In NAMM Show 2019 news, Supro has announced a reissue of its 1961 hardtail Dual Tone guitar, which was famously used by David Bowie on his Reality album and tours thereafter.
David Bowie’s love of the Dual Tone was strong, as evidenced by the guitar’s frequent appearance in promotional photos from his post-9/11 era in New York City. Bowie’s Dual Tone guitar features prominently on the cover of the New Killer Star single, echoing the cover art for Link Wray’s iconic “Rumble!”. With Bowie’s face just out of view, the focus of the image becomes the guitar itself. This begs the question: why is Bowie’s face cropped out of the image? Why is the focus on the guitar? Maybe we aren’t supposed to know? Then we remember the album title: Reality.
“I feel that reality has become an abstract for so many people over the last 20 years. Things that they regarded as truths seem to have just melted away, and it’s almost as if we’re thinking post-philosophically now. There’s nothing to rely on any more. No knowledge, only interpretation of those facts that we seem to be inundated with on a daily basis. Knowledge seems to have been left behind and there’s a sense that we are adrift at sea. There’s nothing more to hold onto, and of course political circumstances just push that boat further out.” – David Bowie from “Recording Reality” – Sound on Sound Magazine, October 2003
The first batch of four hundred David Bowie 1961 Dual Tone guitars will be released on January 8th, 2019 in honour of David’s birthday. Each instrument is numbered by hand and comes with a Supro deluxe gig bag and certificate of authenticity.
Specs:
• Mahogany Body, Maple Neck with Pau Ferro Fingerboard
• Individually numbered
• Mirror-finish Bowie headstock inlay
• Supro Vistatone pickups
• 24 ¾” scale length
• 12” fretboard radius
• Ergonomic set-neck design
• Signed and numbered certificate of authenticity included
Supro distributed in Australia by www.dynamicmusic.com.au