Talk me out of a Supro 1624T reissue

[Dogs of Doom]

ok, you talked me into talking you out of it...

sounds like you do not want a re-issue, but need to get the real deal... ...

 

[LSDtigers]

Thanks for the info. The gray one in MI, with the added handles, looks best of the current bunch to me. I noticed it has a C12R, while you mentioned them having C12Q speakers, so I did some google research on that. Most sources appear to say the R was the original speaker. I don’t like that the amp still has its original filter caps, as that means I’d likely need to install new ones very soon. Regardless, $1999 seems like too much.

Yeah, and the more gear my wife sees me buy, the shorter that life will be! I’m not sure where the tipping point is, lol.

There are much more reasonably priced vintage versions of this amp built under a few different brand names that can be had for well under a grand. They have the sound, identical schematics and parts, but they don’t have the cool supro cosmetics.

 

[stickyfinger]

Thanks for the info. The gray one in MI, with the added handles, looks best of the current bunch to me. I noticed it has a C12R, while you mentioned them having C12Q speakers, so I did some google research on that. Most sources appear to say the R was the original speaker. I don’t like that the amp still has its original filter caps, as that means I’d likely need to install new ones very soon. Regardless, $1999 seems like too much.

Yeah, and the more gear my wife sees me buy, the shorter that life will be! I’m not sure where the tipping point is, lol.

The gray one is actually blue with white in it making it appear gray. Being old, dirt and fading make them look a bit gray.

You got me curious about the C12R C12Q. I went back though all my saved Reverb listing of Model 24s and a lot do have the C12R and some had C12Q. Probably used the C12Q when C12R were out of stock. The Q had the bigger magnet and would likley cost more. Being a budget practice amp, id assume they would have used the cheaper speaker.

My amp still has the original filter cap. Its just one large multi section cap. I believe someone makes or made caps that look like the old ones.

Another thing to consider is the longer red tubular caps are paper and oil and being 60 years old they should come out. Luckly they arn't tone caps but they do shape the tone as they bleed frequency's to ground.

 

[FleshOnGear]

ok, you talked me into talking you out of it...

sounds like you do not want a re-issue, but need to get the real deal... ...

I think you’re right. Then the question is, can I be patient enough to wait for the right deal, on the right piece, at the right time? Or, are prices just going to rise?

I think I can cool my heals for a bit, but I am worried that these $2000 deals are gonna be as good as it gets, especially after checking the sold listings.

There are much more reasonably priced vintage versions of this amp built under a few different brand names that can be had for well under a grand. They have the sound, identical schematics and parts, but they don’t have the cool supro cosmetics.

Yeah, the Airline’s cosmetics are pretty unfortunate. But there’s one on eBay now, and it is much cheaper.

The gray one is actually blue with white in it making it appear gray. Being old, dirt and fading make them look a bit gray.

You got me curious about the C12R C12Q. I went back though all my saved Reverb listing of Model 24s and a lot do have the C12R and some had C12Q. Probably used the C12Q when C12R were out of stock. The Q had the bigger magnet and would likley cost more. Being a budget practice amp, id assume they would have used the cheaper speaker.

My amp still has the original filter cap. Its just one large multi section cap. I believe someone makes or made caps that look like the old ones.

Another thing to consider is the longer red tubular caps are paper and oil and being 60 years old they should come out. Luckly they arn't tone caps but they do shape the tone as they bleed frequency's to ground.

Sounds like owning one of these can be a labor of love.

 

[SuperFleeky]

So, some positive developments have led to me getting a few more bucks coming in every month. Right now I’m eyeing a Supro Dual Tone 1624T reissue, but I really should hold on to the money for things like emergencies, home maintenance, new furniture, or other boring shit.

Even if I do decide to buy gear, there are other things that are probably better choices, like a Boss TAE (so I can run delays and reverbs *after* the power amp distortion), a Meris LVX delay, or maybe some other stuff I can’t think of right now.

Ultimately, I can afford a monthly payment on something and still have some of this windfall left over. The devil on my left shoulder is telling me I need a Supro for some funky classic rock tones. The angel on my right shoulder is telling me it will be a pain in the ass to hook up my attenuator to a combo amp, and that there’s no way I’ll be able to get “that sound” out of it without attenuation. Basically that it will just sit unplayed. The angel also says I have enough amps.

So, go ahead folks - please, talk me out of it!

I've tried to like Supro amps a couple times (1970 and 1600). I loved how small, yet loud, they were. I really liked the look, too. Both times I did what I could (tube changes, speaker changes, etc) to get them a little brighter, so that the core tone coming from the amp was usable. I could use pedals to get to do just about anything, but with having so many other amps that I don't need pedals to get them to sound the way I like, it just didn't make sense to keep experimenting with the Supros. Despite the money and time invested, I gave up on both. I will never buy a Supro again. I like the Vox chime and Marshall bite so much more than the Supro dark n fuzzy sound.

 

[FleshOnGear]

There’s an Airline on eBay that I like the look of, but one thing caught my attention in a bad way. There’s a handwritten repair invoice shown in the listing that says the tech replaced the 40uF input filter capacitor with a 180uF capacitor. This can’t be good or even safe for the 5Y3 rectifier tube.

The owner wrote in the listing that he has had the amp like this for 5 years. But I would want to revert to the original value. The tech also increased the rest of the filter caps, too. How much should I try to knock the price down?

 

[Tunesketcher]

Hey OP, judging from post #14 you have enough amps and base tones covered. If anything you have overlap and you could stand to move a few of those, extra scratch for the Supro, especially when you're thinking of making payments..really?. You asked..there's .02 cents.

 

[Trem man]

if you ever heard an original Dual Tone you'd never consider these "reissues". Save your money and get something good.

 

[Jason Funk]

I’m sure it would still sound great with an attenuator (a good one that doesn’t suck tone as much). Most YouTube videos you see they’re using attenuators or direct out from the attenuator. I’ve got a Weber Mini mass 100 for my SV20h and the harmonics are amazing. If no attenuator equals 100 sound quality, with a good attenuator I’d say it’s 95-98. More than enough for me.

 

[Wildeman]

My '65 Supro is still 100% original and mint and works great, I know the amp police are gonna be after me now🤣
I thought I payed up for mine at a G, $2000.00 seems cray, but hell, what do I know, guys want $2500.00 for Champs these days.

 

[GuitarIV]

So, some positive developments have led to me getting a few more bucks coming in every month. Right now I’m eyeing a Supro Dual Tone 1624T reissue, but I really should hold on to the money for things like emergencies, home maintenance, new furniture, or other boring shit.

Even if I do decide to buy gear, there are other things that are probably better choices, like a Boss TAE (so I can run delays and reverbs *after* the power amp distortion), a Meris LVX delay, or maybe some other stuff I can’t think of right now.

Ultimately, I can afford a monthly payment on something and still have some of this windfall left over. The devil on my left shoulder is telling me I need a Supro for some funky classic rock tones. The angel on my right shoulder is telling me it will be a pain in the ass to hook up my attenuator to a combo amp, and that there’s no way I’ll be able to get “that sound” out of it without attenuation. Basically that it will just sit unplayed. The angel also says I have enough amps.

So, go ahead folks - please, talk me out of it!

It's not a JCM 800. Case closed. You're welcome.

I'm lucky my wife encouragees me to play and supports me when I want an instrument. The last was end of October she insisted I go for the guitar when I found a 1972 Byrdland for a good price selling in Philadelphia. She insisted, had me call the guy, drove me down there..guitar was very dirty as guy played it all the time she cleaned and detailed it for me and man I love that thing.
She keeps telling me to get a chair that she'll make some lemonade and get me out in the yard to play while she gardens.
Her brothers played music in Guatemala and she loves it.

Now that's the type of woman a man needs in his life!