Fender Limited-Edition '65 Princeton Bordeaux Reserve 112 12W Jensen P12Q Tube Guitar Combo Amp

not gigging anymore home use just enough power

These things absolutely rip. I prefer it over the 1x10" versions, including the custom shop handwired '64. The FSR Bordeaux (wine red) one is really the best overall Fender amp imo. The big difference between this FSR and the standard '65 and '68 Princeton Reverb reissues are larger than you'd think. This FSR one has solid wood construction where the regular ones have plywood and sound a bit more boxy, and this has a 12" Jensen P12Q. This amp really coaxed me into throwing the pedalboard in the closet for a while and learning how to sound good with just an amp. People complain that these don't have a mid control, but if you know how Fender tone stacks work then it's a non-issue. These have a subtractive EQ, so if you want to boost the mids what you'll wanna do is put the treble on 10, and put the bass on 0, and then roll off the highs as desired with your guitar tone knob, and then turn the bass up till the point where you're happy. But honestly they sound super mean still with the bass on 0 bcuz it turns all that low stuff to buzzsaw-like low mids that rip right thru a mix. These things are louder than you might imagine. You can still crank it and get the trashy filth, but you're gonna definitely feel it. These are loud enough to damage your hearing, be warned. If you wanna play dirty at home all the time without pedals I definitely would recommend getting a '68 Vibro Champ Reverb instead, because they won't hurt your ears as much. But imo this FSR Princeton really shines best at edge of breakup, at around 5 for most guitars, a tad higher for strats, a tad lower for a Firebird or something with high output. But once you dial in your perfect edge of breakup tone this thing shines. It has a lot of depth at edge of breakup, where you can play gentle and it'll be clean, and if you pick hard and angry it gets trashy. These are really great. This is the Fender amp I always wish I had. It's the perfect sweet spot between a Deluxe Reverb and a Champ. A deluxe is way too loud for home use at edge of breakup, and a champ doesn't quite have the clean headroom that I sometimes desire. Also 10" Princetons lack the girth I sometimes want on the low end when playing at home unaccompanied. This amp is fantastic for gigging as well. A 10" princeton sometimes gets lost behind a heavy handed drummer, where as this one if you know how to make it cut, will cut right thru a heavy handed drummer in a small/medium sized room, and you can get more mids with the 12". It's great for throwing a mic on in larger venues. If you only want 1 fender amp- this is the one. You can play it dirty without going deaf at home too, if you dial the treble and bass to 0-1 and dime the volume it will do the tweed champ almost marshally thing. I can't sing this things praises enough. I got mine used from a GC down south, I saw it online and called the store and they quickly agreed to ship it to me for $1000 shipped. That was about 2 years ago, and I've not had a single issue. It does take pedals well also. I found that I prefer the natural breakup of this over any pedal or attenuator. But if you want the trashyness at a level that doesn't hurt- I recommend a clean boost such as a Klon Clone. I like the Archer Ikon for that. You can crank it at home and tolerate it, sure, but it does get a bit intense. The reverb is fantastic, and though I rarely have it above 3 you can dime it and get cavernous. Where it really shines tho is the tremolo. When you get it dialed just right I find myself smiling and looking around the ceiling while I play, I can hear and feel the sound swirling around the room, and I often catch myself looking up at it swirling lol. The only downside I can think of is the included foot switch. It feels cheap, and it doesn't have a very positive click, if that makes sense. It's hard to feel whether or not you clicked it on/off. Other than the cheap crappy footswitch these things are Chad.

I didn't understand some of the review and forum comments I've seen over time about the blues jr until I got this princeton, which is just wonderful. The tone is crystal clear, even some pickups that I haven't cared for much previously have a whole new life through the princeton. I watched and rewatched a lot of online demos and based on that I was almost certain that I would be replacing the speaker with a Jensen C12N I have sitting around, but now I don't think that is going to happen. The P12Q is great. This is my first amp without a dedicated mid control, which I was concerned about, but it has worked out to a non issue for me so far. I think it comes down to the clarity.***The volume is totally manageable. Playing a lot yesterday in my apartment living room, it stayed around 5 (still perfectly clean btw).***The only context I've discovered so far in which I would lean back toward the blues jr IV, if staying in the fender camp, is classic rock. The bottom end with the right distortion pedal gets a great woody flub that I haven't been able to reproduce with the princeton.

All I can say is WOW! I own and have owned several Fender amps in the 45+ years I've been playing and this Princeton is the real deal. I don't know if it's the 12" speaker that makes the difference or what but the tone I'm getting out of it is unbelievable. It's lightweight and easy to handle and the places I'm playing now it gets mic'd so volume is really not an issue

I really wanted to love this amp. I was looking for something a bit lighter than my trusty Deluxe Reverb. This amp ticks all the boxes except sound. It definitely sounds better than the Blues Jr. I traded in for it, but not that much. Tough to dial a decent sound and breaks up easily.

I played one of these in my local GC (Fort Myers, FL) and was impressed enough to purchase on via GC online because they didn't have one new in a box. The one I received seemed to have a weak vibrato/trem compared to the floor model, but, more importantly, there was a rattle going on when the lower notes were being played when the amp was played at edge of break up- around 5 on the volume dial. It was driving me nuts, and after web diagnosing it and inspecting the amp I decided to return it and have a replacement nailed to my house. However I played through the Deluxe Reverb there and was floored by how much more deep, rich and lush the reverb and vibrato are on the deluxe vs the Princeton, so I paid the difference and had a new one shipped to my house. I would say it's an issue on that particular unit from Femder's factory, not GC in any way. I would also like to mention that my store has an amazing staff. As always, Charlie, Carlos, Henry and Kyle(?) were awesome. I'll keep shopping there because of these guys.