There’s no substitute for a real Princeton (originally launched in 1946, my birth year…) However, if you’re after those vintage tones, I’m proposing a lighter, louder and more affordable alternative. It only takes a good cut of corrugated plastic pipe to combine Quilter’s Fender-voiced SuperBlock US amp and one of Jensen’s premium 10” speakers into an utterly portable and gig-worthy rig.
The photo shows a prototype TOOB 10J cab, with a SuperBlock attached. The grill cloth may not be final. The enclosure is a version of the open-back TOOB 12J model, one of my best-sellers (90 out of 700 to date.) Cost and weight saved through cloth grill, wire leg and generally more Spartan appointments. Weight loaded: around 8 lbs. Available with three 10” Jensen speaker alternatives: 25W P10R-F AlNiCo , 40W P10/40BB (Blackbird) AlNiCo and 100W N10/100TR (Tornado) Neo.
I‘d be happy to build a small batch at a special price for Forum members: 335€ (EU)/299$ (non-EU), plus shipping. This with the P10R-F speaker. The EU price includes the Finnish sales tax (VAT) of 24%. Add 50€/45$ for Blackbird or Tornado. Please note that even the “entry level” P10R-F costs more than the P10R on the $2.8K Fender 64 Custom Princeton Reverb version.
Many readers laud their SuperBlock. Quite a few have chosen a TOOB Metro 6.5GP or BG to go with it. Not quite enough oomph for louder gigs? Larger, more efficient speakers unleash the amp’s potential. With the same settings, the Metro BG produces 105 dB, while the 10JF with P10R-F does 110 dB and Blackbird, 115 dB. The Tornado is even more sensitive.
I hope to add some sort of a sound clip soon. If interested, please send me a PM or fire an e-mail to toobspeakers@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to answer any questions. It will take a few weeks to source components and build the batch. No deposits, just some degree of commitment. If you come to second thoughts, not to worry – somebody outside this Clan will end up paying more.
Bump... just to let you know that I'm putting this project on hold for a while. Three reasons: 1) lack of immediate interest, 2) hands full with Metro orders and 3) awaiting Jensen's new 50W Silverbird 10 speaker for an even more wallet-friendly option. Introduced at NAMM, the Silverbird is supposedly voiced close to the Blackbird AlNiCo. Despite its ceramic magnet, it weighs just 2.2 kg (under 5 lbs); acceptable by my standards.
The Interweb notation for grips is durn handy. Those are:
x24030
x34000
8x9970
x.10.10.11.0.0
etc...
I had to guess about open versus not played strings.
Shipping and a guitar to get it plected sounds crazy to me. You add the exposure of shipping damage to a job that can be done competently by someone within driving distance.
It cost a lot more...
I'm learning this Mammal Hands tune but I keep getting tripped up when the drums start the fast beat at the 2:50 mark.
I was quite happy feeling everything in 6 until that starts, what exactly is...
Yes, I had my 175 pleked. It came out pretty good.
But about a month earlier I had a 335 type guitar fret dressed by a skilled tech and it was just as good.
And I even think the set up (not...
The best thing about Julian Lage’s playing and music is that it is uniquely his. He pulls from a lot of different deep wells. Bluegrass(Tony Rice, Doc Watson), blues(the 3Kings,Robert Cray), jazz...
There're lots of videos on YouTube about people having their guitars plek'd but none of them are archtops that I've seen. Just wondering if anybody's had the experience. I just had my Eastman Elite...
I enjoyed all of this video, Thank You Andy.
I think they all sounded very good. To Andy's credit. There is a difference when heavy strings are used vs. the lightweight strings. Big diff.
And...
I've gone through deep dives in music genres over the years, as a listener, and as a player (albeit a pretty crappy one) Change is in my DNA. Go hot and heavy until I'm sick of it and move on. All...
What's happening at the end of this song?
Today, 07:55 PM in Ear Training, Transcribing & Reading