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Post subject: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:49 pm
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Hey all!

This is my first post so take it easy one me!

I'm having some problems with a Fender Princeton 65 PR 403 Amp. It might be so bad off that It needs to go into the shop and get fixed but I want to cover my bases as much as possible before hand so I don't waste money I don't have..

First issue;

The power cord. Where the power cord goes in seems to have broken off inside the amp. I can get the powercord attached with some effort but it's not really much of a solution. I've attached a photo below to help show what I mean. Is this common? Is there an easy fix?

Image

Second issue;

Humming. The amp has terrible feedback regardless of the channel and settings. The second I go a notch above Volume 1 the humming is unberable. It's generally louder than the guitar being played through it. Could this have anything to do with the power cord issue?

Anyways thanks for the help. I'm somewhat handy and willing to learn or try anything to fix this sad amp before it gets sent away for weeks to get fixed.

Thanks so much!

Blair


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 8:16 pm
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Basttrax wrote:
...The power cord. Where the power cord goes in seems to have broken off inside the amp....Humming... ...Could this have anything to do with the power cord issue?...


Hi Basttrax,

First things first, you should fix the power cord connector and go from there. Even though you can get power by shoving the plug in the hole, the ground may not be making a good connection, and/or you might do more damage by continuing to use the amp in this manner. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:44 pm
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2nd the notion! the ground also connects to the chassis which acts as a shield.. if a hot AC connection is touching the chassis that can be heard as hum... playing with an amp that has the gnd prong missing from the cord is bad too.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:27 am
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I have to agree with the others. My P65 hums as well though without the power issue. Good luck!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:32 am
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Alright so fixing the power cord issue it is!

Has anyone done this before? Is it an easy enough fix to attempt on my own?

Thanks!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:42 am
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You don't seem to know how electricity works. So I suggest to ask someone who knows. You want to make sure your amp is properly grounded.

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:47 am
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I have some basic knowledge, I work on computers daily so that's not much of an issue. Just asking if there's any amp specific issues I need to be aware of.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 10:02 am
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:shock:


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 10:21 am
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I would take it in! Not worth the risk.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:17 am
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Off to the shop it is then! I'm just hoping that it isn't one of those things that ends up costing more than the amp is worth...


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:28 am
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Basttrax wrote:
Off to the shop it is then! I'm just hoping that it isn't one of those things that ends up costing more than the amp is worth...


There's always that chance.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:02 pm
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Basttrax wrote:
Off to the shop it is then! I'm just hoping that it isn't one of those things that ends up costing more than the amp is worth...


Nah, it's going to be around 30 minutes of work.

If you want, you can give me this wonderful amp and I'll do it myself. And keep it.

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:36 am
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Amerigo wrote:
Basttrax wrote:
Off to the shop it is then! I'm just hoping that it isn't one of those things that ends up costing more than the amp is worth...


Nah, it's going to be around 30 minutes of work.

If you want, you can give me this wonderful amp and I'll do it myself. And keep it.

Cheers

David


Just got back from the shop. The power cord is an easy fix but they are pretty sure the speaker is also shot. So probably not a cheap or quick fix :cry:

I'll be happy when it's running again though!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:03 am
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Basttrax, how did the shop determine that the speaker is shot? Did he say it was from the excessive feedback and hum (issue #2, of the original post)?

You know, I'd try to find ANY loose 8-ohm speaker (I know, I know... loose women = easy. Loose speaker = another story). Doesn't matter about matching the diameter. A good 8-inch speaker will do fine for the experiment.

Anyhow, plug the amp into it to see what if the same problem exists with the original speaker versus the "test" speaker. It almost sounds like the shop has a good idea how to get rid of the hum (in other words it's a possible easy fix) & wants to sell you a new speaker, just for the heck of it.

The original speaker could have a blown voice coil. But, that would give you a different kinda noise. Not a hum or feedback.

Just my 2¢ worth of cynicism. Good luck with the fixes.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Princeton 65 Woes
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:17 am
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The super loud hum is also accompanied by a terrible cracking noise so that might be what they are basing the blown speaker off of. It's a bigger outfit here in Canada so it's hard to tell if they really care about selling me another amp. I'm almost positive it's not on commission's or anything but you never know.

If it's under $150 I'll probably bite it. I think you can grab one used for about $250.


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