Was wondering if the solid-state/hybrid thing is approaching equal tone with tube amps. Seems like the solid-state price is almost comparable to a tube Princeton, perhaps falling a couple hundred shy.
Perhaps the smart route would be recreate the PR as a FM9 user preset, with necessary effects for desired sound/tone (subjective, of course). An alternative is to test-drive the FR-12 with my FM9, and see if this is a viable option for gigs, compared to my current FRFR home rig. I think I've got extra storage space, will need to check the FR-12 dimensions to be sure...I will know for certain Monday, but I expect the FR-12 is a class D frfr solution .. with the classic Fender TMB tone stack in front. I don't think their modeling platform is ready just yet.
But as for your question.. I would buy an old deluxe or Princeton. And make the FAS sound like that. Then play both at the same time.
The Princeton is a baby amp as far as maintenance goes.
That confirms my next thought. What with the recent hype of the Tone Master series it makes good sense to wait until used ToneMasters begin showing up in local shops.
I'm not sure I can confirm what you say; my feeling is that every tube amp will need regular tube swaps as often as necessary. It's an inescapable fact, even my beloved Brunetti Singleman 30W Combo needed a tube swap at least once during the 3-year timeframe the amp was part of my home music room. Had the amp been vintage, I might expect additional maintenance due to age, wear and tear, etc.The Princeton is a baby amp as far as maintenance goes.
I get it. I’m just saying the Princeton circuit is one of their simplest circuits...not many tubes.
If Princetons are self-biasing amps (have forgotten the correct phrase) like my Blues Deluxe was, it might be well worth looking into a used PR Reissue. I used to own a SuperChamp X2 that was tube and a 10" speaker, but even that had a noise floor that was noticeable. (Yeah, I'm that guy who doesn't dig ambient noise in the home music room.)I get it. I’m just saying the Princeton circuit is one of their simplest circuits...not many tubes.
It’s funny, I‘ve had several Fenders and didn’t have a lot of issues with them other than changing a tube every 5 or 10 years that was always easier than de-soldering op amps in a solid state amp.
I have several friends who I play with that have purchased the Princeton or Deluxe version, and I have yet to hear one sound like the tube version of the same amp.
When one first hears the ToneMaster series, you'd be hard-pressed to say that they sound anything like the tube equivalent. Yet, because this is what YT offers, it served as a basis for my interest. It might be the speaker. I think I've got a 30Hz audio file I can pipe through the speaker for about 8 hours a couple days in a row. (It helped with a Neodymium speaker I had purchased).
Interesting. The YT vids of the Deluxe I've viewed seem like the presence if turned way down, almost a muffled warmth. I'll check both of these soon at my local store. I think they've got the ToneMaster series as demo models and see if what you say is right about the speaker being fresh off the boat...
If you’re comparing an amp with hundreds to thousands of hours of use to something fresh off the floor, my guess is yes the speaker break-in is playing a considerable role
It's hard to tell how many hours are on an amp or speaker from looking at the amp or the player. It's not like they have an hour meter displayed on the front panel.If you’re comparing an amp with hundreds to thousands of hours of use to something fresh off the floor, my guess is yes the speaker break-in is playing a considerable role
I bet if you ask the owner they can ballpark how many hours they’ve spent with their gear though.
Squishy