Silvertone Model 1446L Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Harmony, c. 1963, made in Chicago, black lacquer finish, laminated maple body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This is a clean original 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 Silvertone model sporting pickups with a Gibson lineage, the rest all use DeArmonds. The odd-looking white plastic trapezoidal 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 has no visible factory date codes; the model was in production from 1961-67 and based on some details this appears to be an earlier example. The 1446 is often 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; 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 a relatively clean, fine-playing and sounding example of this snazzy Silvertone classic, one of the nicer ones we have had. It shows some minor wear and remains all original except probably the pickguard, which is the correct style but appears to be a later reproduction. There is some light finish wear overall with small scrapes, and scuffs, but for the most part the ebony lacquer still is nicely intact. The most notable wear spots are some scuffs and dings to the back.
Except for the pickguard all hardware is original, including the mounting bracket. Even the somewhat brittle white plastic pickup and switch rings have survived with no damage. The tuners, Biggby tailpiece and nickel-plated pickup covers do show some light wear but nothing to serious. There is some very minor fingerboard and fret wear but nothing that affects playability. Overall this is one of the nicer examples of this model we have had; a really fun guitar to play. These were sold in decent numbers 55+ years ago but many have not survived the ensuing decades as well as this one. It comes in a later (1970s or '80s) hard case. Excellent Condition.
