Classic Gear
Released in 1964, the Princeton Reverb was originally brought to market as a student amp with a design largely inherited from the Princeton – Fender’s first beginner amp model dating back to the brand’s fledgling year of 1946. Its debut in the 1964/1965 catalogue reads: “The radically new Fender Princeton/ Reverb is the result of much effort on the part of the Fender Engineers to combine in one instrument the desirable features which have been suggested by dealers, teachers and studio operators… The Princeton/Reverb with Tremolo is highly recommended for student and home use.”
Although evidently aimed at students, the Princeton Reverb can be heard on countless hit records having been famously embraced by session guitarists Clarence White and Tommy Tedesco, and remains a go-to amp of many other seasoned pros including Larry ‘Mr 335’ Carlton and Tele aficionado Jim Campilongo. With 12 to 15 watts of power, it has long been considered one of Fender’s most versatile amps whether at home or in the studio, and given the flexibility afforded by modern monitoring systems, is now more popular than ever for live use, regardless of stage size.
The successful development of the Princeton Reverb didn’t happen overnight; it took a long time to evolve into the giant killer combo we know today. The original Princeton, in its first incarnation as part of Fender’s so-called ‘Woodie’ lap steel amp range, had no controls and is virtually unrecognisable from later namesake models. With a modest four-and-a-half to six watts of power and an eight-inch
speaker, the early Woodie and tweed Princeton amps slowly evolved throughout the late 40s and 50s until the arrival of the “vinyl-covered” ‘Brownface’ Princeton in 1961 marked a sharp turning point in the amp’s design, both in terms of appearance and spec. Rated at a considerably more powerful 12 watts and with a larger 10-inch speaker, the new Princeton boasted twin 6V6 power valves (previous versions used a single 6V6) and featured onboard tremolo, necessitating the addition of two extra knobs (speed and intensity) adjacent to the existing volume and tone controls.
In 1963, Fender introduced its iconic ‘Blackface’ livery across the range, and in 1964 the Princeton’s circuit was enhanced to include separate treble and bass tone
Although evidently aimed at students, the Princeton Reverb can be heard on countless hit records
controls, giving greater clarity and articulation, while increasing the number of knobs to five. The Princeton Reverb arrived that same year, featuring Fender’s new onboard spring reverb for “expanded sound” alongside the Princeton’s tremolo effect, requiring the further addition of a sixth knob to control reverb level. Due to an extra gain stage inherent in the reverb circuit, Princeton Reverbs appear to have less clean headroom and are known to break up more readily than Princeton amps.
In 1968, a new ‘Silverface’ control panel was introduced and, in 1970, the rectifier valve changed from a GZ34 to a 5U4GB, resulting in less sag and compression. In 1981, the previous Blackface styling made a brief reappearance before the model was discontinued that same year.
Today, there are two vintage-style Princeton Reverb amps: the Blackface ’65 Princeton Reverb (released in 2008) and the Silverface ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb (released in 2013). [RB] Guitarist would like to thank Vintage ’n’ Rare Guitars (vintageandrareguitars.com)