Silvertone 1482

Circa 1965 Silvertone 1482, microphone and instrument (2 inputs) channels with separate tone controls. Tremolo with speed and depth controls and 1/4" footswitch jack. (You rarely see the original footswitch with these.) About 15 watts. 12" speaker: I've got a ceramic Weber (12F100) in mine.

Has a tweed deluxe-ish sound, somewhat dark (even with the tone knob on full), clean headroom is almost nil, but gets a nice hairy clean at lower volume settings. The overall vibe and range of clean to overdrive is a lot like what you hear on Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere." Not very loud for 15 watts. Mine had a Celestion G12-65 in it when I bought it; that speaker was a little louder and crunchier, but the magnet was so heavy that the bolts were pulling out of the masonite baffle board.

The big different between this amp and a tweed Fender is the cabinet construction. This is particle board and very shallow, almost closed back. It's got a punchy sound, not at all "3-D" or lush, but projects pretty well. Someday I'd like to get a speaker-out installed so I can try it with a separate cab. The cabinet also tends to develop rattles. I had to repair cracks and tears around the baffle bolts with Gorilla Glue to get it to stop it from buzzing and stick foam rubber between the chassis and the cabinet at the lower right front corner to get rid of a rattle.

The microphone channel has more gain and bit more low end. You can also jumper the channels with a patch cord and get a thicker overdrive: plug into the first instrument input and put a patch cable between the second input and the microphone channel. So you have some versatility there within the neighborhood of darker, tweedy overdrive.

Again, the construction is the main flaw. The tolex is paper. The baffle is masonite, the cabinet is particle board, and the chassis is thin aluminum. Be careful with it. I understand the hand-wired guts are very easy to work on though.

It's an antique.

I like the amp. It suits me. I enjoy the slighty ragged tone and vintage look of it. The volume level is usable for practice and small gigs, in a band with an easygoing drummer. And you can leave your OD pedals at home.

bought for my mom at sears along with the silvertone "silhoutte" guitar in 1965. she didnt stick with playing and it came along from an uncle just as i was selling my marshal l1/2 stack to become a bedroom player. i keep it pretty simple these days and this amp stays in line with that. real tube tone, light to medium powered, one channel, no reverb, very cool tremolo (raises the score 1 point), tone is one knob, but like i said..simple. i've read other wish it had the reverb, but this is not, and never was, a high end amp by any stretch (although surely better than most mass produced crap now). if it had been built with reverb, they would've screwed it up and we'd all be writing about how we don't use it because it's cheeky.

i play a little post-rock, some jazz, a touch of experimental. i play a '62 avri jazzmaster through it and supplement with both a keeley rat and a keeley Ad9 analog delay....
and here's the real trick: sure it's glowing tube goodness, but the stock speaker is absolute garbage. vintage? sure...vintage garbage (i.e. -it was never a good sounding speaker)! when i got it, i had it cleaned up and new tubes. then i removed the particle board speaker baffle with the speaker in it and kept it all intact if i ever wanted to restore it (which i won't). i replaced the baffle with 1/2" ply and dropped in a made in england greenback that was broken in well and flawless. this amp went from sounding ok to absolutely brilliant. the clean is great. suits me with the greenback as i don't care for really trebley tones and it balances with my jmasters pups well...especially the neck and middle position. i use the Ad9 almost as a reverb with a subtle return. the rat (the only distortion box i've ever loved and only one i'd bother using for it's super smooth characteristics)? it produces really creamy lead tones and hitting chords breaks up like a sheet of safety glass. pretty close to perfect.

this amp sat in my grandmothers house for decades...then my uncle got hooked and cooked on speed and thought he could sing late night horror sessions with it. when i got it, the tremolo tube was broken, the wiring had been scrambled in true "tweaker style", and he had painted a frog on it. nice, right? anyway, the cabinet is made of stuff i wouldnt use for firewood, so you have to go easy on it. that's again to mention the baffle....garbage. replace the speaker while you're at it, have a tech clean it up, install a ground cord, some new tubes as needed and you'll be in business.

yeah right. the people responsible for this have long since left the earth. i doubt sears would know what a tube amp is.

great real vintage alternative to dropping huge dollars into boutique stuff...although if i had the money, i would surely score a fargen, reeves, rivera, or some other. i'm happy to have such a great family heirloom. my grandmother passed before i started playing. i'm the only musician in the family and i know she'd be proud.
i've been playing about 15 years and have owned several fender amps, the aforementioned marshall, teles. strats, mosrites, blah, blah...and this is what i feel to be my true tone after all these years of buying and selling gear. the gear lust is an expensive addiction i'm wanting to get past anyway. if it were stolen, i'd be sad to not pass it on to my kids, but i'd carry on.
i'd recommend it to players who are looking for not only a cool amp, but a project that would involve a little basic do it yourself handy work and researching a quality speaker make that will help it's voice shine the way YOU imagine in your head.

Don't know when made. It's the brains of a 1482 put into a crappy black rectangular piggy back unit. Two channels, tremolo, no reverb. Has original silvertone tubes

Dark, growly distortion. I've used severel guitars from single coils to hunbuckers. My favorite mate to this amp was a 3 pickup silvertone single cutaway from 60's. I was told it had original DeArmand pickups and they were the "best ones they ever made." I only got rid of the guitar "cause it wouldn't stay in tune. When I ran it thru a 12" celestion in Marshall cab. it sounded fabulous. It sounds great thru my Hot Rod Deluxe cab too.

Brought the amp from Hamburg N.Y. suburb of buffalo 16 years ago. It's worked ever since.

N/A

Been playing 44 years. Yeah I'd want another. I like the chicago blues sound it produces. Wish it had reverb, and a little more high end.

Mid 1960's tube amp. Probably about 15W, single 12" speaker, 1 mic and 2 instr inputs but the circuitry is the same for all 3, basic volume, tone controls, tremelo I never use. I got it used in 1972 for next to nothing. I blow harp through it and it is absolutely perfect for that. Funky cool retro appearance. On the down side, the cabinet is made of cheap particle board covered with soft plastic like material so the amp is kind of fragile.

I have searched high and low and cannot find anything that comes close to touching it for that old fashioned Chicago styled blues harp sound. Seriously, it's an antique and I wish I could find something else to carry to gigs but nothing else sounds as good. I switched the original 12 AX7 preamp tubes with lower gain AT7's which is a customary mod to use an amp for harp. Sometime I use an old Ibanez A9 delay pedal to sound like I'm playing in the bus station bathroom but mostly it's perfect just like it is.

After 40 years it was working fine with no repairs and all original parts. I got a tech guy to put a new, properly grounded 3 pronged power cord because if I forgot and played without shoes occaisionally it would bite -- not good when you're holding that metal mike up against your mouth. While he was at it I got him to give it a cap job just insure I could look forward to another 40 years of great tone.

It was a Sears product. Obviously there's no support there. Some technicians may not want to work on it because it is so old but the circuitry is simple, very similar to an old Fender and you can find the schematics posted online. You can find someone to work on it if you need to.

I don't play guitar so I don't know if it's as special there as it is for blues harp but If something happened to it I would cry. If you find one at a garage sale or in a pawn shop, buy it! If you find something you like better, sell it to a harp player.

The previous owner said that this Silvertone 1482 amp is from 1959. I?m only speaking from a harp player?s point of view. I play the style of Little Walter using ?tongue blocking?. Usually I use the Green Bullet with Control Magnetic or with Control Reluctance Element. I only use the Green Bullet in the microphone channel. I don?t like my JT 30 Crystal microphone with this Silvertone amp. It sounds too thin with no bottom or highs. After recap and new tubes the Silvertone sounds much better. It still has the original 1x12 Fisher loudspeaker but in my opinion the loudspeaker is too dark. In gig situations the bass and drums will burry the harp. I will try to replace the original speaker with the Celestion Century, the Celestion Greenback, the Jensen Alnico or Weber speaker and see how it goes. I never use the Tremolo or the Speed but I would love some reverb with this amp.

Tube change in preamp.

This information is for harp players only. My Silvertone 1482 came with two 12AX7s in the preamp but it works better with 12AU7 & 12AT7 for harp players. The12AT7 goes into the preamp socket closet to the microphone input. The12AU7 tube goes into preamp socket next to the 12AT7. I use the microphone input for the Green Bullet or the JT 30. With the Green Bullet I can turn the amp up to volume level 3-4 and with the JT 30 even higher. I use a George L high impedance microphone cable.

If I compare the Silvertone 1482 with other amps with same size like the Fender Princeton Reverb, the Fender Tweed Deluxe and the Gibson GA-20 I would prefer the Fender Princeton Reverb and Gibson GA-20. The Princeton Reverb (pre CBS) goes for 800-900 US$ on eBay and the Gibson GA-20 goes for 500-600 US$. I bought my Silvertone 1482 on eBay for 200 US$. I?m not a fully pro. and only half of my income comes from playing harp therefore money plays a role when choosing amps ( I don?t use more money on equipment than what I get from playing harp).

I never had any problems with this amp. The electronics as good as Fender amps but it's not a suitable amp for days on the road. The frame is too fragile.

I think any good vintage amp techician would be able to help out.

My conclusion as a harp player is that the Silvertone 1482 amp is not suitable for gigs with full band. On stage I wouldn?t mic it up either. I prefer bigger amps like the Silvertone 1483 amp head with cabinet or other big amps. If money isn?t a problem the Sonny Junior Amp, the ?59 Fender Baseman and The Fender Concert are among my favorites.

I would only use the Silvertone 1482 as a practice amp. On stage I would use the ?59 Fender Baseman Reissue because it?s one of the cheapest among the big amps.

Here's the deal gang. I've owned this amp (circa 1965) since it was new. MY VERY FIRST AMP!! Also owned a 1484, which I basically gave away..however next purchase for the band was a VOX Beatle (which I also gave away...go figure at the stupidity.) anyway, recently re-tubed it with Sovetek stuff although the original tubes still worked fine. Guess I did it for nostalgia reasons. Wanted to keep the original stuff "pristine". Amazing that these tubes still hold vaccum after 40 years! Also own Fender Cyber Deluxe(wonderful modeling amp), Fender Acoustasonic and VOX AD50VT amp, modified by North Coast Music, looks like and can do AC30 TB sounds. Go there if you are a VOX enthusiast!

Sound is phenomenal when joined to an outboard processor...I use a digitech RP 200 to make this thing sing. Onboard tube tremolo is superb but lacks presence without reverb..if you want that sound. Given the vintage it is still a "kickass" amp for the value.

Still work fine after 40 years...nuff said. However. the two pronged AC line cord should be replaced as the "floating groung" capacitor could go south and expose you to some nasty voltages that could hurt! There are web sites that instruct how to install a grounded 120VAC grounded cord if you dare...otherwise, get it modified by a competent amp tech. Also, don't screw around with any of the point to point stuff in the chassis. When I serviced my amp after not having been plugged in for over 20 years, the caps still had a charge that could do some seriuos personal injury...again be careful here!

Sears...there is none...find a tube amp tech...these amps are not very complicated.

The amp is 40 years old and has been with me for that entire time. Took a 20+ year hiatus from guitar playing but have come back strong in the last 4+ years. Own RIC 360/12, Les Paul Custom, Gibson ES-335 and Fender Strat along with Yamaha and Japan built EPI 12 string acoustics from the 80's. Could not imagine getting rid of it for any price for both sentimental and sonic reasons

I'd guess that this 1482 was manufactured in the mid 60's. As described previously, it has a mic in, two instrument ins, footswitch (for tremelo) in, 1 tone knob and 1 volume knob for the mic, 1 tone and one volume for the instr., and "speed" and "strength" knobs for tremelo. It has that wonderful 'second string' Silvertone design -- it doesn't make any effort whatsoever to nick pro amps in the looks dept. The amp is side mounted, and fit with those crazy oversized nobs which give it the vibe of a television set. It is covered with Silvertone 'tolex' -- that grayish wallpaper we all love. The 1482 gets a thousand points in the kitsch dept.

15 or so watts; excellent tremelo. It lacks a bit in clean headroom, but has plenty of power for most applications. The single 'tone' knob limits tonal latitude here, but there's an easy solution for that (coming up). If it had reverb, it would be nearly perfect.

Mine, incidentally, is near mint. The tolex has separated slightly on one corner, but that's about it. It has the original tubes (which could probably stand to be replaced), the original two prong power cord (NOT a plus), and probably saw less than home use. Nice.

OK -- as a vintage, low cost amp, I really can't cheer about the 1482's sound. It sounds about like one would expect a vintage, low cost amp would sound: somewhat boxy, woofy, and not sparkling in the highs. The tremelo is sensational, however. 'Stock', I would say that it's suitable for jazz, less-than-high-powered blues, and harp. I really hung onto mine as sort of a collectible.

Lightbulb: gee, why not give it a try w/ my Dano 9-band EQ? Yeah, it's 'cheating' but given the tonal limitations of the amp...Weelll, the Dano EQ turned the 1482 into a completely pro quality amp for all occasions. Gone was the boxy, muddy stuff. When the amp breaks up, it breaks up on a pristeen high end, rather than on an already murky sound. FWIW, I rigged up my array of cheap Dano stomp boxes (slap-back, tremelo, and awful 'verb) and it all sounds good.

American made '81 Fender Bullet -- delicious. Epiphone ES295 -- as good as I've heard. Strat -- yeah, that's a Strat. Peavy tele -- c'mon Buck Owens. With EQ, my rating is 9+.

At this point, the issues with this amp are mechanical. It probably could be retubed. There is some rattling with the speaker. And the chasis needs to be tightened up, which is probably easier said than done. Otherwise, I don't think I'll need that Pro Junior after all.

Once I go through it and acid test it for a few hours, I think it should stand up. Note: this not an amp to sit on. The enclosure WILL collapse.

Yeah, I'm gonna call Sears service for help. Sheesh.

I'm a thirty year pro keyboardist, and 4 year hopeful geetar slinger. I make my $ playing. I own tons of stuff. Tons.

If this were lost or stolen, I'm not altogether certain I'd beat a trail to find another. It's great, but frankly, I wouldn't find one for what I paid for this one, and there are other amps available that are more sound in the durability dept.

Two instrument and one mic inputs have served me well, and the tremelo is great fun. Plenty enough power and volume for what I have used it for (practice mostly). It is also light enough to carry around easily, yet sounds like music, not a toy. The only thing I miss is reverb, but for the price, the features can't be beat.

The sounds from this amp have always been warm, the tubes have lasted, and my amp has had no noticeable hisses or hums, even at very low volumes. I play all styles, and mostly use a PRS Custom 22 through this amp or sometimes a 60's era Hofner Galaxie. I mostly play with a clean channel through my other amps anyway, and this amp is very clean; there's no overdrive, but I don't miss it. The bass settings are very low, while the treble setting is clean, but not surf guitar high. I like the sound, but that's just my subjective opinion.

I bought this amp used from my friend when I was in high school in 1967, replaced two tubes at that time, and have used it continuously since then. At times I used it as a car speaker, so it bounced around my MG for a few years. Today it still works and sounds great (as an amp) with its original parts except for the two tubes. So yes, I would give its reliability high marks.

It's a Silvertone from Sears. I don't think they would try to fix it today if something on it broke.

I have been playing guitars, bass, piano and other keyboards, percussion, and woodwinds for over 40 years (I'm starting to sound fair) and have used this amp for gigs off and on during this time. It's not my main amp or even my "2nd" main amp, but from time to time it's the right choice. It's kind of ugly and not that sophisticated, but the sound is sometimes just right for the venue or the music being played. I love it.

Probably mid 60's all tube 1X12" combo amp. Not too many features by today's standards, but quite nice feature wise for it's era. But I wasn't looking for a lot of features when I bought this amp. I was really only looking for a beater 1X12" or 1X10" tube amp that wasn't heavy and easy to carry for jamming with friends and to take to the lake when we go camping with our travel trailer. I have a Yamaha accoustic for this, but I hate playing accoustics. But this vintage amp is in such nice condition, I don't want to use it for a beater. On the back, it has 4 1/4" inputs (1 microphone, 2 instruments, 1 footswitch), red jewel indicator light, on/off toggle switch, and a 1 amp fuse holder. On the front it has 1 volume & 1 tone for microphone, 1 volume & 1 tone for instruments, tremelo depth, and tremlo speed control knobs. The tube compliment is 2 X 6V6 power tubes, 2 X 12AX7 pre-amp tubes, a 6X4 rectifier tube, and a 6AU6 tube for the tremelo function. A nice touch is that all the tube sockets are labeled on the chassis. Mine has all original Silvertone tubes in it, and remarkably, they all work fine. The amp is plenty powerful enough for my purposes. The wish it had a reverb feature, but I don't miss it that much on this amp. This amp's coolness factor is way up there with its side mounted chassis and controls. Very unique looking.

This amp is the $hit. Nice warm, fat tone even at low volume. Shimmery clean tone, but with less highs as a vintage Fender deluxe. The tone just seems to get fatter and warmer the more you go up on the amp's volume, until you hit about 5 or 6 on the amps volume, when it starts to break up beautifully. It will break up at 4 on the volume if you really increase the attach on the strings. What I really like about the sound is how hard the bass notes hit. Very tight bottom with no muddyness. For the amp having it's original alnico speaker (Utah or something), this seems amazing to me. As other reviewers have said, the amp is a little dark sounding, but I like it. It gives the amp a lot of character (it is not an exact copy of a vintage Fender Deluxe tonewise!). IMHO, the dark tone comes from the compact cabinet and back panel. The back panel is right up against the speaker's magnet. I just got this amp, and I have only played it with my USA Peavey Predator (very good Strat copy with 3 single coils). The amp is a Tone monster with the Predator. Next, I going to try my '76 Les Paul Standard with it. The Les Paul's pickups will probably cause the amp to break up earlier on the volume knob. The tremelo works great and sounds great. Would be nice for some surf type music. The only problem I've encounted is a little rattle coming from the amp on hard bass notes. I thought it might be because of the masonite speaker baffle, but I think I've isolated it to the little riveted Sears tag on the chassis. This rating is for the instrument channel. Haven't tried the microphone channel.

For an amp made in the mid 60's, with the original tubes and speaker, and still working perfectly, I would say it's quite reliable, although I think mine may have been stored unused for most of it's life. I just got the amp, so no servicing yet, but I see no need for it currently.

I don't believe Sears sells musical instruments any longer, and if they did, it would be some Chinese made solid state junk. There are free schematics for this amp on the web. Print one out, and if you need service, take it to a qualified amp tech, who has experience with Fender Deluxe tube amps. This is basically the same simple circuit as the Fender.

I've been playing guitar recreationaly approx. 30 years. In addition to the amp being reviewed, I own a Peavy Triumh 60 all tube 1X12" Combo, Peavey straight 4X12" cab, vintage Montgomery Ward 1X12" solid state combo, USA Peavey Predator Strat copy, '76 Gibson Les Paul Standard, Yamaha accoustic guitar, vintage no-name Japanese solid body electric. If this amp were lost or stolen, I would definetly search Ebay for another one (or a 1472). 1st and foremost, I love the tone, 2nd, I love how cool and unique the amp is. Wish it had a 3-prong grounded A/C plug and reverb, but the amp more than makes up for it in coolness and tone. I compared it to a lot of vintage 1X10" & 1X12" all tube combo's for sale on ebay. I chose this one because of the reviews here and because the amp is so unique looking. I bought this amp off ebay for $225.00 with free shipping. This amp probably sold for less than $80.00 brand new at Sears in the 60's. I didn't think it was in as good of condition as it is (poor description and photos on the auction). This thing is in excellent condition with all original Silvertone tubes and original speaker. The only negative on appearance is a long stain across the middle of the grill cloth. I am happy with my purchase to say the least!

Hi folks...greetings from Canada!
Well...one day about 3 years ago I was visiting my friend and local guitar/amp tech at his home based shop. While we where talking I happen to mention that I was lookin around for an old Silvertone or Harmony amp. No sooner had I said it then he says "follow me". I follow him to the back storage room and out of the dark he pulls out a vintage Silvertone 1482 amp....and then says "take it, it's yours". Now, not only did he just give me this amp for nuthin' but...it's already been modified so that both the Microphone and Instrument channels are wired together. Also the previous owner wired in a "Bass", "Treble" and "Mid" controls using the extra controls since the 2 channels are wired together. Basically this is a 1 channel amp but it sounds amazing for 12-15 watts. A 3 prong plug was installed and the tube recifier has also been changed to a transistor and the amp is super quiet and I believe sounds as good as any of those really expensive "hand wired" custom amps... I typically play this baby with the volume set about 5-6 and I use a Zoom 505 effects unit to give me some reverb and boost and more overdrive if needed and this amp is beautiful...I have used it in a band with a piano, bass and drums and have played many blues jams and gigs with it and it is certainly loud enough to be heard (un-mic'd) in room of about 50 people. One of this amplifiers best features is that it's light. It is so portable that I even take it to jams on the city bus. One day I would like to build a new cabinet for it...maybe even turn it into a head/cab configuration. As anyone on here ever done that sort of thing? Other then the fact that I find it's look rather ugly this amp sounds wonderful. I have not experienced any of the rattle that others have from it's rather flimsy cabinet. I have also heard that installing a better speaker baffle will also improve the sound.
By the way...I play a 1995 sunburst Squier Strat (pawnshop prize $120) with a plywood body and stock pickups through this old Silvertone and it sounds pretty darn good...people are amazed when they see my set-up. Amp total cost: $0 Guitar total cost: $120 Zoom Effects pedal total cost: $40 (used). Total cost of my rig?....$160.00...Now thats what I call a blues rig....LOL
Thats my story..thanx for readin it....
keep twangin'!
Bluesfreek

the amp is 40+ years old...

mid 60's small and cheap , the versatility depends on the user . if you are dynamic the amp will follow you , two channels , channel one is directly coupled to the grid ,with a 1 mega-ohm resistor tieing it to ground , this is where you plug in the "dallas-arbiter range master" and really feel the love. second channel is basic fender set-up two 68k resistors mixing the two inputs together . channel switching? HA get an a/b/y box . I have modded my footswitch jack to a stereo jack , one side for the kill switch and the second side for a tredle mounted 2Meg log pot for controlling speed . note: i have also wired a 1k pot across the kill switch to set the depth by remote . ( pedal is hooked up as down=slow this is due to the kill switch being mounted under the tredle e.g. you must slow down the tremelo to bypass it ) I'm going to give this amp a ten for lack of features

I use a Penco branded Ibanez semi-hollow , late 60's ? , set neck , thin body , two humbuckers , v-t + v-t controls , shaped like a byrdland , it's some sort of hybrid knockoff that i wouldn't trade for the wolrd. flatwounds ( unwound g for bending) i derive my reverb, chorus and echo from a roland re-501 space echo , this also has tredle pedal controls added for repeat , echo amount , delay time, chorus depth and reverb amount , kind of like Les Paul's "lespaulverizer" except i control it with my feet instead of taking my hands off the guitar.also a clone of a dallas arbiter range master witch is sent to the mic channel on this amp. and last to be mentioned but always first in the signal chain , a DeArmond model 610 volume /tone pedal.this amp reproduces my sond with break up at the spots . B-E-A-utiful

thin cab , rock solid electronics . weights less than 15 pounds

Silvertone it my anti-fender!

On the underside of the chassis there's a handwritten n initial 'ch' and the numbers 68 , 12-44... the pots date to 1966 and 1967, so i guess this was made in 1968? perhaps the 44th one made in december 1968 ??...

100% original amp in PERFECT working condition. all original silvertone tubes and all original wiring... incredibly this amp has no hum (aside from the usual 'two prong hum')no scratchy pots, no issues!!.

Who needs features on a vintage tube amp? simplicity is key.

Only used for playing harp... has a nice warmth and decent crunch factor.... save your fender money and get a cheapo silvertone!....
This amp will project much better with a decent speaker and a replacement baffle board..

This amp is 100% original , so it hums a little due to the two prong lead.... no biggie... You're not gonna geta variety of sounds outta this amp, its a simple amp...

Ive been fortunate to own a couple fender '53 5c3's , gibson tweeds , boutique amps and more.... this is my first silvertone.... IT WONT BE MY LAST!! awesome, awesome, vintage bang for the buck

Owned it less than a week.... im sure itll be pretty bulletproof.

yeah, haha

classis amp, classic tone for low-dough...get one.... you'll not regret it!

I guess my 1482 was made in '66, maybe '65, not too sure. I haven't figured out how to date these bad boys yet. There aren't many features on this amp, only two channels, "instrument" and "microphone," each with a volume and tone knob on the front of the TV-looking amp. That's perfectly fine though, the amp doesn't need any other tricks or features, the beauty is in its simplicity. The lack of reverb doesn't bother me too much, I never really liked a lot of reverb. The amp does have tremolo though, with controls for speed and intensity. The only thing I wish this amp had is a grounded power cable. Every once in a while I get zapped while trying to adjust the microphone or while changing guitars. But that's kinda exciting, it gives the Silvertone character. A speaker output jack would be nice too. Since I've only used it for small ensembles and recording, it always has plenty of power with about 15 loud all-tube watts. It can easily be heard over drummers, but when pushed that hard it starts to break up, and I go for a cleaner sound. I'm pleased with it.

Normally I play an Epiphone Riviera hollowbody with the full-size humbuckers through this amp. I have to be careful to keep the tone up and stay away from that neck pickup. My '79 Les Paul Custom seems to be a match made in heaven for the 1482. That's probably my favorite recording combination. My mexican Fender Strat sounded really good through this amp, until the Strat ended up at the pawn shop... Very twangy, very fun when combined with that deadly Tremolo! However, my Duo-Sonic sounds like poo poo through this amp. Then again, it's a Duo-Sonic.

At low volumes, this is my favorite amp to play through, very warm and dark. It's gotta be those dusty 40-year old tubes! When cranked, it has a very nice classic distorted sound that i don't use very much. I prefer the nastiness of my Blues Deville when it comes to high volumes. At high volumes, this thing can start humming pretty bad, so for me it's really only good for softer clean tones. But the one sound I use it for is exceptional.

Except for the rattling of the speaker mounts (why is it in a cardboard baffle?) there isn't much to improve on its sound, which is why I give it a 9 instead of a 10.

This amp has never let me down, and it has been pushed very hard and treated pretty roughly. It used to be my band's organ/keyboard amp, and it went up against my Blues Deville! It also spent a lot of time bouncing around in the back of my truck in between gigs and it's still going strong.

It still has the original Silvertone tubes which still seem to be strong, except for the tremolo tube that recently stopped working. Sometime in the near future I'd like to get a wooden speaker baffle built because the speaker rattles in the cheap cardboard baffle. How are screws supposed to stay tight in cardboard? Other than that, I've always been able to count on the 1482, but I try not to use it as rough as I used to. I'm not sure how much life is left in it, but then again, it's been around for quite some time now. I wouldn't think twice about taking it as my only amp to a performance.

I bought it from some cokehead for $10...what kind of customer support should I expect? Sears definately wouldn't know what to do with it.

In the 12 years that i've been playing guitar, I'd have to say this is one of my favorite amps that i've ever owned. If this thing got stolen or lost, I'd be looking for another one as soon as I had the money. Although, I might be more interested in a bigger Silvertone. I wish it could be louder and still stay clean. I didn't really shop around for it, it just kinda came up one day. A friend of mine found it in somebody's garage where it had been stored unused for several years, and this person gave it to my friend. My friend then sold it to me for $10 because she was in a huge hurry for some reason... Talk about a great find. I have to admit, I wouldn't buy one for the prices they're currently going for, but the good thing is, somebody else will in a few years.

The 1482 has been good to me, but it still has its faults, so I'll give it a 9.

This tube amp is from 1966-67. This amp is as basic and as beautiful as it gets. The back of it says 70 watts. Built in tremolo. No reverb. It is easily loud enough to play with a drummer.

Ive had it for about 7 years. I started off plaing an old Epiphone Genesis through it. Now I run an Artcore ES 335 nockoff and an Agile Tele into it. First off, this guitar does not like most effects. Its best tones are pretty much when you plug straigh into it and crank it, although my EH Mistress Flanger is friendly with it. It is a very dark sounding amp that can be noisy. I play improvisational jazz and it is perfect for that. Ive done noise improvisations with this amp that are just plain sick sounding. When cranked it clips wonderfully and a distortion pedal is not at all needed. The feedback is wonderful. At low volumes it sounds shimmery clear. It smells good when its on too.

Ive never had any problems with it. Like I said, this amp does not fuck around so it can get alittle noisy. For sterile or pristine work in the studio or on stage, that could be a factor. It has never broken down on me. It is important to get the original power cord replaced by a three prong grounded cord. The original ungrounded cord gave me some zaps when I first got it.

No way...........

Be prepared to handle all of that yerself.

Ive been playing for 16 years. This is my only amp and the only amp I want. Wringing unique sounds from this amp dictates the way that I physically approach my guitar playing. This amp is its own beast with its own agenda. Its like playing two instruments at the same time. I almost had it stolen from me, but the idiot thieves stole another cheap guitar instead. If it were stolen I would either dismember the thieves when I found them, or pray for their death forever and ever.

More than likely early to mid 60's.Not particularily versitile, but it does what it does better than any amp on earth. Very basic, two channels, tremelo.I use it mainly at home and in the studio, has plenty of power and can sing without having the police at your door.

I play a Highway One Telcaster, with vintage alnico pickups,tuned down a half step. I run it through a 6 band graphic equalizer and a digital reverb unit.The reverb adds depth and makes the amp sound much bigger and fuller. Highly recomended. I set the amp at about 4 oclock, the tone at about 1 oclock, and use my volume knobs on my tele to go from clean to cream. Hands down, the best sound I have ever gotten from an amp.I have finally have found the holey grail of amps.The sound is absolutely delicious, addictive. I find mayself playing for hours, just enjoying the sweet, liquid sound. Nothing, I mean nothing even comes close. At lower volumes, it is as clean as a mountain stream. Sparkling, shimmering tones. Lay into it and the touch sensitive nature of the tube amp totally responds, pulling unbelievably authentic tones. Think old Jimmy Page, Eric Johnson. If you are looking for a vast array of sounds, keep looking, this is a one trick poney but the trick it does is the best on earth!

What can you say, it's 40 plus years old, I play it daily and it functions perfectly.

Yea right.

I have been playing for 35 years, most of it professionally. I own several acoustic guitars, and my main electric is my tele.I think humbucker style pickups might sound a bit too dark, but the single coil bite fits the amp to a "T". Amazing bell tones and overdrive harmonics. I have owned Mesa Boogie, vintage Fender, Traynor, Peavy and none of them touch what this amp does. I would run, not walk to replace it if something should happen to it.

Two inputs, microphone and tremelo. Very simple and straight forward. I'm more interested in playing than EQ'ing and dinkering with getting the amp right.

I'm a harp player, used to playing Fender Blues Junior and Bassman 59. This is a great amp for harp players. Nice and dark tone, breaks up at the right. Had some ffedback problems and did some tube swaps, now the feedback problem is solved

Been around since 1966 and works great so I'm assuming it's a tough box.

Call Sears for an amp problem?? I don't think so.

This amp was built back in the mid sixties,when "features" were limited to say the least. But, that said, this little amp has some pretty neat stuff for that era. Excellent tremelo. Three inputs. Two channels. Point to point wiring. It's best feature is it's quality construction. How many of todays amps will be around in 40 years!? With the original tubes, wiring and speaker, no less!! (Although I did replace the speaker recently) I'm basing my rating on what was available at that time for the price. (Reverb would have made this amp a 12!)

I've played this amp with my main guitar, an EC Strat, plus a Jazzmaster and an Epi Korina Explorer. I play classic rock and a little R&B. I'm truely amazed at the sound of this thing. It's really unique and musical. It does not have the "chime" of a Fender, but it does have a shimery sound, at least with the Fender guitars. The sound is slightly "dark", as some other reviews have said, but not to any huge extent. Just enough to not sound like a Fender, which is good. Actually, it might sound like an early (50's) Champ, which had a more compressed, deep sound than the later ones. Anyway, it sounds great! Amazing what 15 tube driven watts and a big speaker can do. I would love to gig with this thing, but I haven't tried it yet because I'm not sure it would have enough volume (unmiked), although when I plug in a Boss compression/sustainer, the volume is impressive. I hope to try it in a casual, small club and see what happens. Obviously, by itself, it produces basically one tone, but that tone is very nice, whether clean or slightly over-driven (6 and up on the volume dial). As above, great tremelo, and a reverb would have made this an unbelievable package.

40 years. Original tubes. One speaker replacement. Enough said.

You're on your own, buckaroo.

I've been playing for 30 years. Besides the guitars mentioned above, I own a 60's Champ, a Vox Valvetronics 120, a Traynor YCV40A and various stomp boxes, etc. I just purchased the Silvertone a couple weeks ago mainly for nostalgic reasons. I had no idea it would be so cool. I feel very lucky now. This could become my main practice/recording amp. Nothing against the others. They are all great amps. This thing just has a lot of charm and character. It's interesting to see that what was once considered a mid-level garage band amp (sold through Sears, for heavens sake!) would be viewed as a "boutique" amp now and would cost $2,500. Hmmm. If this baby were lost or stolen, I'd be back on ebay within the hour trying to find another. For the money, the scale doesn't go high enough.

1965 Silvertone 1482, 1 12" Jensen speaker, 2 channels (microphone and instrument, one volume and one tone for each), tremolo rate and depth. 2 6V6 power tubes a couple of 12AX7s...blah, blah, blah.

What more does anyone need in an amp. It sounds terrific, dark and menacing with single coils, breaks up at a realistic volume, is simple with few bells and whistles, was really cheap and looks cool.

I mainly play Fender Jaguars ('63 blonde (ash body) and a '64 with stack poles), and sometimes a '63 Jazzmaster and a single pickup '63 Gretsch Corvette. The Jaguars scream through the Silvertone. The amp is very dynamic and soulful, quiet with plenty of natural compression. It gets fairly distorted at higher volumes, but by lightening up on string attack or rolling the volume down a bit on the guitar it cleans up nicely.

It works just fine. Serviced, good original tubes, fresh original-value caps...the cabinet is made from a very dense cardboard and probably accounts for it's dark presence and tone. Fender snobs would poo-poo its construction and brand, but it sounds every bit as nice as a Blackface Deluxe (I've A-B'd it against six) and for $200...

Sears?

These are going to get expensive as soon as someone famous starts to play one...

Two channel (guitar/mic) 1 X 12 combo tube amp. Output tubes are two 6V6's in push pull, delivering somewhere between 12 to 15 watts RMS. Preamp section is two 12AX7's, 6AU6 tremolo, 6X4 full wave rectifier. The cabinet is premium quality cardboard-pressboard of some type, don't use it for a chair! Mine was made in 1965 according to the seller, determined by looking at the codes on the potentiometers, I believe. Controls are on the front, arranged in a zig-zag manner. The pilot light and input jacks are on the back, one channel is the guitar channel, the second is marked "mic". Mine has the original 12" speaker.

Mine has the original Silvertone 12AX7 preamp tubes, and retubed with Sovtek 6V6's. According to the guy I bought it from, this was an abandoned amp on the side of the road destined for the landfill. He completely cleaned it up and rewired it completely and replaced several resistors and most, if not all of the caps, as I recall, except the power supply electrolytics. Amazingly, the almost 40 year old power supply caps seem to be fine.

Also, there is a 3 prong grounded cord, which I believe was added.

This amp doesn't have a lot of 'features', and IMHO doesn't need them. My feature rating of only 6 doesn't mean I think lowly of the amp's features.

Ahh, the TONE! I've had this amp about 6 months now, and everytime I play through it it just seems to sound better and better. My main axe is an epiphone strat copy. With the neck pickup and the 1482 set on about 6 or 7 I get a gorgeous bluesy sound with just a little bit of crunch. Turn the amp past 7 1/2 and switch to the bridge pickup and we grind, growl, and woof our way into early Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, and AD/DC territory.

I forgot to mention in 'features' above that the guy who worked on this did a tone control mod and wired the tone stack like a fender (princeton) 5E3, I believe. I've heard several people remark, here, and elsewhere, that the 1482 can tend to be a bit 'dark'. No such problem with this animal, in fact I have to cut back on the tone to keep it from being to bright, it takes a little fiddling, but once I get it set, it's terrific.

This amp has no problem keeping up with all but the most aggresive drummers, we practice in my living room and the 1482 leaves my ears ringing if I stand too close to it. It sits atop my 70's peavey classic 50/212 which I keep warmed up, but it's the silvertone which gets played through.

This is just sounds amazing, even if you can afford any amp you want, you owe it to yourself to grab one these at ebay or if you see one in a garage sale or flea market - GRAB IT!

It also responds well to pedals, I have a zoom 2100 that I use for reverb/chorus/flanger/delay, as well as an old Maestro Fuzz-Phaser/wah pedal.

Every few days a Silvertone 1482 pops up on ebay, in varying condition, they usually go for between $100 to $150. I'm very happy with mine, to say the least, it gets played the most while the Peavey Classic 50 and the Fender blues deluxe sit around on standby, that should tell you something.

Oh yeah, been playing 30 years and have played semi-proffessionaly in rock / classic rock bands, hopefully in the next few months we'll have a gig, you can bet the 1482 is gonna be a major part of it :)

I would rate this amp as extremely reliable, seeing as how it's been rewired and most of the components replaced. I would never gig without a backup.

Yeah right. It would probably be a real interesting experience to lug this into a Sears and see the looks on their faces when I ask for some 'customer support'.

Seriously though, schematics for this amp are all over the place, and anyone with electronics and know how to work on tube equipment can get this baby going if there's ever a problem.

This unit actually still worked when it was found on the side of the road, a little TLC turned it into the awesome TONEMONSTER it is now.

As I mentioned above I've been playing about 30 years. I also have 3 other amps, this one gets about 99% playing time over the Peavey Classic 50/212, Fender Blues deluxe, and my pignose 30/60.

Besides my epiphone 'strat', I also play a lotus guitar w/ dual humbuckers and an arbour strat through this amp.

If this amp were stolen, there's a very good chance I'd hunt down another one, or perhaps I might see if I can get one of the other vintage tube amps made in this era.

I simply don't have 900+ bucks to fork out on a new amp, and I guarantee you this sounds as good, if not better than most of the amps being offered these days in music stores at ridiculous prices.

My only real criticism of this amp is the cardboard-presswood cabinet construction, but just don't use this amp for a chair or leave it out in the rain and it will hold up just fine, I'm sure.

rock on

This is a mid 60s or so silvertone that I bought over ebay. A good friend of mine insisted that I get a silvertone amp and go to tubes. His rational was that these are great point to point wired amps that are very simular to fenders at about half the price. He feels, as now do I, that tube amps are far better than solid state. When I first got the amp I thought "I paid how much for this?". IT sounded like it lost it pecker. Not enough C and B. Anyway, a good friend of his is the manufacturer of Victory Amps, the primeir of custome tube amps, so I gave it to him for a little check up. I had a bad power tube which was robbing all of its go and I upgrade the speaker to a Jenson and a grounded power chord and whola Its got some balls. I must say that I am falling in love with this little nasty amp. The features have been covered fairly well

My guitars suck and I want better ones. I have a epiphone les paul that have stock pick ups. I will change them out once I can hide some more money from my wife. I will most likely go with SD 59s.
My epi plays good enough. This amp gets real fun after about ten minutes of hard play. Those tubes warm up real nice and every note sounds good. I did notice that tube amps are not as forgiving as solid state with alot of effects. IF you dont know the song play softly until you do. It does not hide any mistakes, however, every note can sound great. My playing is getting better already.
The amp sounds alot like old cream.

I would not want to drop it or lend it to a friend. The cabinet is pretty soft. With all the work I did it should last me the rest of my days.

Find someone who knows how to fix and test tube amps. These are very simple amps. That is why they are so good.

I have been playing for 10 years I guess (you would not know it by listening to me) I am looking foward to going tube from here on out. I will be getting a tube spring reverb sooner or later. I like the sound and exspressiveness of this little amp. I dont like the cabinet but so what. For 150 bucks to have a true all tube amp is great. 15 watts of power does seem like a small amount. I can always buy bigger amps someday But 50 watts of tube amp can take off the enamel of your teeth. Every need a little baby amp that can kick some ass. I am happy with it. For my first tube amp it is great. The next level are ampeg or fenders. I am getting to like that natural tube distortion without having separate distortion channels. I always play it at top volume and my ears will ring in no time. If you buy one of these and your ears dont ring get some good tubes in it.

Mid 60's all-tube w/12" spkr & trem. Been playing harp for about 10 years and also play guitar. Living room and open jams. Would like reverb, ch switching and about 5-10 watts more output(especially for guitar)NOTICE - features means just that for reasons stated above - not reflective of sound quality.

blow harp through jtm-30. Overdrives well even at fairly low volume (2+).O/D is nice and creamy w/alot of lows and mids at fair level.Doesn't get real gritty like tweed gibson or fender counterparts (if you bump up the treble too much it starts to sound tinny and honky to me). mine needs recap and hums some but not enough to bother the sound. Play Mex Strat and a 50's Harmony Hollywood(for open tuned slide work only). An AWESOME sounding amp when cranked w/the harmony - great blues overdrive with lots of gritty distortion reminds me of elmore james to george thorogood depending on volume. Sounds rich with alot of harmonics with the Strat, but lacks a little high end.Great for blues and jazz, capable of AC/DC with use of footswitch but no harder than that. Great for BB King and Muddy Waters but need ftswitch for Stevie Ray type of sound. Give it a 7+ for harp, a 7 w/a strat and a 9+ for slide with the Harmony. I have owned a 1940's National w/6x9, 57 Tweed Champ/ Tweed Gibson GA-18, 60's Alamo, Reissue Tweed 4x10 bassman, and fender Blues Deluxe - SO I KNOW TONE. At lower volumes this is the most versatile of the lot for guitar and harp(of course this amp don't get but So loud)

Have had it about 7 or 8 years and have had no trouble of any kind

N/A

Can only compare to amps Ive owned. My champ and national sounded grittier on th harp but due to speaker size, they had no low end - so I would call that a tie.Sounds better than the all the others for the Harp. Bassman-too big to o/d. Gibson-too clean.Deluxe o/d channel sounded too syntehtic, cln ch.-fed back before it would o/d. The other amps were at least equal in tone for guitar (except the alamo which sounded like crap). Of course the bassman and deluxe were superior in tone & volume. Silvertone is a good solid tube amp. Versatile enough for harp & guitar.Very good tone, short on features, high on reliability. It is the best amp for the money that Ive ever owned.

Mid 60's Silvertone 1482. I think it's 15 or 20 watts. All original parts. I washed the dust off it which revealed a really nice amp underneath! It has two channels: one for a microphone and one for instruments, but the instrument channel has two inputs. Volume & tone controls for each channel. Also has footswitchable tremolo with speed and strength controls. This one came with the original footswitch. It has the diamond speaker hole as opposed to the circular one that came on some of them. I wish it had reverb, but I can use an Electro Harmonix Holy Grail. I guess it's pretty versatile for what it is: a simple old tube amp.

Sounds very dark and bass-heavy, even when using single coil Strats and Teles. Turning it up loud produces break-up distortion, but it's very barking and growly- not very pleasant. The tremolo sounds really cool. When I add my Holy Grail reverb, it sounds very spacey. I'd say this amp is only good for Jazz, or anything that requires a dark, bassy and midrangey tone. It's little brother, the 1481, sounds much better, but not exactly a Fender type of clean. If you want pristine clean tones, look elsewhere.

This one's held up extremely well all these years.

I like the little 1481's better. They have a brighter tone, and break up nice when cranked.

A Silvertone 1482. It's the bigger brother to the 1481, which I also have. I think mine's about a 1965. I bought this amp because I wanted another just like my 1481, but a bit louder. It has all the same original tubes as other posts, original 12' speaker, three inputs, and tremolo. I'd say mine's in maybe 8 out of 10 shape. Basically a neat little amp.

I'm using either an older Washburn J-10 Hollowbody Jazz guitar, or a Fender Stratocaster, for Jazz and Blues respectively. I was basically looking for an amp just like my 1481, except a bit louder for small Jazz duo's with my wife who plays piano, and also to get the same bluesy grind as my 1481 when cranked. The Silvertone's in general are pretty dark sounding. This one is very warm, dark and bassy. Not a heck of a lot of top-end at all. When I turn it up, especially when using the hollowbody, the amp makes all kinds of vibration noises. I replaced the sound board because the old one could no longer hold the speaker down tight because the screws were pulling through the board. It took me about a week to isolate the vibrations that were coming from 5 different areas on this sucker! It was not as simple as tightening up a few screws. First the speaker vibrated, then the tube covers rattled, then the filter cap base was buzzing where it was fastened, then the stiff grille cloth vibrated against the sound board, and there's still some buzzy resonaces when I play certain notes. If I didn't have to fart with it so much, I'd be a lot happier.
Generally, as far as the basic tone goes, it's not really capable of much more than being an "ok" sounding Jazz amp because it's so dark and bass heavy. It gets pretty damned loud for 15 watts. I love the Tremolo.

Because of the afore mentioned difficulties, I rate it low. However, I remain forgiving because these amp's are so old. At this point I wouldn't depend too heavily on it, but I would buy another if it was in much better condition.

There's quite a bit more hype to these old little tube amps than necessary. They can be sweet little boxes for people who need and want an amp like this to get very warm tones and nice breakup when cranked. Mine is a far cry from a 'studio' example. I'd buy another if it were in better condition. For me, it'd be the perfect small tube amp for the Jazz duo's I'd like to do. Plus, you just can't beat that cool retro look!

Mine is a 1965 model 1482. Has two channels, mic and instruments. Total of 3 inputs. Has a 12 inch Fisher Alnico 4 ohm speaker. There
does seem to be an 8 ohm tap on the output transformer so that gives
you some more speaker options.Paper cabinet of some kind! do not sit
on it! Has tremelo feature speed and intensity. Uses 2 6V6gt, 6x4 and
good old 12ax7 for preamps. 15 watts output power. Quite loud.

This amp is now my favorite. I have gone thru dozens of small tube amps and this is the king! It is twice as loud as my Fender Champ
with new Jensen speaker in it! once I completely recapped myself it
sounded fantastic, before it was letting a lot of ugly noise get to
the speaker. Easy to work on.

This came to me with the original Silvertone tubes still working fine!
Just had to do a complete cap job inside it, Caps are cheap! I did make a new baffle board for it. From the factory it came with a two
piece thin masonite board that was stapled together! Almost 40 years
old and still going.

Sears forgot about these long ago. I think Danelectro made them for
Sears.

I would put this up against any other small wattage amps like Fender Princetons. You could buy 3 of these for the price of one Fender.

I just bought this bad boy yesterday. My first ever tube amp, and I been playin' for 35 years (mostly Bass- which is why no tubes) It is a sweet amp. I remember them new. They were the amp you "settled for" when you found out mom and dad wouldnt buy you a Fender.They were rugged, dependable more than your moneysworth amps. LOTS of garage bands were built around these, but even more the 1484 piggybacks which sell for absolutely STUPID money these days. (all of us old farts want to go HOME again for a visit)Totally representative of a piece of rock n roll HISTORY.

I play a Yamaha aex520 with humbuckers thru it, also an american strat, and an american telecaster. This amp is MADE for a 335 LUCILLE to play RICH FAT BLUES through!!! You can buy all the distortion and effects you want these days, but go out and try to buy CLEAN! It's expensive. add to that this amp's historical collectability, and you've got something special.

My amp is in absolute time machine showroom condition, with the original tubes. I washed it off with a little 409, and vacuumed the dust out of the insides. The pots are all clean and no scratches whatsoever. It will stay like that as long as I own it. I have an old vox westminster bass cabinet that I got new, its been taken care of too! yA KNOW' IF YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR TOOLS, THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU TOO!

Sears ? They probably have no one left at the store who remembers selling musical equipment. Let alone having vacuum tubes, which is about all there is to fix on this bad boy.

I love this little guy, but am constantly looking to find interesting things to experience in the musical equipment realm. I will keep this until someone either makes me an offer I cant refuse, or wants to sell me a blackface Fender and take this in trade.