1964 Fender Princeton. Pre-CBS Blackface. 100% Original.

This Princeton is 100% original. When it was opened for photos on July 13,

2026, it was almost certainly the first light inside this amp since it was

built in December of 1964. Bugs and all. Nothing has been serviced, cleaned,

or swapped. The dirt and the spiderwebs are right where they were.

It is a genuine Pre-CBS "Blackface" (now usually called "Black Panel"). Fender

sold to CBS in January of 1965, just days after this amp was built in the final

week of 1964. Serial #2861. It came out of Leo Fender's Fullerton factory and

has sat virtually untouched for 60 years.

Everything is original, and the date codes all agree:

- "NL" on the tube chart = December 1964

- Internal stamp "5264" = 52nd week of 1964

- Original Oxford 10" speaker, stamped 465-440 (Oxford, 44th week of 1964)

- Original Mallory electrolytic caps, dated to the 39th week of 1964

- Original pots, iron and stamps all date to late 1964

- Original USA RCA tubes with a British GZ34 rectifier

- Original Fender solid feet ("glides") and the original stiff 2-wire power cord

- Front and back panels both read "Fender Electric Instrument Co." (Pre-CBS)

One more for the collectors: in 1964 only, Fender did not put the script

"Fender" logo on the grille of its smaller amps. It's not missing. It was never

installed. There are no screw holes through the grillcloth.

THIS IS NOT A PLAYER'S AMP. It is a collector's piece for somebody who wants

something that came out of Fullerton and has never been touched, and the value

is in leaving it exactly that way.

DO NOT PLUG IT IN AS-IS. It has not been powered up in decades. Doing so would

almost certainly cause a fire, or serious, irreversible damage to the

capacitors, the choke, and the transformers. Before it ever sees wall power, a

qualified tech needs to:

- Replace the power cord first. The original 2-prong plug is cracked and the

conductors are exposed. A 3-prong grounded cord is the standard now.

- Do a slow, 30 to 60 minute VariAC power-up.

- Re-form or replace the original Mallory electrolytics, including the

multi-value can cap. Fire danger if this is skipped.

- Remove the "Death Cap" and the ground-reverse switch from the circuit.

None of that hurts the originality. It is just the standard going-through any

60-year-old unserviced amp needs.

Sold as-described / as-is, An estate-sale find. Reasonable offers

welcome. Local pickup in San Diego preferred for something this original and

fragile. Will consider careful, insured, crated shipping with the tubes removed

and packed separately.

Full provenance, the complete dating breakdown, and 14 high-res photos: