Supro Super

1958 Valco made Supro Super, fat baseball bat neck, tuners are "no line" Kluson's, Ebony fretboard, 20 frets, 3/4 scale, solid body, single cut, white paint, black scratch plate, one volume, one tone, tone switch, floating Rosewood bridge, Valco/Supro tailpiece, single coil Valco/Supro pickup in the neck position - what a pickup it is, large like a humbucker, but not trying to copy a humbucker; these came first, the humbucker patent mentions this pickup on it, the pickup has to be experienced

A basic guitar but it is bare bones awesome, I would get more if I could track them down, hard to do as I live in Australia.

I play rock and blues and other stuff. For blues and rock it is great, for punk it is also very good. Sounds somewhere between a strat single coil and a P90.

Can't believe the neck is held on by two screws, it is solid. It's a 50+ year old guitar so it's a little rough around the edges but I like that.

It's lasted over 50 years which is quite impressive for what would have been a beginners guitar back in it's day. It's dependable and has been used for gigs.

Valco, the parent company, are long gone and the Supro name has changed hands a couple of times since then. As far as I am aware Bruce Zinky now owns the name and is making Supro guitars and amps by hand in the USA. He is also responsible for the "Smokey Amps" cigarette packet amplifiers and has a high gain Supro version available. i think the pickups on the new breed are humbuckers though so i don't know if the sound will be the same but the quality should be right up there.

I've been playing for 20 years, never really had lessons, mostly self taught, played in bands and am reasonably proficient. I have had my own studio and owned lots of gear, high end stuff and bargain basement junk. This was bought on a whim as it was a relative bargain for a vintage guitar and I had heard about the Supro sound, rough and biting and "great for slide", you'll hear that a lot. I want to get some more of these before too many people cotton on to the sound, maybe get a full scale one too.

Made about 1959 or so. Short-scale (22.5"), bolt-on neck, rosewood board, baseball-bat profile with a narrow nut, small frets. Les Paul-shaped body with white paint, no clear coat lacquer at all. Single faux-humbucker pickup at the bridge, volume and tone control, tone bypass switch. Wood bridge in the shape of a Supro lightning bolt. Non-original tuners (probably had Klusons). Cool Supro lightning bolt graphic on the pickguard. Non-original knobs (anyone out there have some Valco knobs for sale?). Original soft 2-tone case.

Wow! I really understand why those old Supro pickups are so legendary. I can't say enough about how great it sounds. Mine was microphonic when I bought the guitar, but after a home wax potting job, the problem is gone.

It is a screamer of a pickup, somewhere between a p90 and a Danelectro lipstick tube. Slightly less high & low end than a p90, and it has a bit of that dano nasal lipstick/masonite twang mixed in there. A very loud pickup with wonderful, unique tone.

I use it with a Matchless Spitfire with a Celestion blue alnico, a blackface Bassman with a Marshall 4x10 cab (my gig setup), or a 1960 Maestro Viscount with a reissue Jensen P-10R (same amp as the Gibson GA-18 of the same era). Sounds totally different through each amp but equally good. For live, it has slighly less bite that my Les Paul Jr. (P90 equipped) has, but it records great, especially with the Matchless.

This guitar was practically mint when I bought it, except for replaced tuners & knobs, and some minor finish checking.

I set it up myself. The neck is very straight, action very low, and it is easy to play. It is surprisingly comfortable despite the baseball bat profile and small frets. The short scale neck is not for everyone, but I have small hands, and after getting used to it, I like it a lot. I use 10 gauge strings on my Junior, but because of the short scale length of the Supro, 10s are too rubbery and 11s are about the tension equivalent of 10s on the Junior. So it has 11s now.

The original bridge actualy intonated well as it is compensated right between the 3rd and 4th string, which is great if you don't use a wound 3rd string. I wish the old Gibson wraparounds were compensated like this - I wouldn't need an ugly Badass bridge on the Junior if that were the case. I was a little unhappy with the original bridge as it was rosewood and just killed all sustain. I have a generic tune-o-matic on it now (no mods or drilling required) and the intonation is perfect and the guitar sustains much better.

I've gigged with it several times, and it holds tune just fine. I would expect this paint finish to flake off any day now, but it hasn't happened yet. I would gig without a backup.

Not available. Valco is long gone. Anybody know who owns the Supro name these days?

Cute little dude that actually plays well and sounds amazing! My bandmates love it and always urge me to use it instead of the Junior. I'm equally drawn to both guitars.