'60 Fender Princeton
David, I have a chance to pick up a 1960 Fender Princeton (5F2-A circuit). The amp is in good condition, and has only had some minor cap work (signal caps). I was watching the new interview you posted with Dennis Oellig and I thought he said something about the Princetons being crap for harp.
Is this true?
I don't need another guitar amp right now. I'd only consider it for harp, so I wouldn't likely pick it up if it wasn't a good choice to start with. Also, I'd have to drive about five hours to get to where it is just to test it, so I'd like some idea of what I'm looking at before jumping in the car and driving through an ice storm.
Your advice - as usual - would be invaluable.
I guess I know what I'll be doing today.
You know, it's kind of interesting. I'm finding that the more people I know who used to be musicians that are now in their late 40s and early 50s, the more cool vintage stuff there is to grab. I'll be talking with someone and ask, whatever happened to that **insert cool stuff here** that you used to have? The answer will a lot of times be: "Oh, that old thing? I've got it somewhere around here. Maybe in the garage. Why, you want it?"
It's either depressing that I'm getting old, or exciting that I'm finding new toys to play with.
BTW, it's your fault that I got the eyeroll look from my wife this morning... "Another one?"
Thanks again for the advise David. I picked this amp up last night - and what a find! I am amazed at the condition this thing is in. The tweed is pristine with no burn marks, drink rings, tears, or even scuff marks. Aside from the age patina, you'd think this thing was fresh out of the box. The sig caps have been replaced with new Mallorys. A Boost/Voice switch has been installed on the cath of the first preamp stage, but not drilled into the chassis to protect the amp value.
The sound is pretty sweet - deep, with a nice bottom end. I'm not sure if the tubes are new, but they definitely don't sound tired. The iron is rust-free. Altogether a nice box! I think I got a bargain at 800 clams.
I might have found my favorite harp amp.
I'm curious, what do you think Oellig was talking about when he said the Princetons didn't make good harp amps?
Great, congrats on your purchase. Did he really say that?... we're all entitled to our own opinion ;-)
I like Princeton's a lot... I have a '67 Princeton Reverb and think it's a real nice amp. All the models I've played, up to the early 1980's have sounded nice.