The Valco Pages
Valco was a manufacturer of musical instruments from 1942 to 1968.
This page has been created to share information on Valco and its products.
What was Valco? | A Brief History of Valco | Dating Valco Instruments | Identifying Valco Guitars
Instruments Not Made by Valco | Amplifier Schematics | Misc. Literature
Videos | Photos of Your Valco Instruments | Links | About Me/FAQ/Contact
Chicago 51: A Valco Discussion Forum
(Not part of this site)
News:
5/7/2010: A double dose of Valco in the July edition of Vintage Guitar magazine: an article on the Supro 6424 on p. 62, and a review of the cheaper instruments in the Supro line on p. 66. Meanwhile, I'm still working on the instrument ID section.
4/8/2010: I have finally begun work on a section of the site helping folks identify National and Supro instruments based on pictures and a little additional info. I anticipate that this will take several months to finish.
3/21/2010: Added demo video of a 1965 Supro Tremo-Lectric, and updated the pictures of your guitars and amps.
2/27/2010: Added demo video of an Oahu 397K amp.
2/26/2010: The hit counter has passed the 5000 mark! I also updated the pictures of your guitars and amps.
2/2/2010: Added some more amp schematics, including a bunch of pre-war models.
1/21/2010: I finally got around to updating the pictures of your guitars and amps, and I made some minor tweaks to the home page.
1/5/2010: Added a video page with a few gear demos.
11/27/2009: Added a few Valco-related patents to the Miscellaneous Literature page.
11/12/2009: Added a couple of booklets that were distributed with National and Supro guitars and amps in the early '50s.
10/29/2009: Updated the serial number list to include pre-Valco electrics.
10/17/2009: Updated the schematics page with a bunch of Airline models.
9/28/2009: Added a list of Valco-related brand names to the What was Valco? page. Thanks to the folks at the Chicago 51 Forum for compiling!
9/17/2009: The amp schematics page is up.
9/16/2009: Chicago 51: A Valco Discussion Forum lives, thanks to Sean! He also sent me an enormous cache of Valco amp photos, which will take me a little while to sift through. I hope to have the amp schematic page up in a couple of days.
9/15/2009: I have a few things in mind for this site. First, I'd like to add a page for amplifier schematics. Second, I'd eventually like to have a complete list of every Valco guitar and amp model with a few specs and photos for each one. I anticipate that this will evolve over the long term. Third, there may be a Valco forum in the works... we'll see!
9/9/2009: The word on The Gear Page forum is that somebody may be publishing a book on the history of Valco. I'll post details as I hear them.
9/7/2009: The Valco Pages launched. As the great Groucho once said, "Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor."