89 Fender Princeton Chorus - Thoughts

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:18 pm

I need thoughts on this amp. I found one for sale and need some help from you guys out there that are a lot more experienced than i am. Says its 110w .... wants 350 for it. too much or is this a bad deal. any help i can get will be greatly appreciated. im goin to go look at and play it thursday. thanks !!

- kayla

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:16 pm

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but that's not a tube amp and that 110 watts is pure solid state power. (Warning: facetious statement).

It sounds to me like you want a Fender tube amp. If this is the case, you would probably be better off wih a Fender Hot Rod Deville which is all tube and has channel switching for versatility. Older ones that are made in USA are supposed to be more durable. They sell for around $400 or so.

The best thing about them is that they are only 40 watts tube power and you can get the power tubes howling at a lower level. Unless you are playing an outdoor arena, any more than 50 watts on a tube amp is just clean headroom power and your ears will bleed before you get the power tubes into overdrive.

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:26 pm

ohh so it would prob be more beneficial to get a tube amp? i looked up the hotrod deville amp - like 1000.00

i dont got that kinda cash ha. i just need something thats bigger than the 15w that i have - something i can play small places with. id settle for something used ...and i wanna find something before this weekend. hmm ....

Post by **Ron** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:32 pm

I believe that the '89 Princeton Chorus is a stereo amp that is 25Wx2, so it is a 50W amp, not 110W.
It probably draws 110W from the wall outlet. Most amps state that somewhere on the back of the amp, which confuses a lot of people.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:35 pm

Sorry, I meant the Hot Rod Deluxe, not the Deville. Dick Kos had one for sale awhile back for $400. He might still have it:

http://rockpage.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... rod#138390

That Marshall JTM30 is a nice little amp too!

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:01 pm

Ron wrote:I believe that the '89 Princeton Chorus is a stereo amp that is 25Wx2, so it is a 50W amp, not 110W.
It probably draws 110W from the wall outlet. Most amps state that somewhere on the back of the amp, which confuses a lot of people.

ok - thanks ron. i dont think i want a 50w ... that rules that one out.

lonewolf - thanks for your help.

i was actually lookin at the frontman 212r 100w, then i saw the add and was like well ... maybe. now i know i dont want the princeton, what do ya think about the 212r?

VENTGtr · Post by **VENTGtr** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:29 pm

Kayla,

The 50W would probably be fine (Though 50W SS isn't going to come
close to 50W tube). If you need louder, you're probably mic-ing anyway).

I'd imagine most of us would prefer tube, but you will find them to be
more expensive (Normally).

The good thing with Fender is that you can usually count on it holding
value. Though the Princeton IS SS, they're a good sounding amp and,
at least the older ones were dependable.

If you can, eschew all knowledge, go play it and if you LIKE it and it looks
like it'll serve your needs, it's good.

THAT being said, if I were going to spend $350 I'd look into the Carvin
Belair or Nomad. They can sometimes be found for $350-$400 on the
Bay. MAY even find a Fender HRD for that if you looked around...but
that doesn't help you for this weekend.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:56 pm

felix'apprentice wrote:
Ron wrote:I believe that the '89 Princeton Chorus is a stereo amp that is 25Wx2, so it is a 50W amp, not 110W.
It probably draws 110W from the wall outlet. Most amps state that somewhere on the back of the amp, which confuses a lot of people.
ok - thanks ron. i dont think i want a 50w ... that rules that one out.

lonewolf - thanks for your help.

i was actually lookin at the frontman 212r 100w, then i saw the add and was like well ... maybe. now i know i dont want the princeton, what do ya think about the 212r?

Don't buy guitar amps based on watts, base it on tone.

Lesson #1: 40 watts tube is as loud as 200 watts solid state with much more tone.

I have a 20 watt all tube combo and its loud enough for any room around here. I've played on the Hot Rod Deluxe and they are plenty loud enough. You won't need to take it past the halfway point. What's better, if Dick still has his for sale, you can try it out and find out for yourself how it sounds, how loud it is, etc.

The Frontman series is more solid state junk. The only solid state stuff I would recommend in that price range is the Line 6 Spider III 75 watt. 75 watts solid state is about the least you should get because they don't have anywhere near the headroom of a tube amp. Here's an open box cheap:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=482272X

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:21 pm

ok .. now im beginning to understand a lil. ive actually played the Line 6 Spider III 75 watt ... i mean i liked it. wish it said fender on the front lol.

so if i go with a fender i want a tube amp and 20w is sufficient?

and if i go with a solid state amp i need at least 75-100w. .... i have a 100w marshal head just nothing to plug it into (and its huge).

umm what else .. oh my head hurts. lol.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:36 pm

felix'apprentice wrote:ok .. now im beginning to understand a lil. ive actually played the Line 6 Spider III 75 watt ... i mean i liked it. wish it said fender on the front lol.

so if i go with a fender i want a tube amp and 20w is sufficient?

and if i go with a solid state amp i need at least 75-100w. .... i have a 100w marshal head just nothing to plug it into (and its huge).

umm what else .. oh my head hurts. lol.

What model Marshall is it? Even the MG100HDFX isn't a bad amp if you already happen to have one. All you would need is a cabinet. You might want to find an MG412 cabinet for now and reload it with better speakers later. A 212 cabinet would work too.

To be safe, I'd put a 40 watt minimum on tube amps that cost under $1000. I highly recommend a used Fender Hot Rod Deluxe if you can get one cheap.

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:49 pm

lonewolf wrote: What model Marshall is it? Even the MG100HDFX isn't a bad amp if you already happen to have one. All you would need is a cabinet. You might want to find an MG412 cabinet for now and reload it with better speakers later. A 212 cabinet would work too.

To be safe, I'd put a 40 watt minimum on tube amps that cost under $1000. I highly recommend a used Fender Hot Rod Deluxe if you can get one cheap.

i think that might be the number of the head, i cant remember. i know its something close to that. Personally id like to get rid of it - heck id prob give it away haha ... anyways i found a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 40w for 375 on ebay ....