I love the Fender Princeton and Princeton Reverb amp. Who doesn’t, right? The are both great sounding, portable and loud enough to do a samll to medium sized gig. What’s not to like? What are the differences between these two little Fullerton built tone monsters, huh? We the obvious difference is (drumroll…….) the Princeton does not have reverb and the Princeton Reverb has the drippy, atomspheric effect. Well I could end this brief little article right here but let’s take a moment and dive a little deeper.
The Princeton Reverb also has another stage of gain adding to the overall characteristic of the amps tone. Is it louder? Not by very much but it does sound a bit fatter and has a little more punch and drive. This could be either good or not-so-good depending on the player and his/her taste for tone. The lesser sought after (and less expensive) Princeton has more headroom and has a certain clarity and chime that makes it unique unto itself. Because it has less gain and more headroom it works exceptionally well with pedals…..exceptionally well. You could take one of these into a studio with some pedals and RULE in the tone department and totally impress the producer and engineer. And who knows what a pair of them would sound like on a live gig?
You say you will miss the reverb effect? There are a bunch of good reverb pedals that will have you “Pipelining” Dick Dale style and just may not be as expensive as a whole Princeton Reverb amp. One of these pedals that I had the pleasure of trying out was the Tech 21 Boost R.V.B. It is an analog unit that sounds great and you can dial it in to be close to a spring reverb type of sound. Hey, what can’t you do with a pedal these days?
Any other differences? Nope, not really. Basically the two mentioned above and that’s it. I really like the way that Fender kept things simple in the “old days” with their amp models. They were easy to fix and totally self explanitory. Welp, that’s it for this article. No go out and check out those Princeton (with or without reverb) Amplifiers!
Photo credit: www.darrenriley.com.
My shop is located at 1 Executive Dr Unit L Toms River, NJ 08755
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or are in need of some tech work.
- Monday: 10am - 5pm
- Tuesday: 10am - 5pm
- Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday: 10am - 5pm
- Friday: 10am - 5pm
- Saturday 10am - 2pm. (I am in every other Saturday).
I am also an Eminence, Mercury Magnetics, Mojo Musical Supply dealer.
I do all the tech work myself so you deal directly with me. I am a one man shop and my hours can vary so please contact me to confirm that I will be open.
Email me: billy@300guitars.com
Call or text me: 848-218-0362
Shipping Info for all repair work:
Please ship all repairs to: 1 Executive Dr Unit L Toms River, NJ 08755
I am currently offering all phases of guitar work which includes:
- Set-ups
- Fret dressing
- Re-fretting
- New hand cut custom bone nuts & saddles
- Electronics work
And amplifier work which includes:
- Basic maintenance
- Bias adjustment
- Repairs and restorations
- Modifications
- And more....
Testimonials:
David Nicholas - The 20watt amp is sounding fantastic! Delivered the goods at the gig and I'm finding cool tones all over the place with it. Love the cab w Emenince Tonkerlites too- perfect for my sounds! Makes the 12 string sound like a grand piano!
Peter Lacis - I had an audition for something recently that was all about Led Zeppelin I -- my custom Pennalizer BLEW THE MINDS of the guys I was playing with. They couldn't believe the sounds coming out of that amp. That album was never in my mind when I came up with the idea....so that's yet another testament to the amazing work that you do.
Scott Goldberg - I am very satisfied with the set-up, and the fast turn around. With the "lower" action it feels easier to play. I will definitely spread the word.