Supro 1580A Coronado Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962)
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Item # 11997
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Supro 1580A Coronado Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Chicago, serial # T-76099, natural top, black back and sides finish, laminated maple body, spruce top; maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original two-tone hard shell case.
This version of the Supro Coronado is a very short-lived and unusual Chicago hybrid, with the neck and electronics being typical Valco fare but the body provided by Harmony, a variation on their then-new Meteor model. Valco-made guitars are mostly remembered for their overriding eccentricity; this is about as conventional an instrument as they ever made!
The 1950s-60s Coronado model existed in several forms. It was introduced in 1958 as a full-depth hollowbody with a very eccentric wiring system, involving six pre-set mini-controls and a master volume knob. This masterpiece of counter-intuitive complexity must have flummoxed both players and dealers as it was VERY short lived. In 1960 the model was re-designed into this thin-line version, still with a laminated maple body capped by a sealed arched spruce top with no F-holes. The electronics were vastly simplified (and unusually conventional for Valco!) with a pair of their standard single coil pickups (which look humbucking but are not) and a standard 4-knob, one switch rig. The controls are conventional but the treble tone seems to act more as a high end roll-ON than roll-off.
The fittings are standard for the period, with the metal-cored "Kord King" bolt-on neck topped with the small Supro-branded headstock, fitted with the eccentrically buttoned Kluson deluxe strips used on most Supros. The tailpiece and adjustable rosewood bridge are also typical of period Valco instruments. The small black plastic pickguard is decorated with the "Coronado" name and a small illustration of a Spanish Conquistador (years before Procol Harum wrote a song about them!). In 1961 the list price was $197.50 which was not particularly cheap, and the two-tone hardshell case added another $45.
This was not one of the better selling Valco models and is a rather rare guitar. Not long after this early 1962 example was made the Coronado was re-imagined with completely different shape Fibreglass body, so not many of these 60-62 versions were built. This one is very nicely preserved and unusually playable for a 60+ year old Valco product. While not their most original creation this Coronado is an unusually playable one, a classy guitar with their always good sounding pickups mated to one of Harmony's handiest body designs.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 5/8 in. (39.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a clean all-original example of this hybrid Valco/Harmony product, with a recent refret and neck straightening to optimize playability. The neck was re-bound in the correct style (yes, the fret ends are cut through the binding, that's how Valco did it!).There is some very light play wear with minor dings and chips to the all-original finish but this is a beautifully preserved guitar overall. A bit of pinstriping is worn off the pickguard, but the logo remains intact. One tuner button is more yellowed than the others; it is the correct original style but may have been replaced at some point. The guitar plays and sounds lovely, complete in that expensive original two-tone Hardshell case, a cool if rather conventional piece of Supro/Valco history. Overall Excellent Condition.
This version of the Supro Coronado is a very short-lived and unusual Chicago hybrid, with the neck and electronics being typical Valco fare but the body provided by Harmony, a variation on their then-new Meteor model. Valco-made guitars are mostly remembered for their overriding eccentricity; this is about as conventional an instrument as they ever made!
The 1950s-60s Coronado model existed in several forms. It was introduced in 1958 as a full-depth hollowbody with a very eccentric wiring system, involving six pre-set mini-controls and a master volume knob. This masterpiece of counter-intuitive complexity must have flummoxed both players and dealers as it was VERY short lived. In 1960 the model was re-designed into this thin-line version, still with a laminated maple body capped by a sealed arched spruce top with no F-holes. The electronics were vastly simplified (and unusually conventional for Valco!) with a pair of their standard single coil pickups (which look humbucking but are not) and a standard 4-knob, one switch rig. The controls are conventional but the treble tone seems to act more as a high end roll-ON than roll-off.
The fittings are standard for the period, with the metal-cored "Kord King" bolt-on neck topped with the small Supro-branded headstock, fitted with the eccentrically buttoned Kluson deluxe strips used on most Supros. The tailpiece and adjustable rosewood bridge are also typical of period Valco instruments. The small black plastic pickguard is decorated with the "Coronado" name and a small illustration of a Spanish Conquistador (years before Procol Harum wrote a song about them!). In 1961 the list price was $197.50 which was not particularly cheap, and the two-tone hardshell case added another $45.
This was not one of the better selling Valco models and is a rather rare guitar. Not long after this early 1962 example was made the Coronado was re-imagined with completely different shape Fibreglass body, so not many of these 60-62 versions were built. This one is very nicely preserved and unusually playable for a 60+ year old Valco product. While not their most original creation this Coronado is an unusually playable one, a classy guitar with their always good sounding pickups mated to one of Harmony's handiest body designs.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 5/8 in. (39.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a clean all-original example of this hybrid Valco/Harmony product, with a recent refret and neck straightening to optimize playability. The neck was re-bound in the correct style (yes, the fret ends are cut through the binding, that's how Valco did it!).There is some very light play wear with minor dings and chips to the all-original finish but this is a beautifully preserved guitar overall. A bit of pinstriping is worn off the pickguard, but the logo remains intact. One tuner button is more yellowed than the others; it is the correct original style but may have been replaced at some point. The guitar plays and sounds lovely, complete in that expensive original two-tone Hardshell case, a cool if rather conventional piece of Supro/Valco history. Overall Excellent Condition.