1969 Fender Princeton Amp

This is the lesser known and rarer non-reverb Fender Princeton Amp. This particular one was made in the first two years of CBS ownership and as such has the sought after “Drip-Edge” aesthetic. No changes were made to the schematic design of the amp in this period so these are basically Blackface amps with Silver-Panel parts and wiring. The non-reverb amps actually have quite a different tone from their effects laden cousins. Without the reverb circuit this Princeton actually has one less gain stage as there is no need for reverb recovery. This makes the amp noticeably cleaner with higher headroom and a little less bright in the tonality department.

This came in having basically never been worked on and was in need of a full restoration. The owner of the amp is going to use this in a band context and as such everything was gone through and upgraded/repaired with this in mind.

The amp was completely restored. The electrolytic cap can was replaced with a new USA made CE brand exact replica for the filter section. The bias circuit and bypass caps were replaced with MOD brand electrolytics with upgraded voltage and temperature ratings. New 2 Watt Metal Oxide/5 Watt Cement power dropping resistors were installed for better reliability and lower noise floor. The same was done for the V1 plate resistors. A new 3 prong AC cord was installed to replace the old 2 prong AC cord and the death cap was removed. The ground switch was also deactivated for safety. The broken SPST Power Switch was replaced with a replica made by Carling.

The original RCA branded 6V6GTA's and the RCA 5U4GB tested good and were kept in place. The original preamp tubes did not test good however and were replaced: V1 = JJ E83CC, V2= EHX 12AX7, V3-V4 = RCA 6V6GT Matched Pair, V5 = RCA 5U4GB. These tubes were picked for best tone and reliability. The 6V6GTA’s Fixed Bias was set to %70 Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 395VDC. The tube sockets were all re-tensioned to stop the tubes from jiggling or falling out while they hang upside down. The pots were sprayed out and the amp was cleaned inside and out. Amp now functions perfectly.