1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Make it loud here.
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StevenO
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by StevenO » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:20 pm

Mines plenty loud. Kind of too loud, actually. I don't get to crank it very often.

As for the Trem, the depth is controlled via the biasing of the power tubes. Maybe check the biasing if it's not deep enough. Mines plenty swampy.

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pocaloc
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by pocaloc » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:31 pm

I think the trem is really nice and smooth, but could use a little more oomph. Maybe I'm just missing the stuttering oomph of the opto (I think) type tremolo. I've tried my Gretsch Hilotrons model and my casino, and the casino has some much better volume. The Hilotrons are extremely low output. The Casino is sounding amazing.

Do you think I could've caused the humming by it falling over a couple of times? It wasn't a really hard fall I don't think.

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StevenO
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by StevenO » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:38 pm

Can't speak for the hum, but the Trem on these are swampy, smooth, and dreamy. They don't really the choppy, staccato stuff.

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Ursa Minor
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by Ursa Minor » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:50 pm

CONGRATS!!!

Welcome to the 6G2 club!

Does it still have a two prong cord? If it's humming, try flipping the ground switch on the back. But more realistically and safety first in mind, convert it to a three prong grounded cord.

The trem intensity is controlled by the bias voltage of the power tubes. If you want more intense trem, have them biased to about 16-18mA each. That's the sweet spot, IMO. If they are biased too hot the trem will become less intense and can actually fade away completely.

I installed a bias pot in mine where the ground switch is so I can easily adjust when I try new power tubes. Normally the bias is only adjustable by changing the resistor in the small circuit board by the pilot lamp.

You may wanna see if it needs a cap job too. Your hum could be a sign of the filter caps going.

Pics!

And happy NAD! 8)
The artist formerly known as kosmonautmayhem.

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pocaloc
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by pocaloc » Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:58 pm

It has the three prong cord, but so did my VHT, which also hummed. I think there is something wrong with the wiring, even though the house was built in 1985. A lot of outlets only work on one of the plugs in this house. :wacko:

Anyway, the cheaper IBJL Casino is awesome to play and plenty loud. I was going to sell the Casino to pay for the amp, but it's sounding SO much better then the Tennessee Rose. Either way, it's been a fun NAD.

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46346
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by 46346 » Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:42 am

yeah if you're running the original filter caps and such, you'll probably get a solid, clean boost by replacing them. especially if it's humming with no input. old ones look like cardboard cylinders and might be orange or red.

the trem on my PR recently got weaker... i'm gonna clean the pots (cause the reverb crackles a bit, too) and poke at the small caps near the 'vibrato' knob. on yours, you could swap the 12ax7 closest to the 6v6 and see how it affects the 'vibrato'. you can even swap it with the first preamp tube if you don't have a spare.

one cool G for a clean old brown Fender is a nice deal! congrats!!
Cat Museum, ACME, Malcolm Mooney, Dream Apes, The Cooling Time, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Quarks

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pocaloc
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by pocaloc » Sat Sep 20, 2014 4:27 pm

I played it quite a bit last night and today and it's plenty loud with the P90's. The Gretsch Hilotrons seem like half the power. I'm definitely falling for the amp and can see the potential when I get a few pedals. Don't know if it's a 63 or 64 and wouldn't know how to tell. Here are some IPhone pics:

Image
Untitled by pocaloc, on Flickr

Image
Untitled by pocaloc, on Flickr

Image
Untitled by pocaloc, on Flickr

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Ursa Minor
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by Ursa Minor » Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:13 pm

What a beauty! If that tube chart stamp reads "ML" then it's Dec. 1963.

that's the stock speaker too! :)

I might have to go play mine for a bit in honor of this one.
Mines from July '64. One of the last...
The artist formerly known as kosmonautmayhem.

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pocaloc
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by pocaloc » Sat Sep 20, 2014 6:19 pm

Thanks! It does say ML thanks for the info. Enjoy playing yours tonight!

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Winnie Thomas
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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by Winnie Thomas » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:15 pm

That speaker looks more like an old CTS, not an Oxford.

The EIA code for CTS is 137, for Oxford it's 465. Those would be the first three #s on the speaker. The 4th # is the year, 5and 6 indicate the week of the year.

For example: 137235 CTS 35th week of 1962

If you want to improve the sound, get a better speaker first. I like the Eminence Ragin Cajun. It is very efficient and toneful.

Winnie

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Re: 1964 "white knob" Fender Princeton

Post by StevenO » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:47 pm

If you like the speaker, keep it as is. My Brownface Princeton came with a Utah speaker and it sounds great. Really Woody, reedy, and cardboardy, but I like that quality for this amp. After playing the amp through a lot of different speakers, I've found that these amps tend to sound best with speakers that have character and that accentuate or emphasize the funky tweedy qualities of the speaker. A low-wattage innefficient speaker will also help you get the most out of the amp, too. That break up is where it's at, as far as I'm concerned. It's not really a Blackface circuit, despite the appearance, so no need it to try and make it a loud clean machine. This amp is a big fuzz box when cranked, after all.

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