Silvertone 1483

I bought two 1483 heads for a total of 35 bucks
one had all the original tubes and the other has some
RCA power tubes with all original silvertone preamps.
The jellybean tolex is in mint shape on one and the other one is the
darker tolex with a few scuffs, nothing terrible.
They both sound amazing for Bass or Guitar cranked up.
Those old tubes are bueatifull.
I am wanting to trade one of the heads for either a smaller Fender
combo like a 1 12' or a little 25 watt tube type.
Something about a practice size but it needs to be tube also.
Or I will consider a sale.
If anyone has anything please feel free to e-mail me
np1313@hotmail.com
Thanks

Love them

great original tubes

good luck

GRRRRRREat

This amp is from '67. I play bass ( Rickenbacker and Danelectro) in a blues band and believe this amp is quite suited for the purpose. It has the original 15" Jensen speaker and the amp was made by Danelectro. After it warms up, the sound is smooth and dark. I can get a great overdriven sound by nudging the volume up. I think it was a bad idea to hardwire the head into the cabinet instead of using a jack, but the chord is plenty long if you wish to place it somewhere other than on top of the cabinet. 50 watts is plenty of tube power through an efficient speaker like this one, but some players who need to keep up with a very loud guitarust will not appreciate this amp. I use it in clubs and pubs and I usually don't need to mic it unless I'm in a place that seats over 200. My amp still has the original tubes which is why there's a good overdrive to it. The amp doesn't have a very durable design, so I have to really 'baby' it when I am transporting it to a gig. One flaw with it is that it does seem to lose volume after a few hours of play. I keep a solid state coral bass amp(also by Danelectro) as a backup in case it falters or when we play the harder edged stuff like SRV or Hendrix. It has two inputs both clean channels for bass guitar. Like most tube amps, it has a switchable ground. However, the original power chord is two pronged like the old outlets were. You sure can get a shock if you touch a metal surface. Not too good for singers. I have to use a pop filter to save on brain cells.

The Rickenbacker bass sounds real smooth through it especially with the tape wound strings. It is not good for disco or slap styles because of the voicing of the speaker and it's tube design. You'll get a hum out of it if you're not hooked to a good ground. But that's true with all tube amps. You need to be interested in real old vintage sounds ( 40's, 50's, and 60's) to appreciate this amp.

I don't trust any amp without a backup. This one sure can lose the volume after a couple of hours of straight play. But like anything over 30, give it a few minutes and it ready to go at it once again.

You had better know how to take care of a vintage amplifier if you have one of these badboys. Temperature changes an dhumidity can kill them. There are plenty of guys around the countrysi9de that can still fix or modify this amp becuase of it's simple design. (just don't replace that awesome speaker with a new one....yuk)

I have been playing since the mid 80's when I was in high school. I started with a Roland amp, moved on to other popular amps like Fender, Ampeg, etc. This is the cheapest one I ever bought and is by far the coolest for blues and classic rock from the 60's.

Mid-60's. 2 channels; volume, bass, treble on each channel. That's it.
One 15" Jensen speaker, masonite baffle board.
An effects loop would be nice.
The head is hardwired to the cabinet; a 1/4" plug and jack would
be a little more practical.
Chipboard and staple construction. Not meant for much abuse.
Plenty loud enough for either bass or guitar in a basement.

I play a Solimar (Strat copy) with Duncan Designed single-pole PUP's
through this clean. I play blues, that's it. It's a little noisy at time (fries); I understand that this can be old capacitors. If it gets worse I'll have it looked at. I like the way it sounds. All these adjectives about sound don't really mean a lot objectively. I had been playing through a 20-year-old Peacey Pacer and I like this better. I haven't played through enough stuff to really make an educated comparison.
Push the volume up to 7 or 8 and it distorts smoothly.
I cascade the chennels, it creates more volume and allows more
playing around with tones.

I play in my basement. Can't really comment, although when I got this thing it was pretty battered up, had obvious flood damage, but still had all Silvertone tubes in it. Two tubes tested weak (12AX7 and 6FQ7) so I replaced them. Sounds good except for the aforementioned frying, so I guess it's fairly reliable. The head and speaker cabinet are constructed of chipboard (not fiberboard), that is stapled together. Not too sturdy; if I was gigging around I'd at least put the Jensen in a sturdier cabinet.

You'll find a lot of stuff on the Internet, but that's about it.

I like this well enough that I just bought a 1484 head. I'm eager to try it through the same single 15. Stevie Ray had a penchant for the old Fender Vibroverb, which also use a single 15".
I'm well enough satisfied that I'm not going to look around for another tube amp for awhile. I'd like to get a cabinet with 2-12's and play around with it. Not a Silvertone Cab though, lust a little too flimsy.
For 133 bucks, you can't do a whole lot better, and maybe you can find one for a lot less.

Year? Early 60's?
This amp is very versatile. I play a mix of styles ranging from loud and plowed to hard, soft, ska and surf. I use a 12" Eminence full range gutar speaker in a bass ported enclosure, and this amp actually doesnt know how to play "soft" or quiet! I also like to use the all transistor Gorilla GG25 as a preamp with the Silvertone 1483. The two are a great combo, particularly for a very crunchy sound.

This amp has two channels, each with volume, bass, treble, no channel switching, no headphone amp, no loops. It does have a very smooth tone, though I prefer it as a guitar amp instead of a bass amp.

This amp is great for live jams in small halls, and concert use. In a lrger venue, mic it, and with the GG25, it becomes more versitle! The 1483 is a tube amp, and tends to get hot, so fan cooling is recommended.

I use a strat with dual humbuckers, and also an old Silvertone that has a Fender neck bolted on. The only noise is an ocassional crackle which is maybe from an ancient capacitor? The sound is warm and friendly, and depending on the speaker or additional preamp setup, can be played very loud. I havent tried switching between channels, but that is something I'll look into, via an A/B switch.

I have had this amp since the early 70's. I had the output transformer replaced, and the tech put in one that was rwice the size or the original. Playing without a back-up amp is never a good idea! Except for the time that trasformer blew almost 30 years ago, the amp has [performed nearly flawlessly!

Remember it's a Silvertone? Only techs who are super into tubes would ever touch this unit!

I have been playing since the 60's...I'm 47; I also have a pair of Gorilla GG25's that have been converted into "heads";I have a GK 212SC guitar combo amp which I will review, and a Ross RB60 bass combo.
I like the portability of the 1483, and that old look, but I wish that it had a more durable outer coating.

Looks to be 40 years old or so. It has 2 channels on it's all tube head with volume, treble, and bass adjustments for each channel. I play alternative rock with a lot of distortion, it does a great job! The guy I bought it from added a channel switcher on there, so it does have a channel switch on it. No effects loops or headphone jack. I wish it had something like reverb, then it would be a killer amp, but my effects console takes care of that problem. I use this amp on all my band's concerts and it hasn't failed once. It is a 50 watt head and the cabinet has a new 100 watt Peavey speaker in it, more than enough power when miked on stage. Fixing to leave to go on US Tour and I'll take it with me along with probably a Peavey 5150 head just in case this one breaks down. It's all tube like I said, it has two 12AX7 tubes, one 6FQ7 which can also have a 6CG7 in it's place, a 5Y3GT, and a 6L6GC tube. It's very light for an all tube head.

I use a 1998 Les Paul Elite with two LP Humbuckers in it. With my music style (alternative/rock) it sounds great! When you cut it up more than halfway it begins to get a lot of staticy sounds but it really doesn't matter considering it's completely gone away with it being ran through effects processors and a noise gate at the sound board. We play in auditoriums and outdoors and sometimes a club or two and it does fine in all environments. The feedback is perfect with the Les Paul I have but for it to sound good you need it about half way on the volume knob, which I usually run anywayz. Since it is all tube and I have Humbuckers in my guitar, a very clean tone is hard to come by with this amp, I do plug my acoustic into it every once and a while when it's all I have and it is fairly clean with it...still a little overdriven, but that's just because of the tubes in it. The distortion is killer, a Boss Turbo Distortion (DS-2) really kicks with this amp, believe it could beat some Marshalls when put to the test!

I would take it on tour with me and not have a backup if I were pressed for cash, but I will take a backup for the US Tour coming up since not all towns we'll be playing at will have a music store ready to repair the amp of this age or even have the tubes for it in stock. It has never broken down and I've had it for about 2 years now. I sanded the rust from places like the transformer in the head so it wouldn't look so bad because it's 100% open in the back. It gets very hot after a couple of hours of being on. I haven't replaced tubes in it yet but I'm thinking of getting a full replacement with Groove Tubes put in it.

I've never had to deal with Sears & Roebuck who made the Silvertone line of amps. However...if I had to deal with the amp manufacturer, I'm sure I would find that the guys who made and sold it were 400 years old by now and wouldn't be able to assist me in my problems, but I doubt I'll even have to worry about getting it serviced to much except for replacing tubes every once and a while.

It's a great amp and the only thing I'd trade it in for is probably a Mesa-Boogie or a nice Marshall. It sounds too good to pass on for even a Peavey 5150 head. It'll kill a Fender amp though, that's for sure, I've put many amps to shame with my amp. Even a few Mesa-Boogie's and a Marshall tube stack. Very reliable, sounds good, great price I paid, get lots of compliments from bands we play with, etc. Too bad they don't make them like the used to, it's a good amp and if you find a 1483 model around somewhere, I would suggest getting it. It'll look a little ragged, mine does, but the sound is uncomparable. Don't get like a 1481 or anything besides a 1483, the rest of the Silvertone line sucks, this is the only Silvertone model and kicks!