Supro USA is now reissuing a pair of ultra-compact, 5-Watt, 1×8 combo amplifiers, designed to provide legendary Supro tone at lower volumes. The Supro Reverb is enhanced with tube-driven spring reverb, while the Supro Super is a bare-bones, pure-tone amp with only a volume control. In order to capture the sound of the vintage Jensen speaker found in the original Supro amps of the early 1960s, both of these small combos feature a custom-made 8″ speaker that was designed by Eminence and Supro. With help from Iowa State University, the Jensen speaker cone from a “golden-sample” vintage Supro amplifier was laser-scanned in order to achieve an accurate recreation.
The Supro 1605R Reverb amplifier is a 5-Watt, 1×8 combo amp with tube-driven spring reverb. This extremely portable, gig-ready amplifier provides independent gain and master volume controls, along with a two-band EQ and three tube-driven line-outputs optimized for feeding another guitar amplifier or recording console. The trio of line outputs is driven by the preamp tubes-before the master volume—allowing the player to tame the on-board speaker down from gig volume to be used as a bedroom rig, as well as an all-tube outboard gain/reverb effect unit and direct recording preamp.
The WET output provides 100% wet reverb signal; the DRY output provides 100% dry signal from the preamp; and the MIX output carries a blend of dry and reverb signals that can be attenuated by a variable level control on the MIX output. When the WET output is used, the reverb signal is removed from the onboard speaker output, allowing the player to pass the reverb sound along to another amplifier while still hearing the gain from the 1605R’s tube preamp in the onboard 8″ speaker. When the DRY output is used, the unaffected sound of the guitar is removed from the onboard speaker output, allowing the player to pass the gained- up dry sound along to another amplifier while still hearing the reverb effect through the onboard 8″ speaker.
Features:
5 Watts, Class A
8″ custom speaker
All-tube design
6-spring reverb
2-band EQ
Master volume for on-board speaker
WET line out
DRY line out
MIX line out w/ attenuator
2x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes
1x JJ 12AT7 reverb driver tube
1x JJ 6V6 power tube
The Supro 1606 Super is a reissue of the iconic 1×8 combo amp made by Supro in the early 60s. With a single volume knob-and nothing else-the Supro Super lets you hear the full tonal range of the tube preamp found in vintage Supro amplifiers. The purposeful absence of EQ controls in this amp’s original design eliminates the passive components that inevitably weigh down the raw power coming from the preamp when a tone knob is included in the circuit. The no-frills, high-gain preamp found in the Supro Super feeds directly into a Class A, 6V6-equipped, single-ended, 5-Watt power amp that dates to the company’s pre-war origins as one of the first American tube amp manufacturers.
The pristine, high-gain audio path of the Supro Super has made it a favorite of recording artists and guitar-lovers around the world, as well as one of the most popular vintage Supro items on the used market. The image of a mic’d up vintage Supro 1606 Super amp is featured prominently in the liner notes of the 2016 Rolling Stones album, Blue and Lonesome, revealed as the CD is lifted from the jewel case. The voicing of this USA-assembled reissue of the Supro Super amplifier was meticulously derived from a vintage example loaned to Supro USA by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
Features:
5 Watts, Class A
8″ custom speaker
1x JJ 12AX7 preamp tube
1x JJ 6V6 power tube
Vintage-correct cabinetry
Blue Rhino Hide tolex
Assembled in USA
The Supro Reverb is $999 USD, and the Supro Super is $699—available as of August 15 at all Supro dealers.
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