# Pulled The Trigger On This: Supro Sahara



## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

I'd been watching it on Reverb for almost two months and the price came down to $300. I sprang into action. Done. Looking forward to getting it. I have always had a thing for Supro guitars. Have three of them now.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Nice.
The new Supro guitars are amazing. I think I’m up to seven now. I do what you did. I keep an eye out for a killer deal and then pounce.

I still need to take pics of the newest ones.


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## doblander (Dec 8, 2019)

Every one of these guitars looks like a collectors item right out of the box.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Where are they made?


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

All of mine are from Indonesia.
These have changed my mind about worrying where guitars are made, but I think that was their problem. The original prices on these weren’t cheap and so people were reluctant to “pay that much for a guitar made in xxxxx”. If I recall, the street prices were close to the $1000 range so they weren’t moving. Dealers were instructed by Supro to “do what you have to do” and they would cover any losses.

I was in BC for work in 2018 and saw that Tom Lee Music had them on clearance for $800. I thought that if I could talk them into $800 tax-in, I’d grab one. I walked into the Langley location and they had them tagged at $499!! After trying a couple out and being shocked at how fantastic they felt and sounded, I hatched a plan. I called my buddy back in Ottawa because I knew he was also interested in these and asked if he wanted one if I could get a deal. I got the go-ahead from him.

I had been talking to the manager and he told me about Supro’s instructions to clear them out so I told him “if you can do $400 each, I’ll take 3”. In the end, I bought the Sahara, the green Westbury (2nd from right), and a blue Westbury. My buddy took the blue one. I would have also grabbed the 3 pickup version but I only had so much room to get them all home.

When we had our first rehearsal after I got home, I brought them and let my other guitar player have his pick of the green or blue. After about an hour, we took a break. He basically said “I kinda expected it to be an alright guitar for 500 bucks, but I’m _shocked_ at how awesome these are”. The fit and finish, the quality of the materials, and the set-up were comparable to anything else I own. For the next 2 months, I didn’t see him play another guitar. I got to the point where I had to make him bring his Gibson to the gigs so that I could finally use _my_ Supro. I hadn’t been bringing mine because I didn’t want to have matching guitars.


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

Very cool. I've been looking for one of the newer Supro guitars as well. There were a bunch of them on Kijiji a few months ago but haven't seen any posted recently.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

A while back, music stores around here were blowing the guitars out really cheaply. I should have bought a few back then, but didn't. Once the Sahara arrives, I have my eye on a black Holiday model with an asking price of $499 or B/O.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

So to give you an idea, of my 7 Supros, I’ve bought 5 new. In the photo I posted, the 2 on the right were $400 Cdn, the red one was $299 US with the Supro hard case, and the black one was $499 Cdn.

I just got this one on cyber-Monday for $449 US...










Like I said, look for a deal, then pounce.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

The Sahara in the OP is a great guitar. The original Reso-glas guitars were completely made out of fibreglass. They’re not very stable and have feedback issues. The new ones are a chambered mahogany body with a composite “Acousti-glass” top. They’re really well made and much more versatile than the originals.


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## Pickboy to the stars. (Nov 25, 2020)

Pulled the rigger........

In my circle, a rigger is the badass mofo up in the roof beams of any local arena, pulling up many 1 ton lighting and audio motors and 200 lbs of chain to the ceiling by himself with only his work rope. One thing I can assure a person......Pull on my rigger, it'll probably be a really bad day lol. 
Hands the size of a grizzly's paw.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

Pickboy to the stars. said:


> Pulled the rigger........
> 
> In my circle, a rigger is the badass mofo up in the roof beams of any local arena, pulling up many 1 ton lighting and audio motors and 200 lbs of chain to the ceiling by himself with only his work rope. One thing I can assure a person......Pull on my rigger, it'll probably be a really bad day lol.
> Hands the size of a grizzly's paw.


Typo. I fixed it just now.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

I saw your other thread where the deal fell through. I know this one isn’t $300, but he has it at $420 and is open to offers.









Supro 1570WB Sahara Single Pickup Americana Series Electric Guitar Wedgewood Blue Metallic | Reverb


Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.




reverb.com





There are actually some pretty decent deals right now on some Supro electrics. What are the other models that you have?


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

That Sahara looks like it would be great for slide!


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Roryfan said:


> That Sahara looks like it would be great for slide!


You mean, like... a toboggan?

Umm, I’m sure the plastic body would _work_, but why would you want to? 🤷‍♂️


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

My favourite Supro “reissue” is the Westbury — those gold foil pickups are outstanding.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

2manyGuitars said:


> I saw your other thread where the deal fell through. I know this one isn’t $300, but he has it at $420 and is open to offers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I spoke to the guy selling that blue Sahara and he was willing to deal on the $420 price, but having tried the Island series Supros, I came to the conclusion they were more solidly built than the vintage reissues. My reissue Holiday Supro is still in the shop. I may still go for a vintage reissue, maybe a black Holiday, if I can get it for around $350. That's keeping in mind I'll probably have to have it worked on.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

DrumBob said:


> I spoke to the guy selling that blue Sahara and he was willing to deal on the $420 price, but having tried the Island series Supros, I came to the conclusion they were more solidly built than the vintage reissues. My reissue Holiday Supro is still in the shop. I may still go for a vintage reissue, maybe a black Holiday, if I can get it for around $350. That's keeping in mind I'll probably have to have it worked on.


Between this, the Jamesport, and the Duesenberg Paloma, I’m more and more convinced we’re “brothers from other mothers”.

I originally bought the Sahara because it’s that “iconic” Supro design, and the price worked out to around $300 US. At the same time, I bought a Westbury because the Island series and specifically the gold foils, blew me away. I pretty much used the Westbury exclusively and picked up the Sahara once in a while as a living room guitar.

Eventually, I got a Black Holiday and use that for the odd gig. It has the “coolness factor” of the Sahara but it’s a little more versatile because of the 2 pickups. I’ve added a few more since but haven’t had much of a chance to try them out since they were acquired post-COVID.

Looking forward to hear about the Jamesport. That pickup position has me curious as to how it would sound compared to the bridge pickup on the Westbury. Would it be bright enough to use as a main axe?


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

I haven't had an opportunity to play a Jamesport; also wonder about that pickup position sounded... My gut feeling, based on my experience with the Westbury, is that it would be a great slide guitar platform given I prefer a little top end taken off for my slide playing, so use the middle position. I assume you've already seen this demo: 



Looking forward to a hands-on report!


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

DavidP said:


> I haven't had an opportunity to play a Jamesport; also wonder about that pickup position sounded... My gut feeling, based on my experience with the Westbury, is that it would be a great slide guitar platform given I prefer a little top end taken off for my slide playing, so use the middle position. I assume you've already seen this demo:
> 
> 
> 
> Looking forward to a hands-on report!


Yeah, I love his demo videos. In this one, it sounds a bit “farty” but I’m not sure how much of that can be attributed to moving the bridge pickup a half-inch. I think it has more to do with plugging it into a dimed, 6 watt, class A tube amp through a 10 inch speaker.

I’d still rock the shit outta’ one. _Especially_ the copper one. I’m super jealous of @DrumBob.


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

I have to be honest; I haven't plugged it in yet. Neither have I plugged in the last three guitars I got recently. That will change tomorrow. I was busy all day with my grandson and since the gigs and rehearsals have dried up, I haven't had much motivation to set up my entire rig. I will have time tomorrow, and will report back on all the guitars I have gotten lately. The only amp I have hooked up right now is a tiny Vox practice amp that won't give me an accurate idea of the way the guitars sound.

I don't like the tone Ford Thurston got out of it on that video. It sounded terrible, in fact. He's a good player, but he seems to play the same stuff every time he does a demo video; his version of Americana blues licks.

I also wondered about the position of the pickup on that guitar, and my gut feeling is, it's probably not quite as trebly sounding as it would be if the pickup was moved back a bit toward the bridge, but we'll see after I test it out. It's a little mid-rangy, but that's OK. I love the way it plays and feels, and love the way it looks. There's not a mark on it.

There's another video of David Koltai, the former owner of Supro, demoing the copper/orange Jamesport at Chicago Music Exchange, and he really cranks it up loud, so you can get a good idea of how it sounds pushed to the limit. I was very impressed and based my decision to buy on that video. The guitar sounds incredible. Check that one out. At the end, Dave picks up a vintage Ozark, the guitar the Jamesport was based on, and kicks some serious butt. That guitar sounds incredible. Here's the video.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

DrumBob said:


> I have to be honest; I haven't plugged it in yet. Neither have I plugged in the last three guitars I got recently. That will change tomorrow. I was busy all day with my grandson and since the gigs and rehearsals have dried up, I haven't had much motivation to set up my entire rig. I will have time tomorrow, and will report back on all the guitars I have gotten lately. The only amp I have hooked up right now is a tiny Vox practice amp that won't give me an accurate idea of the way the guitars sound.


I’m in the same boat as you. I have 4 or 5 guitars that I’ve picked up since the ‘rona and I think I’ve only plugged in one of them (if you don’t count plugging them in to try them out). I even have a couple amps that I haven’t really played either.

With no gigging and no rehearsals, the motivation just isn’t there. It hasn’t stopped my GAS though. But I’ll eventually get around to trying them all out soon enough.

And if you ever decide that the Jamesport isn’t right for you, I’ll give it a great home.


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