- #High headroom high impedance preamp volume tone onboard diy mod#
- #High headroom high impedance preamp volume tone onboard diy mods#
#High headroom high impedance preamp volume tone onboard diy mod#
We usually start with explaining a mod from a functional perspective where we relate to components in the logical schematics diagram. You’ll need schematics to implement some of these mods. So why increase the threashold of tube heaven? If you are using your Princeton at home or in recording situations we think you’ll appreciate the early breakup of the original 6V6 power tube circuitry, the ineffective phase inverter, a smaller output transformer and a low-medium inefficient 10″ speaker. You are so luck to have a tube amp that you have to turn up where it breaks up nicely and shines trough. Your job is to make sure your band and yourself can hear the amp. If you’re micing the amp the audience should have no problem hearing a stock Princeton (we know: it’s really hard to trust the sound engineers).
#High headroom high impedance preamp volume tone onboard diy mods#
In general we don’t recommend the mods that increase the power and clean headroom unless you are playing your Princeton at gigs on medium-large stages and you need the sparkling clean fender sound to cut through. Just because many people does so, it doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Does this mean you should implement the mods too? Not necessarily. We’ve seen no other amp that has been analyzed so thoroughly in terms of mods and tricks to make it bigger. So, why would you want to enhance or mod a Princeton? Due to its small size many players want to increase the power, volume and clean headroom. A few also wants to change the distortion characteristics. The volume knob is less sensitive on the Princeton Amp, and you can play them on volume 7-8 still sounding clean. Hence, the Princeton-Amp is cleaner than the Princeton-Reverb when the volume is pushed beyond 3-4. This means that there is one extra tube stage that can cause preamp gain and contribute to the tone with sustaining harmonics, compression and sag. Just by looking at the front panel and the knob functions it might seem so. A closer study of the circuit design will reveal that the Princeton Reverb has an extra gain stage (one half of the 12AX7 V3 tube) just after the dry and the wet reverb signals are mixed. The Princeton Amp is often misinterpreted as a Princeton Reverb without reverb. AA964 Tube layout (Seen from behind, V1 is to the right side)