Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

[serizawa]

Seems to be in great condition, but the price is a little up there. About $999, from what I can tell. It's kept by a private owner, so I'll try to talk him down but this one seems even nicer than the Twin Reverb I was looking at.

Done some research on them, but as always, wondering what you guys think about the potential score.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Never played a silver face Princeton. I keep going back to the PGS demo of the new one's though. That means I usually end up with it at one point in time. AMS and ZZSounds are offering a $100 off most of the Fender tube combos. I'd almost go with the newer one and save some cash. Circuit wise, I don't think the Princeton's all that different.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

A reissue PR is only $900 new and I see them used with upgrades all the time for $700 and less...and I'd MUCH rather have a PRRI over a late 70's pull boost model with a junk cab and a crappy Oxford speaker...

Also worth mentioning in that price range (around a grand) you can gue a MUCH nicer early 70s Princeton Reverb and have a MUCH better amp IMO than a 1978.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

A quick look at ended Ebay auctions shows a 1969 RP that sold for $950...a 69 drip edge PR is THE SAME inside as a Blackface...same parts, same (much better than mid/late 70's) pine cab with a good floating baffle same circuit.

If you want a PR just look for a deal on a good late 60's or VERY early 70's and get it...you'll have a much better made amp in the long run or just get a reissue...stock reissues are bring $500 on ebay. That leaves plenty of room for new better tubes and a nice speaker upgrade.

 

[serizawa]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

I can't seem to find half the deals you guys manage to. The amp in question sounds pretty exceptional, from what I can tell.

So glad to have you guys as a resource, as always, you all cone through. Now let's see if I'll be able to talk him down to a more reasonable price. What do you guys think I should try to get it down to, if I can't find a replacement.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

id pay $600 but not more

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

id pay $600 but not more

I was thinking $500, but if it sounds good and is in real good shape, I'd prob stretch to $600.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

$600 tops...

I just don't care for late 70' Fender amps...by this point they all need caps jobs and a little work plus the stock speakers are terrible and the stock cabs are some of the worst in "vintage" amp history and by the time you take a 78 Princeton Reverb for example and get it up to speed in terms of caps and maintenance, put a good speaker in it, re tube it, new cab, etc you've spent what a nice late 60's Princeton would cost and you'll never even come close to breaking 3even if you ever want to sell it.

 

[serizawa]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

In better news, I managed to hunt down a 1970 Princeton Reverb in pretty great condition, other than some horribly botched front tolex which I will undoubtedly replace.

Asking price is $750, I want to drive up an inspect it on Monday. Thinking it could possibly be worth it?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

1970 is a MUCH better year than 78 in general...it might still have a crummy speaker and by 1970 it might have a fixed baffle cab but the circuit will be much closer if not the same to a Blackface and at $750 you're already in a better place price wise.

If the cab looks bad try and get it for $650 or so and if it has a fixed baffle cab just get a new cab for it...there is a guy that does good cabs local to me, ships all the time and he's around 2 bills for a PR cab and they are solid pine with floating ply baffles!

If you need cab check him out: www.newellamps.com

 

[serizawa]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

What should I look for as far as the cabinet being bad? Not sure I'll be able to tell the difference, since this will be my first foray into vintage gear.

Also, the speaker is a Weber, which I imagine is probably the less than great speaker. I'll definitely check out those cabs and I also managed to locate a nice replacement grill cover for under $100 on Ebay, so I'll make a point of mentioning that when I run off to grab it.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Weber speakers are great, if I had a PR I'd put a Weber in it!

If the baffle is held in with screws it's a pine cab with a floating baffle, if it's glued in it's a fixed baffle and IMHO the fixed baffle Fender cabs don;t sound as good.

Don't spend $100 on a new grill if it needs a Cab, John Newell charges around $225 for a whole new cab!

If you want advise or pointers feel free to drop me a PM with specific questions and I'd be glad to help...I'm not an expert but I have owned a LOT of old Fender amps.

All this said...those early non floating baffle Fender cabs are alright and can be used with fine results but if you were going to put money into the cab for repairs it might be worth while to spend a tad more and just upgrade the whole cab.

 

[serizawa]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Just emailed the owner asking for some high res. pictures so maybe I'll shoot you a PM so I can learn some more about this amp.

Surprised that the Webers are more desireable, as opposed to the usual Jensen's I'm used to associating with old Fenders.

Believe me, if you saw the grill, you'd want to worry mostly about replacing that. It looks like it was patched with blackface grill and doesn't match at all. The only unsightly thing about this piece, as far as I know!

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Weber makes much closer reproductions of old Jensen style speakers then the Jensen company does today.

Modern Jensens are made in italy and most people seem to say that the new ones are often pretty harsh and not as musical as the old ones.

 

[serizawa]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Weber makes much closer reproductions of old Jensen style speakers then the Jensen company does today.

Modern Jensens are made in italy and most people seem to say that the new ones are often pretty harsh and not as musical as the old ones.

I didn't know that about Weber speakers, that's actually quite exciting.

Spoke to the owner again and discovered that the amp actually has a new 3-prong power cord and tubes in it. Apart from the tolex, that seems to be the whole story with the amp. Still haven't received the pictures, however.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Fender stopped using Jensen speakers in the mid 60's in favor of (cheaper) Oxford speakers.

Most 60's Oxfords are decent speakers but the examples form the 70's on are pretty lame IMHO...they lack punch and clarity and after being in an amp 30+ years they sound even worse!

If the 1970 PR in question has a Weber it is almost certainly an upgrade over whatever was stock and there is also a great chance that it'll be the last speaker you'll need for the amp!

 

[Sprinter]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

I have a '71 Princeton Reverb and I love it! The late 60's and early 70's era Princeton's are better than the late 70's versions. I use a Bogner, 1x12" extension cabinet with mine. The mixture of the OEM 10" speaker with the Celestion 12" in the Bogner extension cabinet gives it a fuller sound. Good luck with your PR search, they're great amps!


Sprinter

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

I had a MINT late 60s Princeton that I sold for $250!!! about 10 years ago. I get really pissed at myself for doing that when I read threads like this.

It's a classic story, too. My boss bought it at a garage sale for $20. I bought it off him for $30, and then it sat in my closet for years, as I was not really playing electrics at that point in my life. I knew it was a good amp, and I had some knowledge of vintage amps, but had been out of the loop for quite a while. When I was into vintage stuff in the early 90s, Silver Face fenders weren't worth all that much and I thought I was doing pretty good getting $250 for it when I sold it in 2002 (around that time, anyway). Should of just hung on to it...or at least called a shop before I parted with it!

Best of luck finding a new amp.

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

I play through a Princeton Reverb quite often. Mine's an old mid 60's blackface. If you want to gig with it (I do!) they sound a lot better with a 12" speaker and with an older PR all you do is unscrew the old baffle board and replace it with one cut for a 12" speaker. Can't do that with a '78 as the baffle is mortised into the cabinet. Personally, I'd pass on that '78 and look for a silverface with the original pine fingerjoined cabinet.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Welp, found a '78 Princeton Reverb

Mid thread the topic switched from a 78 to what looks to be a 70 and looks to have a floating baffle.

As for a 12 in a PR, I for one MUCH prefer a 10 but it has to be the right 10!