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At an early age, I fell under the spell of Steve Cropper watching the Blues Brothers movie. From there, I went back and became familiar with all of his incredible work with Atlantic, and Stax/Volt records with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and MG's and many others. Through reading guitar magazines in the 1980's I first heard of this strange amp called a Fender Harvard. Fast forward to 2016, when I finally found and purchased a 1959 Harvard, and it became part of my small stable of favorite amps. In this episode, I give some history on both Cropper and the Harvard and demonstrate the unique sound that makes it, in my opinion, the best small tweed amp Fender ever made.
References:
Steve Cropper lesson book amzn.to/39u0Dd3
The best history of Stax - Soulsville - amzn.to/3aAEATd
My Spotify playlist highlighting Cropper tracks where he used the Harvard amp
open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ar...
Dave Hunter's Harvard amp article for Vintage Guitar Magazine:
www.vintageguitar.com/15163/f...
Gear for this video
1967 Telecaster -
D'Addario XL120+ 9.5-44 strings
1959 Fender Harvard amp
#askzac #stevecropper #telecaster
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My second amplifier was a Harvard. This was 58 years ago. We ran rhythm guitar, lead guitar and 1 vocal mike and the crowd went crazy. I love Leo Fender.
I fell in love with Otis Redding's version of "Nobody's fault but mine" the guitar playing blew me away! that was the 1st time I'd ever heard of Steve Cropper... I've been a fan ever since
Zac, I'm 73, and here's My Harvard story...still in High School around '61 or '62 I bought a New '59 Strat (it was an early one w/ the 8-hole single ply guard) from a little Mom & Pop store in Annapolis, MD. Along with it was the customary Tweed case AND a '59 Tweed Harvard...all three items w/ tax were $334.00.... I remember because that was a lot of grass-cutting back in the day. : ) I think the little Alnico Jensen bit the dust when I started playing w/ a Band, and I traded in on a Gibson Falcon w/ a 12" and Reverb and Tremolo.... I got over selling the Strat for $125 yrs. ago....but regret not keeping that little Harvard to this very day. : (
That’s the equivalent of $3,000 in today’s money. Very expensive items.
Thanks for the story sir. I wish you good health and many more guitar plucking days ahead, cheers!
Hello Mellecaster! ~ Very similar... I'm 72. And I got my first Fender Stratocaster in 64 and a new Deluxe Reverb Amp. Wow, I was in Hog Heaven. Got out of of the USN in 1970... sold the Strat and Amp and I've regretted it ever since! Oh Well.... things come and things go!
We never regret buying gear but Ohh, how we regret some of the things we sell. I've stopped selling gear and I don't care what anyone thinks. I'd rather have "that old xyz somewhere" than know that someone else has what I did. Do I seem a bit OCD or obsessive here? Well maybe I am but I just don't care anymore.
I was watching "Highway Patrol" on METV from the late 50's. There was a sign in a restaurant in the back round, Broiled Whitefish 65 cents. That will tell everyone how much $334 was back then.
The Vibrolux (5F11) is a Harvard with tremolo. My favorite amp. Built a kit in the form of a head and 2x10 cabinet from mojo tone!
That's exactly what I did.
... in addition to a 5e3 Tweed Deluxe head that I first built for the 2×10 cabinet.
I love your channel. It has become must listen material for me. The knowledge you are sharing with us all is priceless. Thanks so much.
I keep looking at your Harvard videos and love the intimate sound it has. I have to get one
The very first time I plugged into a tweed Fender Harvard I was astounded at how great it sounded. Never forgot that. I met Steve Cropper once in Paris and he was such a nice guy. When I was working with Jeff Healey we got invited to a private party and Steve Cropper was one of the artists who was asked to play that night. Jeff got up and jammed with Steve and it was a really great.
Jeff Henley never seems to get the full amount of praise that he so richly deserves. IMHO he was the best blues guitar player I had ever heard. My favorite song of his was “I think I love you too much”.
@@notbraindead7298 I would agree with you about Jeff's status in the guitar world. He's hardly a household name, but I can say that some of the best guitar players in the world jammed with Jeff and immediately saw what a ferocious player he was. He definitely had their respect.
@@coreymihailiuk5189 Thank you for the reply and kind words about Healey.
A gentleman & class act. Always friendly & professional. Just like anyone I’ve ever encountered associated with that Stax family
Great Cropper/ Harvard history lesson! What a beautiful poster that would make of them together! You Rock, thanks for sharing Zac.
Good one Zac, always enjoy your vids and you have a nice relaxed style....appreciate it..thanks bro'
Hi Zac, new subscriber here. I really love your channel and enjoy your detailed and historic knowledge on so many different subjects. I can tell you really love what you do. Keep up the good work sir.
Thanks for this. Best wishes to you and your family.
Hey Zac love this video!! I'm 57 and remember life.before the web and it is nice to have info at the press of a button but it feels like the adventure of having to find stuff is lost somehow. Your videos seem to be about the adventure the discovery of finding that which you will love for a lifetime thanks Zac be safe!!!
sounds absolutely killer when you played the swing stuff , restored my faith in the neck pickup of a telecaster
ZAC you are awesome man! I love sitting at work listening to you and your stories. I love all things Tele and in this crazy time in this world it's refreshing to see a nice person just talking about his love of music and things and not just taking selfies of yourself and how many Rolex watches you have or doing ridiculous things on camera. And Fred Flintstone I would take as a compliment! I love Fred!
Very entertaining video, I really enjoyed it. Some very interesting information about the lesser known Fender Harvard amp. Steve Cropper is one of the electric guitar greats, his brilliant licks and great tone contributed so much to many great recordings, he’s one of my all time favourite players.
My first taste of Steve Cropper came from my father's 8-track of The Mar-Keys 'Damifiknow' and the Stax records that followed after 'Green Onions' and 'Born Under A Bad Sign'. He's part of my childhood 70s top 3 Telecaster players along with Muddy Waters and Reggie Young (R.I.P. to both!). It's always a treat to hear some Tele talkin' Stax music; the way his rhythm chops and subtle licks always stood out without being flashy is what always drew me to the simplicity of his style no matter who he played with...great video and the directly sweet tone you get with the Harvard; besides with an amp like that, straight-no-chaser is the way to go.
Thanks for this Zac. Great sound from the Harvard and I love hearing/watching you shift between so many different styles and nail them all. Blues Brothers movie changed my musical life when it came out. I had been into Zeppelin AC/DC The Who and the Beatles, but seeing Cab Calloway, Aretha, James Brown, Ray Charles, Steve Cropper and so many others opened up a whole other side of the music (the black side, mostly) for my 12-13 year-old self. I watched that movie so many times I memorized all the dialog. And I went out in search of records by Sam and Dave, John Lee Hooker, Louis Jordan, Elmore James. Really just an amazing education in a two-hour movie. Later in life I got to meet and interview some of those folks, including Aretha, Sam Moore, Solomon Burke and Pinetop Perkins.
I loved my Fender Harvard...nice to hear ...stolen from me in 74...
Steve is one of the best,inspirational and so cool
Zac, thank you so much for doing an episode on legendary Steve Cropper. It's great for him to get some long over-due credit for being the musical giant that he is. You mention at one point that his playing was not especially advanced. Well, that may be true of his early recordings, when he was still a wet-behind-the-ears teenager first breaking into the music business - when he stuck to simple motifs, fills and rhythms - but his playing got more-sophisticated and subtle as his career (and the MGs) went along. I think that if you give his best mid- and late-career stuff at Stax-Volt a listen, you'll hear a mature player with a defined style, one suited not only to simple fills and grooves, but jazz-like numbers, extended instrumental breaks and solos, and ensemble work as great as any small jazz combo. All tinged with his unique mixture of blues, R&B, roots rock, jazz and country influences. Rhythm, lead or both at the same time - Steve has you covered.
If you haven't, check out the following Booker T. and the MGs records: "Sunday Sermon" (1969), "Soul Clap 69" - which features Steve on a wah-wah! (1969), "Carnaby Street" (1968), "Booker's Notion" (? 1968), which has Cropper playing bass in place of an absent Duck Dunn, and also several cuts from "Melting Pot," their last LP for Stax in 1971, including the title track, "Back Home," and "Chicken Pox," as well as "LA Jazz Song." Cropper and the group stretch out on the truly memorable numbers, and deliver the goods every single time. Don't forget to play it on your car stereo and turn it up - way up! Oh, and let's not forget "Time is Tight," either.
Steve Cropper's long and varied career as a session musician, solo artist, band member, producer, and A&R man all attest to the fact of his versatility and musicianship, across stylistic genres and periods of music. He's played with everyone from Levon Helm to Neil Young to Ray Charles and John Fogerty - and yet the demand for his services never seems to flag. Why? Because he always does what's right for the performer and the song. The consummate pro.
Getting back to the early days of Stax-Volt and the MGs, none of the guys in the group except Booker T. Jones himself - had much formal (conservatory/school) training. Jones spent weekday hours at Indiana University trying to finish his music degree, and crammed in as many sessions at Stax as he could (Isaac Hayes subbed for him a lot). Booker then taught the guys all about theory, arranging, and the other finer points they hadn't picked up on their own. Al, Duck and Steve had big ears, so they lapped it up.
The legendary record producer Jerry Wexler, when he first heard Booker T. and the MGs play and saw them in action at the McLemore Avenue studios, said that "they knocked my d*ck into the dirt," an R&B group as tight and intuitive as any jazz combo, but able to play without written scores using only "head arrangements" and their own chemistry as a group. If you can get past the raw language, Wexler's point is valid. Their approach was unique, maybe not unique to the South, but certainly to a big-city guy accustomed to working with charts and musicians who sight-read.
Time has only proven just how special Cropper and his band-mates really were. There have been a lot of attempts to recreate the Stax sound, but no one can nail it perfectly. Why? Because they're not Booker, not Steve, not Duck, and not Al Jackson, that's why.
I really enjoy learning all about the amps and gear, and you have a very nice way of teaching it. Subscribed:) cheers
Love Steve Cropper! That rig sounds great the texas swing sample on the neck PU sounded really good! Thanks
Another brilliant show Zac. Not aware of the Harvard and now added to my GAS! Thanks mate
Hi Zac! Thanks for the video clip... I grew up in South Texas too! San Antonio! I got my first Fender Stratocaster in 64 and a new Deluxe Reverb Amp. Left home in 66 and joined the U.S.Navy. Got out of of the USN in 1970... sold the Strat and Amp and I've regretted it ever since! Oh Well,.... things come and things go!
Great video - thanks!!!! I'll be adding this to my watch list to dissect all those tasty licks you played.
Sincerely - thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Wow....what a tone, Zak! Some of us are not so lucky to own that stuff now, although owned them back in the 60's! Thanks for the chat. Love your interviews also!
My pleasure!
Cropper was one of my favorites growing up, also. Green Onions was out about then, and I had to learn Cropper's solo, because my band played that song. We had a singer in the band who used to come out for a set and do all the Otis Redding, Brook Benton, Ben E. King stuff. Great memories.
Great vid man, really enjoyed it.
Cheers
Thx for BOTH Cropper & The Harvard. Been a semi pro keyboardist for 35+ yrs. Just starting out on guitar. I had already decided to listen to a lot of Cropper; because of his relaxed, yet totally rhythmic, style. As to the Harvard, I've got a lifetime of tweaking tube amps and did not know about this one. Gunna explore that circuit
Great video ! It brought back to my mind the famous sentences (in the "Blues Brothers" movie) :
- what kind of music do you play here ?
- we have both kinds, country AND western !
giant !
Thanks Zac! Absolutely love your channel!
Great job on the fender Harvard amp..Steve Cropper is a cool guitarist! Thank you Zac!
Is it only me that sees a blonde Tele and a tweed amp and goes all gooey at the knees! because of that i'd watch it regardless of the content, but heh this is Ask Zac so we get great content too! love it, keeps these coming really helps with the self isolation!
The Harvard amp came up for discussion on Steve Sailer’s blog along with the Princeton and the really rare Yale. They are of course all Ivy Lesgue colleges.
Man, I love fender amps, and the Harvard is one of my favorites. Thanks for this episode man and keep them coming
Also Zac, what about the album ‘Jammed Together’ with Cropper, Pops Staples and Albert King? That’s a great one.
Sweet music..... as a life-long Cropper fan, I really enjoyed this episode. I have worked out many “cropper-isms” myself, but now can see your fingers playing, I can check the ones I got right, or wrong. Now I have to find the right amp, probably a tone master but I will go through all your videos for clues. Thanks for all your videos, they are the real deal!
Love vintage Fenders myself . Thanks for the info on the Harvard . Great job 😀
You bet!
Thanks for sharing this.
I loved Steve Cropper's playing before I even knew it was him. Great video again. Keep it up and stay safe!
Loved what you said there cause when I started digging deep in to Stax, I realized how much music I’ve heard my whole life was shaped by what those MGs did every day. Guitarists all over the world on all kinds of different genres play Cropper licks, but I sometimes wonder if they even know where it came from. It just feels right & like you’ve always known it
Back in the 60s, we selected our amps mostly on how well they paired with the guitars we played. I had a 62 Strat and went into a music store to buy a Fender Deluxe, but after plugging my strat into that and several other Fender amps, I wound up buying a Vibrolux, which to my ears sounded better than the Deluxe. Since then I've owned a lot of Fender Amps .... very reliable and predictable .... and they didn't randomly go up in flames like the Marshalls of the day.
Just scored a very clean and original ‘59 Harvard today! Your video is what started my search for this great amp. Sounds amazing! 😎👊🏻
Killer amps
Would love to see the Blues Brothers with the recorded commercials !
Steve Cropper is one of my all time favorites Thanks.
I used to go to Blues Jams between 2005 through 2010. This band that was running this Jam provided these Harvard amps.They had good sound quality and your guitar was meant to be heard. Even harmonica players liked them too.
I'm new (ish) to your channel, Zac but I'm already a fan. Coming from Australia we didn't get a lot of the input that even someone with a sacred music influence growing up might have had. I'm getting on now (54) but was fortunate to the lessons when young so when I look up something obscure (to me) it doesn't take too long to fall under the fingers. Loved your tip on singing your solos to get out of our muscle memory/shapes that often come when needed but aren't always musical. All the best from the Antipodes and I look forward to more of your Zac isms that are expanding my musical vocabulary and repertoire. Mark.
Thank you so much, Mark
I’m a Blues Brothers fan too! Such a fun movie and the music!!!
Oh yeh!And seeing Carrie Fisher jump out of a Grand Prix decked out in leather and firing a LAWS rocket is forever imprinted on my brain.
Very informative, thanks Zac!!
Don't know how you're recording this amp but it sounds glorious. Really gives a proper sample of what it can do as opposed to a lot of other amp demos I've seen/heard. Thanks!
Wow, thanks! Just using my iPhone
Zac, I think the tweed princetons had basically the same power as the champ, 4.5 to 5 watts. You did get a tone control with the tweed princeton and it was in the larger harvard sized cabinet with an 8" speaker like the champ by the late 1950s and the 5f2-a circuit. Great job with the videos. Keep up the good work.
I had loved the Stax/Volt catalog since the '60s, when I was 13 and a local DJ made a point of paying homage to Memphis on a daily basis. I hadn't realized just how much Steve Cropper had shaped my sensibilities about guitar across my life until I was fortunate enough to see Steve, Duck, and Booker T (with Anton Fig on drums) play at the Ottawa Bluesfest some 15 or so years ago. As I stood in the rain, again and again, as Steve took a solo, I found myself thinking "Man, that's EXACTLY the note I would aim for right there!". Steve was in my head, if not entirely in my hands. I realized I had spent a big part of my guitar life trying very hard to be Steve Cropper whenever the circumstances allowed. Concise riffs that complement the mood of the song without overstating their case or overstepping their boundaries. Though not an R&B player, Danny Kortchmar also has a similar style.
@ Mark Hammer: I saw that same tour, which was to support "Sarasota Sunset," if I remember. Seeing Booker and the guys was one of the highlights of my musical life. Although it would have been even greater if Al Jackson, Jr.was there, Anton did a great job at the drum-set. Steve immediately appealed to me when I started getting into the sounds of classic soul and R&B as a teenager. Cropper was one of the guys who made me just have to go out and buy a vintage reissue Tele and Fender Deluxe Reverb and learn how to play it. Danny Kortchmar has stated in interviews that Cropper influenced him. Pete Townsend of the Who was a Cropper disciple as a young player, and also - surprisingly enough - Elliott Easton of the Cars. Many others, too numerous to list. A final story illustrates just how big of a mark Steve and his fellow MGs made on the music world. When the Beatles came to America in 1964, pretty much the first American musicians they wanted to meet were Booker T. and the MGs.
Hi Zac, new subscriber here. Love you channel along with five watt world. Thanks for all your brilliant information.
Instructor and friend Steve Sage (RIP) told me about meeting Cropper when he was at GIT. He had asked Cropper how he had written such great tunes. Cropper looked at him and said "Just follow the dots." Perfect.
FYI I just watched a Cropper interview where he said he always recorded in the middle position with the volume and tones knobs wide open. Love the info!
th-cam.com/video/s1BgpHwelnU/w-d-xo.html about 1:30
Love the video Zac. How about an episode about Pops Staples?
Your church upbringing sounds so much like mine. I also grew up in an AOG church and as my parents had a "no secular music" rule, some of my first CD's were instrumentals and soundtracks. But when I started getting into playing music, I never paid attention to lyrics, it's always been about the music. I never thought of it until just now, but it's probably because of the music I listened to growing up.
Great amp. I owned a big-box 5G9 many years ago. The Harvard is what you hear on most of the very early Booker T./Stax backing band stuff. By 1965, Cropper had moved on to a BF Super Reverb. You can really hear the difference in his tone between something like, "Green Onions" and something like " Ain't That A Lot of Love", by Sam & Dave, recorded five years or so later. Check it out.
...FYI Zack ....first of all , again really liking your videos .....anyway about 15 years ago I met and ate dinner with Mr Steve Cropper at a celebrity golf tournament....and being the gear geek that I was ...and still am ...I asked him what his favorite amp was ...he answered ( and I’m paraphrasing) ....” well do you remember Sunn amps ? ...well Peavey doesn’t like it because they make my guitars...buts it’s a Sunn amp mounted in a Fender chassis ...it has a midrange clarity that no other amp
, has ...that’s my ground zero amp “ ...we talked for a while ...was a great evening .... cheers from Mark on my girls iPad 👍...ps ...this is not to discount this video ....we all know Cropper and the rest of us have played dozens of amps ....thx again
Cropper is a legend.
Wow we grew up the same way. That was also my favorite movie! It was how I found so much great music.
So cool!
I had a similar upbringing, but I'd go to my friends house and listen to and play secular music. My mom, God bless her made a compromise. As long as I played in church on Sunday I could join a band.
I too grew up on Blues Brothers on the Superstation! TBS ain't what it used to be.
Great video Zac! Outstanding as always. Love Steve Cropper
Me too!
I really appreciate your videos and your kind and gentle personality and delivery. Really disappointed to hear there are some ill-spirited and empty souled individuals who would rather spend their time tearing down the generosity you share in your knowledge, history, lessons, and personal experiences. Something I’m quite sure you have in spades over the online cowards. I feel it necessary to mention that I am not religious, so this isn’t coming from any angle other than genuine human kindness. By the sound of it, it sounds like you have the confidence and pride to not let it bother you, but I’d just like to add my name to the list in your appreciation for your excellent work! Thanks Zac!
Hey Zac.... I'm binge watching and soaking up your videos....great stuff... enjoying all of it. Because you're a Fender guy, I'll bounce this story off you with hopes you can help me ID this guitar. I was lucky to find a used Tele thin-line in the mid/late 1970's in Calgary that I bought for $350 (going price for a decent used Tele at that time). I don't recall if it was made in U.S.A. or Japan. After a few years sitting around my house, I let it slip out of my grasp in 1981 at a music store in Red Deer, Alberta. I traded it straight across for a 5-string banjo because I was big into bluegrass. I have a photo but I can't attach it to this comment so I'll try to describe the guitar because I haven't seen a similar one since: It's a blond thin line, maple neck and fingerboard, two f-holes. It has the Tele single-coil pick-ups (I point that out because I've seen thin lines with two Humbuckers and with one Humbucker on the neck and one single coil on the bridge). The pickguard was kind of futuristic white and silver reflective checkerboard - I thought it looked Disco and I had plans to replace it. Oh, it had a factory installed Bigsby tremolo, there was no string-through-body feature. Needless to say I wish I had kept that guitar - youth is wasted on the young eh? - Glen Parker, Nova Scotia, Canada
Appreciate the videos Zac!! Great one. Love the Colonel!
You preaching to the choir I fricking love Steve Cropper!!
Los Hermanos Azules - I was in Mexico when the Blues Brothers movie came out. And first saw it in spanish overdub and English subtitles.
I own a Fender Deluxe ,made in 1953 ,an amazing amp what a great sound ,I feel blessed.
Very nice!
I have an LP with Cropper, Albert king, and Pops Staples called 'Jammed Together'. Cropper actually sings on it, a song at the tail end of the album called 'Water'. It's really good.
Cropper is one of the coolest cats ever for sure!!! That Blues Brothers movie had a monumental effect on a musical level for untold numbers. Just think of the references and it's astounding!!! I'd have to watch the movie to be all inclusive but off the top of my head you've got Rowdy Yates's Rawhide, Tammy Whynetts Stand by your man, Boogie Chillin is played after the country Bob gig, Sam and Dave are playing on 8 track when the Bros get pulled over by the "rollers", Shake your moneymaker by Elmore James is playing in the church basement when Can Calloway is talking to the boys , Magic Sam is mentioned at the intro to Sweet Home Chicago, Cab, Aretha, The Godfather, John Lee Hooker, Brother Ray, Murph and the Magictones. That movie as a 15-16 year old, for me was a good mine. I'd never really thought about it until now, but it may be, in a musical sense, the most important movie I've ever watched! God that scene with "The Penguin" was funny!!! "Two Orange whips". One final note Jimmy Vaughan nails Cropper on the Fabulous Thunderbird's "Sofa circuit".
Cool stuff Zac thanks for your videos really love guitar stuff stay safe.....
You too!
You're a great teacher thanks Zac
My pleasure!
Great amp Zac, thanks for sharing. I was going to comment you may need a tweed tele and beret to make the set thinking they didn't exist, but they do, lol! Stay well 👍
Another great one. Thanks.
had a nice tweed harvard for a few years back in the 80s. very cool amp,
Great Harvard video. I have a 57 that I bought from the second owner who bought it used when he bought his new guitar in 1959. It shared a closet with a mint 1959 Les Paul Standard for 40 years. Got the Harvard for $400
A steal!
Heard about your channel . I must say your the most laid back guitar player I've ever seen . Your history in Country music is phenomenal as well as you're playing..You got a new Sub. Thanks for the Cropper video he's one of my favorites too.I had a guitar teacher back in 60s, Johnny Burnette . He had a record contract he had to leave after 6 mos. So that was the end of that. And get this he wanted me to go with him.I was only 16 , and I don't think Mom or Dad wanted any part of that. No Honky Tonk tour's for me . Hahaha.🎸
Johnny Burnett taught you guitar? Of the Rock-N-Roll trio?
@@AskZac Yes sir,he was teaching at a place in Azusa Ca.named Woody and Lena's music store. Can't remember their last name but they were a Country band in the 50s and 60s.Think they had an album or two.But when JB was in town he would teach. I was around 14 or fifteen at the time.Im 67 now so that gives you a time frame.I really liked to noodle,and he saw that so most of my teaching was current songs or Chet,really liked Mr.Atkins.Back when I was 6 or so we lived down the street from. Spade Cooley.Was watching the cops when his girlfriend and him got into a big fight.Guess he was a heavy drinker.Got plenty of more stories but that would take forever.✌
@@Wildman9 You are blessed with some amazing stories. Thank you for sharing
@@AskZac As you are Sir,I'm sure we could sit down and talk for hours about our travels with our guitars.lol.Thanks for all you do .And love your interviews too.
Must have been "Then you're really up sh*t creek!" LOL! I saw that movie for the first time in a Chicago movie theatre the year it came out...
Zac this is everything I could have asked for on a Freaky Friday. In other news, I think we were separated at birth.
Love Steve Cropper!
BTW one of my fondest memories I have is the time I actually met the man. True gentleman, American treasure.
I really appreciate your honest assessment of a Princeton vs DR and how they sound similar. I recently acquired a 10 year old DRRI and while everyone I asked said I need to have both the DRRI and the PRRI (can't afford the real ones :D ) I felt like they were more similar than different, so I decided to sell the PRRI and keep the DRRI.
Hmmm...after your first 14 second intro ...I’m singing..” Mister sandman send me a dream “ That definetly clears the room
out ..so then I grab a brewski ..sit back ..and enjoy your great videos 👍😎🎸
Fantastic..thank you Zac!
Great Video...Ya, Steve is amazing but I might be partial lol. I was raised and played guitar in pentecostal church as well where my dad was the pastor. Ive had a great musical career. Keep up the good work Brother!
Cropper
Cool stuff, I like it. Thanks Zac
Thanks again Zac, another inspiring and informative video. After watching I immediately downloaded Booker T & The MGs greatest hits and Born On A Bad Sign on Amazon. Yes, I am old fashioned and pay for music. Steve's solo on Something is amazing on so many levels. I have been flirting with a 5F11 kit, no one seems to make a 5F10 kit. No more flirting, I am committing :)
Perfect!
Thanks for this. I built a Harvard just from the published circuit a few years ago and never knew how it was "supposed to sound." I'm quite happy with it. Right now I'm in the middle of building a single channel Blackface Deluxe.
E Biddy does the 5f10 you built end up sounding like a vintage Harvard, or Ivy League?
@@artisanmetalcraft I don't really know. I've never played either. It doesn't sound like any other amp that I've ever played, but it does sound great and very similar to clips that I've heard of Harvards. I've never played a stock Telecaster through it so I can't compare to what Zac's sounds like. Usually it gets the Strat.
I still remember seeing Matt Guitar Murphy in this little blues club we had in Detroit called the Soup Kitchen. Always had to wash the clothes the next day because of the heavy smoking in this club and how small it was. So many good acts passed through this place.
I was crushed when the The Soup Kitchen closed. Great music & great soup.
Nice. I’m jealous of that amp. Been listening to Steve Cropper’s playing since I was a kid. My mom introduced me to soul music.
Cool!
I really relate to you story about not being allowed to listen to secular music because I went through the same thing. Really cool vid!
I would love to hear your Dano Blackguard through this amp, I imagine that's also a killer pairing (along with the '67 in the thumbnail). Cheers Zac
Hopefully soon!
Here, Here!
#meetoo
Yes! We would love to hear any guitar you have through the Harvard, & maybe a comparison to the Victoria Ivy League if you can get your hands on one.
Aaron Paul
The Victoria Ivy League is an amazing amp. I own the version with the 12 inch speaker. I really wanted the version with the V Front with two 10s, but I bought mine used at such a great price I couldn’t pass it up. It’s my favorite amp that I have ever owned.
I’ve never had the opportunity to play through a Harvard, but I hope to own one someday.
charles bolton I have a Victoria Ivy League with 1x10”, I always wondered if I should have ordered a 12” option.
Hey Zac. This was a great diversion today, didn't know much at all about the Harvard amp. I use a Fender Princeton Reverb and like it a lot both with a Strat and also a Gibson. Not nice of that guy who says you pick your nose, I've seen you rub it occasionally but hell, we all do that. Keep up the good work and thanks...
Gibsons through a Fender are amazing, that’s my go-to.
Ace Frehley used the Harvard as his primary amp on his first solo record during the KISS years and in a lot of KISS albums.
I had heard that, but did not have back-up for it. Do you have a link to an interview where he states that?
@@AskZac www.guitarplayer.com/players/checking-in-with-ace-frehley Scroll down to where he talks about the solo record.
@@gdasilva Thanks!!! I also use a lot of old Fender amps, such as a Harvard and a Princeton. Sometimes, I might use a little boost with them. I have an old Electro-Harmonix LPB- 1 booster from the Kiss days, and that still does the trick. I think on my first solo album, I used an LPB-1 through a Fender Harvard- one 10" speaker with an old Les Paul. That’s how I did a lot of the solos.
It’s hard to watch this episode because I had a 59 Harvard, and stupidly sold it a couple years ago. I feeling nauseous!!! I miss it.
Booker T made a B3 disciple out of me!! As much as I love guitar, I still don't think a band is complete without a B3. Can't wait for the Spotify playlist!! Thanks!
Just look in the description. It is there
I agree totally.
You’re videos are so good !!!
Thank you so much!!
This is my next amp. Always wanted one...because of Cropper. Love that tone he had. It'll be a clone, but I really want that amp. Nice compliment to my 5F1, 5E3 clones and my PRRI.
Great video Zac...I just picked up a Victoria Chicago-lux, (Vibrolux clone), cant recommend it enough for Harvard tones!
Check out the ive league - it is a Harvard - damn I want one
Great vid. Probably said this was Randy Rhoads favorite amp.
hope it was found (hell hounds on their trail if not ;(
Blues Brothers is the greatest movie ever made; and I had the same experience with my kids when I bought the DVD a few years back😂🤣😅
Btw, I HIGHLY recommend you gig (or at least jam at home) with all three of your amps together; the 2 Deluxes in stereo (maybe fed by a stereo delay?) and that Harvard clean right up the middle.
Zac just discovered your channel, like everyone I have a telecaster story from my childhood in the UK, my father played and at 14 yrs old I was his roadie on non school nights, Dad played mostly American music and started in the late 50’s before I was born, he was struggling to find the “right” guitar when one day we were walking past a music shop near Portsmouth in Hampshire, as we passed I looked in the window and spied a White Tele, same color as yours, I pointed it out to my Dad, he just stared at it without saying anything for an age, he said wait here, I did as I was told as usual, 20 mins later he comes back out, I said “well, are you getting it” naaa he replies it’s tooo much money, I was disappointed for him, (I played a huge bodied EKO 12 string as a 6 that I got cheap) several weeks passed, then I got the usual call to come roadie one weekend, I always said yes, we travelled all over on weekend nights, this would have been circa 1973-74, when we unloaded at the gig I spied a new black square guitar case, dad wouldn’t let me carry it at first, I asked him what was in it, he just looked at me and smiled, “ that tele” my mouth dropped open, he said “ yeah I worked out a deal with the bloke, going to take a lot of gigs to pay for it” my memory is that it was either used or NOS, every time I opened that case it took my breath away, I will email you a picture of my father playing it, perhaps with your in depth knowledge you will be able to date the guitar somewhat, it was antique white is what I call it, rosewood fingerboard, 3 bridge saddle I think in the picture, if you have time to reply I would welcome any information as I would like to find one like it if that’s possible, perhaps a re-issue might work, I’m finding that the color combo with rosewood is uncommon. Also for my own interest I have a suggestion for a video, what would be a modern fender amp equivalent to that Harvard to get similar tonal capabilities.. small and light lol...
Closest amp would be a new Pro Jr
Love the channel and great episode. Have you ever tried the Effectrode Fire Bottle pedal? Its supposed to be based on the Harvard preamp.
Not yet!