Silvertone was the brand name used by USA retail giant Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand in 1915 and beginning in the 1920’s, Sears expanded the brand to include Silvertone radios. In the 1930’s Sears changed their Supertone branding of musical instruments to Silvertone.
Best known for their line of well-made yet inexpensive guitars, the Silvertone brand became popular with novice musicians. Jerry Garcia, Chet Atkins, Bob Dylan, Jack White, Dave Grohl, Mark Knopfler, James Hetfield and countless others first played a Silvertone. The Canadian band Chad Allan and the Silvertones, which would go on to become the Guess Who took it’s name from the instruments.
The guitars were manufactured for Sears by several different manufacturers over the years including Danelectro, National, Harmony, Kay and Teisco Del Ray (Japan).
The Silvertone brand is now owned by Samick Music Corporation and after the first few years of producing cheap Silvertone branded ‘copy’ guitars, Samick began drawing on this iconic brand’s rich history, and in 2013 they released the first re-issue 1303U2 model electric guitar. New re-issues followed, all with the same vibe and tone of the originals but now upgraded with modern technology and hardware to create a new and unique sonic playing experience in the same way as the originals did, way back when.
Early 2015 saw the release of an amazing new range of re-issue acoustic and electric/acoustic guitars, again faithfully drawing on the actual original instruments of the era and enriching them with improved playability, construction and materials to create today’s modern classics.
