Both models feature ultra-premium componentry, including Mercury Magnetics transformers, vintage-correct Mallory capacitors, precision-matched EHX tubes, and custom Celestion speakers.
Supro announces Supro Custom Amplifiers—a new collection of bespoke tube amplifiers hand-built in the USA. Two new models—the Delegate Custom 1x12 and Ambassador Custom 2x10—were designed to redefine the Supro tube amp tone.
The Supro Delegate Custom is a 25-watt 1x12 combo voiced to provide world-class touch sensitivity, exceptional midrange warmth, and rock & roll grind. Its unique circuit topology is designed to optimize the amp’s top-shelf components, providing a wide-open, immediate sound that captures the distinct tonal characteristics that define the Supro sound within the pantheon of legendary electric guitar tones. Gushing overdrive and a hearth of warm mids allow the Delegate to sing at any volume. Every element within the amplifier has been selected to provide a broadband sound rich in even harmonic color and deeply responsive to your instrument.
The preamp in the Supro Delegate employs a trio of 12AX7 tubes and a specially voiced 3-band EQ to make the most of the extended frequency response derived from the Mercury Magnetics transformer set. It delivers remarkably tactile response and blooming overtones across the full range of the guitar. Immediately following the preamp comes the signature Supro paraphase inverter stage followed by a master volume control that is optimally located within the circuit to preserve frequency response as well as the dynamic interaction between the all-tube preamp, 12AT7-driven spring reverb and Cathode-biased power amp.
The Delegate’s Class-A output stage uses a pair of Electro Harmonix 6V6 tubes to deliver loads of natural tube compression and an exceptionally low noise floor, while its versatility allows for seamless transition from sparkling cleans into glorious tube overdrive. A dream for players who enjoy the responsiveness that occurs when you crank up the preamp while using the guitar’s volume control to adjust the texture of the amp’s tone, the Supro Delegate Custom is ideally suited for both stage use and studio recording.
The Supro Ambassador Custom is a 50-watt 2x10 combo amp equipped with two custom BD10 Supro speakers built by Celestion. It offers copious headroom, yielding massive clean tones that give way to sweet overdrive only at the highest volumes—ideal for players who float across the genre spectrum and desire a top-of-the-line tube amp that can deliver premium rock, funk, and R&B tones. Every element within the Ambassador has been selected to provide a broadband sound—rich in even harmonics, reflective of the true nature of your instrument, and an excellent platform for pedals.
The preamp in the Supro Ambassador features three 12AX7 tubes and a specially-voiced 3-band EQ to capture the full, extended frequency response derived from the Mercury Magnetics transformer set. Immediately following the preamp comes the signature Supro paraphase inverter stage followed by a master volume control that is optimally located within the circuit to preserve frequency response as well as the dynamic interaction between the all-tube preamp, 12AT7-driven spring reverb and variable-wattage power amp.
The Ambassador features a switchable Class A (35 Watt) / Class AB (50 Watt) output stage loaded with EHX 5881/6L6WGC power tubes to deliver responsive articulation and an exceptionally low noise floor even at full volume. Class A mode delivers the more traditional, cathode-biased Supro sound with a bold midrange, while Class AB delivers a grid-biased California sound with a more scooped mid-range, tighter bass and faster transient response. Perfect for players looking for loud, colorful cleans and a hefty bottom end, the Supro Ambassador Custom offers iconic tone both onstage and in-studio.
The Delegate Custom 1x12 and Ambassador Custom 2x10 are available in two colorways. Their unique Valco-inspired wraparound cabinets are dressed in a custom Scandia tolex—Black or Burgundy—with gold accents, complementing gold-topped knobs and a brushed gold headplate.
Both amps are now available for pre-order in limited quantities at select dealers worldwide.
Delegate Custom 1x12 | $3299.00 USA MAP
Ambassador Custom 2x10 | $3499.00 USA MAP
Introducing Supro Custom Amplifiers, Hand-Built in the USA | Supro
Supro Delegate Custom 1 x 12-inch 25-watt Tube Combo Amplifier - Black
For more information, please visit suprousa.com.
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Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
