Supro Huntington Club

[TheIndieKid]

I figured it might be early days to create a club, but why not? Anyone have a Supro Huntington? They’re amazing little basses and I think I’ve found my lifelong player. Versatile, ergonomic and extremely functional. This is my Huntington III:

Sorry for the image being taken with a potato.

 

[erhovey]

Have had my Huntington III for about a month now... loving it!

Supro H3

• erhovey
• Mar 7, 2018

Supro Huntinton III

 

[erhovey]

Anybody been experimenting with other strings? (other than the stock Chromes, that is)
Right now, I've got a set of SS GHS Pressure Wounds on it. I do like the added overtones that the D'Addarios didn't really have (and don't get me wrong... I love D'Addario Chromes! Have had them on a P-bass of mine forever!)
I did have to tweak the truss rod (loosen) just a bit when I put the GHS's on.

I also have a new set of SS Fender 5250 nickel round wounds waiting in the wings... will probably put them on soon to check them out.

 

[erhovey]

Ok... so there's lots of things to like about these basses, here's my only dislikes so far.

1. Not a fan of the turning ratio on the tuning keys/machine heads. Not sure what the exact ratio is, but they're way too touchy. Would love to see a higher ratio on these.

2. Also not a fan of the taper on the volume pots. Not linear at all. Turn them down and the drop-off at about 8 makes these volume knobs little more than a glorified on/off switch. In fact they bugged me so much that after having the bass for only about 2 weeks, I opened it up and replaced the 3 Alpha 1M ohm pots with some Bournes 500k linear taper pots. I'm very pleased with the improved ability to blend the level of the pickups now.

Would love to hear others feelings about these things too!

 

[TheIndieKid]

Ok... so there's lots of things to like about these basses, here's my only dislikes so far.

1. Not a fan of the turning ratio on the tuning keys/machine heads. Not sure what the exact ratio is, but they're way too touchy. Would love to see a higher ratio on these.

2. Also not a fan of the taper on the volume pots. Not linear at all. Turn them down and the drop-off at about 8 makes these volume knobs little more than a glorified on/off switch. In fact they bugged me so much that after having the bass for only about 2 weeks, I opened it up and replaced the 3 Alpha 1M ohm pots with some Bournes 500k linear taper pots. I'm very pleased with the improved ability to blend the level of the pickups now.

Would love to hear others feelings about these things too!

I agree about the tuners but, for me, I keep all pickups on or use one or two on at the same time. I never have ones blended in by a certain amount. I haven’t experimented with strings, but am going to buy a set of LaBella Nylon Tapewounds to try on it. Would like some GHS Balanced Nickels, but I can’t find them anywhere.

 

[jla2111]

Yeah these basses are great! I got a Mahogany H1 and an H3... they are both amazing!
The Hog is really something and has very unique character and tonal quality to it and Ofcourse the H3 is through the roof...those three pups are just killer in so many ways. I am also loving the piezo option on these basses, it really gives a great brightness and breath to them tonally, depending on config...IMO.
Erhovey great critique I agree on the vol pots. I just may try your fix as it does kind of annoy me as well.
Overall I’m really digging these basses a lot...Supro got a new classic on their hands.

 

[Thistledown]

Hi Guys,
Here I am with my shiny new Huntington II. I have a crazy proposition... Would anyone be interested in trading me their Huntington I for my Huntington II? I know it sounds ridiculous, but I play 90% pickstyle and I am used to playing right where the bridge pickup is located. I tend to bang into it and make a bunch of noise! The Pickup on the I would be in the perfect location for me, ergonomically and tonally, I think. Im used to a Mustang and a P-Bass.

Erhovey, gland to hear that the pot swap fixed the problem, that is driving me crazy. I especially have trouble getting the tone to roll back to where I want it. Will definitely swap them out in whichever Huntington that I settle on!

 

[jla2111]

 

[TheIndieKid]

View attachment 2946197 View attachment 2946198

They’re better visual representations than mine! Do you think the III sounds like a Jazz with all pickups on?

 

[jla2111]

They’re better visual representations than mine! Do you think the III sounds like a Jazz with all pickups on?

Hey bud thanx! And man I am diggging these basses! And my main bass is an ‘81 G&L L2Ke which I modded the pups and added a three way switch that spilts the pups into single coils for a wicked jazz sound and I would say this H3 is right in there too. I think my H3 sounds most jazz bassish with neck and bridge pups on, middle pup off and piezo on at half way (maybe more). I’m playing through a HSVT so I got lots of playground to work with. But yeah they are little tone monsters and I dig the chordal articulation and clarity u can get when u turn all three pups off and just use the piezo on full add some SVT ultra low... and bam it’s like a whole different instrument! I think for the most part these basses are really very unique and full of tonal character.

 

[ScarfFace]

These basses look and sound so awesome. I must have one. If any of you decide you'd like to sell an H1, send me a message!

 

[40Hz]

Anybody been experimenting with other strings? (other than the stock Chromes, that is)
Right now, I've got a set of SS GHS Pressure Wounds on it. I do like the added overtones that the D'Addarios didn't really have (and don't get me wrong... I love D'Addario Chromes! Have had them on a P-bass of mine forever!)
I did have to tweak the truss rod (loosen) just a bit when I put the GHS's on.

I also have a new set of SS Fender 5250 nickel round wounds waiting in the wings... will probably put them on soon to check them out.

I've had good luck with GHS Pressurewounds on short-scale basses. I personally think the automatic assumption that shorties and flats are the ideal combination is a little too narrow minded. Because of the bassier and tubbier tone quality of the 30" scale on most of these basses, a little less bottom and a little more complexity in the mids opens up an entire range of new possibilities. Right now I've got pressurewounds on a Grestsch Junior Jet and the result is a lot more pleasing (IMO) than the flats many people put on them.



I just got a mahogany bodied H1 (with piezo) delivered last Friday and I haven't had a lot of time to play it much yet. But I definitely think the flats it came with are going to get replaced shortly. And probably with GHS Pressurewounds. Or if I keep flats I'll probably opt for TIs.

 

[NKBassman]

Haha, glad to see I'm not bucking the trend by putting GHS Pressurewounds on my Mahogany HII. I needed to tweak the truss rod and raise the bridge saddles a bit to keep it from buzzing, but now that I did that it sounds fantastic.

I really like this bass so far, and I think the Pressurewounds really gave it a lot of character. I liked it with the stock flats too though, and it maybe even sounded better with the flats for pick playing. If I ultimately decide I don't like the PWs I may try GHS Precision Flats next. But I'm going to give the PWs some time to work in and settle down.

I've been doing some home recording with it lately for a friend's album and it really sits nicely in the mix with pretty minimal effort. Either both pickups full up, or one pickup soloed, depending on the context. Pick or fingers. Rock tunes or balads... seems to work everywhere I've tried it so far.

I've taken it to two gigs but the short scale was throwing me off a bit, so I decided I need more time on it before I start playing it live. But I think I'm going to really go for it with this bass over the next few months.

Minor gripes:

• Agree that the tuners seem overly touchy / kinda cheap.
• Low E string seems to fall outside the sensing range of the pickups when played with a strong upstroke. I notice this mostly with pick playing. I'm talking about a very noticeable drop in volume on the attack of the note if I don't really control my right hand technique. I still need to play with the pickup adjustment some more to see if that helps.
• This bass cost me almost $1200 CAD (discounted from $1400 CAD for Black Friday) and doesn't even come with a gig bag? Come on...
• It's like 1/2" too long to fit in my Stratocaster case. Not really anything to complain about, but like so close... It carries fine in my long-scale bass cases so I don't really care. I was going to buy the Supro hard case but it comes out to like $200 CAD after the exchange.

Also, one small aesthetic thing that doesn't really matter in the slightest... I would have preferred this logo in white on the headstock, instead of the metal plate that I find really hard to read.

 

[NKBassman]

Ok... so there's lots of things to like about these basses, here's my only dislikes so far.

1. Not a fan of the turning ratio on the tuning keys/machine heads. Not sure what the exact ratio is, but they're way too touchy. Would love to see a higher ratio on these.

2. Also not a fan of the taper on the volume pots. Not linear at all. Turn them down and the drop-off at about 8 makes these volume knobs little more than a glorified on/off switch. In fact they bugged me so much that after having the bass for only about 2 weeks, I opened it up and replaced the 3 Alpha 1M ohm pots with some Bournes 500k linear taper pots. I'm very pleased with the improved ability to blend the level of the pickups now.

Would love to hear others feelings about these things too!

Thanks for posting this. I haven’t opened mine up yet. Surprised to hear that it has 1M pots! Makes sense for the three-pickup version. I’ll probably leave mine as is, but now I’m curious if the H-II is different.

 

[NKBassman]

Would like some GHS Balanced Nickels, but I can’t find them anywhere.

Here you go:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[40Hz]

I was a little puzzled by the control arrangement on the H1. So I popped an email over to their support people and got this very helpful reply back. Figured I’d share it here so Huntington I owners (or people who are contemplating getting one) know what’s up with this particular model. Because it’s different from anything else I’ve ever run into:

————

“Hi Ed,

Just to clarify a bit further on Kenny's comments:

We've set the piezo up in a way that is very interesting; something I've not seen any other manufacturer do.

When in the 'bridge' position, (that is, piezo active), the tone capacitor is dropped from the circuit, and the piezo is inserted on the other leg of the tone pot. This allows the tone pot to now act as a blend between mag-only, and mag-piezo (with the pot rolled all the way up, it's a bit more than a 50-50 mix, more piezo than mag; conversely, rolled all the way down, you still get just a bit of piezo in the mix)

On the practical side, one way to think of this is like having a "dual-range" tone pot. In the mag only setting, the tone pot acts just as you would expect, removing highs as you roll it down. In the piezo position, the tone pot starts where the mag-only setting ends. Thus, with the tone pot rolled off, you have the tone of the mag p/u, with full highs. As you roll the tone knob up, you're increasing the amount of piezo, and as piezo's are rather bright, you are increasing the highs in your tone, along with all the super-fast transient response that piezo's have.

Now, since the piezo is connected directly to the output, bypassing the vol pot, if you roll down the volume, you are only affecting the mag p/u. In this way you can get the piezo solo, with the tone pot now acting as the piezo volume.

In my rig, I've found that I really like the tone of the mag p/u with the tone rolled back 1/3-1/2 way. When I switch to piezo+mag, I get a little bump in volume, and a good bit more 'grind', which my OD pedals really seem to like. Great for that smooth verse, heavy chorus transition!

Hope this is helpful! Hit us up if you have any other questions.

Best,

David Buchter”

————

Pretty interesting huh?

 

[40Hz]

I’m debating whether to swap out the factory supplied flats for something else.

Has anybody changed the strings on their Huntington yet?

 

[TheIndieKid]

I’m debating whether to swap out the factory supplied flats for something else.

Has anybody changed the strings on their Huntington yet?

Hahah! It’s great that you ask that. I’ve changed mine today to GHS Balanced Nickels. I haven’t played them through an amp yet, but the feel is immediately better. A lot more tension.

 

[dan1952]

I put Chromes on my HI as soon as I got it (October 2017). It came with rounds, since it didn't come with the piezo bridge, which I had ordered. I did receive the piezo bridge but haven't installed it because I really like the stock pickup setup. The Chromes sound great and are very comfortable. I ordered it with the hardshell Supro case, but it's too pretty to use in the mud and snow, with its white leather trim, so I bought a Guardian electric guitar case, which fits it perfectly. I haven't adjusted the neck or the bridge, as the bass arrived perfectly set up. I couldn't be happier with it!

 

[NKBassman]

Just changed to GHS Pressure Wounds. Like it so far.