Cropper performing at a "Guitar Greats" concert at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on November 3, 1984.
Ebet Roberts
On December 3, 2025, the night before we heard the news of Steve Cropper’s passing, my wife and I were jamming to a simple loop. Distracted, at one point I strayed into a noodle that wasn’t doing my wife or the song any favors. Then a voice spoke loudly in my head: “Booker T. and the M.G.’s, you idiot! Cropper! Now!” In a shot I was off the noodle bus and back on track.
That voice, it seems, sat at the shoulder of many guitarists. Such was the reach and influence of a musician that could be hookmeister, bedrock, silk, switchblade, or the lonely cry at the root of a heartbreaking melody. Cropper’s signature, however, was his economy and restraint—much of which was reinforced by his keen producer’s ear. Keith Richards, one of the kings of rhythm and timing, was once asked what he thought of Cropper. Richards, who can spiel when moved, was reduced to two words: “Perfect, man.” And truly, it’s hard to find a moment in Cropper’s body of work as rhythm guitarist, lead ace, and producer that isn’t, by some measure, impeccable.
Steve Cropper was born on October 21, 1941, in rural Dora, MO. But before he was 10, his family moved to Memphis. Like any open-minded, musically inclined individual with access to a radio in that time and place, Cropper found a feast for the ears in Memphis in the 1950s—blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, country, and the rockabilly percolations bubbling up from Sun Records.
Cropper was playing guitar by the time he was 14. And his influences around that time tell much about the sum that would become the Cropper style. From jazz giant Tal Farlow he learned how to dance around a melody with precision. From Chet Atkins, he took a sense for how chord melody and the twang and pop of an electric guitar could work together. Chuck Berry opened his ears to the power of relentless, uptempo, driving rhythm. And Jimmy Reed taught him the ways of deriving swing from skeletal, haunting simplicity.
By the time he was 20, Cropper had joined forces, along with future Booker T. and the M.G.’s bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, in an instrumental band that evolved into the Mar-Keys, which hit number 3 with “Last Night,” a release on Memphis-based Satellite Records. Within a few years, Satellite became Stax, and on the strength of the Carla Thomas single “Cause I Love You,” entered a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. Stax’s agreement with Atlantic meant product and hits had to keep coming. And that effort was facilitated by Stax’s in-house band, which featured Cropper, drummer Al Jackson Jr., and bassist Lewis Steinberg. That trio, with organist Booker T. Jones, further boosted Stax’s fortune and profile, when an impromptu jam intended as a B-side became “Green Onions”
Though “Green Onions” showcases the awesome collective strength of Booker T. and the M.G.’s as a mighty groove machine, Cropper’s contributions to the track included a lock-step doubling of Lewis Steinberg’s bass, a horn section-style stab on the one, and a lead that is the essence of economy and attitude, reflecting Ike Turner or Johnny Guitar Watson’s fiery r&b fretwork. Cropper, in fact, provided much of the tune’s dynamics. The song may have legitimized Stax. But it also cemented Booker T. and the M.G.’s reputation as a band’s band, revered by surf and garage bands on the West Coast, soul and r&b artists working in the South and on the East Coast, and perhaps most notably, the bands that would soon make up the British Invasion.
Had the M.G.’s left behind “Green Onions” alone, they would have been legendary. But the band, and Cropper, in particular, would go on to make Stax one of the most vital and important labels of the 1960s, and he would lend a hand in nourishing the careers of some of some of soul music’s most titanic figures.
Cropper ultimately became the front-line producer at Stax and their subsidiary Volt. And his production style mirrored his approach to guitar. It was lean, hard-hitting, dripping with groove, but also spacious enough to make room for the awesome voices that passed through Stax’s Memphis studios. Cropper’s production was so powerful and full of sinewy punch that it practically tormented British artists who struggled to find Stax’s potency in their own studios. At one point the Beatles were slated to work with Cropper on the LP that eventually became Revolver. That didn’t pan out, but Cropper’s production, recording, and performing prowess would still touch millions of people through hits from Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, and, most monumentally, Otis Redding, who co-authored “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” with Cropper (who also adorns the yearning track with pearls of subtle guitar shading that virtually define the instrument’s role in soul balladry).
Cropper didn’t stop working after Stax’s hits dried up. He continued to produce records and play sessions, and reached millions more playing himself in the Blues Brothers film. He toured—once again with the M.G.’s—backing Neil Young at the height of Young’s volcanic reawakening in the 1990s. Cropper was, generally speaking, a quiet, gentlemanly guy, quite happy to deliver the goods in relative anonymity as sparks flew around him—qualities evident in essential performance films like Shake! Otis Live at Monterey and footage from the Stax tour of Europe in 1967. And improbably, perhaps, in light of his reserve, Cropper’s music and his impeccable touch as a guitarist and producer is everywhere where people listen. His legacy and influence are matched by few.
Cropper performing at a "Guitar Greats" concert at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on November 3, 1984.
Ebet Roberts
On December 3, 2025, the night before we heard the news of Steve Cropper’s passing, my wife and I were jamming to a simple loop. Distracted, at one point I strayed into a noodle that wasn’t doing my wife or the song any favors. Then a voice spoke loudly in my head: “Booker T. and the M.G.’s, you idiot! Cropper! Now!” In a shot I was off the noodle bus and back on track.
That voice, it seems, sat at the shoulder of many guitarists. Such was the reach and influence of a musician that could be hookmeister, bedrock, silk, switchblade, or the lonely cry at the root of a heartbreaking melody. Cropper’s signature, however, was his economy and restraint—much of which was reinforced by his keen producer’s ear. Keith Richards, one of the kings of rhythm and timing, was once asked what he thought of Cropper. Richards, who can spiel when moved, was reduced to two words: “Perfect, man.” And truly, it’s hard to find a moment in Cropper’s body of work as rhythm guitarist, lead ace, and producer that isn’t, by some measure, impeccable.
Steve Cropper was born on October 21, 1941, in rural Dora, MO. But before he was 10, his family moved to Memphis. Like any open-minded, musically inclined individual with access to a radio in that time and place, Cropper found a feast for the ears in Memphis in the 1950s—blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, country, and the rockabilly percolations bubbling up from Sun Records.
Cropper was playing guitar by the time he was 14. And his influences around that time tell much about the sum that would become the Cropper style. From jazz giant Tal Farlow he learned how to dance around a melody with precision. From Chet Atkins, he took a sense for how chord melody and the twang and pop of an electric guitar could work together. Chuck Berry opened his ears to the power of relentless, uptempo, driving rhythm. And Jimmy Reed taught him the ways of deriving swing from skeletal, haunting simplicity.
By the time he was 20, Cropper had joined forces, along with future Booker T. and the M.G.’s bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, in an instrumental band that evolved into the Mar-Keys, which hit number 3 with “Last Night,” a release on Memphis-based Satellite Records. Within a few years, Satellite became Stax, and on the strength of the Carla Thomas single “Cause I Love You,” entered a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. Stax’s agreement with Atlantic meant product and hits had to keep coming. And that effort was facilitated by Stax’s in-house band, which featured Cropper, drummer Al Jackson Jr., and bassist Lewis Steinberg. That trio, with organist Booker T. Jones, further boosted Stax’s fortune and profile, when an impromptu jam intended as a B-side became “Green Onions”
Though “Green Onions” showcases the awesome collective strength of Booker T. and the M.G.’s as a mighty groove machine, Cropper’s contributions to the track included a lock-step doubling of Lewis Steinberg’s bass, a horn section-style stab on the one, and a lead that is the essence of economy and attitude, reflecting Ike Turner or Johnny Guitar Watson’s fiery r&b fretwork. Cropper, in fact, provided much of the tune’s dynamics. The song may have legitimized Stax. But it also cemented Booker T. and the M.G.’s reputation as a band’s band, revered by surf and garage bands on the West Coast, soul and r&b artists working in the South and on the East Coast, and perhaps most notably, the bands that would soon make up the British Invasion.
Had the M.G.’s left behind “Green Onions” alone, they would have been legendary. But the band, and Cropper, in particular, would go on to make Stax one of the most vital and important labels of the 1960s, and he would lend a hand in nourishing the careers of some of some of soul music’s most titanic figures.
Cropper ultimately became the front-line producer at Stax and their subsidiary Volt. And his production style mirrored his approach to guitar. It was lean, hard-hitting, dripping with groove, but also spacious enough to make room for the awesome voices that passed through Stax’s Memphis studios. Cropper’s production was so powerful and full of sinewy punch that it practically tormented British artists who struggled to find Stax’s potency in their own studios. At one point the Beatles were slated to work with Cropper on the LP that eventually became Revolver. That didn’t pan out, but Cropper’s production, recording, and performing prowess would still touch millions of people through hits from Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, and, most monumentally, Otis Redding, who co-authored “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” with Cropper (who also adorns the yearning track with pearls of subtle guitar shading that virtually define the instrument’s role in soul balladry).
Cropper didn’t stop working after Stax’s hits dried up. He continued to produce records and play sessions, and reached millions more playing himself in the Blues Brothers film. He toured—once again with the M.G.’s—backing Neil Young at the height of Young’s volcanic reawakening in the 1990s. Cropper was, generally speaking, a quiet, gentlemanly guy, quite happy to deliver the goods in relative anonymity as sparks flew around him—qualities evident in essential performance films like Shake! Otis Live at Monterey and footage from the Stax tour of Europe in 1967. And improbably, perhaps, in light of his reserve, Cropper’s music and his impeccable touch as a guitarist and producer is everywhere where people listen. His legacy and influence are matched by few.
MONO (monocreators.com), the world’s leading design-driven brand for the modern musician, introduces the Studio and Stage Instrument Cables, the latest addition to its growing PFX Series. The PFX Series, known for its world-renowned pedalboards and power supplies trusted by artists like Mateus Asato, Yvette Young, and Faye Webster, now expands into instrument cables with the same commitment to clarity, durability, and performance. Designed to elevate musicians’ lives through thoughtful design, these new cables deliver studio-grade fidelity, innovative connector options, and rugged, handbuilt-in-Japan quality for every stage.
The new PFX Instrument Cables are crafted to capture every sonic detail. The Studio Instrument Cable is built around 150 strands of 0.08 mm oxygen‑free copper in the core conductor, paired with precision insulation to ensure your tone remains crystal clear and free from interference or coloration. For live performance, the Stage Instrument Cable combines a high‑purity oxygen‑free copper core with a braided shield and flexible outer jacket, minimizing signal loss and offering rugged reliability in demanding environments.
The new cables come equipped with versatile connector configurations designed to accommodate any playing environment—from home studios to festival stages. The connectors’ lineup include:
The Standard Connector features a robust brass build with a compact short-shaft design, making it ideal for tight pedalboard layouts or cramped jack placements.
The 180° Connector flexes between angled and straight orientations, offering flexible routing options and reduced strain on the cable and jack—perfect for hybrid or frequently adjusted setups.
The Silent Connector includes an intelligent auto-mute function that cuts the signal the moment it’s unplugged, eliminating unwanted pops and hum for seamless instrument changes during a live set or studio session.
Prices start from US $99 (US MAP). The new Studio and Stage Instrument Cables are available now at monocreators.com and through select authorized dealers worldwide.
In shape and sound, the Chleo Limited Edition is a very different PRS. It is, in part, a product of the vision of Herman Li, who is one half of the virtuoso lead guitar team behind DragonForce. With a total production of just 200 instruments, and a price tag just below $7,000 (and currently fetching upward of $12,500 on Reverb) the original Maryland-built version remains well out of reach for many of Li’s core fans (not to mention some wealthy landowners).
PRS Chleo SE Herman Li Signature Guitar Demo | First Look
Someone apparently heard the clamor for a more accessibly priced version, though. Enter the PRS SE Chleo. It features the same contoured, maple-topped mahogany body, super-thin neck with 20" fretboard radius, and trifecta of Fishman Fluence single- and double-coil pickups as the more expensive version. It even features Li’s preferred “Eclipse Dragon” fret inlays—a major departure from PRS practice.
All this still comes at a cost. While more affordable than the Limited Edition model, the SE Chleo is priced just under $2,000, which isn’t exactly modest. That raised some eyebrows in the guitar community. After all, the excellent PRS SE DGT David Grissom is around $700 new. The sought-after SE Silver Sky is usually around the high $600 mark. Even the SE Mark Holcomb Signature, the SE Mark Tremonti, and the classic SE Custom 24 Floyd are less than a grand.
Given that the SE Chleo’s materials and build-quality seem on par with those less expensive guitars, what exactly tilts this ostensibly metal-centric SE toward the price range of a U.S.-made PRS Silver Sky or Mark Lettieri Signature Fiore?
Dragon's Teeth
SE Chleo is as well-made and designed as any of the SE class, which is to say, it is very well built. But the SE Chleo also boasts a carbon-fiber reinforced bolt-on maple neck and a custom-contoured maple-topped mahogany body, with an artfully scooped lower cutaway offering unfettered access past the neck’s top 24th fret. The super-flat fretboard radius, smooth ebony fingerboard, and jumbo fretwire mean even the biggest hands will find sure purchase while blazing three-notes-per-string runs and sweep-picked arpeggios. The Chleo’s generous 1.75" nut width also suits the flat radius and is ideal for bigger hands and fretting fanned-out Allan Holdsworth chord voicings.
That said, the body—whose narrow upper and lower horns evoke a 1980s Veillette-Citron—can feel small and a bit awkward while sitting or standing. Whether or not you find the guitar’s ergonomic design beneficial is very personal and subjective, but the SE Chleo’s limited upper-bout surface will offer less support for some players' forearms beyond the wrist. Given that the included steel-saddled Floyd Rose 1000 Tremolo Bridge (with PRS locking nut) practically demands a default palm-mute posture for the right hand, the smaller dimensions sometimes feel like an odd design choice. Herman Li might disagree, however. Weight, by the way, is about 7 pounds, 4 ounces, around the same as an SE Silver Sky.
How to Train Your Dragon
For my money, the most compelling thing about the SE Chleo, and something it shares with its much pricier Limited Edition confrere, is the HSH-arrayed trio of Herman Li Signature Fishman Omniforce hum-free pickups. And with the push-pull volume and tone knobs and 5-way pickup selector blade switch you end up spoiled for choice when it comes to tone blends. Two voicings are available for each pickup using the push-pull tone pot alone. But the push-pull volume pot opens up coil-tap options for each humbucker which can be paired with the middle single-coil pickup. You can also jump the middle pickup entirely and blend the bridge and neck humbucker.
The Chleo’s generous 1.75 nut width suits the flat radius and is ideal for bigger hands and fretting fanned-out Allan Holdsworth chord voicings.
The sound of these single- and double-coil pickup configurations, in concert with the Chleo’s unique body resonance, mean few settings are evocative of a classic Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, or SG in a literal sense. They can be impeccably clean and have presence, but they are clearly meant to complement the kind of technical, progressive metal that DragonForce excels at with, perhaps, a tip of the cap to PRS-based riff and lead sounds from bands like Opeth, Periphery, and Sevendust.
That said, the bridge pickup’s voicing is aggressive and tight, great for fifth- and sixth-string-based pedal-tone riffing. It also kicks up syrupy sustain for soaring metal lead work (Bleed From Within’s Craig Gowans and Sam Vellen of Caligula’s Horse come to mind). Many other pickup blends hint at the coppery-clean semi-acoustic sounds you associate with King Crimson’s Beat period or latter-day Porcupine Tree.
The Verdict
So, does the PRS SE Chleo merit its nearly $2,000 price tag? Whether it does or doesn’t will be a judgement best left to the beholder. DragonForce’s best-selling record, Inhuman Rampage, moved more than 600,000 copies in the U.S. alone, a prodigious figure for a band and genre outside the mainstream. But that number suggests a lot of possible customers for the SE Chleo, with all its idiosyncracies, as well.
Factor in the persona of Li himself, an affable gentleman rocker and role model who performs challenging technical passages with ease, and the appeal grows. The SE Chleo’s build quality is excellent, so if the guitar design suits your style you should round the “build/design” score up. Similarly, players that favor the Fishman Fluence pickups’ precision should adjust upward accordingly. If Li’s sensational sweep-picking salvos and DragonForce’s fantasy concept albums are your cup of mead, this is a solidbody worth experiencing.
DragonForce shred wizard’s signature SE is specialized but built for lightning speed.
The SE Chleo is the result of an intimate collaboration between PRS Guitars and award-winning guitar player Herman Li. Best known for his work as one of the lead guitar players in the power metal band DragonForce, Li is a demanding guitarist known for his fast and precise playing style. Based on the exclusive 2025 PRS Chleo Limited Edition, this SE signature model is a unique guitar in the PRS lineup designed with the modern metal guitarist in mind. The SE Chleo boasts the same Fishman Fluence Signature Series Omniforce Herman Li pickups as the Limited Edition that preceded it. With three distinct voices and a versatile switching system, the guitar offers up to 13 unique tone combinations.
“With the PRS SE Chleo, we set out to create the best affordable guitar that delivers a unique combination of effortless playability, outstanding craftsmanship, and versatile tonal range. It combines modern innovations with classic style, giving players the tools they need to create everything from classic tones to cutting edge new sounds. The SE Chleo proves that a world-class instrument doesn’t have to break the bank—it’s a guitar that brings high-end performance within reach for everyone,” said Herman Li.
In addition to the Charcoal Purple Burst and Orchid Dusk that the Limited Edition models were offered in, the SE Chleo introduces a third color, Mantis Burst.