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Hello,
my favorite amp is my Princeton reverb. But with a lot of guitars, it has too much bass- even when the bass knob is turned too zero. With single coils it s ok but humbuckers are a problem. I only play fingerstyle jazz, so I use the flesh on my thumb and the nails on the other fingers which I think makes the problem even bigger because the bass is increased this way. With my main guitar (Benedetto Bravo with Fralin P92 pickup) the sound is great and I do not have a problem, but normal humbucker archtops are a real problem.
Is this a common problem and what would you do? Are all fender amps like this. I wish the bass would go to minus 2-3.
Would be great if one of you have an advice.
Fabian
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04-06-2016 02:59 PM
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Too much bass or farty bass? The output transformer of the PRRI is undersized and a recommended replacement is an Allen Amp TO20 or TO20B. This gives you better bass control. This is usually the first upgrade.
I like a 10" speaker in the PR circuit and won't swap it for a 12". But lots of folks do that.
Google "upgrading the output transformer of a Princeton Reverb". You will find lots of discussion all over the internet.
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It is normal. It is so depressing!
There is easier mod to tame the bass than changing the transformer. Changing two capasitors. And of course the middle pot mod makes the bass sound less. And of course there could be a 10" speaker which is 'thinner' on the bass side.
I will search the info page later.
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Put a Jensen P10Q Alnico in it. The C10's are a bit bass heavy.
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I like the Eminence 1028K. The output transformer upgrade is still worthwhile. It's only $64 to $69 and it drops right in.
The amp would respond and sound better overall with any driver you put in.
http://www.allenamps.com/parts.php#transformers
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The output transformer won't help with the bass and I could never achieve it with a speaker change.. Tone stack changing can somewhat help as using graphc or parametric eqs but what really did the trick for me was this pedal
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-...Uzb1FLZ21sM1kA
A simple passive low cut filter. With archtops and humbuckers it's a must!
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Also, you can try lowering the bass side of your neck pick-up.
John
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not that it's going to do you any good...but why i prefer the princeton 68 reissue..has modified tone stack and schumacher custom transformers
for the '65 i'd try a low watt alnico speaker...like a weber signature...it'll filter some of the mud and give you some more upper midrange honk
cheers
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I play fingerstyle too.
Originally Posted by John A.
All my amps sound bass heavy.
I think it's not the amps, it's me.
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I can't speak to that, but I have PR which I found boomy sounding at first, but lowering the bass side of the pickup did the trick, and I found I liked my guitar sound better after doing this through other amps as well. Originally Posted by Longways to Go
John
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I've got the PRRI and did the transformer mod, changed that baffle and added a 12" Celestino gold - love the amp now.
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What do you run the treble at? Crank it up baby. I run treble 7 & bass at 5 or 6, some rooms 4.
Too much treble role it off at the guitar - guitar volume at say 7 and tone 5.
Here is my Princeton 65 PRRI with Eminence Legend and ES 175 which have plenty of bottom end in their own right, amp volume about 4 or 5:
That was with the Gibson l5 strings (I think 10 gauge), I wish I could get more of them.
This is with chromes (13 gauge) but volume at just under 3, no where near as much life as volume at 4 but I don't always want the neighbours listening in:
I had an Eminence Copperhead for a while but i thought it had too much mid. For the sound I like, which I guess is fairly aggressive (my idea of jazz is a smoked filled Minton's packed with party animals, not sit down black tie rattle your jewelry music) I found the Tomastik did not work. The chromes although more bottom end than the Tomatik (both round and flat) I find cut better with that increased brightness. So I guess I am saying I have a bottom heavy amd guitar and strings but I think the bass is manageable.
Playing those big lush Kenny Burrell chords yeah the bass is big but not over powering and the overall sound does come pretty close to Burrell's sound, I will record one of his chord solo's soon and let you know.
Not saying any of the above is holly grail by any means just where I am at your ears can tell you if these are options for you (you may listen and think poo poo).
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play on a tele.... and you'll never complain about too much bass...
the above comment i do make tongue in cheek...
but that said many of princeton/deluxe players use Fender instruments ...for fingerstyle i think how sweet Ted Greene always sounded with a tele and fender amp ..........or Bill Frissell .as they been designed to work together ....
in fact i too play fingerstyle chord melody with my tele and princeton clone and i wind the bass full ....
so maybe look at the combination of amp and guitar too... not that anyone is better than the other just some are more suited to work together
*** yes and what someone said re changes the values of your pots ....
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does jabberwocky know everything (about archtops etc.)?
i think he might
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I have to admit it, a Tele or Strat into a Fender 6V6 amp is a match made in music heaven. I always have to worry about mud, or driving things too hard with low end when I use humbuckers.
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Got a Princeton Reverb copy recently so, yessirree, I have been reading up! Originally Posted by Groyniad
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I never had a problem with too much bass on my princeton reverb copy. But I played mostly with a medium gauge pick not fingerstyle. You could try the suggested mods or I suggest growing your thumb nail and learning to use it. The reason that Wes never sounded too dark or bassy was because of a callus wasn't it?
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Before doing anything drastic like changing the output transformer, I'd attenuate some of the bass signal by making the capacitor changes Herbie mentioned.
If you can't do it yourself, then any competent tech will be able to and the good thing is they are reversible if ...
1. you don't like it or
2. you want to sell it on.
Change the V1 cathode bypass cap (C18 on Fender Schematic) from 22uF to 4.7uF or there about. That will lift the signal floor up from around 12hz! to 50hz or so, much more sensible for a guitar!
Change the Phase Inverter to Output tube coupling caps (C10 and 16 on Fender Schematic) from the 0.1uF that are in there to 0.022uF. Again this will attenuate the lowest bass notes which tend to swamp the output section without adding anything good!
If these mods still don't get you to where you want to be then you might want to consider a bigger output transformer.
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Thank you all for your help. Wonderful place here.
I use the stock speaker which is 10 Inch, so I guess a 12 Inch speaker would even worsen everything.
Regarding pickup adjustment. I already do this which helps but it s not a "perfect" solution. You loose bass but you also loose a volume for instance, when I play the low E-string as a bass and ad low melody notes on the a or d string with my fingernail, one can hear that the notes are more quiet than notes on the high e or b string-but it helps a bit´, even though it is not possible on every guitar for example on guitars with floaters.
When it comes to modifying the amp- I have to admit that I could never do this on my own. I am able to Change strings on my guitar and that s all. Since I live in the middle of nowhere in Germany I have to find someone first who could do it. Maybe I will just stick to my single coilish guitar and forget about humbuckers for my playing style. I prefer the clean sound of single coils anyway.
-A tele is wonderful but I m really tall and the guitar Looks like a smal toy on me. And the necks are too narrow, and string spacing for the right Hand is not great, and it s 25,5 scale, and no adjustable pole pieces for heavier strings.No ARCHTOP
I will try the Settings Gomez.
But it s interesting to see that I m not the only one that thinks about the bass on an amp.
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On Fender amps, I always plug humbucker guitars in on the 2nd input. It's padded and will reduce the signal input to the preamp.
Of course, it's also possible that your playing style and guitar simply aren't a good match for a Princeton.
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Lowering the bass side is good but try also screwing the pole screws of the chosen bass strings up same time.
That will give You a bit of presence for the strings upon them.
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Change the .1 cap that goes to the bass pot to a .022. Will reduce bass and accentuate mids.
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Fabiansey, Reußenzehn Reußenzehn Tube Amplifiers
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yes!....same issue with the mustang III....I also have humbuckers and play fingerstyle....considering all the tone combinations available I have been able to get it down and under control....basically base off and using the pre-amp setting....yeah...that's my only complaint on the amp....booming base....I'm glad you brought this up...I though it was just my problem....
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