counterparts. Which in turn factors into a
number of the assumptions one would make
about this amp.
First off, there is the presumption that this amp
is both warm and prone to earthy breakup.
Secondly, and per my conversation with Daniel
Carson, that by following Chris Stapleton’s
lead on using a 12” speaker instead of a 10”,
the amp would have more girth when you
dig in. The other thing is that since I’ve never
played an actual ’62 Princeton, a lot of what
I’d imagined this amp would be was in fact in
my head. Yes, I heard Chris Stapleton’s tone in
his demo video, but that does not necessarily
mean that when I plugged into it I would have
that same experience. The great thing about
tone chasing is that sometimes you get exactly
what you were looking for, and with this amp,
that is the case.
With the Tone control set at noon, this amp
plays, feels, and sounds great. Do I wish it had
reverb, maybe, but unlike replacing the original
10” speaker with a 12”, this might be losing the
plot in terms of the original ’62 design. Noting
that my first amp was a Silverface Vibro Champ
with an 8” speaker, I’ve known for a long time
that when it comes to a one-speaker combo, a
12” speaker is where I want to live, and Chris
Stapleton’s amp and tone drive that point home
with spades. Having ‘grown up Vibro Champ’,
this amp is familiar in nature to me, except for
the fact that it completely smokes my old Vibro
Champ. The pulsating undulations of the foot-
switchable Vibrato circuit are nothing short of
intoxicating. Straight into the amp with an array
of guitars it was warm, gutsy, and responsive
Chris Stapleton
– all the things I dreamed it would be! After an
hour or so of musical meandering that could describe the intensity of what this little amp Fender was doing, and by his Bassman circuit
easily wake the neighbors (did I mention that does when paired with a 4x12 cab. What makes in particular. If there was one word to sum up
this thing is loud?), my inner gear tinkerer a combo cool is that it breathes as you play. But this experience it would be awesome!
reminded me that there was an extension that also makes them less punchy in nature, speaker cabinet jack and that perhaps I should and one of the big reasons you don’t see a lot Now, if you start talking about Marshalls and
check it out. of high gain amps in that form factor. While the 4x12 cabs with your average church sound
Fender ’62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition tech, they’ll start shaking their head before you
Plugged into a Mesa-Boogie 4x12 Rectifier is not a high gain amp per se, it is important finish your first sentence. The good news is that
cabinet, the whole experience got a serious to remember that the early Marshall circuits the understated appointments of this amp do a
shot of sonic steroids. Words can’t accurately were very much inspired by the work that Leo great job of hiding what’s happening under the
May 2019
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