Supro Guitars - who has purchased one

guitars4you

My sales rep came to see me this week with a Supro Westbury as a sample - I was pleasantly surprised at how well it played - far better than expectations - bottom line I've ordered a mix of 4 inc Westbury's and Coronado, so they will be in stock in 7-10 days - I've always liked the retro vibe as such but the playbility was far better than expected - Any positive or negative comments yet from owners or those that have checked them out

Niallseroreilly

Havent played one but they look pretty brutal....

Shark_Eyes

There's a thread around where I have my initial impressions of the 3 pickup version, which I really liked, I've since had a second go and thought it held true to my initial thoughts, one is on the buy list.

I had a quick strum of the double pickup res-o-glass bodied one last weekend, didn't find anything to complain about but also nothing to rave about either, but it was literally 3 minutes at most.

guitars4you

Shark_Eyes said:

There's a thread around where I have my initial impressions of the 3 pickup version, which I really liked, I've since had a second go and thought it held true to my initial thoughts, one is on the buy list.

I had a quick strum of the double pickup res-o-glass bodied one last weekend, didn't find anything to complain about but also nothing to rave about either, but it was literally 3 minutes at most.

I like the cool retro appearance of them - But was pleasantly surprised at how well they played

dindude

These are on my try list. I'd still have to get over my made in China stigma for the Americana series though.

guitars4you

dindude said:

These are on my try list. I'd still have to get over my made in China stigma for the Americana series though.

I know where you are coming from but it is more the sign of the times - I'm not saying they are the best guitar ever, but they are more than credible and bring some thing different to the table if you are mainly surrounded by the classic Fender/Gibson models etc

dindude

guitars4you said:

dindude said:

These are on my try list. I'd still have to get over my made in China stigma for the Americana series though.

I know where you are coming from but it is more the sign of the times - I'm not saying they are the best guitar ever, but they are more than credible and bring some thing different to the table if you are mainly surrounded by the classic Fender/Gibson models etc

Indeed, the clips I've heard of them sound fantastic. Dunno, was just hoping for South Korean build at the price, but I guess it matters not a jot if the quality / price ratio is good anyway.

guitars4you

dindude said:

guitars4you said:

dindude said:

These are on my try list. I'd still have to get over my made in China stigma for the Americana series though.

I know where you are coming from but it is more the sign of the times - I'm not saying they are the best guitar ever, but they are more than credible and bring some thing different to the table if you are mainly surrounded by the classic Fender/Gibson models etc

Indeed, the clips I've heard of them sound fantastic. Dunno, was just hoping for South Korean build at the price, but I guess it matters not a jot if the quality / price ratio is good anyway.

I don't see any + or - factors on China or S Korea on a guitar of this price range - Both are more than capable of producing a good £600-1000 guitar - It is more about what is behind the guitar - workmanship, set-up, playing performance etc - rather than which factory

Jimbro66

I saw a bunch of Supro guitars together with a Supro amp at Guitar Village today. They made a nice little corner display. I thought the guitars looked great in that retro sort of way. Up close they looked well made. Unfortunately didn't get to play any. I don't find Guitar Village the easiest place to try things out. Maybe if I saw the Supros somewhere else.........

Whitecat

Supros are Indonesia, FWIW. Not China.

I dig the vibe, personally. Looking forward to trying one... 

guitars4you

Whitecat said:

Supros are Indonesia, FWIW. Not China.

I dig the vibe, personally. Looking forward to trying one... 

Thanks for that - In all honesty I had not looked and do not see to much of an issue from any Asian countries - Granted MIJ always adds some additional content, but after that, most factories in Asia can produce good guitars to the budget and grade they are expected to meet - In the case of Supro, the owners and  Trevor Wilkinson will have a criteria that they expect to be met by the manufactures

Trude

I'd love a Hampton, but really wish they put a trem on it. Could've been a great Strat alternative! Would look good with a Maestro.

thecolourbox

I'm sure there are differing views that are probably much more informed than mine, but just because something is made in a particular country does not mean to me it's necessarily better or worse - I could knock up a guitar in my garage and stamp "Handmade in the UK" on it but it'd be a big pile of dog poo...

Whitecat

The problem is that it "mattered" in the past and guitarists tend to be still living there. Now with ISO manufacturing and smart people heading up the companies that offshore, it kinda doesn't matter any more but people still have a mentality...

guitars4you

Whitecat said:

The problem is that it "mattered" in the past and guitarists tend to be still living there. Now with ISO manufacturing and smart people heading up the companies that offshore, it kinda doesn't matter any more but people still have a mentality...

agreed - I still find so many customers have a 'hang up' about say a Gretsch Guitar for 2 or 3K made in Japan - I find many such customers are from a point in time when Gretsch meant USA and they have not played a MIJ version - They have dismissed the MIJ model before trying it - So they miss a key point - Many 'vintage' Gretsch Guitars from the USA are at best mediocre regarding a playing performance - You see very few MIJ models that are mediocre - They produce a high level of consistency all the time  - Granted there is some character in an old Gretsch - But there is character in an old Morris Minor but few would want to use one everyday for a 50 mile round trip to work - It happens so many times with so many guitars

Today, the country alone, is not a reflection on the quality of the guitar that you can buy - Granted Fender will pull out all the stops to ensure a USA Custom Shop will have a price tag and attributes that will set it apart from its more budget minded cousins - Like wise Gretsch can build a 6120 style in Japan or other Far Eastern locations, but they will ensure the price tag and attributes of the Jap model will set it apart also 

dindude

Whitecat said:

Supros are Indonesia, FWIW. Not China.

I dig the vibe, personally. Looking forward to trying one... 

the solids are Indonesian the Americana series are Chinese made.

Whitecat

dindude said:

Whitecat said:

Supros are Indonesia, FWIW. Not China.

I dig the vibe, personally. Looking forward to trying one... 

the solids are Indonesian the Americana series are Chinese made.

Ah, interesting, thanks. 

Evilmags

Japan and Korea are first world countries. They pay first world wages and are closer to cheaper wood sources as well.Their is no reason for anything made in USA to be better than either other than manufacturers specs. 

RocknRollDave

Tried a Supro guitar this morning. Lad who works here bought one at the Guitar Show (via Little Guitar Shop of Brum).
Don't know which model but it was white, had what looked like two humbuckers, trapeze type string retainer, wooden bridge. Two pots ABOVE each pickup (1 x vol and 1 x tone)..really odd configuration but I guess evocative of the original era.

Played nicely, set up for 11's. Neck was a tad thin for my tastes but felt very solid. Fingerboard nice and flat-ish so easily playable across the neck.
Guitar felt light but not overly so, not like a toy.
Playability was akin to my Gretsch, possibly due to the angle of neck due to the relatively high bridge.

Pickups sounded nice, warm but not muddy. Looked like humbuckers but neither sounded like them nor bucked the hum like them. Sounded beastly with fuzz. Not the most characterful clean sound, but that is almost certainly down to my amp rather than the guitar.


Liked it, didn't love it. For £500 I would have thought it was bang on, but aren't these more like 800, 900?

dindude

I briefly tried the 2-pickup Westbury today. Build was very tidy without ever troubling the top end, but more than fitting for its price point. I liked the satin finished neck, nice size and played well. Would have liked slightly less square edges to the fretboard but hey ho.

Plugged in, it sounded fine but was a bit of a let down, but could have been the rather bog standard amp I was plugged into. Just felt a bit like the pickups were doing all the work and the guitar / woods weren't contributing much. 

A Danelectro is more characterful for half the price, but I'm still wanting to try the Americana series when they land.

Moss

dindude said:

I briefly tried the 2-pickup Westbury today. Build was very tidy without ever troubling the top end, but more than fitting for its price point. I liked the satin finished neck, nice size and played well. Would have liked slightly less square edges to the fretboard but hey ho.

Plugged in, it sounded fine but was a bit of a let down, but could have been the rather bog standard amp I was plugged into. Just felt a bit like the pickups were doing all the work and the guitar / woods weren't contributing much. 

A Danelectro is more characterful for half the price, but I'm still wanting to try the Americana series when they land.

Probably like most Gold Foils - they really seem to bring out the character in the amp

Kick in a splatty drive or fuzz and they're absolutely amazing