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QUIRKY VINTAGE : 1957 SUPRO “ 60 ” SOLIDBODY � Bob Cianci
Old Supro guitars have proven themselves to be favorites for years now , primarily by collectors and players with a taste for the offbeat and unusual . Collectible value is slowly rising , and most likely will continue to do so as guitarists discover the quirky charm of these lower end instruments from the golden days of the American guitar industry . Supro instruments were never huge sellers in their day because they were generally overshadowed by their competitors : Danelectro , Harmony , and Kay , and later , by low cost Japanese imports .
The Supro “ 60 ” is a real oddball . In fact , I have never seen one before . It uses the same body shape as the Belmont and Dual Tone , but what makes it special is the single string-thru lap steel pickup you see in the photo . These pickups are highly prized by players like Ry Cooder , David Lindley , Joe Perry , and others . Joe Perry told this writer that his favorite slide guitar is a Supro Ozark with a string-thru pickup such as the one found on this guitar . On this “ 60 ,” the
pickup is mounted on a rectangular steel plate that also anchors the strings . The volume control is the larger knob on the left ; the tone control the smaller . Both work as they should with no crackling , as is so common with these older budget guitars . The wooden bridge is functional but expectedly inaccurate in terms of spot-on intonation .
This particular example of a Supro “ 60 ” is all original and is short scale , featuring a chunky nineteen fret bolt-on neck with Kluson tuners that is painted black , like most Supros from this era , and has the standard pointed Supro headstock with an Art Deco gold colored nameplate . The fretboard is rosewood . One surprising and disturbing feature was a very poorly cut neck pocket that left quite a bit of space between the body and neck that appeared to have been done at the factory , not a snug fit at all . This caused the neck to move just a bit from side to side , a problem that could possibly be rectified by a talented luthier , but this issue seemed to have no real effect on the playability of the instrument under normal use .
In terms of looks , one can ’ t help but notice the black pinstriping and the “ 60 ” in quotation marks on the body that boldly announces the name of the guitar for the entire world to see . Some may find it gaudy and kitschy , but that depends on your taste in ornamentation .
This writer came away from the experience of playing this Supro “ 60 ” feeling as if he was actually playing a lap steel with a standard guitar body . It would make an outstanding , funky , open-tuned slide guitar for a blues player . It ’ s no wonder guys like Ry Cooder and Joe Perry have gravitated to Supros with this lap steel pickup . This Supro “ 60 ” is priced at $ 1395 .
Once again , many thanks to Buzzy Levine of Lark Street Music in Teaneck , New Jersey for his cooperation in supplying this guitar for analysis .
12 Jul � Aug 2017 CollectibleGuitar . com