Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Electric Guitar with Amp-in-Case

Inevitably there’s always an earlier “earliest,” but the earliest amp-in-case I know of was built by Daniel when he was working for Epiphone in around 1936. Nathan I. Daniel was a young electronics wizard who was discovered in the early 1930s by Epiphone’s head engineer Herb Sunshine building amplifiers in the basement of a New York department store (back when department stores really had departments and they did things). In 1935 the Epiphone Banjo Company changed its name to Epiphone and introduced a line of electric guitars and amplifiers called Electraphones, which was almost immediately changed to Electar. These included electric Spanish archtop guitars, Hawaiian lap steels, and little amplifiers designed and built by Nat Daniel. In 1936 Epiphone offered its Electar Model C Hawaiian guitar with an amp built into the case, designed by our friend Nat. For some reason, it didn’t go over very well, and the amp was quickly separated out into the Model C amplifier.

Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Electric Guitar with Amp-in-Case

In 1938 National-Dobro revisited the idea, introducing the Supro 60 Electric Combination and the Portable Supro 70 Electric Combination. Both of these featured a little pearloid-covered Supro Electric Hawaiian Guitar tucked into an amp in case unit. I don’t think any of these earl amp-in-case designs did particularly well, but then there was something called the Great Depression going on, which had to have an effect on sales.

Obviously, Daniel thought the idea was good enough. Daniel worked for Epiphone until 1942. After the War Daniel opened his own plant, Danelectro, in Red Bank, NJ, mainly making guitars and amps for Sears and Montgomery Ward, badged Silvertone and Airline, respectively. They began selling Danelectro-branded guitars and amps in around 1954. People throw the term around all too often—and ignorantly—these days, but those ‘50s and ‘60s Danos were truly iconic.

Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Electric Guitar with Amp-in-Case

And maybe the most iconic of Danelectros were the Silvertone Amp-in-Cases made for Sears beginning in 1962. The first were the smaller black-sparkle-finished Masonite one-pickup No. 1448s with an 18-fret fingerboard and a small 3-watt, 6” speaker tube amp built into the case. These were followed in 1963 by the full-size red-sparkle-finished Masonite two-pickup guitars with a 5-watt, 8” speaker tube amp, the No. 1449.

Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Electric Guitar with Amp-in-Case

Let me get this off my chest. Something’s “iconic” when it represents something bigger than itself. “Iconic” does not mean, as modern advertising copywriters throw it around everywhere these days, “his best album,” or, more often, “very famous” or “extremely popular.” Icons are like symbols or metaphors with greater meaning attached, signaling a bigger message or concept. These amp-in-case guitars are icons because they stand for a whole generation and the changes in American culture that were transpiring in the early ‘60s. They were targeted at maturing Baby Boomers who were doing Beach Blanket Bingo with Annette from the Mickey Mouse Club (or, more likely, imagining that they were), switching from Folk to surf rock, starting bands in their suddenly suburban garages. A population on the go, on brand new Interstate superhighways. See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet. Well, you get the point. I’ll be quiet.

As with everyone else in the ‘60s, Danelectro got bought out in 1966, here by entertainment giant MCA. Whether due to the ownership change or coincidence, the Dano line was shuffled. The two-pickup 1449 was renumbered to 1457 and a bunch of new models debuted. While the amp-in-case concept seemed to continue to 1969, it was no long the iconic versions we know and love.

Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Electric Guitar with Amp-in-Case

I’ve never played a 1448, but I’ve played this 1457 and the amp is surprisingly good. The 8” speaker and tube output have really sweet tone and really decent volume, more than you’d expect. I can’t say the guitar knocks my socks off, but as primitive as it is, it plays fine and it’s pretty good for a few choruses of “Walk, Don’t Run” and “Apache.” These are pure guitar fun! And, yes, they are iconic…

Garage-Band Dream Machine (Vintage 1964 Silvertone 1457 Guitar with Amp-in-Case) from MyRareGuitars.com

The Poorboys ’65 (Vintage Silvertone 4 pickup electric guitar)

Approximately 4 yrs ago I had a brainstorm. I thought I would try to find a guitar that was similar to the one I had in Junior High (1963). That would be a four pickup Silvertone solid body guitar. When I was 12 and the Beatles came out, I had decided that I wanted to play guitar. My sister bought me a Stella to learn on, and I saved up enough to buy my own Silvertone guitar and the Twin 12 amp.

Shortly after I bought the guitar I was approached by some guys in my class, and they asked me if I would lead sing for them. Of course I jumped at it. When they heard I played guitar that was a plus.

Our band, the Poorboys, stayed together for about 4 yrs. We then split up. I lost interest in the guitar and sold it to my cousin in 1969. From this point on I never heard anything about the guitar.

Fast forward to 2009. I decided to try to find a guitar that matched to one I had. If the paint didn’t match, that would be okay, as I would refinish it to hang on the wall. I went on eBay and searched for a Silvertone 4 pickup solid body guitar. That particular day there was only one. It was a sunburst paint job. Everything worked. I contacted the guy and asked him about the guitar. He was being quite the butthead, as he acted like I was putting him out. Anyway, he had a ‘Buy It Now’ price of $550. I asked him if he was high or something, as I thought his price was totally out of place . He hung up on me.

Well I bidded on the guitar and won it for $325.00.

Shortly after I bought it, I checked it out and everything worked. It was just ugly with the sunburst paint. I stripped it down and tried to make the paint work but was struggling. I put it up on the shelf.

In September of 2012 I decided to just paint it and hang it up as it was just a memory and that’s it. As I was putting it together I noticed the chrome was perfect on the whammy bar cover. When I looked underneath I found the initials (gB) The day after i bought the guitar in 1963 I took the cover off and scratched my initials on it. When I saw this I just about died. I started thinking about the rest of the guitar. I remember putting a small chip in the volume control knob when I was taking it off. I also remember that one screw that held the tuning knobs on was different as one was stripped. I checked and both were there.

This guitar is the one that I bought in 1963 and played for several years and was a very important part of my rock and roll life. This guitar is home to stay.

Written by: Gary Berdinski

This Silvertone is Home to Stay from MyRareGuitars.com

Vintage 1960’s Silvertone Mosrite Electric Guitar

Here’s the original description from the 1969 Sears catalog:

Solid Body Electric Guitars Triple pickup (7 combinations). Three pickup selector switches. Solo selector switch for quick tone changes. Vibrato tailpiece produces Hawaiian and other special effects. Roller-type bridge adjusts. Ebony fingerboard. Edge-bound body. Highly-polished flame sunburst yellow, shaded to red, shaded to mahogany color. With vinyl-covered lined chipboard case. 1445L–Shpg. wt. 14lbs. $5 monthly. Cash $78.95 2 x 13 7/8 x 41 1/4 in.

1960’s Silvertone Mosrite Guitar (Back Catalog Memories) from MyRareGuitars.com