Spring 2014  Pt. 1       

3/31

Haul Up The Nets, Boys! We're comin' in loaded!


Plenty of Silvertonium to spill out on the dock today, coupla big 'uns in there, too!

1423 Harmony SSEG w/ OC VG $899 Clean, light wear, logo broken at 'n,' pickguard legends strong, playing wear to neck, plenty of glitter (some playing arm rub-off on bass bottom bout), pots date to late 1960


1423 Harmony SSEG G $465 Clean, some edge wear, some finish checking/flaking, rust to treble side of both pickup covers, logo intact, pickguard legends strong, stock knobs, plenty of glitter, fret wear for first five frets, (1) tuner ferrule missing, (1) tuner bent,  pickups stamped Jun 1961


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only VG $320 Clean, light wear, some wear/adhesive seep to knob inserts


1448 Dano SSEG with tube ampincase VG $499 Clean, light wear, logo strong, adhesive seep to amp knob insert, volume knob insert missing


1448 Dano SSEG tube ampincase VG $500 Clean, light wear, logo strong, original box and cord keeper & cord incl.


1448 Dano SSEG guitar only G $249 Could use a cleaning, edge/surface wear, sidewalls dingy, logo strong, tone knob insert very worn, volume knob insert shows adhesive seep, pickups cover split/rusty, not exactly sure what happened to the neck attach area...



Woulda made more money if they'd kept the guitar together... the bridge is still up for bidding...

1448 Dano body $70, pickguard w/ pots/knobs <$60, pots date to 1964, neck w/ tuners and attach screws <$125, pickup w/ bracket/screws/springs $65



1457 Dano SSEG with tube ampincase MOD $599 Clean, light wear, logo strong, amp knob inserts look like blank replacements, NS Dano-brand replacement speaker, NS power tube, tremolo functional, no footswitch


1437 Teisco SBEG VG <$300 Clean, light edge wear, logo tag missing, whammy handle/spring missing, serial #146559


1435 Teisco SBEG VG $270 Clean, light wear, whammy handle/cover missing, logo nearly worn away, (2) tuner shafts slightly bent


1422 Sears Solid State amp VG $150 Clean, light wear, operational, "Nicky Narco" in marker on back panel


1483 Dano tube amp only G $299 Could use a cleaning, covering wear, (1) knob rim broken, (1) knob rim chipped, rust to jack washers/nuts/handle captures, NS power tubes, 3-prong AC mod, recently serviced


1483 Dano tube amp only $163 Covering shows water damage, all metal shows oxidation, sold as a parts amp, seller says "The power cord was cut when I got it, I did not try to power it up."


1482 Dano tube amp VG $316 Clean, some covering wear, some rust to speaker cage, 3-prong AC mod, tremolo functional, set of extra tubes incl.


1482 Dano tube amp VG $345 Clean, light wear, stamping indicates 1963 build, back panel missing, tremolo function not mentioned, no footswitch


1484 Dano tube amp only VG $375 Clean, light wear, control face clean, light rust dots to handle captures, 1/4" jack added to original speaker cable, rev/trem non-functional ,no footswitch



Several Sears amps shared the 1421 catalog number prefix, but I can't find an exact match for this one in my mid-70s catalogs. The closest I could find was a 1975 1422, but the cabinet dimensions (and part number, obviously) don't quite match.

1421 Sears Solid State amp E $100 Clean, minimal wear, seller says "Amplifier functions perfectly and the tremolo sounds incredible."




These 604s have gotten the 'parlor' tag lately, and I've seen a few selling for some relatively good money. This example is just beautiful! Weird neck 'repair,' though...

604 Harmony FTAC VG $175 Clean, light wear, logo strong, (2) tuners slightly bent, screws/strap button through neck heel


604 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $77 Clean, light wear, logo strong


627 Kay FHAC VG $289 Clean, light wear, some checking/flaking,  'thick script' logo strong, pickguard missing (bracket's still there), bridge needs work, stamped L3535 6887


658 Kay FHAC VG $269 Clean, light edge wear, logo strong, pickguard missing, high action; looks like the neck might need a rest


696 Kay FHAC G $159 Could use a cleaning, some edge wear, 'wind chime' logo strong, bridge missing, tuner buttons deteriorated away



3/28

This Cool Flattop Cutaway would look right at home in the latest instrument catalogs anywhere, but it's from the mid-1950s!
Brand-spankin' new page up for the very rare Harmony-built Silvertone 628!


3/28

The Saga Of The 'One Of A Kind' Guitar Continues... This is about the 6th or 7th of these white-knobbed, Space Dotted, double-stamped pickups, double cutaway 1485s I've seen over the years. Today's example is in mighty fine shape, and sold on a 'Best Offer Accepted' of less (how much less, we don't know) than its asking price of $2,729.

1485 Harmony HBEG w/ C <VG $2729 Clean, light wear, 'Space Dot' strong, light lamination lines showing on back of headstock, double-stamped pickups Dec. 1966 / July 1968,



1440 MIJ SBEG VG <$299 Clean, light wear, whammy handle missing, logo intact, very tip of headstock broken/repaired, scratchy pots, (1) knob insert missing


2317 Valco Lap Steel VG $249 Clean, light wear, logoplate looks good,  NS tuners, original cord still attached


1220 Harmony FTAC w/ OC <$249 Clean, light wear, logo strong, bridge lifting, sold as project; seller says "needs neck reset and some bridge work"


1476 Harmony SBEG w/ OC $200 Needs a cleaning, edge/surface wear, pickups look great, logo strong, all knobs missing, strap buttons missing, sold as project


621 Harmony FTAC $80 Clean, edge/surface wear, finish checking, some fret wear, logo strong, NS bridge, rust to tuner strips, sold as  project



Is that a Porsche sticker on the headstock? Um... OK...

1448 Dano SSEG with ampincase VG $360 Clean, light wear, estate find, logo strong, adhesive seep to guitar knob inserts, seller tells the story "...when I first plugged in the amp all 3 tubes came on within about 45 seconds, when I plugged the guitar into the amp the speaker could be heard for a few seconds then everything shut down, now even without the guitar the tubes don't light up."


1449 Dano SSEG with ampincase VG $499 Clean, some edge wear, logo strong, rust to case hardware, rip in case covering, speaker stamping indicates October 1963 build


856 Harmony Baritone Ukulele VG $160 Clean, light wear, logo strong, book/pick incl.

3/27

Well, We've Been 'Throwin' Back' to 1964 all year, and well, Silvertone World is based on 'throwin' back,' but what the hey...
 I'll do a 'Throwback Thursday' for ya right here:

Your musical TV viewing for this week 50 years ago:


Here's a special treat with one of the bands listed above; it's The Pyramids surf rockin' their single "Penetration" on American Bandstand from March 28, 1964!




Now, on to the Silvertonium!

696 Kay FHAC VG $299 Clean, light wear, light checking, 'wind chime' logo strong, stamped 'L4,' NS Gibson Deluxe tuners


1419 Dano SSEG w/ OC VG $350 Clean, buckle rash, light wear, logo missing


1479 Harmony SBEG VG $453 Clean, some edge wear/flaking, logo strong, all stock knobs, whammy handle present, stickers and sticker residue


1484 Dano tube amp with speaker cabinet VG $725 Clean, light wear, NS Groove Tubes, recently serviced, 3-prong AC mod, rev/trem unmentioned but assumed functional, non-covered footswitch incl. speaker/cabinet stamping indicates summer 1964 build


606 Harmony FTAC G $152 Clean, edge/surface wear, logo strong, pickguard missing, 45RPM 'How To Play' record incl.


604 Harmony FTAC G $50 Could use a cleaning, edge/surface wear/scratches, logo strong, fretboard worn, tailpin missing


621 Harmony FTAC VG $100 Clean, some edge and surface wear, logo strong, interesting graining on back, date stamped S-65, serial #969H621


1384/5/1427 Harmony HBEG w/ C G $900 Clean, some edge/surface wear, pickguard missing, neck p/u tone not working, NS knobs


657 Harmony FTAC Classical 2/ C G $32 Clean, some edge wear, slight  neck separation, inner label in good shape, stamped F-62-JC


1310 Valco Lap Steel G $153 Clean, light wear, logo tag looks good, tailpiece cover missing, screw holes in bottom from stand mounting, some blemishes to fretboard, corner ding, rust to tuner covers, tuner buttons deteriorated


1418 Teisco HBEG w/ C VG <$199 Clean, light wear, logo tag looks good, whammy handle present, serial #335689, seller says "The neck is straight with a working truss rod; the frets could use to be leveled or milled. Both pickups work and sound great, the rocker switches however when flipped stay in the on position, when you bring them back the other way a little they turn the pickup off as their supposed to."


1495 Teisco HBEG Bass w/ C G $185 Clean, light wear, NS selector switch, bridge cover missing, hole cut in back for jack access/repair, no logo to be found


1457 Dano knobs $50


1457 Dano pickup (2) $90 apiece Bracket, screws, springs incl.

3/26

Well, here's something you don't see every day... it's a love song to Carrie and Fred of Portlandia, Vine-style...


...from the band LUCIUS, with guitarist Peter Lalish sportin' his 1457., flanked by some shots of his rig, with includes a 1484.

Here they are on CONAN last night...


Silvertonium is taking over the WORLD!!!

From Wax Paper to shampoo... count on Silvertone!


3/25

Some Things Just Can't Wait... and this extreeeeemely rare custom color 'coral & white' Dano-built Silvertone 1358 from 1956 is one of 'em. Wow! Definitely the best of the "ultra-smart color styling" finished of this series I've ever seen.




You can still pick it up (as of 3/25/14) over on eBay:
Poof! It's gone!


3/24

A Bunch o' This & That from the Weekend... plus, a gorgeous Silvertone radio.... What? Oh,  that was a box that um, pulled music, news and other transmitted content and news right out of the air. Very popular back in the day.

627 Kay FHAC VG $289 Clean, some edge/surface wear, logo strong, tuner buttons yellowed, stamped P4, the 'thick script' logo points this one to being a 627 (pre mid-1962)


1212 Harmony FTAC VG $100 Clean, light wear, prismatic SR 'Space Dot' looks good


605 Harmony FTAC w/ OC VG $99 Clean, light wear, 'deco' logo strong


1423 Harmony SSEG VG $538 Clean, light wear, logo broken at 'S,' NS selector knob, lead p/u tone knob missing


1477 Harmony SBEG w/ OC VG $309 Clean, chrome shiny, whammy handle present, some edge/surface wear, lead pickup foil insert worn on treble side, logo strong, seller says "...bridge pickup is thin sounding and lower in volume. Might just need some TLC. Frets are rough in a few places and could stand dressing."


UNK Hybrid MOD <$800 'Frankentoned' together with various parts including a Dano pickup, four-ribbed domed knobs (they look like radio knobs), Silvertone branded Harmony neck, not sure about the body


1482 Dano tube amp MOD $349 Clean, covering painted black, brass corner protectors added, re-grilled, replacement speaker, NS power tubes, 3-prong AC mod


1481 Dano tube amp F <$200 Needs a good cleaning, rippling/peeling of covering towards bottom, grille cloth painted, 'THE' title still visible, rust to all chassis crews, knob inserts worn, logo tag scratched with paint residue around edges, untested; tubes light up


1465 Dano Solid State amp only G $106 Could use a good cleaning, seller says: "great working condition besides intermittent reverb which will occasionally work but is very unreliable even after having it looked at by professional.  Tremolo sounds/works great. "


1425 Sears Solid State amp G $90 Clean, some surface wear to control face, several slider knobs missing, all sliders work, heavy oxidation to chassis, tested functional


1474 Dano tube amp $214 Speakers gone, baffle broken, (1) knob missing, tubes gone... obviously in need of some TLC


1448 Dano pickup $65 Clean with some 'swirling' of chrome lipstick covers, screws/bracket/springs incl., full lead attached


1448 Dano knob (1) $24 Slight rim chip, light adhesive seep to insert

Most of the time, I let radios and other non-guitar-related Silvertonium pass on by.... but this beautiful 'tombstone' Silvertone radio made me sit up and take notice, as they say. It's a working 1936-manufactured model 7179 that sold over the weekend for $495. Check it out!


And, if you couldn't find anything on, or all the stations had signed off... crank up your Silvertone AM broadcasting turntable! Untested, it sold for just $20.



I swear I'm gonna get me one of these 'bookshelf' speakers one day and turn it into an iPod dock... this model 9636 Speaker Enclosure went for $60.



Lastly, I bet the record industry would like mp3 files that deteriorate after ten plays... this box of phonograph needles went for $12


3/22

Little Did I Know that when I posted that 'Girls and Guitars' bit yesterday that a few hours later I'd be standing next to one of the talented women in my 'lineup.'
Here's frumpy me (cool shirt, though...) and the lovely and talented Dee Dee Penny after the Dum Dum Girls sold-out show in Raleigh last night! Check the video for Dee Dee and her Harmony-built Silvertone 1476 with "Little Minx."


3/21

Girls and Guitars... yeah, it's always been a thing.



Me? I've always been partial to the ladies who actually play the things...



OK, here's what got me on that tangent... you may notice one of the ladies above in the photos for this early 1448.

1448 Dano SSEG with case (no amp) VG $305 Clean, light wear, logo area has a scratch or two,  tape residue on pickguard, pots date to late 1961, two-screw neck attach, narrow attach pier, strip tuners, amp removed from case



Gettin' closer.... this one's only missing the speaker...

1449 Dano SSEG with ampincase VG $433 Clean, light wear, logo strong, speaker missing from functional amp, a little rust staining to rhythm knob, no footswitch



Ahhhh, here we go... this one's got everything! Including a pretty awesome final price... someone got a great deal!

1448 Dano SSEG with ampincase VG $280 Clean, light wear, logo strong, seller says "AMPLIFIER DID WORK WHEN TESTED BUT WHEN PHOTOGRAPHED IT DID NOT WORK... TUBES LITE UP BUT COULD NOT GET ANY SOUND OUT OF IT."



One more early ampincase, this one with the early ribbed black dome knobs...

1448 Dano SSEG with ampincase VG $365 Clean, light wear, logo strong but flaked at 'n,' NS knob on amp, case corners worn, neck stamp indicates late 1962 build,  two-screw neck attach, narrow attach pier, strip tuners




"Baby Whaddaya Want Me To Do?" Well, this 'Jimmy Reed' wants you to fix it up!

1381 Kay HBEG G $492 Clean, light wear, logo laminate strong, tuners deteriorating, lots of caveats from the seller: "Does need a set up as is, the strings bottom out.
As seen in photos: Nut had been glued back on in unprofessional manner. It was JB Weld that was used to do so. The Bridge needs to be set up or possibly replaced. It looks ok all and all.
Missing strap peg. Looks like it broke off at some point. The Pickup selector cap is missing. The one volume knob comes off fairly easily and itself it needs to be fixed as it does not move freely.
So the guitar is not in great shape but it isn't a lemon either."

 

 

1484 Dano tube amp with speaker cabinet VG $700 Clean, light wear, date stamping on stock Jensens indicate early 1964 build, footswitch incl.


1481 Dano tube amp VG $299 Clean, light wear, knob inserts dirty, tone knob rim chipped, some weird staining to back face (almost looks like varnish), cabinet/speaker stamping indicates March 1966 build


1474 Dano tube amp VG $600 Clean, some edge wear to covering, reverb non-functional, rev/trem knobs missing, re-upholstered, re-grilled, NC brass corner protectors, speaker/cabinet stamping indicate Summer 1961 build, seller says " the  4x6l6 tubes in amp are not included, I will throw in some that work however."


600 series Harmony FTAC G $55 Clean, edge/surface wear/flaking, logo strong


1205 Harmony FTAC VG <$100 Clean, light wear, 'block' logo strong, serial #9621H927


I'm really diggin' the cool fridge magnets this seller is making available... just 2.95!

 

3/20

Spring is... on the calendar, anyway. The weatherman is predicting another blast of winter for the East Coast of the US next week! Ah, well... it's always a good season for Silvertone... sproutin' up all over!

I've seen more than a few of this next guitar over the years, but was never been able to absolutely pin down the model. With the recent acquisition of some wartime Sears catalogs, I'm pretty sure this is a model 710 that disappeared (as did all models) after World War II got seriously underway, and factories across the country switched to wartime production. In fact, the Sears catalogs for 1944 and 1945 had zero guitars available.




That said, this Fall / Winter 1943 catalog listing (the last listing until 1946 in which guitars were made available) shows what certainly looks like the guitar in question. The dot neck markers match, the headstock and pickguard match, there is binding front and back, and the carved spruce top is there, too.


710 Kay FHAC w/ C G $192 Clean, light wear, top  cracked down centerline, some finish checking, neck needs re-working, 'wind chime' logo strong, tuner buttons missing, tailpin missing, seller says " this guitar will need some luthier work to make playable"

 

New pages up for the next two guitars, with complete catalog listings and lots of new photos!

1487 Teisco MIJ SBEG w/ internal amp VG $350 Clean, light wear, logo worn, amp is functional but needs some tweaking; it feeds back


1445 KaySSEG VG $650 Clean, light wear, logo worn, nice grain, pickguard missing, 9-inch stretch of fingerboard binding pro-replaced





Here's a little something from our friends up in Canada, it's the Simpson-Sears sold version of the 1445, the 26877

26877 Teisco SBEG E $580 Clean, minimal wear, whammy handle present, rare oval logo sticker in great shape



End-game 'paddle head' version of the 1413.

1415 Kay SBEG G <$299 Clean, edge/surface wear, pickups cover and tailpiece cover design worn away, logo strong, (1) knob missing, small crack at neck, frets need some grooming



Most examples we see of the 1245 are built by Kay, but Harmony was happy to fill in the gaps when they could...

1245 Harmony FHAC G $170 Clean, light wear, 'block' logo strong, pickguard missing, some top separation



The catalog called the covering on these early Dano-built guitars 'tan and ginger.'

1357 Dano SSEG VG $635 Clean, light wear, logo strong, crack in fretboard 1st through 3rd fret area


1437 Teisco MIJ SBEG w/ C VG $335 Clean, light wear/buckle rash, logo tag looks good, whammy handle present


1425 Kay HBEG w/ OC VG $500 Clean, edge/surface wear, logo strong



Another terrific axe from the Lawman!

1453 Harmony HBEG VG <$630 Clean, light wear, whammy handle present, logo strong but laminate has been rounded off at tip, NS knobs, NS nut


1483 Dano tube amp only G $239 Clean, faceplate has no markings and oddly yellowed, 1/4" speaker jack mod, (2) NS Groove Tube power tubes

ABBREVIATION KEY:
MODEL # / MANUFACTURER / INSTRUMENT TYPE / CONDITION / 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, BOA - (related to price) Best Offer Accepted; price shown was asking price, sold for less, 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.