GEAR REVIEW
SUPRO HOLIDAY AND WESTBURY REISSUE GUITARS � Bob Cianci
Key Features Retro Chic Styling Excellent Build Quality Vibe and Sound .
The new Supro guitars were unveiled at the NAMM show in Anaheim , California in January , and were one of the hits of this yearly event . We are featuring two different ones in this review . The Americana line , is designed by David Koltai ( president of Absara Audio , home to both Pigtronix and Supro ) and famed British guitar builder Trevor Wilkinson , which recreates faithful reproductions of classic Art Deco Supro designs from the early 1960 ’ s . The Island Series , designed by David Koltai and Glen Sweetwood is a contemporary new guitar line based upon the Supro Ozark model from 1962 . David Koltai was nice enough to send us an example of each series ; a Dawn White Holiday , and an Arctic White Westbury .
The Holiday is a 24.75 ” scale chambered guitar with a newly developed composite “ Acoustiglass ” ( a type of fiberglass ) top and wooden back , joined with five screws and a rubber gasket that runs around the body , rendering the guitar very resonant . The German carve on the top and back is particularly attractive . The thin C shaped neck is joined to the body with two bolts and features twenty-one frets , plus a zero fret , vintage style tuners , a rosewood fingerboard , and pearloid block inlays .
Back in the day , Supro was an innovative company in their own right . Their classic Vistatone
single coil pickup , designed by Ralph Keller in the early ‘ 50 ’ s , has been faithfully recreated here . For years , collectors and players have prized the original Vistatones for their warm and over-thetop snarling output , and Supro has succeeded in reproducing them . The Holiday also sports a piezo pickup hidden in the bridge that can be combined with the Vistatone or used on its own . Each pickup has its own volume control plus a High Pass ( anti-feedback ) filter knob for the Piezo . A white Deco pickguard with three black stripes , a three-way switch , a Wilkinson vibrato tailpiece , and a rosewood bridge round out the package . The Americana Series guitars are of Chinese manufacture .
From a player ’ s standpoint , the Holiday is visually striking , totally retro , well balanced and very comfortable to play sitting or standing . The control layout , with three knobs above the pickup on the left , takes a bit of getting used to , but shouldn ’ t be a problem , once the player gets acclimated . The Vistatone and piezo pickups sound very nice played clean , but when you switch on some overdrive , distortion , or fuzz , they positively howl , sustain beautifully , and break up effortlessly , cleaning up nicely when the volume is rolled back . The Supro Holiday is an impressive instrument .
The Indonesian-made Island Series guitars are equipped with the newly-designed Supro Gold Foil Pickups , which are large single coil units that sound positively huge and have very little unwanted hum . The bridge pickup is slightly overwound , and the neck pickup is reverse wound , giving the player quiet humbucking performance when used together .
The bodies are alder and the scale length is 25.5 . The chunky , satin finished set neck features twenty-two medium / jumbo frets , a 12 ” radius rosewood fingerboard and pearloid block inlays . The headstock design is identical to my ’ 58 Supro Belmont , with the attractive Supro logo on a metal plate attached by two screws . The controls are simple ; one volume , one tone , and a three-way selector switch . Kluson style tuners , a tune-o-matic bridge , and a harp tailpiece round it out .
The Island Series Westbury is a great playing guitar in every way . It came out of the box ready to play immediately , held its tuning , even after being played hard , and it ’ s ergonomically sensible , attractive , and extremely versatile . I could get through nearly an entire gig with this baby . It does everything well . The oversized Gold Foils sound absolutely massive played clean or dirty , and playing was effortless in every respect . The guitar is well balanced , and the oversized strap buttons are a thoughtful feature .
The vintage reissue and newly designed Supro guitars are among the most impressive mid-line instruments I have played in a while , and there ’ s no doubting the retro coolness factor . Other manufacturers have tried to capture the Supro vibe , but none have truly succeeded until now .
Street price for each $ 999.00 www . SuproUSA . com
DAWN WHITE HOLIDAY ARCTIC WHITE WESTBURY
16 Mar � Apr 2017 CollectibleGuitar . com