I appear to be talking myself into a Princeton as well as my current 65RI Deluxe Reverb rather than instead of, as a bit more of a grab ‘n’ go solution for low volume/guitars only jamming. Might as well convert various small bits of unused gear into something practical.
Given that I therefore wouldn’t need much headroom out of it, and in fact it would be nice to get it growling a bit at lower volumes, I’m tempted by the look of the 68 Custom. There isn’t a huge gulf between the 65 and 68 second hand prices.
Just wondering about the effect of the 68 lower negative feedback on noise floor though, as it would be nice to run it at home without intrusive levels of hiss.
Presumably though, if the background noise did affront my delicate sensibilities I could get the resistor swapped for a higher value?
Comments
I have NO expertize on the 68 Custom but a higher value resistor in the SERIES feedback path will reduce feedback and increase noise.
By the same logic, reducing it will reduce noise but be very careful because increasing feedback can lead to instability. One of the top men here will no doubt put you right.
Dave.
"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
Both Princeton models have a much lower noise floor than either of the Deluxe models.
I would happily use either Princeton, they made a big deal about the 68 Custom spec, but the changes from the 65 make less difference than speaker choice in my experience, they're both great amps.
The big difference is the speaker as far as I can see. The Celestion that the 68 comes with just adds mid range mud. It definitely sounds better with a WGS Veteran in there.
The UK WGS dealer seems to be out of stock at the moment though:
http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/wgs-g10-veteran-20w-10-guitar-speaker-8ohm-p-1939.html
Someone was selling a Weber 10F150 in the Classifieds. That would probably be perfect in a Princeton.
He's been gigging it flat out ever since and it sounds bloody awesome now even with that speaker, I wish I'd kept it!
contactemea@fender.com
Fender also did a limited '65 Princeton Bordeaux Reserve with a 12" Jensen P12Q speaker a couple of years ago.
Spoilt for choice?
The main effect of reducing the negative feedback wrt noise will be the increase in gain in the power amp, so any noise from the pre-amp will be amplified more.
There will be a small increase in hum from the power amp, however this is probably insignificant.
Deluxe yes, but Princeton?
That said, my Princeton was noisy when it arrived, the valves just needed a wiggle to reseat them after being in transit.