Jesse Harris has just released two records, one of which is all instrumental. The summer has seen him writing more songs and preparing for tours in Japan and South America.

Harris took some time to chat with Gearwire about his 1960s Princeton amp. Until fairly recently Harris mostly played a hollow body guitar through an old Supro amp (among others) but he slowly moved toward using a Les Paul through the Princeton.

“Well, that wasn’t an overnight change. I played the Gibson 125 with the Supro years ago before switching to my acoustic Gibson LG1; From there to a six string banjo and finally to the Les Paul with the Princeton,” says Harris. “Although I loved playing the banjo, I yearned for a wider spectrum of sound and after seeing all these great bands playing electric guitar at Bonnaroo in ’09, I decided to try to gig all on electric again. Instantly my range increased tenfold. The ballads were prettier and wider and the rockers were more rocking; I could change pick-ups, adjust the volume or mute the strings to make it seem like my banjo did.”

While he is fond of his old Princeton, Harris admits that it need not specifically be a Princeton but any similar Fender amp from that era.

“I play a ’65 Fender Deluxe on the album. Old Fender amps are great,” he says. “Princetons are advantageous because they sound amazing and they’re really easy to carry around.”

Harris got his Princeton in New York.

“I was in a hurry to get an amp for a tour in which I was opening for Joshua Radin (playing six string banjo)and then playing electric guitar as a sideman in his band. The reason I chose the one I got is it had a beautiful tone and musicality that just made me want to play.”

Harris says the best features of the amp are the vibrato and the natural distortion. The only “problem” Harris has with the amp is that it isn’t a Princeton Reverb but just a Princeton.

“I use the Holy Grail Pedal instead. I love the sound but I wish I had a real reverb in there.” says Harris.

Harris also says the Princeton is in mint condition with the original “pleather” cover AND manual. He says it looks brand new.

Then there is the fact that Harris plays a Gibson through a Fender. There are a lot of folks who do this but there are also a lot of folks who play one or the other and act like there will be a nuclear explosion should the two be mixed or juxtaposed.

“I always play Gibson guitars, They all feel good to me. Something about a Les Paul into a Fender amp just has a magical warmth to it,” says Harris. “You can play jazz on it, or hard rock, without changing anything or using any pedals (other than my reverb pedal).”