Lucky Kid - 67 Fender Princeton

[Ryteone]

I just got in a Princeton for repair.  Said it was just dead.  I dated it from the stamp inside the cabinet to March of 67.  the tolex and grill cloth are in perfect shape.  The kid (well I call him a kid, early 20's) got this from his grandmother who had it in her basement (asked if she had any old guitars she needed cleared out as well!).  I opened it up and was shocked, from what I can tell its almost 100% original.  Looks like the cord was changed (but still a two prong non-polarized, great for basement playing) and I don't know how to date or judge tubes but the two 6V6's were changed to Grove Tube 6V6-C.  But the 12AX7's are RCA, the 12AT7 is GE and the 5Y3 is Sylvania.


Look here at the pics (tried to cover the amp inside and out fully!  Just forgot to take them of the tubes up close)
http://www.myspace.com/ryteone/photos/albums/67-fender-princeton-repair/3194803#mssrc=SitesPhotos_SP_AlbumCover_ViewAlbum


 The only thing wrong with it is a blown speaker.  Now if you crank it up you can tell the filter caps are starting to give out (never know why after this long).  But this kid is trying to us it for heavy metal playing.  He has been talking to someone on Craig's list about swapping for an Egnator (I'm going to tell this kid to sell this amp out right and buy what ever he wants!).

Here are my questions:
1) with the speaker blown my thought was to have it repaired to maintain value (yes/no?)

2) not touch any of the caps tell him to stop playing and sell it to a purest out there that want it original (once again to maintain value)

3) what would you say it is worth.  Ebay is so hard to judge, but right now there is a 65 they want almost $2500 for and it is missing the fender logo which this one has.

I can't tell you how hard its been just not to tell the kid its a mess but I'll buy it from you for parts.  But I can't do that as much as I wish I could.

Thanks Scott....

[FYL]

Look here at the pics (tried to cover the amp inside and out fully!  Just forgot to take them of the tubes up close)

Really nice amp, in excellent to near mint condition.

1) with the speaker blown my thought was to have it repaired to maintain value (yes/no?)

The speaker should either be an Oxford 10L5 or an Oxford 10J4. Can't tell from the pix. They can be reconed quite easily.

2) not touch any of the caps tell him to stop playing and sell it to a purest out there that want it original (once again to maintain value)

Amps are meant to be played. I'd change the caps and return the old ones to the customer. The amp will be playable, all stock parts will be available if a buyer wants to bring it back to it's original condition. No loss of value.

3) what would you say it is worth.  Ebay is so hard to judge, but right now there is a 65 they want almost $2500 for and it is missing the fender logo which this one has.

A '67 PR in excellent condition sells for around $1,500. You can expect more for this one.

[softwarejanitor]

I'd have the speaker re-coned to retain as much value there as possible.  That said I would do a full re-cap, as that is going to be necessary to keep that amp running.  I'd also replace the 2 prong cord with a proper 3 prong cord for safety's sake.

Then I'd go out and buy a brand new Egnator half stack and trade the kid for the Princeton!

 

Seriously...  I'd recommend he sell it, he could buy an Egnator half stack and a new shredder guitar and probably have some $$$ left over.  Maybe not $2500...  but I've seen clean Fenders like that sell for $1200-1500.  FWIW, though a '65 will usually bring more than a '67, but as you note missing something as important as the emblem will usually dramatically lower sales price.

[rafe]

I'd tell him to put it away for his grand kids as they may develop better taste than he 
I can almost promise you this guy will be depressed in the future if he let's that go ...It seems to be a modern family heirloom IMHO

[bluesbear]

"I'd tell him to put it away for his grand kids as they may develop better taste than he"

At 22, my son played heavy metal through a Peavey. At 27, he bought a Line 6 stack and was playing heavy metal in one band and modern rock in another, although he used a Bassman I'd modified to a Plexi for that band. At 31, he uses one of my Angel amps (Plexi with a hot switch), an Explorer, and his and my dream guitar, one of the first Yamaha SG2000's. No more heavy metal, just the modern rock band and he's trying hard to get something together playing Skynert, Allman Bros, SRV, Hendrix, etc. Also, he's mentioned recently that EL34's are too loud and can I make his amp work with 6V6's.
Tastes change and kids grow up.... at least in some ways. He does still drive his hot rod '90 Mustang.
Dave

[Frankenamp]

I could be wrong, but looking at the pictures- the speaker looks to me to be a Utah brand speaker. Utah's were very common those days, and may have been another stock speaker (if Leo could get a good deal). That IS a nice amp no matter the year or speaker. My vote is to offer 'em an Egnator or Line6 or what other amp the kid thinks is hot... and find a place where the Princeton would be better appreciated...

[FYL]

I could be wrong, but looking at the pictures- the speaker looks to me to be a Utah brand speaker.

You're right: it's a Utah, as hown by the partly removed sticker on the motor. Should have checked all of the pix...



It isn't stock IMO: Fender used either Jensen or Oxford 10" in PRs and only began using Utah speakers in the early '70s. But anything is possible.

[Jack1962]

Nice amp , the fender amp field guide say's the amp is worth $800 to $1000 , I believe you could fetch $1500 for it. the speaker should be a oxford or jensen however, Leo was known for mixing things up lol very nice amp though.

                                                         Rock On

[eleventeen]

Pretty sweet! My (then) 11 year-old niece was given a brown 1960 Concert by a neighbor. It went to get re-tolexed and rebuilt before I knew about or had anything to say about it, and I never saw it in its "before" condition. It sure looks nice now! I'm sure she's played it at least 3 hours in ten years...it might be almost ready for new caps again, LOL. (JK) But a Princeton Reverb is about 10x as practical an amp for almost anyone.

[softwarejanitor]

It isn't stock IMO: Fender used either Jensen or Oxford 10" in PRs and only began using Utah speakers in the early '70s. But anything is possible.

I'm not sure about that.  I've seen some references that say Fender started using some Utah speakers as early as 1965, although Jensen or Oxford were far more common until the early 1970s.

[HotBluePlates]

1) with the speaker blown my thought was to have it repaired to maintain value (yes/no?)

The speaker should either be an Oxford 10L5 or an Oxford 10J4. Can't tell from the pix. They can be reconed quite easily.

I had a '67 Princeton Reverb. The speaker was a stock Jensen C10Q, with the gold & red-ish "special design" label.

[FYL]

I'm not sure about that.  I've seen some references that say Fender started using some Utah speakers as early as 1965, although Jensen or Oxford were far more common until the early 1970s.

That's the "anything is possible". Fender shipped some amps fitted with whatever was available, but the std for PRs was either Jensen or Oxford.

[FYL]

I had a '67 Princeton Reverb. The speaker was a stock Jensen C10Q, with the gold & red-ish "special design" label.

One of the two std. Jensen speakers. I wrote Oxford because the basket didn't look like a Jensen. It's an Utah...