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Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 5:07 pm
by i love sharin foo
This guy was just delivered today. Thanks to StevenO, I've had the idea of owning some kind of Princeton kicking around in the back of my head for a long time now. I've been doing some research and settled on a black face, non-reverb model. This one is a '66 AA964. I see now why Princetons in general are so highly regarded. On it's own, full up, it isn't too loud and has some growl, with a bit of grind when you dig in. With a booster (Zvex SHO), it really blossoms into this great, touch sensitive tone with really great picking dynamics. I am used to my Bandmaster, and right off, I was a bit surprised at how quiet the Princeton is. Like not extraneous noise quiet, but in actual volume quiet. I'm used to running the Bandmaster 3/4 to full volume most of the time. It is going to be nice to be able to have some breakup at lower volumes. And the TREMOLO
It is fantastic! This one has a changed speaker in it right now. Some sort of Weber. I think I may get a Jensen P10R and give it a go. I can't wait to get some more time in on this amp. So far, I am really pleased.
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 5:18 pm
by marqueemoon
Sweet. Enjoy.
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 6:21 pm
by windmill
That looks really good.
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 8:14 pm
by Maggieo
Oh you’re going to have fun!
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 4:35 am
by sookwinder
The PR and non reverb amps are truly awesome.
Congrats on this.
regarding the speaker ... obviously the original OXFORD 10" fitted is long gone ... unfortunately ... as they are sublime speakers.
What model Weber is in it? I have had some brilliant Weber 10" speakers over the past decade, it would be interesting to know the model that was fitted.
Does the amp need re-capping?
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 5:03 am
by i love sharin foo
Thanks David!!
I just checked and the Weber is a 10f150t. It sounds pretty good, but I can’t help but feel like the 50w rating is a bit overkill for the amp. I snagged a reconed P10R last night really cheaply, so I will give that a try. The Weber just seems a little stiff for what I want out of the amp. I’d like the speaker to be a bit more involved in the tonal equation.
Happily, it has already been recapped and has a grounded power cord. Less for me to do myself! I don’t mind doing it myself, but it is nice to not have to for once.
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 10:05 am
by sookwinder
a couple of additional comments...
Agree that the 50 watt speaker maybe an over kill... the weber 25 W version is what should have been installed.
I am impressed with the Weber products... all my amps that I have built with 10" speakers have webers in them.... but they need to be run in (ie plug them into a FM stereo and let them run for a week while you are at work on golden oldies music)
Once they are run in, they sing.
The Jensen may be good, but I would still check out what Weber recommend for the PR ... a little light dope version would be great in the Princeton.
OBTW ... welcome to the P & PR club
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 10:18 pm
by Shadoweclipse13
sookwinder wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2019 4:35 am
The PR and non reverb amps are truly awesome.
Are the non-reverb Princeton's different (circuit-wise)/sound different than their reverb-laden brethren? This is a bit of a blind spot for me I realize.
And congrats on the vintage amp! It's gorgeous!
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 3:28 pm
by Tehz_
Beautiful! As far as I’m concerned, Princeton’s are the best combos money can buy.
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 4:23 pm
by wproffitt
Congratulations on this amp! I’ve played through a couple of the non-reverb Princetons and must say that they sound just as beautiful as their Reverb brethren, only with much more headroom, IME. Enjoy it. These are tremendous (little) amps!
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 5:27 pm
by StevenO
Woah, just saw this... You name-dropped me and everything.
That's a beauty of an amp. They've gone up in price A LOT. They're fairly different than a Princeton Reverb, but they sound fantastic and are clean machines (whereas the PRs tend to get dirty fairly quick). You've got a good speaker in there if you want to gig. That's the speaker I recommend for anyone looking to do mic'd gigging with a Princeton Reverb. It just makes the amp sound like a small BIG amp rather than a big SMALL amp, if that makes sense. But if you want to get absolutely great tone at a low volume, get something that is closer to the wattage of the amp (12 watts). Something like a Jupiter or WGS 10" in the 15-25 watt range would be great, smooth or ribbed cone. Hell, even something AlNiCo could be interesting. Having a less robust speaker would allow for something more character-filled than the Weber. Even finding an original Oxford, CTS, or Utah from the 60s/70s would be great and they're fairly cheap, if you can't find a used Jensen P10R or Q for a good price.
Now you just need a Blackface Reverb tank to go with it and you're golden. Congrats on the purchase. I hope you love it!
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 7:01 pm
by i love sharin foo
StevenO wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2019 5:27 pm
Woah, just saw this... You name-dropped me and everything.
That's a beauty of an amp. They've gone up in price A LOT. They're fairly different than a Princeton Reverb, but they sound fantastic and are clean machines (whereas the PRs tend to get dirty fairly quick). You've got a good speaker in there if you want to gig. That's the speaker I recommend for anyone looking to do mic'd gigging with a Princeton Reverb. It just makes the amp sound like a small BIG amp rather than a big SMALL amp, if that makes sense. But if you want to get absolutely great tone at a low volume, get something that is closer to the wattage of the amp (12 watts). Something like a Jupiter or WGS 10" in the 15-25 watt range would be great, smooth or ribbed cone. Hell, even something AlNiCo could be interesting. Having a less robust speaker would allow for something more character-filled than the Weber. Even finding an original Oxford, CTS, or Utah from the 60s/70s would be great and they're fairly cheap, if you can't find a used Jensen P10R or Q for a good price.
Now you just need a Blackface Reverb tank to go with it and you're golden. Congrats on the purchase. I hope you love it!
It was only appropriate to drop your name since this
is your fault, you know! I played it for about an hour and a half today, and it sure does sound great. I found a real cheap 25w P10R last night which I bought. I am anxious to see how it sounds. I feel like bit of speaker break up will really round out the tone. It sounds great as-is, but if I need a bit more clean I can use my Bandmaster (or the '66 AB165 Bassman head and cab that I bought which will be delivered tomorrow
). I think the more closely matched speaker is what I want for this particular amp.
A blackface reverb unit you say... like this one?? Haha!
I just recapped it last year and it is sounding better than ever. I've had that guy for 14 years now. I actually bought it as a package deal with my '64 Bandmaster head and cab. It is a '65. I
it. I would really like to get ahold of a brown one sometime also. I know it is absurd, but I can't help it
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 8:29 am
by Maggieo
i love sharin foo wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2019 7:01 pm
A blackface reverb unit you say... like this one?? Haha!
I just recapped it last year and it is sounding better than ever. I've had that guy for 14 years now. I actually bought it as a package deal with my '64 Bandmaster head and cab. It is a '65. I
it. I would really like to get ahold of a brown one sometime also. I know it is absurd, but I can't help it
Obviously, you need to "loan" me your Orange AD-5...
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 8:40 am
by StevenO
Oh yeah! I forgot you had the reverb unit!
Re: Got myself a blackface Princeton
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 9:07 am
by DeathJag
Sigh. After getting the holy grails 1962 6G14 Dual Showman, and 1962 6G14A Twin, I cannot stop thinking about this tiny amp everyone freaks out about. I've got a couple brown reverb tanks so I'm definitely, without a doubt seeking a non-reverb version. A brown. But I'd take a black also. But everything I've heard pre 1964 is soooo much more my kinda sound. This thread! Why the hell are these so expensive?!
I also want a brown Vibrasonic.