Supro Saturn Reverb & Royal Reverb Amp Demo

Reviewed in Guitarist issue 398
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[@jonathon1334]

Just got my new Supro 1600 Supreme and its tone heaven. The great thing about these amps is any and every guitar be it single coil, p-90, or humbucker equipped sounds great. Also, I find that Super Amps really let the guitar your playing shine and sound like what it is. My Jazzmaster sounds like how a Jazzmaster is supposed to sound same with my blackguard Tele, vintage Sheraton, and 339 with Duncan Phat Cats. They are just amazing amps. FYI if you want to use one for bedroom or apartment playing grab an attenuator because these amps do not have master volumes and they are loud. A volume pedal or eq/boost pedal will help a bit also. You definitely do not have to worry about being heard over a hard-hitting drummer. Have a great day everyone! One Last tbing be kind to one another life is too short to hate. You don't have to be a hippie just treat others the way you wanna be treated.

[@thekitowl]

If you use the Supro drive pedal, you don’t lose any of the Supro Tone but the amp becomes neighbour friendly.

[@bretthuhn8666]

I run all of my stuff with Drive Pedals, and, I love the tone@@thekitowl

[@thekitowl]

Brett Huhn 👍

[@sunsparkle8443]

I agree. I have a supreme 1600. I doubt I will ever sell It. I put a nos mullard 12au7 i got from upscale audio in the v1 for clean jazz. ... man, whew

[@thenewmedic]

I'm relieved to hear your Jazzmaster sounds good through these amps. I have a JM and I have a Saturn Reverb MKII on the way but I'm a lil nervous that they won't pair well.

[@vicshere99]

Stunning tones, just the right side of clean. Sublime reverb. Awesome looks. Want.

[@RobCabreraCh]

They sound amazing! I have a Dual Tone, which sounds pretty much the same as that Saturn Reverb. I really loved that Reverb sound, that is something I don't get on my Dual Tone. I might have to get one for stereo setups!

[@harveycan5820]

I returned the Dual Tone. It did a nice grind but that was it. And no Reverb. Liking this Royal Reverb, though...

[@chefrustic]

the best demo I've seen by far!! nice job

[@MrMattias1991]

Love my royal reverb! Might look into getting an attenuator but I like to play loud so it's all good for now.

[@richardjames6623]

You still digging the RR ? I have a Neptune and have a Dr Z attenuator on the way. Looking at the RR as well.

[@MrMattias1991]

@@richardjames6623 verrry much so!

[@stilllifewithguitar184]

That LP jr sounds amazing

[@davidnefesh]

Your style of varying the controls makes for the best demo because it covers the full range of the amp! I was fortunate to land a Saturn recently through Sweetwater USA for $750 (40% off). For some reason they're offering it at a steal (along with the 1600 model for $700). Thanks for the great demo. Can't wait to get my Saturn and turn it up.

[@acemodean]

David Nefesh - singer-songwriter I saw that deal. What are your thoughts now that you have the amp?

[@davidnefesh]

Michael, I ended up spending about $400 more for the Comet for a lighter package (by about 10lbs) with 6/14W switching for a little more crunch at lower volumes. The basically clean tones and clean overdrive on the Comet have so much presence and nuance--it makes me want to give up pedals! Sounds spectacular! And it has the strongest low end I've ever heard on a small combo--and it's a 10"! It is making me fall in love all over again with electric guitar. Sounds great with any of my guitars. And the verb and trem are delicious. BTW, while the Saturn has sold out at Sweetwater--they still have the 25W 10" 1600 model at **$700**--discounted by $300 because it too will be discontinued. It's a great buy, even without the verb/trem like on the other models. Cheers and good music!

[@thenewmedic]

@@davidnefesh Man, I wish I would have known about that one. I am, however, getting a Saturn Reverb MKII off Sweetwater for $800 and that ain't so bad. What's weird though is there's no info on it anywhere aside from Supro's site and Sweetwater. It's already a Legacy model and there's not been any reviews or press releases. Bit odd. But I'm excited nonetheless.

[@ocelotl23]

Awesome demo, now I'm gasing so bad for one of those babies

[@jamesgross6466]

I've heard it said that Supro amps are best suited to single coil guitars. Would have been nice to hear some good humbuckers through these amps. Maybe some Gretcsh Super HiLo Trons and yes, even some Supro Gold Foils!

[@AuntAlnico4]

They go great with greasy Gretsch guitars, true.

[@jamesgross6466]

@@AuntAlnico4 I love my Gretsch!

[@degani.guilherme]

hey guys! Nice demos! great gear, great playing! but I kind of miss the other pickups from when you play the strat! just a thought! Cheers from Brazil!

[@hooskerdu1]

Question for those in the know. I'm a drummer/bass player, that is just starting to learn guitar. I found a Black Magic Reverb that was used just a couple months for $850. Have always loved the sound of a Fender Deluxe Reverb, but was lured by the price of the Black Magic Reverb. Would I have been better served getting one of these 2 models instead, since I love the sound of the Deluxe Reverb? Which is more similar to the Deluxe Reverb in terms of tone?

[@lookingforarlandria]

Supro kind of has its own tone. Entirely depends on what you're looking for. I have the RR (paid about what you paid for the BM) and I love it. It has a little more kick than a fender, but not as drive heavy as a marshall, and i can't understate how well it takes pedals. I use a mid Peaked pedal to help the eq curve a bit to get rid of some boom but its different from the Fender DR. The surpo basically always has 60s classic rock tones dialed in and the BM was good enough for a Mr. Jimmy Page. I don't know if that helps but that'd be my advice

[@hooskerdu1]

@@lookingforarlandria Thanks for the response. So...does the Royal Reverb get pretty loud before it breaks up? I want an amp that is essentially a clean sounding amp, that requires pedals to get a good dirty sound.

[@CARLOSVSCARLOS]

@@hooskerdu1I see you never got answered, and probably have already come to your own conclusions, but I have a Royal Reverb, and a 71 Fender Vibrolux (close enough to a deluxe for a comparison). They sound way different. Lot more mids from the Supro, while the Fender has a sparklier smooth sound. As far as your headroom question, you’ll get more from a Fender, but the Supro does have good clean headroom, especially depending on your guitar. My telecaster barely breaks it up any at almost full volume, while my LP gets it to crunch a little sooner, maybe just past noon

[@Dinkus324567]

I need this amp. Zzounds' 12 payment plan awaits.

[@bluesbagdelta399]

Excellent Demo, thanks!

[@juanmartinreborati7928]

Great tones as always! Thanks

[@matzer8846]

Very nice amps ... great demo, thanks! Could anyone please tell me the name/brand of that red LP-junior style guitar ... just love that P90? sound ... many thanks ...

[@davidkieltyka9]

That's a Collings guitar, the 290 DC model.

[@matzer8846]

David Kieltyka Thank you very much!

[@Bliggick]

It seems like it would have been a better idea to have the whole control panel layout turned around 180 degrees. It is laid out with the the assumption back in the 1950s that the guitar player would be standing behind the amp while on stage.

[@georgeskarpo]

Hey guys great demo!! Do these amps tale pedals well?

[@panhandlegeardemos6837]

from what I've heard, yes, they take pedals really well.

[@fotomule]

@@panhandlegeardemos6837 Yes they do really take pedals well. BUT its a completely different pedal sound from am typical marshall or ven A/B classed fender. All my pedals act very different on a supro compared to other amps. Keep this in mind or bring your pedalboard to the shop. I love the sound, which I believe comes from the fabulous rich midtone.

[@MRay-zj4ro]

Anyone know what brand\model the red guitar is? That thing sounds killer with the Saturn....

[@JuanA-vh1wg]

I believe it's a Collings DC 290 S. It's essentially a high-end Les Paul Junior Double Cut copy.

[@MRay-zj4ro]

Thanks Juan! Wish it had been something much cheaper...lol. :)

[@davidrizzardi975]

Reverend makes a single P90 guitar called the Sensei Jr.....a good used one is about $600 on Reverb.com

[@KeithTasker]

Excellent demo...thanks for posting. Does anyone know if the Royal Reverb has any clean headroom to speak of? I fully expected that with the rectifier set to 60W that it would be super clean, but every demo I've seen, the amp seems to be in dirt territory in every rectifier setting. I haven't had a chance to try one myself yet. And while I love the natural overdrive, I also like to have clean headroom at times as a platform for pedals.

[@raypolakovic1290]

+Keith Tasker Tons of clean headroom on the 60W channel.

[@gaineyproductions2725]

Keith Tasker headroom for days even on the 45 watt setting. Played it in a store today. I've never heard a more beautiful sounding amp than the royal reverb, nor have I heard one that responds so well to overdrive pedals. Sat a fulltone OCD in front as a "benchmark" because it's a standard pedal. This amp simply shreds. Best amp I've ever played through or heard.

[@HamsterSpanks]

Gainey Productions Ditto!! Tried a friend's Thunderbolt + the other day and it totally blew me away. Best Amp I have ever played. I stuck an OCD in front of it with humbuckers and evengot a great 80's metal tone out of it!! These amps are incredible!!

[@raypolakovic1290]

I've demoed with a single coil G&L Legacy, and it has a ton of headroom at the 60W setting.

[@KeithTasker]

Thanks!

[@_benjohn_]

Great demo

[@DanOughton]

Mmmmmm these sound sooo goood!

[@goyatley]

+Dan Oughton Probably very loud as well ... sadly.

[@DanOughton]

+Peter Ponjaert hi, hopefully! I run a Bluesbreaker, that is LOUD!!

[@DubsMood]

wow. just. wow.

[@thesuccessfulbarber]

sweet sounding amp

[@davidrizzardi975]

The red guitar looks like a Collings with a single bridge P90 pickup?

[@colaboytje]

It is

[@jfjoubertquebec]

what kind of vibrato does it use? Bias?

[@czesio12323]

what pickups do you have there?

[@sega62s]

I want this guitar

[@mikec6733]

Why are these so expensive?

[@CARLOSVSCARLOS]

They’re made in New York. Well at least when I bought mine, but they may have moved over seas recently

[@keaneong4591]

those amps are almost similar to fenders damn. would they work well with some overdrives and distortion?

[@fmkidskater]

lance ong Supro is the standard for overdrive pedals nowadays. Many OD pedals are trying to achieve how these amps sound.

[@bigkev705]

lance ong I have the Supro Tremo-Verb, and it takes pedals better than my Fender Princeton did. Great pedal platform!

[@jonathon1334]

lance o I have to disagree they aren't even in the same world not dying one is better both brands are great but I just two different amps when a Supro and a Fender are next to one another. Aesthetically though Supro beats Fender hands done but that's just my personal opinion.

[@jonathon1334]

Yes, they take overdrive, verb, fuzz and any other pedal extremely well. However, they are great just for plugging in, turning up, and playing.

[@thenewmedic]

@@jonathon1334 That's the best part about them. Best straight-in tone I've ever heard.

[@swardmusic]

Take my money.

[@ALANSIANUQUI]

Gain knob how??

[@joeschlicht]

Stop turning it down!

[@OperationEndGame]

Wow...

[@milk_bath]

Mega

[@tricko2286]

Absara came out with too many Supro’s at once and created model confusion/overlap. Also, price was too high to tryout what is basically a “new” brand. Owing to the vintage fidelity I can almost excuse those stupid unreadable knobs.

[@thenewmedic]

Yeah, while I've been loving what I'm hearing from Supro, the model overlap is strange. It's never clear which ones are similar to one another because they never use their own amps as reference points (unless it's vintage models). The production runs are also weirdly short at times and it's not always clear what they're doing other than throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

[@TheNohcim]

Agreed. I have no idea what any of the significant differences are between their models. Seems like all of them have the same specs and just different speakers!

[@thenewmedic]

@@TheNohcim In all fairness, I felt that way about Fender at first, too. Not like their amp names make any sense.

[@thenewmedic]

@Jeremy Belzunces Tell me about it! I got myself a Saturn MKII and it's every bit as good as I'd hoped. And more.

[@tfrost33elkhunter]

Tricko agree here... I have been eyeing up Supro for a while but in the end I gave up for the reason you stated here.

[@colaboytje]

The Saturn sounds like a 68 princeton custom. The Royal like a 68 deluxe custom.

[@Stump51]

I like how some companies advertise their products. Amps sound good. Cheaper than fender. Price. Oh yea jimi hendrix played supro. I never saw it. But nice try.

[@mikewilkinson694]

Except that Hendrix did play and record with Supro Amps

[@hooskerdu1]

Well, Jimmy Page used a Supro amp for the first 4 Led Zep albums, including playing a Tele through a Supro amp for the Stairway to Heaven solo.

[@AuntAlnico4]

And it's out of tune, but in tune with his ear I guess.

[@sloanchampion85]

no overdrive no distortion....no way I'd buy one

[@Pudge4400]

That's what pedals are for. Your base clean tone is what's most important. If you start with crap, it's still gonna sound like crap no matter what pedals you throw at it. These amps sound fantastic and would be an EXCELLENT pedal platform.

[@firemarshal2629]

I know right, screw having a killer tone when you can have an amp that sounds just like every other amp on the market with 12 gain stages and the volume knob on 2.

[@Musicman123355]

They are way over priced. I bought one n I returned in the same day.

[@paulboomer4794]

+Musicman123355 Why? Because of the price, only? The only reason,I'm asking is, I am thinking seriously thinking about one of these!

[@johanhallgren6717]

Why? you should have broken the speakers in..

[@judsonruddick5240]

Musicman123355 way over priced? It's all-tube and sounds better than some higher priced fenders, and is only like $1000 or even $900, that's cheap for such a high quality amp

[@gaineyproductions2725]

jim leiss I can fathom anyone returning this unless it was faulty. Played thru 1 today. Honestly the best sounding amp I've ever heard. P90's sound flat out incredible through this amp.

[@pzarelli75]

I found a Supro Saturn (brand new) on Sweetwater for $650. Not over priced, sounds great!! I did have to readjust my single coil heights on the Strat a little bit (It was a bit too much low end for my tastes at first). Muy Bueno!!!