Fender 65 Princeton RI...what else should I be looking at?

Lewy

Getting back into electric playing after nearly a decade of solely playing acoustic, during which time I sold most of my amps (with the exception of my champ clone and a couple of quirky little Valcos).

Will mostly be playing at home, although I may take an electric out to some solo acoustic gigs for some John Lee Hooker or Cooder solo electric blues kind of moments. So I don't need anything big. Soundwise I'm looking for clean chicken pickin' through to low gain furry overdrive, primarily with a tele. Onboard reverb and trem would be good although I have a Strymon Flint so not really necessary .... just be convenient to not have to faff with the pedal if I just want to sit and play for a bit.

So naturally my thoughts gravitated towards the PRRI but my budget would actually extend to a bit more. The 65RI comes in at around a grand and I could probably run to around £1250 so with that in mind what else should I be looking at out there? It's been a long time since I spent any time keeping an eye on the amp market!

Cheers.

camf

Not sure if it's any help, but I love mine. However, mine was a limited edition version with a 12" speaker and for me, that makes a huge difference. I think it's a reasonably easy upgrade to have the 10' baffle replaced. Mine came with a Celestion Blue, which sounded great but I replaced it with a much more Fender-sounding Jenson Tornado which I prefered and helped make the amp several pounds lighter and into a very portable, great-sounding live amp that works well at home but excels in a band setting, keeping up with any drummer.

sweepy

I wouldn’t dismiss the Fargen Retro Classic combo I have for sale tbh, power switch and a very good fx loop, more than welcome to give it a go if you fancy

Lewy

camf said:

Not sure if it's any help, but I love mine. However, mine was a limited edition version with a 12" speaker and for me, that makes a huge difference. I think it's a reasonably easy upgrade to have the 10' baffle replaced. Mine came with a Celestion Blue, which sounded great but I replaced it with a much more Fender-sounding Jenson Tornado which I prefered and helped make the amp several pounds lighter and into a very portable, great-sounding live amp that works well at home but excels in a band setting, keeping up with any drummer.

Interesting. There's an FSR one with a 12" Greenback for sale not far from me that I should check out. I'm all about the portability...I might find myself occasionally having to train it into town with a gig bag and amp in hand.....

Lewy

sweepy said:

I wouldn’t dismiss the Fargen Retro Classic combo I have for sale tbh, power switch and a very good fx loop, more than welcome to give it a go if you fancy

Thanks but I'm really looking for something in the blackface Fender ballpark.

camf

Lewy said:

camf said:

Not sure if it's any help, but I love mine. However, mine was a limited edition version with a 12" speaker and for me, that makes a huge difference. I think it's a reasonably easy upgrade to have the 10' baffle replaced. Mine came with a Celestion Blue, which sounded great but I replaced it with a much more Fender-sounding Jenson Tornado which I prefered and helped make the amp several pounds lighter and into a very portable, great-sounding live amp that works well at home but excels in a band setting, keeping up with any drummer.

Interesting. There's an FSR one with a 12" Greenback for sale not far from me that I should check out. I'm all about the portability...I might find myself occasionally having to train it into town with a gig bag and amp in hand.....

Yep, worth a look. I'm not sure how a Greenback would sound, but I think @ICBM would confirm how good the Jensen Tornado sounds. 

Wazmeister

THE best Princeton out there, imho, is the Carr Sportsman... lovely warm sounds with great reverb and break up if required...

And there’s a used one in the Forum

Lewy

Wazmeister said:

THE best Princeton out there, imho, is the Carr Sportsman... lovely warm sounds with great reverb and break up if required...

And there’s a used one in the Forum

Interesting...bit more powerful than a Princeton. With the headroom low can you get some sort of neighbour friendly breakup?

Teyeplayer

There are enough secondhand Princeton’s around that you should be able to get a good deal and have plenty of that budget left over for another gas related pursuit. That’s what I’d do.

Wazmeister

Lewy said:

Wazmeister said:

THE best Princeton out there, imho, is the Carr Sportsman... lovely warm sounds with great reverb and break up if required...

And there’s a used one in the Forum

Interesting...bit more powerful than a Princeton. With the headroom low can you get some sort of neighbour friendly breakup?

Yes, perfect at low home volumes too...

simonk

Buy my Louis Electric Columbia... Princeton inspired but many times more awesome.

MtB

If you could stretch the budget a bit you'd be in to Rift amps territory and a hand wired PR18

richardhomer

camf said:

Interesting. There's an FSR one with a 12" Greenback for sale not far from me that I should check out. I'm all about the portability...I might find myself occasionally having to train it into town with a gig bag and amp in hand.....

Yep, worth a look. I'm not sure how a Greenback would sound, but I think @ICBM would confirm how good the Jensen Tornado sounds. 

I bought a Tornado for my Musicman RD50, based on @ICBM’s recommendation after hearing it in your amp. It works really well with Blackface type amps.

camf

A Rift would be a great choice. I know it probably sounds heretical, but I had a Carr Sportsman but I wasn’t so impressed with it. Although it was clearly a quality boutique amp and expensive too, I just never felt it created the same vibe as a Princeton, even the more lowly PRRIs. Quality amps, though. 

Jalapeno

Fender Pro Junior sounds pretty good for the edge of break-up stuff (and cleans at decent volume).  Get 2 for stereo !

Princeton is also a superb and practical thing

Neither are hernia inducing.

jimkehoe

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/138186/fs-upgraded-fender-princeton-65-reverb-re-issue-weber-10f150t-speaker#latest

Youre welcome to to come over with any guitar & fx you use and try it.

newi123

Don't forget the 68 princeton - substantially less money than a 65. 

WindmillGuitars

+1 for a ‘68 Princeton Custom RI. 

Onpar

I have a Rift PR18 Blackface for sale. Only a few months old and practically unused. I went on a smiliar journey to you and was blown away when I tried the PR18. Unfortunatley a very regretful sale as I need to pay for a wedding. It's a stunning looking and sounding amp. PM me if you are interested.

camf

^^^ I'd really like one of these one day but can't justify it while I still have my PRRI. 

Lewy

Thanks very much for all the inputs here. He en me plenty to google and YouTube about. I’m thinking that the high end inspired-by-Princetons are probably more than I need, but it’s been good to see what’s out there.

@jimkehoe - pm incoming