Vintage Supro Amps
Posted: 15 Feb 2017, 13:00
I've gotten sucked into the blackhole of vintage Supro amps. There seems to be so many awesome models that were made, and now they're really hard to find, especially in a local store that'll letcha actually play/feel it. So I've basically been stuck check out what's available online and watching videos were I have to rely on that person's setting preferences and recording skills to make a judgement.
I'm looking for one of the late '50s-early '60s models...the ones with the additional gain stage before they updated the circuit and cleaned things up. I'm trying to figure out which models from this golden era are the heaviest, i.e. have the best classic Supro mid-crunch. The heaviest one I've heard so far was a '58 Holiday that had an 8ohm tranny put in to support a 10" speaker replacement (those dual 6x9" arent exactly my favorite speakers either). Anyways, this thing was amazing; it sounded like it could pull off doom metal no problem, but with a cool vintage crunch, not modern day zero feedback rubbish.
Besides that Holiday model (which I believe was the 2nd version; the first is supposidely a bit sterile as it was mad for a.lapsteel), I've read that the 1624T (pre-dual tone, with the 3 big knobs, 2 volume, 1 tone) and 1695T (first version w/ the 6L6GB's) can be pretty ballsy as well. Also the early 1690 Coronado and 1688, but I'm looking for a lower wattage recording amp, not a big 2x12 combo like the 1688.. not sure what the Coronado wattage is.
Anyways, I'm sure I've left out models that would be perfect for me, which is why I'm starting this thread...to get some suggestions on models that dodged my radar. I'm also looking for a broken Supro so that I can use as a canvas to learn how to work on them. I'm no amp tech, I can basically just use a soldering gun well, but I've gotten some good suggestions on where to go to start learn this art. I've been hesitant to pull the trigger on vintage amp buys in the past cuz I think u really need to be able to work on them yourself. A 50+ year old aml needs upkeep and I dont have the cash for repeat tech visits.. especially after I drop a grand on one of these things!
Thanks,
Adam
I'm looking for one of the late '50s-early '60s models...the ones with the additional gain stage before they updated the circuit and cleaned things up. I'm trying to figure out which models from this golden era are the heaviest, i.e. have the best classic Supro mid-crunch. The heaviest one I've heard so far was a '58 Holiday that had an 8ohm tranny put in to support a 10" speaker replacement (those dual 6x9" arent exactly my favorite speakers either). Anyways, this thing was amazing; it sounded like it could pull off doom metal no problem, but with a cool vintage crunch, not modern day zero feedback rubbish.
Besides that Holiday model (which I believe was the 2nd version; the first is supposidely a bit sterile as it was mad for a.lapsteel), I've read that the 1624T (pre-dual tone, with the 3 big knobs, 2 volume, 1 tone) and 1695T (first version w/ the 6L6GB's) can be pretty ballsy as well. Also the early 1690 Coronado and 1688, but I'm looking for a lower wattage recording amp, not a big 2x12 combo like the 1688.. not sure what the Coronado wattage is.
Anyways, I'm sure I've left out models that would be perfect for me, which is why I'm starting this thread...to get some suggestions on models that dodged my radar. I'm also looking for a broken Supro so that I can use as a canvas to learn how to work on them. I'm no amp tech, I can basically just use a soldering gun well, but I've gotten some good suggestions on where to go to start learn this art. I've been hesitant to pull the trigger on vintage amp buys in the past cuz I think u really need to be able to work on them yourself. A 50+ year old aml needs upkeep and I dont have the cash for repeat tech visits.. especially after I drop a grand on one of these things!
Thanks,
Adam