October 2009 \ Vintage & Upkeep \ Vintage Vault \ 1959 Fender Harvard with 1962 Fender Esquire

1959 Fender Harvard with 1962 Fender Esquire

Laun Braithwaite and Tim Mullally

The magical duo of the sixties: a Fender Esqure and Harvard amp.
Premier Guitar October 2009

As important and innovative as Fender guitars were in the 1950s, Fender amps were the industry standard, renowned for their tone, durability, and easy maintenance. At Fender, the amplifier was considered as important to the overall sound as the guitar. The right electric guitar needed to be matched to the right amplifier before music could be made.

If the legendary recordings made at the Memphis Stax-Volt studio in the 1960s are any kind of evidence, the perfect mate for a Fender Esquire (or Telecaster) would be a Fender Harvard Amp. Steve Cropper, session guitarist and member of Booker T. and the MGs, used this combination on nearly every Stax hit of the 1960s. The sounds ranged from mellow (Otis Redding’s “I’ve been Loving You too Long”), to biting (The MGs’ “Green Onions”), to distorted (The MGs’ “Hip Hug Her”).

Fender introduced the 10-watt Harvard in 1955 to fill the space between the 5-watt Princeton and the 15-watt Deluxe. It had one 10” speaker (sometimes an 8” was used) driven by two 6V6 power tubes. It had one tone control and one volume control. The Harvard was discontinued in 1961.


Detailed information on Fender Amps can be found in Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps by Tom Wheeler and Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years by John Teagle and John Sprung. The Tele/ Harvard combination can be heard on The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959–1968 CD box set.

Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Rogers’ Collection is tended to by Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally Photos and words by Tim Mullally Dave’s Collection is on display at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-7704
davesguitar.com

     

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Comments

 (6 comments) display by
UsernameComment
justyouandmy guit
on 02/17/2013 		In an article (vintageguitar.com) Steve says : "My first guitar, on “Green Onions,” was an Esquire – had to be early-’50s. I sanded it down and painted it purple in my parents’ garage at home. I don’t know what year that white Tele was – probably a ’62 or ’63. I bought it new. I had it and a good used one, because when I wrote with Otis, he always tuned to a chord. [...] Otis was a one-fingered guitar player. So the chord changes in almost all of the songs Otis wrote, there are no minors – because he didn’t know how to make that form. So I didn’t want to be retuning on sessions all the time, so I kept my second Telecaster tuned like Otis."
justyouandmy guit
on 02/17/2013 		In an article (vintageguitar.com) Steve says : "My first guitar, on “Green Onions,” was an Esquire – had to be early-’50s. I sanded it down and painted it purple in my parents’ garage at home. I don’t know what year that white Tele was – probably a ’62 or ’63. I bought it new. I had it and a good used one, because when I wrote with Otis, he always tuned to a chord. [...] Otis was a one-fingered guitar player. So the chord changes in almost all of the songs Otis wrote, there are no minors – because he didn’t know how to make that form. So I didn’t want to be retuning on sessions all the time, so I kept my second Telecaster tuned like Otis.
Bob Hewitt
on 05/15/2012 		I filmed and interviewed Steve Cropper for 'Leo Fender's Telecaster - The Original Twang' and in that very interview he is holding my personal blonde Esquire (because he uses a Peavey nowadays).
He most definately did use a Fender Esquire and a Harvard amp - and later on used Telecasters during the early period with Stax / Booker T and Otis.
Stu
on 05/10/2010 		According to Steve Cropper, most of the EARLY recordings were done with an Esquire. (This can be verified from more than one source.) He did use the Telecaster too as can be seen in many photographs. The critical issue when deciphering Esquire or Telecaster, is what time-frame is considered to be early, and when did S.C. first recall using a Telecaster in the studio. The "famous" Telecaster he is often pictured with is said to a be from 1963, so this could very well signify the post-early period. Groovey Records: I would like to know why you are so certain that Steve Cropper never played an Esquire in the studio with Booker T and the MGs. For the record, I have--as have others--seen many a photograph of him sporting an Esquire.
Bill Miller
on 12/27/2009 		I have read in print in various interviews with Steve Cropper that "Green Onions" was recorded with a Harvard amp and an Esquire. I have also read in a different interview that during his years at Stax he had two Teles with rosewood fretboards. And that he prefered rosewood fretboards over maple necks. One can only presume that his Esquire had a rosewood fretboard and that it's finish was either Olympic White or white blonde as in the above photo. I have also read that his prefered stage amp at this time was a blackface Super Reverb.
Groovey Records
on 10/17/2009 		Due to some unpleasant circumstances I recently had to sell my beloved 59 Harvard. It had the growl or the sweetness depending on your touch. I seldom needed to play it at a higher volume then 7 tone around 8. That was the sweet spot. I guess the lack of response to your article could be attributed to it really lacking in depth and accuracy. Steve Cropper played a Tele on those studio recordings period, not an Esquire. Perhaps you could have pointed out the major differences between the Harvard and the 5E3 Deluxe (6AT6 Input tube Vs.12AY7 and Tone Stack Wiring) or even mentioned that there were a few manufactured with 8" speakers. I do believe there are diagrams of the Stax Studio A drawn by Cropper that include the word Harvard All in all a Holy Grail Amp that has the Sound of Grits and Butter!



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