Old 60's-70's tube amp,Seeking info

[J bradley]

Supro - Cannot find any serial or identification numbers. New to the page,Can't figure out how to upload a photo; changed my profile picture to the picture I was trying to upload for obvious reasons.I've had no luck on Google when searching for Supro amps According to my grandparents it's a mid 1960's any information would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[zenas]

I'm no Supro expert but I'd guess early 60s or even late 50s. I do work on old amps so I can tell you having a tech look it over before playing it would be a real good idea. Probably still has the original two prong cord and electrolytics that should be replace.
Looks like a cool amp !

Also if you could list the tubes in it that might help someone identify it for you.

 

[cugel]

i would say its a 50s model. if you post the tube complement and the speaker size you will probably get some answers.

 

[nmiller]

I can ID it if you post the speaker size, tube complement and a description of the controls.

 

[J bradley]

(Keep in mind the plate identifying my controls is rusty, so I'm doing the best I can) -from R to L - To the right I have a 12A fuse holder, on/power light, foot switch input, tremolo knob, volume knob, tone knob, and then 2 inputs. One input it labeled standard, one is labeled treble. Also, above one the Inputs I can make out the words "Valco Chicago"? And under the volume knob it has "model 1B161- 18151, something like that. can't exactly make it out for the surface rust. 4 tubes, larger tubes are 6v6GT-5y3GT smaller tubes (2) are gt-12AX7-c The speaker looks like a 6x9, better measure To be sure could be a little larger.Little amp sounds good, all original and works like a charm. Other than a slight buzz, figure it may be a bad ground. Someone just showed me a couple models with 10-12in speakers, but haven't found my model.

 

[DaveKS]

You need to use a photo hosting account like photobucket to upload to then link to.

 

[nmiller]

(Keep in mind the plate identifying my controls is rusty, so I'm doing the best I can) -from R to L - To the right I have a 12A fuse holder, on/power light, foot switch input, tremolo knob, volume knob, tone knob, and then 2 inputs. One input it labeled standard, one is labeled treble. Also, above one the Inputs I can make out the words "Valco Chicago"? And under the volume knob it has "model 1B161- 18151, something like that. can't exactly make it out for the surface rust. 4 tubes, larger tubes are 6v6GT-5y3GT smaller tubes (2) are gt-12AX7-c The speaker looks like a 6x9, better measure To be sure could be a little larger.Little amp sounds good, all original and works like a charm. Other than a slight buzz, figure it may be a bad ground. Someone just showed me a couple models with 10-12in speakers, but haven't found my model.

You have a 1616TN "Trojan" from 1960-1.

 

[J bradley]

Hit the nail on the head. Thanks! Now that I know what I have, I understand I should change out the 2 prong power plug, what else is recommended? Also, what would be a good replacement for the 11x6 speaker?

 

[teleman1]

http://www.vintage47amps.com/V47-Speakers/

 

[custom53]

http://suprousa.com/history/

 

[DaveKS]

Hit the nail on the head. Thanks! Now that I know what I have, I understand I should change out the 2 prong power plug, what else is recommended? Also, what would be a good replacement for the 11x6 speaker?

Well if it sat unused for many years for sure caps will need replaced, even if has been used caps need replaced. If you go power that up for say 1st time in 12yrs, with today's high wall plate voltage, your gonna have caps bursting, probably taking other components with them.

Get the oil changed, put new rubber on it where the wheels hit the ground so to speak. Have a vintage amp mechanic restore it road safe conditions. You wouldn't go trying to drive a old barn find jalopy home with dry rotted tires, oil that's been setting in bottom of pan for 40yrs, etc, etc. old attic find amps are no different.

 

[mc5nrg]

The yahoo MagnatoneValco users group is a good resource. Supro=Valco.

 

[straightblues]

That amp was made by a company called Valco. They are badged with a lot of different Brand names including: Gretsch, Supro, Airline, Oahu, and National, along with other minor names.

http://www.oldfrets.com/Valco/

 

[EFK]

These generally don't need a lot, especially since you mentioned it seems to run well already. A proper grounded AC cord, plus wiring the switch/fuse properly so that the AC line is fused rather than the neutral, remove the polarity cap from the fuse ("death cap") and a new cap can (mandatory in my book, I don't care if the original is still 'working') Usually that will do it. You can check the caps and resistors but usually those ceramics are fine and the resistors can be within @ 20% with no real alteration of function. Possibly some deoxit for the pots but not usually needed anyway. There are some tweaks you can do to quiet it down, but nothing really necessary. The amps with the AC switch on the volume are usually noisier just because it's a bad location for the AC switch. Good little amps and tough.

I've not found any of the aftermarket 6X9 speakers (V47 or Weber) to sound the same as those old elliptical Rolas. Not saying they sound bad, but not quite the same. Quam made a version of a 6X9 that was closer in size, more like 6X10, but they are very hard to find especially in 3.2/4 ohm. Yours is 3.2 ohm but a more common 4 will work for replacement. Does it actually need a replacement? Those Rolas blow in most of the other amps in which they were used (way underrated) but they often hold up ok in the little single ended jobs, especially if it's a clean amp that wasn't pushed too often.

 

[Baxtercat]

... To the right I have a 12A fuse holder

Hopefully not really a 12A fuse where a maybe a 2A or 2.5A should be.

 

[EFK]

Yes indeed, this should only use a 1A fuse.

 

[cugel]

a cool amp for sure but recap it (get rid of the paper caps, but the round ceramic ones are keepers) and make sure its biased correctly (cathode resistor on the 6v6 should be updated IMHO to a better one. you could bypass that resistor too for fun). very high quality amp. a new amp with those specs would be ~1k in todays money i bet. if you absolutely hate the speaker then there are options like an external cab etc. it would sound huge through a 1x12