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Post subject: My Princeton Recording Amp makes a loud pop when turned on
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:56 am
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I have recently purchased a Fender Princeton Recording Amp. I am quite pleased with it, except for one detail. Every time I turn the amp on it pops really loudly. Is that normal or is my amp malfunctioning?


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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:02 am
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Does your amp have a standby switch? If so try having the standby switch on when you power up, wait a few seconds and then turn the standby off. Maybe that will get rid of that nasty pop.


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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:03 pm
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scarroll1 wrote:
Does your amp have a standby switch? If so try having the standby switch on when you power up, wait a few seconds and then turn the standby off. Maybe that will get rid of that nasty pop.


There is no standby switch, although it has a power attenuator which can be turned to silent position. The pop still remains. This is highly annoying, since I cannot turn my amp on at night, because the pop would wake everyone up.


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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:23 pm
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That doesnt sound like normal operation to me. If you recently bought it then perhaps it is still under warranty? Take it back and have a tech look it over. You would not want to void your warranty by poking around in there yourself :shock:


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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 7:10 pm
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Hi, sounds like the power switch is arcing. If you can have a tech look at it, without a bench charge, then by all means do that. As long as you're there ask about having a standby switch or thermistor installed on the B+ power line. Either of these will allow the tubes to warm up before being hit with the high voltages. Good for tube life! You might want to check that all volume and gain controls are turned down at switch on. I'd also check similar amps for this condition. But most amps will exhibit the pop or thump to some degree.


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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:53 am
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The loud pop is normal.
You can reduce this by turning down the TIPA or Master Volume knob.
One thing you should know:

This amp has an inherent design flaw.
When using the amp cranked and adjusting the T.I.P.A. down for more than 15 minutes the amp will overheat and cause it to sound terrible, cut in and out, at times it might even sound like a helicopter.
I have returned mine three times for repair since owning it.
The Warranty Repair Tech phoned "Ed" - a tech at Fender, and "Ed" told him "This amp is for light duty only and can't be used for prolonged periods of time." - which is quite contrary to the ads that Fender put out on this amp that tells you to crank it up for full tube output and then turn it down to play the desired tone at lower volumes or even using a headphone.
One year and a half ago when I first talked with Fender about this, they acted like they have never heard of this problem...now they basically own up to it and product has been discontinued.
If you use this amp without the T.I.P.A. volume reduction, it should work fine as normal, which defeats the extra $200 price you paid for the TIPA in the first place, and at 15 screaming watts, night time, bedroom or soft recording is impossible.
There is nothing wrong with your amp...it is broken by design and I am waiting until 2012 before I can start filing a "Lemon" clause in my warranty...to which I suspect, they will take issue.
I feel like Fender ripped me off as well as Musician's Friend.


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