Taming Princeton '65 Reissue High end???

[TwangGuru]

A year or so ago, I bought a Fender '65 Reissue Princeton Reverb. Much about the amp is really nice -- the vibrato is nicely shaped, the reverb has a great tone, and, of course, I like the portability of the amp. However, the tone controls are strange, IMHO, particularly the 'treble' control. It acts like a notch filter, as opposed to a shelving filter. The amp has a "glassy" high end that just can't be eliminated with the treble control. Has anyone else experienced this with the PR? I have an original Princeton amp from ca. 1964 which has BEAUTIFUL tone -- but it's not a reverb. The bass control is also a little suspect and with some guitars, it's hard to tame the low end, however, it does seem behave better than the treble control. I've not done frequency response tests on the amp... just haven't had time. thanks...

By the way... I'm a 'new' member... howdy, y'all...

[captntasty]

Probably talking more about the issue of "presence" than treble. I know this doesn't have a presence control but you might be able to install one or just change a component value or two for less presence. Look around for that and negative feedback with reference to this amp or even one of the originals...

[olddawg]

I would be temted to gut it and install a new main board to original specs. You have the Cabinet, speaker, transformers, chassis and tube sockets. You could make a board for under $100. Also use a vintage replacement tank and new pots.

[TwangGuru]

Presence vs. Treble

>>talking about "presence" vs. "treble"

In this case, I think it's treble... generally, I think the treble control on a fender amp should "shelve", not notch or peak. This sounds like a 6K notch... the 8K and up, that glassy treble, is still there. As you all know, Fender pretty much made one amp back in the 60's -- all a modification of examples found in the old RCA manual. The little RC filter that performs the tone shaping is simple...

...and though I appreciate the suggestion (replace main board), I can't really afford to do this... my primary gigging amps are Deluxe Reverbs... I'm very happy with those. The PR is a "go to rehearsal" amp... but I still like it to sound good. I think I'll take a little trip to the local Guitar Center (with ear plugs in) and listen to the floor models... it might be just my particular amp, not the design. Some have suggested, however, that the printed circuit board itself might be responsible for extended high end.. I dunno.

Thanks, guys...

-Jim