Supertone Records

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AMPLIFIERS

Supertone Liverpool pictured here at Parr Street Studio, Liverpool.

THE SUPERTONE 'LIVERPOOL'

The ‘Liverpool’ represents three years research into an amplifier design based around an EL84 class A power section design and two quite different preamp stages: channel one with an EF86 tube and channel two with an ECC83 offering a wide variety of tones very simply dialled in.

As you would expect from the name and configuration, the sound is very 60’s British but the unique twist is that you can achieve high levels of overdrive by ‘cascading’ the channels and using the ‘gravy’ and ‘thrust’ switches... Yes, really, that's what they are called!.

The amplifier has speaker outputs for 4, 8 and 16 ohms so basically they can be used with virtually any configuration of cabinet.

We have used a minimum of components to retain the vintage feel and sound making your fingers the stars of the show.

They are built and designed by master engineer Dan Whitelock-Jones of DWJ Amplification in Liverpool, England, who is working in collaboration with our very own tonemeister, session guitarist and music producer Simon Campbell.

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SUPERTONE 'MATAMP' 120

ULTIMATE BRITISH TONE

So, why the collaboration between Supertone and Matamp?

Matt Methias was the owner and designer at Matamp in the '60s. Cliff Cooper, the man behind the Orange brand of music gear, turned to Matt when it came to designing and building amplifiers.

The early Orange Matamps were used extensively by Fleetwood Mac, Free, Wishbone Ash and Jimmy Page.

We wanted to recreate that early sound and vibe which we have successfully embodied in the Supertone 'Matamp' 120 valve head. Also, the team at Matamp have utilised the preamp circuit in a 200W version which, although primarily for bass, can be used (with enough cabinets and ear defenders) for guitar.

The Supertone 'Matamp' 120 valve is different to a Marshall or an Orange; it's cleaner, bigger and sounds British! It is also fiendishly loud.

The Supertone 'Matamp' 120 sounds fantastic and is unique!!

For an outstanding sound with guitar, use it with the matching Supertone 'Matamp' 120W 4x12 cabinet, loaded with Celestion G12H-75 30W, 16 ohm heritage loudspeakers which are pushed to the limit when cranked.

To hear it in action, take a listen to the Starlite Campbell Band single - 'Stone Cold Crazy' from the second album 'The Language of Curiosity'.

Soon both the 120 and 200 Supertone 'Matamp' valve heads will be available to buy via the Supertone Reverb shop. If you would like us to build you one, just mail us directly for more information.

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SUPERTONE MATAMP 200

When Suzy started playing bass, the 1974 HiWatt DR201 200W bass head was her first amp! She used this exclusively for a number of years but wanted a new amp as a backup.

We designed the 200 around the preamp circuit of the 120 guitar head but with a quartet of KT88’s in the power section which deliver close to 300W. Due to the gigantic mains and output transformers it has a huge open tone and soon replaced the HiWatt as her favourite.

The Supertone ’Matamp’ is a total monster but with lots of finesse. The bass, treble and presence tone controls really work and you can dial in a great tone in seconds. It just sounds ‘right’ - a superb alternative to the American sound of the SVT and dare we say it, more reliable.

Two wonderful features are the four position ‘studio stage’ control, which reduces the input gain and also add in additional brightness if required.

The killer feature is the ‘bass boost control’ which in essence is a bass cut. When fully anti-clockwise, all the bass flows through giving a bowel shaking experience right the way down to 20Hz. The five position switch gradually attenuates the lows to the desired level.

If you are a fan of bass tones created by the masters in the ’60s and ’70s, this is the amp for you!!

Currently, Supertone do not offer a bass cabinet for this amplifier and Suzy uses a 6x10” (no tweeter) Bergantino cabinet. We have recorded the amplifier with two Supertone 4x12” cabinets and it sounds like proper bass! Testing is underway on a 4x10” plus 1x18” setup with passive crossover.

The Supertone 'Matamp' 200 is unique and sounds fantastic!

To hear it in action, take a listen to the Starlite Campbell Band single 'Stone Cold Crazy' from the second album 'The Language of Curiosity'.

Coming soon: both the 120 and 200 Supertone 'Matamp' valve heads will be available to buy via the Supertone Reverb shop. If you would like us to build you one, just mail us directly for more information.

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LOUDSPEAKER CABINETS

SUPERTONE 2X12

EVERYONE NEEDS AN OPEN BACK 2 X 12"!

Classic Matamp quality, this cabinet is built of marine-grade plywood and is loaded with two 8 ohm Celestion G12M 25W greenbacks making a total load of 16 ohms. Again with natural basketweave grill cloth, white string and black basketweave vinyl, Lloyd loom fret cloth - not Tolex!

As you would expect, it has less low end than a 4x12 and more pronounced mids which is a perfect accompaniment to the Germino Classic 45 or Club 40 heads.

A swift rewiring job (parallel to series) makes it 4 ohms and can then be used with Fender style amps. I also have the option to use each speaker individually for a stereo FX return setup. A versatile little beast!

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Supertone Matamp 4x12 fitted with Celestion G12H heritage 30W 75Hz

SUPERTONE 4X12

Built from marine-grade birch ply this 120W cabinet is loaded with four 16 ohm Celestion G12H-75 30W loudspeakers and has the original plywood 'skids' on the bottom as opposed to rubber feet.

It also features two Neutrik locking jack sockets due to the fact that when played loud, the air pressure inside the cab actually pushes out the jack plug - rock 'n' roll!!

It is built like a tank, sounds immense and totally different to the Germino with more high end and a tighter bass... more like the sound of the early '70s ie Hendrix and Wishbone Ash.

The grill cloth is classic basketweave with white string and black basketweave vinyl, Lloyd loom fret cloth - not Tolex - and looks very cool indeed!

It is also VERY LOUD as the sensitivity of the G12H is 100dB as opposed to the 96dB of the 20W G12M heritage in the Germino.

It fits perfectly with the Supertone 'Matamp' 120 valve head and have used it on tour and in the studio, with both guitar and Hammond organ.

Loud, proud and very clean...

Soon they will be available to buy on the Supertone Reverb shop or if you would like us to build you one, just mail us for more information.

Hear it in action on the sample track - 'Stone Cold Crazy' by Starlite Campbell Band, from the second album 'The Language of Curiosity'.

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SUPERTONE 'MATAMP' VALVE REVERB

LUSCIOUS SPRING REVERB

Many years ago I had a tour around the Matamp factory in Huddersfield. To my amazement, sat there quietly on a shelf, were two preamps made for Peter Green and a valve reverb unit!

As explained earlier, Matamp created and manufactured the original designs for the Orange Amplifier. Known as the Orange Matamp these were used by Fleetwood Mac and Wishbone Ash.

Last year Supertone Records formed a partnership with Matamp to produce a range of valve amplifiers for guitar and bass and a valve reverb modelled around the unit made for Peter Green in the late '60s.

The unit is still in prototype and we are currently testing on the road and in the studio.

The Supertone 'Matamp' is brilliant and has an unusual design, with a totally unique sound and masses of wonderful spring reverb.

One great feature is the transformer isolated output which prevents hum loops when connected to the input of the amp. This is designed to be placed in the guitar signal chain and like the Echoplex EP-3, gives great colouration to the tone, even without the reverb.

We are looking forward to getting this into production very soon! If you want to know more, please mail us for more information.

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CABLES

One of the most important items in a guitar or bass player's armoury are cables. They are the least expensive way to dramatically improve your tone.

Supertone MinCap cables are designed for the working musician. They are very robust with silent plugs (to prevent the crunch when you unplug) and ultra-low capacitance cable making sure the full sound of your cherished instrument is sent to your amplifier; perfect for passive guitars and basses.

CABLES FOR HIGH IMPEDANCE INSTRUMENTS

If you are using a guitar or bass with standard magnetic pickups the main issue for deterioration of your tone is the capacitance of the cable. The greater the capacitance per meter the more top end you will lose as essentially the cable is acting as a tone control; the longer the cable, the more top end roll-off you will hear.

Almost all FX Pedals change the high impedance signal from the instrument to a low impedance signal which is not subject to deterioration by cable capacitance. So, provided the effect is turned on (i.e.and not bypassed) you do not need our Supertone MinCap cable to link your FX. If however, you have a series of FX with true bypass and you sometimes bypass all the FX, you will need our cable on every connection and onto the amplifier.

Supertone has sourced the lowest capacitance cable in the world manufactured by SOMMER Cable in Germany. It is rugged and worthy of any stage. We have a choice of Neutrik angle or straight gold plated 'silent' jack plugs and as our cables are hand-wired, you can have whatever length you like!

They are available for sale direct from our Supertone Reverb shop. Make sure you tell us the length of the cable and what type of jack plug you want.

SUPERTONE MINCAP-A

One Neutrik angled NP2X-AU-SILENT plug automatically mutes (shorts) an instrument (guitar/bass) cable to avoid pops and squeals when changing the instrument (guitar) under load. The integrated silent switch is based on REED-technology and guarantees a lifetime beyond 10,000 mating cycles. It features a rugged metal shell enhanced with a rubber cushion overlay for improved shock protection.
Up to 6m (customer specifies length) of the lowest capacitance cable currently available worldwide protected by a rugged rubber sheath. This provides the ultimate transmission of the signal from your guitar with almost zero loss
One black straight Neutrik NP2X-B

SUPERTONE MINCAP-S

As per Supertone MinCap-A but with a NP2RX-AU-SILENT straight plug suitable for recessed jack sockets such as on a Fender Stratocaster style guitar.

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SPEAKER CABLES

We provide excellent quality, oxygen free cable, of the correct core diameter for the type of amplifier used, protected by a tough rubber sheath and connectors for your speaker wiring.

As our cables are hand-wired, you can have what length you like!

Our guitar amplifier cable is manufactured by SOMMER Cable in Germany to the highest specification. For guitar amplifier connections, the internal conductor cores are 1.5 mm² and for bass amplifier connections 2.5 mm².

THE RANGE

Supertone 15 Guitar amplifier speaker cable with Neutrik angle NP2RX, straight NP2C-BAG (customer specifies length)
Supertone 25 Bass amplifier speaker cable with any combination of Neutrik angle NP2RX, straight NP2C-BAG or SpeakON NP2C/B connectors (customer specifies length)

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FX PEDALS

SUPERTONE EARLY FUZZ

"When I first started playing guitar I marvelled at the sounds coming from recordings of Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page and Andy Powell. Someone told me it was all to do with a 'fuzz box'.

I bought a Shin-ei Companion FY-2 and was disappointed as it didn’t sound like them at all only later realising that One - it was the technique of playing the guitar that created the tone and Two - usually the fuzz box was combined with a valve amplifier, usually very loud and overdriven.

'I rediscovered them in the ‘00s and have been using them ever since!' said our very own tone-afficiando, session guitarist and music producer Simon Campbell.

We love the sound of FUZZ!! So much so, we have collaborated with Dan Whitelock-Jones of DWJ Pedals in Liverpool, England to produce our very own 'Supertone Early Fuzz' model.

This one is the ‘early FUZZ’ and based on the original ToneBender used by Jimmy Page and Jimmi Hendrix, among a host of others.

Soon they will be available on the Supertone Reverb shop, but if you would like us to build you one, just mail us.

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SUPERTONE RANGEMASTER II

Listen to early Rory Gallagher, Tony Iommi, Marc Bolan and Ritchie Blackmore - you are listening to a Dallas Rangemaster.

Originally, they were fitted into a large grey box to fit on top (or behind) the amplifier. It's basically a treble booster.

Original versions are very tricky to use on a pedalboard as they are exceptionally sensitive as to where to put them in the chain.

They are inherently tricky devices to use live so we decided to create one which would work with other FX, on pedalboards and be externally powered.

Again, we have collaborated with Dan Whitelock-Jones of DWJ Pedals in Liverpool, England and here you have it, the 'Supertone Rangemaster.'

Soon they will be available on the Supertone Reverb shop but if you would like us to build you one, just mail us for more information.

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SUPERTONE ULTIMATE BOOSTER

"Moving on from my early fuzz disaster, I bought a Vintage Electro Harmonix LPB-1 which didn’t have a footswitch so I transplanted it into a die-cast box and added one plus a light; my first foray into custom FX!" explains producer and guitarist Simon Campbell.

"Since then boosters have been a part of my pedal armoury and recently we decided to collaborate with Dan Whitelock-Jones of DWJ Pedals in Liverpool. England to produce a Supertone model.

I also asked for a variable bass cut to be added to the unit which really works and cleans up the sound when using an overdriven amp." Simon added.

Soon they will be available to buy on the Supertone Reverb shop but if you would like us to build you one, just mail us.

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SUPERTONE BASS FUZZ

FUZZ!

It's great on bass!!

FUZZ!!

You have to watch the amount of low end sent out from the pedal though, as sometimes it can be too much!

The 'Supertone FUZZ!' has been optimised for bass guitar, having a bass cut switch with three levels of attenuation to give the perfect tone.

From buzz saw to a mighty sound direct from the bowels of hell...

FUZZ!!!!

Soon the Supertone Bass Fuzz will be available to buy direct from the Supertone Reverb shop, but if you would like us to build you one, just mail us.

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