asouthiseng1's Metal Amp Rig

BACKSTORY: okay so this first anecdote is totally worth skipping, but i want to give context as to why i bought this amp. my bassist uses an Ibanez 5-string bass guitar with active pickups, and he runs it through a Peavy half-stack. needless to say, his bass is LOUD. i use a 40W Blackstar tube combo primarily, but i STILL needed more volume in the band, so i did some research online and i really wanted an Ampeg guitar amp, but they are super rare, so i played on Fender and Vox amps at my local guitar store and was surprised to hate their sounds so much. i did more research and i landed on a Supro Thunderbolt. i found multiple used in good conditions online but i was hesitant to buy used, so i went to a different music store in my area to play on more amps and prove to myself that i didn't like their sound, thus justifying my purchase of a used amp. much to my surprise, the music store had this newer model amp called the Supro Royale. Even though the amp was brand new, the guy at the music store sold it to me for $1,250 ($350 less than average price) because it had been sitting on the shelves for two years. i will talk more about the price later.

TONE AND VERSATILITY: i fell in love with this amps sound within the first 2 minutes of playing on it. since my plan was to blend this amp's sound with my Blackstar amp, i am very pleased with the tone that this amp puts out. i have the bass boosted on my Blackstar, so, even after boosting the bass slightly on this amp, it still has this distinct, spongy midrange feel that is hard to not love. i am well aware that most players hate mids and they always cut them out, but this amp is something different, believe me. however, you can still cut the mids and get a very good sound. i personally don't think there is an unusable tone on this amp, meaning that dedicate players will likely have to spend HOURS to find the perfect tone because this amp is nothing but good tones. the question is not "how can i find a good tone?" but "how can i decide which one is the one for me?" there are three toggle switches to change your sound: Boost, Verb, and Loop. i personally do not use the Loop feature of this amp, but i know it has been heavily praised. likewise, i don't use Verb often, but i must say it is one of my favorite reverb sounds out there; it even is better than my MXR Reverb pedal. when activated, the reverb has it's own Level control and Dwell control. the only real issue i have with this amp is that the Dwell knob is almost useless; you either get no reverb or all reverb and it's hard to find that sweet spot, so the reverb setting on this amp is something you should creatively use. also i think it's cool that you get the option to toggle whether reverb is on or not! the boost feature is great and i know most people use it for solos, but i honestly enjoy having the boost on for entire songs (i am the only guitarist in my band). this amp already has a good, subtle crunchy clean tone, and kicking on the boost amplifies that crunchy tone in the perfect way. lastly, lets talk about all the versatility you get with the "Class" toggle switch. there is "Class AB" and "Class A" which really means 50W and 35W, respectively. 50W sounds super good and gives a little more headroom without sacrificing any tone! i personally prefer to keep it on the 35W setting since it really accentuates the crunchy feel at high volumes and the dynamics of how you play are more clear. it should be worth noting that the "crunchy" tone i keep referring to is extremely mild and you should not expect this amp to be anything other than a pedal platform with a very unique characteristic and sound. for me, an amp that just has a clean channel, takes pedals very well, and has a distinct tone is the perfect fit for how i play; however, i think it's worth mentioning in case you're expecting to get an amp with a ball busting distortion.

EXTERIOR AND PRICE: now from a superficial standpoint, this amp looks truly phenomenal. i mean, the only amps that are more aesthetically pleasing than this amp are MESA/Boogie Tweeds and Vox red limited edition. now the last thing to talk about is the price. i definitely lucked out to have bought a new/never used Supro Royale for only $1,250, because i would not have bought this amp for its retail price of $1,600. don't get me wrong!!! this is one of the best amps i've ever heard and played on, but $1.6k is unreasonable for an amp that only has one channel and a couple customization options. now, i am in no way saying that to discredit everything that this amp does well, because it can do everything well, but there are equally good options out there for cheaper depending on your taste. if price is an issue for you, i think there are better options out there; however, if you have the $1.6k and you don't mind spending it on this amp, just know that you are buying a very good product.

before i had this amp, i had a cheap tube combo Marshall, and then a solid state Marshall. they both sounded awful and i brought them both to my local music store and asked the guy for any money he'd be willing to give for them so i could use that money to knock off the price of a different amp. he asked me to try out three amps before i traded in, and i was very unimpressed with the way this Blackstar looked, but he convinced me to just give it a shot. anyways, i have now owned this thing for five years, and it really can do anything! the line-out feature is especially helpful for studio recordings, and adding a mic gives a really good stereo effect when put through a mixer. i see many people complain about the stock speaker; personally, i don't think it's an issue at all as this amp's unique sound will shine very well regardless, especially with the 6L6 tubes it comes with (i have the 6L6 unicorn variant of this amount they released). the ability to switch between an american sound and a british sound makes this thing very versatile; the american setting gives a really good crunch to the clean sound, and the british (cleaner) sound takes pedals very well. i will be honest and admit that the overdrive channel (regardless of ISF setting) sounds very unappealing to me. don't get me wrong! it is far better than a Fender overdrive tone, but i personally like my pedals to do all the work with this amp. also worth mentioning is that in the five years i've owned this amp, the only volume and/or buzzing issues i've ever had were guitar or pedal related; this amp has never given me a problem and it's difficult to get a bad tone out of this thing! lastly, let's talk price. you get so much versatility for just $1,000. although, if you're like me, then you may want to consider how unreasonable it is to pay so much for an amp that has all these bells and whistles and then only use one amp setting.

there is nothing i can say about this guitar that you haven't already heard it say on your favorite records. i was fortunate enough to get this guitar for half price because the guy i bought it from didn't know how to properly convert his currency to USD. that said, i did buy it used and had to spend plenty of money getting it checked and getting minor things fixed (like the truss rod, input jack, etc.). once this guitar was all fixed up, it really did sound just unlike anything else. i know it's not the most versatile guitar out there, but you would have to try to get a bad sound out of it. I will say, i am considering changing the stock alnico pickups with Seymour Duncan pickups because i feel as if there is a lot more tone in this guitar that the stock pickups aren't fully able to capture. most famous guitarists who use this guitar have changed the pickups for the same reason (which i didn't even know until writing this). but nevertheless, you know you're getting a good product when you pay this damn much for it; you know you're getting a good product when you buy a Gibson guitar; and, you know you're getting a good product when you buy a Les Paul. and, let's not even get started on how beautiful this thing is!