Fender Princeton 5B2 Tube Amplifier (1952)

Fender  Princeton 5B2 Tube Amplifier (1952)
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Item # 9718
Prices subject to change without notice.
Fender Princeton 5B2 Model Tube Amplifier (1952), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 2752, tweed fabric covering finish.
 
Height is 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide, and 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm.) deep.

This is a nicely clean, original and great sounding example of an early wide-panel tweed Princeton model, the "upper level" of Fender's early 1950s student amps. Sporting one more knob than the classic younger sibling, the single-volume knob Champ, the Princeton features a nearly identical circuit with the added tone control allowing for a brighter or mellower sound. The tweed-covered exterior is clean and beautifully intact with a nice amber patina, withsome minimal scuffing and wear. The faceplate shows some minor corrosion with most of the stenciled graphics still intact, save for several of the numbers around the tone and volume controls. The handle appears to be an older, high quality and likely hand-tooled replacement.

Electrically, the amp is nicely original: the original Jensen P8T speaker sounds fantastic. Both the power and output transformers are original, made by Triad (power transformer is marked 6500). The pot is coded 304-118. The amp has received routine maintenance, including standard replacement of electrolytic caps, as well as a grounded 3-prong power cord and cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks as well as biased to spec. It was wired up by Esper, and has her masking tape signature still intact. The amp sports a great sounding vintage tube set, RCA 5Y3GT rectifier and 6V6GT power tube and a JAN millitary spec Tung-Sol 6SC7 preamp tube. A very clean and fantastic sounding old Fender tweed with a lot of vibe. Excellent - Condition.