Fender 68 Princeton Reissue versus Fender George Benson

[Timo]

I have a Princeton Clone- a Vintage Sound Amplification 15. It's a Princeton but better- hand wired, with a 12 inch WGS G12C speaker (copy of an old Jensen) and top quality components. Between the two amps originally asked about, I'd go with the Princeton- and either the 68 custom or the 65 reissue would both work- but if you can, try to find one of the many excellent clones of these Fender amps. In my experience, the basic Fender amps are great, but the clones are often even better- and not always more expensive either.

[medblues]

So you run your electric acoustic guitar through the effects loop for warmth with piezo pickups?

Yes it works really well with my Godin Nylon String and Takamine steel string (which also has a little vacuum tube in its preamp), neither produces those annoying trebles that comes with piezo (or modeling- I have run the Line 6 Pod through it too). You pay the price with the limited frequency range of the C12K speaker which cannot produce much "sparkle" at the highest harmonic frequencies and there is more bass than some people may like but that is the kind of sound I like even from my acoustics (the Takamine has a cedar top for instance).

[Longways to Go]

I have the 65 PRRI & it is fantastic -- I also think it is better for jazz than the 68. I'd skip the HRD line -- big & heavy for home use IMO. If you're going bigger, might as well look at the 65 & 68 DRRI lines.
I also think a hand-wired Princeton clone would be super.
Superchamp XD/X2 is very satisfying small amp as well . . . happy hunting!

[Max405]

Great tip MedBlues! I'll try that.
JD

[John A.]

If those are the only choices, I think the 68 PRC is more useful than the GB HRD. But I second the suggestion of either saving up for, or looking for a used PRRI, which I think is even better for the purposes the OP described (more clean headroom, a bit more of the classic scooped Fender tone).I think the GB HRD is overkill. I had a similar-scale amp for a long time ('60 Fender Pro). It was great when I did loud gigs, but frustrating for quieter uses, and very hard to schlep.

Another option, if you don't want to hunt for something used or spend as much as the PRRI is the Blues Jr. Among the 65 PRRI, 68 PRC, Blues Jr, (or a vintage PR if you can scare one up at a price you can live with), there are differences that boil down to taste, and differences in clean headroom, but they all fill roughly the same niche. The GB HRD is a different beast.

John

[medblues]

Great tip MedBlues! I'll try that.
JD

If you want to hear an approximate sample, this was recorded by pkirk who is a member here:

Go to 8:20 for the nylon string guitar piezo sample (Turner Renaissance hybrid), but he plays a Heritage JS, Tele etc and everything sounds good. If it can be done with a single-ended champ circuit (VHT Special 6), it should be possible with the George Benson HRDx :-)

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, John.

[Rob MacKillop]

MedBlues, the VHT sounds good too...

[docbop]

When I was looking for a tube amp and still in L.A. my favorite store who really knows their stuff they said of the 68 Reissue the one that customers and they like is the 68 Deluxe Reverb the others are okay. They pointed out they are definitely a different sound than the BF reissues.

I had a DRRI and liked it a lot and traded it away. Grrrrrrrr Then I got a George Benson and its a very different sound to me and it's okay it's too bright for me. I just bought another tube amp that should be here soon, so my Benson will be history.

[medblues]

MedBlues, the VHT sounds good too...

Yes, it fits the home use description better but was not on your list so I did not mention it. I opted for the head so that I can use high vs low efficiency cabs to adjust the loudness and not risk the stock speaker being low quality.

Pros: Small, light weight, sturdy (point to point circuit), classic tube sound (clean and overdriven), Fender inspired (blackface champ), inexpensive, head version, two power levels

Cons: no reverb, very limited EQ, no effects loop, can pickup noise (like radio broadcast) when high gain is used, a bit ugly, low headroom

[skykomishone]

Also that preamp out on the HRD can be used to drive an interface for digital recording.....

What kind of interface? I have an HRD, and computers, what goes in between, is that what you're talking about here? Love to learn how to do that decently, and easily. Thanks.

[boatheelmusic]

Yes, goes in between amp and computer.

An irig HD will accept a line level input (from the HRD preamp out) and provide a digital out for ios (ipad or iphone) or OSX (mac).

It is 24/96 resolution, comes with a variety of digital connectors, and costs $100. Mine was about $70 on sale.

There are all kinds of other units, but this is inexpensive, high quality and flexible in use.

You can also go directly from your guitar into the irig HD then into your computer.

IK Multimedia iRig HD Guitar Interface For iOS and IP-IRIG-HD-IN

[ESCC]

MedBlues, the VHT sounds good too...

+1 on the VHT Special 6, great little practice amp with that Fender "scooped mid" tone, built like a tank.

[Wildcat]

Yes it works really well with my Godin Nylon String and Takamine steel string (which also has a little vacuum tube in its preamp).

12AU7 dual-triode vacuum tube
Ctp-3 Cooltube™

The CTP-3 CoolTube™, the first and only onboard tube preamp for acoustic guitar, produces a rich, full sound. It takes its name from innovative Takamine™ technology that runs its 12AU7 dual-triode vacuum tube at very low voltages—so low that it stays cool to the touch—with variable tube tone that can be adjusted from bright and brilliant to thick and warm.
The full-range EQ section uses shelving filters to sculpt bass and treble frequencies, with semi-parametric shaping control over the midrange. A control knob adjusts the frequency from 250Hz to 5kHz, and a pinpoint-precise onboard chromatic tuner is standard equipment. Other features include Mid and High cut switches for a second pickup.
Control

• Volume
• Low/Mid/High
• Mid-Frequency
• Cool Tube
• Notch
• Aux Pu Mix Volume
• Aux Pu Gain

Switch

• Cool Tube Standby
• Tuner Power On-Off(With Mute)
• Tuner Pitch Change
• Notch Cut Level Select(-6Db/-1 2Db)
• Main Pu Gain(Stee14-Nylon)
• Aux Pu Eq(Mid Cut/High Cut)

- See more at: Takamine Guitars | Pre-Amps

[medblues]

Yes, that is what I have Wildcat. I have to be careful not to rattle and bump it.

[fumblefingers]

Super, Dave

One channel is fine. I can always add a pedal if I need some grit at low levels. But mainly I'm looking for clean, warm, tubey.

Benson.

also has fun distortion when needed.

will look better in the apartment too, probably.

[Jabberwocky]

Yamaha THR10C, Rob. Give it some consideration, especially for your stated purpose. Nice clean simulated Deluxe channel for a small sum. And it allows you to record digitally.

Otherwise, Fender 65 PRRI or 68 Custom PRRI, mainly because I love the little 6v6 cube. And you may upgrade the speaker to a nice Ipswich-made Celestion 10" Gold.

[neatomic]

rob i recommended the '68 in the other thread..cause i think you'll get a little more low end out of it than the '65...the '68 has a bassman styled circuit and uses a celestion speaker, thats known to have good low end...

this is from a review by premier guitar- Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb Review | Premier Guitar


It took all of one note from a Gibson ES-335 with stock ’57 Classic pickups to know I was going to like this amp. Even at living room volume, the Princeton possesses the sparkly and slightly spongy response you hope for from a good Fender amp. The nice, fat jazz sound from the neck pickup had me reaching for my Real Book. The output remained clean until the volume knob reached 4 or 5. This setting was loud and clean enough for most jazz gigs...


cheers

[Rob MacKillop]

Yamaha THR10C, Rob. Give it some consideration, especially for your stated purpose. Nice clean simulated Deluxe channel for a small sum. And it allows you to record digitally.

I actually have that already. I can get a nice sound, but it sounds imitation, somehow not real. Hard to describe. No air being moved, maybe. But it's not bad at all, just not inspiring enough.

[Rob MacKillop]

rob i recommended the '68 in the other thread..cause i think you'll get a little more low end out of it than the '65...

Still sounds good to me, friend. I'll certainly check one out.

[newsense]

Hi Rob

I currently have a Princeton Recording amp for sale on eBay. This is like a PRRI, but without the tremolo, plus it has an optional solid state amp you can run between the power tubes and the speaker as an attenuator. There are other additions, such as a line out and compressor which can be useful - the line out sounds particularly good.

Fender Princeton Recording Amp | eBay

Many people are suspicious of these amps, as a number of users did have problems with the attenuator, however this one has been trouble-free for 7 years. I don't expect it to sell in the next couple of days as it has already been posted on eBay for more than 2 weeks.

If you are interested in trying it at home for a couple of weeks, with no commitment to buy, PM me and we'll see if we can come to some arrangement.

All the best

Andy

[Rob MacKillop]

Interesting, Andy, but not what I'm looking for, I think. Good luck with the sale!

[Max405]

That Princeton recording amp very interesting. Very useful indeed.

[newsense]

Thanks Rob, - no problem.

I bought it on a whim a few weeks ago, but the tone isn't quite what I was expecting. However, I'm thinking that if it doesn't sell, I may play with a speaker swap (Eminence Li'l Buddy) and the preamp tubes.