This guitar shares the silhouette of various ’60s Harmony and Silvertone releases, like the ones played by Annie “St Vincent” Clark The original 1478 had the now coveted “harp” style gold foil pickups, but vintage tone lovers will not be disappointed with the reissue’s pickups. They show some of the character and punch of the gold foils, but with sound of their own.
The twin volume pots dropped off quickly but smoothly, making it easy to change the tone by relative pickup level adjustment. The two tone pots are voiced perfectly to create jazzy warmth (neck) or a throaty roar (bridge). This 1478 had plenty of acoustic ring thanks to a mahogany body sandwiched in maple, and sustain courtesy of well-finished frets. The Bigsby is a definite improvement over the cheesy original vibrato tailpiece, and adds a string area behind the bridge for Nels Cline-style modern guitar sounds. With its cool looks, distinctive tone, and fluid playability (and with vintage models nearing a grand), the Silvertone 1478 is a steal.
CONTACT silvertoneguitar.com
MODEL Silvertone 1478
PRICE $549 street
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16″
NECK Mahogany Bolt-on
FRETBOARD Rosewood
FRETS 20
TUNERS Sealed Kluson-style
BODY Mahogany w/ Maple top and back
BRIDGE Tune-o-matic w/ Bigsby Tremolo
PICKUPS Two Silvertone Single Coils
CONTROLS 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector
FACTORY STRINGS Cleartone .010-.046
WEIGHT 7.68 lbs.
BUILT Indonesia
I own this guitar purchased from MF in early 12/21. It is exactly as stated in the reviews. As a kid I always wanted a Silvertone when they were sold through Sear’s and Roebuck but never had the skin to grab one and I couldn’t play a lick anyways. The only niggle I had with this guitar were the fret ends were razor sharp but I fixed that so good to go on that end. Play it through a Laney CUB12R and the tone you can get with the different settings is just wonderful. I have the red burst and am absolutely loving it. I am wondering if mini humbuckers would work in it? Anyways love this axe and just enjoy noodling for hours on it. stay safe