I have a yen for a small 60s Fender combo..

mattdavis

My first amp was an ‘84 jcm 800 4104 combo which I completely love. About 18 months ago I found a ‘77 silverface champ runt at Charlie Chandlers which has a transformer code 2 weeks after my birth date, so that satisfied the birth-year-gear itch.  
With the 70s and the 80s sorted, I have a strange desire for a nice 60s piece of gear. Don’t think I can stretch to 60s Fender guitar unless it was a truly beaten up player grade, so I reckon something like a small 60s fender combo might be the thing. 
Anyone got any suggestions as to something vaguely affordable? I can’t work out prices from usual online places as there’s not many about. If the right thing came along I would consider the painful option of selling my lazy j 20 and I have a nice 2001 Fender Mexican jazz V bass that could go, so could probably scrabble together about £2500. Is a princeton reverb doable at that price? 
Is there a 60s fender guitar in that ballpark price range?
Any thoughts/ suggestions most welcome. 
Cheers

ICBM

A non-reverb Princeton is worth about half what a Princeton Reverb is, if that's useful.

mattdavis

Cheers @ICBM Any dealers you know of and would trust? Always been terrified of the vintage market..

ICBM

mattdavis said:

Cheers @ICBM Any dealers you know of and would trust? Always been terrified of the vintage market..

In that case I would have to ask why you want a vintage amp.

It baffles me how much money people seem to be willing to spend on ratty old amps just because they’re old. Yes, some of them do sound quite nice... but there are inevitable issues with maintenance, and originality affects value as much as it does with guitars. Although (with a few exceptions) it’s rarer to find fake vintage amps than guitars, there are a large number which have been repaired badly over the years and are either difficult or impossible to make really right again. In my experience most dealers are not as knowledgeable about the insides of amps as they are about guitars, even if they’re honest.

axisus

I don't think you'll get an amp for one Yen. 

IvisonGuitars

@Gassage may have a couple of vintages beauties available in your price range...

Fuengi

Rift Amplification?

Gassage

Matt, depending on me loving the Eric Johnson 1965 Twin Reverb as much as I hope to, I may well part with my 1966 Princeton Reverb, which is utterly immaculate, orig footswtich even, in order to fund a vintage Tweed. £2500 would be the price as it happens. I have a 1962 6G2 Brownface, but that is less versatile than the Blackface, and in any case, I kinda want one of each flavour.

DJH83004

You could always look out for a '68/69 SF Princeton Reverb (which has the characteristic drip edge trim). These were basically transition models from the BF era amps and there is a lot of carry over of parts - and they are quite a bit cheaper than the BF amps. I know @AllthegearNoidea had one, which I have looked after for years prior to him owning it, maybe worth a PM?  

mattdavis

ICBM said:

mattdavis said:

Cheers @ICBM Any dealers you know of and would trust? Always been terrified of the vintage market..

In that case I would have to ask why you want a vintage amp.

It’s far more of heart than head thing. Clearly if it was a functional purchase, there’s no conversation to be had about new  vs old amps. I just like the idea of having a piece of musical and cultural history. I find it it fascinating to think the hands that built that blackface may have been watching the news about JFK or the Cuban missile crisis etc. 

mattdavis

Gassage said:

Matt, depending on me loving the Eric Johnson 1965 Twin Reverb as much as I hope to, I may well part with my 1966 Princeton Reverb, which is utterly immaculate, orig footswtich even, in order to fund a vintage Tweed. £2500 would be the price as it happens. I have a 1962 6G2 Brownface, but that is less versatile than the Blackface, and in any case, I kinda want one of each flavour.

Cheers @Gassage Very kind of you. Let me know how you get on with EJ..

mattdavis

DJH83004 said:

You could always look out for a '68/69 SF Princeton Reverb (which has the characteristic drip edge trim). These were basically transition models from the BF era amps and there is a lot of carry over of parts - and they are quite a bit cheaper than the BF amps. I know @AllthegearNoidea had one, which I have looked after for years prior to him owning it, maybe worth a PM?  

Again, I know it’s ridiculous, but with a silverface champ I fancy something cosmetically different. Thanks for the suggestion though. 

mattdavis

axisus said:

I don't think you'll get an amp for one Yen. 

B’dm tsh. LOL awarded :-)

mattdavis

Fuengi said:

Rift Amplification?

You mean as a modern build? Didn’t think he dealt in old amps.