i recently picked up a '69 princeton non reverb (PNR™) amp for a decent price. By decent, I mean it cost more than it should but still reasonable compared to the insanity of the vintage fender amp market of late. It was quiet, no extraneous noises, but it also was not very loud and the grind came way too early and strong for the reputation these amps have for clean sound.
It had been lovingly and very expertly re-capped at some point in its 44 years, the tech was amazed that somebody was nearly exactly as particular as he is in lead dressage for the caps. He even wondered if he had worked on that amp years ago, that's how similar it was to his style.
The rectifier, if it is not original to the amp, was certainly old and worn enough to have been in service for the life of the amp. It needs to be replaced. The schematic calls for a 5AR4/GZ34 and the dying tube was a 5U4G, which somebody may have put in to try to get a 'louder' clean from the amp without the princeton sag.
The blackplate 6V6 pair had seen better days, a long time ago. They tested just barely on the fair side. The pre-amp, unknown, no logos, not even a ghost of an etching, were actually slightly better than fair. I have some really good mullards waiting to take their place.
Problem is finding a good set of honest-to-goodness NOS and MATCHING 6V6 tubes. Just the basic mutual transconductance test that 99% of the sellers that claim to test their tubes with (on old test equipment of unknown calibration), are not fully disclosing how much life a tube has. Only their compatibility. The game has changed a metric crap ton since the last time I went searching for old glass. I hate to say it, but it is really bad now. I don't even care about high prices, I'm talking just plain not available for love or money.
The same is true for a good GZ34, but at least I only need one. I wish I were re-tubing a champ, it would be much simpler. Once I get this amp up and running, that's it, I'm done. No mas. I'll pay somebody else for the headache, and at the rate I'm going, I doubt that will ever happen. This may be my last good tube amp. I can't play this game any more. I haven't the time, energy or money to fool around with idiots who think old equals gold, except when it comes time for me to sell.
Yeah, I know, first world problems, I should be so lucky, yadda yadda yadda. Just venting, you know. Hoping that the place in NC that's closed until Monday will get back to me and let me know if they have any good matched sets available. I've emailed people I've bought from in the past, hoping somebody may have some stashed away. If y'all know of any, 'preciate a heads-up if you would be so kind?
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Originally Posted by ch willie
