Silvertone Model 1446L Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Harmony (1964)
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Item # 10149
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Silvertone Model 1446L Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Harmony (1964), made in Chicago, black lacquer finish, laminated maple body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, two-tone chipboard case.
This is a relatively clean original example of this unique model, one of the very best guitars ever sold through Sears-Roebuck & Co! The Silvertone 1446L is both a super sharp-looking and great-sounding instrument combining a sleek ebony finished Harmony thinline hollow body and deluxe pattern neck with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and unique mini-humbucking pickups. These were supplied by CMI/Gibson, essentially the same units used on the contemporary Kalamazoo-made Epiphone line. The only difference is a 3-and-3 staggered polepiece pattern as opposed to a straight line, probably to differentiate them visually rather than for any musical reason. This is the only '60s Silvertone sporting pickups with a Gibson lineage, the rest all use DeArmonds. The odd-looking white plastic trapezoidal mounting bezels are also unique to this model.
This combination of features makes for a very professional instrument for a Silvertone, and a guitar that has a justifiable reputation as the finest Harmony-made electric guitar of the 1960s. This one has a somewhat obscured factory date code indicating it was made in 1964, approaching the peak of the guitar boom. The 1446 is often unofficially named the "Chris Isaak" model. Some time back he was seen with one quite a bit, before Harmony and Silvertone were considered "cool"! At any rate this IS one of the coolest; a classic in comparatively affordable vintage 1960s American guitars.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This is a relatively clean, fine-playing and sounding example of this snazzy Silvertone classic, showing some minor repair but overall one of the nicer ones we have had. It remains all original except for an American flag/bicentennial sticker added to the headstock face, probably around 1976. There is some finish wear overall with small scrapes, and scuffs, but for the most part the ebony lacquer still is nicely intact. The only notable exception is some heavier buckle wear scratches mostly into but not through the finish on the back.
There is a minor repair to a small +/- 1" long stress crack on the bass side of the neck running laterally down from the nut, with a smaller mirror image on the treble side. This is the solidly sealed up and did not cause any serious issues but is noticeable on close inspection. Neck stability was not affected and it is very straight with a fully functional truss rod.
All hardware is original, even the somewhat brittle white plastic pickup and switch rings have survived with no damage. The tuners, Biggby tailpiece and nickel-plated pickup covers do show some light wear but nothing to serious. There is some very minor fingerboard and fret wear but nothing that affects playability. Overall this is one of the nicer examples of this model we have had, even with the small neck repair. It is a really fun guitar to play, housed in a typical period two-tone Harmony/Kay/Silvertone chip case that is the right size but deeper than it needs to be. Excellent - Condition.
This is a relatively clean original example of this unique model, one of the very best guitars ever sold through Sears-Roebuck & Co! The Silvertone 1446L is both a super sharp-looking and great-sounding instrument combining a sleek ebony finished Harmony thinline hollow body and deluxe pattern neck with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and unique mini-humbucking pickups. These were supplied by CMI/Gibson, essentially the same units used on the contemporary Kalamazoo-made Epiphone line. The only difference is a 3-and-3 staggered polepiece pattern as opposed to a straight line, probably to differentiate them visually rather than for any musical reason. This is the only '60s Silvertone sporting pickups with a Gibson lineage, the rest all use DeArmonds. The odd-looking white plastic trapezoidal mounting bezels are also unique to this model.
This combination of features makes for a very professional instrument for a Silvertone, and a guitar that has a justifiable reputation as the finest Harmony-made electric guitar of the 1960s. This one has a somewhat obscured factory date code indicating it was made in 1964, approaching the peak of the guitar boom. The 1446 is often unofficially named the "Chris Isaak" model. Some time back he was seen with one quite a bit, before Harmony and Silvertone were considered "cool"! At any rate this IS one of the coolest; a classic in comparatively affordable vintage 1960s American guitars.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This is a relatively clean, fine-playing and sounding example of this snazzy Silvertone classic, showing some minor repair but overall one of the nicer ones we have had. It remains all original except for an American flag/bicentennial sticker added to the headstock face, probably around 1976. There is some finish wear overall with small scrapes, and scuffs, but for the most part the ebony lacquer still is nicely intact. The only notable exception is some heavier buckle wear scratches mostly into but not through the finish on the back.
There is a minor repair to a small +/- 1" long stress crack on the bass side of the neck running laterally down from the nut, with a smaller mirror image on the treble side. This is the solidly sealed up and did not cause any serious issues but is noticeable on close inspection. Neck stability was not affected and it is very straight with a fully functional truss rod.
All hardware is original, even the somewhat brittle white plastic pickup and switch rings have survived with no damage. The tuners, Biggby tailpiece and nickel-plated pickup covers do show some light wear but nothing to serious. There is some very minor fingerboard and fret wear but nothing that affects playability. Overall this is one of the nicer examples of this model we have had, even with the small neck repair. It is a really fun guitar to play, housed in a typical period two-tone Harmony/Kay/Silvertone chip case that is the right size but deeper than it needs to be. Excellent - Condition.