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Post subject: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:14 pm
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How does the Princeton Reverb II (Rivera Era) compare with the 70's Princeton Reverbs with the push/pull volume boost?


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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:05 pm
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The "II" variant dispenses with the bias-wiggle trem and the tube rectifier but adds an additional cascaded gain stage (with a pull-boost switch) plus a line-out/recording jack. The output stage is pushed a little harder, yielding about twenty watts at the speaker jack. Dimensionally, they're roughly equivalent.

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 3:00 am
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Aside from the tremelo vs gain and mid boost, is there much of a sound difference played clean?


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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:13 pm
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Some folks think so. Some think the Rivera Era amps didn't quite get the classic Fender Clean Amp sound. Here is a resource on the Princeton II and the rest of the Rivera Era Amps, hope this helps.

Personally I think they got the Clean Channel right, but since they removed the Tremolo portion of the circuit and used a cascaded circuit for the second channel, it does have a different sound from the vibrato channel on vintage Fender amps.

http://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/a ... nders.html

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Last edited by T2Stratman on Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:15 pm
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Doesn't the PRII have a 12in speaker?

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:31 pm
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T2Stratman wrote:
Some folks think so. Some think the Rivera Era amps didn't quite get the classic Fender Clean Amp sound. Here is a resource on the Princeton II and the rest of the Rivera Era Amps, hope this helps.

Personally I think they got the Clean Channel right, but since they removed the Tremolo portion of the circuit and used a cascaded circuit for the second channel, it does have a different sound from the vibrato channel on vintage Fender amps.

http://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/a ... nders.html

T2

Via the page you linked I found this.

It's a very interesting mod to a PRII.

From the article
Quote:
Jon went on to write: “In the end I removed half of the stuff on the circuit board and changed some of the parts that were left. Hidden inside that amp is "the amp Fender never made" - a single-channel Deluxe Reverb w/ mid and presence controls, a master volume and more.


I'm tempted to buy a PRII just to try this mod.

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 6:31 pm
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mhowell wrote:
I'm tempted to buy a PRII just to try this mod.


+1

In conjunction with a carefully selected replacement speaker (I'm thinking vintage Jensen C12N or perhaps a late '60s Vibranto), it would be a very versatile platform indeed. Neither the OEM Eminence or the Pyle (nee Utah, nee Oxford) were anything to write home about.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 4:28 am
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The speaker in the PRII That I'm looking at is indeed a 12", I'm not sure of the design. It looks to be the same speaker as in my Fender Concert (Rivera). It reads Fender Special Design (Blue Label) in the Concert, There is no label on the PRII.

The PR (push/pull boost) Silver Face I was asking for a comparison with, has a Jenson 10"

I really like the sound of the Silver face, but haven't found one for sale at a decent price.

My concern is that the PRII will sound more like the Concert, which in my opinion, sounds closer to a Deluxe Reverb than a Princeton Reverb.

To my ear, the PR silverface sounds more like a down-sized version of the Twin Reverb.

I've been working with a Telecaster as of late, which is what I'm wishing to pick a more suitable amp for than my 80's Concert amp....preferably a bit smaller and lighter amp.


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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:07 am
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What's wrong with the sound of a Deluxe Reverb?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Need some feedback on Princeton Reverb II
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:41 pm
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RRR, Just a heads-up. I had a PR-clone built by Rick Hayes, at Vintage Sounds. If my eyes weren't aging, I would have built it myself. We were interacting through out the process. Caps and speaker(12" Weber alnico 30watt) were supplied by me. Of course,the tubes were also my acquistion. Took some time, but it's a wonderful amp!!!! Art

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