Fender Princeton Woodie Tube Amplifier (1946)
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Item #10455
Fender Princeton Woodie Model Tube Amplifier, c. 1946, made in Fullerton, California, natural finish, solid wood cabinet.
All Fender amps trace their lineage back to the company's holy trinity of "Woodie" amplifiers from the mid-to-late 1940s. Alongside a small line of lap steel guitars they were the first products to bear the Fender name, appearing after the dissolution of the relatively short-lived K&F Manufacturing Corp. Leo Fender's partner Doc Kauffman was feeling unsure of the future of the business, so Leo gave him a punch press and soldiered on under his own name!
Designed to be used with Fender's early steel guitars, the new trio line-up; the Princeton, Deluxe (also sometimes referred to as "Model 26") and the Professional were a notable step-up in both design and construction from the earlier nameless amps of the K&F era. They were built with elegant and simple hardwood cabinets (eventually inspiring the nickname "Woodie" amongst collectors), and their ruggedness, sound quality and reliability far surpassed most standards of electric amplification of the time.
Released in the spring of 1946 and lasting only about a year and a half, the three models were together intended to satisfy differing needs customer demographics but shared an elegantly simple design in both look and circuitry. Their hardwood cabinets came in "gleaming blonde maple", "black walnut" and "dark mahogany". Their plush grille cloths came in red, blue and yellow/gold, with matching material on the rear lower panel. The front featuring three metal strips running vertically over the speaker opening; a thicker center strip flanked by two thinner ones, which, according to Fender, added "flash and brilliance to their already sparkling appearance". All three models had a wooden handle on top and the upper-tier models, the Deluxe and Professional, had rear-facing control panels with black pointer-style control knobs and stenciled graphics, including a new logo reading "Fender Electric Instrument Co., Fullerton, California" accompanied by the K&F lightning bolt from the year before.
This, the Princeton, was the smallest and simplest of the three and was billed as the student/entry-level model. It sported a single-ended 6V6 design (like its successor, the tweed Champ) putting out around 5-6 watts into a single 8" field-coil speaker (permanent-magnet speakers didn't appear until 1947). The rear panel featured two inputs and no controls (the Princeton steel guitar already had a volume control), not even an on/off switch -- when plugged in it was on, and when not plugged in it was off.
The Princeton name would carry onwards in a long line of iconic amps over the several decades, with its tweed-clad "TV-front" successor just around the corner of 1948. Indeed, as noted guitar historian and author Tom Wheeler notes in The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps, "Princetons, Deluxes and Pros would be cornerstones of the line for much of the next 60 years." This early model is the lodestone from which all of would spring.
Height is 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm.), 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm.) width, and 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.) deep.
This is a beautiful, very nicely preserved and original example of one of the very earliest Fender products we have ever seen. The cabinet is in great shape considering the amp is about to celebrate its 75th birthday! There's some typical wear and minor scuffs, but overall the "gleaming blonde maple" finish is largely intact. The plush grille cloth is mostly untarnished along with the protective metal strips, save for a few scratches along the edges of the larger center strip.
Electrically, the amp remains entirely original. The original 8-inch field-coil Utah speaker still retains the original cone and sounds great. Both the power and output transformers appear original and bear the markings R-5406A/19-1623 and 8663-3, respectively, neither being a legible date code, though the power transformer has what appears to be a faded Triad logo. The amp has received our typical "minimal" maintenance to ensure reliable and safe operation, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors and cleaning of all sockets and jacks. The few remaining components in the already very minimal circuitry are unchanged and appear original. The amp has also been outfitted with a grounded 3-prong power cable.
A fabulous example of a nearly pre-historic Fender amp and a marker of the very beginning of Fender's legacy of great amplifiers. And, incidentally it sounds magical! Excellent - Condition.
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All Fender amps trace their lineage back to the company's holy trinity of "Woodie" amplifiers from the mid-to-late 1940s. Alongside a small line of lap steel guitars they were the first products to bear the Fender name, appearing after the dissolution of the relatively short-lived K&F Manufacturing Corp. Leo Fender's partner Doc Kauffman was feeling unsure of the future of the business, so Leo gave him a punch press and soldiered on under his own name!
Designed to be used with Fender's early steel guitars, the new trio line-up; the Princeton, Deluxe (also sometimes referred to as "Model 26") and the Professional were a notable step-up in both design and construction from the earlier nameless amps of the K&F era. They were built with elegant and simple hardwood cabinets (eventually inspiring the nickname "Woodie" amongst collectors), and their ruggedness, sound quality and reliability far surpassed most standards of electric amplification of the time.
Released in the spring of 1946 and lasting only about a year and a half, the three models were together intended to satisfy differing needs customer demographics but shared an elegantly simple design in both look and circuitry. Their hardwood cabinets came in "gleaming blonde maple", "black walnut" and "dark mahogany". Their plush grille cloths came in red, blue and yellow/gold, with matching material on the rear lower panel. The front featuring three metal strips running vertically over the speaker opening; a thicker center strip flanked by two thinner ones, which, according to Fender, added "flash and brilliance to their already sparkling appearance". All three models had a wooden handle on top and the upper-tier models, the Deluxe and Professional, had rear-facing control panels with black pointer-style control knobs and stenciled graphics, including a new logo reading "Fender Electric Instrument Co., Fullerton, California" accompanied by the K&F lightning bolt from the year before.
This, the Princeton, was the smallest and simplest of the three and was billed as the student/entry-level model. It sported a single-ended 6V6 design (like its successor, the tweed Champ) putting out around 5-6 watts into a single 8" field-coil speaker (permanent-magnet speakers didn't appear until 1947). The rear panel featured two inputs and no controls (the Princeton steel guitar already had a volume control), not even an on/off switch -- when plugged in it was on, and when not plugged in it was off.
The Princeton name would carry onwards in a long line of iconic amps over the several decades, with its tweed-clad "TV-front" successor just around the corner of 1948. Indeed, as noted guitar historian and author Tom Wheeler notes in The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps, "Princetons, Deluxes and Pros would be cornerstones of the line for much of the next 60 years." This early model is the lodestone from which all of would spring.
Height is 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm.), 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm.) width, and 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.) deep.
This is a beautiful, very nicely preserved and original example of one of the very earliest Fender products we have ever seen. The cabinet is in great shape considering the amp is about to celebrate its 75th birthday! There's some typical wear and minor scuffs, but overall the "gleaming blonde maple" finish is largely intact. The plush grille cloth is mostly untarnished along with the protective metal strips, save for a few scratches along the edges of the larger center strip.
Electrically, the amp remains entirely original. The original 8-inch field-coil Utah speaker still retains the original cone and sounds great. Both the power and output transformers appear original and bear the markings R-5406A/19-1623 and 8663-3, respectively, neither being a legible date code, though the power transformer has what appears to be a faded Triad logo. The amp has received our typical "minimal" maintenance to ensure reliable and safe operation, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors and cleaning of all sockets and jacks. The few remaining components in the already very minimal circuitry are unchanged and appear original. The amp has also been outfitted with a grounded 3-prong power cable.
A fabulous example of a nearly pre-historic Fender amp and a marker of the very beginning of Fender's legacy of great amplifiers. And, incidentally it sounds magical! Excellent - Condition.
