Supro’s Supreme tribute to Keith Richards

Supro’s 1600 Supreme amplifier: the hallmark of uniquely American vintage tone

The new 1600 Supreme ‘Classic Series’ combo amplifier is a replica of the 1×10 amp used by the Stones guitarist

Nashville’s Summer NAMM show last week saw guitar and amplifier manufacturer Supro reveal an all-tube tribute to songwriting guitar icon Keith Richards, with the release of the 1600 Supreme amp. This ‘Classic Series’ combo is a replica of the Chicago-made 1×10 amplifier used extensively by The Rolling Stones guitarists throughout the decades.

The original 1959 version of the Supreme amplifier was sold bearing either the Supro lightning bolt or the logo of the Oahu brand – which, at the time, was also manufactured and owned by parent company Valco. Although mechanically similar to the 6973-powered Supro version, the Oahu used a pair of 6V6 power tubes in its Class-A output stage.

The Supro preamp found in the 1600 Supreme features a pair of parallel gain stages fed into a shared tone knob. This dual-input preamp allows two instruments to share the same combo amplifier, as well as providing the option of plugging a single instrument into IN1+2, for double the gain. The two inputs can also be used with an A/B or A/B/Y switch to accomplish channel switching for both clean and dirty tones with one guitar.

The power section found in the 1600 Supreme provides the hallmark of vintage Class-A 6V6 tone. This uniquely American, vintage-correct output stage pushes a custom, high-power 10-inch driver that utilises the same voice coil, magnet and high-end suspension found in the BD12 speaker in the Black Magick amplifier. True to the construction of the vintage Oahu, there is no beam blocker in front of the 1600 speaker.

The Supro 1600 Supreme hits the stores this July at $1,249 (approx. £940). For more details, go to: suprousa.com

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