Absara Audio LLC, the parent company of effects manufacturer Pigtronix, has acquired the Supro amp and guitar brand.
They will be reintroducing the brand at the upcoming 2014 Winter NAMM event, focusing solely on amplifiers that retain Supro’s vintage-inspired look.
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To make room for this expansion, a new production facility was set up in Port Jefferson Station, NY. This is where a new line of USA-made Supro amplifiers will be shipping from starting April of 2014.
The rights to the Supro brand were acquired in September from Bruce Zinky, a former Fender amp designer and long-time Pigtronix associate. He will continue to be the exclusive design engineer for the brand and will work with Pigtronix sound designer David Koltai to create the next generation Supro amplifiers.
Supro amplifiers have been out of production since the mid ’60s, but its name lives on, thanks to the big name players that have been spotted using their amps. According to the press release, “Supro’s origins can be traced back to the early ’30s when the National Resophonic and Dobro guitar companies merged to form a manufacturing entity called Valco. As electrified music started to emerge, Valco began producing guitars and amplifiers under the Supro name.”
South-side Chicago blues players are said to be among the many users of this amp, which in turn influenced British players to use the same sound. Jimmy page was one of the many artists inspired by the Chicago blues scene, it is said that he cut many of Led Zeppelin’s seminal tracks using a Supro Model 24 amp. Another guitar virtuoso that goes by the name Jimi also played a Supro by the late ’60s. Hendrix was playing a Supro Thunderbolt while on tour with Little Richard and the Isley brothers.
Pigtronix co-founder, Brian Bethke, told us, “We are humbled by the opportunity to re-imagine the Supro product line in a way that honors its rich history and will push these classic designs to the forefront of the modern tube amplifier industry.”
The “re-imagined” Supro brand is set to be unveiled at the coming Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. You can find them at booth #5218 from January 23-26, 2014. Visit Supro USA for more information.
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