Supro Ozark and Bonnie Raitt ?!

Just looking at a post that Coastie started 3 1/2 yrs ago about Supro Ozarks.
But instead of bringing that post back I'd thought I'd start a new one.
I've had this '53 Supro Ozark for about 15 yrs , It's a great player with a FAT neck and I've used it for slide and standard set-up playing. And it's got tone from the gods , especially for slide 8)

But the really cool thing about it is what is on the case, the original one.
Somewhere down the line Bonnie Raitt or someone in her band or touring with her in another band, in '78/ '79 owned this guitar..... possibly. I say possibly because in all the research i've done (not a huge amount) on this guitar, I have never seen a photo of Bonnie or anyone else playing a Supro Ozark. The only thing I haven't really tried is trying to contact Bonnie herself, which in itself is probably a huge task.
Maybe some of the Bonnie Raitt fans here can help me solve the mystery :shock: :lol:

Also, I would love to see some other cool Supro Ozarks and even other Valco made Ozark type guitars... if ya got-em!
skinny

Ok heres some pics:

COOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Who knows, it might be easier than you'd think.... just find a contact e-mail somewhere on a Bonnie Raitt fan website and shoot her one (e-mail). And tell her I love her! :lol:
Let me know when you'r ready to let that one go! I want it... :wink:

Skinny, way cool !!

Looks to be in great condition. How's the Mother-of-Toilet Seat covering at the waist ?

Best of luck in solving your mystery.

coastie99 said:

Skinny, way cool !!

Looks to be in great condition. How's the Mother-of-Toilet Seat covering at the waist ?

Best of luck in solving your mystery.

Click to expand...

coastie,
The MoT has only bubbled a little at the waist, with the glue seams intact, after all these years. My waist doesn't seem to be faring as well :lol:
Do you still have yours?
And if so any photos?

skinny

You want photo's of my waist ?? :shock: :shock:

Just a moment ........ I'll have to de-gauze my navel !

It's a grotty day here, with persistent rain. Here's the best I could do ............




MOTS is in very good condition, with only minor blemishes at the waist.

I replaced the tuners, although I have the originals. They however, came with replacement black buttons.

Supro logo is a repro.

And, when you have one of those, you can really do with one of these, or something very similar .................



The astute may notice that this isn't wearing its MM transformers yet !

Wow coastie !!
That is a beauty!! I really dig the faux snakeskin case.
Then to pair it up with the old silvertone, I'll bet it puts the fear in all your other guitars 8)
I have a little old '52 Supro Amp that I very seldom use with the Ozark, 'cause it's too quiet.
I also had to change the tuners out as well, but I found a new set of original style Klusons from All-Parts.







bluesy,
Thanks for the kind words.
I guess I'll have to try her web page or blog or something on that order.
And I'll put you down on the " I gotta have that guitar" list. You're at about #10 :wink:
But I tell everyone that she's not going anywhere......................yet 8)

skinny

My Ozark was not called that. A "Supro 60", which was a renamed Ozark, from a short period in the late 50s when they used that model to offload some overstock lap steel p/us (at least that's my guess.)



One of the stronger p/us I've ever heard:



Not a big fan of short scale or baseball bat necks, but trading this off may have been a bad mistake. The tone was unreal on slide. Beautiful, and downright scary when you turned it up.
MD

coastie99 said:

It's a grotty day here,

Click to expand...

Grotty or grotty?

8)

mad dog said:

My Ozark was not called that. A "Supro 60", which was a renamed Ozark, from a short period in the late 50s when they used that model to offload some overstock lap steel p/us (at least that's my guess.)

One of the stronger p/us I've ever heard:

Not a big fan of short scale or baseball bat necks, but trading this off may have been a bad mistake. The tone was unreal on slide. Beautiful, and downright scary when you turned it up.
MD

Click to expand...

Nice, MD.

Sorry to confirm your hunch but yes, bad mistake !!

Much sought-after p/u in that guitar ...... one of Ry Cooder's favourites I believe.

I'll have to remember to check this at home (where the pictures are actually viewable :? ) and post a pic of mine.

If I remember correctly, these came in a cutaway and non cutaway version. Mine is the cutaway type. It used to belong to my father, who at somepoint in the early 70s mounted a DeArmond soundhole pickup in a block of wood to serve as a bridge pickup. Unfortunate though that is, it's actually a pretty good compliment to the original neck pickup. Altogether, it's a really nasty sounding guitar. Also, it's old and primitive enough that the tone control is where the volume control would "traditionally" be and is wired so the turning it clockwise rolls the treble off, rather than the other way around.

I also have a matching white pearloid Supro lap steel. It has a different pickup in it, a stamped steel affair, and is also nice and nasty sounding.

coastie99 said:

mad dog said:

Not a big fan of short scale or baseball bat necks, but trading this off may have been a bad mistake. The tone was unreal on slide. Beautiful, and downright scary when you turned it up.
MD

Click to expand...

Nice, MD.

Sorry to confirm your hunch but yes, bad mistake !!

Much sought-after p/u in that guitar ...... one of Ry Cooder's favourites I believe.

Click to expand...

That is a beauty MD,
My brother-in-law has a lap steel with one of those pick-ups in it, great tone!!
And they're fetching quite alot for some of these Supro's these days :shock:

skinny

OK, here's mine:

No Ozark here, but I do have a Supro Dual Tone :

Ah, holiday regrets. I got that most cool Supro for 235 bucks about 10 years ago. To balance out the "what have I done" feeling, I traded it straight up for an as-new Dearmond Starfire Custom. That then was consigned, later traded straight up for an as-new Peerless Wizard, which now, with suitable upgrades and changes, has become my favorite P-90 guitar.

The only problem is when I hear clips of the old Supro on slide. That's when the sweats begin.

MD

kakerlak,
Cool pair of Sup's. The added pu on the Ozark almost looks stock :wink:
I really like the look of the cutaway on the old Supro's.

Walter,
Did you add the bigsby on your Dual Tone?
I had an old white Supro Val-Trol "glass" model with a bigsby on it, as well as a 3pu Airline that looked like your Dual Tone only in red/black burst. I traded that one for my beloved Magnatone 213 troubador, my "Deluxe killer".

skinny

Skinny, yeah, it didn't come with the Bigsby. It was a mess when I got it (very cheap), and it has rewound pickups, new pickguard and controls, a tune-a-matic, new frets and nut, and that Bigsby. Bigsby's actually mounted on top of a little slab of plywood I painted white to raise it up a little, or it wouldn't work with the very tall bridge on that guitar.

Sorry guys,

Completely missed this thread!

Love these little solid bodies and I had one for quite some time until one day somebody walked in who had to have it.

The one I had was called a National Bolero and it was from 1956.



Killer slide tone!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

Wow Hans,
Great looking guitar!!
That burst sure is alot prettier than the MOT.
I'll assume the finish is on actual wood and not a wood-like finish/covering :wink:

skinny