Thanks for the kind words Alan.
It is quite dark with humbuckers in the neck, as we heard, but great for a Jazz players who can take it from Jazz to Blues to Neil Young with a couple tweaks here and there, it isn't going to be the be all and end all, but as you shared, it is a great recording/bedroom amp and it completes my sonic palate of a Vox AC30, 40W BF Bandmaster and now the 5W Tweed Champ, those 3 amps cover a TON of ground ?
Right, RE the BF Princeton Reverb, I've never played a vintage Reverb model, only the mid 60's Blackface, NON Reverb models with the AA964 circuit, which was later replaced with the AA1164, AB127 Reverb circuits in '64.
The BF Princeton is regarded as one of the most highly sought after recording amps as it is only 12-15W's (depending on the circuit) and gives you that classic BF tone, but at much lower volumes. As to be expected it doesn't have the low end punch and clarity the bigger amps do like the Twin Reverb, Bandmaster, Bassman and Showman etc, but still a nice bit of clean headroom for recording/small venues, but wouldn't cut it against a loud drummer, a Deluxe Reverb would be a better choice in that situation, or if clean is your game a Twin would be even better (not on your back though!).
Circuit wise the BF Princeton shares alot in common with the AB763 (Deluxe Reverb), so one can expect a similar tone stack and that typical mid range scoop that BF's are known for, though the Bass/Treble controls are fairly interactive, it still can't give you that midrange push that many crave and you will need an pedal EQ or drive with a tone stack to push it in that direction.
I briefly played a BF Princeton Reverb RI at Bothners a few months ago and just found it a little cold/sterile compared to the mid 60's eras I've worked on. I'm sure they are great amps, they just lack the mojo of the handwired units, not that I think the mojo is in the handwiring, but more those older/better parts.
Cheers
Matt
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
I was impressed in the short time I had to fiddle with it. Good looking and great sounding amp, comparing to the best old examples I've ever played (but with less noise and a fuller sound) - smooth and detailed with great dynamics and responsiveness to the guitar's volume control. And that's with the speaker not broken in yet. Speaking of speakers - the 10" speaker is a nice match for the amp with plenty low end and makes the amp sound much bigger than it is.
All-in-all, a perfect home/studio amp that's still loud enough to let you have fun annoying the neighbours on occasion. Not surprisingly, it loves Strats (and probably Teles too), Was a little dark for my taste with neck humbuckers in it's stock form (although a Jazz player would like it for low volume playing), and definitely isn't a high gain monster (not that it's intended to be - horses for courses).
Matt, I'd love to hear your take on a BF Princeton Reverb...
