Supro 16T

I believe this 16T was manufactured c.1965 simply because of the control layout and cosmetics. I bought it on Ebay about three years ago and it has become my amp of choice for practice and working up charts. The white pilot is tres cool. This is a simple single-ended all-tube amp (5Y3; 2X 12AX7; 6V6) which by the laws of physics puts out approximately four watts RMS in class A. The controls consist of Volume (also the on-off switch), Tone, and Tremolo speed. The speaker was a Jensen "blue lable" eight incher, but I stored that speaker and replaced it with a Weber VST. It's funny; I'm scared to wreck the Jensen, and as a result I may never use it in this amp. Weird. There are two inputs (Standard and Treble), a footswitch jack for the tremolo, and a two-amp fuse post located on the rear-top control panel.

With the 16T I mainly use a USA Fender Telecaster. The combination sounds really, really good to me. Being a single-ended design, this box has its limitations when compared to more modern amps. There is almost no listenable setting one could call pristine clean. That said, this amp sounds truly wonderful. With the volume at around 40% and the tone control dimed, the sound is a really nice glassy, yet deep, honest tube sound that no solid state box can come close to matching. With the volume dimed, the 16T sounds all-the-world like Joe Walsh on the first three James Gang albums. The amp is dead quiet. More about that later. The tremolo transcends anything else. It is the best I've ever heard. At four watts, this little box is sonic dynamite. For casual jamming, practice, and parts work, the 16T in my opinion is one of those rigs that brings the best out of me. More guts than a Champ. Groovy.

When I received the amp about three years ago, it had a few minor issues. Specifically, the AC power cord was trashed, the chassis was improperly mounted in the enclosure, the Treble input had been disconnected, and the rectifier tube was just about dead. It was a simple matter to fix these little flaws. While I was at it, I replaced all the tubes with NOS JAN-Phillips types. Over the years I have found the NOS Phillips tubes to be of the same manufacture as contemporary RCA or Sylvania types. No more noise. This amp is truly quiet (I preserved the two-prong AC plug). That is all I have ever had to do to the 16T (in addition to exchanging the speaker as explained above). The amp gets used almost every day, and is sometimes left on overnight when I get drunk and pass out. It has recently been shipped to Japan from Memphis with our household goods, and works as well as ever. Not much to go wrong inside, and the amp has been absolutely reliable.

Long gone.

For what it does, this is the class of the breed in my opinion. The tremolo is just great. The tone is really good for recording, and the controls are simple indeed. I play the bass (37 years thus far) and so this little amp isn't something I gig with. I have enough guitar chops to use the 16T as a tool, and have some fun with my friends. I like to think I know how a good guitar amp sounds. This amp most closely compares with the Fender Champ. The controls are honest and simple, and the tone has genuine virtue. I cannot imagine not having it around.

It has VOL, TONE, 2 inputs and a wicked TREM. Not a lot of features, but its does what it does real fine! About 10-15 watts RMS on 11. The one I have has a 6"x9" oval speaker, most were sold with an 8". I think it was the bottom of the line Jensen instrument speaker for 1965. This thing really CRANKS blues and surf and jazz (albeit at little or no appreciable volume).

It's a Fab studio rig mic'ed in to the console. Recently I've played a standard Strat, a Fat Tele (neck humbucker), a Gibson S-1 and a Harmony Stratotone semi-hollow single pickup through this amp for a wide variety of sounds. Over the years (or is it decades?), I've played almost EVERYTHING through it.

1965 and still crankin'. Just don't bang it around (it IS very fragile and I don't think there is any more blue tolex out there). Keep the tubes and caps in order and this amp will treat you right.

What customer support?

This was my first amp (my mom regrets the day she got me this amp and a Harmony Stratotone guitar - I transformed overnight into the neighborhood Beatle). I wish I had one of these with reverb. I'd have been in wattage heaven.

This amp was made in 1965 and is godhead for blues and great for getting a Keith Richards kind of rock and roll sound so it's perfect for me as I plan on recordng a lot of tracks with this for our next record. It has two input channels, treble and stardard, a tone control and a volume control. I kind of wish it would've had an external out for speakers but no big deal. It cranks out about 5 watts which is more than enough for apartment and should be for the studio. Has a really great tremolo that I may use for the studio as well. The tube configuration is two 12ax7's for the preamp, a 6v6gt and a 5y3gt for the rectifier, all of which are the original RCA's. It also came with the original 8" Jensen "special design" blue label speaker which sounds great.

Right now I am just playing my 65 jazzmaster with it and it seems to be taking to it really well. Most amps can be finnicky towards jazzmasters (too bright) especially modern amps but the combination here is a great breeding ground for blues and rock which is what I like to play. It only has a two prong plug but isn't too noisy at all. I plug in to the treble input and crank the volume and tone on full. If you roll down the volume you can get a great country sound as it has a really tight response and then turn it up and it sounds like "Communication Breakdown" or "Funk #49". The distortion is subtle and sounds like a classic blues distortion. I would be interested to find out what boutiques companies used the Supro as a benchmark.

I've only had it a couple of days but the original tubes are still in it and nothing has been touched inside. I am going to give it to my tech soon just to give it a quick run through so I can maximise it's sound

They don't make 'em anymore

I've been playing for about twenty years and have an '81 Marshall JCM 800 2203, '74 Marshall with greenbacks, '76 "blackfaced" fender Super with Jensen R.I. and a pignose. If it were stolen I would freak and definetly try and hunt another one down off of Ebay. I love that it is just the best practice/studio amp with tons of awesome tone and a great tight attack. I guess with the tube configuration, 8" Jensen and the 5 watts it could be comparible to a Champ. If any of you Supro head out there no where I can buy the original footswitch for the tremolo let me know.

This little Supro amp was the first tube amp I ever bought and it's probably the main reason I only use tube amps to this day. From the volume pot date code, it was made in 1964. It's a pretty straightforward single ended amp with (2) 12AX7, (1) 5Y3, and (1) 6V6. It has two inputs, standard and treble. I normally use the standard with the tone at about 85-90% open. The treble input is a little too thin for my taste. The controls are, volume/on switch, tone, and tremelo speeed/on switch. The tremelo is great! Really rich, syrupy sound. There is a foot switch jack for the tremelo. If you're using the foot switch, you just turn the tremelo on at the amp and set it to the desired speed then switch on/off with the switch. Works great as a practice amp or as a recording amp. Obviously in a live situation, this one gets a mic. I prefer a more simple set of controls on my amps; volume and two tone controls is what's best for me. So for me, this amp is perfect. But others may find this set-up a bit limiting so I'll give it an 8.

The sound is terrific. With nearly any guitar you can get a nice tone. Really easy to nail that Led Zep I & II sound with this amp. Pretty much any recording that has that hint of fuzz that adds that special flavor can be emulated with this amp. I use two homemade guitars, one with 2 Seymour Duncan 59 Classics, and another with a Seymour Duncan 59 Classic in the neck and a Lawrence Broadcaster single coil in the bridge. The snap you get with the single coil on this amp is great. The humbuckers also sound nice and warm, perfect for the rhythm thing. Once you go past halfway on the volume, you get a sweet tube fuzz. The distortion never gets ridiculous, it always adds to the sound. The amp used to be kinda noisy, but installing a grounded plug helped incredibly. I've never used many effects with this amp, because to me they never end up actually adding to the sound. A wah or a chorus sound sound pretty decent, but this amp really takes off when you just open up the volume a little bit.

Well, I have never had a problem with it. Tubes are original, the only mod I've done was the grounded cord. Speaker was replaced with a no-name before I owned it, which is a drag. I would gig with it in a tightly controlled situation (no places where beers take flight), but I really would be hesitant to do so. I took this amp on a cross country trip in the back of a pick-up and it seems to have held up pretty well. I think the only problem I've had was that one of the 12AX7s fell out at the end.

Supro is long gone, dude.

Man, if this got stolen, I'd be in a sea of tears. I've got an Ampeg Rocket II in addition to this Supro, and they complement each other nicely. I wish it had the original speaker and foot switch (if the foot swtich came with it). Out of all my amps, I treasure this one most. If you ever see a used Supro, get it.