ordering a princeton recording today...

exhausted

http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=2152000000

the curiousity finally got to me. and since 6V6 sounds are about the only ones i like, i figure it'll be perfect for me.

will just use the line out into a cab sim in my pod when i have to be quiet. which is all the time. grrr.

Pacomc79

nice, let me know how it goes. Hopefully the internal compression and OD are nice, I think the att is pretty good.

I'm getting ready to make some wholesale changes and I might need to trade the Orange for something like that although I still want a bassman.

6V6. Ten inch speaker... what's not to like?

If it's too bright you can always find a more british speaker to warm it up. I bet a blue or silver 10 would be nice and chimey.


I honestly wish they'd done the effects loop and the attenuator and a reverb and ditched the internal od and compression, I mean maybe do the vibrato just for kicks, but I'd much rather bypass completely both of those effects and use my own. I bet most of the time you'll just want to crank it anyway.

All Those Yesterdays

6V6 is where it's at for sure. I've considered one of these, just for that 6v6, just add an external speaker cabinet.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Champion-600-5-Watt-1x6-Combo-Amp?sku=485054

exhausted

Pacomc79 wrote:

I honestly wish they'd done the effects loop and the attenuator and a reverb and ditched the internal od and compression, I mean maybe do the vibrato just for kicks, but I'd much rather bypass completely both of those effects and use my own. I bet most of the time you'll just want to crank it anyway.

the od and comp come out of the chain completely if you want. i anticipate using the compressor most of the time though. not for squish but for a little sparkle. from the clips, the OD doesn't sound good. the rest of it does though.

but yes, if i had my druthers, i'd have dropped those two features as well.

now, of course, this thing is going to be quite close in character to my DRRI but with more options for recording. obviously. i'm interested in the line out and the behaviour of that attentuator.

keeponrockin

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

6V6 is where it's at for sure. quote]
Yep.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

the od and comp come out of the chain completely if you want. i anticipate using the compressor most of the time though. not for squish but for a little sparkle. from the clips, the OD doesn't sound good. the rest of it does though.

but yes, if i had my druthers, i'd have dropped those two features as well.

now, of course, this thing is going to be quite close in character to my DRRI but with more options for recording. obviously. i'm interested in the line out and the behaviour of that attentuator.

yeah, it's fantastic for grab and go too. Lighter than the DRRI even, a couple of cables and you're good not to mention the different character of the 10" speaker and the line out should be nice.

I look foward to your review. I bet the EL will be great with delay effects.

exhausted

well, they had two in stock so i guess the testing starts tonight. not much lighter than the DRRI, if at all, though. pretty big cabinet. narrower but deeper.

exhausted

well, here are the initial impressions.

the amp itself sounds very nice in the air and the attentuator seems quite good.

the compressor is way too squishy. there's no way to really apply any light, always on, compression.

the OD is ok. pretty much bog standard.

the line out, which i'll be honest, was my primary interest, isn't very good. the cleans sound ok but lack presence, hit a pedal and it sounds quite tinny and fizzy. can't get enough bass response out of the amp this way either.

now i know that the XLR shouldn't necessarily kill it for me but 90% of the time i have to record and play silently. i already have the amp + attentuator on the wall for the few times i can mic and make noise. i'm always looking for something to beat the pod though since i'm never fully happy with it. but, the pod is still better for direct recording. i have a really nice orange AD30 model going right now that sounds much better.

i think this princeton is going to get returned. it's nice. just not $1225CAN nice by any means. for less, i can get another DRRI and a weber. not that i will. but i can see how it would be perfect as a bedroom amp for someone without a solution. i'm trying to improve on my solutions though i should probably practice instead.

i think i may look into the custom made, 6V6 based boards they sell for the valve jr. someday. but for now i just need to quit buying shit and be happy. after many years i still haven't found anything i like better than what i have.

Pacomc79

that's disapointing, unfortunately it sounds about like it looks then. Rare is it fender does anything that complex that actually sounds good and you know how much of a fan I am of Fender.

you could always look at used Pod Pro's or something like that with the dual XLR's.

Savage and Swart have some great 6V6 amps, but you'd need the XLR out which could be engineered into them.

You still have a Tone Press right?

You might talk to Mr. Allen of Allen Amps that's just south of you there In Washington state I believe.

He's got some nice princeton circuits and perhaps he could engineer you an XLR out in to one.

If not then, there's always Clark.

Or you could be happy with what you have

exhausted

yeah, i pretty much give up. i think i'm just asking too much.

it's a good amp, don't get me wrong. just not good enough.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

yeah, i pretty much give up. i think i'm just asking too much.

it's a good amp, don't get me wrong. just not good enough.

yeah I know, we've all been there. I think it would definately be worth it to check out the Line 6 pro gear or someone elses stuff Tech 21 or TC electronic and then find some kind of nice tube mic pre to warm it up.

I hate that they all seem to squish and fizz pedals though. At least you have stompbox models should you need them.

exhausted

Pacomc79 wrote:

I hate that they all seem to squish and fizz pedals though. At least you have stompbox models should you need them.

i forgot to mention that. the biggest drawback of the XLR was that it couldn't take pedals. very fizzy. but that's also been my experience taking the line out from my attenuator into a POD cabinet simulation as well.

the POD on it's own does a better job with pedals despite it's limitations.

and i use a lot of pedals. i need things to work with pedals. the POD's internal effects are great and i use a lot of them but are too limiting since i can only have one stomp at a time etc. e.i. can't have a comp and an OD on at once. or an octave down and a fuzz at once. thus, pedals.

oh and yes, i still have the tone press.

Pacomc79

I think honestly in computer based recording it's so tough to get pedals to sound good strait in, for whatever reason virtual effects always sound better to me in the virtual world, I always have better luck with mics but that isn't practical for you.

There has to be some way to use pedals in virtual recording, but I haven't found a way yet.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

well, here are the initial impressions.

the amp itself sounds very nice in the air and the attentuator seems quite good.

the compressor is way too squishy. there's no way to really apply any light, always on, compression.

the OD is ok. pretty much bog standard.

the line out, which i'll be honest, was my primary interest, isn't very good. the cleans sound ok but lack presence, hit a pedal and it sounds quite tinny and fizzy. can't get enough bass response out of the amp this way either.

now i know that the XLR shouldn't necessarily kill it for me but 90% of the time i have to record and play silently. i already have the amp + attentuator on the wall for the few times i can mic and make noise. i'm always looking for something to beat the pod though since i'm never fully happy with it. but, the pod is still better for direct recording. i have a really nice orange AD30 model going right now that sounds much better.

i think this princeton is going to get returned. it's nice. just not $1225CAN nice by any means. for less, i can get another DRRI and a weber. not that i will. but i can see how it would be perfect as a bedroom amp for someone without a solution. i'm trying to improve on my solutions though i should probably practice instead.

i think i may look into the custom made, 6V6 based boards they sell for the valve jr. someday. but for now i just need to quit buying shit and be happy. after many years i still haven't found anything i like better than what i have.

When your serious about going for a drop in 6v6 for a valve junior, you let me know. That's what my buddy is getting into doing.

I've heard them and they do sound good. Its what got me into really digging 6v6's. Well then I heard the 5E3 he built, good god that is tone. Not to mention 6v6's seem to handle pedals better then low wattage EL84 amps.

exhausted

i will do that.

this is the one i'm tracking right now.

http://turretboards.com/valve_junior_page.htm#LOADED%20VJR%20BOARDS

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

i will do that.

this is the one i'm tracking right now.

http://turretboards.com/valve_junior_page.htm#LOADED%20VJR%20BOARDS

Yeah that's where he was originally getting his boards, now he just gets blank ones and goes from scratch. Good stuff for sure.

exhausted

well, i took it back today.

and played the new 57 deluxe while demoing my byoc pedals for my buddy at the store. *very* nice. hard to swallow at $2300CAN though. mind you, the 1974x is over $2500. very nice though. extremely tempting to look into a clone.

also, for fun. trying a 63 reverb for a few days. a 63 reverb into a valve junior is either hilarious or stupid... or both. sounds great though. the reverb takes some of the edge off. i'll do some clips this weekend.

http://www3.telus.net/exhausted/amps.JPG

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

well, i took it back today.

and played the new 57 deluxe while demoing my byoc pedals for my buddy at the store. *very* nice. hard to swallow at $2300CAN though. mind you, the 1974x is over $2500. very nice though. extremely tempting to look into a clone.

also, for fun. trying a 63 reverb for a few days. a 63 reverb into a valve junior is either hilarious or stupid... or both. sounds great though. the reverb takes some of the edge off. i'll do some clips this weekend.

http://www3.telus.net/exhausted/amps.JPG

Both of those amps are killer, but I totally agree with the cost, is way to hard to swallow. Especially when weber, or ceriatone makes a fantastic version at a great great price. The thing I've heard with the 1974x's are that the real deal reissues have cheap power transformers in them, that burn up.

I know the ceriatone version comes with a true hand wound transformer that Nik winds it self. I've heard ceriatones version fo the 5E3 and the 1974x, although the 1974x version I heard was a TMB version. No tremolo instead the 2nd channel had a treble mid and bass knobs, the 2nd channel is almost a plexi.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

well, i took it back today.

and played the new 57 deluxe while demoing my byoc pedals for my buddy at the store. *very* nice. hard to swallow at $2300CAN though. mind you, the 1974x is over $2500. very nice though. extremely tempting to look into a clone.

also, for fun. trying a 63 reverb for a few days. a 63 reverb into a valve junior is either hilarious or stupid... or both. sounds great though. the reverb takes some of the edge off. i'll do some clips this weekend.

http://www3.telus.net/exhausted/amps.JPG

yeah that's why I love Mike Clarks version that's around 1200 US and cheaper instead.

exhausted

Pacomc79 wrote:

yeah that's why I love Mike Clarks version that's around 1200 US and cheaper instead.

clark put one up on ebay today. brand new for $875.

TheLuckyOnes

thanks for the Princeton review, Ex. I've been watching for them since they've been introduced, and nobody around me has carried it. (i'm talking like ten stores here...). I've loved every 70's silverface princeton i've ever played. Found a silverface about two weeks back at a GC and it was perfect.

SG with P=90's straight in, volume never got above 4, because by then it was distorting like a DRRI on 10.
Killer garage-y rock tones. Early Who maybe. Couldn't clean it up if i wanted to. Loved it.

So i asked the sales guy about the Princeton Recording, and he said they had one, it went out, had one more, went out, then nothing. Nobody asks for 'em, they don't carry 'em. His opinion of the tone was that it didn't stand up to the Silverface at all. GC opinion, take it as you will....

aaron

exhausted

yeah, general consensus is that the real deal is far superior. still, i'm glad i tried it and saw for myself. didn't cost me anything.

exhausted

Pacomc79 wrote:

yeah that's why I love Mike Clarks version that's around 1200 US and cheaper instead.

i ordered a 5E3 kit from marsh. this should be interesting. it seems he's got the best reputation for supporting the build if you run into problems.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

i ordered a 5E3 kit from marsh. this should be interesting. it seems he's got the best reputation for supporting the build if you run into problems.

Very cool

exhausted

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Very cool

yeah, that fender reissue is frickin haunting me. so i figured i'd save $1400 and learn to build an amp at the same time. also waiting on a tone/pull gain kit, new tubes, and the OT for the EVJ too. yay solder fumes.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

yeah, that fender reissue is frickin haunting me. so i figured i'd save $1400 and learn to build an amp at the same time. also waiting on a tone/pull gain kit, new tubes, and the OT for the EVJ too. yay solder fumes.

link to the kit you bought for the 5E3?

My buddy started out with doing a point to point version of the valve junior, but had it set up to be able to run a single 6v6 or a single EL84. Then he built the ceriatone 5E3. Then modded that to make it quieter. The 5E3 took him some time. And its always fun to be there on the initial turn on phase. The pasty white look on his face as he turns his head and flips the switch. So far no smoke, fire or explosions.

exhausted

http://store.marshamps.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29

i looked pretty hard at the ceriatone but, given that i'd also have to source a cab and speaker with them, the cost would have been higher.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

yeah, that fender reissue is frickin haunting me. so i figured i'd save $1400 and learn to build an amp at the same time. also waiting on a tone/pull gain kit, new tubes, and the OT for the EVJ too. yay solder fumes.

that sounds like a lot of fun too. Make sure you take a lot of pictures....and ready the attenuator...:D

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

http://store.marshamps.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29

i looked pretty hard at the ceriatone but, given that i'd also have to source a cab and speaker with them, the cost would have been higher.

The hand wound transformers that Nik makes from ceriatone make it worth it for sure.

exhausted

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

The hand wound transformers that Nik makes from ceriatone make it worth it for sure.

to be honest, he needs to do more with his website then. perhaps push some of these things. it's pretty barebones.

i'm confortable with the marsh. they're heyboers.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

to be honest, he needs to do more with his website then. perhaps push some of these things. it's pretty barebones.

i'm confortable with the marsh. they're heyboers.

I know what you mean about his website. Lots of links down etc. Honestly the quality of his kits are amazing, and you get the best of the best with the equipment supplied.