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Post subject: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:55 am
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Location: Switzerland, Europe
Hi everybody

With the friendly help and advice from Arjay (Retroverbial), I managed to rescue this Fender Princeton Reverb.

The transformers say 606-6-39 and 606-7-15.

Before:

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After:

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I followed Arjay's advice and replaced the front baffle including the grille mesh, got a new cap can (the old one had dents), removed those funny filter caps and brought the amp to a Fender tech. He measured it and found a resistor which had the proper specs but measured with higher resistance. Funny, but original - we changed it back to the correct resistance. The speaker was cleaned, a lot of dust come off. Vintage correct reverb cables were put in. And it didn't have the correct rectifier tube. It was a 5U4 instead of a GZ34. I changed this.

The amp sounds simply awesome. I'm happy to have followed Arjay's advice and would like to thank him heartfully for the kind support. Arjay, you've been a great help at the right time.

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:40 am
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Aw, shucks......

:oops:

T'wernt nothin'.

Seriously, you've got a fine specimen now that will serve you well long after I'm gone.

A little knowledge and some TLC can go a long way.

ROCK......ON!

8) 8) 8)

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:38 am
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Great job! You know I love a good Fender rescue! Sweet, sweet sounding amp.

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'59? Bogen Challenger CHA-33, '65 Bandmaster, '65 Tremolux, 65 Showman;
'74 SF Princeton; '77 SF Princeton Reverb; Dr. Z Mini Z

Our band: http://www.facebook.com/thetoysband


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:30 am
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Much,much better!!!
Congratulations,you will love that amp. :D


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:51 am
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Rebelsoul wrote:
Much,much better!!!
Congratulations,you will love that amp. :D


Yes, we have bonded. I haven't heard an amp that sounded better in my ears. I would love to compare it to the amps Jim Campilongo plays. He wrote he biases them rather hot, so I followed this advice.

My amp tech makes his own amps (Harper Amplification Switzerland). What really impressed me is the fact that he found a resistor which is rated 27K but measured 34K. This was in the bias section, so the amp was running too cool. Where do you find an amp tech who discovers such things? I am still impressed. Imagine a workplace full of oscilloscopes, and 30 years of experience. If you only go by the schematics, you simply don't find such things.

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:35 pm
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Competent amp techs are like dentists and prostitutes......

You find a good one, you hold on to them!

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:15 pm
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:D :D :D :D :D


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:46 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Competent amp techs are like dentists and prostitutes......

You find a good one, you hold on to them!

:mrgreen:

Arjay


Your wisdom seems to include more than one field of expertise :D

Well said.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:01 am
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I had some good "teachers", David......

In a variety of "disciplines"!

:lol:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton Reverb '66 rescue
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:21 am
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Reminds me of the best movie quote of all times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbUxePfsoWE

Cheers

David

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