Rare is, of course, a relative term when you're talking about anything made by Danelectro for Sears. This ain't a hand
carved arch-top by one of the D'Whoever's in New York, or a prototype KOA wood, only ever seen by Ted McCarty and the
33rd-level Masons who know the secret Skull & Bones handshake and Vulcan death grips, after all.
These were cheap, crap box guitars made at a price point to that every kid who saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan could get
one for whatever holiday or birthday was next. They were product, churned out at an alarming rate. They were also, lucky
for us, pretty damn cool sounding little guitars.
So, a "rare Silvertone" is a bit of an oxymoron. The best Michael Bay film. A tall jockey. The thinnest sumo wrestler.
The most competent politician in Washington. The least annoying morning DJ, and so on.
But by 1968, the post-Beatle guitar boom of 64-66 had waned. The wave had crested and you started to see some of the
biggest names in little guitars (Kay, Valco, Danelectro) starting to suffer and, within a year, all die quiet deaths.
(Chicago enormo-manufacture Harmony would slump on into the early 70's before limping to a public auction death knell
in 1975).
In their last years, all of these companies would make some changes, hoping desperately to cling to their former market
share. In Dano"s case, the biggest change when ownership switched hands to MCA in 1966 was the end of the poplar and
Masonite guitars that had so defined the Neptune maker"s sound for over ten years. The last year and a half, Danelectro
produced actual WOOD guitars, the top of the line being the classic 3 pickup Vinnie Bell signature model with the
wonderfully psychedelic pickguard and the zippy quick neck.
The bottom of the line? The wood one-pickup Silvertone model from the Amp-in-Case line. This was still called the 1448 in
the 1968 SEARS catalog, but it is a slightly different sounding little beast from its earlier and more prevalent semi-hollow
1448's. The AC/DC (sans power transformer) amp in the case is the same (not nearly as cool at the great 1457's single-ended
6V6-driven amp with tremolo. BUT, this guitar is arguably a better little axe than its predecessors. It's at least as good
and different enough that you should get one if you can.
It's a killer blues and garage guitar. The skate key tuners hold surprisingly well, so long as you drop some graphite (or the
lube of your choice) on the sticky, but great sounding, aluminum nut. The rosewood bridge is just like on the older models...
simple, but effective. And, of course, the key to the tone is still there - the brilliant lipstick tube low-output (with plenty
of volume...ohms ratings and volume are not the same) Danelectro pickup is worth all of the hype it receives. There's just
nothing quite like them, and if you want that full voiced twang and snap...well, you need an original lipstick Dano. There
is truly no substitute.
And in a wooded solidbody, rather than the more common (and great, make no mistake) hollow Masonite-topped models, the
pickup really shines. Crank your amp and turn up the guitar volume for some great smooth overdrive. Roll back the volume
knob and the guitar cleans up, while retaining its treble response (unlike many great vintage garage guitars like
Harmonys, which get muddy and murky very fast with their original volume knobs turned down at all). This is a clear,
clean and articulate tone monster that responds well to every amp in the house (at least in this house of too many amps,
it does).
The short scale makes for easy playing, smooth bends and surprisingly good intonation up the neck when set up well. Plus,
this model, like later Danos, has a very cool, very figured fretboard for a "budget" instrument. And, of course, it comes,
like its older Masonite siblings, in a wonderfully cheesy black metaflake finish.
This is one pawn shop surprise you should pick up when and if you see it. Like I said, they're rare - or they're
"Silvertone Rare" at any rate. They show up on eBay a LOT less often than the standard, more common 1448's, so if you
see one in good playable shape, do yourself a favor and dig this last-of-the-breed from Neptune.
Bio: Rob Roberge is the author of Working Backwards From the Worst Moment of My Life (due Oct 10th), the novels More Than They Could Chew (Perennial Dark Alley/Harper Collins, February 2005) and Drive (Hollyridge Press, 2006). He teaches writing at the Antioch University Los Angeles, MFA in Creative Writing and the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, where he received the Outstanding Instructor Award in Creative Writing in 2003. He plays guitar and sings with several LA bands, including the legendary Punk pioneers, The Urinals. In his spare time, he restores and rebuilds vintage amplifiers and quack medical devices. For news and more info, visit & or email at either www.myspace.com/robroberge or www.robroberge.com
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