68 Princeton v Tone Master Deluxe Reverb ?

TimmyO

Help me think about this (or just get the subject out of my system) :  

I have a 68 Princeton (all stock) that I really like as an occasional home noodler. I run it clean and then stick a pedal on if I want anything rocky/for lead sound. 

I'd like to start going to a jam night.

Lately a voice in my head has been saying that if I sold it and got a Tone Master DR I'd still have a nice clean reverby/tremlo-y low volume home noodling sound, but would have more luck when playing at higher volume with others too.

To what degree do you agree or disagree with this notion? 

Josh_Cosku

I go to some of the Blues Jams in London. One of them is ANB in Soho, house amps are Fender Pro Jr's and I think they are 15W, loud enough. Another jam there are Fender Excelsiors 13W but bigger speaker. Princeton should be fine unless you are after very clean tone in higher volume. 

koss59

Trems better on the princeton but I have to say I’ve had both side by side and thought the Princeton sounded a lot boxier than the Tonemaster 

Jalapeno

AFAIK, most jams I've been to you plug into whatever's already on stage.

Princetons are loud but you'd need more oomph (or a mic) for a robust band situation.

newi123

As you know I love my 68 Princeton - mine`s running a Rajun Cajun - and recently bought a TM Twin, which I also love.

I think the Princeton still sounds better in the right room at the right time, but the Twin def has the headroom I miss in the little one for rock gigs.

The Princeton by itself is perfect for a Jam or even a small one guitar gig. In fact, it`s sometime too loud in the sweet spot, depending on the room and drummer.

I thought about the TM Deluxe, but kind of decided it did the same thing as the 68 - hence buying the twin instead which def brings something else to the mix.

chrisj1602

I’ve had the 68 Princeton and have the Tone Master now, I prefer the TM, it’s so versatile but also sounds great. I use it at home on 0.2w, I’ve rehearsed with in a few scenarios with the 0.5w, 5w and 12w settings and I’ve played an outdoor gig on the full 22w. It works at all levels.  The XLR recording also sounds great. I got a cable off Amazon so I can use headphones too.

stickyfiddle

I love my TMDR. Easy one-hand carry letting you have a guitar on your shoulder and pedals in your other hand. Plus the attenuation meaning you can get it to the sweet spot at any volume you like

I've never been a big Princeton fan not because they don't sound great (they absolutely do) but because they only sound great really quite loud and as such they're utterly inflexible

noisepolluter

TimmyO said:

Help me think about this (or just get the subject out of my system) :  

I have a 68 Princeton (all stock) that I really like as an occasional home noodler. I run it clean and then stick a pedal on if I want anything rocky/for lead sound. 

I'd like to start going to a jam night.

Lately a voice in my head has been saying that if I sold it and got a Tone Master DR I'd still have a nice clean reverby/tremlo-y low volume home noodling sound, but would have more luck when playing at higher volume with others too.

To what degree do you agree or disagree with this notion? 

If you are at all able justify getting a Tonemaster AND keeping hold of the Princeton, at least until you’ve been able to play the Tonemaster for several months, I would do that.

The Princeton is just such a fabulous amp I think you would regret selling it sooner or later. If headroom is a potential concern you could always try a more efficient speaker or even mod the negative feedback and tone stack values for later breakup. Or get a 12 inch baffle installed etc. All of which are reversible. 

Edit: I’m sure there’s an Andertons video where they compare a standard 65RI Princeton with an FSR with a 12 inch Celestion Blue in it. Here it is, in fact:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNcr6hLOJaE

Toms_Dad

chrisj1602 said:x

I’ve had the 68 Princeton and have the Tone Master now, I prefer the TM, it’s so versatile but also sounds great. I use it at home on 0.2w, I’ve rehearsed with in a few scenarios with the 0.5w, 5w and 12w settings and I’ve played an outdoor gig on the full 22w. It works at all levels.  The XLR recording also sounds great. I got a cable off Amazon so I can use headphones too.

Well you did have a tonemaster I’ve just got it home and plugged it in.  What can I say? It’s got the loveliest cleans even on the low power settings. Highly recommended. Alec

TimmyO

Cheers for your thoughts chaps 

chrisj1602

Toms_Dad said:

chrisj1602 said:x

I’ve had the 68 Princeton and have the Tone Master now, I prefer the TM, it’s so versatile but also sounds great. I use it at home on 0.2w, I’ve rehearsed with in a few scenarios with the 0.5w, 5w and 12w settings and I’ve played an outdoor gig on the full 22w. It works at all levels.  The XLR recording also sounds great. I got a cable off Amazon so I can use headphones too.

Well you did have a tonemaster I’ve just got it home and plugged it in.  What can I say? It’s got the loveliest cleans even on the low power settings. Highly recommended. Alec

Glad you like it Alec!

Lewy

You definitely need to compare the tremolo on both. If you love the trem on the Princeton you may be underwhelmed by the trem on the TMDR (or a real valve DR to be fair). The bias trem on a Princeton is very special. I went from never turning it off in a 65 PRRI to never turning it on on a TMDR

TimmyO

Lewy said:

You definitely need to compare the tremolo on both. If you love the trem on the Princeton you may be underwhelmed by the trem on the TMDR (or a real valve DR to be fair). The bias trem on a Princeton is very special. 

This may well be very relevant - I owned a real DRRI for a while.and found the trem insipid - preferred the meatier throb on my Marshall 18w clone so kept that instead 

I'd forgotten about that