Unexpected NAD, but which one to keep??

[tomjackson]

A Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue

This was on ebay from a shop as showroom condition for just £399, considering they are about £800 new now I just had to have it.  I didn't have enough money but I mentioned it to the missus and she said just use some of the wedding money as we are currently saving to get married next year!  I didn't expect that but then again it will probably cost me 2k extra somewhere down the line, oh well.

So I though I'd get it and then try it against my recently purchased VC15 and see who wins, even if I sell it I should be able to make some on it as it's basically brand new.

Quick test this morning, clips to follow at some point but findings so far:-

Princeton Reverb

Really nice cleans, bigger sounding and better reverb than the VC15 (although the VC15 sounds just as good reverb wise with my Hardwire Reverb.)  Less mids and less squishy sounding than the VC15, slightly louder.
Cranked it gets a bit messy but does have that nice fender glassy thing going on.  There's an annoying rattle coming from the baffle but it's an easy fix.  The Tremelo is nice.

VC15

Considering this is a £300 amp up against an £800 you'd think it would be second best but there's not much in it.
Obviously it's a different design with different aims but here's how it fares.....

Slighly smaller and a little smaller sounding until cranked.  Cleans are not as sparkly but have a nice springiness about them, where the PRRI is hard when you dig in the VC15 is more dynamic and forgiving.  Obviously due to the el84 British design it loves to be cranked and has advnages over the fender havng a drive channel.

Build quality wise there's not much in it, the Laney has a proper ply cab but the fender has better tolex and a cover with it.  Both are well built.

Ideally I'd keep both but one has to go so it's decision time soon, I'll take both to next weeks practise and have the final say after that.

So far I'm leaning towards the Fender as I have an MJW Roadstar 36 on order which will smoke the VC15 for British chime and crunch anyway, at least the Fender has a different vibe to it being a 6V6 American amp....
And you have got to love those cleans.....

[gwEm]

what speaker is in the laney? a new one might open up the sound and make it sound less like a small amp

[Denim n Leather]

This does not compute ... which one to keep?!

Keep em both and eat rice for a month!

[tomjackson]

what speaker is in the laney? a new one might open up the sound and make it sound less like a small amp

They both have Jensen 10" ceramics in, the fender a c10R, not sure which model is in the laney but it has a bigger magnet.  Might just be the smaller cab.

[dave_mc]

nice! I remember seeing you'd got this on musicradar (i think? either that or two people got smoking deals on a prri :lol: ) and thinking you'd got an awesome deal.

However, "the Laney has a proper ply cab", are you saying the fender doesn't? That's fair enough, maybe, for the price you got yours for, but for £800? :lol:

[martinw]

So far I'm leaning towards the Fender as I have an MJW Roadstar 36 on order which will smoke the VC15 for British chime and crunch anyway, at least the Fender has a different vibe to it being a 6V6 American amp....
And you have got to love those cleans.....

There's your answer. It's what I'd do....  :)

[dave_mc]

same here.

[gwEm]

what speaker is in the laney? a new one might open up the sound and make it sound less like a small amp

They both have Jensen 10" ceramics in, the fender a c10R, not sure which model is in the laney but it has a bigger magnet.  Might just be the smaller cab.

or the output transformer :(

might not be as simple as pimping the speaker in the laney then..

[FELINEGUITARS]

what speaker is in the laney? a new one might open up the sound and make it sound less like a small amp

They both have Jensen 10" ceramics in, the fender a c10R, not sure which model is in the laney but it has a bigger magnet.  Might just be the smaller cab.

or the output transformer :(

might not be as simple as pimping the speaker in the laney then..

The trannies hold part of the key for sure- the old LC15 used to sound really boxy , but worked better with a bigger transformer

[tomjackson]

No I think the Trannies are fine in the VC15, it's just part of the design I think which means it doesn't sound quite as lush at lower volumes, It's still holds it's own pretty well.  I fact the trannies look pretty big for a 15w amp.

[tomjackson]

nice! I remember seeing you'd got this on musicradar (i think? either that or two people got smoking deals on a prri :lol: ) and thinking you'd got an awesome deal.

However, "the Laney has a proper ply cab", are you saying the fender doesn't? That's fair enough, maybe, for the price you got yours for, but for £800? :lol:

Well spotted Dave, i'm bobsbobbackwards on Music Radar.

The cab looks well made but I think it might not be ply, the DRRI is advertised as baltic birch ply but the prri doesn't claim that so I suspect MDF.

It's a really nice amp but way overpriced at £800 but then again I suppose you are paying for the Fender badge.
It really does make the VC15 look like excellent value for a UK made amp.

[Ratrod]

If you sell the Fender, you'll regret it someday. Get some nice tubes and a nice speaker for it.

Some day you'll hear a sixties recording that'll blow you away. You'll want to find out what gear was used to create that monsterous tone. You'll engage in an internet searching queste only to find out it was a small Fender combo they used.

[gwEm]

on thinking about this, i say keep the fender too

[Ian Price]

I'd absolutely keep the Fender if I were you. I've just sold the VC30 I had so I could keep the Martamp Deluxe (no prizes for guessing which was best!). I've not regretted it for a second.

[dave_mc]

Well spotted Dave, i'm bobsbobbackwards on Music Radar.

The cab looks well made but I think it might not be ply, the DRRI is advertised as baltic birch ply but the prri doesn't claim that so I suspect MDF.

It's a really nice amp but way overpriced at £800 but then again I suppose you are paying for the Fender badge.
It really does make the VC15 look like excellent value for a UK made amp.

thanks, yeah, i checked the fender site and it doesn't say what the princeton cab is made of. as you say, that's extremely suspicious, big companies like fender don't normally do things by accident, lol.

I wouldn't say mdf is the end of the world, if you can get it cheap enough, my little vht special 6 combo is mdf (at least that's what the designer told me, the manual says ply :? ) and sounds pretty good, but then it was like £115. It's the fact Fender has no compunction about charging £800 that I have a problem with. Obviously that doesn't affect you because you got it at half as much :D I'd have bought one at that price too (if i'd got to try it, i haven't tried one before :( ).