The Fender Princeton Reverb is a guitar amplifier combo. It is based on the Princeton and includes built-in reverb and vibrato.
The Fender Princeton Reverb is a guitar amplifier combo, essentially a Princeton with built-in reverb and vibrato. The 12 Watt Blackface version was introduced in 1964 and available until 1967; in 1968 it was changed to the Silverface version with a drip edge around the grill cloth. Amps produced after the end of 1969 saw a change in circuitry, the removal of the drip edge and a change in the rectifier from a 5AR4 to a 5U4GB along with a change in bias resistor value; a "boost" pull switch to the volume control pot was added in 1977. In 1980 and 1981 the Silverface version was cosmetically changed back to the Blackface. It was discontinued in 1981.[1]
This Paul Rivera-specified Fender guitar amplifier was introduced in 1982 to replace the Princeton Reverb. It was a completely different and significantly more powerful amplifier.[2] Designed by Ed Jahns, it featured a built-in reverb, treble boost and mid boost controls, and a switchable lead (overdrive) effect. The Princeton Reverb II was removed from the Fender pricelist in 1986.
The development of the Princeton amplifier, from its inception as a 4-watt practice amp in 1948, can be tracked by working through http://ampwares.com attached to the sales website of the commercial firm "Mojotone".
In Summer 2008, Fender reissued the Princeton Reverb. While it is based on the Blackface version, and utilizes a tube rectifier and a tube reverb, it uses printed circuit boards instead of eyelet-style hand-wired circuit boards.[3]
In Summer 2013, Fender released a redress of the Princeton Reverb reissue with slightly modified circuitry and the drip-edge "silverface" cosmetics introduced on Fender amplifiers in 1968. The model is known as the '68 Custom Princeton Reverb.[4]