Having already relaunched the Supro amplification range, Absara Audio is now bringing out a Supro Guitar Collection, distributed in the UK and Europe by JHS.
Supro’s Dave Koltai, working alongside master-designer Trev Wilkinson, vintage pickup expert Ken Calvet and virtuoso luthier Glenn Sweetwood have updated the playability of classic designs while meticulously capturing the period-correct electronics and unique construction details of the original Chicago-made models.
The range comprises two lines – the Island Series and the Americana Series – with a total of fourteen individual instruments.
Based on the Vintage 1962 Supro Ozark body design, the Island Series guitars offer the player a choice of three pickup configurations – the single pickup Jamesport, the twin pickup Westbury and the triple pickup Hampton model. All three models have solid alder bodies, with set maple necks. Each sport Gold Foil pickups based on the units designed in the 1950s and are found in many vintage Supro, National and Airline models.
The Americana Series employs the vintage Supro body design with Acousti-Glass top matched to a semi-hollow mahogany back and uses a redesigned two bolt neck joint for the mahogany neck. Featuring the single pickup Sahara, Dual-Tone and Belmont models, and the Holiday, Coronado II and Martinique twin pickup models, the vintage-correct Vistatone pickups accurately replicate those sought-after tones often found in Supro, National and Airline guitars of the period. The 50’s wiring captures the design developed for Valco by Ralph Keller in the 1950’s whilst the Coronado II, Martinique Deluxe and Belmont Vibrato guitars all feature a period correct fulcrum vibrato tailpiece.
Also included in the new Supro Guitar collection is the Jet Airliner Lapsteel. Using a vintage Supro body design, the Jet Airliner has air deco fingerboard design with a string through body hardtail bridge and features vintage Gold Foil pickups with authentic 50’s wiring and volume and tone controls.
Supro Island and Americana Series guitars will be available across Europe in January and February 2017 respectively.
