Princeton reverb 68, 65 (reissues) or the 65 w/ a 12 inch cannabis Rex

[Fat Fingers]

Hello!

I am thinking of getting a Fender Princeton reverb for my home use. There seem to be 3 available. A 68 reissue, a 65 reissue, and a special edition 65 reissue with a 12 inch Cannabis Rex speaker (sweetwater exclusive).

Does anyone have any recommendations? I have heard that the 12 inch speaker sound too bassy and "farty" and just doesn't give the wonderful mids that a Princeton is famous for. On the other hand a lot of reviews seem to love the bigger speaker.

I am pretty much a novice and just want some input on making a good choice here.

[blille]

The 65 with the CRex was perfect for me. 68 didn’t have enough headroom (for me) and I love the CRex. Definitely not farty. What it does is remove some of the harshness in high frequencies. Depending on your gear, that means losing clarity for some.

So it depends what you’re after. If you don’t know and you’re a beginner, any will do. All great amps, just different.

[neatomic]

check this past forum thread..lots good info!!

Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb Reissue or Fender '65 Princeton Reverb Reissue????

luck

cheers

[Jabberwocky]

Fender '65 Princeton Reverb 15-watt 1x12" Tube Combo Amp - Lacquered Tweed | Sweetwater

Get this one because the lacquered tweed and oxblood grille cloth is cool as cool can be. The C Rex with the hemp cone is the 12" big brother of the 10" L'il Buddy and these hemp cones are popular with the jazz cats because they don't break up easily and have a nice smooth non-ice pick treble. You can always swap the C Rex out for a 10" driver with an adapter from Weber Speakers. I would get this one, for sure.

The Made in Mexico 68 Custom PR has lower negative feedback. It breaks up faster and sounds very nice, fat and warm while the PR sounds clear, chimey and bright. I like the 68 Custom PR a lot.

I have a hardwired PR clone from a one-man shop. Nice at home or studio volumes where break up is not desired. Mine stays clean all the way to the edge of 7 on the volume knob through Input 2. It has a Weber Ferromax in it.

[Tal_175]

The real decision here is between 65 vs 68. Once you choose one, I'd say cosmetics are more important than the speaker Speaker of course has a big impact on the tone, headroom and response of the amp, but they are relatively cheap and easy to swap. You may change the stock speaker no matter which one you get down the line anyway like many do.
For this same reason, I got a Bordeaux/wheat grill Princeton. It has a Jensen P12Q speaker that I'm not too crazy about. Too scooped. I'll swap it with a Celestion Gold (or Blue). I haven't decided on 10 vs 12 inch.

[gggomez]

For the same money you can buy a high quality clone of the original 65.
I liked my 65ri but it was not quite there for me. Worse the constant issues of solders popping and other dramas. Together with a crap warranty.

i went from that to a Quilter and I could get it to sound close but better. Service first class.

the Quilter had too much bottom end and a mid frequency I grew to hate.

Now I have a high quality 65 Princeton 65 clone made by a company called Achillies with a 12 inch Jensen alnico. It is a joy. It is so wonderfully balanced and clear. No ice pick makes the Fender65ri sound like a toy. This is a big sound and the pine cabinet makes it light to boot. All that for the same money. Crazy. Embarrassing. So great to end that search.

[blille]

The real decision here is between 65 vs 68. Once you choose one, I'd say cosmetics are more important than the speaker Speaker of course has a big impact on the tone, headroom and response of the amp, but they are relatively cheap and easy to swap. You may change the stock speaker no matter which one you get down the line anyway like many do.
For this same reason, I got a Bordeaux/wheat grill Princeton. It has a Jensen P12Q speaker that I'm not too crazy about. Too scooped. I'll swap it with a Celestion Gold (or Blue). I haven't decided on 10 vs 12 inch.

Agree on the first point, not the second one.

Not sure why he wouldn’t get the speaker he wants straight away. Unless there’s a used deal locally.

Particularly choosing between 10 or 12 means that your cab may not work.

For example, there’s a PRRI with Celestion Blue https://www.creamcitymusic.com/fende...ube-combo-amp/ and similar FSR for many other speakers.

[Tal_175]

Particularly choosing between 10 or 12 means that your cab may not work.

All Princeton's have the same cabinet size. Speaker size can be accommodated by changing the baffle which are cheap.
The OP said he/she is a novice and amp is for apartment use. Chances are the speaker choice at this point is not going to matter that much. Later on when he/she developed their style and taste, then a more informed choice can be made about the speaker and won't cost that much.
I wouldn't get a (say) blue Princeton if I'm not into the color just to avoid a simple speaker mod. I like the standard black ones, but there've been one's that I liked more (like the one I got). Cosmetic upgrades are much more expensive than speaker upgrades to the point of not worth doing. Aesthetics are important for me, if I were him I'd just pick the Princeton 65 that I like cosmetically and worry about the speaker after some experience with it, but I get that not everyone is the same.

[Fat Fingers]

Perhaps I should tell you all my current situation.

I have a Fender Blues Jr. NOS LTD "a longtime 15-watt favorite with warm tube tone ideal for the go anywhere guitarist who needs and versatile features such as spring reverb" Its a laquered tweed with a Jensen 12" C12N speaker.

I can get really satisfying tones out of this amp and I really do like it, I was looking for maybe another amp that would compliment this one though? I imagine one of the Princeton amps I mentioned would get a cleaner tone and allow more headroom for pedals. Also as much as I like my Blues Jr. I imagine it cant really get that classic Fender blackface tone, not like a Princeton or Deluxe reverb (too loud for my house I think).

I don't know if know what I already have will make a difference in the recommendations or not. I also considered that little 5 watt custom champ too. I don't want to buy another amp that is TOO much like my current blues Jr after all.

Thanks for all the help all!

[Tal_175]

I also have a Fender Champ. It's incredibly good for low volume playing. Sounds great with archtops. For practice volumes it's pretty clean. There is always some smoke with the Champ which is it's magic.
I've hardly turned the Princeton on since I got the Champ. Princeton is now reserved for gigging/rehearsing type of situations.

[neatomic]

the blues jr uses el84 power tubes..which are very un fender..they are the old vox ac15/30 tube...fender never had vintage amp that used them...great tube! tho it is!!...bright. gritty. glassy

almost any other fender amp uses 6v6's or 6l6's..stick with that..and you will have a fender amp that differs greatly from your blues jr

the blues jr is a fender amp exception...made to compete with the mesa studio 22 amp, in 90's, when el84 driven power amp sections were relatively rare..now with return of korg/vox and indie makers, they are commonly used again

cheers

[Fat Fingers]

the blues jr uses el84 power tubes..which are very un fender..they are the old vox ac15/30 tube...fender never had vintage amp that used them...great tube! tho it is!!...bright. gritty. glassy

almost any other fender amp uses 6v6's or 6l6's..stick with that..and you will have a fender amp that differs greatly from your blues jr

the blues jr is a fender amp exception...made to compete with the mesa studio 22 amp, in 90's, when el84 driven power amp sections were relatively rare..now with return of korg/vox and indie makers, they are commonly used again

cheers

You guys are amazing, seemingly all of you are SO SO knowledgeable about guitars and equipment. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me. I am amazed that you just knew that neatomic! LOL WOW

[jbear]

I've got a Blues Jr with a "Blackface mod" and a C. Rex. It's super sweet and I get comments on the tone consistently. Maybe something else to consider?

[neatomic]

a speaker with increased power capabilities will always benefit a low power amp...for clean tone

a small bottle tube el84 duet puts out about 15-18 watts...they stay chimey clean about 1/2 way thru and then get crunchy..but bright crunchy...like old kinks records

a larger power speaker will let the tubes work without contributing to the grind...so speaker selection is esp important

i love celestion alnico golds...they have great sensitivity i.e. they get LOUD! ..and have 40-50 watt rating..so they can take a 15-22 watt amp and not add speaker distortion to the amps crunch...you get true clean tube amp distortion..rather than both amp circuit and speaker distortion..

of course using an underpowered speaker gets a sound too..and some like that!!

it's all ears....listen ..and then trust your own


cheers

[blille]

The Celestion Gold has 100db sensitivity vs the 101.8db of the Cannabis Rex. The Gold is loud but the CR is.. LOUD

[neatomic]

The Celestion Gold has 100db sensitivity vs the 101.8db of the Cannabis Rex. The Gold is loud but the CR is.. LOUD

yeah but eminence cr uses (cheapo) ferrite magnet!!!!...and thicker hemp cone...celestion ALNICO MAGNET gold soars on eiderdown by compare...any sensitivity in the 98-100+ range is gold!!!....but specs w/o design factors mean less...celestion gold is as good as guitar amp speaker design gets...like thomastik strings..no costs cut..no shortcuts!

cheers

[Tal_175]

This thread is making want to consider getting Cannabis Rex instead of the Celestion Gold.
Based on the frequency response graphs, Celestion has a little local spike between 7K and 10K, Cannabis drops significantly in that range. Mid characteristics seem similar, but Cannabis with more lower mids. Cannabis is like the antidote for the blackface scoop. It's also quite a bit cheaper than the Gold.
PS. First graph is Celestion, the second is Cannabis.

[ruger9]

IDK.... I LOVE the CR. However, I heard a PR with a 10" Gold and it was glorious. And that was the PR I decided I was buying next (I've owned one previously... I ended up liking a Greenback 10" in it, and still think that would be a good choice for jazz), BUT... then I heard the PR Knotty Pine with a 12" Cream Alnico... WOAH!

With all the FSR models of the PR & DR these days, they no longer have a single "PR" or "DR" sound.... the range's palette has been expanded quite a bit... different speakers, british speakers, 12" in Princetons, etc....


with G12 Cream Alnico:

[gregunit]

Even if you had the two speakers side by side, I don't think you could detect the difference in volume (margin of error) However, you will quickly notice a tonal difference. Slight cream VS Clean. There is come difference in money too. Either is a good choice.