Back To School

Fender's student amp returns in digital guise as part of the brand's exciting and thought-provoking Tone Master series. But can it match the real thing? We take a look

- Nick Guppy

Leo Fender began building amplifiers under his own name in 1946, half a decade before the Telecaster, with the original trio of the Princeton, Deluxe and Professional. Often referred to as the ‘woody’ amps, because of their hardwood cabinets and fixed wooden handles, these were the first Fender-badged products made after Leo’s short-lived venture with Clayton Orr ‘Doc’ Kauffman (the ‘K’ in K&F Manufacturing).

Ever since, the Princeton name has survived in various guises, with the mid1960s valve-powered black-panel Princeton Reverb revered by many guitarists as one of the top three from the pre-CBS Fullerton era. More recently in 2019, Fender surprised a lot of people with the Tone Master range – recreations of those classic 60s amplifiers that replaced traditional valve circuitry with modern digital signal processing and Class D output power. We’ve already experienced the Deluxe and Twin Reverb, followed by the Super Reverb, now it’s time to welcome amp number four in the Tone Master range, the Princeton Reverb.

Viewed from the front, this amp is almost identical to the classic mid-60s design, with a period-correct badge and silver sparkle grille cloth adding to the vintage vibe. The only difference is a discreet ‘Tone Master’ plate in the bottom right corner. Just like the original, the cabinet is pine, covered in black Tolex, with chrome strap washers securing the aluminium chassis and a smart black carry handle with chrome caps.