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

mario said:


> Happy the FD2 worked out for you. Did you ever get a chance to run it at 18 vts?


Not yet, I don't have the right cable for the PP2+. A couple of the outputs will run 12 - 14 volts, I should try that.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Canoeplayguitar, your story is just like my experiences with amps, pedals, guitars, speakers, pickups....The saga (Gas) continues. There really are no quick simple answers to your questions in my experience. Different amps all do different things, well...Differently.
I think I have found what I like. What I like today is considerably different than what I thought I liked 8+ years ago. That was when I started on my mad tear of vintage amps. That mad tear is still going strong. Pedals came and went. Pick-ups have too come and gone. Speakers are still a work in progress. In the past 6 years I have probably owned 15-20 different vintage Fender amps, or clones of. A few marshall derivatives also. From 5W to 100W. From 1x8 to 4x12 speaker configurations and everything in between. Today I have found that I primarily prefer a clean Fender tone with 6L6 tubes, reverb and vibrato. Pedals for dirt. My OCD pedal is my favourite however I also own a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, and a Full Tone Full Drive 2. I love 12" speakers, 10's can sound good too, especially 2x10. But anything smaller than a 10 is out for me. I love WGS speakers. I have yet to buy and test one that I did not like. ET-65 12", and G12C are my top two choices for Fender amps. Killer tones, in my opinion. That's just my opinion though, that I developed through years of testing and owning many amps and many speaker swaps. There are tons of speakers I have yet to try, but will likely never try as I am happy. (ie. JBL K120's in my 1973 Twin, never would I even try to change this deadly package up) We all develop our opinions based on our previous experiences. Keep that in mind. Our recommendations are jaded naturally, by what we have tried and liked, or disliked. Saying that, here is my opinion based on the Princeton amps:

I have found that almost any cranked tube amp that I have owned for dirt is either too loud, or when just loud enough, then it becomes a one trick pony thats too quiet for cleans in a band situation. Experience tells me that a Princeton sounds great at home clean...Until you A/B it against something larger. Then it pales in comparison. Are Princetons all the rage because live music is dead and or dying in many communities.? Small gigs, few gigs, low pay, and you can't be too loud? The Princeton gets it done. Light and easy to carry. Especially when played by the aging Baby-boomers who had it all in the 60's and 70's. Big amps, big stages, packed bars, good times. A very large percentage of the population got older. These are the baby boomers. They all want Princetons it seems, making them climb in prices. Sometimes I wonder what all the fuss is about? I often wonder if it's all the hype everyone is reading on line, so they gotta have one? Are they influenced because it seems a ton people say they are great? I have officially owned 5 Princeton amps so far. A '65 BF Re-issue model. I returned it after I rented it for 1 month. A 1968 Custom Princeton Reverb, I bought new. I put a 12" speaker in it. played one gig with it. A year later put it back to stock and sold it. Then I found a 1964 6G2 Transitional Princeton, non reverb tuxedo model. Sounded pretty darn great, especially when I plugged it into a bigger cab. I sold it to a member here a year ago. Then I built my own 6G2 Princeton in a head only model. This, turned out to be the best of them all. Into a 1x12 open back cab, its awesome to my ears. I love it. Just last week I located a bought a 1974 Princeton Reverb...As trade bait. I brought it home serviced it, and it does sound nice. By itself...When I A/B'b it against my 6G2 head in to a 1x12, or my against Vibrolux Reverb, or my Twin Reverb, man I cannot own a stock Princeton Reverb. It ends up sounding small and boxy to me. I figure it's gotta be the small cab that I don't like. Not sure. So the 1974 PR is due to be traded for a 1962 Brownface Vibrolux. With 6L6 tubes and 1x12, that's right up my alley. I want to love a PR. I read so much about them. How great they are, portable, light, etc. I just can't get what others are getting from this amp. Starting with a great clean platform that works at band rehearsal volumes, I like to add pedals for dirt. There are tones of dirt pedal choices. Starting with a great clean amp, that is loud enough to play in a 4 pc, I can get anywhere I want to go from there. The Princeton Reverb in its stock cab does not do it for me I guess. In my opinion, I also feel that the new PCB based Fender Princetons are overpriced. Especially the FSR models. However I am jaded in this department too. I'd rather fix and maintain an old vintage amp, and gig with it, rather than buy anything new today. I am able to maintain my own gear. Others cannot. I understand that others may want warranty, and new.
5 tries later, I have found 1 Princeton I like. I had to build it myself. Not reality for many, just my experience. For me, the new PR discussed in post one here, would go back ASAP.
Your milage may vary.... Good luck whatever you decide to do OP.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

You need to hear my Lil' King with the 1x12. I sometimes add another 1x12 cab for more awesomeness but it really does sound great by itself. hand wired and also available in head form. Although it sounds like you can make your own 



keithb7 said:


> Canoeplayguitar, your story is just like my experiences with amps, pedals, guitars, speakers, pickups....The saga (Gas) continues. There really are no quick simple answers to your questions in my experience. Different amps all do different things, well...Differently.
> I think I have found what I like. What I like today is considerably different than what I thought I liked 8+ years ago. That was when I started on my mad tear of vintage amps. That mad tear is still going strong. Pedals came and went. Pick-ups have too come and gone. Speakers are still a work in progress. In the past 6 years I have probably owned 15-20 different vintage Fender amps, or clones of. A few marshall derivatives also. From 5W to 100W. From 1x8 to 4x12 speaker configurations and everything in between. Today I have found that I primarily prefer a clean Fender tone with 6L6 tubes, reverb and vibrato. Pedals for dirt. My OCD pedal is my favourite however I also own a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, and a Full Tone Full Drive 2. I love 12" speakers, 10's can sound good too, especially 2x10. But anything smaller than a 10 is out for me. I love WGS speakers. I have yet to buy and test one that I did not like. ET-65 12", and G12C are my top two choices for Fender amps. Killer tones, in my opinion. That's just my opinion though, that I developed through years of testing and owning many amps and many speaker swaps. There are tons of speakers I have yet to try, but will likely never try as I am happy. (ie. JBL K120's in my 1973 Twin, never would I even try to change this deadly package up) We all develop our opinions based on our previous experiences. Keep that in mind. Our recommendations are jaded naturally, by what we have tried and liked, or disliked. Saying that, here is my opinion based on the Princeton amps:
> 
> I have found that almost any cranked tube amp that I have owned for dirt is either too loud, or when just loud enough, then it becomes a one trick pony thats too quiet for cleans in a band situation. Experience tells me that a Princeton sounds great at home clean...Until you A/B it against something larger. Then it pales in comparison. Are Princetons all the rage because live music is dead and or dying in many communities.? Small gigs, few gigs, low pay, and you can't be too loud? The Princeton gets it done. Light and easy to carry. Especially when played by the aging Baby-boomers who had it all in the 60's and 70's. Big amps, big stages, packed bars, good times. A very large percentage of the population got older. These are the baby boomers. They all want Princetons it seems, making them climb in prices. Sometimes I wonder what all the fuss is about? I often wonder if it's all the hype everyone is reading on line, so they gotta have one? Are they influenced because it seems a ton people say they are great? I have officially owned 5 Princeton amps so far. A '65 BF Re-issue model. I returned it after I rented it for 1 month. A 1968 Custom Princeton Reverb, I bought new. I put a 12" speaker in it. played one gig with it. A year later put it back to stock and sold it. Then I found a 1964 6G2 Transitional Princeton, non reverb tuxedo model. Sounded pretty darn great, especially when I plugged it into a bigger cab. I sold it to a member here a year ago. Then I built my own 6G2 Princeton in a head only model. This, turned out to be the best of them all. Into a 1x12 open back cab, its awesome to my ears. I love it. Just last week I located a bought a 1974 Princeton Reverb...As trade bait. I brought it home serviced it, and it does sound nice. By itself...When I A/B'b it against my 6G2 head in to a 1x12, or my against Vibrolux Reverb, or my Twin Reverb, man I cannot own a stock Princeton Reverb. It ends up sounding small and boxy to me. I figure it's gotta be the small cab that I don't like. Not sure. So the 1974 PR is due to be traded for a 1962 Brownface Vibrolux. With 6L6 tubes and 1x12, that's right up my alley. I want to love a PR. I read so much about them. How great they are, portable, light, etc. I just can't get what others are getting from this amp. Starting with a great clean platform that works at band rehearsal volumes, I like to add pedals for dirt. There are tones of dirt pedal choices. Starting with a great clean amp, that is loud enough to play in a 4 pc, I can get anywhere I want to go from there. The Princeton Reverb in its stock cab does not do it for me I guess. In my opinion, I also feel that the new PCB based Fender Princetons are overpriced. Especially the FSR models. However I am jaded in this department too. I'd rather fix and maintain an old vintage amp, and gig with it, rather than buy anything new today. I am able to maintain my own gear. Others cannot. I understand that others may want warranty, and new.
> ...


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

keithb7 said:


> Canoeplayguitar, your story is just like my experiences with amps, pedals, guitars, speakers, pickups....The saga (Gas) continues. There really are no quick simple answers to your questions in my experience. Different amps all do different things, well...Differently.
> I think I have found what I like. What I like today is considerably different than what I thought I liked 8+ years ago. That was when I started on my mad tear of vintage amps. That mad tear is still going strong. Pedals came and went. Pick-ups have too come and gone. Speakers are still a work in progress. In the past 6 years I have probably owned 15-20 different vintage Fender amps, or clones of. A few marshall derivatives also. From 5W to 100W. From 1x8 to 4x12 speaker configurations and everything in between. Today I have found that I primarily prefer a clean Fender tone with 6L6 tubes, reverb and vibrato. Pedals for dirt. My OCD pedal is my favourite however I also own a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, and a Full Tone Full Drive 2. I love 12" speakers, 10's can sound good too, especially 2x10. But anything smaller than a 10 is out for me. I love WGS speakers. I have yet to buy and test one that I did not like. ET-65 12", and G12C are my top two choices for Fender amps. Killer tones, in my opinion. That's just my opinion though, that I developed through years of testing and owning many amps and many speaker swaps. There are tons of speakers I have yet to try, but will likely never try as I am happy. (ie. JBL K120's in my 1973 Twin, never would I even try to change this deadly package up) We all develop our opinions based on our previous experiences. Keep that in mind. Our recommendations are jaded naturally, by what we have tried and liked, or disliked. Saying that, here is my opinion based on the Princeton amps:
> 
> I have found that almost any cranked tube amp that I have owned for dirt is either too loud, or when just loud enough, then it becomes a one trick pony thats too quiet for cleans in a band situation. Experience tells me that a Princeton sounds great at home clean...Until you A/B it against something larger. Then it pales in comparison. Are Princetons all the rage because live music is dead and or dying in many communities.? Small gigs, few gigs, low pay, and you can't be too loud? The Princeton gets it done. Light and easy to carry. Especially when played by the aging Baby-boomers who had it all in the 60's and 70's. Big amps, big stages, packed bars, good times. A very large percentage of the population got older. These are the baby boomers. They all want Princetons it seems, making them climb in prices. Sometimes I wonder what all the fuss is about? I often wonder if it's all the hype everyone is reading on line, so they gotta have one? Are they influenced because it seems a ton people say they are great? I have officially owned 5 Princeton amps so far. A '65 BF Re-issue model. I returned it after I rented it for 1 month. A 1968 Custom Princeton Reverb, I bought new. I put a 12" speaker in it. played one gig with it. A year later put it back to stock and sold it. Then I found a 1964 6G2 Transitional Princeton, non reverb tuxedo model. Sounded pretty darn great, especially when I plugged it into a bigger cab. I sold it to a member here a year ago. Then I built my own 6G2 Princeton in a head only model. This, turned out to be the best of them all. Into a 1x12 open back cab, its awesome to my ears. I love it. Just last week I located a bought a 1974 Princeton Reverb...As trade bait. I brought it home serviced it, and it does sound nice. By itself...When I A/B'b it against my 6G2 head in to a 1x12, or my against Vibrolux Reverb, or my Twin Reverb, man I cannot own a stock Princeton Reverb. It ends up sounding small and boxy to me. I figure it's gotta be the small cab that I don't like. Not sure. So the 1974 PR is due to be traded for a 1962 Brownface Vibrolux. With 6L6 tubes and 1x12, that's right up my alley. I want to love a PR. I read so much about them. How great they are, portable, light, etc. I just can't get what others are getting from this amp. Starting with a great clean platform that works at band rehearsal volumes, I like to add pedals for dirt. There are tones of dirt pedal choices. Starting with a great clean amp, that is loud enough to play in a 4 pc, I can get anywhere I want to go from there. The Princeton Reverb in its stock cab does not do it for me I guess. In my opinion, I also feel that the new PCB based Fender Princetons are overpriced. Especially the FSR models. However I am jaded in this department too. I'd rather fix and maintain an old vintage amp, and gig with it, rather than buy anything new today. I am able to maintain my own gear. Others cannot. I understand that others may want warranty, and new.
> ...


Thanks for the thoughtful response. Very helpful. I started down this path due to 1) GAS and 2) wanting a cleaner lower volume pedal platform for home use. I thought that was going to be the Princeton with it's beautiful cleans. Now I'm thinking I will be returning it. I've also learned a bunch this week! 

After comparing it to my Phaez and plugging into my 1x12 cab, like you said, its almost like the PRRI cab is too small for the 12". And I think I prefer a British sounding speaker over the American thing. Classic Rock and Blues is my bread and butter so guess that makes sense. I also found that by scooping the mids on my JTM and rearranging the tonestack has opened up new some sounds. I've never really played for any length of time with the master high and the gain super low on that amp but it surprised me and cleans up very well. I know this is not rocket science but I've never had another amp in the house to compare it too. It's easy to set my Phaez up for a dirty clean/rock tone and this is where it lives most of the time lol. Tone wise I can get great cleans with my JTM, albeit rounder and warmer than the PRRI, but at the end of the day is it worth selling a handwired dynamic feeling amp to fund a PCB reissue? Then do a speaker change to make it sound more British lol? Of course not! I definitely find the Princeton slower in attack and it does not have the dynamic range with my picking hand that I'm used to. Also I like the fact that my Phaez is cathode biased for tube swapping...makes it really easy. 

So all in all I'm super happy I got the amp to try and test something new. Sometimes you learn that the grass is not always greener!

BUT I STILL HAVE AMP GAS!


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

one more thing I might try actually is a WGS ET-65 with my JTM to give it more sparkle in the cleans. this might be the icing on the cake and I've heard so many great things about that speaker....ironic you mentioned it too as one of your favorites. I currently run a Reaper and overall really like it and it's wicked for drive sounds but not sparkly and chimey enough for cleans


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## Fox Rox (Aug 9, 2009)

davetcan said:


> I've said it before but my Lil' King was a great amp as a 1 x 10 but became perfect when I made it a 1 x 12. I was looking very hard at the tweed Princeton until the Lil' King became available (thanks Fox Rox). Outstanding clean tone and it loves pedals. Congrats on a great amp.


I am glad you are still enjoying the Lil King *davetcan*!


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

My gig setup usually has me with a DRRI (with a G12H30) and a 79' Princeton Reverb (Rajin Cajun) running in stereo. On my pedal board, my go-to for dirt is an FDII - great pedal! Also on the board is a TS9, an OCD, a BB Preamp, and a Boss OD3 - all of these work great with both amps (DRRI on Normal Channel). The OCD is probably my least favourite in this setup and it alternates with a Rat. They're ok - but the least used on the board.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

canoeplayguitar said:


> BUT I STILL HAVE AMP GAS!


Canoe, amp gas seems to rarely dissipate. I have some killer amps, I still crave more. I find them, buy them, service them and play them. If I love them, I keep them. If not I let them go, soon to be replaced by another model. Damn vintage Fender, for having so many models of the same circuit stuffed into different cabs with different speakers. LOL. By learning how to repair amps, I have created this behaviour. My hobby enables it. Buy them broken for great prices. Fix them and enjoy. If one truly wants to do this a decent time investment will be required. The rewards are plentiful.
Mid-life crisis going on over here for sure.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

keithb7 said:


> I'd rather fix and maintain an old vintage amp, and gig with it, rather than buy anything new today. *I am able to maintain my own gear. Others cannot.* I understand that others may want warranty, and new.


That's quite a broad brush. I've got numerous PCB amps (Mesa, Fender, Sunn, Traynor, Peavey) I mod and maintain myself. None of my amps have ever seen the inside of a repair shop, unless they are still under warranty. If you cut your teeth on BetaCam and DVR, these things are far from rocket science. I do admit this isn't for anyone, but to say "others cannot" isn't accurate.

I will admit I reached my limit with the 4 channel Roadster. I moved it one before the warranty expired. That thing scared me a bit. And I know I would even bother opening up an Axe-FX or Kemper. Their tones are more about the software/firmware anyways, so if you're going to modify one of those, you will probably have a computer/software engineering degree, not electronics.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Although I did say "others cannot", I should have stated that some amp owners may not want to, or may not have the desire to repair their own amps. Yes they can, if they take time to research, and learn to do things safely.

I too have been in my share of PCB amps. Given the choice I prefer hand wired for several reasons.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

keithb7 said:


> Although I did say "others cannot", I should have stated that some amp owners may not want to, or may not have the desire to repair their own amps. Yes they can, if they take time to research, and learn to do things safely.
> 
> I too have been in my share of PCB amps. Given the choice I prefer hand wired for several reasons.


Yes, given my druthers, I'd rather work on a tag board amp. One reason is they are less compact and easier to get at the components. The other is they are generally less complicated from a design perspective - usually one channel or a pair of single channels in parallel. You couldn't build a tag-board amp that does what a RoadKing does. Even the options my LSS has would be very large in a tag-board construction (channel switching, power amp switching, loop switching, voice switching, etc).

Different horse for different courses.


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Canoe, how are your thoughts directing you today on the PR? Any update? If you were close by I'd invite you over to try a wide range of amps. I do this all the time with young local talented guitarists. They leave enlightened. Wide eyed and starry over vintage Fenders. I teach them current production amp assembly vs hand wired. We compare different circuits, cabs, speakers and guitars. And so much more. Man it sure is fun teaching the next generation to hold the torch. Watching the light bulbs come on is so rewarding.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

I RETURNED THE AMP TO THE SUDBURY LONG AND MCQUADE TODAY IF ANYONE WANTS IT!


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

canoeplayguitar said:


> I RETURNED THE AMP TO THE SUDBURY LONG AND MCQUADE TODAY IF ANYONE WANTS IT!


Gotta love a good return policy.
See anything else there to replace it?


Sent from my other brain.


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## canoeplayguitar (Dec 13, 2011)

bzrkrage said:


> Gotta love a good return policy.
> See anything else there to replace it?
> 
> 
> Sent from my other brain.


Content with my Phaez JTM 18 for now but Tweed GAS is building!


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

canoeplayguitar said:


> Content with my Phaez JTM 18 for now but Tweed GAS is building!


I have a 5E3 head clone if you're interested


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

There ya go canoe! Tweed 5E3 clone in a head.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

For what it's worth I still prefer my SuperSonic 60, but it sure isn't as portable


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## Blueshurler (Nov 24, 2021)

canoeplayguitar said:


> Yeah I was looking at an OCD too....never tried one. Does it sound natural and amp like?


OCD is my favorite pedal. I've had one now for close to 20 years and I'll never let it go. Sounds great with any amp.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Blueshurler said:


> OCD is my favorite pedal. I've had one now for close to 20 years and I'll never let it go. Sounds great with any amp.






Welcome stranger!
Yep, OCD works well in most rigs IMO…


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