I had one of these for a while but sold it on as it didn't do a lot for me. I found it very polite at bedroom levels and it didn't really seem to like my pedals - BD2/OD3/DS1 - very much. But, I loved the built in reverb and tremolo.
My very amp is back up for sale, still at a very good price, and I'm tempted to buy it back to see if we get on a bit better. So, the question is, at what level do they start to break up and sound like I imagine they could? I rarely turned it up beyond 3/4 at home and I found that quite loud in a small space. Do they really need to go up to 9/10, very loud to give of their best or is there some magic setting that I didn't find first time around?
If I had to describe a sound or tone, I think the early electric John Lee Hooker or Lightning Hopkins kind of thing is what I seek.
Save a cow. Eat a vegetarian.
Comments
Wind it up, play it loud and be happy.
They don't need to go to 9/10- but 3-4 at a minimum IMHO.
If that doesn't work for you then go down the modeller route- they are pretty good now.
What guitar do you use?
I always plug into Princetons with single coils into input 1 and humbuckers into input 2.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Football is rubbish.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Princetons sound great at low volume and break up relatively early, but not at home volume levels, unless you don't have neighbours near by. Changing the stock speaker definitely helps with pedals, the stock one is nice for low volume clean playing but not much more. Most speaker options will probably make the amp louder and harder to break up, so an attenuator may be the best option. Personally, I think a Timmy or similar into a PRRI sounds great at low volume and I've never bothered with an attenuator myself.
The other option is a modded Princeton like a Carr Sportsman or similar with some kind of master volume or other means to get some grit at low volumes.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Football is rubbish.
A great amp if its strengths appeal - but not the ideal amp for your requirements by the sound of things.
If anyone actually wants a 65PRRI, the blue flowers one on ebay was mine and left me in perfect condition around a year ago and was moved on again a bit later. I have no interest in it, or the seller, but at £600 it's a good bit less than the Tolex covered ones - for some crazy reason given that it was a special edition.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
As for driving the clappers out of it you would need an attenuator for home use I would think.