Supro 1600 Supreme

THIM IS AN ALL ORIGINAL 1963 SUPRO 1600 SUPREME MADE BY VALCO.
IT HAS ONE CHANNEL, AND VOLUME AND TONE KNOBS. THIS ONE HAS THE ORIGINAL 10 INCH JENSEN SPEAKER. THIS LATER SUPRO SUPREME MODEL RUNS A PAIR OF 6973 RCA POWER TUBES. I PAID $1800.00, HE WAS ASKING
42300.00. HIGHLY SOUGHT BY COLLECTORS AND MUSICIANS. TO FIND ONE IS LIKE FINDING A NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK.

AT FIRST I WAS A BIT CONFUSED AND THOUGHT THE CHIMEY SOUND WAS VERY DIFFERENT, COMPARED TO MY PRIZED FENDERS. THE MID RANGE PUNCHYNESS ACCENTUATED EVERY NOTE. YOU CANT BLEND MISTAKES AS EASILY AS YOU CAN ON AN EARLY FENDER AMP. VERY TOUCH SENSITIVE. ITS MADE ME A BETTER PLAYER. THE TONE CONTROL ALL THE WAY UP GIVES A VERY GLASSY TRANSPARENT TONE AND HAS A WIDE RANGE OF TONES. I PLAY AN AMERICAN DELUXE STRAT WITH NOISLESS PU,S AND AN AMERICAN LES PAUL STD. THE SOUND IS UNFORGETABLE. CLEAN IS REAL CLEAN. TURN IT WAY UP AND ITS
PURE VINTAGE ROCK AND ROLL. IVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 30 YEARS, IM 52 YEARS OLD. I HAVE 7 VINTAGE AMPS CURRENTLY. 2 SUPROS AND I ALWAYS SEEM TO NAVAGATE TO THE 1600 SUPREME FOR PRACTICE AND JAMM SESSIONS.
DONT UNDERESTIMATE ITS SIZE. ITS VERY LOUD.

BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME. I DO NOT PUSH THIS AMP, IF IT BREAKS PARTS ARE NON EXISTANT. I HOPE IT CONTINUES TO BE A PREFORMER.

VALCO WENT OUT OF BUSINESS IN 1968. I HAVE A GREAT AMP TECH.

I PLAY A SMORGASBOARD OF BLUES SOME ROCK AND COUNTRY. I THINK IF THIS AMP HAD A NEW GROUNDED CORD IT WOULD RUN A LITTLE COOLER. THE ORIGINAL CORD IS BASICALLY A LAMP CORD.
THIS IS A KILLER LITTLE TONE MACHINE. THE 6973 POWER TUBES LET THIS AMP SING LIKE A CANARY.

1963 Supro 1600 Supreme. Evidently pretty rare, I have found essentially no information on this particular amp, and never seen another one. Talk about an undiscovered jem! I shouldn't write this review and let the secret out of the bag. But then so few people know to even look up these amps that I don't feel like I'm really advertising how great these Supro's are. It'll still be our little secret, me and the one person that reads this review... ;)

1-Jensen C10R speaker, 2-12AX7's, 2-6973 output tubes, 1-5Y3 rectifier, one Volume, one Tone. It's sorta similar feature-wise to a Fender brown-era Princeton. The 6973 output tubes put out higher wattage though, and sound far superior to the Fender's 6V6 pair.

The 1600 Supro is a simple amp. Then again it's all you need with good hands and a decent guitar. Turn it up, use the guitar volume and pick attack to control the character like a big boy, and let 'er rip.

I've played most of the common historical amps on the quest for the warm round musical drive tone of the legends. I finally found it under the last stone I turned. Everybody says use Marshalls, Fenders, Mesa Boogie, or even new $$$ boutique amps for the best rock tone. I've owned them all and while those are good amps with nice predictable tones, they aren't as musically round as this Supro is. The 6973 output tubes are incredible. Kinda like a higher power EL84, but much softer sounding. No ice-pick highs. It may not be the only amp you ever use, the Fender's and Marshall's have their place, but it will certainly be the only one you want to use for most of your guitar work.

Zep tones? Yeah, this thing's got it down for sure. With my LP and this amp, 'Dancing Days/Heartbreaker/Black Dog/etc...' are really awesome. Early LZ 1 era stuff with a Tele is right on. And the Tele neck pickup is just insane for blues. It's a very authentic, juicy, warm, singing, unique kind of blues drive. I can't even imagine what it does with a Gibson 335...

A simple boost pedal of about any type goes a long way. Use it to boost volume, not to create too much of it's own drive. You don't want to sound like a cheap solid state distortion pedal when you have a properly set up perfectly round tube amp, do you? It defeats the purpose, use it for boost only.

Get out the Strat, add just a little fuzz, and Hendrix is standing right beside you. 'Voodoo Chile' is perfect with this setup. I completely beleive he used a Supro for his recordings, those big stage-rocking Marhsalls were just too loud for the studio, and this thing has the sweetness and dynamic expresiveness of 'The Wind Cries Mary' down.

The Supreme, while pretty loud, isn't so loud that you can't crank it to get the thing singing at home. It's a great studio amp. Big warm drive sound, great mic presence, small size, not loud enough to distort the mics.

I got mine from a guy that had it in his closet for decades. Unfortunately he knew he had something pretty special, read $$$.

100% original, not turned on for nearly 40 years, dusty as can be. Even still, it's first notes were golden and I bought it on the spot, even for what he charged. Yikes!

I have had it conditioned with new filter caps, the tuners cleaned, and one small pin jumpered so I can use the cheap, plentiful, and just as good sounding 6CZ5 output tube as well as the 6973. Still 100% stock and sounds perfect. How's that for reliability? I've been playing it hard ever since and it doesn't bat an eye. Great construction.

I'll only give it 8, because it is so old, but it is very solid.

I sure wish somebody would make these Supro's again so I could feel okay about gigging with a new cheaper one and not my irreplaceable and increasingly $$$ original.

Valco hasn't been selling amps for a very long time, and parts are just about impossible to find....

Despite sound cliche and dramatic, this Supro 1600 Supreme is the best amp I have ever played. I have a Victoria Tweed Deluxe that is really good and a blackface Bassman that is also really good, but the Supro is my main go-to amp for all my guitar work. I can crank it without hurting my ears like the Bassman, get all the character of the Tweed Deluxe, and have a warm round smoothness and unique character that no other amp matches at all.

I sleep better at night knowing I have finally found the source of 'the tone' that we've all been after. One of guitars best kept secrets.

I keep an insurance policy on this amp, even though it is irreplaceable. I haven't found another one for sale in months of searching, at any price.

No, this amp is it for studio and smaller blues gigs. I mic it and even use it for rehearsals.

If you find one, buy it before somebody else does. These are small enough to crank, rock hard, and sound better than any other amp I've come across.