1980 Fender Princeton Reverb

I have many of these Silver-Panel Fender Princeton Reverb’s on this site - they are one of the most popular and common vintage amps that I get in for restorations. The Fender Twin Reverb from the same era comes a comes in first however. These are fantastic sounding amps and they never get old to listen to. By this many years after production they all have a unique character that only a vintage amp can attain. At 15 Watts of power through a single 10” speaker, with tube driven Reverb and Bias Modulating Tremolo, many people describe this as the little brother to the Deluxe Reverb and possibly the best grab-and-go amp ever. It has a very different phase inverter to the Deluxe Reverb though, being the simpler Cathodyne type circuit. This gives it more overdrive at lower volume levels and when pushed hard actually adds "double frequency" type distortion created by excessive plate clipping. That is real reason why this model has a unique tone compared to the rest of the Fender lineup. 1980 was the final year of production for the Silver-Panel Fender Princeton Reverb and features a pull out boost-switch on the volume knob. This feature can also be activated by a separate foot-pedal which is only available on these later model Princetons. Notable users: Mike Campbell.

This amp came in to my shop in completely original condition. This one needed a full restoration including a cap job, new power/plate/misc. resistors, new tubes, and cleaning.

Amp was completely restored. The electrolytic cap can was replaced with a new USA made CE brand (20/20/20/20uf x @ 475v) unit for the filter section. All other bias/bypass caps were replaced with upgraded voltage and temperature rated MOD brand electrolytics. New 5 Watt Cement/2 Watt Metal Oxide power dropping resistors were installed for better reliability and lower noise floor. All plate resistors were replaced with 2 Watt Reduced Mass Metal Film type units for preventative maintenance and reliability. An upgraded 1N4007 1000v Diode was installed for the bias circuit. A new 3 Prong AC cord was installed to replace original 2 Prong unit present and the death cap was removed. A brand new correctly sized 3AG 250V fuse was installed as the one in place was the wrong value.

The original tubes did not all test good, and some were replaced. Final tube lineup: V1 = GE 12AX7, V2= EHX 12AT7, V3-V4 = JJ 12AX7S V5-V6 = GE 6V6GTA Matched Pair, V7 = SYLVANIA 5U4GB. These tubes were picked for best tone and reliability. The 6V6GTA’s Fixed Bias was set to %55 Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 430VDC. The tube sockets were re-tensioned to stop the tubes from jiggling or falling out while they hang upside down and they were all treated with De-Oxit to remove/prevent corrosion. The pots were sprayed out and the amp was cleaned inside and out. The Volume Boost Pedal did not work due to the internal solder connection to the signal wire being broken, this was re-stripped and soldered, restoring functionality. Amp now functions perfectly.