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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink '65 Princeton Reverb Reissue Mods

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I just received it today and already I'm thinking about how to make it sound better than it already does. I won't make any final decisions until it's broken in a bit, but here's what I'm thinking.

First thing I noticed is the reverb sounds a little dark to me, so I'm wondering if changing the pan could brighten it up. The stock pan is a Ruby.

Second change I'm thinking about is the speaker. The stock Jensen sounds good, but I've heard that an Eminence GA10-SC64 speaker would noticeably improve the sound by providing a tighter bottom end and smoother highs.

I haven't thought about changing the tubes.

Any opinions are welcome.

Last edited: Mar 19, 2020 18:44:34

I'm a bit surprised that it has a Ruby pan. I've never seen anything but Accutronics branded pans in stock '65 Reissues. Is it a 2 spring long pan or a 3 spring short pan? I know Ruby pans were made by Belton and Belton now makes Accutronics pans. Bit of a confusing mess. Is the amp new or used? When it comes to reverb spring pans, they all seem to be far less th consistent in tone these days even among the same brand/model pan.

Surfadelphia wrote:

I'm a bit surprised that it has a Ruby pan. I've never seen anything but Accutronics branded pans in stock '65 Reissues. Is it a 2 spring long pan or a 3 spring short pan? I know Ruby pans were made by Belton and Belton now makes Accutronics pans. Bit of a confusing mess. Is the amp new or used? When it comes to reverb spring pans, they all seem to be far less th consistent in tone these days even among the same brand/model pan.

I bought the amp new from Sweetwater. I was a bit surprised myself, especially since the feature list on the POP card on the top of the amp says "Genuine Fender tube-driven spring Reverb by Accutronics".

The pan is 16.5". I didn't take it far enough out of the bag to count the springs, but I'm assuming it has 2 springs. The reverb is something that I know I want to change, so I've already ordered a Revisit pan, since they've gotten very good reviews here.

I recently got a '65 PR after using amps with a Fender Reverb unit, then a Surfy Bear, then a Catalinbread Topanga and now a EHX Ocean 11. The PR's reverb doesn't come anywhere near the surfy, drippy sound I like.

I've tried several pans in the PR and the swaps made little if any difference. Like you said, its kinda dark.
.
Other then just using a reverb pedal or stand-alone tank, you might try removing the RCA cables from the amp and run them into a Surfy Bear 'pedal' placed on top of the amp (guitar > Surfy Bear > Amp.

Otherwise, I'm running the stock tubes and a 10" Jensen Jet Falcon.

I will tell you that Fender’s amps come with the best reverb cables that 10 cents can buy. I’d recommend replacing them, as a matter of course.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

cambeezy wrote:

I recently got a '65 PR after using amps with a Fender Reverb unit, then a Surfy Bear, then a Catalinbread Topanga and now a EHX Ocean 11. The PR's reverb doesn't come anywhere near the surfy, drippy sound I like.

I've tried several pans in the PR and the swaps made little if any difference. Like you said, its kinda dark.
.
Other then just using a reverb pedal or stand-alone tank, you might try removing the RCA cables from the amp and run them into a Surfy Bear 'pedal' placed on top of the amp (guitar > Surfy Bear > Amp.

Otherwise, I'm running the stock tubes and a 10" Jensen Jet Falcon.

I have an Oceans 11 and I think it sounds better than the onboard reverb. I'm just hoping to make an overall improvement to the amp.

synchro wrote:

I will tell you that Fender’s amps come with the best reverb cables that 10 cents can buy. I’d recommend replacing them, as a matter of course.

Thanks. If they're that bad, maybe I should replace them.

taijiguy wrote:

synchro wrote:

I will tell you that Fender’s amps come with the best reverb cables that 10 cents can buy. I’d recommend replacing them, as a matter of course.

Thanks. If they're that bad, maybe I should replace them.

I’m not certain that they are causing any problems in your case, but replacements of decent quality are not expensive and it’s an easy swap. My ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb had strange reverb problems until I replaced the cables.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

If you have an Oceans 11 pedal I wouldn't worry about the on board verb, especially if you are looking for splashy, wet, surf 'verb. Regarding the Revisit Pans, can't hurt to take a shot with one. There seems to be some differences of opinion as to what the Revisit pans are: some believe them to be relabeled MOD pans (I have a 17" 2 spring MOD pan in my DeLisle Nickel Box amp and it sounds excellent but not particularly "surfy" and they tend to have longer dwell) and some believe them to be manufactured by the same company as MOD but spec'd differently. Again, pans are cheap and it's worth a try. Re changing the reverb cables....good replacement cables are around $5.00 from Antique Electronics and well worth it.

Surfadelphia wrote:

If you have an Oceans 11 pedal I wouldn't worry about the on board verb, especially if you are looking for splashy, wet, surf 'verb. Regarding the Revisit Pans, can't hurt to take a shot with one. There seems to be some differences of opinion as to what the Revisit pans are: some believe them to be relabeled MOD pans (I have a 17" 2 spring MOD pan in my DeLisle Nickel Box amp and it sounds excellent but not particularly "surfy" and they tend to have longer dwell) and some believe them to be manufactured by the same company as MOD but spec'd differently. Again, pans are cheap and it's worth a try. Re changing the reverb cables....good replacement cables are around $5.00 from Antique Electronics and well worth it.

I like a little amp reverb for some things like jazz chord orchestrations. The Oceans 11 has a nice splashy surf sound and I also like its tremolo. I like having both reverbs. My Revisit pan and Eminence speaker should be here in a day or two, so we shall see if those changes are worthwhile.

Last edited: Mar 21, 2020 12:41:27

Having both the in-amp reverb and the Oceans 11 gives you a huge range of reverb flavors. The DeLisle Nickel Box combo I have is hand made so Jer DeLisle who builds them was able to test out a variety a spring pans in the amp until he came up with one that sounded best with the circuit he uses. It's got a bit of drip to it at the higher settings but nothing like you can get with an outboard tank or the Oceans 11. Generally what I do is toggle back and forth between the amp reverb and my outboard tank depending on what I am playing. I generally set the tank in splashy drippy surf mode and the amp verb for more regular rock/blues stuff.
From what I understand, the Princeton Reverbs tend to "fart out" in the low end when pushed so a replacement speaker with a tighter bottom should be a nice improvement. I know many like to go to 12" speaker in a Princeton but to my ears the right 10" speaker was not lacking on the low end at all especially given the decent size of the cab.
Sounds like you are going to have a really nice set up once everything is in place.

Surfadelphia wrote:

Having both the in-amp reverb and the Oceans 11 gives you a huge range of reverb flavors. The DeLisle Nickel Box combo I have is hand made so Jer DeLisle who builds them was able to test out a variety a spring pans in the amp until he came up with one that sounded best with the circuit he uses. It's got a bit of drip to it at the higher settings but nothing like you can get with an outboard tank or the Oceans 11. Generally what I do is toggle back and forth between the amp reverb and my outboard tank depending on what I am playing. I generally set the tank in splashy drippy surf mode and the amp verb for more regular rock/blues stuff.
From what I understand, the Princeton Reverbs tend to "fart out" in the low end when pushed so a replacement speaker with a tighter bottom should be a nice improvement. I know many like to go to 12" speaker in a Princeton but to my ears the right 10" speaker was not lacking on the low end at all especially given the decent size of the cab.
Sounds like you are going to have a really nice set up once everything is in place.

My Eminence GA10-SC64 arrived today and is installed. Haven't had a chance to push it yet. It seems to be less efficient than the stock Jensen, but should take care of the flabby bottom end. The Revisit pan should arrive tomorrow.

I tried a Princeton Reverb with a 12" speaker and it didn't sound good to me. Now, I'm working on my pedal board...adding a few, taking away a few.

Last edited: Mar 22, 2020 13:24:13

My Revisit pan arrived today and wouldn't you know it? It's identical to the stock Ruby pan except that the Ruby has a small foam pad glued to the inside middle of the pan. I have no way to A/B the pans, but the Revisit has a similar, if not the same dark sound.

Even though there doesn't seem to be a solid "rule of thumb" when it comes to different brands of pans these days and how they sound....if you want brighter you might want to consider an actual Accutronics branded pan. Even though Accutronics is now owned by Belden, the Korean made Accutronics pan than came in my Chinese knock-off Outboard Tank is not dark sounding (of course the circuit could have something to do with that) however I did try the equivalent MOD pan in there and the MOD pan definitely sounded darker and had noticeably longer decay at the same settings. I ended up putting the Accutronics pan back in as it was "splashier" and the brightness could easily be dialed down with the tone pot.

Last edited: Mar 23, 2020 15:42:55

Surfadelphia wrote:

Even though there doesn't seem to be a solid "rule of thumb" when it comes to different brands of pans these days and how they sound....if you want brighter you might want to consider an actual Accutronics branded pan. Even though Accutronics is now owned by Belden, the Korean made Accutronics pan than came in my Chinese knock-off Outboard Tank is not dark sounding (of course the circuit could have something to do with that) however I did try the equivalent MOD pan in there and the MOD pan definitely sounded darker and had noticeably longer decay at the same settings. I ended up putting the Accutronics pan back in as it was "splashier" and the brightness could easily be dialed down with the tone pot.

I have a black one in my basement. Not sure where I got it, but it has a non-standard model number. Maybe it's OEM? Dare I try it? What could go wrong?

I have a black one in my basement. Not sure where I got it, but it has a non-standard model number. Maybe it's OEM? Dare I try it? What could go wrong?

Hmm....that would be better answered by someone who actually knows about electronics. The correct Accutronics pan for a PR is a 4AB3C1B, Long Decay, 2-Spring. I think the newer Accutronics pans are now silver (the stock Accutronics pan in my outboard tank is silver). It has been alleged that the most recent production Accutronics pans are improved over the previous generation produced by Belton. I don't know how true that is and exactly how they are better (better sounding? more reliable?)
If anyone out there knows more, please share.

Last edited: Mar 24, 2020 09:05:58

FYI, here's the label on my Accutronics pan.

image

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