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The Fender amps I really do like are the Bassman as it not only has a nice clean that's not overly bright and tiring, but I just love that lush organic bottom end growl breakup you get as you crank it. The Marshall JTM45 is based on the Bassman circuit and it has that similar thing going on. My other favourite is the 1x12 Deluxe Reverb.
I have a few amps, and although it's now just too big and heavy to take out, set up, pack up etc, I now just use my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX rig with AD212 extn cab, at home. As you'd expect, the Vox tones are very good. But the 4x10 Bassman model on it is also really good and I can get that growl at even very low home friendly volumes.
But they do sound great, such a classic circuit.
Up against fancy boutique ‘improved’ versions I nearly always just preferred the PRRI.
Disagree on the Super Champs with DSP preamps btw, I think they sound good but the all valve Princetons are a cut above imo.
Value wise though If I was buying another at £1200 I’d just pay the extra for a handwired Fender or clone.
I tried both the X2 and 68 Princeton side by time and pondered for a long time.
In the end I decided it was worth saving for the Princeton and haven’t regretted it for a minute.
I suppose there is an element of desire involved as well, a bit like settling for an Epi, when you really want a Gibson.
That said, I enjoyed gigging my Princeton reissue, but then it was only £650 five years ago.
Charging the best part of a grand for it is just marketing and nothing to do with production costs.
I do think it’s quite a nice amp, especially with a speaker upgrade. The inability to have reverb and tremolo at the same time is unforgivable though - it’s a Fender! What were they thinking?
"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
They've got the pedigree that'll always make people buy them.
Don't suppose Fender and Gibson will ever go out of fashion.
And there's no denying, especially hardwired, that this will be a nice amp in its genre. I haven't heard the different Princeton options, but I would say that if I was in the market for a Princeton I wouldn't make any decision until I'd thoroughly tried the different variants out side by side.
So I'd either wait until Covid allowed, or I'd book an appointment with a good dealer to try these out with my own guitars.
A word of caution. I wouldn't necessarily assume that hardwired is going to necessarily be the best sounding for you. It might be of course, but dont go by the spiel.
Some years back I had an opportunity to gain a favourable discount on an AC30 and having owned a 6 input in the late 70s, I was tempted to treat myself. So I arranged to try out all 3 of the new versions side by side. Before trying out these then latest incarnation of the Vox AC30 (2×12 Alnico Blues, 2 x Greenbacks, Fawn hardwired with Alnico Blues) I thought the Handwired would be the best, followed by the Blues and the Greenbacks last.
But in practice I found the hardwired was darker and broke up earlier. It also was purer in that it had none of the modern touches such as an fx loop. The Blues in the standard AC30 were brighter and louder than the Greens with earlier breakup and had a bit more of the famous chime, but were a tad brittle and lacked warmth. My favourite was the cheapest option with the Greenbacks that just did it for me as the tone was a better fit for the Blues and classic rock I played. I realise the speakers weren't broken in yet and tone will change a bit, but the underlying characteristics would still be there.
Back to perception of good value. Regardless of how nice these might sound, for me personally spending £1000-1850 on a 12w 10" speaker amp wouldn't be good value.
I'd also be wary of all this vintage hype. A true story.
In my early twenties a lifetime ago my gigging amp had to go in for repairs and I needed a second amp quickly for some pub gigs we had booked. In those days I knew next to nothing about amps other than if they sounded nice. I went to a music store in Edgeware and in the window there was an old Marshall combo. Plugged it in and it sounded nice so I bought it for £90. The guy told me it was a 50w Marshall. Not knowing what it was I sold it for £200 (long story) to Vintage & Rare (then in Earls Court) who must've seen me coming. Single biggest gear mistake of my life. It was actually an 18w 2x10 1958...often referred to as a mini blues breaker, made in around 1968. Arguably one of the rarest Marshalls ever made, these sell now for £5-10,000!
Here's the point. Marshall made Handwired reissues ...akin to the Fender Princeton 64. Both hyped up 're their 'glorious' tone and pedigree etc. But having owned and gigged an original, sure it was a nice little amp, that was just about loud enough for gigging, but far from the best sounding Marshall ever...like the Princeton, it was for home & small clubs. In 2014 when the reissue 1957X came out, they were around £1,200. But there is no way today I would spend that or its equivalent as it just wasn't 'that' good. It's simply been hyped beyond all proportion and I suspect the same applies to all Fender and Marshall reissues.
Pains me to do so, but here's a pic of the 1957 I had - the amp I didn't know (& neither did the store in Edgware) what I had.
I bought my Princeton new in 2016, stuck an eminence GA SC64 in it 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. Sure, sometimes I gas for a swart or tone king, but I’m pretty sure I’d be underwhelmed....so for me £1149, which is what I recall paying, was money well spent.
1. It's digital modelling so however good it sounds (and reviews say it's blindingly good) it's unlikely to win over the tube purists.
2. Being digital, whilst it's £2-300 cheaper than a Princeton, history shows that resale prices are likely to be hit quite hard.
3. It's a tad bigger than the Princeton...And whilst not hugely bigger, an appeal of the Princeton to some is it's small size.
Having said that, if I needed a really lightweight Fender amp to gig with and be a pedal platform, I'd personally be all over it. 23lbs even I can carry easily!
However, if I tot up all the amps I’ve moved on, all the not-quite-theres, all the speaker upgrades, valve swaps etc before I finally bought the Princeton it, would probably come to a fair bit more than that.
There will be a massive market for people like me who have been searching for a small valve amp with a classic silverface (or similar) tone.
The beancounters will have said - these are worth £4-500, so charge an extra £300, and see how they sell. For anyone with the cash (ie not young hard up musicians), there is every possibility they will pay more to achieve what they want. The price may well come down if the public resist the temptation.
It is all very cynical - but it is business.
Nevertheless an interesting comparison.
Having spent an entertaining couple of hours yesterday having to update the firmware on a piece of equipment which just decided it wasn't going to boot up any more my days of buying expensive guitar gear I can't fix myself are over.
With PA and studio gear I have to have a constant eye on the horizon, planning for the next upgrade or replacement, but my guitar amps will outlive me so I just don't have to consider it.
In fact, I think they think they are giving us a great deal/bonus by actually manufacturing the amp. And in some ways they are - I for one have been hankering for one, so I guess I shouldn't complain.