The comprehensive PRINCETON thread

[Ursa Minor]

Nice. Valuable life lessons for sure!

[Surfysonic]

Here's my '64 Fender Princeton "Tuxedo". It has the 6G2 circuit, the same circuit as in the 1961-63 Brownface Princetons. The transitional "tuxedo" Princetons are rare because they were only produced for about a year (late 1963- mid 64).

The amp is in great shape - looks good and sounds good. Very quiet and clean. It starts to break up at about volume 7 and gets grittier the further you go. Tremolo works perfectly. Also sounds outstanding with my '63 Fender Reverb Unit. Handles pedals great (fuzz, distortion, overdrive, and delay).

This amplifier is all original with the following exceptions done by previous owner(s):

- **Tubes:** All replaced with old stock USA tubes (General Electric), all tested well in the good range.
- **Speaker:** Replaced with a 12” Utah from same era
- **Grill cloth:** Replaced with old grill cloth from a 1964 Tremolux speaker cabinet
- **2-prong electric cord:** Replaced with a 3-prong ground plug

**Date Codes**
- **Power Transformer:** 606 350 1963 week 50
- **Output Transformer:** 606 349 1963 week 49
- **Chassis:** P07546 1964
- **Tube Chart:** NB 1964 Feb
- **Speaker:** 328 418 1964 week 18 Utah

You guys likely know all of this but since the seller mentioned it, I thought I'd add it for new folks interested in vintage Fender amps. "This era of Fender amp never had an amp Logo but was given white knobs to compliment the "new" black tolex look (aka the tuxedo Princeton). This year was the first year they offered the black tolex."

[Larsongs]

That is a very cool Princeton bet it sounds great! Ditto with the cool Fender Reverb Tank too! Perfect Combo..

[Surfysonic]

Thanks, Larsongs! Yup, sounds great and works really well with the reverb unit and takes pedals really well, too.

[rklem]

I fell in love with the FSR ’65 Knotty Pine. Would like to know how hard it is to find one – and what would be a reasonable price?

[Subotnik]

Since this is meant to be a comprehensive Princeton thread, what’s the consensus on OSG about the best 10” speaker for a Princeton? I’m thinking about building a Mojotone kit and I’m thinking of going with the Weber since it’s way cheaper than an alnico and it’s pretty popular. I see there is some love for Weber on this thread. Anyone else care to chime in?

[Larsongs]

I'm happy with the Stock Spkr in my 65 PRRI. But, if I were to do an upgrade I'm curious about putting a 12" in it like some here have done... Maybe an Eminance or UK Celestion Alnico Blue. A Weber Blue Pup might be great too..

I did buy a Weber Special Design VX10 for my Vox AC10C1 which sounds great.. It's designed to replicate an Alnico Blue but sized to fit the AC10's... Very well built Speakers.

[Ursa Minor]

1) Princeton Reverb
I've settled on a Weber 10F150-T 25W.

Generally speaking I prefer ceramics around 25W. I don't care for alnico in PRs. At least the ones I've tried. They all sounded either too thin or dull. Granted I only tried a Celestion Alnico Gold and Eminence Blue Frame from the 90s.

2) 6G2
I've come to prefer both ceramic and alnicos in this amp. I had an amazing '63 Brown Princeton with the same blue frame from above installed and it was the best recording amp or all time. At least for me.

Didn't care for the Gold. I liked the original Oxford champagne ceramic speaker but it had its limits being so low wattage and fragile.

I've settled on another 25w Weber - an early clone of the famed Jensen C10N. The Weber C10N. Its basically a 10F150. Sounds great in that amp. Best of both worlds.

*The Webers pretty much ended my speaker quest. But I'm still curious about Jupiter speakers and some of the old Jensen classics.

[Singlebladepickup]

My Princeton Reverb came with an Eminence Copperhead, and I love it. I can't compare it with any other 10's, but it sounds really sparkly and great without ever getting ear piercing. PR kinda farty when the amp is dimed, but it's probably the amp since the Copperhead is rated for 75w.

[Subotnik]

*The Webers pretty much ended my speaker quest. But I'm still curious about Jupiter speakers and some of the old Jensen classics.

That's good to hear. I'm also thinking of going with the Weber 10F150-T 25W.

[Ursa Minor]

^ It’s a popular choice for this amp for good reason. That said, i had a 50w non-T version that was also really, really great, just heavier.

[Subotnik]

^ It’s a popular choice for this amp for good reason. That said, i had a 50w non-T version that was also really, really great, just heavier.

About when do they break up? Did you feel like the 25W version broke up at a satisfactory level or a little too early? Seems like the 50W version would have tons of headspace.

[andy_tchp]

I'm not sure how much speaker break up there is; a BF spec PR is ~12 watts and tends to be fairly overdriven (and a little loose) by about 6 on the volume dial.

I can't even remember if I've got the 25 or 50 watt version of the 10F-150T.

I do know that I have no interest in ever changing it out for another speaker though, it's perfect.

[sookwinder]

I used a Weber 10F150T with a light dope coating on my PR inspired Vibro Groove.
Never looked back.

[Ursa Minor]

^ It’s a popular choice for this amp for good reason. That said, i had a 50w non-T version that was also really, really great, just heavier.

About when do they break up? Did you feel like the 25W version broke up at a satisfactory level or a little too early? Seems like the 50W version would have tons of headspace.

I don't think I've ever heard either version of speaker break up in my experience. But the as Andy mentions the PR will start to get some loose breakup around 6. YMMV depending on the guitar, pickups, pedals, etc. But the Webers will hold their own very well.

FWIW I got my 25w without any speaker dope and i've never had any issues or the dreaded 'cone-cry' I've read about.