1950-60 supro? help id the model (lots of pic's)

[icyuod2]

hello everybody, my first post here on vintaxe.

the first time i saw this guitar, the kid upstairs ask if i could route a new neck joint on the body of the guitar. the bridge was snapped in two and the neck had a mean warp on the 18-19th frets.

i told him to leave the guitar with me and i would see what i could do to make it playable once again. i told him i'd purchase it from him before i allowed him to route the body.

took the neck off the guitar and found out that it was only held inplace with one screw. the second being a neck ajustment screw (which the kid had cranked tight thinking it was securing the neck) this was the reason for the warp.

i repaired the bridge,set the neck and returned the guitar in playable condition. i have to say it has very nice action.

that was a year and a half ago.

last month i picked up a tagus pro 115 solid state amp from a pawn shop. i paid $65 but the amp was falling apart.

i figure its a 70's amp made in toronto ontario. it looks like alot of traynors from the same era. i never found out much info on the tagus. i did however replace the dust cover on the 15" papaer speaker, rebuild the cabinet and wrapped the entire amp.

anyway, to make a long story short, i just traded the $65 amp for the supro.
i'm assuming its a 1958-62 guitar (just guessing based on others i've seen)
i'd really like to find out what model this is. any info would be greatly appreciated. it seems 100% original other than a missing switch knob and a second hole has been drilled for the strap button.

also i'd love to see what the original selector switch knob looks like. (to help in its replacement. i really did save this one, if you saw what the kid did to his 70's sg, you'd cry.
and the pic's


[img]http://www.vintaxe.com/forum_pics/supro_dualtone_bridge.jpg/img]





and the electronics. the paper cap say thier made in chicargo






i'm interested in the value also (for insurance purposes) but history,info,model no. etc are first on my list of priorities.

[VintAxe]

Hey icyuod2,

You've got a nice looking Supro Dual Tone there. However, you should be arrested for Grand Larceny The value of the Dual Tone is between $900 - $1,300 depending on the year. They were made from about 1954 to 1964.

Just kidding about the Larceny, it's clear you have saved this instrument from the junk pile. Also, it's the seller's (or trader's) responsibility to know something about what they are selling. sb

[simonm]

Hi icyuod2,

Nice guitar!

I'm quite into Supro /Nationals /Airline - your guitar is pretty much like the Dual Tone except it has 3 pickups, so I guess it's called a Triple Tone or something... these are much more rare (but maybe not much more valuable) than the usual 2 pickup versions, and are not in any of the catalogues on this site. National, Supro, Airline brands were made by Valco in Chicago.

The black and 'aztec gold' colour scheme on yours is typical of the '57-8 period, but most Dual Tones from this time are white. I check these gtrs on ebay all the time and have only ever seen one like yours. It was way overpriced at something like $1500, and didn't sell.

Re - the switch tip - on my 1960 Airline Town & Country it's a plain barrrel, probably Dakaware, but not like a Telecaster type.

Scroll down to 'Serial Number Plates 1940-1964' on this page to date your guitar

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/national.html

Let us know what the year is, I'm curious about these more unusual Supros - here's mine, with a slightly different body shape and weird custom/mod control plate, and non-original tailpiece + bridge.

[jedistar]

A bit of history on Supro at Blue Book on line

https://www.bluebookinc.com/download/Ca ... RIC&id=932


www.jedistar.com

[icyuod2]

well in my own defense, the tagus amp does look like a $1000000. i did a bang up job. i'll snap some pic's, i think you'll be impressed. its a very nice sounding amp (i get to hear it everynight through the ceiling. lol )

i have no doubt in my mind this guitar would have suffered the same fate as the sg. the sg has been painted then sanded with a palm sander and 225grit sand paper. from thier it was stained and clear coated. all the original turning keys, bridge, pick ups etc have been replaced with cheap knock offs. it really is sad, and this kid just praises his work. he's under the impression his guitar is now worth more. lol

its a lost cause.

dont get me wrong, i've taken no ofense to your jokes about the grand larceny.
i pride myself on being honest and fair in my dealings with others. i was going to sell the amp to him for $200 ($65 cost,$40 in materials to repair the amp and alittle extra for my time-8 hours work)
i didnt ever dream i'd be getting the supro. when he offered it in trade, i flat out told him he was foolish. his reply, its just gonna hang on the wall cause you wont route the neck joint for me (i guess he looked into it at a local repair shop and just couldn't afford it) i'm still not sure what he doesnt like about the guitar, the action is awesome, intonation nice. the ajustable neck see's to that.

the kid's sold on the trade. i told him to take the amp for a few weeks and see how he liked it. he didnt even want to wait that long to make the trade.

long and short, i was tired of trying to talk him out of the trade.
i figured the guitar was worth $400-500.

i must have done something right. maybe the stars are aligned just so, and the guitar gods are smiling down on me.

something, cause look what i just dug out of my dumpster (was sitting on top of the pile, no real digging)

happy days, its just like xmas!
best i can tell, a 1963 harmony tenor guitar.


i almost walked away without checking the case (thinking it would be full of garbage) the sticker caught the corner of my eye as i turned away and i had to go back and check.


Other than the bolts through the bridge, it seems in nice shape for a guitar without a truss.







so a few more questions.

any idea where i can get a replacement 3way knob ? (plastic piece) do you have a good close pic up of what they look like? (or know where i might find one)


and the harmony? any tricks or tips about dealing with a vintage guitar/case that smells like dumpster? (a small price to pay)

edit, wow i had a few more replys by the time i was done typing this out.lol
thanks for all the help. gonna check the year and get back to ya.

[icyuod2]

so i checked the dates.

my serial is t10399 placing it in 1959 ( T5000 - T25000 1959)

i did a good job guessing its age.

so what year is your guitar? thanks for all the help, looks like i have some reading to do.

just stumbled on to this site. some great pic's of a 1959 supro triple tone that looks nothing like mine.
http://www.vintagegitar.no/content/view/482/56/

[simonm]

[simonm]

[icyuod2]

nice guitars! i think i need a couple more myself.

dam thats a sweet little collection. if i'm not being too bold, how much did you pay for each?



yeah london aint 1/2 bad. alot of pawnshops, and alot of really cool old guitars for sale.

[simonm]

[quote="icyuod2"]nice guitars! i think i need a couple more myself.

dam thats a sweet little collection. if i'm not being too bold, how much did you pay for each?quote]

I'm a cheapskate at heart if the truth be told, so I don't mind bragging about a bargain . I got interested in these gtrs via pictures of the crazy res-o-glass models and a couple I'd seen in shops here for big money, but even before the Jack White effect the US prices were a little high for me, so I started to notice the other ones. At this time there wasn't a lot of interest in the wood body models.

They're all from ebay. The Airline was about $400 5 yrs ago, which was a bit less than the going rate at that time. I got lucky with the Silvertone at $200 a couple of years ago (including case and Gretsch style embossed-cowboy-design strap) and the mystery Supro was about $300 just last year - cheap because of a very visible neck repair - bit of a gamble, but the repair is good so I'm happy.

[sototallypumped]

i've had my supro for about nine years now. i originally bought it for 250 from a vintage guitar shop that got in a bunch of them. i replaced the nut with a bone nut since the original was literally cracking off and i recently replaced the tuners with new kluson tuners and i put a tune-o-matic bridge on it to increase the sustain. i still have the old parts and plan on keeping them. the switch isn't original though. i guess someone swapped the three way with a five way somewhere down the road. either way i love this guitar. perfect for blues when played through a bright amp. excellent through metal when played through something with high gain.

here are some pictures.





so i have a question. with the new tuners i bought the grommets and tuning pegs are noticeably different in size. tuning pegs are smaller in diameter and the grommets are larger in diameter but smaller in the aperture. as it is now the pressure from the strings are pulling the tuning pegs at a downward angle which is obviously not good. should i remove the old grommets and shave the holes on the head stock with an exact-o knife to get a proper fit or will i be decreasing the value?

i don't have any plans to sell this guitar for the foreseeable future but it never hurts to ask.

[VintAxe]

Hi sototallypumped.

In my opinion anytime you make non-reversible alterations to a vintage guitar you decrease it's value.

Look at the dimensions on these thin walled bushings and see if they will work for you.