Fender Princeton reverb Original or Reissue?

menamestom

Having tried a Sportsman I'd still go for a '65 if i was only playing at home or very small gigs.  I think the Sportsman loses some of the softness having a 12 inch speaker and stiffer power supply.  A moot point for me as I uprated the PT and swapped the speaker out in mine anyway, so a Sportsman could be better.  But if you want THE Princeton sound (if there even is one of those, many vintage amps have been modded), I think the reissue does agreat job.  The sound comes from 6V6's, fixed bias, short tail PI, modestly rated PT.   A speaker upgrade is still required, but not necessarily a modern stiff 100db job (like my ragin cajun).  Great for gigging, but essentially steers the Princeton formula away from it's origins.

zepp76

Would an upgrade to a 12" speaker be a good or a bad thing? I would like volume without too much break up, that kind of Peter Green sound that is loud but not too distorted. I don't want it deafening loud but a bit of volume won't hurt!

richardhomer

zepp76 said:

Would an upgrade to a 12" speaker be a good or a bad thing? I would like volume without too much break up, that kind of Peter Green sound that is loud but not too distorted. I don't want it deafening loud but a bit of volume won't hurt!

I've never owned a Princeton - but compared the 65 PRRI with a 65 DRRI a few months ago.

I was genuinely surprised how 'big' the Princeton sounded - it gave away little to the Deluxe in terms of volume - but had a sweeter core sound to my ears. I wasn't pushing either beyond 'edge of break-up' - though I was using a Strat, rather than a Les Paul.

Whether either has enough headroom for gigging, I remain unconvinced (I haven't gigged for a long time - I hear stage volumes are much lower these days).

smigeon

richardhomer said:

 - I hear stage volumes are much lower these days).

Is that 'cos you're going deaf? :-)

richardhomer

smigeon said:

richardhomer said:

 - I hear stage volumes are much lower these days).

Is that 'cos you're going deaf? :-)

Yes

Sassafras

smigeon said:

richardhomer said:

 - I hear stage volumes are much lower these days).

Is that 'cos you're going deaf? :-)

What?

menamestom

zepp76 said:

Would an upgrade to a 12" speaker be a good or a bad thing? I would like volume without too much break up, that kind of Peter Green sound that is loud but not too distorted. I don't want it deafening loud but a bit of volume won't hurt!

Depends, 10's sound different, some people prefer them.  But yeah for a PG sound I think you would need at least an efficient speaker and a 12" may be preferable.  Might keep humbuckers cleaner.  Ther 10" Ragin Cajun is a tough, efficient speaker however and holds together better than quite a few 12" inch speakers I've tried, so it is dependant on the actual models, not just the size.

roberty

Hey how much louder would a Ragin' Cajun be than a Celestion Gold?  I have a PRRI '65 with a Gold in at the moment and there have been occasions where I could have done with a little extra volume.  I've ordered a tilt stand which will probably help more than a new speaker tbh

ICBM

The Rajin' Cajun probably won't be as loud as a Gold. Eminence ratings are exaggerated by about 2-3dB compared to similar Celestions in my experience.

menamestom

ICBM said:

The Rajin' Cajun probably won't be as loud as a Gold. Eminence ratings are exaggerated by about 2-3dB compared to similar Celestions in my experience.

I noticed no difference in volume between the Cajun and a 1x12" Gold I had in a separate cabinet....although it wasn't exactly a scientific test.

BluesyDave

roberty said:

Hey how much louder would a Ragin' Cajun be than a Celestion Gold?  I have a PRRI '65 with a Gold in at the moment and there have been occasions where I could have done with a little extra volume.  I've ordered a tilt stand which will probably help more than a new speaker tbh

I've had both in my 68 non reverb Princeton.  The Gold is a bit louder, but not massively.  The Ragin Cajun is a great 10 inch speaker, sounds much bigger than it should.  The Gold has gone, the RC is is in the Princeton.  

Should have said that my Gold was a 12".