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This is very frustrating. I play a lot of chord melody (my own compositions) on my Eastman AR403 SB which I like very much. I replaced the stock pickup with a Gibson Classic 57 humbucker. A year ago I paid $1700 (tax included) for this Princeton Reverb with the 12" speaker option and no matter how I fiddle with the amp settings on both inputs and the guitar tone knob, every time I arpeggiate a chord that involves the high E string or pick a single note on that string it sounds unacceptable. Its like shrill piercing sound that jumps out at you. My strings, by the way, are Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bebop .011 - .047.
What is really sad is that I do not have this problem on my $400 Fishman MiniLoudbox. I can't say enough good things about this amp. When I play the high E string on that amp it sounds very smooth and mellow like the other strings
So before I try and sell this Fender, and everyone knows the stellar reputation of the Princeton series, does anyone have any suggestions other than "dump the Eastman and buy a Telecaster"...Actually, if Fender had a thinline telecaster with a 3/4" nut width I would but they don't
Thanks to any who respond to my question.
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10-12-2025 01:44 PM
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There was a thread recently on a similar subject that might be of interest to you, (post #15) Peter Bernstein's effect pedal
Originally Posted by John H. Power
This is very frustrating. I play a lot of chord melody (my own compositions) on my Eastman AR403 SB which I like very much. I replaced the stock pickup with a Gibson Classic 57 humbucker. A year ago I paid $1700 (tax included) for this Princeton Reverb with the 12" speaker option and no matter how I fiddle with the amp settings on both inputs and the guitar tone knob, every time I arpeggiate a chord that involves the high E string or pick a single note on that string it sounds unacceptable. Its like shrill piercing sound that jumps out at you. My strings, by the way, are Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bebop .011 - .047.
What is really sad is that I do not have this problem on my $400 Fishman MiniLoudbox. I can't say enough good things about this amp. When I play the high E string on that amp it sounds very smooth and mellow like the other strings
So before I try and sell this Fender, and everyone knows the stellar reputation of the Princeton series, does anyone have any suggestions other than "dump the Eastman and buy a Telecaster"...Actually, if Fender had a thinline telecaster with a 3/4" nut width I would but they don't
Thanks to any who respond to my question.
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Thanks. I read that but I am not sure what the suggestion is for me. That red pedal appears to be some kind of custom made pedal. Should I try a RAT pedal? Another poster mentions a eq pedal or a parametric eq. Would that be a choice? What disturbs me is why should I pay $1700 for an amp and then have to spend even more money yo correct a sound issue on one string. Originally Posted by SOLR
Is it possible to lower the post under the high E string on the pickup?
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Before you bail on the amp try some different tubes and guitar cables. Speakers make a big difference too. Is it an alnico or ceramic speaker? You can try lowering the high e pole piece screw on that Classic 57 pickup too. Lots of things to try.
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Re reading your OP I seem to recall a similar issue wayy back, and that was tube related, if that's the case any EQ would not alleviate this anomaly. Perhaps get the amp or tubes tested? Lowering the height would also lower the output of that string, but again if it's amp related you would not fix it. Originally Posted by John H. Power
AI offers these possible fixes: 65 fender amp shrill sounds - Google Search
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The 12-inch speaker may be accentuating both the highs and lows in a Princeton, which may not be ideal for the more acoustic-built guitar, like an Eastman. Some people like hemp speakers to get a more mellow tone out of blackface amps.
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Thanks for the input. I did just lower the post about a full turn and it sounds better. Not really notice much of a volume difference if any. This amp is 1 year old. I would be very disappointed and aggravated if it was a tube issue since it has never been out of the house and only played a few hours a week.
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You seem to have eliminated the possible tube problem then Originally Posted by John H. Power
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Sounds like an unhappy match between your guitar and the frequency response of that particular 12" cone. If you look at the response curves of guitar speakers you will see they are not smooth, but have many small resonance spikes along with larger bumps and valleys.
Offerings from just one company can have rather different tone, or color. A different speaker is not a large expense, nor difficult to install. Study curves for a smoother response. I prefer woofers to clangy cones intended for rock.
The Fishman's frequency response is intended to be flat, more hi-fi, friendly to acoustic instruments. It therefore lacks the clang. My recommendation is a 12" woofer. Just a plain ceramic-magnet model would be fine, no need for alnico. Definitely avoid neodynium magnets, which typically are brighter in tone (tighter field pattern).
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My SF Princeton has a 12 and sounds fantastic with all of my archtops. So did the CS PR I used for years. I strongly doubt that this a mismatch between guitar and amp.
There’s no way to intelligently evaluate or discuss a sonic abnormality without hearing it. Can you record it and post audio or video so we can all hear it?
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A Jensen speaker sounds hugely different than a JBL. The Fender Jensens have a rather dark high end. Celestions tend brighter. I'm happy with Eminence these days, but used the "Special Design" Jensens in my rock days, to tame the crackly distortion I was using through my Twin Reverb.
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I would seriously look into the tubes. It doesn't matter how old or how new they are. They do fail and before that happens, they can go wonky.
Can you try another guitar in the same amp?
You're gonna need to solve this problem and you may learn a few things along the way. I would get comfortable and poke around inside the amp's back. Check the speaker cable and connections, the REVERB cables and connections (they can be defective or loose), and finally the tubes. Gently remove them from their sockets and then put them back carefully so as to re-fresh their connections. Sometimes it is th reverb tank or connectors. My PR had a myriad of connection and reverb problems. And once we eliminated a hum problem by replacing the pre-amp tube in a new Fender amp.
I hope it is a simple fix for you, whatever the prob is. Try the simple things first.
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The 10" speaker on my Princeton reissue was terrible with exactly the same issue. I swapped it for a Celestion Gold - problem solved!
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Have you tried another guitar?
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I would bail on the amp. I've been in your shoes for various reasons and now I'm 100% solid state for professional uses. It's just not worth it for me anymore.
Good luck to you.
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Some tubes are just bad. I had 3 different JJ 12AX7 with arcing issues, they were new from the box. No issues with them since. Originally Posted by John H. Power
If you don’t want to deal with the probability, get a Quilter. Some tubes last 65 years, a few last 65 minutes.
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Shrill and piercing is not how I would characterise my Princeton Reverb clone. Do you know what 12" driver is installed in your PRRI Limited Edition?
Your Eastman may be exciting sympathetic vibrations i.e. resonances in the combo. Did you try tightening the amp chassis or driver to the cabinet? Might be a few loose screws.
It just might be that the 12" driver is too bright for you. A hempcone driver might be more palatable but that involves putting in money which I gather you are not keen on. The aforementioned Celestion Gold AlNiCo is a favourite replacement; I have a 10" Celestion Gold in a 12" combo cabinet.
The Eminence GA12-64 is a recommended driver swap as it purportedly is closest to the Fender originals. But that might not have the tonal palette that suits your tonal palate.
I swapped out the V1 12AX7 for a lower gain 5751. Try that. A 5751 is more suitable for us jazzers anyway.
An EQ pedal in front of the amp is something else you could try. I like the Empress ParaEQ and Tech21 NYC Q-Tip.
Have you tried finagling the saddle on your Eastman? Might it be causing the e4 string to ping where it is seated? Perhaps you need to check that there are no odd burrs?
Don't give up on the Princeton Reverb just yet.
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There's probably nothing wrong with your amp. A speaker change to a hemp cone and/or alnico magnet wiIl likely help you. Transducers are the big levers in sound. But, tube changes are almost guaranteed to get you closer to, or nail, the sonic signature you want. One immediate and cheap change to try is to sub the 12ax7 in v1 position with a NOS 5751, Sylvania or RCA. That will curb gain some, reduce noise at the front end and give the amp a little more elasticity. Better still, just take out all the other stock Chinese or Russian tubes and find a set of NOS Sylvania, GE, RCA. I had until recently a 30 year old Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue I bought new back in '95, which I ran NOS tubes in for a big, welcome change in tonality, elasticity and feel.
If you don't want to do all that, then, just the v1 change and change in rectifiers can tame the shrillness you object to. Among new production 5ar4 rects, the JJ sounds the most musical and "warm" with some "sag" that is not present in most 5ar/gz34 rectifiers, new production or NOS. Just keep a spare JJ or two around, or if used daily, preemptively change them every 9 months or so. They're affordable. Among NOS, 5ar4/GZ34 from Amperex, Mazda, Brimar and vintage Japanese ones are quite nice. The usual NOS grail of British Mullard GZ34, while great in hifi amps, puts a very tight sphincter into a guitar amp, so I avoid it for that application.
Here's an article on Princeton tube rolling from a hifi publication you might find interesting.
More Adventures with NOS vacuum tubes for the Fender '65 Princeton Reverb reissue guitar amplifier! Postscript added. - Jeff's Place
It goes further, into instrument and power cable comments. Cables definitely sound different from one another, even on a guitar amp that tops out around 5kHz, but what you might prefer is totally subjective. Even in hifi amps, I consider power cables essentially "fixed parametric equalizers," bringing their own voicing. Of course once you start down wanting to be sure you've found the right power cord, you can get lost wondering if yet another cable X will get me closer? Like, Eric Johnson neurotic. So, only you know where you have to draw the line. But remember, new amps come with commodity modern production tubes which are electrically fine, but there's a lot of tone to be mined from still-plentiful, robust, NOS tubes. Oh, did I mention getting into trying different baffle board woods? Replacement cabinet woods?....
Phil
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I would not recommend a RAT, as that is a distortion pedal, unless you're looking for a Scofield kind of sound. Originally Posted by John H. Power
Peter Bernstein's pedal is probably a specifically voiced tone control with a narrow Q around the target frequency that lets him dial out exactly the kind of thing you're describing. He noted that he finds this more in recent Fender amps, which may in turn suggest that there have been a change at Fender in the tone stack, speakers, or something. The classic use of a Princeton is cranked up to saturate and break up without being punishingly loud (e.g., Larry Carlton on Steely Dan records); to keep from getting mushy, the amp may be voiced brighter.
Leo Fender was a C&W music fan, not a jazz fan. Fender guitars and amps are voiced with his preferences as a foundation. They are also, of course, designed to compliment Fender guitars. To that end, the classic use of the Fender tone stack for jazz is to turn the bass and treble knobs to 0 and the mid knob to 10, if the amp has a mid knob. That is as close to a flat frequency response as a Fender amp gets. Then you can add back in bass and treble to taste.
I think you shouldn't have to pay $1700 for an amp and then have to gum around with it to get it to sound good. A $1700 amp should sound freakin' spectacular out of the box.
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Do you get the same shrill sound from the B string above 12th fret? The culprit may be the guitar (sitar-y sound from bridge - unlikely with ebony, loose top brace somehow resonating with the Fender, not the other amp), the pickup (resonating), the amp (on which I'm not an expert but stay safe with solid state), the speaker (I've installed 900 and found a few defective samples, but none with your issue) or the cab (a badly glued brace for example). This is why the least expensive way to start excluding culprits is to try another guitar first.
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Apologies if this is obvious, but have you tried moving the pickup pole piece away from the strings? Originally Posted by John H. Power
This is very frustrating. I play a lot of chord melody (my own compositions) on my Eastman AR403 SB which I like very much. I replaced the stock pickup with a Gibson Classic 57 humbucker. A year ago I paid $1700 (tax included) for this Princeton Reverb with the 12" speaker option and no matter how I fiddle with the amp settings on both inputs and the guitar tone knob, every time I arpeggiate a chord that involves the high E string or pick a single note on that string it sounds unacceptable. Its like shrill piercing sound that jumps out at you. My strings, by the way, are Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bebop .011 - .047.
What is really sad is that I do not have this problem on my $400 Fishman MiniLoudbox. I can't say enough good things about this amp. When I play the high E string on that amp it sounds very smooth and mellow like the other strings
So before I try and sell this Fender, and everyone knows the stellar reputation of the Princeton series, does anyone have any suggestions other than "dump the Eastman and buy a Telecaster"...Actually, if Fender had a thinline telecaster with a 3/4" nut width I would but they don't
Thanks to any who respond to my question.
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I would investigate this. My PRRI has an Eminence L'il Buddy and I can get a great jazz tone out of the second input (first input is still too bright for me). A Cannabis Rex might sort you for a more mellow tone. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Last edited by Christian Miller; 10-14-2025 at 01:46 PM.
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My head is spinning from all these suggestions but thanks for taking the time to give them to me. To try all these options sounds lke way more effort and/or money than I hoped to expend on what is, for all practical purposes, a brand new amp. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Sounds like it may be easier and more efficient to take the amp to an expert along with the guitar and have him figure out what to do.
I did lower the pole under the high E string and it did help.
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For what it’s worth, I’m also using an Eminence Lil’ Buddy in a Princeton and it sounds great (I also use the second input).
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Try the second channel. Some Fender amps have a "bright cap" on the Channel 1 input; I don't know if that's the case with the Princeton. If so and if it's contributing to the problem, that's easily remedied. Originally Posted by John H. Power
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