A Fine Review without an over emphasis pn Overdriven and Effected tones like 90% of reviews are. Yours was clean, clear, and detailed. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the video Steve. I purchased one of the a few months ago and couldn't be happier! I needed an amp for practice and smaller gigs. These sound WAY huge compared to the 10" standard version. Both have their place, but I prefer this one. Like you mentioned, it comes down to personal preference, so neither is better than the other...just different. I recommend that you try it out for yourself.
Thanks for the info! Very informative without being obnoxiously opinionated as some reviewers are. I respect and appreciate your sharing information, and pros and cons without bashing anyone else’s perspective or gear preferences. Very well done! Thanks again!
Hi Steve. I just ran across your channel because I am about to dive into the world of lead guitar. I sing many country songs, but only play rhythm, and now want to take that leap :) I was looking at some of your other videos and love your teaching. Thank you so very much for your videos, it is very very appreciated!!!!
I'm not looking for a new amp but enjoyed your breakdown none the less Steve. Really great information and very informative demos too! I love that you really covered the different sonic territories available with the changes in the volume settings. And the different guitars/pickups made a huge difference too. Well done!
Brilliant review. I’ve been using a Headstrong “princeton” with a 12” for the last year. It is GREAT. Have tried and tested different speakers and has finally found the right one :-)
I’ve had to switch to modeling (mostly). Just grabbed a QC and listened through stock patches then decided to build an all rounder patch. Yep, uses a Princeton. Incredible as it easily covers every style I need with the right virtual effects. Still trying to convince myself that I need one of these. I’m a heck of a lot closer to that after your video. Great info and tasty playing, sir!
Great vid! I just picked up the Guitar Center version for the 12” speaker option. Great to hear that it has been a very reliable amp for you. Now if I could just play half as good as you, I could sound pretty good.
@@stevetharmsIt actually has a Jensen P12Q in it. It’s a nice sounding speaker so far. WGS makes some great 12” speakers if you ever get the itch to try something new. The G12C is a very well regarded speaker.
A note on volume and having this be the perfect "one" amp: I play through a similar amp (Princeton circuit through a 12" Weber California speaker) and it pairs extremely well with a small attenuator for home use. I have a Swartz night light jr. permanently installed in the cabinet. When it's engaged, I can get breakup without waking my family. When it's bypassed, I get plenty of clean headroom and volume.
Bought this amp past Christmas. Thanks for the video. Thought I would pair it with my AC10. Originally intended tp pair the voc with a Prineton with a 10" speaker. Had to go with the 12" version.
I haven’t used this particular model- but I have a FSR Bordeaux 1x12” Princeton blackface reissue with a Jensen P12-Q, and it really is the best overall tube amp I’ve ever used. It came with solid wood construction, and I’ve never had to do anything to it. Sounds fantastic clean, sounds fantastic dirty, and doesn’t require pedals, 99% of the time I plug straight in for both clean and dirty tones. It does natural breakup at tolerable volume levels. And when dirty it sounds better than any overdrive pedal I’ve heard from Klon clones, to bluesbreakers, to tube screamers, to you name it. Idk why people think fenders are clean amps, must be because their amp is too powerful for their needs. A quick tip for anyone who doesn’t know: fender EQ is subtractive. If you want all the mids put the treble at 10 and the bass at 0, that bumps the mids way up, and you can roll off highs with your guitar knobs and get a marshally sound. And mine does natural breakup at living room levels. But if somebody wants the filth at a conversational level: Fender ‘68 custom Vibro Champ Reverb, I’d get an FSR with a 10”
I have had mine for about 5 years , my speaker is nicely broken in , amp takes pedals great , you can do twang right through to van halen with the right pedal .. so flexible and sounds awesome
I put an alnico blue in it. Definitely an upgrade to my ears, but couldn’t agree more that it’s kind of the perfect amp. I’ve gigged heavy with it for about 4-5 years myself and legit have never had an issue with it. Always have enough volume without having too much
Leave us not forget that with those passive tone controls dimed you get the sound of the unadulterated 12 to 15 watt Fender tube rectifier plus 6V6 type thing - sound - essence - experience...
Good stuff man, very thorough. I own the regular 10” version, but I changed the speaker to the Jensen alnico P10r which is used in the 64 reissue version. I use it primarily for playing at home so I wanted to “upgrade” speakers but keep it on the quieter end. Very happy for clean to lowish gain tones via an OD pedal like my Lightspeed or Belle. Perhaps worth a mention that Mojotone sells conversion baffles if you want to go in the direction of changing to a 12” speaker which I would probably do if I were playing this in a band and didnt want to lug something like a 2X12 like Uncle Larry would do with his vintage Princetons
I bought one of these from sweetwater in 2019 and haven’t looked back. Takes pedals great and pairs well with 335, strat, tele, and j style guitars. I’ve had the best experience with JJs for the power tubes. Paying for the biasing is slightly annoying but that’s part of tube amp maintenance. I ran an attenuator with my Princeton for about two years and found it killed the power tubes pretty quickly.
4:32 Had mine for 2 years before my taste changed and I suddenly hated everything about the Cannabis Rex. Even with a treble boost it felt like playing even an open string was like a blanket was thrown over the amp. I’m all for avoiding ice picky sounds but there’s such a thing as over correcting! Swapped the Cannabis Rex for a Tone Tubby 40/40 and I’m so much happier, even though the 40/40 isn’t broken in yet. I live in a condo and I can still play on like, volume 2 to 3. If I need overdrive I use a pedal. No DI or headphones but it’s literal plug and play. If it sounds bad, I can’t blame my amp because it’s awesome. And I love the black panel sound with the tweed look. 🤩
Have you tried to shunt the reverb (RCA cable connecting rev in to rev out) ? This gives you a lot of gain adjustable with the reverb pot. But even at zero you already have a noticiable gain boost. This is very useful for playing at low volume with creamy sound. Off course the rev footswitch is working as a clean/ crunch selector.
I think the "15W" on the rear panel is Fender telling you to use a speaker with 15W minimum power handling capability. They are building in a bit of a safety margin.
I got one from a friend at an incredible price and I can’t live without it. My foot switch crapped out on me. It only turns on the trem and disengages the reverb. Oh well. When I’m feeling frisky I pop it on top of my vertical 2x12 to get 3 speakers and knobs easily accessible.
I have a similar type of amp with a 12” speaker. It’s not too loud for home unless you’re trying to get amp distortion; it takes pedals really well and can get just about any sound with the right OD or distortion; I don’t do metal so not sure how well it makes those sounds. My amp has a slightly bigger cab so not sure how the 12 sounds like in a typical Princeton cab, but I generally prefer 12 over 10 when it’s only one speaker For the price of these though, I think you might find something better used or with a less well known brand. The 12 vs 15 watt rating thing I think has to do with how the power tubes are biased and maybe to do with voltage coming out of the wall now vs in 1965. The power transformer in these amps along with a pair of 6v6 will run about 12 to 15 watts depending on conditions. Also, wattage ratings are vague because they also have to do with how much current the system will run before distorting but guitar players are usually trying to achieve distortion, so even muddier of a definition. The amp is loud enough to keep up with a drummer though
I think it would depend what you want from it, if you want tube distortion, then yes. If not you can run it around 2 with some overdrive pedals and still get plenty of great tones!
Now if only Fender could be brave and add a presence, a middle pot and a PPIMV (post phase-inverter master volume) the "Royal Princeton" would be dangerous... especially if they kept it under 1200 clams (!) Thanx for the vid BTW
They did that amp, it was call pro tube series. I've got the pro reverb and it's got all those an more. 60 Watts down to 12 Watts.12 inch speaker in over sized cabinet and it's got a killer over drive channel plus reverb and tremolo tubes ! Just killer amp, if they made it today it would be $1800 easily.
These started off pretty cheap. Now they are getting pretty expensive. When they first came out they were around $999. I think they are now around $1,500.
A Fine Review without an over emphasis pn Overdriven and Effected tones like 90% of reviews are. Yours was clean, clear, and detailed. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the video Steve. I purchased one of the a few months ago and couldn't be happier! I needed an amp for practice and smaller gigs. These sound WAY huge compared to the 10" standard version. Both have their place, but I prefer this one. Like you mentioned, it comes down to personal preference, so neither is better than the other...just different. I recommend that you try it out for yourself.
Thanks for the info! Very informative without being obnoxiously opinionated as some reviewers are. I respect and appreciate your sharing information, and pros and cons without bashing anyone else’s perspective or gear preferences. Very well done!
Thanks again!
Hi Steve. I just ran across your channel because I am about to dive into the world of lead guitar. I sing many country songs, but only play rhythm, and now want to take that leap :) I was looking at some of your other videos and love your teaching. Thank you so very much for your videos, it is very very appreciated!!!!
I'm not looking for a new amp but enjoyed your breakdown none the less Steve. Really great information and very informative demos too! I love that you really covered the different sonic territories available with the changes in the volume settings. And the different guitars/pickups made a huge difference too. Well done!
Thank you, glad you found it informative 🤘
Thanks Steve! Nice to see a video that’s very ‘honest and open’ - not a bunch precocious nonsense! Cheers. Keep up the good work.😎
Thank you! I tried to make the video I would have wanted to see before I purchased one of these🤘
Brilliant review. I’ve been using a Headstrong “princeton” with a 12” for the last year. It is GREAT. Have tried and tested different speakers and has finally found the right one :-)
Eminence GASC 64? That’s what I put in mine….love it for Fender clean
What speaker did you put in your headstrong
Great information bro. Keep up the good work!
Thanks bro!
Great honest review. Thanks Steve!
I’ve had to switch to modeling (mostly). Just grabbed a QC and listened through stock patches then decided to build an all rounder patch. Yep, uses a Princeton. Incredible as it easily covers every style I need with the right virtual effects.
Still trying to convince myself that I need one of these. I’m a heck of a lot closer to that after your video. Great info and tasty playing, sir!
Tough to go wrong with one of these 🤷♂️ QC is a great unit too!
@@stevetharms True, true. Still love playing through an amp but that is becoming a rarer case these days
Great vid! I just picked up the Guitar Center version for the 12” speaker option. Great to hear that it has been a very reliable amp for you. Now if I could just play half as good as you, I could sound pretty good.
Nice! I’ve never played that version but I’d imagine it sounds pretty good with that Celestion speaker!
@@stevetharmsIt actually has a Jensen P12Q in it. It’s a nice sounding speaker so far. WGS makes some great 12” speakers if you ever get the itch to try something new. The G12C is a very well regarded speaker.
I’ll keep that in mind!
A note on volume and having this be the perfect "one" amp: I play through a similar amp (Princeton circuit through a 12" Weber California speaker) and it pairs extremely well with a small attenuator for home use. I have a Swartz night light jr. permanently installed in the cabinet. When it's engaged, I can get breakup without waking my family. When it's bypassed, I get plenty of clean headroom and volume.
Bought this amp past Christmas. Thanks for the video. Thought I would pair it with my AC10. Originally intended tp pair the voc with a Prineton with a 10" speaker. Had to go with the 12" version.
Good choice!
I haven’t used this particular model- but I have a FSR Bordeaux 1x12” Princeton blackface reissue with a Jensen P12-Q, and it really is the best overall tube amp I’ve ever used. It came with solid wood construction, and I’ve never had to do anything to it. Sounds fantastic clean, sounds fantastic dirty, and doesn’t require pedals, 99% of the time I plug straight in for both clean and dirty tones. It does natural breakup at tolerable volume levels. And when dirty it sounds better than any overdrive pedal I’ve heard from Klon clones, to bluesbreakers, to tube screamers, to you name it. Idk why people think fenders are clean amps, must be because their amp is too powerful for their needs.
A quick tip for anyone who doesn’t know: fender EQ is subtractive. If you want all the mids put the treble at 10 and the bass at 0, that bumps the mids way up, and you can roll off highs with your guitar knobs and get a marshally sound.
And mine does natural breakup at living room levels. But if somebody wants the filth at a conversational level: Fender ‘68 custom Vibro Champ Reverb, I’d get an FSR with a 10”
I have had mine for about 5 years , my speaker is nicely broken in , amp takes pedals great , you can do twang right through to van halen with the right pedal .. so flexible and sounds awesome
Agreed!
Love my Princeton, I have a 12 inch Celestion Alnico in mine it sounds amazing!
I put an alnico blue in it. Definitely an upgrade to my ears, but couldn’t agree more that it’s kind of the perfect amp. I’ve gigged heavy with it for about 4-5 years myself and legit have never had an issue with it. Always have enough volume without having too much
Leave us not forget that with those passive tone controls dimed you get
the sound of the unadulterated 12 to 15 watt Fender tube rectifier
plus 6V6 type thing - sound - essence - experience...
Good stuff man, very thorough. I own the regular 10” version, but I changed the speaker to the Jensen alnico P10r which is used in the 64 reissue version. I use it primarily for playing at home so I wanted to “upgrade” speakers but keep it on the quieter end. Very happy for clean to lowish gain tones via an OD pedal like my Lightspeed or Belle. Perhaps worth a mention that Mojotone sells conversion baffles if you want to go in the direction of changing to a 12” speaker which I would probably do if I were playing this in a band and didnt want to lug something like a 2X12 like Uncle Larry would do with his vintage Princetons
Sounds like a good setup you got, to be fair if I had Bukovak’s setup I would probably gig that too!
I bought one of these from sweetwater in 2019 and haven’t looked back. Takes pedals great and pairs well with 335, strat, tele, and j style guitars. I’ve had the best experience with JJs for the power tubes. Paying for the biasing is slightly annoying but that’s part of tube amp maintenance. I ran an attenuator with my Princeton for about two years and found it killed the power tubes pretty quickly.
Wish it was the same price
4:32 Had mine for 2 years before my taste changed and I suddenly hated everything about the Cannabis Rex. Even with a treble boost it felt like playing even an open string was like a blanket was thrown over the amp.
I’m all for avoiding ice picky sounds but there’s such a thing as over correcting!
Swapped the Cannabis Rex for a Tone Tubby 40/40 and I’m so much happier, even though the 40/40 isn’t broken in yet.
I live in a condo and I can still play on like, volume 2 to 3. If I need overdrive I use a pedal. No DI or headphones but it’s literal plug and play. If it sounds bad, I can’t blame my amp because it’s awesome.
And I love the black panel sound with the tweed look. 🤩
interesting how our ears and preferences can change sometimes overnight!
Very nice work!!!
Thank you! 🙏
Very helpful insight.. appreciate ya
Have you tried to shunt the reverb (RCA cable connecting rev in to rev out) ? This gives you a lot of gain adjustable with the reverb pot. But even at zero you already have a noticiable gain boost. This is very useful for playing at low volume with creamy sound.
Off course the rev footswitch is working as a clean/ crunch selector.
All I did was change the stock speaker to a celestion alnico, have had mine for a few years now, my main stage amp, just great.
I have this amp and love it
I think the "15W" on the rear panel is Fender telling you to use a speaker with 15W minimum power handling capability. They are building in a bit of a safety margin.
I had this amp with a P12 Q
It was incredible
I got one from a friend at an incredible price and I can’t live without it. My foot switch crapped out on me. It only turns on the trem and disengages the reverb. Oh well. When I’m feeling frisky I pop it on top of my vertical 2x12 to get 3 speakers and knobs easily accessible.
That telecaster looks and sounds a lot like a like a strat lol. Crazy, it's like if a tele and a strat had a baby. Awesome!
A stelecaster!
I have a similar type of amp with a 12” speaker. It’s not too loud for home unless you’re trying to get amp distortion; it takes pedals really well and can get just about any sound with the right OD or distortion; I don’t do metal so not sure how well it makes those sounds. My amp has a slightly bigger cab so not sure how the 12 sounds like in a typical Princeton cab, but I generally prefer 12 over 10 when it’s only one speaker
For the price of these though, I think you might find something better used or with a less well known brand.
The 12 vs 15 watt rating thing I think has to do with how the power tubes are biased and maybe to do with voltage coming out of the wall now vs in 1965. The power transformer in these amps along with a pair of 6v6 will run about 12 to 15 watts depending on conditions. Also, wattage ratings are vague because they also have to do with how much current the system will run before distorting but guitar players are usually trying to achieve distortion, so even muddier of a definition. The amp is loud enough to keep up with a drummer though
Interesting, thanks for the added info/insight 🙏
great job
I don’t know what your S-type / hybrid guitar is…but I want to!! So cool!!!
Would you recommend an attenuator for this amp for bedroom volume?
I think it would depend what you want from it, if you want tube distortion, then yes. If not you can run it around 2 with some overdrive pedals and still get plenty of great tones!
I have one. I love it. Actually I have a Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb and a Princeton… I still love my 12 “ Princeton
Just my 2 cents
Now if only Fender could be brave and add a presence, a middle pot and a
PPIMV (post phase-inverter master volume) the "Royal Princeton"
would be dangerous... especially if they kept it under 1200 clams (!)
Thanx for the vid BTW
Bingo!! 😊
They did that amp, it was call pro tube series. I've got the pro reverb and it's got all those an more. 60 Watts down to 12 Watts.12 inch speaker in over sized cabinet and it's got a killer over drive channel plus reverb and tremolo tubes ! Just killer amp, if they made it today it would be $1800 easily.
@@AuntAlnico4 Okay, you can come over and jam at my place any time, Aunty...
You could put a neo vintage 30 in it and make it 30 lbs
Single coil through channel 1. Humbuckers through channel 2 ftw
These started off pretty cheap. Now they are getting pretty expensive. When they first came out they were around $999. I think they are now around $1,500.
Yes rediculous cost for such abasic amp
Sorry any fender reissue manufactured at lowest price point that fails day after warranty is shite
A Fender Princeton with a 12" is called a "Mesa Boogie"
😂
“In the beginning, Leo created the Princeton. And on the seventh day, along came Randall Smith!” 🤣
Maybe so, but it’s half the weight, by default. 😂
❤
Great amp ,but too expensive!
A Princeton with a 15” speaker is called : Stevie Ray Vaughan.