March 2011     




This month's feature article:

4/1

No April foolin' today, but I did play a little trick all this week... I saved up nearly ALL the ampcases until the very last of this week. There was just too much other stuff to plow through. Speaking of plowin' through, that's what I'll do to the March numbers today and this weekend, and get a total March Money report up ASAP. In the meantime, take some time to peruse the awesome month of March Silvertonium haul. Quite a month, with some great and unusual finds, and some beautiful guitars and amps along the way.

1457 Dano SSEG guitar with 1449 tube amp in case VG $538 Clean, guitar has edge wear / buckle rash / playing wear to neck, NS speaker to ampcase, repro logo decal on headstock, NS Sovtek 12AX7, tremolo mentioned as a feature but operational status of effect unconfirmed, no footswitch


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $320 Clean, light wear to ampcase and guitar, sidewall rub on bottom edge, amp knob shows adhesive seep, seller says "the preamp tube which has been replaced long ago with a green lettered Sylvania. The amp works well, there is a very intermittent and soft "crackle" which doesn't interrupt the sound of the guitar being amplified, it's really a very minor issue."


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only MOD $150 Clean, edge/surface wear, headstock modified, logo obviously gone, NS knobs, decal or sticker residue below bridge, pickup cover split on bass side


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only VG $499 Clean, light wear, logo strong


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only $225 Hard to tell much from single photo provided


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only G $215 Clean, some edge/surface wear, knob inserts show wear, logo strong, untested, tuner assembly seem to be pulling away... see how the tuner posts get shorter unti you get to the low E and it's basically flush?


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $650 Clean, light wear to ampcase and guitar, some adhesive seep to guitar knobs, cord keeper present, schematic/manual incl., recently professionally set up


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case G $301 Edge wear to guitar, knob inserts missing, case rub to sidewall, logo strong, ampcase has a big 'whoops' on the corner of the grille area, NS knob


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $400 Clean, light wear to ampcase and guitar, some adhesive seep to guitar and amp knobs, looks like headstock may have been clear-coated at some point


1420 Harmony SSEG VG $500 Clean, some edge/surface wear, logo strong, NS 'decoration' to both pickups, tuner buttons yellowed, NS selector switch tip


802 Banjo w/ OC VG $153 5-string w/ resonator, clean, light wear, light oxidation to metal, logo strong, original 'how to play' book and record picks and adj. wrench incl.



UNK Kay FHAC VG $250 Clean, logo strong, pickguard present, can't tell much from single photo provided, probably a 619 or 627



3/31

From Chris Isaak to Maccaferri to the Beatles to Cap'n Geech... we've got quite an artistic haul today! And is is the end of March already? Wow... OK, I'll tie up the month and put a big total Silvertone dollars spent bow on it over the weekend. Meanwhile, dig in!

1446 Harmony HBEG w/ OC VG $1780 Clean, light wear, finish shows some light haze here and there,  light wear to back, metal logo intact, Bigsby present


1396 Dano tube amp VG $686 Clean, couple of small snags in grille, chrome nameplate shiny with some slight rubbing to silkscreen print, flying V Silvertone looks good with some staining to grille in its corner, control panel clean, back panel present removed for photos), handle has some cracks in surface leather, brass handle captures shiny, 3-prong AC mod, tremolo functional, some NS tubes, no footswitch, pots date to late 1958



Interesting construction reveal on this 1413 example. I've always admired the contour on these budget models, but look at that back separation on the one below; was the bevel achieved by gluing a panel on a frame? If so, I'll have to start listing this one as a 'semi-solid.'  Maybe it's a thin beveled sheet glued onto a solid body. I've looked through all my pictures of this model family, and while I have some shots of the pickup and pickguard separated from the instrument, I don't have any showing the guitar  itself 'open.' Anybody torn one of these apart?

1413 Kay SBEG G $213 Edge wear, some flaking, logo strong, rust to pickguard screws, oxidation and staining to knobs/inserts, screen print on tailpiece cover and pickup cover worn, staining and panel separation to back bottom



Double 'Demons' in scary shape!

1445 Kay SSEG w/ OC $200 Edge/surface wear, some checking, pickguard present but loose, bridge & tailpiece missing, logo strong, neck 'double-screwed,' (1) knob missing, NS selector knob


1445 Kay SSEG $381 Edge/surface wear, pickguard missing, logo gone, rust to truss rod screws, seller says "pickups do need to be rewound"


1423 Harmony SSEG w/ OC VG $473 Clean, logo intact, light wear, plenty of glitter, some buckle rash, pickguard print strong, some yellowing of binding



Great story with this Teisco-built 'amp in guitar.' No documentation of provenance, but hey, who would make this up? Seller says "THIS GUITAR WAS A GIVEN TO ME BY MARIO MACCAFERRI. YES THE THE MARIO MACCAFERRI THAT PRODUCED THE SELMER "D" HOLE GUITARS, ISLANDER UKULELE AND MACCAFERRI PLASTIC GUITAR OWNED THIS GUITAR MANY YEARS AGO."

1487 Teisco MIJ SBEG VG $271 Clean, light wear, logo worn at 'r,' battery cover missing, amp functional (!), seller says "I just took this guitar to our local Guitar Center because I know very little about guitars. The guy did not know what the guitar was and did not seem very interested in it. He did however look it over for me. He said the strings looked original and needed to be changed. He also the action was a little high but could be adjusted. He felt other than the cosmetic scratches and scuffs that the guitar was in good shape and just needed a little love and attention. He also said the wiring looked good other than the 9 volt battery hook up. I asked him to plug it into an amp and see if the pick up worked. At first we got no sound nevertheless just before he handed it back to me I flipped the on/off switch and the guitar came to life. The guys face lit up with excitement and he said "that sounds freaking cool. I have never heard a guitar sound like that." He played it for a short while handed it back to me he looked at his co-worker and said "that is freaking cool."  I hooked one battery up to the undamaged connector and the second battery via alligator clips. The speaker does work it is not loud like the external amp but it did play through speaker on guitar."



Quite a week for the 1495 'Beatle' bass! It's our third this week!

1495 Teisco (?) MIJ HBEG Bass G $178 Clean, logo missing, NS selector knob, bridge cover missing, nice graining to back, seller says "Could use a half-twist of the truss rod which I would do, but I don't have the proper tool to do so. It has some nice finish checking giving it a great vintage look to it. The pickups work, but there is a ground issue right now as sound only comes out when you touch the pickup with your hand. "


1449 Dano SSEG guitar only F $259 Needs a good cleaning, edge/surface wear, rust to strap button, logo worn, stamping indicates mid-1963 build, untested


615 Harmony FTAC G $65 Clean, edge wear, logo strong, neck tight, strap button broken off


12471 MIK FTAC w/ OC VG $20 Clean, light wear, some tape residue under 'Sears' logo, model # and 'Steel Neck' sticker show some peeling, one-owner guitar, ID'd as American-made, I've seen another example of this guitar stating it's made in Korea. It also has some features that resemble the Korean-made WG59 (another mystery guitar). Also, puzzlingly, the auction descrip notes an 'atom' logo, when clearly none is present. Relisted from earlier in month.


1481 Dano tube amp G $159 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, round speaker cutout, logoplate missing, rust to handle captures, knob inserts discolored, back panel slightly bowed


1482 Dano tube amp VG $350 Clean, square speaker cutout, light wear, ding in middle of back panel, cab stamping indicates 1966 build, all stock, tremolo functional, footswitch incl.


1482 Dano tube amp VG $350 Clean, round speaker cutout, light wear, stains to top, NS baffle, 3-prong AC mod, tremolo non-functional, no footswitch


1464 Dano solid state amp and speaker cabinet $193 Clean, light wear, NS speakers, NS casters, footswitch and schematic/manual incl., non-functional, seller says "Amp, when turned on, makes a loud hum through speakers, but does not pass any signal from instruments plugged into any of amp's inputs."


1310 Valco lap steel G $118 Clean, light wear, flaking at body curve, oxidation to pickup/tailpiece surfaces, rust to tuner plates, logoplate shiny


1311/1442 Valco lap steel w/ C VG $266 Clean, light wear, some rub-off to pickup cover, sparkle tuner buttons show some shrinkage, logoplate looks good, serial #T53789


853 Harmony ukulele G $71 Clean, some edge/surface wear, logo strong, (1) tuner missing, (1) tuner chipped, mahogany sticker partially peeled off


803 Kay Banjo VG $100 4-string w/ resonator, clean, light wear, logo and resonator decoration strong


1838 Oscar Scmidt Autoharp w/ OC VG $150 Clean, light wear, tuning wrench incl.



1399 UNK add-on pickup assembly $40 Shows some rust, NS Switchcraft plug, untested


Dano 'skate key' tuner $35




3/30

Midweek Mystery: Here's an interesting 1304-series guitar from our friend Jukebox Bonfire; it exhibits late-era characteristics (a swoop neck cutout ), but mixed with an earlier style circular access cover. That's odd, but here's where it gets even weirder: the last catalog listing for this guitar was in the 1960 Wish Book (I've never seen it listed later... although it's possible that it appeared in some mid-season supplements... but I'd need some documented proof). On this guitar, the pots date to mid-October 1960 (makes sense), but the cavity stamp indicates a July 1961 build! Very surprising to me that this guitar was still produced so far into 1961. Was customer demand that high, or was this guitar pieced together from leftover parts to fulfill a lost or delayed Sears catalog order? As we've seen, Sears would go to great lengths to satisfy their customers. Maybe it was high demand, and this is what got Joe Fisher and Nat Daniel thinking along the lines of an inexpensive guitar and amp sold as an all-in-one solution, as we would have beginning in late 1962 with the famous 1448 ampincase.

1304 Dano SSEG G $394 Heavy finish checking, some flaking, logo worn, structurally sound, transitional build: swoop neck cutaway with circular access cover.


1304 Dano SSEG VG $400 Clean, light wear, logo strong, NS strap buttons (one moved to and easier to use location on the round of the shoulder of the bout)


Speaking of Wish Book only guitars, here's a nice example of the 'Value Leader'-based 1458 from our friends at Kay.

1458 Kay HBEG w/ C G $261 Clean, light wear, some checking, capo or storage wear to neck, logo strong, screw crack to bottom point of pickguard



No mystery about this great 'Chris Isaak!' Well, actually there is.... It looks like the printing on the knobs is red!

1446 Harmony HBEG w/ OC VG $800 Clean, light wear, Bigsby present, logo strong, screw crack at tip of truss rod cover, looks like red print on knobs; NS or maybe previous owner decorated? Seller says "There also is what appears to be a drivers license # scratched into the back of the headstock. Original soft case in good shape too. I bought it to gig with, but the condition is so good I don't want to carry it out too much."


604 Harmony FTAC F $42 Clean, bridge missing, logo strong, edge wear, strap pin relocated, no nut

660 Kay FTAC classical F $51 Clean, edge/surface/fingerboard wear, screw in middle of bridge, stamped L 3059


853 Harmony ukulele G $32 Clean, light wear, logo strong, chip in bridge, book (EZ ukulele method by KAMIKI) and green Ibanez gig bag incl.


2574 Oscar Schmidt Autoharp w/ OC G $30 Clean, light wear, buttons yellowed, model sticker present, tuning wrench unmentioned


1836 Oscar Scmidt Autoharp w/ OC VG $16 Clean, light wear, string cover unattached, tuning wrench incl.


802 Banjo F $66 5-string w/ resonator, clean, light wear, hardware dull, logo strong, moisture damage or mildew to back of resonator... and yes, that's a soundhole cut into the head!


802 Banjo w/ OC G $111 5-string w/ resonator, clean, light wear, logo strong, resonator shows some edge flaking, NS tailpiece



1413 MIJ SBEG body $78 No electronics, Space Dot' missing, high E tuner missing, model number sticker present (or we would have never know what it was!)


14XX Dano footswitch $95 This is actually a footswitch from a DM25 (oughtta work on a 1484 or 85, though), I just thought you'd like to see the difference in the covering.



UNK Kay MOD $199 Clean, some edge wear, pickguard cut, surface mount pickup and neck mount pickup added along with controls, owned by Diablo Dimes.


3/29

Amps? We got amps! Just for fun, we'll go in numeric order, starting with this great example of the 1471 black with white piping trim amp.

1471 Dano tube amp VG $300 Clean, minimal wear to covering, round speaker cutout, knobs and logoplate look great,  light scratches to control panel, scratches to back hardboard panel, stamping indicates 1962 build


1471 Dano tube amp G $213 Clean, corner wear, round speaker cutout, slight 'push' to grille at speaker, sticker residue/water staining to back panel, knobs and logoplate look good,


1482 Dano tube amp G $228 Edge/corner wear, band name ("I'm DEA?") painted on top, 6" patch of covering missing on side (no photo supplied), square speaker cutout, all new tubes, tremolo functional, no footswitch, stamping indicates 1964 build


1482 Dano tube amp G $250 Edge/corner wear, rust to handle captures and transformer, tremolo mentioned as a feature, but operation status unconfirmed, no footswitch


1483 Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $550 Clean, control panel shiny, light rust to handle captures and jack nut washers, some edge wear to speaker cab,  re-grilled, speaker jack mods to amp and cab, 3-prong AC mod,


1483 Dano tube amp only MOD $236 Could use a good cleaning, covering looks painted black, some rust freckles to front face, stains on top panel, rust to handle captures and xformers, 'DOMAN' stencil in white on top panel,  1/4" speaker jack mod, 3-prong AC mod, seller says "My tech redid the phase inverter to eliminate the parasitic feedback problem. We also replaced the output transformer with a high end Hoffman Amplifier 30 Watt Multi-tap output transformer. It's currently set up for 8 ohms but the taps are inside for 4 and 8 which can easily be changed over. Power tubes are Ruby 6L6GT's and the rectifier tube is a Sovtek. The pilot light isn't working right now...probably just a burn out bulb."


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $835  Clean, light wear, control panel clean, logoplate missing from speaker cab, some water staining on inner baffle, tape residue to one corner,  pots date to late '64, cab stamping indicates Spring '65 build


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet G $500  Looks good in single photo provided, rev/trem unmentioned, no footswitch, seller says "Its a twin twelve and is in working condition."


1484  Dano tube amp only $200  Plenty of rust freckles to face, currently non-functional, missing some tubes, some kind of hole mod in side


1484  Dano speaker cabinet only MOD $350  Edge/corner wear, speakers present and operational (no photos of back or speakers, see seller note), seller says "The speaker baffle, which was originally made out of some ridiculously thin masonite type of product was replaced with a nice plywood baffle at some point many years ago. The original grill cloth and Silvertone emblem are still intact, as seen in the photos. A lower rear panel was added over the space where the amplifier head was stored, in effect making it a sealed back cabinet. You can remove this panel if you wish at your option. Various screws have been added to ensure no rattles, and it works quite well. A 1/4" speaker cable jack was added to the rear panel many decades ago, because these used to be hard-wired to the amplifier head."



Now, let's dive into a bounty of six-strings and other things...
 

1478 Harmony SBEG w/ OC VG $450 Clean, light wear, whammy bar present, logo strong, chrome shiny, slight shrink/screw re-location to pickguard at upper horns


621 Harmony FTAC w/ C VG $180 Clean, light wear, logo strong, bridge cracked, serial #3863H621, stamped F-65


612 Harmony FTAC F $73 Clean, light wear, logo strong, pickguard missing, logo strong, back separating all around, cracks to back and side, serial #1899H1215, stamped F-60 HB


604 Harmony FTAC G $20 Clean, some edge wear, logo strong, cracks at pick guard screws, rust to tuner plates


1495 Teisco (?) MIJ HBEG Bass G $125 Clean, light wear, metal logo intact, selector switch missing, nice graining to back. seller says "I believe both pickups are wired together, the electronics do work. The fretboard is separating from the neck, mainly on one side. may have other issues."


1495 Teisco (?) MIJ HBEG Bass G $124 Clean, some finish checking, metal logo intact, NS knobs, nice graining to back, untested



UNK Kay FHAC G $142 Clean, logo removed (seller says you can see its shadow if the light's just right), some flaking, pickguard missing, some neck separation, stamped N-4 L9370, probably a 627. Seller adds tantalizingly "You will notice three faded signatures on the back of this guitar:(1) Willie Nelson (2) Eddie Rabbit (3) can’t make out. I only point these out because they are there and you will see them when you examine the back of the guitar. There was no proof of authenticity of these signatures." OK, I ain't sayin' it is Willie's autograph, but a quick enhancement of the photo and a comparison with a known Willie signature show similarities.



617 Harmony body only $43


1446 Harmony neck $105 Headstock cracking along lamination lines, fingerboard wear, truss rod cover missing, first and third fret marker missing, D tuner re-installed a bit cock-eyed, seller says "It appears to have been bolted onto more than one guitar in its life."


1446 Harmony neck and body $230 Headstock cracking along lamination lines, fingerboard separating, binding peeling away from fingerboard, no nut, no hardware or electronics, pickup and selector switch bezels present, finish flaking. The Bigsby, pickups and knobs are being sold separately


1437 Teisco SBEG $129 Just add some electronics and hardware and you're rockin'!



3/28

A wealth of wonderful Silvertonium from this wet and windy weekend. Quite a variety, too, as we start off with catalogmates the 1454 and 1446. It was quite a haul today, I'll getcha some amps up tomorrow.

1454 Harmony FHAC VG $1600 Clean, light wear, Bigsby looks great, logo strong, stamped F-64, serial #35281454, some chrome worn from pickup covers, some staining to binding. This is the sister to that 'E' 1454 that sold on the 14th of this month.


1446 Harmony HBEG w/ OC VG $1195 Clean, light wear, Bigsby present, logo strong



Hmmmm... now that I think of it, these next two could be seen on the same page with the two above back in '64...

1476 Harmony SBEG VG $370 Clean, light wear, logo strong, chrome shiny


1477 Harmony SBEG VG $303 Clean, light wear, rust to tailpiece, NS bridge, logo strong, light rust to tuner plates



We get to revisit the tumultuous story of this Aristocrat from last month...

676 Kay FHAC F $200 Plenty of wear, fancy bridge still present, MOP markers look good, finish / binding / pickguard / headstock laminate mellowed/faded, neck separating a bit, back separating at neck, tuner buttons deteriorating, rust to tuner plates/covers, screw in heel... and THE HOLE... seller says "I bought this from my picker who bought it from an 80 year old gentleman who said this guitar was his grandfathers. Regarding the hole in the body, the story is as follows: A scorned lover attacked him with a high heel shoe. The grandfather raised the guitar in self defense and it took the beating!" Relisted from February.



Here's a couple of unusual acoustics that went under the gavel this weekend...

1227 Harmony FTAC 12-string w/ OC VG $200 Clean, Space Dot'  looks good, light wear, truss rod cover missing, action high


1202 Harmony FTAC VG $108 Clean, some edge wear,  Space Dot' and 'Steel Reinforced Neck'  silkscreen look good, frets recently leveled



Some modified Danos and a lone bass...

1300 Dano SSEG MOD $305 Refinished blue... then red, pickguard missing, NS cavity cover, sidewalls missing, NS knobs, high E tuner ferrule NS


13XX Dano SSEG MOD $265 Refinished black, sidewalls painted, logo gone, pickguard cut, (1) NS knob. Relisted from February.


1442 Dano SBEG bass w / C G $229 Clean, logo missing, NS knobs, tailpiece cover missing, electronics intermittent, selector switch loose



There once was a guitar from Nantucket...

1230 Harmony FTAC classical $25 It's one of a kind, obviously, and I got a letter from the seller telling me that the back of the headstock was stamped as a model 1230.The 1230 was available in at least three different flavors: the most common is the Kay-made 1230, with the model number printed horizontally across the top of the back of the solid headstock. The far less common flavors are the Harmony-built, round bottom, slot-headed versions with either a block logo or a  'Space Dot'  on the headstock.
Seller says "If you have been to Nantucket and eaten at Centre Street Bistro, you may have actually signed this guitar!"



3/25

Sometimes even the most commonplace gets your attention. That was the case with our first up  today, a modified example of the cheap, available, hugely-selling 604 from our friends at Harmony, "A fine beginning guitar" as the Sears catalog states. It was a similar size and spec as the popular Harmony 'Stella,' and I often see the 604 referred to as such in auction descriptions and titles. This is the first one, however, that I've seen that actually shared the Harmony number, 928, with that popular model. Alas, the seller only informs us of this number stamping... no pictures. Ah, well...
Since we're talking about 'em, I've noted the money for these guitars has cranked up the past few months... they used to hover in the low 50-dollar or so range, but now I routinely see them going for better than a Benjamin! Don't ask me why... is a popular artist that I'm unaware of playing one lately?

604 Harmony FTAC MOD $102 Clean, some edge wear, bottom strap button missing, logo strong, NS tuners, replacement bridge, stamped S-62, serial  #1059H928



Speaking of popular artists, R.E.M. has a new album out, "Collapse into Now," and I was watching a video the other night for one of the tunes on the album, "Every Day Is Yours To Win." The song's unusual in that Mike Mills, the bassist for the group, is playing guitar, and Peter Buck, the guitarist is holding down the bottom. About midway through the song, there's a great shot of Mike playing a yellow Gibson SG with Peter's Silvertone 1483 model amplifier shining its red pilot light just behind him. See the shot in the photo lineup from today's 1483 that just auctioned for $395. Surprisingly, it's our first 1483 this month!

1483 Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet MOD $395 Rust freckles to faceplate, (1) NS knob, cabinet loose at top corner seams, seller says "new power tubes (Jan Phillips 6L6WGB), new rectifier (Jan 5Y3GT), and new preamp tubes (reissue Mullard 12AX7). Has the original phase inverter (6CG7) ... the amp was just serviced by cleaning up the tube sockets, checking the filter caps (one was replaced with an F&T cap), and grounds tightened. Sounds and works well with no issues... output transformer was weak and I had it replaced with the appropriate transformer from Mercury Magnetics. "



Speaking of popular artists...  here's a fine 'Jack White' amp setup going for some serious coin. Look at that faceplate! Look at that grille!

1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $670  Clean, light wear, stamping indicates 1963 build, rev/trem unmentioned, no footswitch, seller says "Several years ago our customer had an expert tube amp tech set this up"



Speaking of popular artists... (I promise to let it go after this one) here's a 1208 that looks very much like the model guitar Beck is holding on the cover of his "One Foot In The Grave" album.

1208 Harmony FTAC VG $103 Clean, light wear, block logo and soundhole decal strong, neck tight, tuner plates and tailpiece shiny


750 Kay mandolin w/ OC G $188 Clean, light wear, 'wind chime' logo strong, neck has been re-glued, NS tailpiece


698 EKO FTAC G $41 Clean, bolt neck, unique logo and 'Made in Italy' strong, finish checking on back (of course!), stamped 698 and 12-72 internally, seller says "...unsure of playability."



From our 'rode hard and put up wet' department...

12502 MIJ Banjo w/ OC $51 More of a kit, really... Hey, can any of our Japanese speaking/reading Silvertonians translate the factory notations seen inside the resonator?



Interestingly, this is our third 602 this month, and they're all about 500 serial numbers apart from one another!

602 Harmony FTAC $16 Sold as project, 'deco' logo strong, fingerboard broken clean at 14th fret, back separated, serial #1950H602



3/24

Speed Demon! Now, that's a snazzy name! Kay could sure come up with them, and this beautiful 1445, our first up today, was based on the popular axe.

1445 Kay SSEG w/ OC VG $589 Clean, light wear, logo strong, slight 'bubbling' to knob inserts, light rust to tuner covers and posts, binding tight, fret markers look good, nice graining, untested



The treatment of this amp is exactly what I'm talking about in this month's article on 'Silvertone Shame.' I could have forgiven the black stripe on the front panel as decoration, but the literal 'rubbing out' of the Sears name and model number from the back? Come on!

1484  Dano tube amp only MOD $150 Clean, front panel painted black, volume knob missing, 1/4" speaker jack mod (and extra hole beside) on back panel, Sears name and model number erased from back panel, seller says "The amplifier does work but there is an intermittent output issue. The reverb tank is missing and the tremolo is slow."



Can't recall a case of 'Space Dot' shame, but some effort had to be made to remove or paint over the silk-screened logo on the headstock of this 'Sovereign.'

1221Harmony FTAC VG $350 Clean, light wear, binding has mellowed/yellowed somewhat, pickguard missing, 'Space Dot' missing, I've never seen the pearl bridge dots before... end-user decoration or end-of-the-model-line variant?


1415 Dano SSEG VG $550 Clean, light wear, playing wear to neck, NS pickguard, logo missing, dated from cavity stamp to 1961, top-mount jack makes it a 1415


1453 Harmony HBEG w/ C G $305 Clean, light wear, looks like some finish checking, hard to tell from lo-res poorly-lit photos, seller says "...everything functions correctly and sounds great."


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $375 Clean, guitar logo strong, playing wear to neck, light wear to guitar and ampcase, seller says "The amp is quiet with no hum and the guitar works like it should."


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only G $225 Clean, edge wear, logo worn, tape residue on back of headstock, sidewalls need cleaning, headstock split/repaired along tuner line, lead pickup not working


604 Harmony FTAC G $105 Clean, edge/surface wear & scratches, logo strong, 1" crack in bridge at treble side screw, pickguard cracked, light rust to tuner plates, stamped S-65 IM, serial #8537H604, seller says "...painted bindings... have been touched up."



The 1420 as a Sears model number for their bottom of the line amp started in the late 60s and lasted well into the 80s. This awesomely generic amp was from around 1982, and the 2-watt 14209 was seen as late as 1986. Look at the back; the model number and the Sears, Roebuck info has been dot matrix printed onto the boilerplate label! I imagine you could have picked this amp up at many different stores BESIDES Sears during the early 80s.

14208 Sears solid state amp VG $20 Clean, light wear, seller says "powers up and works but pots scratchy."



Dano footswitch $40 Seller says "I used this with my Silvertone 1482 for tremolo on/off , it has a 9 foot lead and works fine."



3/23

There's a line in a Johnny Horton song: "you're battle-scarred and torn." It was the first thing that came to mind when I saw our first two up today. They are in what some folks might call 'poor' shape... but they're structurally sound, even though they've seen some hard use, it's not misuse; they've been played, and loved and... well, that imparts a certain mojo that a pristine guitar just ain't got. I mean, modern guitar companies have entire divisions that 'relic' fresh-off-the-line guitars to try and achieve what takes years of hard knocks and hot licks to accomplish. I didn't feel the need to rate these two, both the 1304 and the 1320 that start our auctions off today are kinda like certain climbs on the Tour De France: HC... haute categorie... beyond classification. I'd be proud to own and play either of them.

1304 Dano SSEG $416 Playing wear all over, treble side tuners replaced (one broken chunk at a time), lipstick pickup cover worn through on treble side (!!!), logo worn, some checking, rust to tuner posts, transitional combination of 'swoop' cutout and circular access cover


1320 Harmony HBEG w/ C $355 Playing wear all over; some checking/flaking, surface scratching, logo faded, tuner buttons have mellowed considerably, 6" crack on back bottom right in the middle, pickguard missing, strap button screwed into side of neck heel, binding loose and missing in some spots on neck, electronics functional, knobs turn smoothly


1302 Dano SSEG w/ OC G $550 Clean, edge wear all 'round, some buckle rash, some flaking, case rub on bass side upper bout, logo a bit worn, tape/sticker residue below logo. Relisted in April.


1435 Teisco MIJ SBEG G $140 Clean, whammy bar missing, light wear, rare silk-screened logo is just barely there, NS pots

621 Harmony FTAC w/ C VG $155 Clean, light wear, logo strong


1210 Harmony FTAC G $52 Could use a good cleaning, heel lifting, edge wear, some scratches, fingerboard wear in 'cowboy chord' area, logo strong, serial #5231S1210


802 Banjo w/ OC G $171 Clean, light wear, hardware dull, NS armrest, 'flower power' sticker on back of resonator


2574 Oscar Schmidt Autoharp w/ OC VG $100 Clean, light wear, hardware bright, tuning wrench / books and Mother Maybelle record incl. (not pictured)



Before we amp it up, I thought I'd share with you this sweet piece from the "Wish I'd  Seen That... I'd Have Bought It!" department. It's a beautiful late-era Silvertone record player/changer with separate volume and tone for each speaker, the speakers attach to the unit for portability, and this lovely bit of Silvertonium still had the plastic protecto-bubble on the record player mechanism! Operational, it went for a mere $34. Check the cool insert detail on the tonearm.



OK, I've been saving most of these amps and ampcases from the past coupla days... time to unleash!

1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $500  Clean, light wear, some stains on top of speaker cabinet, 3-prong AC mod, 1/4" speaker jack mod on amp back, tremolo works / reverb doesn't, no footswitch


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet G $455  Clean, edge wear all over, rev/trem functional, no footswitch


1484  Dano tube amp only MOD $300 Clean, painted black, rev/trem functional, no footswitch


1465 Dano solid state amp 1464 speaker cabinet $178 Clean, corner/edge wear, rust to jack nuts, (1) NS Radio Shack speaker in cabinet, seller says "The head powers up with the light lighting, but when I turn it on and run it into a cabinet, it makes a loud humming sound, so it will definitely need work. The head is now set up with a ¼” jack on a cord to plug into a cab, and the cab has only two loose wires, so you’ll have to put a jack on the cab cord. Also, the AC cord to the head is frayed and not safe, so it will need to be repaired or replaced." Re-listed from January.



This next amp is from our northern friends at Simpson-Sears of Canada. In addition to this being a good-looking example of this well-loved amp, the seller took it apart and revealed a neat construction detail: Danelectro used a two-piece speaker baffle held together by some staple 'stitches' at the seam, and a little strip up top.

1481 Dano tube amp VG $300 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, 3-prong AC mod (orig. incl.), cabinet stamping indicates 1964 build.


1420 Sears sold state amp VG $50 Clean, light wear, NS volume knob



These next two 1448 setups are early versions; note the two-bolt neck with no neck-tilt and round-buttoned strip tuners on both, and the black ribbed dome knobs on the first, with triangle inserts guitar and amp knobs and the second (slightly later) setup. I'd love to know the pot codes inside, because these slight version differences were just spans of months, not years.

1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $455 Clean, logo strong, edge wear to ampcase, NS knob to amp


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case G $330 Edge wear to guitar, some glitter wear, knob inserts worn/discolored, logo strong, ampcase shows edge/corner wear, speaker cage shows heavy oxidation, NS 'fleur de lis' papering on one inner side, guitar and amp operationally untested


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only G $295 Could use a good cleaning, edge wear, wear to pickguard, some buckle rash, logo strong


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only VG $345 Clean, light wear, logo strong


1457 Dano SSEG guitar and 1452 tube amp in case VG $352 Clean, light wear, logo strong, ampcase clean with minimal wear, knob inserts discolored, tremolo works, NS vintage Jensen speaker, no footswitch


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only VG $275 Clean, light wear, logo strong, sidewalls have a few rubs... dunno if it's the camera or what... color looks a little faded



3/22

Stock or not? That's a question that comes up a lot when I'm viewing the vast deposits of Sivertonium that get mined every day. Much of the time, it's pretty obvious whether a knob or tuner or other part is a replacement or not, mostly from my viewing objets de Silvertone all the time, I have a fixed blueprint in my brain for most of the items I see, derived from catalog illustrations and seeing the actual item time and time again, so anomalies kinda jump out at me. Some things can be a little harder to detect... a tuner plate... a nut... a bridge... sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can't... and sometimes (fortunately) the seller knows the story behind the piece and shares the mod/replacement history. And then sometimes... you just gotta go with your gut and write a long paragraph like this to hedge your bets. That's the case with our first up today, another lovely tan and ginger early 'C' bodied Dano-built Silvertone. I've seen 'pointered' knobs on a couple of other examples of this guitar, but the majority of them have had the classic 'cupcake' knobs. I've included a gallery of knobs below the auctioned guitar for your edification and comparison.

1357 Dano SSEG VG $592 Clean, light wear, logo strong, pickguard present, early 'pointered' knobs, I wish the seller had cracked the cavity to date it.


From the 1357/58 collection, a selection of knobs:



A lovely and elusive 1326, offered only in the Spring/Summer 1959 Sears catalog.

1326 Harmony SSEG VG $285 Clean, edge/surface wear, logo strong, playing wear to neck


1478 Harmony SBEG VG $415 Clean, light wear, whammy bar present, NS Fender tuners, NS brass Fender bridge, light buckle rash, lamination line showing at headstock, logo visible in lone pic (after some heavy photo-tweaking)



Put on your special goggles, everyone... make sure your gloves and booties are securely fastened... we've never combined Silvertone and Virzi-tone before, and we're not sure what to expect...

710 Harmony FHAC MOD $163 Clean, light wear, 'deco' logo strong, no pickguard, no nut, no bridge, "Virzi" tone enhancement board added internally.
Hit that link, it's great reading.


1444 Dano SSEG bass w/ C VG $576 Could use a good cleaning, edge/surface wear, logo intact (but not visible in any provided photos), scratchy pots, worn pickguard, Windau Music receipt (incl.) prices guitar at $50 in 1966, seller says "...it has been in the family since the date on the receipt (1966). It has spent the last several years in the closet."


696 Kay FHAC w/ OC VG $295 Clean, light wear, 'wind chime' logo strong, pickguard present, (2) "well repaired" cracks on front, stamped L7823 -6889


603 Harmony FTAC VG $50 Clean, light wear, logo strong, stamped S-65


621 Harmony FTAC F $25 Clean, edge/surface wear, logo strong, cracks on treble side back, serial #3886H621, bridge in need a of a real repair, seller says "Someone has tried to repair the bridge by gluing and screwing the bridge to body. It did not work. There are also 6 cracks on back, 2 are about 12 in. long, 4 are about 3 in. long. One crack has a slight raised separation which is about 3 in. long on one of the 12 in. cracks."


1481 Dano tube amp VG $375 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, water staining to bottom on cabinet inside, fuse holder missing


1463 Dano solid state amp only VG $300 Clean, treble knob edge chipped, scratchy pots, 3-prong AC mod, 1/4" speaker jack mod


1311/1442 Valco lap steel VG $198 Clean, light wear, some rub-off to pickup cover, logoplate looks good

1310 Valco lap steel w/ OC VG $320 Clean, light wear, tailpiece cover present, logoplate looks good



3/21

Rare doesn't always = $$$. That's a phrase I've come to believe over the past four years of 'officially' cataloguing Silvertone auctions, and our first up today bears that out. Seller said he was looking for a 'quick sale,' so the meager best offer of $135 took this amazing guitar home (just check further down the page... you'll see a couple of 1479s going for at least two Benjamins , and some 1478s and 88s going for much more!). Cheers to you, lucky bidder!

1479 Harmony SBEG G $135 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, whammy arm missing, all original knobs missing, logo strong, light rust to tuner plate


1372 Kay HBEG VG $504 Clean, light wear, 'HANK' stenciled on pickguard edge, NS bridge, NS selector switch tip


1420 Harmony SSEG VG $650 Clean, light wear, logo strong, chrome and finish shiny



Earliest 'square bottom' 602, complete with demo video... thanks for the plug, Johnny!

602 Harmony FTAC VG $150 Clean, light wear, 'deco' logo strong, serial #1436H602



I have a puzzlement with this next guitar... always have. This series, that very nearly duplicates the shape of the Harmony-made 600 series (see above), comes from our friends EKO over in Italy. Can any of my Italian Silvertonians check their soffita della nonna and see if they can find a Sears catalog that has one of these babies listed from the mid-60s? Per favore?

698 EKO FTAC F $33 Clean, can't tell much from the lone photo, bridge missing, logo status unknown, stamped 698 and 0565 internally


1245 Kay FHAC G $104 Light wear, logo strong, binding strip missing on bass side of fingerboard, lamination lines showing at headstock, seller says "I BOUGHT THIS GUITAR MANY YEARS AGO. THIS HAS BEEN GLUED IN SEVERAL PLACES. THE FRET BOARD WAS GLUED DOWN BY THE BODY OF THE GUITAR. THE TOP HEAD PIECE WAS GLUED IN 2 DIFFERENT PLACES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE TUNERS. I GLUED THIS MYSELF AND IT'S HELD AND WORKED VERY WELL. I USED WOOD GLUE AND CLAMPS TO HOLD IN PLACE WHILE DRYING FOR SEVERAL DAYS....THIS WAS A FUN PROJECT GUITAR. THE TOP HEAD NUT IS NOT ORIGINAL, BUT PLASTIC AND WORKS FINE."


1304 Dano SSEG VG $320 Clean, light wear, logo strong, nut modded, cavity stamping indicates 1959 build


1413 Kay SBEG G $325 Clean, NS knobs, logo strong, edge wear, some checking/flaking, tailpiece cover missing, rust to tuner plates, screenprint to pickup cover surprisingly strong. Relisted from earlier in month.


1490 Teisco MIJ SBEG Bass VG $260 Clean, light wear, logo intact, finger rest missing


1418 Teisco MIJ G $183 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, logo tag looks good, some paint drips/spatters, whammy bar present, pickguard design worn, truss rod sticker/cover missing, serial #325176



Best lookin' of these odd beasties I think I've ever seen. Wonder who made 'em? Can't find 'em in any catalog so far. Certainly doesn't resemble any Dano or Valco produced amps. Check out those tube holders!

1470 Sears tube amp VG $240 Clean, light wear, 'lunch box' handle and captures in great shape, grille looks great, schematic intact, "05803 3" label Scotch-taped beside schematic label



Jack White First Week of Spring Sale! Yowza!

1484  Dano tube amp only G $380  Wear all over, staining to top, oxidation to face and back plates, channel one volume knob missing insert, rev/trem functional, not sure what to make of the 1/4" jack dongle on the speaker lead; seller says it's a 'pill bottle.' Well, there's a first time for everything.


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $455  Clean, some edge/corner wear, couple of grille marks, 1/4" jack mod to speaker cab, light oxiation to face and back plates, rev/trem unmentioned


1484  Dano tube amp only $207  Seller says "I was told it had a bad tube but I found the speaker leads were shorting out and I think the output transformer probably needs replacing. It was intermittently working when I first started using it but now there is no sound coming from it. The far right knob (see picture) has a chip out of it. Other than that and some dust it is in fairly good shape considering it's close to 50 years old. I had one of these when I was a kid and had high hopes for it but now it is just taking up space so it's got to go. It does not work so I am selling it as is. I am also including the original footswitch for it."


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $379  Clean, light edge and corner wear, trem works / rev doesn't, 1/4" jack and plate mod to speaker cab, oxidation to amp chassis


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $450  Clean, light edge and corner wear, 3-prong AC mod, rev/trem functional, footswitch incl., cabinet stamping indicates 1965 build




12AX7 Sylvania NOS tubes $27 Tested better than nominal


1448 Dano SSEG pickguard only $30


1457 Dano SSEG bridge assembly only $25 Screws incl., but not pictured, 'set' screw is coming through topside of saddle



3/18

As we head into this almost-spring weekend, we've got some sweet Silvertonium for you to peruse. Let's kick it off with this terrific 'tan and ginger' 1357 from a half-century or so ago!

1357 Dano SSEG VG $677 Clean, light wear, logo strong, pickguard missing, internal stamping and pot datings indicates late 1956 build



How about a rare 1449 guitar that somehow made it all the way down under! Did they have Sears stores in Australia in the early 60s?

1449 Dano SSEG guitar only G $983 USD ($1000 AU) Clean, edge wear, wear and scratches to neck, logo strong, bottom knob marked with an 'X,' neck stamping confirms late 1963 build



The 1449 just wasn't different enough from the 1448, so the redburst finished 1457 was born!

1457 Dano SSEG guitar only VG $500 Clean, light wear, logo strong, cord keeper present, selector toggle intermittent


1420 Harmony SSEG G $233 Clean, some scratching esp. on back, logo strong, chrome shiny, scratches to upper bass bout, playing wear to fingerboard in 'cowboy chord' area


1472 Dano tube amp G $184 Clean, round speaker cutout, staining to grille, hole in grille, red-border control panel with 'tremlo' misspell, tremolo unmentioned, no footswitch, seller says "Item has been tested and is in good working order." Stamping indicate late 1962 build, and see? There's the edge of that stock Jensen I was talking about the other day.


1481 Dano tube amp VG $350 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, logoplate shiny, all stock tubes, recently professionally serviced/inspected, 3-prong AC mod, slight bow to the top panel, knobs show slight adhesive seep, is that some paint or overspray by the handle capture?


1482 Dano tube amp VG $250 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, some oxidation dots to control panel, tremolo functional, no footswitch, stamping indicates 1963 build


2574 Oscar Schmidt Autoharp G $50 Clean, some scratches, no accessories visible or mentioned, seller says "Here's the real problem with this particular Autoharp: the chord bars have been allowed to deteriorate. The bars themselves are plastic, they are fine. Each has a series of foam blocks on the string side (used to damp the sound from certain strings). Many of these foam blocks are loose, some are missing. This can be repaired as a home job. First remove the bar assembly (4 screws) to get at the individual bars. Then you have to analyze which strings are used to make each chord, then re-apply foam in the correct locations. While you are at it you need to re-align (maybe replace) a couple of the small coil springs that hold the chord bars UP when not in use."



UNK Kay FHAC VG $330 Clean, logo strong, tuners bright, pinup girl decal on upper bass bout, probably a 619 or 627



3/17

Well, I was HOPING for somethin' green today... and I got it! Well, sorta... there really aren't many green Silvertone items out there... the rare and wacky 1342 amp, and that's really about it! But we did get a faded to minty green 'Kentucky Blue' in today, so a Happy St. Patty's day to ya, courtesy of Kay, ultraviolet rays, time and Silvertone World!

653 Kay FHAC F $130 Clean, faded, NS bridge, 'wind chime' logo strong, playing wear to neck, some flaking, bottom strap button missing, some neck and back separation, tuner buttons deteriorated



This next instrument gets an honorary membership to the 'Silvertone Anti-shame League' for its charmingly hand-reproduced 'deco' logo. For more on 'Silvertone Shame,'  (and its opposite, clearly shown here) see this month's feature article.

1319 Harmony lap steel MOD $128 Refinished, NS Gibson pickup, 1/4" jack where tone knob used to be (this model had its cord hard-wired in through the side), hand-drawn 'deco' logo. Relisted in April.



For the rest of today's haul, well, maybe they'll turn you green with envy, or you can imagine all the green they hauled in.
OK, I'll leave it alone now... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

1381 Kay SSEG VG $795 Clean, headstock laminate has some edge repaired chipping, NS knobs, NS tuner buttons (old ones had crumbled away), pickguard stenciling strong, playing wear to neck, lamination lines showing on back of headstock


1381 Kay SSEG w/ C G $610 Clean, edge wear, headstock laminate looks good, NS tuners, pickguard stenciling strong, NS selector switch tip, wear to neck, all knobs missing


1454 Harmony FHAC VG $621 Clean, light wear, Bigsby present (paint worn off), logo strong, scratches at NS tuner install


1417 Dano SSEG VG $500 Clean, light wear, logo intact, looks like NS sidewalls, playing wear to neck, picking wear to top near treble side bridge, pickup adjustment screws  missing from back


1457 Dano SSEG guitar with tube amp in case VG $571 Clean, light wear, ding on headstock tip, logo strong, ampcase looks good with light wear, footswitch incl., schematic/manual incl.


604 Harmony FTAC VG $143 Clean, light wear, logo strong, slight heel separation, serial #2318H604, stamped F-65


604 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $135 Clean, light wear, logo looks strong, serial #1406H604, stamped F-66


1484  Dano tube amp only G $255 Rustiest face plate and xformers I think I've ever seen, rust to all jack nuts/washers, 1/4" jack mod, rev/trem functional,  no footswitch, seller says "...the left transformer was changed to a Fender 125A1A, which were built for Deluxe and Deluxe Reverb amps. The owner could not recall why he did it. On the far left 6L6 the center plastic piece designed to guide the tube into place broke off. However, I have the plastic piece and fits into the center hole. The tube itself sits snugly and securely in place."


1484  Dano tube amp only MOD $380 Clean, light wear, NS white rubber feet, 2x 1/4" speaker jack mod, rev/trem functional, no footswitch. I have no idea what that thing is one the center face... I cranked the gamma up in my photo app, and it could very well be a large lamp bezel. Interestingly, the sellers said "the... lights... all work perfect." Lights?


1457 Dano tube amp in case only F $167 Covering dirty, worn, hardware rusty, inside looks good




UNK Harmony FHAC w/ C MOD $325 Painted black, NS electronics, NS bridge, NS tuners, NS tailpiece, NS truss rod 'decoration' (I don't think this guitar has a truss rod), NS cutaway, seller ID'd this as a 612 but 612 models have block neck markers. Maybe not a Silvertone at all.






3/16

Let's get a little AMPitude under our belt, shall we? I 'saved up' the amps on Monday for presentation and perusal on Tuesday, got stay-in-bed sick, and now we've gotta roll it ALL out on 'Recovery Wednesday.' First up, a dandy 'Medalist' from 1959, last of the 'Space Age' line of amps.

1434 Dano tube amp MOD $675 Clean, light wear, a few scratches to control panel, grilled has yellowed, 1" grille snag on edge of logoplate side speaker, recently serviced, new NS 'MOD' series 12" Jensens, NS Sovtek tubes, NS handle captures, NS casters present, tremolo functional



OK, I've never seen a Jensen speaker in a stock 1482. 1472s, yes. But every stock 1482 I've seen has that silver-caged 12" Fisher. That doesn't mean there hasn't been a Jensen in a stock 1482. However, the back panel cutout of this example leads me to believe the speaker is a later addition. The stamping to the speaker is '2014,' indicating mid-1964, so it is possible. Maybe Dano ran out of Fishers that day and had to substitute some Jensens from the 1484 assembly line. I'd like to see if the baffle panel shares the same stamping. Also, the wiring terminal orientation is 45 degrees counterclockwise from any stock 1472 or 1482 I've seen.

1482 Dano tube amp MOD $321 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, light oxidation to control panel, hole cut in back panel, NS Jensen, tremolo mentioned as a feature but operational status unconfirmed, no footswitch


1481 Dano tube amp VG $162 Clean, some corner wear, square speaker cutout, rust to handle captures, cig burn on top front edge, knob inserts discolored


1481 Dano tube amp VG $203 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, knob inserts show light adhesive seep, 3 of 4 rubber 'feet' missing


1471 Dano tube amp G $130 Clean, light corner/edge wear, a couple of grille spots, seller says "selling this amp for a friend of mine that is cleaning out his recording studio. This amp has been in storage for several years. The amp works but the volume is low and there is a hum. He also said the pots are scratchy."



I don't know if the silver inserts on this 1452 are signs of non-stock knobs or a late-in-the-game addition to this end of the ampincase line. Also note lack of a grille bezel on this model as well, and a different handle/capture set-up.

1452 Dano tube amp in case only VG $221 Clean, light wear, one big corner 'chew,' rust to handle hardware, tremolo mentioned as a feature but operational status unconfirmed, no footswitch


1485 Dano speaker cabinet only VG $460 Clean, light wear, handle missing, some grille staining below logoplate, all six 10" Jensens present, stamping indicates late 1964 build



A little six-strang twang...

1454 Harmony FHAC VG $735 Clean, light wear, Bigsby present, logo strong, weird spots (paint?) on all three pickups, serial #4385H1454, stamped F-64


1420 Harmony SSEG F $289 Playing wear, bridge missing, electronics test functional, fingerboard cracked, fingerboard shows playing wear, flaking on sides, selector switch tip missing



Now for some amp-in-case-mania starting with this All-American mod (well, almost... it's a Japanese pickup) of the 1448!

1448 Dano SSEG guitar only MOD $114 Guitar painted white, pickguard got the red white and blue treatment, saddle missing, NS MIJ pickup, neck paintjob unaltered, NS volume knob, tone pot presumed missing


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $355 Guitar and ampcase clean, light wear, cord keeper present, logo strong, case hardware and tuners shows light rust, grille has some lights spots


1448 Dano SSEG with ampless ampcase G $203 Guitar and ampcase show some wear, guitar logo strong, knobs show adhesive seep, no speaker or amp in case


1457 Dano SSEG guitar with tube amp in case E $741 Clean, chrome and hardware shiny, light edge wear to guitar at headstock, some 'ripples' in ampcase covering, tremolo functional, footswitch incl.


1457 Dano SSEG guitar with tube amp in case VG $575 Clean, guitar logo strong, (1) NS knob on guitar, scratch on bass side top, ampcase has some covering rip/reglues and corner wear, grille looks great, tremolo functional, no footswitch


1451 Dano SBEG guitar with tube amp in case G $400 Clean, guitar show light wear and some checking, logo strong, knob inserts discolored/worn, ampcase has light wear, (1) clasp missing, lamination lines on guitar body prominent on back



On to a few acoustics an what-not...

604 Harmony FTAC w/ OC G $100 Clean, some edge/surface wear, logo strong, light rust to tuner plates, some odd 'chew' around high E tuner, fingerboard wear, nut damaged on treble side


612 Harmony FTAC VG $305 Clean, light wear, logo strong, pickguard present, serial #???8H612, stamped F-62 HB


758 Kay mandolin w/ C G $140 Venetian model, wear/scrapes to sides, NS bridge, NS tuners, tarnish to tailpiece, looks like a 'cord melt' on the headstock (possibly from a long stored poly-based string laying there in the case), logo strong, pickguard 'S' looks good, binding tight. Relisted from February.


1850 Oscar Schmidt Electric Autoharp G $43 Clean, ;ight wear to instrument and case, stickers peeling/oddly placed, seller says "It appears that the plug-in for the amp was, at some time in the past, converted from an older 3-pin connector to an RCA type connector."



1484  Dano tube amp only $105 Sold for parts, no tubes, (5) knobs missing, another treasure from the vintage equipment stash at the world-famous (and now sadly gone) Indigo Ranch Studios. Seller says "It's a great candidate for parts, if you're looking to revive your old amp to it's former days of glory. It has no tubes, and as pictured, is missing the Bass and Treble knobs for channel 2, as well as the Reverb Depth and Tremolo control knobs. All connections appear to be in good shape, and it's a good candidate for parts inventory. Perfect for someone who wants a small project or needs the inventory in their shop." Given Indigo's history, I would hope the buyer has all intention of restoring this gem.


1454 Harmony neck and body $81 Modified for second cutaway, this is not a 1485, no guts, no hardware, neck cracked, logo present, nut area in sad shape, NS truss rod cover, hole at treble waist


14XX Dano footswitch $100


1484 Dano tube amp output transformer $64 This is from the 1484 that sold for $685 on 3/9. Seller says "...a good working pull. This was removed and replaced with a hand wound Weber in my buddies amp, so he could drive it a little harder. "


1457 Dano SSEG neck only $140 Painted red, nut and tuners present



3/14

Even though we 'lost' an hour of sleep, we gained a good bit of Silvertonium over this time-shifting weekend. Well, most of the USA did that 'Spring Forward' thing; Hawaii and Arizona split with the rest of the country and don't participate. Hawaii I can understand... but Arizona? They're just bein' ornery! I'm with Grandpa Jones on the whole bit myself. It's weird waking up, getting breakfast, getting dressed, and it's still dark outside, but it'll be nice havin' some light at the end of the day. Alright, enough of that, let's get into this wonderful batch of Silvertonium that we brought up from the mines this weekend!

We're gonna start things off with this springy little number; the florally-decorated slab and cheese-grater beauty of the Kay-built 1410!
 

1410 Kay SBEG VG $407 Clean, light wear, tailpiece/cover present and shiny, logo strong, screw chip at pickguard bottom, rose decal on pickguard. As always, Jukebox Bonfire has a great deal of interesting info for us: "This one came to me from a guy who had it in his collection for a super long time and it had not been played much. In the time that he owned it, the original 'cheesegrater' pickup (possibly a single coil made by Dearmond or was wound by Kay as well) had gone bad and needed a rewind, so he sent it off to have this done. I was lead to believe this work was done by a professional guy who does this somewhere out of state (probably Lindy Fralin, I think...which is pricey to rewind one of these!), but I do not have any record or receipt to show this is from him. Whatever the case, I have owned several of these pickups on Kay-made Silvertones, and after that rewind this is by far and away one of the best sounding ones I have heard. It was also wax potted to remove the overwhelming microphonic feedback these pickups exhibit at times. Wow, what a difference! No squeals or awful high pitched ear-killers when you are playing into a higher gain amp. Just sweet tone!"



That 1454 I showed you last week (hangin' with two more of the family, remember?) went for an amazing sum!

1454 Harmony FHAC E $2250 Clean, minimal wear, Bigsby looks great, logo strong, B tuner slightly bent (the only visible flaw in a bunch of high-res photos), seller says "This one is truly a king among kings."



More red! We started last Friday with one of these 1488s, and here's another nice 'un!

1488 Harmony SBEG VG $975 Clean, whammy arm present, light wear, low-contrast logo strong, lamination line showing on headstock



Here's a 'C' or 'peanut' shaped (11.75" wide @ widest point vs. 13.75" for 'U' shaped) Dano-built 1321 in a funky carpet-lined homebrew case!

1321 Dano SSEG G $406 Clean, edge/surface/playing wear, pick wear on treble side above bridge, logo worn, NS knobs, NS screws to pickguard, NS cavity cover, pot codes date to 1957



Next up is an oddball... it's not a Silvertone, but it's certainly from Sears! See? It says so right on top! With that 5-digit model number, I'm thinking this is a Simpson-Sears sold axe.

12471 MIK FTAC w/ OC VG $20 Clean, light wear, some tape residue under 'Sears' logo, model # and 'Steel Neck' sticker show some peeling, one-owner guitar, ID'd as American-made, I've seen another example of this guitar stating it's made in Korea. It also has some features that resemble the Korean-made WG59 (another mystery guitar). Also, puzzlingly, the auction descrip notes an 'atom' logo, when clearly none is present. Relisted from earlier in month. Relisted.



This rocketship red guitar is definitely MIJ and all Silvertone!

1460 Teisco MIJ HBEG VG $216 Clean, light wear, whammy bar present, logo strong
"


We started the day with a rose decal, and now we've got the 'tulip head' 1424!

1424 Teisco MIJ HBEG G $180 Clean, sunburst headstock and logotag look good, pickguard missing,  a few side dings, whammy bar present, NS string trees, serial #320475



And here's the All-American Classic, the 'Chris Isaak' 1446!

1446 Harmony HBEG VG $831 Clean, light wear, Bigsby present, logo strong with a little scratch on the 'S'


1304 Dano SSEG F $270 Clean, edge/surface wear, some checking, pickguard missing, logo missing, pick wear to treble side at bridge, playing wear to neck, headstock cracked off on treble side, NS cavity cover, NS knobs, top cracked at lower knob post


1415 Dano SSEG VG $575 Clean, logo intact, light wear, playing wear to back of neck, fuzzy photos provided


1444 Dano SSEG bass w/ OC G $312 Painted black all over (including sidewalls, knobs and jack), logo intact, seller says "volume works great but the tone only slightly works"



Here's the oddest version of the popular 619 archtop (and I can't find this 'look' in any catalog), sporting a cursive logo'd aluminum triangle topper to the headstock and a 'bell' truss rod cover

619 Kay FHAC VG $178 Clean, aluminum triangle with logo looks good (slightly off 'square'), stamped P3 and 57-619


604 Harmony FTAC G $76 Clean, some edge/surface wear, some checking, logo strong, nut chipped/worn, rust to tuner plates/posts, bridge removed and then glued on


604 Harmony FTAC G $56 Clean, edge/surface wear, logo shows some yellowing, big surface scrape below bridge


1212 Harmony FTAC G $31 Clean, edge/surface wear, some checking, 'Space Dot' disc looks good on faded/checked headstock, crack at top of soundhole, some separation at back near neck, (1) brace has fallen out, light rust to tuner plates,  stamped ?-70. Relisted in April.


615 Harmony FTAC G $144 Clean, light wear, pickguard/bridge/tuner posts missing, logo strong



3/11

Spring Forward! That's what we'll do this weekend, and we're springing forward here at Silvertone World, with more pages, more features, and of course, our daily auction recaps here on the 'What's It Worth?' page. I'll put the finishing touches on this month's new feature article this weekend, and I'm  working on a LOT of other things for your Silvertone pleasure here at the labs of Silvertone World. Stay tuned!

First up today is a right nice example of the 'Silhouette'-derived 1488 triple pickup sound machine favored by folks like Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

1488 Harmony SBEG VG $945 Clean, whammy arm present, light edge/surface wear, low-contrast logo strong, lamination line showing on headstock, (1) pickup NS but correct, brought to you by the same folks who had that 1454 trio I showed you the other day and that seller says "Plays well, and it’s a great feeling guitar."


1478 Harmony SBEG VG $363 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, whammy bar present, (1) knob missing


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case G $355 Guitar and ampcase show some wear, some cracks in ampcase frame, rust to case hardware, ding in fingerboard, scuffs to ampcase covering, guitar logo strong, plenty of glitter, NS saddle, pickup cover split on bass side, early version; two-bolt neck w/ no neck tilt adjustment, oval-buttoned strip tuners, triangle knob inserts all around.


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only w/ C G $265 Clean, some edge wear, logo strong, sidewall missing on bass side lower bout, bass horn missing glitter on back


1445 Teisco MIJ SBEG w/ OC VG $425 Clean, bound version, whammy bar present, looks like logo is broken at the 'l,' lamination cracks to sides of headstock


1474 Dano tube amp VG $900 Clean, light wear, stamping indicates 1961 build, rev/trem functional, no footswitch, seller says "THE POWER TUBES ARE FOUR 6L6GC TWO ARE MATCHED CONN AND TWO ARE MATCHED NEW OLD STOCK SILVERTONE TUBES AND ARE SETS THAT MATCH EACH OTHER. CAPS WERE REPLACED AND ALL RESISTORS BROUGHT UP TO SCHEMATIC VALUES WITH NEW PARTS WITH NO MODIFICATIONS IT FOLLOWS THE SCHEMATIC EXACTLY."



Best example of this amp I've seen!

1481 Dano tube amp E $250 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, adhesive seep to knob inserts edges, orig. box incl., schematic/manual incl.


1481 Dano tube amp VG $223 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, volume knob missing



Triple play!

1482 Dano tube amp MOD $260 Clean, some corner wear, NS speaker, NS baffle, amp modded for speaker to plug in, cabinet re-glued, 3-prong AC mod, tremolo functional, no footswitch


1482 Dano tube amp VG $270 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, light grille staining, marks on back panel,  NS AC cord, rust to handle captures, tremolo functional, no footswitch


1482 Dano tube amp VG $307 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, face and metal shiny, tremolo functional, no footswitch, speaker stamping indicates 1967 build


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet G $405  Could us a good cleaning, corner wear, rust freckles to faceplate, seller says "just discovered in an attic where it had been sitting for at least 30 years. After all that time, it still powers on... most of the tubes still light up (all of the tubes are still the stock Silvertone tubes!). The only tube that I can see that isn't lighting up is one of the 6L6's. Unfortunately, when a guitar is plugged in, no guitar sound is heard. The head is still hard-wired to the speakers, and you can hear a hum coming through them when you take it off stand-by, as well as some noise from turning the knobs (the pots need to be cleaned very badly). This is probably a quick fix, but I really don't have the time and money for it right now to try and figure it out."


604 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $75 Clean, light wear, logo strong, orig. red/black cord 'strap' incl., 4" crack on back upper treble side, stamped S-61 HB


661 Kay FTAC 4-string tenor guitar VG $204 Clean, light surface wear, logo strong, (1) NS endpin, stamped L 8952



1420 Harmony SSEG body/neck $139 No hardware, nut present, some wear to fingerboard, logo strong with scratch on headstock, some flaking down by tailpiece, strap button broken off



3/10

Well, this is an odd state of affairs... if you count the Kay pickup (that could really be from anywhere), we've got as much in the 'parts bin' as we do on the showroom floor! Of course, the glare from that amazing 1448 setup pretty much washes everything else out!

I don't see items that truly rate 'Near Mint' very often (although sellers often proclaim it), but this awesome 1448 setup warrants it. And, it's one of the earliest available to boot!

1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case NM $1314 Guitar and ampcase appear flawless. Just the slightest adhesive seep to the guitar knobs (couldn't be helped), and the 'cord keeper,' manual/schematic and 'how to play' record/book is missing. Check out the completed auction for the hi-res shots of this guitar (click on the pic with the 'ENDED' banner across it). Incredible! Early version; two-bolt neck w/ no neck tilt adjustment, oval-buttoned strip tuners, triangle knob inserts all around.  Seller says "Someone bought this... and put it under the bed until I found it at an estate sale."


1421 Harmony SSEG w/ C VG $325 Clean, light wear, logo strong, snake decal on upper bass bout, NS tuners, NS bridge, playing wear to neck, tuner plates show light rust, light screw cracks at selector switch, replacement jack (orig. incl.)


1381 Kay SSEG w/ OC VG $800 Clean, some playing wear/flaking to back of neck, headstock laminate looks good, pickguard stenciling strong, pots "a tad scratchy." Relisted from February.


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case VG $400 Guitar and amp clean, light wear, guitar logo strong, light sidewall case rubs, cord keep in place, light grille stain at speaker, transitional model; 3-bolt neck, line insert knobs, but oval-buttoned strip tuners


1457 Dano SSEG guitar with tube amp in case G $455 Clean, some edge wear to guitar, logo strong, big corner tear to ampcase, grille/bezel look good, footswitch incl.




1482 Dano chassis panels $23 Just add a lot of parts, a cabinet, a speaker.... and that footswitch down there, and you're good to go!


1482 Dano footswitch $40 Would also work for the 1449, 1457,1452 and 1472


1484  Dano tube amp chassis $116  No tubes, functional (if you add tubes), seller says "I loaded it with tubes and it needed some work. I replaced some filter caps and a bias cap & cleaned and lubed all controls, cleaned the tube sockets and the amp is now working very well. The reverb tank is missing on the chassis. The transformers are original. The overall condition of the chassis is good. The pics should show any imperfections in the cosmetics... the auction is for just the chassis as shown; in working condition but needing tubes."



These pots are from the same seller that sold the reverb tank off the other day

1422 Sears amp reverb tank $24 Seller says "removed from a Silvertone model 1422 guitar amp that had some serious cosmetic issues. CTS pots, all are 1 meg, 5 dated 137 6842 part #BB2917,
2 dated 137 6841 part # BB2916"


Kay DeArmond pickup $65 Mounting 'ear' by lead a bit mangled. This is the same type of pickup installed on a Silvertone 1458, 1413/15/16/17 (these models had an 'arrow' screenprint design), and a few 1410 models



3/9

Wow! A slow Wednesday! First one of those we've had in a while. I'll take the time to bring you this stunning family portrait of a guitar that's currently available over on ebay. It's a fine Harmony-made 1454, hangin' with a couple of its good-lookin' sisters. Not something you see every day, and I figured you'd enjoy it. Sold for $2250!

1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $589  Clean, light wear, rust 'freckles' to very shiny faceplate, 1/4" jack mod, 3-prong AC mod, stains to top of speaker cabinet, cabinet stamping indicates 1965 build, seller says "Tremolo works and sounds quite good, but the Reverb does not. If you turn it on and rock the amp, you can hear the spring "crashing", but there is very little reverb in the signal."


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet MOD $685  Painted black, light wear, grille has some white paint spots near logoplate, cabinet stamping indicates 1966 build, seller says "This amp has been fully tested and works great. It has been partially re-capped and the others were thoroughly tested. The original output transformer was replaced with a hand wound Weber WOT1484 transformer for greater reliability if you tend to drive the amp hard."


1481 Dano tube amp VG $274 Clean, light wear, round speaker cutout, knob inserts nice and white, AC cord cut/re-plugged



Next up is this Canadian-sold version of the 'Beatle bass;' this one's had it's scroll sawn off.

26886 Teisco MIJ HBEG bass G $155 Clean, light wear, light checking, bridge cover present, block logo strong, scroll sawn from headstock, fretboard lifting from neck


1478 Harmony SBEG G $213 Clean, looks like everything but the whammy bar is there... can't tell much from the fuzzy photos, mis-ID'd as a 1480 (that's the rare, big-knobbed, whammy-equipped, roller-bridged, red-foil'd model), seller says "It has a few cracks on the pickguard around the mounting screws, and has other wear and a few scratches that would be expected from a guitar that is this age. The neck pickup does not currently work, but the person I bought it from said it was just the switch. I have not looked into this, but the rest of the guitar works and plays very well. It has a wooden bridge and the tremolo has been disabled."


1211 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $75 Clean, light wear, block logo strong, tailpiece and tuners shiny, clean, decal strong, serial #3156S1211


803 Kay Banjo VG $113 4-string, clean, scalloped headstock, logo strong, hardware looks good, head shows wear, NS bridge, ID'd as a '30s era instrument; more like mid-'60s



3/8

Harmonious Serendipity! I'll bet you've never heard those two words together! Well, that's what we've got today, a happy confluence of some Harmony-made Silvertones, starting with a pair of rare gold-foiled, big-knobbed, fancy roller-bridged 1479 models! The first example was part of the vintage equipment stash at the world-famous (and now sadly gone) Indigo Ranch Studios. Who knows? Maybe Neil Young has kerranged this one a time or two (he worked on his classic album "Rust Never Sleeps" among others at Indigo)!

1479 Harmony SBEG VG $281 Clean, light wear, logo strong, whammy bar present, chrome shiny


1479 Harmony SBEG w/ C G $225 Clean, edge/surface wear, all knobs missing, logo strong, whammy bar present, rust to hardware, buckle rash



More Harmony excitement; this next guitar features the rare 'Type 1' whammy assembly that was available on this Silvertone only from 1963 to 1966!

1478 Harmony SBEG VG $575 Clean, light wear, finish checking all over, whammy bar present, logo strong, pickguard trimmed/repaired on bass and treble side top. Relisted in April.



Next up, the recently ID'd 1458 Wish Book only model built by Kay!

1458 Kay HBEG G $265 Edge/surface wear, binding and pickguard yellowed, some edge flaking, logo strong, pickguard has some corner screw cracks/chips, rust to tuner plates, G tuner bent, some binding separation at waist


1413 Kay SBEG G $300 Clean, NS knobs, logo strong, edge wear, some checking/flaking, tailpiece cover missing, rust to tuner plates, screenprint to pickup cover surprisingly strong. Relisted.


1440 Teisco MIJ SBEG $280 Hard to tell much from poor photos... bridge cover present, logo looks weird towards the end, whammy bar missing


1435 Teisco MIJ SBEG F $77 Could use a good cleaning, whammy bar missing, light wear, logo tag missing, oxidation to metal parts, looks like water damage to back, neck pickup not working


1457 Dano SSEG guitar with tube amp in case VG $635 Clean, light wear, light rust to case hardware, tremolo status unknown, footswitch / orig. cord / strap incl.


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only G $450 Clean, some edge wear, cord keeper present, logo gone, edge wear to pickguard, pickup selector switch loose. Relisted from earlier in month.


1484  Dano tube amp only VG $355 Clean, light wear, 1/4" jack on speaker lead, rev/trem functional


1482 Dano tube amp MOD $330 Clean, some edge wear, NS speaker/baffle, tremolo functional, no footswitch, 3-prong AC mod


1319 Harmony lap steel VG $183 Clean, light wear, chrome shiny, logo strong, NS bridge, seller says "The volume control pot might need to be changed or cleaned - there is either full volume or none at all when the knob is turned. The tone knob works but again it is either all treble or all bass."



1422 Sears amp reverb tank $31 Seller says "removed from a Silvertone model 1422 guitar amp that had some serious cosmetic issues. 9" reverb tank, good working condition - tank shows some light wear from age - mounting bracket has some surface rust." The pots (dated 1968) are being sold on ebay right now.



3/7

Weird weekend... not that a lot of stuff didn't go under the gavel; it did. But just as many things went unsold, even unbid on. Has the tax refund money run out already... or maybe paying $4 a gallon for gas is putting the crimp on folks spendin' style? Anyway, I saw what seemed an inordinate amount of guitars and amps that didn't go anywhere; the bidding didn't even get off the ground in some cases, and the starting bids weren't outrageous (as happens a lot when a seller thinks they've got more than they do). So, rest assured, there are still plenty of 1482s, 1464s, 1484s, 696s, 1448s, 1451s, 1304s, 1420s, 1446s, 2574s, 615s and more out there.

Speaking of weird, how about TWO white reupholstered amps this weekend? It's true! Even weirder, the first amp was paired with an actual Harmony Stratotone "Mars" guitar! Might as well triple-weird it; all the photos were in black and white, the seller claiming the only camera he has is a Polaroid Swinger.

1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet MOD $997  Painted or recovered white, corner protectors on speaker cab, tremolo works, reverb 'weak,' 1/4" jack mod, price is for amp/cab/Stratotone


1482 Dano tube amp MOD $265 Reupholstered in white, NS knobs, NS grille, NS Fender 12" speaker,  NS baffle, NS back panel, print on front face worn, tremolo functional, NS tubes/xformer, re-capped, 3-prong AC mod, seller says "the volume pots seem to be a bit scratchy and it is probably due for a new set of tubes."



From the weird to the wonderful... I just wish the seller had taken more pics of this very rare amp!

1339 Valco tube amp G $120 Painted, functional, seller says "The Quam speaker appears to have been manufactured late in 1953, which probably puts this amp early in '54. The amp is in working condition and is obviously somewhat rough cosmetically, having been painted once or twice. Still sturdy and functional, no apparent mods."

 

These next two great examples of the Harmony 'Jupiter' style guitar sold within 3 minutes of one another.

1423 Harmony SSEG w/ C VG $700 Clean, logo intact, light wear, plenty of glitter, some buckle rash, pickguard print strong


1423 Harmony SSEG w/ OC VG $688 Clean, logo intact, light wear, plenty of glitter, pickguard print strong, seller says "My dad used to play when he was young. Since then the guitar has been stored in the house for the past decades."



Well, all this talk of the stratosphere, Mars and Jupiter and such; why not give a gander at this 'Rocket?'

6109 Sears tube radio $999 Zoom! That's some mighty fine 'machine age' design by Clarence Karstadt!



Alrighty, let's get back down to earth with this lovely and rare 1322.

1322 Harmony HBEG w/ OC VG $735 Clean, light wear, logo strong, playing wear to neck, the seller, the great Jukebox Bonfire, says "Despite being a totally original piece, this one came to me in a poor state of playing. It had sat for a long time before I got it and needed a ton of work to get going. It was clear when I first saw it that the neck needed a reset and guitar should be gone through top to bottom. And it needed some crack repair in a couple of places. Some of the braces where loose. So I do what I always do. I brought it to my repair guy. He took a look over the issues and told me not to worry. He reset the neck, cleaned up the original electronics, dressed the frets, reglued a couple of seams, did some small crack repair on it, reglued some of the braces that needed it, gave it a killer setup, and sent it on its way back to me. What ton of work! What a guy! I could not have been happier. I think this is one of the cooler pieces Harmony did in this period, so why not get back to tip top shape? It is really fully restored now, though. I put a lot of dough into it, but it was worth it in the end without a doubt."



Here's a beautiful 'Peanut' shape Dano-made Silvertone 1323 from 1957.

1323 Dano SSEG w/ C VG $730 Clean, light wear, logo strong, sidewalls (NS tape incl.) need replacing, rhythm pickup covers looks like it's beginning to split, tuner plates shiny, playing wear to neck


604 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $82 Clean, light wear, logo strong, 'cowboy' case


615 Harmony FTAC G $46 Clean, edge/surface wear, some checking/flaking, bridge worn down, logo strong, paint drips on headstock


621 Harmony FTAC w/ OC E $147 Clean, minimal wear, logo strong, stamped ?-64, serial #4553H621


643 Harmony FTAC G $53 Looks good in single photo provided, seller says "Has some LIGHT scratches on front side but still in good condition."


1420 Harmony SSEG G $325 Clean, light wear, logo strong, bottom strap button missing, selector switch tip missing, pickguard cracked


1448 Dano SSEG with tube amp in case G $362 Guitar and amp could both use a good cleaning, light wear, guitar logo strong, sidewalls dingy,


1448 Dano tube amp in case only VG $200 Clean, light wear, hardware shows light rust, early model; triangle insert knob


1448 Dano tube amp in case only VG $153 Clean, light wear, hardware shows light rust, some fading to grille, break near hinge, later model; line insert knob, speaker mounted opposite amp


1448 Dano tube amp in case only $92 Clean, amp doesn't light up, seller (son of orig. owner) says "A guitar tech checked it out and told me that the electrolytic capacitor is dried out...I bought the three replacement elec. parts to fix it but have no idea on how to install."


1481 Dano tube amp VG $188 Clean, light wear, round speaker cutout, volume knob insert very discolored, light rust to handle captures, light grille staining along bottom edge, cabinet stamping indicates 1966 build


1484  Dano tube amp and speaker cabinet VG $551 Clean, speaker cab has some edge wear, best ampface I've seen in a while, DYMO label over 1/4" jack mod, reverb works, tremolo status unknown, no footswitch, casters removed from speaker cab,  cabinet stamping indicates 1964 build


1484  Dano tube amp only MOD $300 Clean, faceplate shows some rust dots, NS handle,  2x 1/4" jack mods, AC mod, NS rubber feet, seller says "It has been modded to improve performance and tone. No reverb but tremolo works fine. There are a couple of holes from old handle but the cab itself is super solid. The mods include: a brand new Heyboer Fender Tremolux transformer, completely recapped and serviced , BRAND NEW JJ TUBES, channel 1 has orange drops in it (for more high end) channel 2 is still stock
a 1/4 inch cable output has been installed instead of the original umbilical 1/4 inch cable, also the same has been done with the power cord, and a new leather handle (the old one broke)."

 

1451 Dano tube amp VG $189 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, logoplate looks good, 'shadow' at speaker cutout, small snag to grille below logoplate, handle looks good


1331 Dano tube amp G $350 Rough exterior, edge/corner wear, back panel scuffed, some tarnish to logoplate, grille looks good, seller says "Recently serviced, all filter caps have been replaced. KILLER big tone! "


1472 Dano tube amp $313 Clean, round speaker cutout, staining to grille, can't tell much from single photo provided, seller says "The speaker is original as are the tubes, but the tubes tested fine and sound great. It was recently in the shop and some capacitors were replaced that had gone bad. The tremolo works and sounds awesome."


657 Harmony Classical VG $154 Clean, light wear, stamped F-64


657 Harmony Classical w/ OC G $43 Edge/surface wear, seller says "THIS GUITAR WAS PURCHASED BY MY PARENTS FOR ME IN 1959 WHEN I WENT AWAY TO SCHOOL. I DIDN'T USE IT MUCH, AND IT WAS IN THE ATTIC FOR ALL THESE YEARS. IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF MY NOW GROWN KIDS FOUND IT AND IT HAS BEEN PLAYED HARD, AND HAS SOME SIGNATURES ON THE FRONT."


853 Harmony ukulele E $71 Clean, minimal wear, logo strong, orig. box incl., seller says "This was a birthday gift from my parents when I was a little girl."

853 Harmony ukulele VG $60 Clean, some edge/surface wear, logo strong, bridge may have been re-glued


1838 Oscar Schmidt autoharp w/ OC G $52 Clean, a few felts have fallen off the bars, string post covered cracked/repaired, tuning wrench incl.


1250 Banjo w/ OC G $161 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, block logo strong, how to play record incl.


1311/1442 Valco lap steel G $350 Clean, surface wear, some flaking, rub wear at pickup assembly, logoplate looks good, gold sparkle tuner buttons shrinking (NS replacemtns incl.), tuner shafts all bent to some extent, nut chipped, case has broken handle, serial #T44331, seller says "It's been in the top of the same closet since about 1972 untouched."



1413 Kay SBEG Body+ $129 Everything but the neck & tuners, some checking/flaking, screenprint worn off tailpiece and pickup cover, orig. gig bag incl.



UNK Kay FHAC w/ OC VG $153 Clean, pickguard cut, logo strong, stamped L 9377, probably a 619 or 627



3/4
 

Well, it's not quite hula skirt time, (here on the East Coast, anyway) but let's start the day with this beautiful example of the rare, short-lived 'Deluxe' Harmony-made uke, the 855, available only in 1951 and 1952.

855 Harmony ukulele VG $100 Clean, light wear, worn area over top of bridge, binding and tuners tight, not really sure what's up with the little stringy thingies on the three lower fret dots


1304 Dano SSEG $192 This is a 1960 Wish Book era 1304, and the 'official' catalog number that year was 1456, a combo with the odd 9075 amplifier. As far as our logo-less, sidewall-deprived guitar, I'll just let the seller spin the sad tale: "So, I admit it, when I saw this guitar, I cringed... I asked the guy (10 years ago) what the heck he did to it. He said he started to strip it of its paint so he can refinish it. I almost decked him out there... Years go by and I enjoy playing it for a long time. At one point the rosewood bridge got too worn to play right, and I just never took the forethought to order another one.  Time to pass it on to someone else. Electronics are good, Looks like he sanded the neck a bit too far on the back. Oh yeah... I forgot that I just slightly moved the bridge and it was better... Also forgot the tuners were sorta coming up on the backside. Here is the video of me rocking out the guitar; check the sitar sound on the B string due to the wear of the rosewood bridge."


1381 Kay SSEG w/ C G $699 Clean, light wear, checking/flaking, headstock and pickguard designs strong, NS strap button on back, NS tailpiece and bridge


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only G $227 Edge/surface wear, ding on top bass side, sidewall rub below jack, playing wear to neck, transitional version; oval-buttoned strip tuners, triangle knob inserts, but a three bolt neck w/ tilt adjustment


1420 Harmony SSEG VG $347 Clean, light wear, playing wear to neck, logo strong, selector switch missing, chrome clean, seller purchased from original owner 25 years ago


633 Harmony FTAC VG $249 Clean, light wear, bridge tight, logo strong, binding tight and white, back clean, seller says "The action is high." Relisted from February; it acquired the crack in the lower bout since then.


1481 Dano tube amp G $250 Clean, light wear, round speaker cutout, top panel is bowed in slightly, grille has a snag by tarnish-y logo plate, NS (but very cool looking) speaker, rust to xformers and handle captures, oxidation/light wear to chassis panel, knob inserts missing, tone knob has rim chip, AC cord has elec. tape 'repair,' back panel status unknown


1471 Dano tube amp G $175 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, light rust to handle captures, NS back panel, logoplate and knobs and chassis panel look good, cabinet stamping indicates 1962 build


1472 Dano tube amp VG $253 Clean, light wear, square speaker cutout, sold in Canada by Simpson-Sears, tremolo unmentioned, no footswitch, red border panel with 'tremolo' spelled correctly



3/3

'Parts is Parts' is usually our 'clean-up' player at the end of the daily report, gathering up the this and that of  the day; a pickguard or neck or body or knob and letting you see it and what it went for, more for curiosity than anything else. Once I got today's 'Parts' together, though, I knew we had to make it first at bat. Enjoy!


1446 Harmony HBEG pickups and wiring harness $322 Gibson Patent # pickups, mounting rings and V/T network for the popular 'Chris Isaak' model, tested functional. These are the "Patent #2,737,842" vs. the "Patent Applied For" stickered models. Oddly enough, this patent number is actually for a Les Paul credited trapeze tailpiece from 1952. Hit the first link for more info, but here's the money quote from that link: "Gibson printed the incorrect number on some PAF stickers after they obtained a patent (U.S. Patent 2,896,491) for the PAF pickups. Most humbuckers were labeled with U.S. Patent 2,737,842 until 1962 and the number shown on the pickup is actually a patent for a Gibson trapeze tailpiece bridge and not for a pickup at all. Both true PAFs and incorrect patent marked PAFs are fairly rare today and make an expensive vintage collectors' item."

Seller says : "This harness boasts a pair of nickel-plated patent sticker Gibson mini-humbuckers, a Switchcraft 3-way switch and the four pots (and two capacitors) encased in metal shielding cans like the better Gibson archtops of the period. All the shielding cans have their original solder seals on them, so I don’t know the pot dates or what brand caps are used. Everything is working fine. The pickups have a clearer note definition and slightly less output than a standard humbucker, but still have plenty of warmth and growl. There is some tarnish on the nickel plating, but they look better in person than in the full daylight of the photos. They come with their unique baseball-plate pickup rings. The switch has its diamond-shaped mounting plate. The switch tip has a crack along one side. The pots and jack are minus their mounting nuts."


Great story and link from the seller, noted word slinger Jim Washburn:

"I go back a ways with appreciating these pickups. It was maybe late 1974; I was selling bootleg records and used guitars at the Orange County Fairgrounds swap meet, and an elderly fellow walked up, pointed to the Silvertone guitar I was selling and said, “It was a long time ago when I made those.” He meant the pickups, and also meant that he was Seth Lover, which he was: the man who designed the humbucking pickup for Gibson, along with many other things, including the particular Gibson-made mini-humbucker that was unique to the 1446 model of Sears-branded, Harmony-made guitars.

Seth had moved to California some years before to work for Fender—designing the big Fender humbucking pickup (which echoes the split-poles concept he’d pioneered on the 1446 pickups) and the hulking Super Showman amps, the first guitar amplifier to come with a hearing-loss warning label - and he retired in Garden Grove. I got to know Seth pretty well. You can read a story I did on him in the LA Times here: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-10/news/vw-1323_1_humbucking-pickup"

He just designed the stuff, and didn’t know why Gibson was selling parts to Harmony, a rival company (Harmony also sold acoustics to Fender; go figure). Harmony never did get into making their own electronics, using DeArmond to make the pickups and harnesses for most of their electrics. But they also had a relationship with Gibson going back at least a decade before this guitar was made. Gibson sold thousands of its P-13 pickups, along with harnesses, for its lap steel guitars, and various archtops, including the Roy Smeck and the Espanada. The 1446 was the last Harmony-made guitar to get a Gibson pickup.

The 1446 is a pretty cool guitar. Back when Chris Isaak was first touring, I gave him a pickup for his 1446 at the Golden Bear, and he gave me this advice: “Do you write your own songs?” “No.” “You should. That way no one else knows when you screw it up.”




Nowhere to go but UP after today's sad first in line. It gets a 'Fair' rating just because it does, in fact, light up.

1484  Dano tube amp only F $165 Covering stripped, face shows rust bots/scratched, (1) NS knob, mystery red thingy on back panel (it's where the fuse holder usually is),
seller says "This was tested. It is power up but has a problem with sound. In this case we sell this amp "AS IS." It needs work."


1464 Dano solid state amp and speaker cabinet VG $307 Clean, looks good in single photo provided, seller says "It has only had 3 owners, my uncle, cousin and me. It's in great shape and comes with a tremolo/reverb pedal." Relisted from February.


1304 Dano SSEG w/  OC G $272 Could use a good cleaning, edge/surface scratches, logo worn at 'o' and second 'e,' NS knobs, edge wear on treble side by pickguard, cavity cover missing, serial stamping indicates 1960 build


1457 Dano SSEG guitar only G $450 Clean, some edge wear, cord keeper present, logo gone, edge wear to pickguard, pickup selector switch loose. Relisted.


1455 Teisco HBEG w/ OC VG $249 Clean, light wear, whammy arm present, logo strong, chrome and finish shiny


633 Harmony FTAC VG $299 Clean, light wear, pickguard missing, bridge tight, logo strong, seller says "When I bought this guitar, someone had used a long screw through the strap button to address the high action. It hadn't worked! When I gave this guitar to my luthier, I told him to make it look and sound great A neck set brought the action to where it should be: less than 1/8th inch above the board at the 14th fret with at least an1/8 inch room at the saddle. The neck is dead straight with superb angle. Along with the neck set, this guitar is in excellent cosmetic condition with a beautiful top, a few light marks on the side. The back has some belt buckle rash, but none of this, I believe, is through the finish."


602 Harmony FTAC w/ C G $110 Clean, edge/surface wear, 'deco' logo strong, bridge split/repaired, NS bridgepins, binding tight, serial #984H602


600 series Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $109 Clean, light wear, logo strong, neck tight, light rust to tuner plates, NS bridge


604 Harmony FTAC E $90 Clean, minimal wear, logo strong, finish and tuner plates shiny, orig. box incl., seller says " totally original and was used very little or not at all."


605 Harmony FTAC G $40 Could use a good cleaning, light wear, binding/logo yellowed, logo strong, rust to tuner plates and tailpiece, stamped F-63 H


1484  Dano speaker cab only MOD $109 Painted black, NS speakers, water staining to bottom inside, amp keepers present, logoplate missing, edge/surface/corner wear, 1/4" jack mod to back panel



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The shortest month netted some long cash! In February 2011, we reported on over 287 auctions totaling $81,126! That's a whopping twelve grand more than February 2010, and 17 thousand bucks more than February '09. Let the Silvertone recovery keep a rollin'!

Here's some highlights of what changed hands:  (27) 1448 guitars/amps or one or the other, (18) 1457 guitars/amps or one or the other, (23) 1484 amps, (16) 1482 amps, only (5) 1481 amps, (6) 'Chris Isaak'  1446 model guitars, and only (2) 1385/1427 'Espanadas.' A nice 1446 'Chris Isaak' brought in the top green for February at $1390.  The least amount brought in February was $1 for a really quite nice and fairly rare 1235 classical. If I recall correctly, the shipping was quite hefty. Aside from that anomaly, $3 went to purchase a cool Silvertone promotional ruler.

If you haven't visited February 2011, give it a look... it was QUITE a month! Even if you've been recently, click over and check out the last couple of days, some great stuff ended up the month.

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The bidders were many Though one speaker short This faux-gator'd amp Starts off our report Happy Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

1336 Dano tube amp $752 Clean, light wear, (1) speaker missing, handle NS / loose / very worn, untested, seller says (quite loudly) "WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET I HAVE NO IDEA IF IT WORKS OR NOT. IT HAS BEEN IN STORAGE FOR YEARS, ITEM IS VERY HEAVY, I KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THIS."


1336 Dano tube amp MOD DNS Chopped into a head, edge/corner wear, 2x 1/4" jack mods,


1430 Dano tube amp E $260 Clean, minimal wear, cabinet stamping indicates 1963 build, seller says "Stowed in a closet most or all of its life, its in very nice condition. All original except for the tubes (all USA). I doubt this amp was used more than a few hours. Brought up slow on a variac and to my delight it worked perfectly."


Sears record inserts $6 Eleven in original envelope






MODEL # / MANUF / TYPE / COND / PRICE / NOTES

Abbreviations: M-Mint, NM - Near Mint, E- Excellent, VG- Very Good, G- Good , F-Fair, P-Poor, NS- Non-Stock, HBEG- Hollow Body Electric, FHAC- F-Hole Acoustic, FTAC- Flat-Top Acoustic, SBEG- Solid Body Electric, SSEG- Semi-Sold Electric, MIJ- Made In Japan, MOD - Modified significantly from stock, w/ O/C Original / Case, DNS - Did Not Sell; used mainly to show an item of interest whether it sold or not
Unless otherwise noted, I'm rating them by what I see in the pictures and read in the description.

The items depicted on this page are not for sale by Silvertone World. These are reviews of items from completed ebay auctions on or around the date specified.

Links in blue open in a new window, and take you to a Silvertone World info page, a period catalog listing, or a link of interest.