Fender Princeton Chorus

I had the Princeton Chorus for 4 years or so. I sold it a couple years ago but thought I'd contribute a review. The features aren't bad: 2 switchable channels, reverb, chorus, footswitch, effects loop (series loop I believe). The reverb cannot be accessed by the footswitch and the poweramp and preamp are solidstate. The is no parallel effects loop that I can recall, but that's not a biggie. The biggest problem feature wise is that it is simply not loud enough. It did not have the ability to cut thru when playing with a drummer. I had to turn the volume all the way up to just faintly hear myself. The amp would feedback a great deal because of this. I play hard rock, so this amp is not suitable in a band situation.

When I was using the Princeton Chorus, I was using an Ernie Ball EVH guitar. The clean channel sounds decent, more so with the chorus effect. The clean channel breaks up at higher volumes though. The distortion channel is thin sounding. Very weak sounding in my opinion, but I play hard rock, so that's just my opinion. This amp in NO WAY sounds like a tube amp---I've had Mesa's, played Marshalls, Fender Tube amps,etc. I have a Diezel VH4 head, but that would not be a fare comparison I suppose. The Princeton Chorus is strictly a practice amp (playing in your room, etc). This amp is not suitable in a bad setting unless you play very mellow music (I mean MELLOW!!!). I don't like solid state amps after owning a Mesa Mark IV, Road King, and the Diezel VH4(the best amp I have ever heard in my life). Solid state amps do not compare to tube amps. The Princeton Chorus does not really fare well in comparison to other solid state amps. The Line6 amps are way better and so is the Peavy XXX, just to name a couple.

Never had a problem with the amp or footswitch. Pretty solid. After a few years of playing, I was able to get a little cash for it. Solid state amps are usually less prone to problems.

Never had to deal with them.

I've played for 15 years, been in a few bands, one that played regularly in bars. I'm a gear junkie. Aside from what I mentioned, I have a PRS Custom 22, Ibanez MM1, Ibanez Acoustic, TC Electronic G-Force, TC Electronic D-Two Delay, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Dunlop Wah with Roger Mayer upgrade, Mesa Boogie cabinets, Xotic Robotalk pedal, and Prophecysound Infinitphase.
I've tried alot of gear. Trust me when I say the Princeton is a practice amp. As far as distortion, for most styles of music you would need a pedal when using this amp. I guess this amp is good for beginners, but if you are serious about playing and have a few hundred + dollars, there are many amps that are better.

Amp was purchased new in 1998. Dual channel (clean and overdrive) 50 watt amplifier. Vol, treb, mid, ad bass (clean channel, reverb (shared on both), gain, limiter, presence, vol (on overdrive channel), with rate and depth (for stereo chorus), footswitch jack with two button footswitch (for switching to overdrive mode and turning chours on/off, and mono and stereo effects loops, and headphone jack. Wish footswitch include button to turn reverb on/off. Have used all features at one time or another. Love this amp, play mostly classic rock, blues, country and some jazz in personal and at family gatherings and jamming with friends. Plenty loud when needed. It is solid state but you can come close to that "tube sound" with right combinations of settings without the worry of tubes. Solid and reliable with great tones at low and high volumes.

Using '77 Fender Standard Strat w/single coils and a 2000 Guild Bluesbird with Seymour Duncan SH-1 humbuckers. Play mostly classic rock, blues, country and some jazz. Amp covers all very well. Has that great clean sound that Fender is famous for. Stereo chorus is fantastic. Not into heavy metal. Like hearing the sounds of my Bluesbird and Strat and not a lot of hiss and fuzz. Get good tones at low and high volumes and am able to dial in the sounds I'm looking for. Not a tube amp, but it can come pretty close to getting that tube sound without the added costs and hassle of worrying about replacing tubes.

Very dependable amp. Only problem was a slight rattle whidh was corrected. Has never broken down and would not worry about needing a backup amp.

Only problem with amp was slightly rattle. Repair was under warranty but took three weeks to correct through local authorized service technician.

Have been a non professional player for 38 yrs jamming with friends and performing at family gatherings. If stolen or lost I would buy another. This is an excellent amp, Fender should never have discontinued. Compared with Marshalls and Peavey the clean channel is far superior and the chorus is fantastic. Not a heavy distortion player. Music is meant to be heard not covered by distortion.

This was my first guitar amp. Got it in July, '95. It's pretty versatile for what it set me back. It also has enough ingrediants to interatively teach the beginning electric guitarist the basics of amplification. Stereo chorus, distortion channel, channel select, two imputs, distortion limiter, 3-band parametric EQ, footswitch imput, headphone jack and stereo effects loop. It's a solid-state system, but it still compared well with the cheaper Marshell rigs. I used it most often for the first seven years I was an electric guitarist. Didn't make it onto many recordings, but it served its purpose. It could probably have used a power conditioner for cutting out the 60-cycle hum on channel 2.

I used it first with a Mexican Standard Strat with single-coil pick-ups, an electrified classical guitar, B C Rich guitar with DiMarzio humbuckers of some kind, Epiphone Les Paul w/ Gibson humbuckers and various steel-string acoustic/electrics. It suited my style as a beginning classic rock guitarist, especially as it seemed to sound like the Tom Scholz Rockman, when amplifying humbuckers. The distortion is highly infectious and can sound quite varied, when you alter the gain and presence controls, or the EQ settings. You have to really crank the clean channel to overdrive it. The afforementioned 60-cycle hum happens most often with the distortion channel when the guitar is used with single-coil pick-ups.

One reason that I stopped using it was that the main imput jack started giving me trouble. In truth, that was the only ever hassle with this little beastie.

Never sought customer support. Haven't dealt with Fender at any time. Mostly dealt with instrument retailers.

I decided to officially change amps in 2002, but this one was very good to me from 1995 to then. Even when it gave me trouble, it was still a great piece of machinery. It also has a vintage look, with the big knobs, dual speaker cones and vinyl outer covering.

This is a USA PR 82 with black knobs. Two channel, foot-switchable clean and overdrive. I bought it new in '98. Very versatile sounds. I can get everything I need tone-wise from this amp. The chorus effect in stereo is fantastic in a smaller room. Makes it sound like your guitar is coming out all over the place. I never really use the effects loops much, but I imagine for recording or with a pro rack setup they would be very useful. The headphone jack is very useful when learning new stuff late at night or if you don't t want other people hearing you screw up your parts.

For the price, hard to beat the sounds. I usually use this with a dual humbucker Yamaha with the stock Yammy p'up in the neck and a "Duncan Design" Buckshot in the bridge. It's generally a bright sounding amp - the Fender trademark - but you can darken it with the controls. The overdrive is excellent. The overdrive isn'for screaming rage-metal, but is great at more subdued settings. Works great with my Digitech RP100 and most other pedals I've used with it (didn't like my brother's Boss DS-1 with it). Very quiet and clean, but when you switch on the chorus you hear an increase in noise. Not too bad, though.

Nothing has broken.

Warranty was five years, but I never needed it. This warranty is great because you get to transfer it if you sell your amp. Helps the resale value.

Been playing seriously since '96. There's really not much out there that this can be compared to. I guess the Roland Jazz Chorus. My jazz teacher has one and we think this amp actually sounds better than his (his can get louder, though). This amp has served me very well. The only thing I'd change would be to have totally separate tone controls for the two channels. And if it could be a little bit lighter in weight, that would be nice. A friend is thinking about making a solid pine cabinet for me, which we estimate will reduce the weight to around 30 lbs. Nice to be able to carry everything in one trip.

This is a 99 model USA Fender princeton chorus, which i bought in 2000 for #220(UK). As mentioned before it has 2 x 10" speakers, built in stereo chorus, clean and overdrive channel.
I play a gibson LP std through this amp and it has mainly been used as a practice amp, for which it is brilliant as it gives a good clean sound at low volume, although i think the distortion only really starts getting any substance above vol 2, at bedroom levels, it sounds weak.
I have been playing for about 7 years and have just joined a covers band. I was going to sell this amp and get a marshall TSL as i had certain gripes about the amp, namely:
Only a single lead channel (TSL had two overdrive channels with independant EQs)
Single EQ for both channels
Not loud enough for solos i feel.

However, i have really come to like this amp for playing in the band, using the in built distortion channel. The other band members really like its sound as well (really good for a solid state and the price paid)
I got around the problem of no "lead" channel by turning my FX pedal (BOSS GT3) output to about 8 (standard setting is 5, so 8 results in the signal being amplified through the pedal, driving the amp much more than it usually would be), i then programmed a "rhythm" patch with master volume 25 (out of 100, so the signal is attenuated overall through the pedal), and a "lead" patch with master volume 100.
I set the amp at about volume 5 and when i do a solo, the signal's amplified overall by the FX pedal. Its pretty loud after that and seems to cut it for solos. This works fine for distorted work, although the amp doesn't like the "lead" setting at all on the clean channel, its loud but it tends to distort when played hard. I use pedal volume of 50 for clean stuff which

I usually play this amp with tre 7-8 mid 3-4 bass 7-8, rev 5, gain 5, limit 3, pres 2-3. For a classic sort of sound, pretty gritty from the bridge pickup of the LP. Works pretty well with the setup above for small gigs.
I don't tend to use the chorus in gigs, but when i playing clean stuff at home, its good to get the reverb and chorus up, very good quality sound.

I do love the clean channel on this amp, once you get above about vol 2, the neck pickup on the LP sounds fantastic, I do feel the amp sounds a bit too trebly when i play the clean bits on "sweet home alabama" - i'd really like a marshall for that number.

Bought second hand in 2000 - one year old, #220 (belive they're #450 new !) - no problems EVER, i've lugged it around countless times. I do feel its only a matter of time before i snap off a control knob, but otherwise, its pretty robust
I have gigged it without a backup, there doesn't seem to be a great deal to go wrong !

No dealings with fender ever, apart from i sent them an email with the serial number when i bought it for manufacturing dates which they proptly replied to

For the money/weight its great. It does sound good and i feel its a good amp for small gigs and practice. I have mentioned the amp's limitations, some of which you can get round with an fx pedal.
May still buy that marshall, but i wouldn't sell this beauty !

I think it's a '94 or '95. after 100+ reviews, I think we're all a little tired of the specs!
I'm gonna give it a 10 tho, 'cause I can get sounds aplenty outta this thing!

I play a '91 Strat Plus through this unit. It sounds wonderful. I run the Strat-->Tube Screamer Turbo-->Dunlop Wah-->Princeton. All this
through the clean channel. I never use the crunch channel. I think this amps' internal overdrive is useless for my style. I'm playing mostly blues and classic rock style stuff and the tube screamer gives me a far warmer sound! I just love the clean channel tho! One thig to try here is the effect loop, Occasionally I'll put the tube screamer in there and what I think it does is mix the dry signal with the wet signal, this really cuts down on the distortion part of the pedal but definitely boosts it's ability to pull of great Stevie Ray sounds. Give it a try, if you're at all into blues you'll likely dig this set-up!

Very reliable, I've had it for years and never done anything besides run a damp cloth over it to clean it occasionally.

Who knows, I'll probably never know either! You can pretty much use
Fender equipment as a hammer and it still works perfectly.

Playing for over 20 years, I've told you 'bout my electric rig, my acoustic gear is Takamine! They are so nice and bright with killer action and they sound great thorugh this amp too! I have gotten over the fact that this is a solid state amp. I'm always embarrassed to admit it to others cause it's just not cool, but when I play through it, I forget all about the shit, It's a very good sounding amp! So to hell with being cool, I'm just happy it sounds good! What I like about it is that it is a REAL amp, not some digital modeling amp.
This is the real deal, and when I play through it, I know it's how I sound, not some engineers' version of how he thinks I should sound! So I'm giving this baby a 10! for the money, there's no beating this thing, You can find them on ebay all day for under $300! I would recommend picking one up for sure, If anything were to ever happen to this I'd get another one before the end o the day! Thank you and goodnight!

2 ten inch speakers, 51 watts, stereo, 2 drives, clean, and dirty. Some pretty descent distortion shaping controls, limiter and presence.

Excellent clean, about as good as it gets. Distortion pretty good too. If using for blues and rock, distortion is perfect,(which is what I bought it for), for metal, best off with another amp. Power, well, more than enough, unless you plan on playing arenas. My best setting, for a MIM Strat w/ Vintage Noiseless pick-ups are, bass and treb at 8, mid between 3 and 4. Gain at 7, limiter at 2, presencen at 3. One other thing, I did replace the reverb tank, with a longer(still 3 spring), but really added a deeper tone and sound. That is why I am giving this baby a ten.

Never had a problem, Had it for five years.

Great people, full of tons of tips and knowledge.

I have been playing for over 20 years, and for a solid state amp, tghis is about as good as it gets. I think this is by far the number one selling s/s amp for fender, and easily to see why, just not sure why this was discontinued? I if this were lost or stolen, since this is discontinued, I would replace with a deluxe reverb, as has a similar deep sound. Have compared to other models, and for the ease and price, this has the sound, the power, cool headphone jack, and can create a lot of different sounds by playing with all the controls. Compared to the newer models and all the DSP effects, this still sounds better, and if you can get a used one for under $300, go for it and pass on the newer models.

this amp was made in the mid to late 80's i believe, its got 2 channels, a clean and overdrive, and built in reverb and chorus, the clean can be amazingly bright or a little drony or however you want to make it, the best clean channel i've ever played on. the overdrive tends to have too much gain and isn't nearly as loud as the clean channel, it doesnt really cut through a mix with a band. the channel switching is done with a 2 button switch with channel and chorus on it, or you can just use the buttons on the amp. it could use a little more power for me, but then again i just like playing loud.

i use an ibanez gax-70 with humbuckers and a fender strat. this amp perfectly suits me for all the styles i play(mainly alternative with little bits of classic rock). the clean channel breakes up around 6 and the overdrive feeds back like crazy past 7. its has got an amazing variety of sounds, i was really impressed when i got it.

this amp is pretty dependalbe, the 1st of its 2 imputs is a little crakly at times, but nothing a little jiggle cant fix.

ive been playing about 3 years, and playing in an alternative band right now, and this amp is perfect for it. i would definatly try and get a new one if it was stolen.

2 channels, basic treble, middle, bass, gain, limiting, reverb, and chorus. pretty cool for what im used to (some really small epiphone practice amp).

I'm using this amp with twin humbuckers on a Stellar Mercury 002 Les Paul and play mainly metal but ill play about anything. this thing can get pretty freakin loud. it gives a pretty good variety of tones. the clean's a little better than the overdriven, but i like the overdrive more because i like the overall, well, overdrive. the clean channel can be deceptive at high volumes. a good number of amps will give you fuzz at high levels, this one, you have to be careful or when you hit a string it'll blow out windows because it wont give a BIT of feedback. the distortion can be pretty awesome with a little tweaking.

I plan to use this amp on my first gig, and i pretty much would bet my life this thing would hold up for a solid year of being on stage without stopping once. never had a problem with it, and probably never will.

never had to deal with 'em

i LOVE this amp. ill just tell you that much here

This amp I believe was one of the later ones made.m It has the silver/gray speaker grill and black knobs. Looks very 50's. This is an amplifier of variety and subtle tones. Two channels with a common EQ. I play a lot of older styles and alternative. Two 10 inch speakers give a lot of bass for their size. I am a serious hobbyist who has been playing for 15 years. I don't need a lot of power which is good as this amp is not overpowering but power isn't everything. There is nothing I don't use on this amp. Every knob does something.

I use a Fender Fat Strat as well as a Strat that is upgraded with Fender Lace Sensors. Both sound very different through this amp. Both sound very good. I also use a Epiphone Les Paul with DiMarzio pickups. It sounds very heavy. This Princeton Chorus is a lot more quiet than the ones made in the late 80's. I used to be that you could hear the ocean if you turned up the gain too much on the old ones. The limiter is very useful, even at low gain, a fact that Fender overlooked in the manual. With the gain and limiter about halfway and the reverb and chorus turned up it is ethereal with soft picking and harmonics! This amp is a creative tool rather just a 100 watt bullhorn. The nice thing about this amp is that it sounds cranked up even at low volumes so you don't have to turn it up to 7 to enjoy practicing it. This is not an amp for the metalheads out there. It does not sound like the much emulated JCM 800, but then again, not everything should. The chorus sounds incredible with distortion and in fact I think it was really intended to be used in conjunction with it. It is capable of great fuzzy distortions that usual aren't found built into amps. Why spend a grand on stacks only to have to buy a $60 dollar pedal to get the fuzz you want? The clean is amazing with single coil pickups but not so hot with humbuckers. Variety, YES! I can spend all day turning knobs on this amp getting sounds that I actually like rather than trying to find just one that I can live with.

My only gripe with the one that I have is that I have a short in the reverb but I think that could be fixed rather easily as it lies in the spring box rather than the circuitry or the control.

Never needed it.

I have a 65 watt valvestate I paid more for and like far less and in fact I am selling it as a result of buying the Princeton Chorus. I would never be without this amplifier in my pocession. It is fairly light to carry even though it has two speakers. It looks classy, sounds great and I get up in the morning to play it. As far as I know it is not made any more so if you want one you have to probably look online and be prepared to bid. There seems to be a lot of demand for this one so I am not sure why Fender decided to stop production on this model. Maybe they should bring it back!