Princeton Reverb Troubleshooting Help

[Stan Malinowski]

Maybe someone can be of help:

Here's the problem:

After about 15 minutes after turning the amp on I get a loud popping and crackling sound when playing the bass strings. No such noise when playing the upper strings. When I shut the amp off there is a noticeable pop.

I have tried two complete different sets of tubes but the problem persists. Could I be looking at a bad socket (or two) for the power tubes?

Any input on troubleshooting would be appreciated.

[scottiK]

stan- mine had similar issue and I took it to the local tube amp guru and he said it needed a cap job. it's been a while but if i remember right that took care of it.

scott

[killerburst]

Sounds like a power tube grid resistor. If your familiar with working on tube amps, email me privately and I'll offer some suggestions.

[Gary F.]

Stan-

Saw from your post on the gear page that you got the problem resolved. How do you like your Princeton now that it's up and working? Does it fill the hole in your collection you were hoping for?

Gary

[Stan Malinowski]

Gary,

I don't really know that if I really even had a hole in my collection. I think I have always been fascinated by the great tone you can get out of a Princeton Reverb with a few mods. In reality I think my Carr Rambler already had this area of the tonal spectrum covered. I think I bought the Princeton more as a "project" type amp to try various mods and experiments. So far the following mods have been done to the PR: Weber 10F150T speaker, complete set of Sylvania NOS tubes, adjustable bias, blueprinted Phase Inverter circuitry and increased plate voltage on the PI tube. The PR now has a bit more headroom and is sounding great.

[Gary F.]

I was curious, Stan. I have two amps in my living room now -- a Carr Mercury and a Fender Super Champ. The reality is, i prefer my SC over the Merc (still love my Imperial & and Rambler--they're just not living room amps). The Merc is an expensive amp to sit around as piece of furniture and I've been thinking of selling it and going with a lower wattage fender with a 10" or 12" speaker.

[Stan Malinowski]

Gary,

The Princeton Reverb really starts to sound great at volume settings of around 4 which is quite a bit louder than the Carr Mercury in the 2 watt or 1/2 watt settings which I tend to use in the "living room". The PR is more like the Rambler in the Triode mode.