Sweetwood "Starman" David Bowie Supro 1961 Dual Tone Prototype
This Sweetwood Custom is on another level and demands attention, from both serious guitar collectors and Rock-&-Roll collectors alike. Rock-&-Roll is in capital letters for a reason here. We're talking about Rock Royalty.
In 2017, Supro announced the release of their Americana and Island series guitars, which were modern re-imaginings of some of Supro's classic art-deco inspired models. An article from Premier Guitar entitled, "Supro Introduces 14 New Guitar Models" names Glenn Sweetwood as the master luthier responsible for their new series. Sometime in 2017, Supro collaborated with the David Bowie Archives to re-imagine David Bowie's coveted 1961 Dual Tone. Sweetwood was once again approached to helm the re-imagining of this guitar for a future production model signature guitar. Teamed up with Supro/Pigtronix Design Chief Dave Koltai, the pair made several changes to the original Dual Tone in order to modernize it for production, namely a longer 25" scale length, the neck joining body at a deeper fret position, and the introduction of the classic Bowie-lightning-bolt logo. While Supro kept the more-production accurate examples of the prototype, this guitar was returned to Sweetwood from Supro.
The guitar we have is the first prototype issued to Supro by Sweetwood and Koltai. This guitar varies significantly from the production model, bearing specs more akin to a professional grade touring guitar, rather than a mid-priced collectable model. The prototype maintains the modern 25" scale and deeper access neck mounting, however the "Bowie" logo is engraved into the pickguard rather than mirror-emblazoned on the headstock. Further upgrades include a tilt-back headstock with Wenge fingerboard and satin reverse-finish, Hipshot tuners, Lollar Imperial pickups, a single-level pickguard, and an ABR-style bridge with Island-series-inspired trapeze tailpiece.
The most notable and glaring difference from this guitar to the production model is the finish. Sweetwood made several other prototypes that were more akin to David's original, with a white finish, two-piece black pickguard emblazoned with the "Dual Tone" graphic, and paddle headstock with Supro logo and mirrored Bowie Logo. This example is 1-of-1, in gloss black with silver metalflake, with a black headstock bearing only the Sweetwood "S" logo, and a one-piece black pickguard engraved with Bowie-lightning-bolt logo and the outlines of what-would-become a separate piece on the production model's pickguard.
It is unknown as to why Supro did not hand this guitar over to the Bowie estate upon his passing, as this model was certainly made with the Icon's unique style, flair, and live performance energy in mind. The Sweetwood Starman is certainly a one-of-a-kind gem that will make a statement for any player or David Bowie collector. This is a rare opportunity to claim a unique piece of rock history.
Specs:
Alder body, Gloss black finish with silver metalflake
Maple neck with Wenge fingerboard
"Thin-to-Medium C" neck profile
Set-neck construction with contoured heel
Lollar Imperial humbuckers
8.17k ohm bridge, 7.5k ohm neck
Hipshot tuners with brass open-gear layout
ABR-style bridge
Supro Island-series Trapeze tailpiece
Pearloid rounded rectangular inlays
6100 Frets
9.5" Radius 25" Scale
Nut width 1 11/16"
7.6 lbs
Includes custom-stencilled Guardian hardcase
Condition: This guitar is in Excellent-to-Near-Mint condition, as it is the first prototype for the production model and has not been regularly played. There are light polish scratches on the front of the gloss headstock. There are sparse scratches on the pickguard, indicating very few hours of play. There are also some small indentations on the reverse of the body, which were difficult to capture in photographs and are hidden by the metalflake. This package comes with a new Guardian hard case, which has been custom-stenciled in silver with the Bowie-lightning-bolt logo.
USED, Prototype
$5,100
In 2017, Supro announced the release of their Americana and Island series guitars, which were modern re-imaginings of some of Supro's classic art-deco inspired models. An article from Premier Guitar entitled, "Supro Introduces 14 New Guitar Models" names Glenn Sweetwood as the master luthier responsible for their new series. Sometime in 2017, Supro collaborated with the David Bowie Archives to re-imagine David Bowie's coveted 1961 Dual Tone. Sweetwood was once again approached to helm the re-imagining of this guitar for a future production model signature guitar. Teamed up with Supro/Pigtronix Design Chief Dave Koltai, the pair made several changes to the original Dual Tone in order to modernize it for production, namely a longer 25" scale length, the neck joining body at a deeper fret position, and the introduction of the classic Bowie-lightning-bolt logo. While Supro kept the more-production accurate examples of the prototype, this guitar was returned to Sweetwood from Supro.
The guitar we have is the first prototype issued to Supro by Sweetwood and Koltai. This guitar varies significantly from the production model, bearing specs more akin to a professional grade touring guitar, rather than a mid-priced collectable model. The prototype maintains the modern 25" scale and deeper access neck mounting, however the "Bowie" logo is engraved into the pickguard rather than mirror-emblazoned on the headstock. Further upgrades include a tilt-back headstock with Wenge fingerboard and satin reverse-finish, Hipshot tuners, Lollar Imperial pickups, a single-level pickguard, and an ABR-style bridge with Island-series-inspired trapeze tailpiece.
The most notable and glaring difference from this guitar to the production model is the finish. Sweetwood made several other prototypes that were more akin to David's original, with a white finish, two-piece black pickguard emblazoned with the "Dual Tone" graphic, and paddle headstock with Supro logo and mirrored Bowie Logo. This example is 1-of-1, in gloss black with silver metalflake, with a black headstock bearing only the Sweetwood "S" logo, and a one-piece black pickguard engraved with Bowie-lightning-bolt logo and the outlines of what-would-become a separate piece on the production model's pickguard.
It is unknown as to why Supro did not hand this guitar over to the Bowie estate upon his passing, as this model was certainly made with the Icon's unique style, flair, and live performance energy in mind. The Sweetwood Starman is certainly a one-of-a-kind gem that will make a statement for any player or David Bowie collector. This is a rare opportunity to claim a unique piece of rock history.
Specs:
Alder body, Gloss black finish with silver metalflake
Maple neck with Wenge fingerboard
"Thin-to-Medium C" neck profile
Set-neck construction with contoured heel
Lollar Imperial humbuckers
8.17k ohm bridge, 7.5k ohm neck
Hipshot tuners with brass open-gear layout
ABR-style bridge
Supro Island-series Trapeze tailpiece
Pearloid rounded rectangular inlays
6100 Frets
9.5" Radius 25" Scale
Nut width 1 11/16"
7.6 lbs
Includes custom-stencilled Guardian hardcase
Condition: This guitar is in Excellent-to-Near-Mint condition, as it is the first prototype for the production model and has not been regularly played. There are light polish scratches on the front of the gloss headstock. There are sparse scratches on the pickguard, indicating very few hours of play. There are also some small indentations on the reverse of the body, which were difficult to capture in photographs and are hidden by the metalflake. This package comes with a new Guardian hard case, which has been custom-stenciled in silver with the Bowie-lightning-bolt logo.
USED, Prototype
$5,100