Supro 1695T Statesman Settings Guide
The Supro 1695T Statesman is a 25-watt all-tube combo with two 6L6 power tubes, a single 15" Jensen speaker, and an all-tube tremolo circuit. The original Supro amps were used by Jimmy Page on the first two Led Zeppelin albums — Page ran a Supro into an SM57 as his primary studio amp for Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown, and Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. The reissue faithfully reproduces the original's loose, compressed 6L6 breakup and tremolo.
Used by: Jimmy Page
The best Supro 1695T Statesman settings start with: Volume at 6/10, Tone at 5/10, Tremolo Speed at 4/10, Tremolo Depth at 0/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues Rock: Volume 7/10, Tone 6/10, Tremolo Speed 0/10, Tremolo Depth 0/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | 6/10 | Silent → Loud |
| Tone | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Tremolo Speed | 4/10 | Slow → Fast |
| Tremolo Depth | 0/10 | Mild → Chop |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Volume 7 pushes the 6L6s into the sweet spot of natural power-amp breakup. This is the Jimmy Page zone — open, slightly loose, with natural harmonic compression. No tremolo for most rock rhythm work. The 15" Jensen speaker produces a more focused low-mid response than a typical 12" combo.
Volume 6 keeps slight headroom for a semi-clean platform. A boost pedal in front (treble booster or clean boost) is the traditional way to push the Supro harder for lead tones while keeping the amp at a stage-appropriate Volume.
Tremolo Speed 6, Depth 7 produces the classic 1960s surf tremolo pulse. Keep Volume clean so the tremolo chop is heard clearly against the string attack. Tone 6 adds clarity.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Jimmy Page's studio Supro was used at high Volume to drive the 6L6 power tubes into saturation for the warm, compressed character on the first Zeppelin album. Page recorded with a single SM57 placed off-axis on the 15" speaker cone — the off-axis position reduces harshness and captures more of the speaker's natural frequency roll-off.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Statesman's 15" Jensen speaker produces a distinctly different low-mid response to the 12" speakers in most tube combos — fuller and less focused, which is why it suits Page's early Zeppelin recordings where the guitar sits low in the mix with heavy low-mid weight.
- A treble booster (Rangemaster-style) in front of the Statesman at Volume 6–7 reproduces the British blues approach of boosting the amp's input to push it into power-amp distortion earlier while retaining the amp's natural character.
FAQ
Supro 1695T Statesman — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Supro 1695T Statesman: Volume at 6/10, Tone at 5/10, Tremolo Speed at 4/10, Tremolo Depth at 0/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues Rock: Volume 7/10, Tone 6/10, Tremolo Speed 0/10, Tremolo Depth 0/10. Volume 7 pushes the 6L6s into the sweet spot of natural power-amp breakup. This is the Jimmy Page zone — open, slightly loose, with natural harmonic compression. No tremolo for most rock rhythm work. The 15" Jensen speaker produces a more focused low-mid response than a typical 12" combo.
For Classic Rock: Volume 6/10, Tone 5/10, Tremolo Speed 0/10, Tremolo Depth 0/10. Volume 6 keeps slight headroom for a semi-clean platform. A boost pedal in front (treble booster or clean boost) is the traditional way to push the Supro harder for lead tones while keeping the amp at a stage-appropriate Volume.
Volume: Primary gain and output level. Higher settings push the 6L6 power tubes toward natural breakup. (Silent to Loud). Tone: Passive treble-cut tone stack. The Statesman's character is in the midrange; Tone rarely needs to go above 7. (Dark to Bright). Tremolo Speed: Rate of the built-in optical tremolo effect. (Slow to Fast). Tremolo Depth: Intensity of the tremolo amplitude modulation. (Mild to Chop)
The Statesman's 15" Jensen speaker produces a distinctly different low-mid response to the 12" speakers in most tube combos — fuller and less focused, which is why it suits Page's early Zeppelin recordings where the guitar sits low in the mix with heavy low-mid weight. A treble booster (Rangemaster-style) in front of the Statesman at Volume 6–7 reproduces the British blues approach of boosting the amp's input to push it into power-amp distortion earlier while retaining the amp's natural character.
Jimmy Page settings: Volume 8/10, Tone 5/10, Tremolo Speed 0/10, Tremolo Depth 0/10. Jimmy Page's studio Supro was used at high Volume to drive the 6L6 power tubes into saturation for the warm, compressed character on the first Zeppelin album. Page recorded with a single SM57 placed off-axis on the 15" speaker cone — the off-axis position reduces harshness and captures more of the speaker's natural frequency roll-off.
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