New Fender Princeton Reverb (RI) Drip Edge model...

[Bob M.]

Hi all,

I play in a band with a guy who bought this Fender Princeton Reverb Drip Edge reissue model. It worked and sounded great for about 6 months but then started making a weird splattering sound when turned up a bit. I took it home and it turned out to be a mechanical vibration noise, not electronic. It occurred on lower notes A and Ab when the amp was pushed a little. Initially, I thought it was a vibration between the bottom of the chassis and the aluminum drip edge. First, I made sure the drip edge was securely mounted and did a little minor filing on the bottom of the faceplate (very minor). Then, I installed some rubber shock mount gasket on the top edge of the chassis, which helped a little but not enough. After re-assembly, it became obvious the vibration noise was centered around the upper left corner of the amp, somewhere around the input jacks. I tightened the baffleboard (and speaker) and there was a tiny gap on the left side, top, and so I installed some 'dampening shims' and the vibration noise went away. Now, 2 months later it's re-appeared. I think it's a chassis and cabinet fit problem and I'm wondering if anyone else with a new-ish Princeton Reverb Drip Edge has had any similar vibration problems? I've seen an awful lot of Fender amps in my time but this was a first. This noise made the amp unplayable and certainly, un-recordable.

Bob M.

[Chuck H]

Have you ruled out the logo mounting area, the grill cloth around it, etc. It's near the inputs and seems like a likely frapper.

[Bob M.]

Thanks, Chuck H.,

Once I isolated this to be a vibration problem, not an electronic problem, I then tightened everything in sight. As I'm sure you know, new amps tend to need a re-tightening after about 6 month to 1 year, also including grounds and pots, etc. I got my ear pretty close to the cab, chassis area and it's about a three inch circle where the baffleboard, cabinet and chassis all meet on the upper left (front) corner of this amp. That's where is noise is coming from. I might try taping down the drip edge aluminum surround (temporarily) to see if that's the cause of vibration. The noise is a pretty high pitched treble sound; it sounds metallic to me - probably not made by a grill cloth or cabinet. But to answer you, yes, the Fender logo is very tight and not vibrating but just to be sure, I'll temporarily remove it (2 screws). When I put my hand on the area in question and apply a little pressure, the vibration stops. It could possibly be that something is loose internally inside the baffleboard (like a knot or something). I might have to force some glue or other substance in there to get it to behave. An unusual problem, especially for a 6 month old amp.

Regards,

Bob M.

[The Dude]

Check this out. Apparently, it's a rather common problem.

http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=438

[Leo_Gnardo]

Check this out. Apparently, it's a rather common problem.

http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=438

Interesting. It appears Fender has addressed this problem in recent times. Last year a customer brought me his brand new reissue Princeton - he wanted to go 12" and already bought the baffle for it. I noted his 10" baffle had a piece of 1x1 as a stiffener across the back of the top.

Since then that baffle was donated to a silver face Princeton whose chipboard baffle was disintegrating after having been soaked with water.

[The Dude]

BTW, funny that the site I linked is Bill M and the thread starter is Bob M.

[TimmyP1955]

Could be a bad glue joint. I had a Leslie that buzzed - I got a bottle of Stewmac Thin Superglue and loaded all of the cabinet joints with it. No more buzz. A couple of years later I got another one buzzy Leslie - same solution.

[Bob M.]

Thanks for the posts/replies. It's refreshing to get a 100% on-point reply to a question (thanks, Dude) but that's what makes this forum special. Usually, the thread gets hijacked and someone chimes in, "But mine goes to 11".

Anyway, I'm sort of relieved (but also sorry) to learn that others have had similar cabinet vibration experiences. In a perfect world, this news would trickle down to Fender, who I have to admit, has been a little more responsive lately than in past years. That is, when they are not too busy selling guitar lessons to everyone on the planet.

Bob M.

[Randall]

I wonder how that strip of oak sticking out fits spacially with the chassis and tubes?