January 7, 2020 (Port Jefferson Station, NY) – The Supro Conquistador is a retro-future fantasy instrument, designed in conjunction with Nashville-based guitarist Ford Thurston. The concept for this guitar originated with the idea of taking a traditional Supro double-cut body shape, and proportionally increasing the body dimensions to match Ted McCarty’s groundbreaking semi-hollow 335 design.
The Conquistador’s mahogany body features a single, stylized “f-hole” on the upper bout and a gentle bevel along the outer edge for player comfort. A three-piece bound mahogany neck with 24.75” scale, 12” radius and smooth satin finish is topped off with an elegant black “stinger”—located on the back of an enlarged headstock with 3-per-side Kluson-style tuners. The Conquistador is also equipped with a genuine Bigsby B7 vibrato system and nylon-saddle bridge.
The custom electronics package found on the Conquistador combines a mini-humbucker-sized Gold Foil pickup in the neck—for woody single-coil tones—with an Alnico 3 PAF-style humbucker for vintage clarity, sparkle and bite in the bridge position. A 3-way blade switch is joined by individual volume controls for each pickup and a master tone control, all topped with Hofner-style creme/gold “teacup” knobs. The Conquistador features a “50’s wiring” scheme that preserves top-end sparkle when rolling the pickup volumes down, greatly enhancing the range of usable sounds in comparison to typical production guitars.
Supro Conquistador Semi-Hollowbody Guitar Official Demo by Ford Thurston:
Conquistador Features:
- Mahogany Semi-Hollow body with center block
- 3-piece Mahogany Neck with Natural Satin Finish
- 24.75″ Scale Length set neck
- Pau Ferro Fretboard
- Bigsby B7 Vibrato
- Alnico 3 PAF Bridge Humbucker with brushed Nickel Cover
- Mini-humbucker Gold Foil Neck Pickup
- 2x Volume control / 1x Tone control
- 50’s Wiring stays bright when volume is rolled off
- "Hofner Tea-cup" style knobs
- Trans British Racing Green finish with natural Mahogany back and sides
The Supro Clermont model draws from the same well of golden-era, semi-hollow inspiration, featuring all-Maple, flat-top construction with 3-ply body binding and a lovely Aqua Burst finish. National-style “bowtie” fretboard inlays and white binding finish off the 3-piece black satin maple neck. The Clermont offers a wide-range of crystal clear single-coil sounds from a calibrated pair of mini-humbucker-sized Gold Foil pickups on a 3-way toggle switch.
The elegant lines, thoughtful hardware appointments and custom electronics of the Supro Conquistador and Clermont guitars come together to create a world-class pair of semi-hollow instruments. These guitars handle a wide variety of musical situations from indie rock to surf instrumentals, Western swing, jazz, blues, country and everything in between. While clearly possessing a unique set of tonal and visual aesthetics, the stylish body contours enable these Supro instruments to fit perfectly into a 335-style hardshell case.
Supro Clermont Semi-Hollowbody Guitar Official Demo by Matt Smith:
Clermont Features:
- Maple semi-hollow body with center block
- 3-piece Maple neck with black satin finish
- 24.75″-scale-length set neck
- Pau Ferro fretboard
- National-inspired “bowtie inlays”
- Bigsby B7 vibrato
- Mini-humbucker-sized Gold Foil pickups
- 2x volume control / 1x tone control
- 50’s wiring stays bright when volume is rolled off
- "Hofner Tea Cup"-style knobs
- Aqua-burst finish with matching back and sides
Conquistador & Clermont Guitar demo by Ford Thurston feat. Beth Garner:
Pricing and Availability: The Supro Conquistador and Clermont guitars are now shipping to dealers worldwide with a MAP price of $999.
Official Webpages:
Conquistador: https://suprousa.com/conquistador
Clermont: https://suprousa.com/clermont
