Agreed. I've been considering buying one, but I believe I'll wait and see if they can get their $#!* together.

Headstrong

...if you forget to unplug the amp, yes. So for safety sake, probably switch first. For the sake of the power switch (which is a replaceable part) Lyle appears to make a good point. I think I still lean toward switch first, but I will admit to there being very little difference. In a fused IEC jack, the fuse would come first, and there is no way to get at it without unplugging the power cord from the socket. Maybe that is the best way, ultimately?

A properly wired fuse holder gives that same protection. And would you rather replace a fuse or a switch? Or in this case a PT? Because the crappy switch connections fused.

@@PsionicAudio Proper reply, master tech guys ...Top tips and safety..Ed..UK..😀

Fuse first, no exceptions.

The only non replaceable part is you. I'm in the safety first crowd. Switch then fuse.

Regarding the Princeton? If the PT is shorted, then yes the fuse should have blown. If the only fault was an internal failure of the switch resulting in a conductive path through the bushing of the switch to ground, then the fuse isn't in that path so the fuse wouldn't blow.

Either way it was wired, if the PT had shorted the fuse would've blown. Wiring to the fuse first would've (probably) saved the switch. But with crappy connections on a subpar switch.......inevitable failure.

@@wedoshotz6645 It's a series circuit so the fuse being before or after the switch really makes no difference as far as those burnt connectors. Series circuits are called Voltage Dividers so everything in a series circuit will see the exact same current. The fuse will see the the exact same current on the line regardless of where it is and blow if it exceeds its rating. Outlet strips have fuses or circuit breakers in them and the protect the entire thing, from the plug to the outlets because it's all series. Same thing here. From a safety standpoint, it is better for the fuse to be first, but in this case it wouldn't have saved the switch. Loose connectors or the bad transformer was causing it to draw much higher than normal for some time, but still under two amps and under spec'd or loose connectors that couldn't handle the extra current. I know those connectors make things easier to service, but I prefer them to be soldered connections because they are just never going to see this problem.

sounds like bad preamp tubes

@@andrewpartington7274 Unfortunately it isn't, tried swapping out preamp and power amp tubes and it still does it. May be a bad solder connection or something.

@@alecboyyes Ah bummer, hope you find the problem

Marketing amps. Poor lead dress, fake "blue" caps (cheap cap inside blue plastic molding), bias trem instead of opto trem just to sidestep ROHS.

​@@PsionicAudio Well, it worked - I bought one. :) A bit troubling that Fender would use cheap caps in a high priced "boutique" amp. At least I got it before the price increased and also got a discount. It does sound great and I hope that future maintenance will be more straight forward? I have some electronics in my past (military) so can probably manage if there is a problem. That wasn't the case when I had a problem with an Egnater Tweaker - that thing drove me nuts trying to fix and I gave up. After the fact I think it might have been a failing power transformer.

@@PsionicAudio I rather prefer bias trem. Never got on with opto. Bias is just richer and smoother

@@GearZenChannel Better replace those caps then...

@@weschilton I will probably just have a few on hand and replace when the time comes. The amp sounds killer.

Sounds like you might have microphonic tubes. Especially if you have JJ 6V6Ss but it can happen with any 6V6.

@@PsionicAudio Thanks, I’ll look into that

It's all the more infuriating when you have amp techs giving free feedback on what the issues are.

What makes me mad is seeing all the problems and then looking at the price tag.

Good point. And those quick connects are the very definition of a bad connection.

EH is "real" in that it is not rebranded. EH tubes, like Mullard, Tung-Sol, and Sovtek, are made in the same factory in Russia.

That's not what I'm doing. What I do is repair amps across a wide range of price points. If something fails I say why it failed. And when possible I show how to prevent that failure in the future, including how the manufacturer could have avoided that failure. Often at the same price point. The feathers this ruffles aren't a consideration for me. I'm not out to get certain companies. Neither do I gush about others. I said nice things about Germino and Top Hat because they earned it. Criticisms are also earned. I'm not a KZfaq channel that shits on amps. I'm an amp tech/designer who lets musicians know what's inside the box. Big difference.

@@PsionicAudio I dont have any feathers to ruffle. I dont make amps and the couple i do own i'm pretty happy with. That said i dont own any mass produced or super high end amps. I have been looking for a Princeton reverb and i will probably be staying away from these ones.