NAMM 2019: Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone oozes retro charm
Following on from last year's Bowie Supro guitar
5,0 / 5,0 | 
Supro has just announced quite a nice little reissue of its 1961 hardtail Dual Tone, based on the guitar David Bowie used throughout the Reality album and tour.
Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone
The Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone has a 12” radius Pau Ferro fretboard on a 24.75” scale set maple neck. It has a pair of matched, period-correct Vistatone pickups affixed to the mahogany body.
The styling here is pure vintage from the early 1960s, apart from the Bowie lightning bolt logo on the headstock. That’s the only thing that sets it apart visually from the original.
Bowie, we’re told, loved the old Supro models after seeing Link Wray play them and was impressed by the cover for Rumble. That whole badass late ’50s early ’60s aesthetic appealed to him, apparently, so he started using them during the Reality album recordings and subsequent tour of the same album.
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- Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone · Source: Supro
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- Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone with lightning bolt logo · Source: Supro
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- Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone rear · Source: Supro
Lightning Bolt
This year’s model isn’t quite the same as last year’s Bowie Supro. That one had a Bigsby-style trem and a few more aesthetic tweaks, like coloured upper fret markers and that lightning bolt logo. However, as a Bowie fan myself, I think that this new model is tasteful and celebrates the late star’s legacy in a fitting way.
Collectable
It isn’t exactly cheap, but it is in keeping with Bowie’s favourite guitars of that era, and will be a very limited edition. I’ve found Supro guitars to be well made. I own a Supro Duo-Tone which is in a similar vein to this one. So, I have some idea of what these modern day versions are like to play and my own one is an excellent guitar.
With this being a limited run signature/reissue(?) I would suspect that it will also be well made. The playability should be good. Each guitar comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity. They should be available towards the tail end of this month.
RRP – GBP 999 inc Supro Deluxe gig bag
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2 responses to “NAMM 2019: Supro David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone oozes retro charm”
Gig bag? The prior Bowie model came with a deluxe and very nice hard case. I like last years model better overall.
I agree that this version is not as good as a deal as the model from last year. I’d much prefer a hard case over a gig bag any day!