1953 Supro Ozark

Cool raunchy sounding Supro Ozark solidbody guitar from 1953. Tiny body, huge neck, massive sounding pickup. Roll down the tone (or rather, roll it "up" since it is wired backwards) and it sounds like a Harmony H-62. Turn it up and it cops a Stratotone sound pretty well, just with a whole lot more output. Through the right amp it sounds like Willie Johnson on the old Sun recordings of Howlin' Wolf. Cool!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• supro
• valco
• ozark
• blues
• guitar

[1Knitandplay]

Hey, very nice playing, a nice tribute to the fifties blues records, tasteful and heartfelt. Nice tone as well. Thanks for sharing your talent with us!

[guitarded71]

@1Knitandplay - by some incredible coincidence I was enjoying your Duolian videos just the other day! Thank you!

[Strawberry7Lynn]

Anyone know where Supros were built?

[guitarded71]

@Strawberry7Lynn - they were built in Chicago.

[ambilevous]

nice! nailing down that old willie johnson tone ain't easy. once heard his sound described as an electrified guitar strung with barbed wire.

standard tuning on that piece you played?

[guitarded71]

@ambilevous - yessir, standard tuning. LOVE Willie Johnson's stuff with Wolf!

[suonoblues]

GREATTTTT BLUES-SOUND!!!...

[BeebleBabbleBooble]

Great playing, also!

[HYPNOTICVIDEO]

Great Great!  yeah

[RonPirtle]

How about that!!

My first guitar was a Supro. Bought in in Mar or Apr of '52. Cost me $99.50 new w/leopardskin pattern chipboard case (full retail)

They were made by National in Chicago. Mine was one of the first ones built. The cord was a screw (mike type) on, not a 1/4" plug. The knobs were white.

If it had an Ozark name I never heard it. Mostly it was called an electric fly swatter!

In '56 I bought a new Strat for $219.00 and the Supro.

[123jesse123]

cool playing, really suits the instrument i think.

[guitarded71]

No sir, it has the symmetrical pre-Gumby "paddle" headstock. I think they adopted the "narrow" version of the Gumby headstock in '55 and then went to the really wacky large ones in '61 or '62. I have other Valco guitars with those headstocks but this Ozark is earlier than the rest.