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Post subject: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:36 am
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I recently bought a brand-new-in-box 68 CPR here in Canada, after spending an entire afternoon playing with one that was on the dealer's floor. I loved the amp, but stupidly went for the unboxed unit when it came time to pay for it.

When I hooked up the amp at home, the first thing I noticed was rattling, at any volume/tone setting. I flipped it over and opened it up and found loose screws in the chassis, speaker, and all the pre-amp tube sleeves were hanging loose (unlocked). Fixed all of that, and most of the rattling vanished, BUT ... a problem remained. When I play my low strings on any of my guitars, even with bass turned all the way off, and volume below '5', I get a distorted, woofy, unpleasant bass tone. Treble tones are fine. Amp is dead quiet, no hum or fizz. The only way I get a pleasant bass tone, is with the volume around '2'. Beyond that, it's bad.

I'm thinking I have a bad speaker/driver. Any advice?

Cheers

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:49 am
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Fender has great warranty service. I'd bring it back to the store before mucking around with it.


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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 12:28 pm
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Yeah... there were problems with some of the '68VM's, but most of them sound incredible. I had to return a couple '68 Deluxes, but ended up with one that was gorgeous! Bring it back and get a new one - it will be well worth the effort!


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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:27 am
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Redfarfisa wrote:
Yeah... there were problems with some of the '68VM's, but most of them sound incredible. I had to return a couple '68 Deluxes, but ended up with one that was gorgeous! Bring it back and get a new one - it will be well worth the effort!

You return a couple !!!! What's happen with Fender ???


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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:40 am
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stratele52 wrote:
What's happen with Fender ???


Surely you don't have to ask......

:lol:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:51 am
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The rest of the amp is OK, it's pretty quiet, just seems to be a crappy Celestion TEN 30 that cannot handle. I disabled the built-in speaker last night, and ran the amp into my Mesa-Boogie's 12-inch speaker, using it as an extension, and it sounded awesome, over the entire volume range. Conclusion - the built-in Celestion is a dud. I'll get the dealer to replace it, but this opens the door to a replacement speaker.

Anyone tried the Tone Tubby 10-inch 40/40? Or maybe the Eminence Rajin' Cajun?

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 10:29 am
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Larry Lion wrote:
Anyone tried the Tone Tubby 10-inch 40/40? Or maybe the Eminence Rajin' Cajun?


I have heard both of these speakers installed in Princeton Reverb's, both originals and re-issue amps.

Either speaker is a significant improvement over the OEM driver. Eminence's Copperhead should also be considered, as well as the Kendrick Blackframe and various Weber's.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:38 am
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Will look at the Copperhead, any idea which Webers, to narrow down the search? I admit, I'm leaning toward the TT 40/40, but have not pulled the trigger yet. I still want Fender (or the dealer) to replace the Celestion, why the hell should they get away with this?

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Last edited by Larry Lion on Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:17 am
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I wouldn't recommend any new Jensen but if you care to hunt down a vintage made-in-Chicago C10R or C10Q, I think your faith in the amp's ability to create authentic Fender tone will be restored.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:31 am
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Arjay, I goofed - I meant Weber, not Jensen (corrected in the post).

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 12:40 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
I wouldn't recommend any new Jensen but if you care to hunt down a vintage made-in-Chicago C10R or C10Q, I think your faith in the amp's ability to create authentic Fender tone will be restored.

Arjay


I ended up swapping the amp for the dealer's floor model, the one I liked in the first place, and I'm happy to say that my other one must have been a lemon. However, I decided to upgrade the speaker, and went with a Tone Tubby 40/40-10. What a difference! The same tone is there, but it does not fart at all now, sounds really smooth.

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 12:51 pm
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Smart move. The old adage about never buying a pig in a poke is just as true now as it was when it was coined.

Were there any problems shoehorning that Tone Tubby into the Princeton Reverb's cabinet?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:05 pm
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stratele52 wrote:
You return a couple !!!! What's happen with Fender ???

there's a good chance these stories existed in the good old days, but since nobody could post it on the Internet for all to see, you never heard about it. Just sayin'. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:08 pm
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strings10927 wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
You return a couple !!!! What's happen with Fender ???

there's a good chance these stories existed in the good old days, but since nobody could post it on the Internet for all to see, you never heard about it. Just sayin'. :wink:


Very good point.


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Post subject: Re: 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Lemon?
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:02 am
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Here's my experience from the good old days.
I've had some of Fender amps from the mid 60's on. Way back, with the Mom and Pop shop I dealt with, you took home the floor model, but then again, you didn't have a bunch of kids wanking on gear all day because you had to talk to a sales guy to try/buy an amp or guitar and they explained all the functions and features.

Back to the point. On more than one occasion, I bought an amp in the morning and gigged with it that night. My 76 Twin and my 74 Bandmaster were two that I did that with. I never had to return a Fender amp, and as a matter of fact only one of mine was ever repaired. My 66 Vibrolux Reverb blew a filter cap around 1981. I never really heard of amps being DOA until to 90's. I still have a 74 Fender Champ, that has never seen a shop even though I should recap it.

The problem today is cheap components, too many shortcuts, over-engineering and sloppy QC. Way back, Fender only gave you a one year warranty, you rarely ever needed it. I never had to use mine on any Fender amps. Now you NEED a five year warranty and a good return policy. It's sad. I'm not saying amp manufacturers never had problems, but Fender wasn't at the top of the list. I remember a buddy of mine with a Marshall head that kept going up in smoke.

It's a shame I never kept those amps. Guitars I tend to keep forever, amps come and go as my needs change.

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