Love my PRRI....worth looking for a real one?

Lewy

I've been playing through a 65 PRRI for a while now and really enjoy it. It's the perfect size for what I need and I love the sound.

Beyond investment value, mojo etc (and associated maintenance overhead....) what would a real vintage blackface PR give me more of, less of, what would be different etc? Any magic to be found in the original ones that would carry over in a meaningful way into real world playing?

ps. I've found threads discussing this on TGP but really want to know what normal people think.....

Chris_J

Personally I'd rather buy a new handwired equivalent from one of the many fine current builders than worry about the reliability of a 50 year amp

RiftAmps

I always say that if you can afford an original, go and buy it and enjoy. They're reliable, well built, sound fantastic, and cheap to maintain.

p90fool

It's kind of hard to say, I've only really played a couple of Blackface Princetons at length, one was lovely, the other was perfectly ok. I've found the reissues to be consistently in the middle, though one of them through an old cab and speaker was as good as anything I've ever played through. 

I guess the drift of component values over time and possibly more importantly, speaker type and condition mean that 50 years on no two sound identical. A reissue with a good old speaker and decent valves certainly seems to bridge almost all the gap.

There is definitely something nice about owning vintage amps, but personally I've bought too many amps with my eyes instead instead of my ears to care much for that any more. 

ICBM

Originals smell better and are usually slightly noisier (even if maintained properly), which may contribute to a certain warmth and 'magic' in the tone.

Originals are not actually ludicrously expensive compared to some other vintage amps either - not far off comparable to a new reissue, although obviously a second-hand reissue is quite a bit less.

If I was gigging it I'd probably stick with the reissue - there's always a risk of damage, and even if well-maintained there's always the possibility that an old resistor or cap has just come to the end of its life. If you're using it for playing at home or recording, and you can afford it, I'd probably get an original.

Lewy

Thanks for the input folks

Barnezy

I loved my PRRI too. It might sound daft but with two kids in the house the fire risk of an original had put me off. That might be completely unjust, but in my head the safety standards just weren't as high back then. 

ICBM

Barnezy said:

I loved my PRRI too. It might sound daft but with two kids in the house the fire risk of an original had put me off. That might be completely unjust, but in my head the safety standards just weren't as high back then. 

Something like an Ikea lamp or a cheap phone charger is more of a fire risk than a properly-serviced vintage Fender amp.