I'm pleased to report that my recent search for the "Perfect Fender Combo" has come to a most satisfying conclusion.
Except it's not a Fender at all.
Say hello to the Supro Royal Reverb 1650RT:
I sort of ran across it by accident. I had just about decided on a vintage silverface Pro Reverb. The Supro popped up in a search for combos with 10" speakers. Once I read the specs I was intrigued, so I pulled up a bunch of video demos. It was soon clear that what I was hearing sounded more like what I was after than any of the Fender combos I heard or played. Since there are no Supro dealers around here I decided to roll the dice and order the Royal Reverb.
I set all the controls at noon, with no reverb and no tremolo. Neck pickup on a 60th anniversary Strat. After strumming two or three chords I was in love. Beautiful, sweet cleans. I quickly learned that there's no way to get a bad sound out of this amp. You can crank the volume and bass all the way up and the bottom end stays fat and tight. Zero flubbiness. Crank the treble up and it becomes more clear and articulate but NOT harsh or ice-picky. Sweet is the operative term, at any volume or setting.
With everything dimed you get a smooth breakup a bit shy of Plexi levels but very nice for classic rock crunch. It will produce some serious thump and feels in no way out of control. It stays firm with excellent note definition. It exhibits no tendency to squeal or feedback in a bad way. I was amazed at how meaty and fat the tone is with the 2 x 10" custom designed Eminence speakers.
I'm sure it will take boosts and overdrives very nicely, but honestly I have enjoyed playing it so much just straight in with nothing in front that I haven't bothered to try anything like that yet. And I will keep it even if it sucks with pedals.... It sounds that good just by itself.
It's got a big ass reverb tank, tube driven. It does everything from a tiny bit of ambience to a massive amount of Surf-verb. I can definitely say it's the best on-board reverb I've heard. None of that cheesy spring boink that some analog verbs exhibit. It actually sounds like physical space, organic and soothing.
This little combo is also a dual recto!! When switched to tube rectifier the amp makes 35 Watts. When switched to solid-state rectifier the output is 60 watts. I much prefer the 35 watt setting, it has a smoother sound and feel, a bit more drive when cranked up, and there's really not a lot of difference in volume.
I'm not much of a tremolo man, but it lt's got a very decent tube driven tremolo circuit too.
It's a pretty thing, and build quality appears to be well above average. I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for a vintage style combo. This amp will cover a huge amount of musical territory.
That silver grill sticks out like a pecker in a pussy patch:
Except it's not a Fender at all.
Say hello to the Supro Royal Reverb 1650RT:
I sort of ran across it by accident. I had just about decided on a vintage silverface Pro Reverb. The Supro popped up in a search for combos with 10" speakers. Once I read the specs I was intrigued, so I pulled up a bunch of video demos. It was soon clear that what I was hearing sounded more like what I was after than any of the Fender combos I heard or played. Since there are no Supro dealers around here I decided to roll the dice and order the Royal Reverb.
I set all the controls at noon, with no reverb and no tremolo. Neck pickup on a 60th anniversary Strat. After strumming two or three chords I was in love. Beautiful, sweet cleans. I quickly learned that there's no way to get a bad sound out of this amp. You can crank the volume and bass all the way up and the bottom end stays fat and tight. Zero flubbiness. Crank the treble up and it becomes more clear and articulate but NOT harsh or ice-picky. Sweet is the operative term, at any volume or setting.
With everything dimed you get a smooth breakup a bit shy of Plexi levels but very nice for classic rock crunch. It will produce some serious thump and feels in no way out of control. It stays firm with excellent note definition. It exhibits no tendency to squeal or feedback in a bad way. I was amazed at how meaty and fat the tone is with the 2 x 10" custom designed Eminence speakers.
I'm sure it will take boosts and overdrives very nicely, but honestly I have enjoyed playing it so much just straight in with nothing in front that I haven't bothered to try anything like that yet. And I will keep it even if it sucks with pedals.... It sounds that good just by itself.
It's got a big ass reverb tank, tube driven. It does everything from a tiny bit of ambience to a massive amount of Surf-verb. I can definitely say it's the best on-board reverb I've heard. None of that cheesy spring boink that some analog verbs exhibit. It actually sounds like physical space, organic and soothing.
This little combo is also a dual recto!! When switched to tube rectifier the amp makes 35 Watts. When switched to solid-state rectifier the output is 60 watts. I much prefer the 35 watt setting, it has a smoother sound and feel, a bit more drive when cranked up, and there's really not a lot of difference in volume.
I'm not much of a tremolo man, but it lt's got a very decent tube driven tremolo circuit too.
It's a pretty thing, and build quality appears to be well above average. I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for a vintage style combo. This amp will cover a huge amount of musical territory.
That silver grill sticks out like a pecker in a pussy patch:
.
