Silvertone 1457 Guitar

This setup eith the guitar case opperating as an amp is a very cool little invention. It has a little stock Jensen speaker and volume, tone and tremelo controls. The two Danelectro pickups are worth their weight-they sound fantistic. The small footswitch for the tremelo is pretty cool too. The sound covers the range pretty well. The red burst sparkle finish is mod. The shape of the double cutaway reminds me of a wasp. With the three way switch and the two volume and tone controls, its a fun guitar to play. Not a Jaguar, but still a gas.

Being an intermediate player, this is a great setup. The fact you can get the amp and the guitar for about 300-400 dollars in good condition makes it very viable. It has a good range of sounds but I like the bridge pickup turned way up to get that punchy sound.

The pickups are adjustable from the back of the guitar very easily. The bridge is very cheap though.

Having had two of these things, and the fact both worked very well after 40 years says alot for a product that came from Sears. The new stuff doesnt hold a candle to these things-but I am very partial to an old guitar. They just seem to have a life of their own.

These things get a solid 9 out of 10 just because of the unique setup. I'm sure I'll get another one if I sell this one, which I've done twice before.

This is a 1964 Silvertone "Amp-in-Case" guitar, the long scale 2-pickup version. It was made by Danelectro and has the typical Danelectro features: masonite-over-pine hollow body, single coil lipstick pickups, aluminum nut, concentric knobs, etc. 21 fret neck, three-way pickup switch, one-piece poplar neck, ugly black-to-red "sunburst" finish with little silver sparkles, weird double-cutaway shape, "paddle" headstock, primitive bridge with wooden saddle (adjusts for height and overall intonation), and primitive "skate key" tuners.
Great wide/flat neck that feels extremely comfortable to play.

This guitar sounds fantastic. Like a great Telecaster. Bright and twangy, but with a little bit of growl in the low end. The neck pickup sounds really crisp and punchy, the bridge pickup is thinner and very twangy. The middle setting is the loudest and thickest sound available. The tone controls are very useable, lots of subtlety available if you play around with them. Impossible to get a bad sound out of this guitar. Would work great for any non-modern playing style, blues, surf, rockabilly, 60s garage...this guitar is excellent for all of the above.

This was a cheap guitar when it was manufactured, pretty much a beginner's instrument. In light of this, it is an incredibly well put together piece of 60s cheapness. Needed some cleaning and a setup when I got it, but once I spent a little time setting it up it played as well as any of my other guitars.
The neck has no truss rod, just a pair of parallel aluminum bars to keep it straight. It is straight as can be, good thing since you can not adjust it.
Can't give a rating for this category because I set it up myself.

This guitar has lasted almost 40 years. There is no doubt in my mind that it will last another 40.

Silvertone wasn't a company, it was a brand name used by Sears to market instruments made by Danelectro, Harmony, Kay, and some others.
I really doubt that anyone at Sears would know what to do with this!

This is a fantastic guitar if you consider that you can buy one for less than a cheap korean Fender copy.
E-bay is crawling with these things. Grab one now! Vintage Danelectros aren't all that cheap, but a Silvertone with exactly the same features can be had for much less than $300. I guess there is not that much demand for them, there are hundreds of them out there and they don't sell for very much.
The short-scale single-pickup 1448s are even cheaper, but they feel more like a toy - this is a solid guitar with a fantastic feeling neck and excellent tone.
I guess most people would think this was an ugly looking guitar, but the sound is truly beautiful. I have no qualms about using it on stage alongside my expensive guitars.
Those reissue Danelectros don't sound like this at all. I am glad I bought it and if it was stolen I would certainly buy another one.