Fender Princeton 650 Dynatouch

[Spudman]

I went to one of my better music stores the other day and tried a Fender Princeton 650 Dynatouch amp.

This is a 1x12 65 watt into 8 ohms solid state amp with Fender's Dyna Touch circuitry. Looks like they sell for around $300 give or take.

I played a 2005 MIM Strat with maple fretboard and Texas Special pups.

It was nice and sparkly on the clean channel and seemed to have a nice growl on the dirty channel. I didn't turn it up really loud on the dirty channel but I think it would probably sound better than the Hot Rod Deluxe dirty channel no problem. The amps touch characteristics were really responsive and variable. By using the volume on the guitar I could change the character nicely yet still retain that Fender spanky clarity. I turned it up to 5 once and hit a couple of chords and it sure felt like a quality tube amp. It had that 'thing' going on. Hmmm.

The amp has some digital effects built in and I thought they sounded pretty good. Probably not a versatile as having a distinct effect pedal but still good enough to get a unique usable sound from. I liked the vibrato a lot. Reverb was good, not phony, flanger nice and clean, delay I wasn't that impressed with, but I didn't have any instructions or salesperson to help me figure out delay time or if it had a tap tempo function. Mostly I varied the effects with the two knobs provided for intensity and rate.

This is not a Heavy Metal amp but more of a home/club gigging amp.

It's functionally loud enough to work on stage yet able to get good sounds at a practice in the bedroom volume. It could do some metal tones, but for that I would recommend a pedal of some sort. It also had a convincing acoustic simulator as one of the effects. There is a built in tuner that mutes the guitar signal when in use as well.

My time with the amp was limited and not all encompassing. There may be some ugly warts hiding under the makeup. I don't know. Lifting the veil for me would be a full night of gigging. Then I'd know if she could hack it. Otherwise, it was fun to play with for a while.

The specs can be found at this link
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2267400040

Try it yourself before you buy it.

[SuperSwede]

Sounds like a promising amp. Are you in the market for a solid state Spud?

[Tim]

I have been looking at the Fender Princeton 650 Dynatouch amp for about 2 weeks now. I also have been looking at the Peavey Classic 30, which maybe a little too heavy for me to carry around. I especially like the 1X12 - 65 watt features. The effects I can take or leave since I have a few pedals and 2 modelers. I just wish it had an effects loop. The next time I go to a guitar store I will be checking out this Fender Princeton 650 Dynatouch amp.

[TS808]

I made the mistake a couple years ago of getting the Fender Dynatouch Stage 1600. It was a "mistake" because that was just way too loud!! I'm a sucker for 212 amps, plus the Fender amps have a tendency to really jump in volume from 0-3 and then gradually increase at a decreasing rate the more you turn up the volume. Otherwise, I thought the tone and effects were VERY GOOD. Just way too loud. I don't think you can go wrong with the Princeton for home use or even the Deluxe 900.

The Dynatouch amps are good solid-state amps. You might want to also try a Peavey Transtube Bandit or Studio Pro 112. Both have excellent tone (no effects though).

[Spudman]

Tim
The Princeton DOES have an effects loop.

If I had to choose there is no question that I would take the Classic 30 over the Princeton. Sure there is more maintenance to a tube amp and it is slightly heavier, but man the C 30's sure do sound good.

If you think solid state is the way to go then by all means do it. Ty Tabor from Kings X has a pretty illustrious career playing a solid state amp same for George Benson.

Try them both a lot before you buy. They aren't going anywhere so you have plenty of time to make up your mind. Find out when the music store has the fewest people in it and go in with your guitar and test them out at higher volume and with some pedals like you use.

[Tim]

Thanks Spuds – I will take your advice on both amps. I would prefer the Peavey Classic 30 as you suggest, but I am not getting any younger. I have to be careful with what I pick up these days. The injury from 1978 never has healed completely. I may have to delay purchasing an amp for a few months. My wife and I may be moving sometime in early spring 2007. But your words of wisdom will be remembered. The next amp will be my fourth, so I plan on making sure this is the one I will be keeping for a while. As always thank you for you expertise knowledge.