Fender Princeton Reverb II

I have two 1983 Fender Princeton Reverb II amps. The features are two foot switchable channels. You have three push pull knobs on the left side of your amp. Pull for lead, Pull for Bright, and Pull for Mid Boost. This amp is hand wired, no printed circuit board here. It has a shared EQ Highs Mids Lows Presence, a volume, and a master volume. It also has a spring reverb that is very nice.

I'm not going to talk about the clean channel, because everyone knows that Fenders have a great clean no matter what. I'm telling you about the things you don't know about this amp. I use a Fender Showmaster Guitar with a Pearly Gates in the bridge, and a Duncan 59 in the neck. I also have another Fender Showmaster with two Alnico II Pro Pickups bridge, and neck. For those of you that think Fenders can't overdrive you should try this amp. I put a Celestion Vintage 30 in one, and a Greenback in the other, and the result is a sound that will amaze you. I can get plexi like tones, also JCM 800 tones as well. I play classic rock, blues, and hard rock, and this amp suites me perfectly without an overdrive pedal. I use a DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus to run them both together, but that's it.

These amps have never let me down. I had to get a cap job done on both of them, when I got them, but that is standard for an amp over 20 years old. Other than that, if you take care of your amp, don't abuse it, and replace your valves when your supposed this amp will last you any years.

Over had to deal with them.

I've been playing guitar since the 8th grade, and have played many amps in my time as a guitar player, and this one just blew me away, especially the overdrive channel. You can't beat it. Hand wired amps are very hard to come by. If my amps ever got stolen, I would replace them both in a heart beat.

I am just adding something to a previous review, has anyone
tried using the metal can 6v6 vintage tubes from the 50's
WOW... I have tried these tubes in other amps and they have
some variance but one this amp the clean punch is like a
steel string singer that SRV used. These vintage metal can
6v6's really come alive in this amp... check it out! And
they are cheap too...

I am just FYI the previous post with metal can shielded vintage
6v6 tubes, awesome punch for the clean channel and first distortion
stage. Great for jazz, blues and great when clarity, sparkle and
chime tone is what you are looking for as well as real punch.

hey its fender!

all point to point hand wired... folks these are the real
Rivera amps, not the PCB board crap he makes today which are
like Mesa Boogies but the real vintage American handwired amps
this country was famous for making one time... sad they don't
make em like this anymore... unless you pay for custom shop.

This is a sleeper amp... one of the best of the line. Its a 12"
model, plywood cab not crapboard, weighs ~35lbs so its still light.
So its better than a super champ cause those are 10" and not as
heavy as the others like deluxe II or concert II so all around this
is the best of the line. I played some of the other models and this
will one day when the word gets out one of the best Rivera amps he
ever made. Its really like a deluxe 12" speaker with 3 boost channels
and a dumble inspired circuit

Riviera must have thought; "well, Mesa did build a whole company on hotrodded Champs and Princetons, let's give it a try" when Fender asked him to blueprint the new tube amps for the early eighties. So the Princeton got a 12" speaker and a extra preamp wich could be kicked in and out ... and he called it Princeton II.(The same thought must have crossed the mind of Randall Smith a few years later when Mesa actually made their own hotrodded Princton and called it Studio Series)
I have some other Fender silverface tube amps and these are pretty simple to get a good sound.. just adjust bass and treble and there you go. But the PII is a totally different animal.

First of all, the clean channel (without extra preamp tube that is) has a massive dip. Like it's almost trying to sound like a Fender but it does a bad job. No sonic bloom, too much bass and to thin and fizzy in the highs. However, pull the mid boost and the dip turns into a small hump. The effect is pretty dramatic, like it is an whole other amp. Because my silverfaces are sonicly somewhere between the dip and hump zone I understand some will alter the mid-capacitors for a more true classic Fender sound. Luckily, the amp has lots of bass and treble on tap (much more then the Boogie Studio)so the hump can easily be compesated. Bolder than a blackface and less stinging highs than a silverface but warm bouncy round notes that easily sticks through a band mix.
My favorite however is the lead "channel". Pull out the volume and kick in the extra preamp tube. To adjust the volume between the 2 settings, the leadsound has it's own lead level volume (but shares the master volume)As long as you keep that Lead Level above the preamp volume, you're fine, otherwisse it will sound raspy.
I generally run de volume on 4, the lead level on 10, no treble and mid boost and the master on whatever volume I need. It is not a totally clean sound but those hot silky authorative notes are pretty much the reason why people call the PII the "poor man's Dumble". I dont have a Dumble (!) but some time ago I ran it with my friend Ceriatone dumble clone and we both agreed they both did a pretty good job on that 10.000 dollar signature sound. The PII however could sound -big surprise- more Fenderish, almost like a Princeton (!)

For leadsounds I use a quality stompbox -usally a Zendrive or old Chandler tube driver- that leaves the amp's sonic character alone. You don't wanna spoil that with a ts808 or OCD.

Like other posters said, there are even some more sounds in this amp but those "fender with a twist" and the "poor man's Dumble" are more than enough for me.

There are a lot of mods for this amp that would make it more reliable but I dont think it needs those. After 25 years, it is still dead quiet with everything on 10 and it has still the original tubes and speaker.

This thing is Loud. More than a UK Vox AC-15 and almost as loud as a Boogie Studio. Enough for live giging. A light 12" handwired tube amp with a boutique sound and still up for grabs. I just bought a new Princeton '65 ri and I thinks it's a great little amp that is true to it's herritage. However, If I had to choose between the two, I would pick the oddball of the family anytime anyday.

Mine was one of the last made in '84. This is a great amp, covers everything from Blues to a bit of Shred and everywhere in between. There are so many options, mine came with the footswitch which allows me to access a few more.

So here goes... you have your straight forward clean channel(1), then you pull the switch for lead(2). Plug in your footswitch (which does change the tone/vol). So again you have your clean(3) then switch on the lead for a boost(4). Now pull the volume knob and go through it again, clean(5) then switch on the lead(6). One of the better combinations is if you remove the Red plug, so you have a few more options here again. Volume knob in, clean(7) lead selected boost(8). Volume knob pulled clean(9), overdrive(10). Although is might be subtle there IS a difference in each of these settings, both on the clean side and lead/boost/overdriven side. This is because Rivera built the footswitch into the circuit which alters the tone at each iteration. In addition there is a Bright pull switch AND a Mid boost pull switch to add to the mix. So this amp offers about 10 or more different formations of tone, not all easily accessible on the fly, but point out a PTP, hand-wired amp where you can get all this for less then 1K, (yeah didn't think so). No effects loop, no problem, this thing was made for pedals. I swear Rivera shrunk down the Taj Mahal and fit it into the Reverb circuit.

I do have one complaint. The speaker on this thing is quit shrill, Im thinking about either an AlNiCo Blue or Greenback to smooth out the high end. As stated this amps secret is in tweaking, while you can plug and play, you will be rewarded when you tweak it out. Also, this does have a SS rectifier so there is no "sag", and hardly no hiss.

I have yet to try single coils out on this amp (apparently thats where this thing really shines). There is so much in the way of tonal options beyond just EQ. I play rock, a little blues, ambient, and some indie licks. Due to the SS rectifier there is no hiss whatsoever. Im not into metal shred and br00tal gain, but you get into that territory with this (its supposed to go head to head with early Mark Mesa's). The lead in this amp is pre-amp distortion which has its place but I imagine most people aren't wandering around looking for this in there amp, the solution is to crank the master and dial in the lead and volume knobs. The stock speaker is the only reason for a 9 rather then a 10.

PtP, Hand-wired find a good tech and this thing should last forever. There are a few mods to smooth out the mids, to add a standby switch, and to add a bias adjustment (it has a fixed bias) These mods might add to the life of the tubes. The cab is solid, finger jointed pine if Im not mistaken. Great quality in each area. Not to mention light, you wont break your back with this.

I imagine the warranty is up since it is older then I am. I would just check it into my local amp dr. rather then get into it with Fender.

I have done alot of research before I purchasing this. I saw this amp not only as an investment in tone, but as one of the last PtP hand-wired Fenders built in the US this this is also a financial investment. If this thing were stolen Id sh*t a brick, they are geting harder to track down, and will surely be more then what I paid.

There is so much in this thing, every time I play I tweak it a bit more and find a new useable sound. Such a great, versatile, medium-sized amp.

Mine is 1983. Single channel with a boost select, switchable reverb. The deluxe has two channels which allows different tone settings. With the Princeton, often my tone settings for boost don't work well with my clean sound so there is some knob tweaking necessary. The reverb is great, no vibrato/trem. 20 watts, loud enough for work with a drummer. I think 20 watts is ideal because you can push the power section of this amp to get great tones. Using a 100 watt mesa with my former band (5-piece electric) the amp was already too loud for rehearsals on four. If the drummer is miced, just set up another mic for your amp, done. 20 watts also allows me to play at home for practice. Amps smaller than 20 watts usually sound small. Internal 12 inch loudspeaker, Jensen in mine (non-stock). Even with one channel the amp can get any tone I need, clean, blues, rock, metal, and yes...shred as well. Only feature I would want is the seperate channels found on the deluxe. Oh yeah, it is point to point wired, no printed circuit boards. These Rivera amps are the last amps to be made this way from Fender outside of the custom shop.

This is the only fender I have owned. I have played them before but always preferred the crunch of a Marshall. Now that I wanted a SRV style amp I came accross this one and was also suprised to find great distortion as well as that classic Fender clean.
Cleans are the best I have played. They really make your guitar shine. You can here differences from one strat to the next. I like most controls in the 4-6 range and the tone is full, complex, rich, and dynamic. Fast single note lines are articulate and bluesy bends just blossom with harmonic overtones. I found early SRV with my strat. A les paul is meatier and more powerful, the tone is true to your hands and instrument. Excellent.
Crunchy tones are easy with the Paul, the tone is cleaner with a strat. With the master on 10 the amp breaks up with the channel volume on 4 for the LP, closer to 6 with the strat. This is POWER AMP distortion. By the way, the volume is cut when using the foot switch due to the circuit design. I can play the amp flat out without ear plugs when the footswitch is in. Without the footswitch, the amp is too loud for flat out at home. So, the bluesy tones are progressive, controlable, clean up nicely with pick attack and guitar volume. This crunch sound is what people buy boutique amps for.
For high gain metal/shred the recipe is: vol 10, pull; treb 10, pull; mid 1, pull; bass 10, lead vol amd master to suit. Plug in a humbucker guitar and the result is a mesa-style preamp distortion a la Metallica's Justice album. I'm not kidding. I was very surprised it had this much in it. For death metal that makes a woof-woof, thud-thud percussion, you will need to add a sealed back extension cabinet and possibly an outboard eq to add bass. Malmsteen shred is easy as is EVH tapping and Zakky harmonics.

I wanted a PTP amp because you can always fix it. This amp is 24 years old and looks great, works perfectly and is very quiet. Important since there is no stand-by switch. Close the guitar volume and you're good between songs.

Find an amp tech you like.

I have been playing guitar 17 years. This is the best amp I've owned. I play it all the time, more so than my DSL Marshall (which is also a great 20 watt amp) and sounds better than my triaxis/2:90 boogie set up. I never got on with that rack style set-up. I like plugging straight into an amp and getting a sound I like. The only other amp I would really like to acquire is a mesa Mark IV. I would like to play a deluxe reverb II to see if I can get the same tones while also enjoying a second channel. I can't believe these things are still affordable with PTP all tube quality tone. I was looking to spend 1500 on a boutique amp and I am glad I stumbled onto this first.

Rivera designed... unofficially these are known as poor man
dumbles, a good tech or engineer can tweak the amp to get close
to a 80's dumble and the clean circuit is very close to the dumble
clean channel. Dumbles are hot rodded fenders anyway. PTP and
very well built many consider these the best of the post black face
phase and they are the last of the PTP fender amps from California.

Very quiet as long as you don't use the middle boost... the reverb
doesn't quite shut off on the clean channel but a very flexible amp.
Doesn't get as good of a clean channel as a silver face Princeton
but is a great amp just the same

very reliable its a fender

Feature rich with Gain, treble, and Mid boost. Nice reverb vertically mounted. I generally dont use any of the pull knob boost features. Ocassionally used the Mid boost for harmonica which is why I originally purchased the amp. Now I use it for guitar as I have other amps I like better for harp. I bought used, it came with an EV speaker which I thought someone added, but recently learned this was a factory upgrade option. In my opinion the EV was good if you want no speaker breakup, but way much for a 22 watt amp. I changed to a Jensen P12R. Amp is very portable.

Sound is great for many styles especially Blues! I will never sell this amp! It is loud enough to play with a tasteful drummer, and when driven beyond 6-7 on the volume dial has the smooth crunch and dimensional tone, you know what I mean! And you don't have to end up with ringing ears to get it. Gain boost adds volume and overdrive but seems to reduce reverb. Mid boost adds thickness and distortion.

I have had this amp for almost 20 years and have not once had it in for repairs. Unbelievably I am running the same pair of power tubes for over 12 years. (although I have several amps that i use so it does sit alot). It does not run overly hot so I expect that is a reason why it has been so good.

Never dealt directly with fender.

If it were stolen it would be very difficult to replace. I would never find one for the price I paid.

mine is a 1980 with the blackface that says Princeton Reverb but not Princeton Reverb Amp like the original blackfaces. It is prior to them becoming the Princton Reverb II. It has the best reverb I have ever heard outside of multi-thousand dollar studio units. Even though I don't like tremolo (or vibrato) it has an amazing version of that as well. It is quite comfortable going as loud as I ever turn my larger amps up to so power (12 watts) is more than adequate for most applications. It is not feature laden but it really sounds GREAT.

I am a professional musician an play for a living so I am called to do most any style that pays money. If it were up to me I would be playing just jazz and fusion. This is the real Fender sound that makes people spend alot of dough on these amps. It is pretty much perfect. I got this off Ebay and when I open it up I was kind of dissapointed as it was very cold and non toneful. Several of the controls did not function properly and perhaps the most horrible thing of all was it's prior owner had put Mesa tubes in it (recipe for disaster). I am lucky to have a best friend who is an amp tech. He put all new caps (orange drop) and pots, removed the push pull gain boost on the volume pot, properly biased it with NOS RCA 6v6 tubes and we tried about 20 different preamp tubes in each socet to get what it is now the best tone I think I have ever gotten out of an amp. This amp does not hide anything. If you have a crappy guitar then you will get crap but you will sound like you through this thing. It has been modded with a 12" baffle and has a Jensen C12N which is not my favorite speaker (Celestion V30 is my baby) but it sounds quite nice in this amp. This amp loves my Keeley Blues Driver if overdrive is needed. For guitars I use a Custom Heritage Prospect which is a 15" 335 style guitar with a floating center block (made of Basswood) a 3-piece Maple neck with Madagasscar rosewood board, 25.5 scale, Buzz feiten Tuning System, and 2 59's. My other guitars that ocassionally see daylight are a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top and a Heritage 550 (17" archtop jazz box). The amp seem to like them all. My other amps are a Bogner Shiva (EL34 model) and a Fender Vibroverb that has been mounted in a 3x10 mojotone cabinet. The Princeton Reverb sounds very similar to the Vibroverb but is abbout 37lbs. instead of 70lbs.

All point to point and same specs as a Silver Face so pretty easy for any tech to fix.

I have been playing for 32 years and have owned most everything. Just so you can gauge if my opinion has any merrit compared to your own taste. I HATE MESA AMPS and am usually discusted by the refuse that comes from them. I do however like Mesa cabs and own 3 of their 1x12 cabs. I tend to not be a single coil guy and prefer low to medium low power buckers and semi-hollow guitars. My favorite players are Pat Metheny, Mike Stern (but not Stern's Tone), and Scott Henderson. I love this amp and can get all of my perfect tones from it by simply turning my guitars volume and/or tone controls.

This amp was made in 1982. I play a mixture of early heavy metal, through blues and intend to learn some country licks, 'caus there fun. This is a 1 chanel amp but has a very effictive, "Pull Lead" switch which is foot switchable, if you are fortunate enouth to have the somewhat rare original foot switch. I just orderd a switch that will work. All the features have been covered. My only comment is that, pulling the "Lead and Mid Boost makes a big difference but I don't get much difference when I pull the trebble boost. I will have it looked at. I use the amp primarily at home and some times take it out to jam with friends. It has plenty of power for this and most gigs if I were still gigging. It is an all tube amp.

Right now, I am using a Warmoth Strat with Fralin Blues pickupsand a early Japanese Squire Strat with a USA Custom Guitars neck. I intend to get a Tele in the near future. I like these guitars very much and have had some of the most sought after Giblons and Fenders from both the 50s and 60s so I think I know when I hear good guitar tone. This amp has blow me away with its tones and versatility. It is surprisingly quiet and can go from sounding very simillar to the 2 BF Twins I have had and into the types of sounds I got from the Boogie Mark I and III I had. After trying radically different settings, I am very impressed with it range of sounds. I just got a Dirty Boy, Cannibal Boy pedal that is awsome and a SansAmp GT2. This amp loves these pedals.

Being that it is a point to point, hand wired amp, I suspect that it will be about as reliable as all the other pre CBS amps I have had, which means extremely reliable. I would give it a 10 but have only had it for a few weeks. I can't really give a fair answer.

I have never had my Fender amps repaired by Fender.

I got my first equipment, new, in 1964, a Fender Jazzmaster and a Deluxe Reverb. I have been playing on/off ever since. I had to get rid of the PR because it had too much distortion and switched to a 65 Twin. Yah, sure, you never made a mistake. It was pre Led Zeppelin you know. I have had Marshall JCM 800 50 watt, Marshall Artist, Supro Thunderbolt, Emery Superbaby, etc. Most were great for what they did. This amp is one of the best I have ever owned. I put a Celestion G12-65 speaker in mine. I love this speaker. Don't even consider using the stock, cheapo speaker. Its like having bias ply tires on you Ferrari. The speaker turns this very good amp into a great amp. The amp loves the Dirty Boy, "Cannibal Boy" and SansAmp GT2 pedals. I would replace it or have an extra Rivera Fender in a minute.

Rivera era Princeton Reverb II with amp cover and footswitch in perfect condition, sat in a music store for weeks, I thought it was solid state but when I asked he salesman he told me it was tube, I went home, read up on it and found that not only tube but PTP wiring. Mine has a Carvin British series 12" speaker which is the only thing not stock. I asked how much they wanted for it and they said $250 and I offered them $225 and they went for it. It looks like a blackface Fender, has 2 channels, one is supposed to sound like a Mesa Boogie, I thought it sounded like crap untill I stopped using the footswitch (don't be sad that yours did'nt come with a footswitch, it interacts with the circuit and causes the Lead (Mesa) channel to be loud and unusable.) I bought the amp and did a few mods (reliability) one mod to set the fixed bias lower, and changed a cap on the mid boost so it wasn't so pronounced, and of course a brand new set of JJ tubes.

This amp is 22W of beautiful clean Fendery sparkle on one setting and pull the switch and you have a punchy (more mid voiced) channel. Both channels love pedals. his amp reminds me of a twin that a former other guitarist in a band used to dwarf me with, only not as loud. There is a website that is dedicated to this amp specifically and has abot all the info that you'll need to get one up to snuff. I got the mods I did off the website and they improoved the sound.

This amp is over 20 years old and still works, real quiet I might add. PTP wiring makes it easy for a tech to fix anything and schematics, chassis layout and parts list are readily available. It still had the original tubes in it when I got it and had no issues. This amp looked like it was kept indoors for most of it's existence.

It's 20+ years old and it not atomic cyber modelling crap so I'll never go back to Fender. Like I said there's enough info on the web.

I rate this amp at $225 a steal. I always wanted a Princeton, I think I got more. This amp set for the clean channel with a few pedals in front of it is all I'll ever need, I think I may sell my Botique amp and keep this one.

This amp was a gift from a friend of mine who died awile back ago. It was usually left at at his house where we spent weekends playing R&B,soul,and blues.Where this amp really shines.as far as features,it's a two channel amp,but I use the term loosly.Rivera tried to mimic a Mark II boogie but kinda' failed on the overdrive.It it has a bright pull switch and a mid-boost pull switch. The latter seems to smoothe out the over-driven tones.the reverb sounds pretty good at low settings but gets a little buzzy at higher settings if the pick-ups are wide open.However both chanels can sound great for blues once you get used to tweaking it out.

Everyone of my friends that hear this amp says the same thing.It sounds big.But that's what it has,the classic fender dimension. At 20 watts it's just not loud enough to play clean for a rock band but if you mike it out it does the trick.(by the way,The line out sucks. It's just there for humor.)I never had much time to screw with the tubes like I do with bigger amps, but I think if you goof around swapping different pre-amp tubes and put a choice set of power tubes in it. It would more than likely smoothe out the overdrive channel.I've been reading here about swapping the speaker and I think that may make a big difference (I'm thinkin' about a greenback.)

well- just two tubes so far. I have noticed that the reverb has been fading out lately. but I really don't take care of this amp much.I think I might put a better reverb unit in it.

Are you kidding. Who would I call? That's why I'm here.

I've been playing for 26 years and I play everything from Charlie Christian to Head Automatica.If you're a plug-in and play sorta' guy, You'll dig this amp.If you like to use a distortion pedal, It handles it and sounds it just like a twin or a deluxe. It's probably as close as you'll get to a fender & mark boogie in such a small tube package.I WOULD NOT PAY $850 DOLLARS FOR IT.(The people in England are crazy.)But if I could find another one, that would solve my problems of miking it.I've had this amp for about 16 years and I got used.I played a strat, les paul, jacksons, all sorts of different pick-up combinations and they all sound good,in fact,It's probably one of the the best sounding fenders I've ever had.The most surprising sound I got was out of my friend's shitty old kramer pacer.The guitar always sounded bad on any amp,But it got a real cool "burby" blues sound on the fender.(Must be it's soul mate).Like I said the lead channel sounds a little ratty, but anyone that has had fenders isn't used to a overdrive channel anyway so thats just iceing on the cake if you learn how to work it.

THE GUY JUST BEFORE ME MUST HAVE CAP PROBLEMS. MINE SOUNDS GREAT!!!
1984 I BELIEVE. 1 CHANNEL. LINE OUT. REVERB. TUBE AMP WITH SS RECTIFIER. 3 -12AX7A,S & 1- 12AT7 2 6V6,S 20 WATTS OUTPUT. THIS IS MABYE THE BEST BLUES AMP I HAVE EVER HAD. IVE HAD PEAVEY/FENDER DELUXE REVERB,S/REISSUE VIBROLUX REVERB. HAD IT ONE WEEK & REVERB WENT OUT/ NEXT WEEK TREMOLO WENT OUT. DO I LIKE REISSUE AMPS ///NO/// THE PR WOULDNT BE LOUD ENOUGH FOR LARGE AREAS BUT FOR SMALL CLUB JUST RIGHT. YES I LOVE IT. IF YOU WANT MORE VOLUME & TONE TONE TONE GET A CELESTION ALNICO BLUE.

I USE SINGLE COILS. TEXAS SPECIALS IN A TELE. C/S FAT 50,S IN MY STRAT. TRUETONE PUPS IN MY JAP STRAT./ 83 STRAT ELITE WITH ALNICO II PUPS/THIS AMP LOVES THE FAT 50S. I RUN THE MASTER FULL OPEN WITH THE VOLUME AT 5 FOR MY CLEAN SOUNDS & FOR BLUES I TURN UP THE VOLUME UP TO 9 & AJUST MY GUITAR VOLUME. I DONT NEED THE OD CHANNEL THE CLEAN DOES ALL I NEED.A FRIEND OF MINE UAES A PRII FOR HARP. HE LIKES IT BETTER THAN HIS SUPER CHAMP.(WIDER RANGE) THE OD CHANNEL GETS LOUD BUT IM NOT INTO THAT. I HAVE 2 OF THE PRII,S & I RUN A CELESTION G12H30 IN 1 & MY FAV. A CELESTION ALNICO BLUE IN THE OTHER. TALK ABOUT COMING ALIVE THE CELESTION,S WAKE THESE LITTLE AMP UP!!

IVE HAD FENDER ALL MY LIFE (SINCE 1962) NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE EXCEPT FOR TUBES.

SURELY THIS IS A JOKE . RIGHT??? WAY OUT OF WARRENTY.

LET SEE IVE BEEN PLAYING OFF & ON SINCE 1962. I HAVE 2 SO IF THEY STEAL ONE I HOPE ITS NOT THE ONE WITH THE BLUE.YES I WOULD REPLACE THEM.IN A HEARTBEAT.THE ONLY THING I DONT LIKE ABOUT THE PRII,S IS THE SPEAKER.BUT UNDERSTAND I THOUGHT THEY SOUNDED GREAT UNTIL I PLUGGED IN THE ALNICO BLUE & THE G12H30. MY GOD WHAT A SOUND.I DONT HAVE THE FOOTSWITCH BUT I WOULDNT USE IT ANYWAY. THE REVERB IS LUSH LIKE MY SILVERFACE DELUXE REVERB.IVE HAD S/F DELUXE REVERBS/ S/F PRINCETON REVERBS/ REISSUE VIBROLUXE YUK NO BOTTOM BUILT CHEAP/WHY DO PEOPLE PAY $2000.00 TO $3000.00 TO GET THE SAME SOUND THESE POINT TO POINT HAND WIRED AMPS HAVE. AT LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE. I DONT GET IT.??? IF YOU WANT ONE OF THE BEST BLUES AMPS ON THE MARKET GET A PRII & IF YOU LIKE CREAMY WARM SOUNDS GET A G12H30. IF YOU LIKE CHIMES FOR BLUES OR COUNTRY GET A ALNICO BLUE. I BOUGHT A JENSEN REISSUE P12N. THAT HAD ICEPICK HIGHS IN EVERY AMP I PUT IT IN.

I believe the amp was made around 1986. 2 footswitchable channels, reverb, Solid State Rectifier, 2 6V6 3 12AX7 and 1 12AT7 tubes. Lead and Bright switches via push-pull pot.

An effects loop would be nice but who really uses those? It has more than enough power to gig with.

I switched out the GE tubes with JJ's, didn't hear a diffence. MayWhen I first bought this I was using the sellers 70's SG. He had the controls dimed so it sounded very nice in comparison when I eq'ed it properly. be a little loss in the high end, thats about it.

I use humbucker equipped guitars. I find that this amp sounds better with single coil guitars.

It was alittle noisy, I don't really like the sound of it. The EQ isn't very responsive either and the stock speaker that came with it was very ratty sounding so I ran it through a Mesa Recto 4x12, it sounded very nice and crunchy through that but I feel it didn't have enough power to push the cab all that much. It hung with a drummer quite well.

With the lead channel on you get a very nasty Mesa type over saturated gain thats very harsh. I tried the trick that Mike suggested on 02/17/2003 thats on this page. I found that it helped alot but was still alittle too harsh and gainy but still a great improvement. If you like Metallicas tone and are 14 years old you would dig the lead channel.

There is not too much variety in this amp, a decent clean channel and a lead channel that sounds like a dying cat.

3 with the stock speaker, a 5 or 6 with a new speaker. I hear the Eminence Cannibas Rex is a good replacement for not alot of scratch.

As mentioned in previous reviews the amp does have point to point wiring. I think mine might have needed new capacitors. The soldering joint to the speaker broke off while I was playing it and it got this nice self osicillation sound that really hurt my ears. After I repaired it the amp was fine. Nice transformers, solid state rectifier.

No warranty so Fender probably doesn't give a rats ass.

I have been playing for 4 years, my main amp is a Mesa Boogie Trem-O-Verb. I ended up selling this amp to my friend because I was going to eBay it to some sucker but he said he needed a tube amp. I told him it was a bad sounding amp but he still wanted it. If I bought this amp again I would really only pay around the 300 dollar range as thats all this amp is worth.

This is a 1982 Rivera Princeton Reverb II!
About 11." deep and 20.5" wide by 17" tall. so it's a bit bigger than the original Princeton Reverb About an inch and a half all the way arounf larger.
8 controls and a switchpedalfor boost and reverb.
Nice 12" speaker but an SRO sounds best in my opinion.
The all Pine Jointed cabe even has a 13 ply .75" pine baffle too.(good to hold up your JBL or EVL speaker)

Sounds like a Pass between a Fender Deluxe and a Mesa MarkII. These rivera built all hand wired amps just have the tone a moddeler or todays PCB's cannot offer the player.

Nothing is more reliable that a solidly built Point to Point amp. This amp is all Pine Jointed and even has a 13 ply pine baffle.(good to hold up a JBL or EVL. This amp has never had any work done except for new speaker and tubes. The amp is 22 years old and it's so quiet you have to play to know it's on. The lead dress is impecable on these amps.

Never needed, and it's PTP so any good tech can fix it with off the shelf parts.

Overall it's the best Blues amp I have evr ownerd. I'm talking Smooth British Blues Blues, to Yanky Blues raunch to Texas Blues to Blues ballads. This amp is the blues amp to have. This does, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, SRV, John Sykes, Gary Moore, and Cocco Montoya to a "T"

I would kill the one who tried to steal it. He wouldn't get far either. The amp ways about 25lbs and add another 18 from the SRO. hehe, lets just say he wont run too fast. I could have my coffee first.

Princeton Reverb II, PRII PR2, all the same thing!
All-valve (tube) signal path
Unbelievably low-noise operation (hardly any hiss), which is why they're popular for home recording, and you can do quiet practice without losing too much tone.

Extremely strong construction - fully welded metal chassis and dovetail joints in the plywood cabinet

Point-to-point wiring (no printed circuit board, making for ease of repair and physical reliability.

This last point is based on the fact that the controls, audio sockets and valve sockets aren't mechanically mounted on the wiring board.

Therefore if the amp rolls down a flight of stairs, you may have replace a few knobs and pots, but no mechanical shock is passed on to the heart of the amp and you won't be left with a PCB cracked in two.

Very Loud for 22W. Just like an old Deluxe Reverb actually!

Fixed-bias, the amp design which gets the most power from output valves. This is probably the loudest 6V6 amp on the planet.

Very Conservatively-rated transformers. They will apparently deliver enough power and stay within safe temperatures even when the amp is modified up to 35W. with 6l6's

Transformers are expensive, so this level of reliability is reassuring to me!

Solid-state rectifier, so big bass response and quick attack from the pick to strings!

The basic sound! Very musical!

Depending on the quality of your power (output) valves and the bias setting, you can get marvellous overdrive tones once you turn the master volume knob over 6 or 7 (approx) - or earlier with the mid boost selected.

Big variation in tone; bass, mid, treble, presence, plus mid boost switch and treble boost switch

Versatility - people are using it for blues, metal, country, jazz, blues, even amplifying classical guitar. There are better metal amps but this amp does everything convincingly on stage.

Duane Allmane is in this circuit I sware! Peter Green is in the Luch reverb section. Ted Nugent is inthere. Santana for sure and even early metalica. This amp sounds oh so good!

never had a problem, but it's PTP so it's cheap to fix if ever it occurs.

I've been playing 22 years and this amp has been making me happy in the last 3 months I've owned it. I am in an Allman Brothers tribute and SRV tribute band and this amp is perfect for this!

It only compares to the deluxe reverb and deluxe reverb II. Sounds great for Fender or mesa sounds wrapped up in one. There is a mod to get Marshall crunch on the lead channel but I already have a studio 15 for that part.

1985 Fender model Princeton Reverb II
* 2x6V6 power tubes, 1x12AT7 reverb tube, 3x12AX7 preamp tubes
* tube-driven reverb
* clean and lead channels via a push/pull volume knob
* individual volume controls per channel, shared EQ, master volume
* push/pull treble boost, push/pull midrange boost, bass, presence
* 12" speaker Celestion
* line out, reverb in/out, jacks for pedals to control channels
* about 25 pounds
* single input jack on front panel
* 22watts RMS

Reminds me so much of my Silverface Deluxe Reverb it's scary!

It's also alot like my friends Super Champ but the Princeton Reverb has a more Lush syrupy reverb, and gets a lot more bottom out of the 12" speaker and larger cabinet.

Perfect Duane Allman tone when playing loud and with slide guitar. It get's very honky with a tight bottom. Perfect Duane tone for me!

I mean the most perfect Live Statesboro Blues tone I've ever heard.

No Problems. It's harder to bias than a Blackface Deluxe Reverb but it's as easy as a silverface. I will probably mod it to have a Bias pot like my Bassman.

No trouble ever!

I bought a mint one with original cover, switch, and it only cost me $725. I was going to get the Deluxe Reverb Reissue but the Princeton Reverb II was PTP and sounded better on Slide Guitar. The DR Reissue was a little thin to get good sound with slide.

I hope I don't need to find another one. The price has doubled in two years and they are hard to find. I heard less than 800 where ever made. Who knows?

No idea when it was built- Serial F 327561. I play rock and blues using an amplified Yamaha acoustic and a Strat copy.

I get some distortion at higher volume- sort of a rattle- thought it was the speaker- and replaced it with an Eminence 12"- better but still there, I now think I should have the tubes checked and bias adjusted.

Never a breakdown- I don't expect one, I have had two Fender amps previously and both were as reliable as gravity.

Never dealt with Fender- out of warranty before anything occured. (If indeed something is wrong.)

I have been playing for almost 40 years. Owned a Twin Reverb, then a Super Reverb in my "professional" days, then went acoustic until 1996.

I bought this amp NEW in 1996, from a music store in a little town in Ohio. $389. Yup- one of the few great bargains I have ever personally found. I sent in the warranty card and about five weeks later got a call from Fender, wanting me to read them the tube numbers, and serial number off the amp, to see if it was genuine.

They said it WAS new, never sold, and therefore I got a five-year warranty (with a comment from the guy that they hoped it never needed replacement- they would have to give me a $1000 amp!!). I knew then I had found a gem.

I think it was mad in the early eighties. One of Riveras best while at Fender. Like the fabled super champ but louder and larger speaker. Two channels which are footswitchable or changed via pull pots. But the renowned Rivera sound is from the footswitched channel select instead of the pull pots. All tube, all the time. Point to point wiring.

I loved the sound until I put in a Celestion Vintage 30 and now love cannot describe the magnificent sound of this amp. Very quiet amp at all levels. Sounds great with humbuckers or my tele. Great Fender reverb. Very loud for around 20 watts. The clean rivals anything under $1000 and the distortion is much more defined than Marshall or Mesa.

Change the tubes and you are good to go. No problems whatsoever.

Never tried them but who cares. Use a good local amp tech. The schematics are all over the net.

If you ever have the chance to own one, jump on it at any price under $750 because that is what they will be very soon.

An excellent 20-25 watt amp; my main reason for submitting this review is simply that all the other reviews were written by guitarist, but there were no harp players reviews...so here's one for the REAL players! Mine is an 82' and I got it from its original owner -- for free! I had harassed him for years as I wanted his Fender Super Champ, so one day he stops by at the office, says he's moving and needs to get rid of some extra stuff and gives me the Princeton. Yowzah! All features (pull knobs, reverb, etc.) are friggin' great for harp! More than sufficient power output for 90% of all my gigs -- only had to mic it once in a large, amphitheatre venue. All p-t-p soldering, solid as a rock. I/We play both Classic and Contemporary Blues (stictly Blues, dammit!) and this amp has been referred to as "the holy grail" of tone by a fella I consider to be the best harp player in the State. Lots of crunch, punch and great tube sag and breakup. Dave Barrett of HarmonicaMasterClass wanted badly to use it at a gig, but opted at the last minute to use a 59' Bassman (hey, what can I say?), but he was amazed at the depth and punch of this amp and said he's going to find one for himself. It's worth its weight in gold, no kidding. Extremely versatile, fits the bill to a "T." I've got MASCO's, Gibsons, Bogens and all kinds of miscellaneous amps -- this is the amp that I take to gigs, everytime. Never crapped out on me yet.

I've got two guitarists begging me for this amp right now (ah, the sworn enemy of all harp players!) and they can FORGET IT! The reverb gets a little watery at the higher settings, but kept at about 2, it maintains a nice "Little Walter" bounce to it while still maintaining its punch. Not the cleanest of vintage "gold tones" like my 53' Gibson, but a heck of allot more cajones (got a set of balls on it that would make an elephant smile...) than anything else I've heard -- and there's no fear of taking it out on the road like my old classic amps. You can rip clean, sharp lines ala William Clarke, but still pull off some really nice, midnight blue tones ala Sonny Boy. It's got em' all! Interface this amp with a good Shure black label controlled reluctance element or an R7 crystal and you've got yourself an amp that will serve your needs 95%-plus of the time. Silky highs, razor sharp mids and just the right depth in the bass lows. Minimal knob-dicking will produce about any desired results.

I've only had one problem with it, but here's a testament of what kind of amp this is: my pal, the previous owner, had accidentally switched one of the 7025's for the 12AT7 in its power circuit -- and one of the caps had leaked -- but the old soldier just kept on cranking it out. Half the triode had been toasted, but lo and behold, not a problem. This is one tough, damn-near idiot-proofed circuit design -- and by the way, the mythical "Rivera Circuit" isn't a myth -- just plug straight in to the standard input jack and you're there! If your are a harp player, YOU NEED THIS AMP!!!

Never had to deal with Fender as all my stuff goes to one guy -- but other than the switching of two tubes that had been reversed and the replacement of one leaking cap, which I wasn't even aware of until I took it in for a cleaning, it's been as steady as Liberty's Torch.

Been playing for over 30 years. I also have a 53' Gibson GA-20, a Bogen VP-17X and a MASCO MA-17, but as mentioned, this is the amp that I always end up taking to gigs -- it's the toughest and bestest! Can't beat the Gibson Gal for gold tones, the Bogen's a Deluxe in disguise and the MASCO is just all out fun, but they're not my "working amps;" that title goes solely to the Princeton. Like I said, if you're a harp player, you NEED this amp!!! Better get one soon if you're even considering scarfing one; I've been watching the price of these amps steadily rise for years -- and it's for a darn good reason, too. This amp will cut through more crap than any guitarist can dish out -- no matter how large their ego! Front lines or as backup, this old soldier will get you through it with class!

To me, this has got to be just about the perfect amp. Just the right size, weight and power output. A good looking amp too. Just the right classic Fender black face cosmetics except the power switch is front mounted. An improvement, I think. Plywood cabnit, first rate reverb, a very useful master volume, 3 band EQ with a mid boost and all point to point wireing. All this for a third the cost of a modern boutique amp.

The best discription I can give of the sound is like that of a black face Deluxe Reverb but punchier. The Princeton II has more control over tone also. The Treble, Mid and Bass controls are very effective and overall, it's not short on either highs or lows. The reverb can go from light to way deep. This amp runs very quietly too,very good for recording. My amp is all stock except for NOS Westinghouse 6v6 power, JJ ECC83S preamp and JJ ECC81 reverb tubes.

This amp may not have enough power for bands with very high stage volume. But I will say that if it's too loud on stage to hear a Princeton II, I'm not having fun anyway. I use it in a band with 2 horns, bass,drums and keys with Hammond without any problem. I do have a Shure 57 sending a signal to the fronts in bigger venues.

1983 Fender - Rivera - 1x12 stock Fender speaker - newish Fender (Chineese I think) tubes - 6V6 - 6V6 - 7025 - 7025 - 12AT7 - 7025.

22 W class AB push pull on a pair of Chineese 6V6GT(s) - overdrive effect circuit - not point to point a la Matchless but a la Fender, Kendrick, Trainwreck etc. Reverb tank on side. NO footswitch came with the amp but I have some for other amps that work.

Bias adjustment on the back!

WOW! Low noise! As a previous owner of at least 2 dozen vintage and newer tube amps, and a current owner of a 9/10 5f6a (1959 Bassman - NOT THE RE-ISSUE) clone, this amp is the shit. I bought this amp due to: 1) its reputaion, it has a very good one and 2) the reviews on this board HERE.

I play jazz, blues, country, funk, rock, rockabilly and this amp has what it takes to cover me in all those styles. I play two electrics: one 1958 6120 - w/redone filtertrons, and a 1997 Tele - w/Bardins.

The tone on the clean channel is like the blackface/silverface Princeton reverb(s) - same 6V6 ring/shimmer/sensitivity with a fantastic response - but tougher sounding too - I attribute this to the stock speaker. Nice, nice, nice sound from this box.

With the distortion activated, you go towards Mark I/early Boogie territory, familiar Boogie snarl, yet very fender-like. Nothing like newer Fender tube amps - you know the Hot Rod ________ types, this distortion is user friendly, and better than most pre-amp distortion tube circuits.

Why did I buy it? 2 reasons ? 1) CHEAP, GAWD!!! THIS IS BIG TIME TONE FOR 400 BUCKS PEOPLE, GET ONE WHILE THE GETTIN? IS GOOD!! 2) Because I like to open amps up, and a 5f6a is too much power if you play with horns (I do), and this 22W is perfect, you can still drown your bandmates wide open, but you can get more 6V6 ? output tube punch at reasonable levels than the 6L6 push pull designs. This gets a solid 10 here, you could spend thousands...but why, when there are these things around.

Based on other Fenders I've owned, I expect good things here.

Fender just sucks in this catagory.

I wanted big Fender 6V6 (Deluxe/Princeton) tone for cheap (who doesn't) and this amp went well past my expectations. This distortion is great too!

See the other reviews - no need for me to be redundant here. I use all the available features of the amp.

I'm using it with a Strat, and pushing it thru a 4x12 cab in addition to the stock 12" speaker. The extra body added by the closed 4x12 turns it from a good amp to a great amp.

The reason I'm writing this review is to impart some potentially useful info. I didn't have the standard footswitch (rare, apparently) so I used a Peavey dual switch. Turns out that the sweetest sound available in this amp is an overdrive (NOT the distorted 'lead' sound available from the front pullswitch) which is available only by avoiding the RED switch input entirely. In the PLAIN jack, the tip switches reverb and the ring accesses this overdrive. This is probably the "mythical Rivera Ciruit" you hear so much about.... lemme tell you it ain't a myth. It's real, and it's awesome. Not long ago I was gonna trade this amp in fo something else, but since I found this overdrive I'm keeping the amp.

I do like the 'lead' sound too.... I'm in the process of customizing the amp to make the normal, overdrive, and lead sounds (and the mid-boost too) available from footswitches. It's like having 4 different sounds at your feet. Who knows - when I figure it out maybe I'll market it or something.

Never broken down. Got dropped right on a top corner once, and only scraped off a bit of Tolex. Th wood stayed intact, and the amp is fine.

n/a

Now that I've found just what's available under the hood, this amp gets a 9 rating from me. Only reason I'm not giving a 10 is because of my own preference for separate heads & cabinets.

The setup is very similar to early Mesa Boogies. Two channels that share volume and tone controls. This can be a hindrance if you are looking for the "ultimate" clean and distorted sounds out of the amp. In my case, it doesn't apply: please read on.

A buddy of mine owned one of these amps and was constantly "blowing away" anything that I had both in volume and tone. 15 years later I finally decided that I wanted one too! This amp was designed by Paul Rivera. He used to have a little shop in San Diego where I lived and he was the go-to guy for Fender or Marshall repairs/mods. I have owned a R50 and a R100 Rivera amp in the past and have pretty much enjoyed them. Which brings me back to this 35 lb. bundle of dynamite.
Mine came with a footswitch, not the original, but a correctly built copy. So I am able to access everything that this amp has to offer. That said, my tones are found without the footswitch, and with the pull boost pots pushed in. I don't care for the overdrive tones out of the amp, and would rather adjust it for the ultimate clean tone. What heavenly clean tones are found here! The tone stays clean at stage volumes too! Imagine a 35 lb. Twin Reverb with a little more mid and here you have it. NOT the typical jangly Fender clean, but something a little different, but wonderful non the less. Did I mention that this sucker is loud? Imagine a Deluxe Reverb on steroids.

Built like a brick s**t house. Real pine cabinet just like the classic Fender amps of the past, hand wired, a thing of beauty under the hood. I replaced the ORIGINAL tubes that were still in it with a new set of Electro-Harmonix. It turns out that one of the original power tubes wasn't even working, but the little bugger still functioned. Try that with a Hot Rod Deluxe...

Don't need them...any competent amp shop could work on this.

If you are looking at HR Deluxes, Blues Juniors or anything in that power/price point, do yourself a favor and look for one of these. It'll still be churnin' out great tones when the other ones are coffee tables. Don't worry about finding the footswitch, you'll be able to get great usable clean tones out of this amp without it. Just invest in a good distortion pedal. This amp LOVES pedals too!

I thought I bought mine new in 82 , but I may be wrong as I have heard they were not available then, so mine is a '83 . I bought it because it was the right size really. All the solid state ones were just too heavy. Its funny because I was in to a bright sound then and it worked great, Now I look for a different tone flavor and its still there! an extremely versatile amp. I enjoy the direct / Line out for recording a signal late at night. I am a pedal freak so I dont mess with the pull channel much unless I need a real loud raunchy tone. I also sometimes just pull out the Mid knob for a boost , this will add a threshold of distortion thats very cool .

I have two Telecasters one has 2 single coils and the other a Humbucker in the rythym position. I have played in bands with various styles, Blues , ska , Reggae , Punk and straight ahead Rock and Roll. the PR 2
has handled it all. I have miked it in bands that have louder drummers ( hey 20 watts is 20watts) . It response well to the twang . I keep the reverb @ 4 if I have a delay on . This thing has a real wet reverb (hence the name )I favor distortion pedals because I dont want to be pulling knobs between songs.I favor a Pro Rat and a MXR . The clean channel is why I bought it and have kept it so long. There was no switching pedal, I always thought it activated the reverb so I never looked into it .

This amp has logged some miles and some years so here's the history.

Bought in 82? -
in 94 I noticed a crackling noise when it warmed up - took it to the local amp guy. He rebiased the it and dropped in some of those Russian tubes, It was noticeably louder but lost that treble bite so I brought it back and He dropped in a set of Chinese tubes instead and that was the trick. Killer tone , very warm with the full range of grunt and shimmer.
94 - The little bulb in the off /on light blew out - I was playing a gig and thought I had blown it up. Lucky for me I waited and it still worked- But it freaked me out not seeing that jewel light.
95- The electrical plug wiring became exposed, a typical Fender thing. So I had a new one put on - and thats it . I used to kick it to get that crash reverb thing and I am sure it fallen over in the truck several times and always worked . 20 years now

Work well under warranty - Never had any dealings with the Fender people. I am sure user groups are much more informative.

Only thing I own that probably worth more today than when I bought it so that is a good thing. I have had amps that have had built in tremelo, that would have been a good feature but tremelo pedals are cheap, and I dont use the effect on every song - Many people in the industry admire it and I have had cash offers after a lot of gigs. I have bought and sold other amps but this one just agrees with me - I love it.

I've submitted before - tow down fom here - mine's a 1983, bery happy with it. Main reason for submitting is, I've built a website with useful Princeton Reverb II links and a write-up on how to rebias the output valves (tubes). I hope it helps someone; comments welcome.

www.geocities.com/princerev2