Help requested with Fender princeton Reverb, odd reverb problem

[Ethan w]

While you guys debate the cap question, I'll ask the original poster:

Did you try to clean and or service the original pot? That is one of those parts that everybody seems to like to be original.

No, I didn't. I sold the amp and included the old pot with the amp. It may be fixable. It has a nice new CTS from Mojo now at any rate.

[Chuck H]

No, I didn't. I sold the amp and included the old pot with the amp. It may be fixable. It has a nice new CTS from Mojo now at any rate.

Life's too short to obsess about one amp. Good call IMHO.

[gui_tarzan]

For what it's worth... I freshened up a '65 DR for a friend a while back. He sold it through the store he works at part time to some kid who had some issues with it. The kid lived near Detroit so he took it to a "famous" amp tech there and the tech ridiculed ME (I found this out through the store) for using F&T filter caps instead of NOS caps that he had. I "ruined" the collector value by not using old caps.

Hm.

Whatever. My friend was tickled that the amp played so well when I got done. His opinion was "F 'em, I just wanted it to work right". I guess the guy charged the kid like three hundred bucks to "fix" what I "screwed up". Good grief.

[Chuck H]

For what it's worth... I freshened up a '65 DR for a friend a while back. He sold it through the store he works at part time to some kid who had some issues with it. The kid lived near Detroit so he took it to a "famous" amp tech there and the tech ridiculed ME (I found this out through the store) for using F&T filter caps instead of NOS caps that he had. I "ruined" the collector value by not using old caps.

Hm.

Whatever. My friend was tickled that the amp played so well when I got done. His opinion was "F 'em, I just wanted it to work right". I guess the guy charged the kid like three hundred bucks to "fix" what I "screwed up". Good grief.

Not sure a "like" is appropriate for such a post, but it's what I had. What a stooge! NOS electrolytic caps!?! Ok... Everyone that knows better, just let that sink in.

Hey gui_tarzan, I know who I'd bring my amp to

I wonder if he endorses electrocution as well? As in "No grounded AC mains cord." I'm actually pretty close to this because there's some smelly turd here on Whidbey calling himself "Wild Bill" or something. I see players in clubs with their old classic amps and tell them "I can fix that for you." because their amp sounds like ass and obviously needs age related maintenance. But all these guys take their old classics to this "vintage guru" guy that pretty much just focuses on keeping the amps as bone stock as possible. "Wild Bill just serviced this amp and said it's perfect." Replacing any part that isn't utterly blown to pieces is blasphemy!!! And then the replacement should be NOS, period. Even if it's a filter cap. I'd love to meet this guy and ask him the right questions in front of his peers. I'd probably end up in a fight though. And that may be a bad idea with a cat named Wild Bill.

[Ethan w]

For what it's worth... I freshened up a '65 DR for a friend a while back. He sold it through the store he works at part time to some kid who had some issues with it. The kid lived near Detroit so he took it to a "famous" amp tech there and the tech ridiculed ME (I found this out through the store) for using F&T filter caps instead of NOS caps that he had. I "ruined" the collector value by not using old caps.
Hm. Whatever. My friend was tickled that the amp played so well when I got done. His opinion was "F 'em, I just wanted it to work right". I guess the guy charged the kid like three hundred bucks to "fix" what I "screwed up". Good grief.

"NOS" electrolytics?? Yeah, I'll pass, lol. On a nice, clean original BF I think Spragues are the best thing to use but they're kind of pricey. A 20uf/500v is $12 wholesale from one of the places I deal with. I'd be happy with F&T and it's ludicrous to pull out F&T and replace them. I'd say that tech is both misguided and a profiteer. Sounds like something that guy torres would do, haha. I just recapped my personal '69 Deluxe Reverb, I used F&T. Hell, F&T's might be as good as Spragues, I'm not sure what the differences in construction are.

Another obvious thing is that there will be little or no tonal difference between this or that brand filter cap in the power section IMO. As long as the values are close they're just smoothing ripple, ya know?

So Detroit area Ampagers, now you know who NOT to bring an amp to!

Ethan

[Chuck H]

"NOS" electrolytics?? Yeah, I'll pass, lol. On a nice, clean original BF I think Spragues are the best thing to use but they're kind of pricey. A 20uf/500v is $12 wholesale from one of the places I deal with. I'd be happy with F&T and it's ludicrous to pull out F&T and replace them. I'd say that tech is both misguided and a profiteer. Sounds like something that guy torres would do, haha. I just recapped my personal '69 Deluxe Reverb, I used F&T. Hell, F&T's might be as good as Spragues, I'm not sure what the differences in construction are.

Another obvious thing is that there will be little or no tonal difference between this or that brand filter cap in the power section IMO. As long as the values are close they're just smoothing ripple, ya know?

So Detroit area Ampagers, now you know who NOT to bring an amp to!

Ethan

You get a like for all that's right about your ideology. But I'm going to point out something "I" think is wrong (subjectively). Dan Torres was an early player, even a pioneer in the amp mod game. A profiteer? Sure. People wanted something more/different and he could provide that. Some of his hype about his circuits could be questioned, but not the circuits themselves. His mods sound pretty good MOST of the time and considering his presence in the game there isn't much bad press other than bitter forum gnomes that just "don't like him because..." His tech may not be as refined as some, but it didn't/doesn't need to be. He was at the forefront of the general AND internet mod game before the vast majority of posters here ever heated an iron.

I need to come clean now and admit that I knew him pretty well once upon a time. He was my amp tech before I decided to take this venture on for myself. In fact, it was his frustration with my nature and general grumpiness around trying to deal with me while moving his operation out of his garage that made me sell everything he worked on and start doing it for myself. So in a left handed way I have to thank him!

One thing I can tell you is that he would NEVER endorse NOS electrolytic caps. This is pretty evident since he never sold any such trash via his web presence. Ever.

Beat him up because his tech is a little soft. Or, if you know him, because of his impatience. But let's not deal in utter falsehoods about a man that had the brass to do this "all up in your grill" before anyone else did. His circuits are still enjoyed by many. And some very rightly so. Maybe not all. Maybe there's the occasional bad press. But considering his incredibly long standing presence it's not at all disproportionate to what you might expect for even a major amp manufacturer. Don't even get me started on cutting up Mesa designs! I'd almost surely take anything from Dan Torres first.

Rant over. JM2C

[Ethan w]

You get a like for all that's right about your ideology. But I'm going to point out something "I" think is wrong (subjectively). Dan Torres was an early player, even a pioneer in the amp mod game. A profiteer? Sure. People wanted something more/different and he could provide that. Some of his hype about his circuits could be questioned, but not the circuits themselves. His mods sound pretty good MOST of the time and considering his presence in the game there isn't much bad press other than bitter forum gnomes that just "don't like him because..." His tech may not be as refined as some, but it didn't/doesn't need to be. He was at the forefront of the general AND internet mod game before the vast majority of posters here ever heated an iron.

I need to come clean now and admit that I knew him pretty well once upon a time. He was my amp tech before I decided to take this venture on for myself. In fact, it was his frustration with my nature and general grumpiness around trying to deal with me while moving his operation out of his garage that made me sell everything he worked on and start doing it for myself. So in a left handed way I have to thank him!

One thing I can tell you is that he would NEVER endorse NOS electrolytic caps. This is pretty evident since he never sold any such trash via his web presence. Ever.

Beat him up because his tech is a little soft. Or, if you know him, because of his impatience. But let's not deal in utter falsehoods about a man that had the brass to do this "all up in your grill" before anyone else did. His circuits are still enjoyed by many. And some very rightly so. Maybe not all. Maybe there's the occasional bad press. But considering his incredibly long standing presence it's not at all disproportionate to what you might expect for even a major amp manufacturer. Don't even get me started on cutting up Mesa designs! I'd almost surely take anything from Dan Torres first.

Rant over. JM2C

It's all good, I just threw that in there for a laugh. I actually bought Torres's book and learned a few things from it early on. I guess his "gift" for hyperbole and relentless profiteering turned me off a little. " Get our AMAZING kit with the WARM tone you always wanted!! ONLY $59.95!!!" (meanwhile, you get a bag a with a pot and a resistor in it, haha). But I just made that up, lol. And note that I'm not against making money by ay means. I just like to be a little subtler about it. I don't know the guy and I'm not one to talk shit about people online. I think he probably has some good info to offer. Just ask him he'll tell ya! Haha, couldn't resist.

Back to our dipshit tech who keeps everything 100% stock, what happens when one of his customers touches the chassis of an amp he "worked" on with a mike in his hand, or touches two Blackface/Silverfaces at the same time? Bzzzzzt!! The two at once thing got me last me, not a bad shock though.


Ethan

[Chuck H]

You know what.?. I actually don't think (but don't know fo shizzle) that there is any liability on a tech's part if all he/she does is "repair to spec" a grandfathered design. But I don't do repairs for a living so I don't know. We have several repair techs here though. Hopefully one will chime in. Of course the laws could be (are likely) different on the other side of the pond.

[52 Bill]

The kid lived near Detroit so he took it to a "famous" amp tech there and the tech ridiculed ME (I found this out through the store) for using F&T filter caps instead of NOS caps that he had. I "ruined" the collector value by not using old caps.

I guess Enzo had some old stuff he wanted to get out of the shop.

The problem is that there are many people out there that just want to believe in something, anything that will make their amp special or themselves special. And there are just as many people out there willing to say anything to get others to follow them.

I'm an old fart and in our store I see two types of customers, ones that won't talk to me if there is a young person around and the other extreme is that they must talk to me as I must know more or know something that the younger guys don't know yet. I do the best I can to dispel a lot of the stupid claims made by the internet gurus, but some people just believe it because they need to believe in something.

[Enzo]

Well, if it is on the internet, it has to be true. They can't put it on the internet if it is not true.

Ah, here comes my blind date, I met her on the internet. She's a French model...

"Bon Jure..."

[guitician]

Yeah and let's not forget that myth that tone matters...

[Chuck H]

Yeah and let's not forget that myth that tone matters...

Hey! Let's not go there! If it matters to me that's as valid a reason as any to chase the tones in my head. Or fine tune my amps. What valid argument could there possibly be to negate someone trying to idealize their circumstances as they see fit? Just sayin'.

[gui_tarzan]

No, it wasn't Enzo.

I looked up the guy and he's got a really good rep, but he's also the kind that charges you up front for looking at your amp (and quite a lot) so he must be an expert, right?

[52 Bill]

I looked up the guy and he's got a really good rep, but he's also the kind that charges you up front for looking at your amp (and quite a lot) so he must be an expert, right?

Only if he pontificates on the web.