By David Gedge
SUPRO'S COMET
Supro System
Supro 1610RT Comet Guitar Amplifier
Supro USA has released its 1610RT
Comet: a high-gain, low-wattage 1x10
combo with reverb, tremolo and switchable power. Designed to be an recording
amplifier and a go-anywhere companion
to a user's favorite guitars, this lightweight
tube amp cranks out 6 Watts or 14 Watts of
screaming-hot vintage tone with an onboard option to drench your sound in
tube-driven reverb and tremolo.
The Comet preamp delivers warm,
blooming clean tones up until 12-o'clock
on the volume knob. Past noon, the
Comet's voice rolls over into Supro crunch,
giving way to singing, violin-like overdrive at full volume. The Comet is usually
high-gain for a vintage-flavored amp, and
it commands a sweet-spot without being
too loud.
The Comet's vintage-correct tremolo
effect occurs in the preamp, before the
reverb. This 12AX7-based tremolo circuit
allows for wider overall speed range and a
deeper effect as compared to our louder
models where the tremolo happens in the
54 illinoisentertainer.com october 2016
power tubes, after the reverb.
The power amp found in the Comet
uses a single 6L6 tube with switchable
plate voltage to achieve studio-and-practice-friendly 6 Watts or a more robust 14
Watts for stage use. The overdrive that
occurs within the Comet's "single-ended,"
Class-A output stage supplies even-order
harmonics that is soaked in tube compression. True to the legacy of the original,
microphone-friendly Supro combos, the
Comet's exceptional
dynamics and ultralow noise performance
make it an ideal
recording amp.
The
Comet
is
dressed in 1959 Supro
cosmetics, with Black
Rhino Hide tolex,
black piping, white
welting and a gold
faceplate. Similar in
construction to Supro's
Black Magick and Supreme amplifier models, there is no beam blocker in front of the
Comet's custom-made CR10 speaker
A matching 1700 BD12-loaded, 1x12
extension cabinet can also be hooked up to
the Comet, bringing the overall speaker
impedance load down to 4-ohms to deliver maximum punch and additional stage
volume for gigs. The 1610 Comet, and the
entire line of Supro amps is hand-assembled in by Absara Audio in Port Jefferson,
NY, USA.
Good Transmisser
Earthquaker Resonant Reverberations Pedal
Ohio-based effects pedal company
EarthQuaker Devices announced the
release of the Transmisser Resonant
Reverberations device, available for purchase on October 3. The Transmisser is a
modulated reverb with extra-long decay
fed to a highly resonant filter. It is the sonic
recreation of blowing your signal to bits,
shooting it through a black hole, then
beaming it back down on a cloud of cosmic
dust. It is a Blazar for musical instruments.
If you can't already tell, the Transmisser
is not your every-day reverberation
device, according to the company. "It does
not do subtle. It does not do
spring. It does not do a wood paneled rumpus room with 1" thick
carpet. It will not recreate the classic sounds of the '60s, '70s and
'80s. The Transmisser will create
an ultimate soundscape-y backdrop to your all-night guitar
freak-out. It’ll quickly turn you
into a one note per minute knob
twiddler. It’ll make you want to
break out that dusty old expression pedal to do slow riding filter
sweeps for days. It’ll get you out of that
stupid ergonomic chair, close that flaptop
computer and force you to enjoy playing
music again," according to the company.
News & Notes
R&B Productions Hillside Guitar Show
The friendly folks from R&B
Productions and Bakes Guitars are back
with their 26th Annual Guitar Show on
Sunday, October 2, from 10 a.m until 4
p.m., at the Best Western in Hillside (4400
Frontage Rd. Dealers from all over the
Midwest will buy and sell new and used
guitars, amplifiers, parts, and accessories.
Admission is $10, but only $5 bucks if you
bring your guitar.