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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Princeton Reverb RI vs. Peavey Delta Blues
Princeton Reverb RI vs. Peavey Delta Blues
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HawkeyeKane
803 posts
Mar 21, 2012
1:24 PM
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I could be opening up a major can of worms here...but at this point, I feel I should raise the issue because I've played through both, and IMHO, they're neck and neck. And forgive me, but for some odd reason I feel the spirit of Jeremy Clarkson channeling through me on this. So if it starts sounding like a comparison segment on an episode of Top Gear UK, that's why. :-)
Lots of recent threads have pertained to some of the best guitar amps for harp. And one that is always mentioned is obviously the '65 Fender Princeton Reverb RI. And for good reason. There's no arguing that it's one of the best. Let's take a look...
It's completely tube driven, including the rectifying 5AR4. Two 12AX7's and one 12AT7 in the preamp, and two 6V6's driving the 15W output. It has a pair of instrument inputs, round skirted treble, bass, and volume knobs. It's reverb unit is of course a holy grail in the amp world, and it has a vibrato with speed and intensity controls. Footswitch jack to control both of them. An 8-ohm Jensen C10-R speaker. Topped off with the classic Fender blackface and silver grill cloth.
All in all...a fully loaded amp. This baby is a long standing warhorse for guitarists and harpists alike. And with the legendary Fender reverb tank and black and silver finish, she's comparable to the Buick GNX in the automotive world, with its sound being damn near immaculate. A classic case of "you get what you pay for", Fender MSRP's it at $1,259.00, with many online retailers marking it down to the neighborhood of $900. It would seem that no other amplifier in its class could compete.
HOWEVER....
It would seem that Fender's age-old Stateside amplifier competitor has an answer.
Peavey's popular Classic Series has been a favorite of blues guitarists for many years now, the Classic 30 and Classic 50 being powerhouse combos, but lacking a few extras that are quite desirable, and the 50 having a double function as a good space heater with its hot operating temperatures and cooling fan. But they aren't the only vintage-type amps in the line.
Enter the Peavey Delta Blues...
This is the latest variant, the 115.
It's considerably more powerful than the Princeton, twice as powerful to be specific. A 30W output supplied by four EL84's (or 6BQ5's if that's your vernacular) and a 12AX7 driver, with another pair of 12AX7's in the two-channel preamp. The clean channel uses a single 12-mark volume control, while the lead channel has pre and post gain knobs for contouring and feedback control. A boost switch increases overall gain for solos and the like. Like the Princeton, it's equipped with bass and treble equalizers, but also has a midrange control. A 12-mark knob controls the reverb, and while the Princeton has a vibrato effect, the Peavey has a tremolo with speed and intensity controls. All of them chicken-heads lined up on a top-rear mounted chrome panel. A footswitch jack offers control of the two channels and the tremolo. A 16-ohm 15" Blue Marvel Delta Blues speaker and a tweed cabinet complete the deal.
But the 115 has an older brother to live up to...
Say hello to the Delta Blues 210.
This model was released a few years before the 115.
As you can see, it drives a pair of 8-ohm 10" Blue Marvels. But other than that detail, and the slightly wider cabinet, it's virtually identical to the 115. Originally, Peavey offered the 210 in black as well as tweed, but they dropped the option shortly before releasing the 115.
Princeton University versus the Louisiana Delta...
Corona, California or Meridian, Mississippi...
What's a man to do?
Well, here's something to consider. While you can usually find the Princeton retailing around $900, both models of the Delta Blues are originally MSRP'd at $849.99, but can be bought directly from Peavey or most other retailers for $650. A full quarter grand less than the Princeton, and yet you get a second channel, a booster, a midrange adjuster, more speaker surface if not double, 15 more watts of output, and a tremolo, which can more often than not have more use to a harp player than a vibrato. Hmmmm.....
The Princeton, however, does have a much more time-honored name, and is comprised of more widely-respected components like the Jensen 10", the Fender reverb (which is a bit more ear catching than the Peavey's), Groove Tube 6V6's, etc. It also offers its tubes a bit more cabinet protection than the Delta does, which is always a good thing. Yes, it is an exceptional harp amp, and most harp players have it on their wishlist. It's easy to see why. But one does wonder, how much of that $900 is payment for the Fender badge?
As I said before I launched this analytical ramble, I HAVE played through both amps, and as I also said, I have to say they're on a par with one another. The Peavey is at a better value in price, but the thing is that even though the Fender is more expensive, it's gonna hold more of its value on down the road.
(I guess this would be the part on Top Gear where the two cars go speeding off together down the Top Gear track into the sunset before Clarkson, May, and Hammond start their usual bickering.)
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2012 2:35 PM
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Willspear
89 posts
Mar 21, 2012
3:43 PM
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Hands down the worst feature of the Princeton is the jenson speaker. It sounds fine but is way to treble focused. With poor technique it can be shrill. My ears like eminence speakers of many flavors over jensons and celestions for harp. Webers are good to depending on matching them up to a given amp.
If I get around to it I'll swap that speaker out but bone stock it sounds nice. With a good cup. I have a couple eminence blue frames I could swap in one of them if I ever get off my butt.
The peavy amps to my ears don't sound as nice and atleast the couple I have used are feedbacky and a little squirrelly Could have been the room I was in contributing but meh.
Kind of like comparing a blues deville to a bassman. I'd take the bassman everytime.
To be honest I don't seem to get on with most amps sporting el84 tubes. Might be a coincidence or not who knows.
Princeton is overpriced new at retail. But used they go for a decent price. Couple hundred off. Used peavy go for half price or less here. So cheap to grab of Craigslist.
Worth noting is the placebo like qualities of owning a fender instead of a peavy.
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2012 8:22 PM
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jbone
834 posts
Mar 22, 2012
4:32 AM
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one of my first amps was a princeton TREMOLO, 1962 model, underpowered and with a single 10, it would quickly get lost on stage. but beautiful tone that would melt butter under lower volume situations. note to self NEVER pawn ANYthing musical AGAIN.
i had a peavey delta blues 210 some years later which i found to be plenty powerful and stood up well on stage but could have used a speaker swap or extension cab with more harp friendly speakers. it was more or less a loaner for a year or 2 and i ended up having to let it go back.
my current amps are a silvertone 1482, single 12, pre amp section gaincutters, jensen speaker which sounds good to me; and a replica 59 bassman with mods for harp. both outstanding in their way.
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HawkeyeKane
805 posts
Mar 22, 2012
1:42 PM
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You know, one thing that occurs to me...
I think a considerable while back I mentioned a Fender from the Rivera Era.
There are three solid state Fenders from the 80's that take a little more tweaking to sound right for harp, but they were pretty much the descendants of the Princeton Reverb. The Yale Reverb, Harvard Reverb, and Harvard Reverb II. I've played through a Yale before and it sounds good. Not a lot of good natural distortion since it's solid state, but the spring reverb is fantastic.
@jbone
Yeah, you really can't go wrong with an old Silvertone.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 22, 2012 1:44 PM
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toddlgreene
3608 posts
Mar 22, 2012
2:11 PM
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Hmm, never tried any of those Peaveys that I can recall, but one thing stands out about them that would definitely make mean lean towards the Fender(if price was no object)is the fact that the Peavey is sporin' EL84/6QB5 tubes...I really prefer the way 6L/6V tubes break up. BUT, I'd like to give one a whirl anyway, just for a reference point. Who knows-it might surprise me.
Speaking of Silvertone 1482s-I have one(not the combo)that is all original and sounds great that I might be willing to part with...
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Todd L. Greene
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Willspear
91 posts
Mar 22, 2012
2:33 PM
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Yeah old masco, danelectro and silvertone/sears amps rock and tend to be very reasonable. Shoot I bought a complete masco tube pa in good working order for less than 3 bills. Just needed to have a grounded chord installed.
My wish list dream amp is a dano commando. Only have ever seen one in the flesh. I might try to get a custom built one to spec if one doesn't pop up when my money situation is a bit more open. I need to sell some guitar gear to make it happen.
One of my friends has a Gibson maestro that cost about the same as as a princeton that has 4 8 inch speakers and it sounds fantastic. Only pedal he uses is the kinder just barely quashing feedback.
Problem with the 8's is the sound drops off about 15 feet from the amp in a loud setting but he plays in a very restrained band volume wise so it works great for the small room scene. He fills a great need to have a rockin blues band that you can actually sit in a room and enjoy them as well as conversation.
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HawkeyeKane
806 posts
Mar 22, 2012
5:07 PM
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Will, would a Dano DS100 interest you?
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Hawkeye Kane
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Willspear
94 posts
Mar 22, 2012
5:41 PM
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I would consider it had I not just quit my job due to needing to deal with 2 deaths in the family. . My finances are on lockdown at the moment due to all that. I also have 13 tube amplifiers so I need to flip some gear.
100 watts is a bit much for me. I tried out a harp king and never got the volume past 2 on the knob in a fairly large room. I live at about 5 on a 59 bassman for a big room. 7 is pushing it. I could own that harping easily as it is owned by friend who can't use it due to room size.
Musically I wish I was in a place with harmonica to set the volume and air pushing of the people I play with.
In an ideal world 15-30 watts would be more than enough. Iirc the commando is 30. I played through one and don't remember having to crank it super loud to get a good sound. I'd mic a champ but being at the mercy of the sound man kills me. Plenty of guys who don't get it.
I played through a meteor the other day and it sounded great cranked up a good bit around 4 on the knob but the room I was in didn't allow for cracking it open so it was kind of lifeless. I think the mini 15 from what I have seen is the best mid size rig around being made currently.
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