Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Or at least you'd think it was the ultimate amp judging by the asking price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2546646934&category=10171

Whaddya think? A possible "holy grail" amp?

Alvaro: Thanks for noticing this one. I consider that the price on this amplifier is over the top.

Yeeaaahhh!!! I'd like to meet the fool who buys this. I've got some things to sell him.

Ummm.. is this guy smoking something? Seven grand for a highly modified Princeton? Better hurry and "buy it now" at only ten thousand.

Any idea what an unmodified Princeton of the same vintage might be? Certainly not seven thousand dollars.

Well, from what I gather off of the auction posting, the only thing "Princeton" about the amp is the box... and maybe the chassis.

The thing is supposed to be 100 watts into a big old EV 12... the tube complement looks right, but c'mon!!! You very rarely see established "boutique amp" manufacturers charge even $3K for their high end 1 x 12's... much less $10K!!!

The ultimate amp? It has got to be a Rickenbacker amp. The tone of my TR35B continues to amaze and delight me. I wouldn't settle for anything else.

I "rattle the windows and furniture" with a little Marshall AVT20 amp that puts out 110 dB on only 20 watts through a single 10" Eminence B102 speaker, AND it has that kind of volume down to 41 Hz because it's a closed cabinet with a Scan-Speak resistive flow vent, while that eBay thing definitely does NOT and has to start falling on it's face below about 75 Hz due to the laws of physics. I measured my amp with my calibrated sound level meter, so my specs are genuine. The open E string on my Music Man Stingray copy bass is as loud as the G string, while it also works fine for electric guitar. Try that with that open-backed eBay contraption. I gave about $350 for my amp, including a new Eminence B102 from Parts Express and a used AVT20 in excellent working shape for $200 plus a Scan-Speak vent and acoustic damping fiber. Also, I could sell the 10" Celestion I pulled out and shave a few bucks off that $350 price.

The guy must have meant $700, but since I got an almost new Traynor YCV40 for $345 recently, I would say his price is still at least twice too high at only $700.

If solid state doesn't scare you, get a Peavey Solo Series 130 amp with a 12" Scorpion speaker in it for around $200 in excellent shape. My father has one and it will blow you out of the room with the volume knob barely turned on. It has a long spring reverb and tone controls that eBay contraption is missing, plus it is heavier than just about any other amp its size I have ever seen. Owners rate it as one of the best amps they ever owned on Harmony Central, and the amp almost never breaks down and never needs tube changes. It's ear-bleeding loud, and severely under rated, which means it's a bargain for a gigging musician.

For that price it would have to come with a record deal.

Didn't Mesa/Boogie start off by doing these kind of mods, perhaps it is one of those amps although the seller makes no reference to Mesa.

Judging by the area this guys located in I'd bet Randall Smith did this or someone copied him.
That said.. I don't think I'd give him $100. for it in that condition.. What was that..Messy Booger..? LOL!

So when the deal comes down to basics, Bozo wanted $7K for a very loud Fender Princeton cabinet?

I just can't beLIEVE nobody jumped at the chance to own a very loud amp for such a paltry price. It's almost enough to make you believe that there's another loud amp out there for less than $7K; maybe even one that would come with a warranty, and features that would justify asking more than several hundred dollars...harrrumph!

Oh, and just wondering...why WOULD anybody in their right mind want a very loud Princeton amp for that kind of scratch, when you could pick up a very nice used Twin Reverb or a Super Reverb for under 1K??? They're pretty loud, too.

In my experience, virtually any place where you'd every need more than, say, 60W or so of raw power, you're probably just going to wind up miking your amp and running through the venue's sound system anyway...

Paul-- P.T. Barnum supposedly said "There's a sucker born every minute."

Hey guys ... notice how the description reads "For those of you not familiar with what this is... It's probably a little out of your league etc."? I bet you a soda that it's a Randall Smith pre-Boogie amp. It makes sense.

Kenny, I wouldn't bet against you. From the description of the mods and the asking price, that's probably exactly what this is. And it would be a collector's item for the right person at the right price. Who knows, Carlos Santana Himself may have personally blessed this amp!

But for practical use, it would be better just to buy a new Mesa at a small fraction of the price.

Just remember fellows...

...my tongue was planted firmly in my cheek when I "titled" this here thread!