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Topic: Amps Again Fender Sidekicks/Frontmans |
Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 6:38 am |
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Ok...I have seen many large threads on the PV Bandit series amps in the last couple years,very informative and interesting..I own a Nashville400 and a Vegas400 and a KB300 PV..I am interested in forum members experiences with 80's era Fender Amps...In the last couple months I have bought a Sidekick reverb 65..Sidekick reverb 35..Princeton 112 Plus..Super Champ x2(new Tube amp, not 80's) and a Frontman 25R..and a Fender Rumble 100 which another forum member had already made a thread on.
I intend to do some sound clips of these fenders in use soon...I know that out of all these Fender amps I am most impressed with the Sidekick reverb 35, the 12 factory speaker has been replaced with a Eminence Rajin' Cagin' and it sounds fantastic..better than my Vegas and Nashville which both are modded also...so would like to hear from forum members on what I feel are real gems..also dirt cheap and light weight!!
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Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112 |
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Bill A. Moore
From:
Silver City, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 7:27 am
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I used an FM100H for a while with a 2-12 cab, and with a reverb tank change, it was a great practice amp.
I later built a Twin clone, and sold the amp to a guitar player. (He liked the small tank better, so I swapped it.)
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 11:22 am
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I agree about these Fender amps. I'm using a Princeton 65 (65W SS 1x12) that I understand is similar to the Princeton 112 Plus. I'm in the process of changing out the volume control to a different taper, and the verb tank for a longer one, but all in all I love it. I use a Rumble 200 paralleled to it just to reinforce the bottom end.
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 12:04 pm Mike Bacciarini
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Yes Mike the volume control sucks..I bought a sidekick reverb 65..doesn't have that funky volume control but basically the same amp..let us know if a different control works please...wanted to add none of those Fender amps I listed except the sidekick 65 reverb weigh over 25#..very light weight
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Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112
Last edited by Derrick Unger on 24 Aug 2018 4:43 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 1:46 pm
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Right Derrick... important point about the weight. My Princeton 65 weighs in at 28lbs. Very do-able. It's using the stock Fender speaker and I'm able to EQ it easily. Sounds best with a bit of help from the bass amp. I put some tilt-back legs on it, and it's a sweet little amp. Sounds fine on the straight steel stuff, but I do like the 15" on it for the B3 thing. I'm upgrading the tank, even though I use a Hall of Fame 2 verb, in case I just grab the steel and the amp sometime.
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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Eric Dahlhoff
From:
Point Arena, California
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Posted 24 Aug 2018 7:00 pm Princeton 65
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Mike,
Does your Princeton 65 have more than average HISS?
I have one and it hisses too much, even with the amp vol down.
It's a bummer because I like how is sounds with PSG, but in between songs everyone complains about the hiss. 
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"To live outside the law you must be honest." (Bob Dylan) |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 27 Aug 2018 8:25 am
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Eric,
Mine has the “normal” hiss... unacceptable for recording but fine for live. Apparently some are better or worse than others. I find this to be a strong amp for 65 watts, fine for small stages and the house PA can cover the rest
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2018 10:13 am
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| Mike Bacciarini wrote: |
I agree about these Fender amps. I'm using a Princeton 65 (65W SS 1x12) that I understand is similar to the Princeton 112 Plus. I'm in the process of changing out the volume control to a different taper, and the verb tank for a longer one, but all in all I love it. I use a Rumble 200 paralleled to it just to reinforce the bottom end.
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Mike - Have you tried the Rumble by itself? At 200 watts it might be all you need. What does the Princeton add that the Rumble doesn't provide? |
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Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2018 2:38 pm Tim
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Tim...I have a rumble 100 and what the Priceton brings to the table is a good spring reverb..all those small fender sidekicks and most of the frontman series fenders have good spring reverb..of course the rumble does not sound bad with a digital reverb pedal on it. I have been busy as of late but I intend to do some sound clips on a slew of Fender amps with the majority selling for under $130 and a weight of under 30#.
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Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112 |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 29 Aug 2018 8:13 am
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Tim,
The Princeton 65 sounds really nice by itself, but not quite as full on the bottom end as I'd like. I might be really happy if I could shoehorn a nice 15 into it, but that's another thing. I have the Rumble 200 as I also play bass. The 15 doesn't have the highs that the 12 does, and the little horn tweeter (that I leave turned off) really only adds whispy highs that I don't want. This rig just appeals to me as it is... plus I get that "stack" vibe.
"Oh, you have a Marshall stack?.... That's cute"
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 10 Oct 2018 8:57 am
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Just finished working over my Princeton 65 and I’m pretty happy now. The volume control had the ridiculous taper: original pot was a 50K A-taper “snap-in”, so I tried a 50K C-taper “snap-in” (actually solder-in), but there was no apparent difference. Bummer. Then I thought about adding a 1-meg ohm 1/8 watt resistor from the center wiper (gnd) across to the minimum (output) leg. There are 3 tiny rivets on the rear of the pot just above the circuit board that are the same contacts as below the board. VERY careful soldering does the trick. Now the jump in volume from 1 to 2 is reduced and is a definite improvement! Also swapped out the original reverb tank for a MOD-8EB2C1B unit.
Regarding the Rumble 200, it's a great amp but doesn't have the highs like the 12" Princeton. I leave the horn tweeter off as it doesn't really add anything musical to the top imo. It's my bass rig, but with the steel and Princeton I just want to augment the bottom end.
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2018 5:19 pm Princeton mod
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Hey Mike..I've got some parts ordered to try a mod on my princetons volume control...will let you know if it works..plus I just bought a champion 100 to add to my fender collection...haven't tried the steel with it yet.
_________________
Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112 |
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Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2018 1:08 pm volume mod
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Hey Mike..made a volume mod for my Princeton 112 plus...works great..will try to put a youtube link here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Phe1mX9cEM&t=13s
_________________
Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112 |
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Derrick Unger
From:
Newark Ohio, USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2018 1:21 pm volume mod
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Hey Mike..made a volume mod for my Princeton 112 plus...works great..will try to put a youtube link here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Phe1mX9cEM&t=13s
_________________
Music is good for the soul..playing it is even better! Gretsch6strLapSteel*PeaveyNashville400*HudsonSD-10*DigitechRP360*FenderChampion100*PeaveyKB300*Goodrich120*Behringerx1204*BehringerMini4*Mullen S10"Discovery"*Peavey Vegas400*Princeton112plus*SuperChampX2*SidekickReverb65*Rumble100*MarshallMG50DFX*Nashville112 |
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Mike Marsh
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2018 2:35 pm Tube pedal steel amps!!
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Fender has made many tube amps that were/ are great for pedal steel, but the most expensive pedal steel tube amps are basically reissues or slightly modded fenders as well.
Mike
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Williams Series 700 4X5 |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 25 Oct 2018 1:57 pm
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Hey Derrick, that's a great mod... like a Master Volume, plus, you can move it from amp to amp. Why didn't I think of it? I guess I'll leave mine alone now after the internal mod... it works OK. Thanks for the nice video.
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom. |
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