I'm interested in getting an old Fender S/F princeton reverb - should I stay away from the Master Vol. push / pull boost era? OR can they be modded to B/F specs and sound just as good. What year did the master vol. come in? When did they start glueing the baffolding? Thanks for the input.
I played one in November and I wish I would have bought it. It was worked on by Landgraff....sounded great...papery-woody and I played it until I got shut down by the music store owner...haha...
Obviously if you can afford a BF, or early SF sans the MV and pull boost, do so. But I'd certainly not write off any PTP Fender amp without at least trying it out. Some of those mid to late 70s amps really rock. Not sure about if it can be modded to get rid of the MV/pull boost, but I'd think it would be possible.
the amp i played still had the pull boost and the good stuff happened when I engaged the boost...send it to Landgraff!
I've got a 79' with the pull-boost. As long as you leave the switch in then it's essentially the same circuit. I did the Stokes mod and put in a Rajin Cajun and it sounds incredible. I think they went to the fixed baffle around late 70/71. I have a 68' Non-reverb that I built a 12" baffle for. The two amps keep pace and compliment each other perfectly.
I have two BF Princeton Reverbs, but I think if you just put the master all the way up and didn't use the boost, it would probably still be about the same. Both of mine have 12" speakers.
Princetons were never made with master volume controls. The pull boost is harmless if you don't engage it. It can be easily modified to a mid boost or other feature. The circuit changes from BF to SF pull boost are VERY minor and can be converted to virtual BF spec's (minus the rectifier change) with little effort. The stock SF PRs, in general, sound just fine.
I have a 71 (fixed baffle).....with a Rajin Cajun 10".....bad ass little amp. Run a clean boost through it & you have one loud little amp.
Great - thanks for all your responses - wonderful wisdom around here. Currently have an old S/F Deluxe Reverb, which I love, but gets a little too loud for small gigs, I have a hotplate, but that sucks some tone. I use channel 1 (no tremlolo channel) and it has loads of bite with vol. at 3. I'm thinking the Princeton could give me the right vol. and break up for a small gig. Plus easy to carry around. Thanks again - Damon
