Fender Princeton Chorus

features have been previously and THOUROGHLY documented in earlier reviews

i use an epiphone explorer and carvin dc 135..volume>wah>boss ge-7>tech21 XXL distortion>boss flanger>danelectro stereo chorus>boss dd-5 delay,,,for small to mid-sized gigs, this is an ideal amp. The amps dirty channel can be set for mild distortion, suitable for blues and music not requiring heavy amounts of distortion. The clean channel is very nice, however it does break-up at higher volumes (past 7). The clean channel along w/ flanger/delay combos are capable of producing some "cure"-like tones, while using the tech-21 xxl box will produce a sufficient overdrive sound. I would not recommend this amp for players who are into the metal/hardcore genre...(think mesa/marshall),,Tweaking the dirty channels limit/gain controls will yield tones ranging from a creamy, almost fuzz like distortion to mellower blues sounds reminiscent of SRV/Hendrix. Overall, very versatile. The chief complaint about this amp, well there's 3 ...1) When the chorus is activated, it seems to drain the volume level down a little, my danelectro chorus doesn't do this,,2) Since it is a 2-channel amp, not only should each channel have it's volume knob, and each channel does, but a MASTER VOLUME knob should be incorporated and 3) a "line-out" jack for an extension cabinet would be a nice feature, too,,,but other than that, this is a damn fine amp.

I always carry a back-up processor, and have never had to use it, (knock on wood). I have owned my PC for 8 years in settings from church to bars/clubs and it has never failed me. Have also performed a wide range of music from gospel to country & metal to Top 40 and w/ the right effects (I prefer stomp-boxes and pedals to rack-mounted gear), this amp will deliver most of the needed sounds,,again this is not an amp for metal-heads,,,

I have never had to deal w/ Fender before, and that's a good thing

I have been playing for 20 years and have owned alot of amps (marshall, crate, peavey,ADA). This has been one of the better sounding and more versatile amps I've owned

By now you know the features, 2 channels, mine is more than 2 x 25W, I'm not sure what's up with that, mine has 2 10" speakers, but on back it says 2 x 65 W...? Anyways, chorus, eq, presence, limiter controls on the overdrive channel, reverb, cute red knobs, footswitch for changing channels and turning the chorus on and off. Its a handy amp for practice or small gigs.

I've had this amp for about 4 years, and have always been able to play with it and find a slightly new sound here and there. The clean channel sounds very good, distorts slightly at really high volumes, but I've never played it loud enough to do so more than for a second or two at a time. People have complained about the distortion, I have no problems with it, perhaps they should tweak the eq & other controls a bit more...if you really can't get a good sound out of this amp you're probably retarded, or a gigantic snob who isn't pleased with anything.

Absolutely no problems in 4 + years. Couldn't be more pleased.

Never tried, don't know. They will always be in business, so that's probably good.

Very versitile, good sound, reliable. One of the best alternatives for low-cost amps.

Though i never use a chorus effect i played this amp in the guitar shop and took it home the same day. The clean channel is great cranked up and kick the dirty channel in for added gain and solo's and power chords just rip!

This amp cranked up on the clean channel soaked with reverb and treble has twang in it..which is great..i play a gretsch hot rod and a strat with an EMG 81 and i still get that twangy tele sound on solos but kick in the dirty channel and you also get that Reverend horton heat sound.

I havent had any problems with this amp.. the first time i used it at practice i could'nt hear it over the drums and bass. i was worried. so i miked it through the PA..problem solved..this was before the gretsch hot rod. i used a galveston hollowbody..the volume was weak..couple weeks later i plugged the strat in...WOW!!! it cranked..even at a gig...they could'nt mic it cause it was too loud..

Never had to deal with them

I have to give it an 8 cause it's not the dream amp i wanted..but it works..i Play Rockabilly and Hillbilly Punk..i traded an old Ampeg amp w/reverb and tremolo for this princeton..and i'm happy about it..it sounds great..i dont use the chorus,although i did get an almost tremolo effect going with it..i would use the 2nd channel for punk stuff..think social distortion style..other than that i use the clean channel with effects pedals.. If lost or stolen i would probably cry then go to the bar and drink my sorrows away..

you know them already

the sounds are very nasal and harsh. The clean channel gets distorted at high volumes and the distortion will kill everyone's ears. I have no idea why anyone would even want to mic this amp. The only way i will use this thing live is to use it on the clean channel at low volume in high school jazz band. Nothing else. The sounds are very limited with this amp.

Nothing major happened to the amp. at high volumes, this amp shakes like a dog after getting wet. it pisses me off.

meh

been playing for a good 8 years. I own many guitars and amps. I own a Marshall jcm 800 head and a 1960 cab. and if you plan to use distortion with this amp, a pedal is a must. oh yeah..this would be a good amp to use as a slave amp. because thats all its good for

This amp was made in '94 I believe. I liked the fact that it had reverb, chorus, and 2 separate channels. What really sold me on it was that it had 2 speakers. I don't think there is any other dual speaker amp that you can get for this price. The clean channel was very good. Drive channel leaves something to be desired, not bad though. Also it comes with a 2 button footswitch to switch between channels and chorus.

My guitar is a Fender Toronado with dual humbuckers. This amp is incredibly versatile. I was under the impression it was mostly a jazz amp. But it does just fine for the punk band I'm in. I didn't like how much feedback it had but the humbuckers also contributed to that, with single coils it shouldn't be as bad. The clean channel held up at high volumes, just had to keep the bass low. Distortion wasn't the greatest.

This amp has held up extremely well. The only problems I've had was the footswitch breaking. And that was from pretty extreme abuse. A bass player accidentally jumped on it a few times during a song. Other than that, no problems.

I've dealt with Fender before, not reguarding this amp though. They were extremely helpful.

I've been playing a few years now. Unfortunately I'm looking for something with a little more power. I wouldn't be selling this amp if I weren't playing gigs. I play in a pretty loud band and I'm afraid it just can't stand out very well in the mix over a bass, 2nd guitar, PA, and drums. If I were just using it for practice and small gigs I would definitely not be replacing it.

HAS LOTS OF GOOD OLD FASHION KNOBS TO TURN.
IT ALSO CAME WITH A FOOT SWITCH, THAT WORKS.
THIS AMP IS GOOD FOR OLD ROCK,COUNTRY,AND IF YOU TWEAK THE OVERDRIVE
CHANNEL RIGHT.IT DOES A DECENT JOB FOR BLUES. NOT FOR METALHEADS(THINK
MARSHALL).GOT IT NEW FROM GUITAR CENTER EARLY "97".

GOOD CLEAN TONES. OVERDRIVE OK FOR MILDER STUFF. NICE REVERB,GOOD MILD
CHORUS.
NEED MORE POWER? THEN RUN A LINE OUT FROM (MONO EFFECTS SEND) TO DRIVE A SECOND OR EVEN THIRD AMP.
I HAVE PLAYED STRATS,TELE'S,RICKS,335'S,LES PAULS AND MANY OTHER GUITARS THROUGH THIS AMP. THIS IS WHAT IT IS! A GOOD SOLID STATE AMP.

ROCK SOLID. I HAVE HEARD ,THAT FENDER HAS SOLD OVER 100,000 PRINCETON
CHORUS AMPS.

NEVER NEEDED SERVICE.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR FOR OVER 43 YEARS AND HAD ALOT OF GEAR COME
AND GO. THIS AMP IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. GOOD TONE,DECENT POWER,LOTS
OF FEATURES FOR THE MONEY. IF SOMEONE STOLE IT,I'D HUNT THEM DOWN AND
LOCK THEM IN MY BASEMENT,AND MAKE THEM LISTEN TO NON STOP LAWRENCE WELK FOR 30 YEARS.

90's model. i find it very versatile. has clean/overdrive w/chorus. overdrive has nice limiter knob which actually works as a compressor for high gain settings. presence knob works as a high end cut/boost to shape your driven tone from "brash to smooth"(taken from owners manual)
********NOTE TO OWNERS********I found an owners manual on the web at www.mrgearhead.net/faq/pdf/guitarpdf/ Princeton_Chorus.pdf IT helped me understand how to use the effects loop. has some nice diagrams

i play with a hamer import with duncan designed humbuckers. i love the distortion i get.(these pickups sound better than my friends les paul studio...no joke, this guitar is underrated) its not going to be metallica-type-distortion, but you can come pretty close. its awesome to play nirvana or punk garbage because the limiter lets me dial in the right kind of sustain(mid boost helps too). i can get a silky smooth santa distortion(which is hard to obtain on other amps, think black magic woman, or any santana song for that matter) or for a little more crunch throw on the bridge pickup, turn on mid boost, limiter down and presence up. very versatile. clean channel is smooth as long as you keep the treble down, otherwise it gets really harsh. if you want a soft bluesy kinda overdrive the clean channel sounds great when cranked up with a bit of reverb and plenty of bass(think stone roses... ooh and you add that chorus!! damn thats good tone. keep bass up and treble downish(5-8)). Oh yeah, and to mention how loud this sum'bitch can go! its not a stack or a half stack, but youll be blown away by what you get out of it.

never broken down. played for days with volume on 8-9 with no audible signs of wear and tear. good for not too big gigs. coffe houses, picnics, small bars, orgies...

never dealt

this amp rocks. holds its own with half stack in practice. very versatile. if lost i dont think i would buy one again it because im always into trying something new but as for right now i would not replace it with anything. i'll never get rid of this amp, even if i do get another. what else can i say? its tight.

you know the features

clean channel is alright although it DOES get distorted at high volumes and it doesn't have much features to get different sounds. i give it a 7. The distortion is a joke. It has lack of tone, crunch, power. its fuzzy and sounds absolutly terrible in the recording studio. Very very very disappointed. i give it a 0. yes a 0

oh its reliable... i have abused this thing like crazy. A couple years ago at a talent show, i stood on it and jumped off it, the amp fell backwards during the performance. this happened twice in my life and it works fine. this amp has also been on the road to recording studios and out of state. so it is trustworthy

meh

i had to use this amp because my stupid friend's amp (marshall jcm800) broke down and we had to use this stupid thing...big mistake. I own two amps, this and a marshall AVT 50H with a Crate 4x12 with celestion speakers.and i own a gibson les paul, fender fat strat takamine acoustic/electric. Although fender may have a good clean channel, my marshall's clean channel is cleaner and more verstaille. BEAT THAT FENDER! MWA HAHA. if this thing was stolen, i would track him down and force him to buy the amp. Overall this thing sux. i can't use it in the studio, i can't use it live...what am i supposed to do with it?!?!?

2 channel, 25.5 w per channel, 51 RMS. Not sure what year made, discontinued I believe. Had it for about 2 1/2 years. Clean, distortion with limiter and presence. 2 jacks, one high and one for low impedence. Solid state.

Clean is about an 8 at mid range volume, anything over a 7 gets a little distorted, but not too bad as long as you don't crank it. Distortion is about a 6, mabey a 7 if I play around with it. Adding the stereo helps on the clean. On the distortion, I think it actually hurts it. I have read other reviews calling it fuzz as opposed to a crunch, This is about right. At higher volumes gets a bit mushy. When compared to some of the newer amps, such as the Fender DSP 90, or the Marshall mgd100 dfx, which are marketed under the price I paid for the PC, there is no comparison. Both these amps are considerably louder, and sound better. Boy,,,has technology moved so far ahead in just a few short years. In the case of the PC, it has enough power for a small gig, say a garage or something, but this is it.

Well this fender, so far, as reliable as the name. Like Stone.

Never needed it!

When this amp came out, it was probably cutting edge solid state. Although I only have had it for 2 1/2 years, I wish I would've done more homework versus the price I paid. It is not a bad amp, but with so many newer amps out there and at much better prices, I am disappointed. There are no realy outstanding qualities about it. The reason I did buy it in the first place was that I had a crate amp, not sure of the name, but about 65 watts, all sorts of effects, fun at first, but problems persisted. In all fairness, the PC blew it away, but i wish I just shopped around a little bit more.

Bought new in '94.
this thing is perfect for me, comes with footswitch to go
between clean and dirty channels, reverb sounds pretty good,
the chorus is nice too, but not too much!
solid state, I like the presence and limiter.

I play a '94 Strat, bought at the same time as the amp.
they sound darned good together, I'm not real wild about the
pure clean sounds, except for when I play acoustic through it,
and it seems top handle acoustic duties pretty well.
Mostly I play with a little dirt,
Presence knob up fairly high, limiter down low and gain set to
about five or so. Gives a great blues, classic rock sound.
I was worried about it being solid state, I thought it
wasn't cool and all, you know.
Then I played it and forgot all about that shit!
It's a better sounding amp than my '69 Fender pro reverb.
in fact I never play that one anymore.
Anything higher a than six on the gain channel and it's starts
sounding too 'metal-like' for me. Real thin and shitty.
For me it's a great amp, Folks into the new sounds won't like it much!

Like I said, I bought it new in '94, that's ten years
folks, and it's never been to the repair shop, Although I
never gig with it either, so I don't know how it would stand up.
I hardly ever turn it up past five, in fact never.
That is plenty loud in my finished basement, with a drummer and
bassist.

Have no idea, never had the unfortunate
instance to need them. Not even for the Strat!
Guess Fender makes some good stuff!

I've been playing for twenty years,
Lots of acoustic stuff, my Takamine sounds great through this amp.
When I play electric it's a Strat like I've stated, and, well
you, you can't beat matching up a fender with a fender!
I'd buy another one for sure if anything ever happened to it,
but I don't think they are made anymore, they sold zillions of them though so I'm sure I could find a good used one.
I've also got a Peavy Bandit 65 (who doesn't?) and I like it
but it doesn't compare to this Fender at all. Although I like
the pull knobs on the Peavey, and the saturation, it's fun once in awhile, I like it too! My '69 Pro reverb is cool because
it is what it is, but I never play it. I guess I just like saying that
I've got one. for all that's worth, which is nothing!