Supro has teamed up with music retail giant Sweetwater for a special 1x12” edition of its vintage-voiced Amulet combo amp. And the only questions we have is why there wasn’t a 12” option in the first place, and will there be a wider release some time in the future?
We can hope. The Amulet offers a 15-watt all-tube platform that has onboard power attenuation that allows you to switch the guitar amp down to bedroom or ribbon mic friendly volumes, with five-watt and single-watt modes available at the turn of a three-way rotary dial.
At full power, there’s plenty of volume to play small gigs, unless your drummer is an animal – but even then, just stick an SM57 in front of it and don’t look back.
There’s something pleasingly uncomplicated about Supro’s tube amp designs, and the Amulet is definitely worth auditioning if you’re in the market for a vintage-voiced tube combo.
The only change from the original run, first announced in October 2022, is that the 10” Celestion Creamback speaker is now a 12” Creamback. The circuit is still the same single-ended Class A amplifier, offering players tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo – both of which are footswitchable via a Supro SFS2 two-button switch, available separately for $49.
It might be an old-school design, but the Amulet is surprisingly versatile. That spring ‘verb and tremolo open up a full range of sounds, from old Western twang to splashy surf and garage rock. The cleans are warm and musical, and once you turn the volume past noon they’ll start to break up. Crank it for that Supro “violin-like” overdrive.
The control panel is uncluttered and straightforward, with knobs for Volume, Treble, Bass, Reverb, tremolo Speed and Depth, and the three-way wattage switch. The rear panel has an extra 8-ohm speaker output, so you can run the amp with an external speaker with a 4-ohm load. You’ll find the footswitch input on the rear, too.
The Amulet has no transistors at all in its design and is 100 percent analog. Under the hood there is a single 6L6 power tube, with a 12AT7 driving the spring reverb, and a trio of 12AX7s for the preamp, the reverb make-up gain, and the tremolo effect.
The 1614RT Amulet 1x12 is available now from Sweetwater, priced $1,299. Head there or to Supro for more details.
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