2020 Li’l Dawg 6G2 Choco Prince

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

My partner in blues crime (we're the two guitars in the Philly Blues Kings) bought a 15W (6V6) 1x12 Choco Prince combo a few weeks ago "because it was available". We both believe in hands on education, although he takes it a bit further than I ever did. All the reviews and reports on the internet are unanimous that it's at least as good as the original . In addition to being a really nice guy who's very easy to work with and responsive to customer needs, Jim NIckelson (the founder and builder of Li'l Dawg Amps) really builds a wonderful product. The Li'l Dawgs are superb devices that (IMO, anyway) far outstrip the original Fenders in quality. I've had many Fender tube amps since buying a new 15" Pro in '63, and I currently have a '71 Twin and a '76 Princeton. So I understand how the GAS pains were too strong for my colleague to resist.

The Choco Prince is one cool little amp in any of its multiple available formats (wattage, output tubes, cabs etc). They're beautifully designed and made in lightweight solid pine cabs - and the inside is as beautiful as the outside. So when this 2020 popped up on Reverb, my buddy bought it to find out what it would do. It lives up to it's reputation - it's a modern Brown Princeton (non-reverb) and a wonderful amp. With the same fat tone and headroom as a non-reverb brown era Princeton, it's a wonderful low wattage amp for jazz. Unfortunately, it's just not quite as bluesy as my buddy had hoped. The sweet spot for O/D that's controllable with the guitar's volume pot is too close to full output, at which point it's too loud for his taste.

Other symptoms of his GAS include a stash of quality speakers. So in addition to the Neo Creamback currently in it, he tried a well broken in Cannabis Rex and a fresh Mojotone Anthem. The C Rex is rich, mellow, and laid back. It's a bit dark and not at all fizzy or bright, so it's great for jazz. The Creamback is a bit more bluesy (more top, less bottom, but still smooth) and would be great for general purpose use (a "jack of all trades, decent at every one"). IF you want to buy the amp, he'll put in whichever speaker you want out of these. Both he and I can recommend this amp as a low wattage jazz amp with enough oomph for small gigs and wonderful tone for home use. If I didn't already have a Princeton, I'd already have bought it from him.

Unfortunately, my friend has too many amps (as do I), so this Dawg is sitting idle in the closet. I don't need it either, since I have just restored JazzKritter's SF Princeton and will never sell it because I feel a connection to him every time I play through it. So the owner's asked me to make its availability known to our jazz guitar community. I know the owner very well - we've been gigging together at least once a week for the last few years), and he's as honest and forthright as anyone I've ever known. I can also recommend the amp as ideal for low power jazz use.

If you need a low power tube amp for jazz, the Choco Prince is a great choice. If you're interested in buying this one, PM me and I'll send you the owner's contact info. The above is the extent of my knowledge of this particular amp, so you'll have to ask the owner if you have other questions. He's asking $1k with shipping anywhere in the continental US, PayPal fee, footswitch and cover included. You'll be dealing with him, not me. Here are the pics he sent me:

[callouscallus]

You should do a demo of it for jazz! Love to hear it.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You should do a demo of it for jazz! Love to hear it.

I'd love to, but the band we're in together is a blues band. So I don't think we'll learn anything useful from recording the gigs we do together. He has an Ibanez AF95 archtop but doesn't play jazz. I'll ask him to try to capture at least some smooth, mellow playing in a simple video.

He lives about an hour from me, and neither of us has the time it'd take for one to go to the other's house, record, and return right now. If we can work it out, I'll pick it up at our gig next Sunday and bring it home to record a few tunes. Then I can return it to him at our next gig the week afterward. Of course, the danger there is that I'll want to buy it myself, and I do not need another amplifier. I do not need another amplifier. I do not need another amplifier. [repeat ad infinitum]

At the very least, I've exposed many who were unaware of the Li'l Dawg brand to a very nice line of hand built amps at extremely reasonable prices. If I didn't already have the Princeton and I hadn't just put the work into restoring it, the ChocoPrince with the C Rex would fit right into my lineup.

[RJVB]

Of course, the danger there is that I'll want to buy it myself, and I do not need another amplifier. I do not need another amplifier. I do not need another amplifier. [repeat ad infinitum]

a) we'd start calling you nevershouldhaveboughtit
b) just look at that silly label
c) chocolate isn't addictive

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

a) we'd start calling you nevershouldhaveboughtit
b) just look at that silly label
c) chocolate isn't addictive

It's anti-inflammatory and raises HDL. It's high in flavanols, and it tastes great. As the carnival hucksters used to say, it's good for the ladies, won't hurt the babies, and guaranteed not to rust, bust, or colllect dust.

[Hammertone]

... and it has a 12" speaker, unlike the original Princeton.

[RJVB]

it's good for the ladies, won't hurt the babies, and guaranteed not to rust, bust, or colllect dust.

It also melts and is almost guaranteed to shed a few crumbs that'll leave memorable stains on yer good clothes you were certain you'd be keeping clean. (Or on your seat and from there in interesting places on your pants )

But ... black for me please. Or white

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

... and it has a 12" speaker, unlike the original Princeton.

That’s actually a point of contention among Princeton lovers. More than a few (sadly including Jazzkritter or whoever sold my ‘76 to him) stuffed 12s in theirs. Depending on the speaker, the baffle, and any common circuit mods, a 12 may or may not sound “better” than a 10. Mine was also fitted with Mercury PT and OT, and my 7 string archtops sound great through its Eminence neo.

But there’ve been many posts here and elsewhere by people sorry they went to a 12. Stock Princetons don’t lack bottom, and 10s are a great match for most archtops in most amps or cabs. I bought my RE 10 new over a 12 because it had just the right combination of depth, control, and tone.

The Chocolate Prince is done well. But not all Princetons with 12s are this good.

[Hammertone]

That’s actually a point of contention among Princeton lovers. More than a few (sadly including Jazzkritter or whoever sold my ‘76 to him) stuffed 12s in theirs. Depending on the speaker, the baffle, and any common circuit mods, a 12 may or may not sound “better” than a 10....The Chocolate Prince is done well. But not all Princetons with 12s are this good.

My Brown Reverb and Jolson Reverb are!

[Gitfiddler]

@Nevershouldhavesoldit...That Lil Dawg 6G2 is a sweet little amp!

If I didn't own a Princeton Reverb II w/12" EVL I'd be very interested.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You should do a demo of it for jazz! Love to hear it.

My friend asked me to make a demo for him, since he’s not a jazz player. We have a gig this Sunday, so I’ll borrow it and record something next Monday or Tuesday with one of my carved Eastmans. You’re right, CC - a review isn’t complete without a sound bite or two. And I’d like to wring it out a bit to get a feel for what it can do.

Now that I think about it, I may have to do a comparison of the Choco Prince 12” with my SF Princeton 12”. The CP has a neo Creamback in it now, which should be a worthy competitor for my Princeton’s 12” neo. This is getting to be serious fun.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Thanks for your PM about buying this, PDeville. Unfortunately, we have a communications problem. When I try to respond to your PM, I get this alert: "PDeville has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her." If you've inactivated your incoming PMs, please enable them so I can provide you with the owner's name and email address. Otherwise, please PM me your email address and I'll forward it to my friend so the two of you can interact. As I said in post #1, the amp does not belong to me - it belongs to one of my bandmates.

[PDeville]

Hello, and sorry for the PM settings. I did change some settings, but it must not have been correct.
I'll try again. Thanks.
I see now in your original message, that the amp is your band mates.