Princeton reverb break up versus Champ break up

[traynor_garnet]

I'm seriously considering buying either a silver face Princeton reverb or one of the new reissue amplifiers. I have owned silver face, black face, and tweed champs and know them quite well. How does the Princeton reverb at full breakup compare to a champ?

I'm hoping the Princeton reverb will offer a bit more headroom, similar distortion, but with the added benefit of a bigger speaker.

Any info appreciated,
TG

[traynor_garnet]

Opinions on this? Surely some of you guys have compared Princeton Reverbs and Champs.

TG

[Pencho]

The breakup on my PRRI and BF Vibro Champ are similar. As a home player though I usually run the PRRI at clean volumes and run up the champ to 7-10 for more distorted tones. Like you said, more headroom and more bass from the larger speaker on the Princeton.

[traynor_garnet]

Originally Posted by Pencho

The breakup on my PRRI and BF Vibro Champ are similar. As a home player though I usually run the PRRI at clean volumes and run up the champ to 7-10 for more distorted tones. Like you said, more headroom and more bass from the larger speaker on the Princeton.

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like the Princeton Reverb may do it for me. I love the sound of a cranked up Champ and was hoping the Princeton would be similar.

TG

[T2tele]

Check out Jim Campilongo's newest CD, it's called 'Orange'.. Jim is using his trusty Princeton Reverb's throughout (along with some other amps). I run mine with a COT 50 in front of it and it sounds absolutely killer!! Running the amp into a 12" speaker gives you more headroom and a bigger sound overall, but the 10" speaker has it's own cool thing.

Great classic Fender amps!

T2

[Joe L]

You can also find quite a few Jim Campilongo performances on You tube. The Princeton will give you a bigger sound with a lot of bottom

[GuitarsFromMars]

Princeton NR is Class AB with one less gainstage than a PR. it is clean almost all the way up. PR has one more gain stage(it's still Class AB), and breaks up more easily than a DR(*also Class AB circuit, but pushed harder), not as much as a Princeton NR. A Champ is a single-ended class A with one tube(the Princetons have to have two, by circuit definition), with much quicker break-up than either of the others. Also it's not as loud.