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Old 02-05-2018, 08:25 PM
Bob Womack's Avatar
Bob Womack Bob Womack is online now
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Default NUAD!!! New Used Amp Day!!!

I've been on the hunt for an amp that would give me a range of tones that I have been looking for and the trail brought me to today. I had originally hoped a Deluxe Reverb Reissue would fill this slot but it hasn't.

So, I've added a Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb Amp to the session gang. First off, though it may look like a sixties Silverface reissue it definitely is not. The original Silverface amps were known for gobs of headroom and a slightly hard edge. When CBS bought Fender they thought that was what guitarists wanted. Surprise. Not. So, what do the '68 Custom and this specific amp, bring to the table?

In 2013 Fender already had a successful reissue of the '65 Blackface Princeton Reverb. It is considered a great clone of the original amp. Someone at Fender came up with the idea of looking at the most popular mods people were doing to their old amps and creating an amp with all those mods already done. Thus were born their Vintage Modified amps. Here are their mods on the '68 Custom Princeton Reverb:
  • Fender have reduced the negative feedback to the power tubes to make the amp breakup earlier and have a more compressed, spongy response. You can tell that the first time you plug in.
  • They'e altered the values of some components in the preamp circuit to give it something of the Bassman character - a more prominent low and low-midrange response. This little thing moves some air.
  • They've replaced the original Jensen speaker with a Celestion that sounds broken in as soon as you fire it up and features a smoother high-end.
In effect, the changes make the Custom amps more "Blackface" than the Blackface amps are. I'd been auditioning this amp in a store and comparing it to the reissues and some of the other new modified reissues and had really begun to enjoy the tone of the new '68 Custom. One day while I was auditioning this amp a guy walked up to me and said, "I've got one of these in mint condition that hasn't left my house and that I can offer you at a substantial discount." He had this amp exactly with the exception that he had replaced the stock Celestion speaker with a Warehouse G10C speaker with twice the power handling capability for a smoother response featuring power amp distortion rather than speaker distortion. He would throw in the original speaker as well.

We got things together today after which I got an hour and a half with the little tyke tonight. I'm pretty enthused and feel this amp will quickly be filling a slot in my arsenal. I'll probably roll out a review fairly soon.



Bob
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  #2  
Old 02-05-2018, 08:35 PM
Bluside Bluside is offline
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Well done, Bob.

Looking forward to a full review.
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Old 02-05-2018, 08:50 PM
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Bob, you just described what to me, would be the perfect Fender tone.
I’m a Tele guy. Looking forward to your review.

Mark
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Old 02-05-2018, 09:00 PM
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Congratulations!
I've gotten on people nerves because Fenders sound so good cranked.
My Fender man is SRV.
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Old 02-05-2018, 09:17 PM
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Gutch Gutch is offline
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Congrats! That's a little sweetie!
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Old 02-05-2018, 10:29 PM
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a friend of mine got the 68 custom silverface deluxe and i have to say it is a great amp. it also has the bassman channel and i showed him how to jumper the amp to get different sounds.

great purchase bob. the princeton reverb, old or new, is one of the most sought after amps around. i'd throw the original speaker back in just to A/B it. of course, neither may have been broken in yet.

play music!
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Old 02-05-2018, 11:00 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluside View Post
Well done, Bob.

Looking forward to a full review.
Me too. You sound like you've found winner Bob.
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Old 02-06-2018, 05:48 AM
Darwin Darwin is offline
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Nice catch Bob, especially used!-- Darwin
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Old 02-06-2018, 06:59 AM
clintj clintj is offline
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Congratulations on the new amp. I'm a big fan of Warehouse speakers, and run a 4 pack of their Veteran 10s in my Super Reverb.

Enjoy your new amp!
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Old 02-06-2018, 12:19 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Congrats Bob! Enjoy the Fender.
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Old 02-06-2018, 12:23 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Great find, Bob. Enjoy the ride!
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Old 02-06-2018, 03:34 PM
redir redir is offline
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Amazingly good looking condition for such an old classic amp.
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Old 02-06-2018, 04:18 PM
ParisStarlight ParisStarlight is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Womack View Post
I've been on the hunt for an amp that would give me a range of tones that I have been looking for and the trail brought me to today. I had originally hoped a Deluxe Reverb Reissue would fill this slot but it hasn't.

So, I've added a Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb Amp to the session gang. First off, though it may look like a sixties Silverface reissue it definitely is not. The original Silverface amps were known for gobs of headroom and a slightly hard edge. When CBS bought Fender they thought that was what guitarists wanted. Surprise. Not. So, what do the '68 Custom and this specific amp, bring to the table?

In 2013 Fender already had a successful reissue of the '65 Blackface Princeton Reverb. It is considered a great clone of the original amp. Someone at Fender came up with the idea of looking at the most popular mods people were doing to their old amps and creating an amp with all those mods already done. Thus were born their Vintage Modified amps. Here are their mods on the '68 Custom Princeton Reverb:
  • Fender have reduced the negative feedback to the power tubes to make the amp breakup earlier and have a more compressed, spongy response. You can tell that the first time you plug in.
  • They'e altered the values of some components in the preamp circuit to give it something of the Bassman character - a more prominent low and low-midrange response. This little thing moves some air.
  • They've replaced the original Jensen speaker with a Celestion that sounds broken in as soon as you fire it up and features a smoother high-end.
In effect, the changes make the Custom amps more "Blackface" than the Blackface amps are. I'd been auditioning this amp in a store and comparing it to the reissues and some of the other new modified reissues and had really begun to enjoy the tone of the new '68 Custom. One day while I was auditioning this amp a guy walked up to me and said, "I've got one of these in mint condition that hasn't left my house and that I can offer you at a substantial discount." He had this amp exactly with the exception that he had replaced the stock Celestion speaker with a Warehouse G10C speaker with twice the power handling capability for a smoother response featuring power amp distortion rather than speaker distortion. He would throw in the original speaker as well.

We got things together today after which I got an hour and a half with the little tyke tonight. I'm pretty enthused and feel this amp will quickly be filling a slot in my arsenal. I'll probably roll out a review fairly soon.



Bob
Looks like a beauty! I bet it sounds wonderful. Nothing like a good Fender amp. Enjoy the tones you can create with it.
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  #14  
Old 02-06-2018, 06:11 PM
Beachrunner Beachrunner is offline
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Nice score! Looking forward to the review.
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  #15  
Old 02-06-2018, 06:34 PM
Bob Womack's Avatar
Bob Womack Bob Womack is online now
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Thanks for your kind words, folks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by redir View Post
Amazingly good looking condition for such an old classic amp.
It's only two years old. They've come up with this "Vintage Modified" series that features the Silverface cosmetics.

Bob
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