Silvertone Model 1446L Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Harmony (1962)
LOADING IMAGES
Silvertone Model 1446L Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Harmony (1962), made in Chicago, black lacquer finish, laminated maple body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a great playing if slightly "player grade" 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 Harmony/Silvertone model sporting pickups with a Gibson lineage, all the rest used electronics supplied by DeArmond. The odd-looking white plastic trapezoidal pickup 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 is stamped with a 1962 date code and the raised metal logo confirms it as an earlier example; the model first appeared in Sears' catalogs in 1961 and vanished after 1967. The 1446 is 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 of all; 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 generally a clean, fine-playing and sounding example of this snazzy Silvertone classic. The black lacquer finish on the top and sides is original and in well-kept shape; the entire neck and back of the instrument were oversprayed in black bearing a slightly different texture than the rest of the guitar. It is of course probably that some sort of headstock repair lurks beneath the overspray on the neck but if so it is very well done. There appears to have been a large chip off the back edge of the tip of the headstock that was filled in, at least. At any rate the work is solid and the original finish on the neck is starting to emerge again as the overfinish wears off. Apart from this the guitar shows only minor wear with some small dings, scrapes, and scuffs, and the binding remains in very healthy shape.
All the hardware is original, including the oft-lost or broken plastic pickguard, somewhat brittle white plastic pickup bezels and switch rings all have survived with no damage. The upper tip of the plastic truss rod cover has a typical shrinkage crack. The original Waverly tuners, Biggby tailpiece and nickel-plated pickup covers show some light wear but nothing to serious. There is minor fingerboard and fret wear in the first position but nothing that affects playability. Overall this is a very nice gig-worthy example, a really fun guitar to play. This one comes in a newer Ibanez-branded black tolex hardshell case that fits it comfortably. Overall Very Good Condition.
This is a great playing if slightly "player grade" 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 Harmony/Silvertone model sporting pickups with a Gibson lineage, all the rest used electronics supplied by DeArmond. The odd-looking white plastic trapezoidal pickup 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 is stamped with a 1962 date code and the raised metal logo confirms it as an earlier example; the model first appeared in Sears' catalogs in 1961 and vanished after 1967. The 1446 is 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 of all; 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 generally a clean, fine-playing and sounding example of this snazzy Silvertone classic. The black lacquer finish on the top and sides is original and in well-kept shape; the entire neck and back of the instrument were oversprayed in black bearing a slightly different texture than the rest of the guitar. It is of course probably that some sort of headstock repair lurks beneath the overspray on the neck but if so it is very well done. There appears to have been a large chip off the back edge of the tip of the headstock that was filled in, at least. At any rate the work is solid and the original finish on the neck is starting to emerge again as the overfinish wears off. Apart from this the guitar shows only minor wear with some small dings, scrapes, and scuffs, and the binding remains in very healthy shape.
All the hardware is original, including the oft-lost or broken plastic pickguard, somewhat brittle white plastic pickup bezels and switch rings all have survived with no damage. The upper tip of the plastic truss rod cover has a typical shrinkage crack. The original Waverly tuners, Biggby tailpiece and nickel-plated pickup covers show some light wear but nothing to serious. There is minor fingerboard and fret wear in the first position but nothing that affects playability. Overall this is a very nice gig-worthy example, a really fun guitar to play. This one comes in a newer Ibanez-branded black tolex hardshell case that fits it comfortably. Overall Very Good Condition.