Any info on vintage Silvertone guitar?

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by Sedona, May 10, 2020.

  1. Sedona

    Sedona Well-Known Member

    E6A05A7B-D622-459B-B373-5F24473C28D9.jpeg I know we have a number of experts on this board. I seem to have successfully passed along the antiquers gene to my older son, who enjoys antiques, and vintage guitars in particular.

    He has a number of archtop guitars, and picked up Silvertone today.

    We know the basics, eg Silvertone was made by Sears starting in the late 1940s, and manufactured by guitar makers such as Harmony. We’ve been to the various Silvertone websites, and know the different logos, etc.

    I tried to take photos of the printing inside of the holes (photos above and below), which might be the date code. It was dusty inside so there may also be a serial number that we can’t photograph easily.

    The bridge and tuners are not original. The tail piece may be original, or era correct. A former owner put the Deco-style initials on it.

    I know there are a few vintage guitar experts on here. The seller said it is early 1950. The Silvertone logo (faded, but included) seems to be early 1950’s. But, maybe this is a later date code.

    Do the guitar experts concur this is early 1950? Any idea as to model? A look on the internet shows that the only ones with similar fret inlays are early 1960s model 623, by Harmony (but with the later logo).

    My son bought this in LA. The seller said only that it’s from a musician friend of his. It also seems to have electric guitar strings on it.

    Thanks, and Happy Mother’s Day!

    69DE1C18-F433-4CC4-AAA2-9F1AC4DBCEF9.jpeg 980E4D89-C5A8-4546-8111-769524DFB939.jpeg E0D13A30-D7FE-49AF-ADC4-2EC451DCB018.jpeg A841BD66-BC2E-4129-9B0A-3F393EE171DE.jpeg 5C182632-D10B-4AFA-8BC9-CC8042C77636.jpeg 1EEB3C0C-086C-49B2-A7DC-23A48E86B446.jpeg 0E5F7A0E-EEFF-4946-947F-814448943EAC.jpeg DA0E615D-6642-4F93-B57C-4F52F6A0023C.jpeg FCA685C0-D3A4-4287-9200-77D1DF8C6585.jpeg
     
  2. Sedona

    Sedona Well-Known Member

    This is a better image (I hope) of the logo


    FCC7AD4A-13AA-467E-88A7-4D04797801A3.jpeg
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
  3. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    The stamp inside says Made in USA and that's as far as I can get.
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
  4. antidiem

    antidiem Well-Known Member

    I'm no expert, I just like guitars. Yours looks to have been refinished in places? The head has typical use wear dings, but I cannot see the body. Perhaps it has had neck work done? It is not possible to tell particulars from your photographs, is the body dinged similarly, or not? It's a shame about the logo damage, yes it looks like damage to me, but I am not sure. I think it's possible that some kind of oil damaged the silvertone logo decal.

    I can only speak from personal experience, I've been through some instruments in my lifetime. I never buy musical instruments unless I can play them, can you play this guitar, how does it sound? Is it easy to play? It looks heavy to me.
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
  5. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

  6. antidiem

    antidiem Well-Known Member

    I think it may just be patina on the back, but the head isn't "faded" - looks like something was rubbed over it to blacken it at some point. It may have been a penetrating oil that damaged the head.
     
  7. all_fakes

    all_fakes Well-Known Member

    I don't have any specific knowledge of this model; there is a harmony guitar page at http://harmony.demont.net/catalogs.php that includes many Silvertones; but Sears also sold many guitars made by other makers under the Silvertone name....and I'm not actually sure that is a Silvertone logo; hard to say.
    That said, I don't think this is a high-end or collectible guitar; most Silvertones like other Sears guitars were beginner instruments, and not particularly collectible today; and also not noted for sounding good. You might take a close look at the edges of the f-holes to determine whether this is a solid top, or laminated, a type of plywood. I'd expect it to be laminated, and again that is not a good sign in terms of sound quality or value; a solid wood top would kick the sound and value up a notch. It does have steel strings as expected. I'd think mid-50s to 60s is about right, and if your son likes to play it that is great; I just wouldn't expect it to be very valuable in terms of resale.
     
    SYNCHRONCITY, Sedona and komokwa like this.
  8. Sedona

    Sedona Well-Known Member

    Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate it. As indicated, the seller put electric guitar strings on it, and my son hasn't yet swapped out the strings yet. Plus, the non-original bridge is thicker than one would expect (but it's not glued on, and can be swapped out easily). That being said, he played it yesterday, and it sounded good. It seems to be constructed of solid wood, and not of a laminate.

    If I try to post any higher resolution photos, the photos are considered too large to upload. It's entirely possible that someone put some cleaner or polisher on the neck, and rubbed off the logo. He has a vintage Harmony guitar with a neck that looks similar, and Harmony made some Silvertones. The seller of this guitar wasn't even a musician, so he really had no specific information for my son about this guitar.

    My son is still in high school, and enjoys playing classic country and rock, so he enjoys the sound of older instruments. He has even been putting the old-style cords on his vintage guitars as straps, such as shown on Merle Haggard's "Same Train A Different Time" album, for the vintage look when he's playing older songs (although, he says, they aren't as comfortable). He has modern acoustic and electric guitars, but he enjoys finding older instruments as well, and fixing them up as needed. It's great seeing him working at my husband's work bench in the garage instead of playing video games.
    [​IMG]
     
    komokwa likes this.
  9. all_fakes

    all_fakes Well-Known Member

    Glad your son likes guitars; it certainly has been a life-long interest for me.
    Some thoughts on strings: there isn't actually any difference between electric guitar strings and other steel strings; some strings may be flat-wound, and some players of electric guitars like those; but they can be used on any guitar that is set up for steel strings. Likewise, some players of electric guitars like lighter gauge strings; but those can be used on acoustic steel strings as well.
    Your son should use steel strings, in whatever gauge he prefers; I've favored medium-gauge on all my steel-string guitars, but many players find that gauge to be heavier than they like, and will use light or medium-light. In my opinion, medium gives a better sound, but is harder to play; the lighter gauges often do not sound as good to my ears, and the same is true of flat-wound strings, again just my opinion. Many players will use a lighter gauge on their electrics than they would on their acoustic guitars.
    Also, one would not normally put nylon strings on any steel-string or arch-top guitar like this one; but it would not hurt it.
    On the other hand, putting any sort of steel strings on a classical (nylon-string guitar) is a very bad thing, likely to warp the neck.
     
    terry5732 and Sedona like this.
  10. say_it_slowly

    say_it_slowly The worst prison is a closed heart

  11. all_fakes

    all_fakes Well-Known Member

    S-57-T makes some sense for a model number, but I think that may just be a model, and not indicate the year; but after some comparison I'm pretty sure that is a Silvertone logo, and possibly made by either Harmony or Kay for Sears; however, I don't think the headstock shape is quite correct for either Kay or Harmony; but Sears also used quite a few other makers.
    One resource is http://silvertoneworld.net/acoustic.html
    but that also seems to indicate that Harmony and Silvertone model numbers should just be numeric. According to one website, most Silvertones should have a 4-digit serial number, with the last two digits being the year. One of my first guitars was a Harmony 910....I carried it on a hike up Mt Rainier in the snow, without a case, in the 1960s....(not all the way to the top, of course, but the poor thing did get snowed on, and it was below freezing when we camped for the night). (Harmony model numbers do not indicate a year, however)
     
    Sedona and komokwa like this.
  12. Sedona

    Sedona Well-Known Member

    Thank you all, for your input. I appreciate it.

    The Silvertone logo on my son’s guitar looks like this one (photo from internet). but very faint. I wonder why someone may have rubbed it off. Perhaps a well-meaning person used an unduly harsh cleaner on it.

    There is definitely wear on the body of the guitar, and he has some work to do, but it sounds good. He thinks he saw a serial number inside, but it was dusty and faint, and I wasn’t able to photograph it.

    upload_2020-5-11_22-44-25.png
     
  13. terry5732

    terry5732 Well-Known Member


    It is a sears cheapy. No different than a walmart cheapy today. Don't call me daughter.
     
  14. Antiquefan

    Antiquefan Member

    I am going with early 1960's and a laminated back, top and sides. These were all press laminates. If he enjoys playing it that is great, but don't pay a lot for that muffler.

    One fun thing for him is to get an archtop pickup and play around with tones and overdrive. These archtops feedback quickly and it is like driving a racecar. He can learn about where to stand in relation to the amp to not have feedback then integrate a little into the playing. It is a bit like learning to juggle while you are on the unicycle. Tell him to have fun!
     
    all_fakes likes this.
  15. Sedona

    Sedona Well-Known Member

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