"A Classic" A Near Mint 1959 Fender "Narrow-Panel" Tweed Princeton
"A Four and a Half Watt, Class-A Wonder"

1959 Fender Princeton Model SF2-A (Narrow Panel).

This is an all original 4.5 watt tweed "wide-panel" cabinet tube combo legend weighing just 18.00 lbs. The solid pine cabinet measures 18 inches wide x 16 1/2 inches high. The depth of the cabinet is 7 3/4 inches at the top expanding to 8 3/4 inches at the bottom. One original eight-inch Oxford/McGregor 8EV-29 " heavy duty speaker with stamped codes: "465-935" (Oxford/McGregor 35th week of 1959). Top control panel with two instrument inputs, one volume control and one tone control. Original tweed covering with original brown tweed-era grill cloth. The potentiometers are all stamped "137 916" (CTS, April 1959). The serial number "P 03832" is stamped in blind on the control panel and the number "21" is written in blue ink on the tube chart. The electrics are 100% original and untouched other than changed (5Y3GT; 6V6GT; 12AX7) tubes. The tweed covering is almost mint and the original leather handle has slight wear. Complete with the original brown cloth cover and its original paper wrapping. An incredible little fifty-five-year old legend… just turn it up for real tube gain at a reasonable volume.

“The Princeton name goes all the way back to the original trio of Fender amps from 1946. Though it had no model name, the 1x8 K&F was the obvious predecessor to the wooden-boxed 1x8 Princeton. These two entry-level amps used the most basic circuit possible – three tubes (6SL7, 6V6, 5Y3) and no controls! The Princeton steel guitar had a volume pot built into it, so why put one on your amp? An On/Off switch> Unplug it from the wall when you’re done! The amp was equipped with not one, but two input jacks, to accommodate student/teacher sessions.”

“With the introduction of the Champion line of student amps and steel guitars, the Princeton was upgraded, leaving the factory with volume and tone controls mounted to the control panel. An On/Off switch was part of the Tone control, clicking off when turned all the way counterclockwise. A fuse holder, a jeweled pilot light, and pointer knobs completed the package. The 1948 model featured a new “vertical”-tweed-covered TV-front box with the chassis mounted to the top, with the chrome control panel facing up.”

“[In 1953] it changed to the wide-panel cabinet. The metal-cased 6SL7 was replaced c.1954 with a glass 12AX7. The controls were moved from directly off the grid of the power tube to between the two stages of the 12AX7 (model 5D2). The wide-panel Princetons measured 12½” x 13½” x 8”, as did the narrow-panel version of ’55 with the new grille cloth. A choke was added to the filter section of the power supply, and a negative-feedback loop was added to the circuit (model 5E2). The choke, an expensive addition on the inexpensive amp, was soon removed (model 5F2-A). Fender rated these single-ended Class-A wonders at 4½ watts. The ’56 model was enlarged to a 16½” x 18” x 8¾” box, also used for the Harvard.”

(Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years. Pg.48-50.)