Conference napalm::guitar

    That would be the Sears "Silvertone".
    
    Sounds like a head to their old twin 12 model. Grey?
    
    I think that other effect was a tremelo. I don't remember any
    distortion circuitry or pre-amp controls. 
    
    Edd

    
    Yes, it was grey.Do it worth anything? It has two channel 1&2.
    
    it does has pre_amp control Edd. 
    
    

    Is it worth anything?
    
    Nah, but if you got it at the right price it's really not a bad little
    amp to kick around with...
    
    I think the head could be stored inside the speaker cab, right?
    
    Edd

    I knew a guy in San Diego, Calif. that played through two of these amps
    almost every night and they sounded great! I remember him telling me
    he probably had the most extensive collection of these amps. He did
    have a very cool tone!
    
    FWIW?
    
    Rock on,
    	     Fred
    

    
   ---I think the head could be stored inside the speaker cab, right?
    
    No Edd, when I use it I put the head on top and run a cable to the
    speaker cab. 
                 

    --Cool tone!

    
    Yeah, it has cool sound, specialy clean sound. 
    
    Like I said u needs a boss pedal to make the dirty sound scream, that's
    LOUD!!
    

   I believe Sears marketed (at least) two models of the Silvertone amp;
   A friend had one which was a ~10w amp mounted *inside* the guitar case
   for a DanElectro sparkle-finish 6 string, along with a speaker, which I
   played around '74 (and it was old then).  You took the guitar out of it's
   case, placed the case standing upright and open, plugged in, and played. 
   Real funky. I learned "Same Old Song and Dance" (by A-Smith) on that
   setup...  :-)
   
   I've seen seperate Silvertone heads too, which had a little more
   power (~25w?).

   -- Sam

I had a real bad case of the "I wants" in probably 1974 or so...
It was for this green sparkle guitar with four (count 'em, FOUR)
pickups and all kinds of really SNAZZY buttons.  I guess I should've
know then that I was destined to be a MRP. 

Anyone remember this particular axe ??  I wonder what it'd be worth now?
jc (who drooled ALL over the sears catalog !)

    In my very first band (19660-ish?), the other axe man in our group
    (we did some pretty mean Paul Revere and the Raiders, BTW, not to
    mention Spencer Davis Group and Shadows of Night) used two Silvertone heads
    stacked on a 2 X 12 cabinet.....I remember thinking it was a "most radical 
    rig".
    
    The old daize....sigh

    
    I think this one I had is about 150wts wrote on the head.
    not sure but i'll check it again.

    >  I think this one I had is about 150wts wrote on the head...
    
    Undoubtedly written in Magic Marker...:^)
    
    Edd

    
    -- Undoubtedly written in magic marker........
    
    No Edd, this was original small 150wtts printed on the silver plant
    
   no one can erase it or take it off. I'll carefully check it over.
    
    Kham
       
    
    

     Just about any electronic device has a wattage specified somewhere
     on it's exterior, like a hair dryer or a toaster, and including guitar
     amplifiers. But that isn't it's power rating, that's it's power
     *consumption* rating, or the amount of power the unit uses to operate.
     I used to have a '70's Fender Super Reverb with a sticker near the
     fuse holder that read "200 watts", and the guy who sold it to me was
     absolutely convinced that it was a 200 watt amp. There is very little
     possibility that you will get anywhere near 150 watts out of an amp
     with 2 6L6's, much less 2 6V6's, regardless of the load.

     Neal

     

    Kham,
    
    Back in the days when your amp was made, manufacturers didn't use a
    common power rating as they do today where everyone uses RMS (Root Mean
    Square). As a marketing ploy they'd use ratings like "peak power", or
    "instantaneous power" in which the values were misleading. I don't know
    what the RMS power rating of your amp is, but I doubt if it's more than
    40 watts RMS. 25 is actually more like it. The rating on the silver
    plate is definitely not the amp's RMS power rating.
    
    "sakman" (who used to go to Sears when he was a kid just to rub up
    against a twin 12  ((little colloquial humor there Kham that's no big
    deal if you don't uderstand)))    

    
    I'm pretty sure exactly like you all said.
    I never think that head was 150wtts in it.
    just like the hair dry had like 250wtts and 125wtts
    with a switch on it depend on where you use it.
    
    Thanks guys,
    Kham
    

    RE: Silvertone 
    150 watts is "consumption" power. The amp itself (if my memory is still
    functioning from the 70's period) is around 30 RMS watts output power.
    
    	Rock on,
    		Fred 

I used to have a twin twelve, that thing had distortion that sounded great for
blues when used with a guitar with REAL pickups, it sang! Of course I blew it
up bigtime running it at wow with a LPB-1 on the input eventually.


dbii

    Kham -
    
    Pardon me if I'm outta line here, but from your notes I sense English
    is a second language for you. I don't mean to be patronizing. I offer
    the following with the premise you may not quite understand what
    "Sears" is, or more importantly, *was*.
    
    Sears (originally "Sears and Roebuck") is a HUGE merchandising chain,
    selling everything from hand-tools to ladies' undergarments. Just about
    anything that can be sold (including houses) has been offered for sale
    by Sears at one time or another. Some of the items are of high quality,
    others are simply "consumer grade".
    
    When many of us were growing up in the '50s and '60s (or, ahem,
    earlier) the 4" thick Sears catalog (the wishbook) could be found in
    just about any home. I begged my parents to buy me that gorgeous
    sunburst strat-styled beauty with two pickups, real chrome tuners, and
    professional soft case ($29.95 FOB Chicago) for Christmas one year.
    (...and got it!)
    
    "Silvertone" was the Sears house-brand name for their electronic gear
    like guitars, amps, radios, etc. Their musical instruments were never
    considered to be "pro" gear, but did offer a reasonably good value for
    the beginner. Lotsa folks started their careers with Silvertone stuff,
    probably accounting for a bit of nostalgia.
    
    That amp you've got was at the top of the Sears line. I'd guess it
    retailed in the $50 - $75 area (mid 1960's price). It competed directly
    with Lafayette, but paled in comparison to the mighty Heathkits of
    the day.
    
    I remember reading a few years ago how it was one of the most
    under-rated amps of all times. A real winner at doing what it was
    designed to do. A friend of mine found one for $25 shortly after the 
    article came out and rushed outto buy it. No regrets.
    
    Edd (hoping this little side trip thru Americana wasn't insulting)

    
    	Weren't those Silvertone guitars made by Harmony?  My neighbor
    	had the twin 12 and the Strat(ish) guitar.  I thought they
    	were fabulous!!  Pretty sure the pickups were microphonic -
    	ie; no pole pieces.
    
    	I had my Kay...
    
    

Some silvertones were harmony's others were danelectros. Some are quite 
collectable. 

dbii wishing I had the old 4 pickup strat style one my old playing buddy had

    My 2 pickup Searsocaster had pole pieces, as did a friend's with
    the 4 pickups.
    
    Edd

    Kham
    
       To get back to your original questions. The amp has very little
    dollar worth BUT I wouldn't throw it away. Silvertone was always
    underated their products were well made (bullet proof). You will
    probably go through lots of new amps and this one will keep on 
    working. Great for jammin!
    As far as getting that tube sound, you could try out the IBANEZ 
    tube screamer. Its a pedal that will add that tube type of crunch.
    I'm not sure where your located, but here in the mass/N.H. area
    you can pick them up new for $50.oo.
    
                            Good luck
                               Bob
    

    Note that Neil Young was using a Silvertone as his main stage amp,
    at least around the time of the "Bluenotes" tour.  Methinks it had
    a 6x10 speaker configuration.

    >>>Thanks Bob.
    I'll try the Ibanez tube screamer. 
    
    Kham

    
    oh god, having flashbacks of junior & senior high school gyms, and
    backyard parties with paisley shirts.
    
    huh, my first electric guitar was $49.95 at Laffy's!  The harmony
    silvertone guit's were ok, but once i played some guys older brothers
    country gentlemen, well... i didn't ever again have the bucks.
    
    bob

    Nice string of helpful replies people!  I am bowing toward your 
    respective geographies.
    
    -pat

    Silvertone Twin Twelves are considered somewhat collectable.  I've 
    seen several selling in the $150 - $250 range (US), depending on
    condition.  Guitar Player recently (like 7-8 months ago) listed the
    twin twelve as one of their bargain vintage amps.
    
    The speakers were Jensens (common in vintage Fenders).  Output,
    I believe is in the 30-40 watt (RMS) range, low for an amp with twin
    6L6 power tubes, due to (I guess) a somewhat anemic transformer.
    
    Jim

    I saw one of those old Sears guitar case amps a few months back...
    Can't remember if the original guitar was with it.
    
    Anyone have any idea what this might be worth?  With or without
    guitar.  I can find out if its still around/available...
    
    Mark          

    The guitar with amp/case is worth maybe $200-400 depending on condition
    and model (i.e. one or two pickups, amp wtih or without tremelo).  I
    don't know how much value the cases have without the guitar.  
    
    						Brian

    See also .27
    The way I learned it, Sears made 3 (major) tube amps (plus a bunch of
    other stuff).
    There was one with 2 6L6's, no reverb or tremolo & either a 1x12 or
    1x15 spkr that we called a 40 watt (probably closer to 20). There was
    the ubiquitous 2x12 "60 watt" with the space in the speaker cab for
    storing the amp & the infamous non detatchable speaker cord (which was
    pretty long though). These babys had reverb (like no other !) &
    tremolo. Then there was my favorite, the "150 watt" which came with
    6x10 spkr. cab (with ... you guessed it, the infamous non detatchable
    speaker cord), 4 6L6's, 2 of the smallest "75 watt" output transformers
    in the universe, as well as reverb & tremolo. In 1967 or so, they also
    came out with a solid state version of the "150" which had black tolex
    & much lighter grille cloth than the tube series. What a dog this thing
    was !! They all had Jensen speakers & the tube ones used cathode bias
    resistors & no feedback on the power stage, which accounts for the
    reasonable power but grungy tone. They overcame the additional drive
    requirements of this design by using the 6CG7 between the phase
    inverter & the 6L6's (ARRGH !). They crammed the whole mess into a
    fiberboard box with the power supply right next to the input preamp
    tube, & aluminum foil around the inside so it wouldn't hun *too* badly.
    They also were one of the only ones to use *insulated* (orange plastic
    !) switches ... very useful for GND ! The "standby" switch on these
    actually only shorts the 6L6 grids together, so you still hear a little
    bleed through, & YOU DON'T EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE 6L6's by using it.
    They always used to sound trashy next to Fender Bandmasters & Bassmans,
    but I used to make 2 tube 4 knob preamps to drive the hell out of them,
    & I could never afford a Fender.
    Paul
         

    I remember a 1x12 combo, 2 6L6s, but definitely had tremelo.  With
    a couple of LPB-1s you were in grunge heaven!

    RE: 31
    There was also a 115 combo I believe which probably didn't have tremolo
    'cuz it was for bass. I played bass for a while through the 6x10 tube
    job & also through 2 6x10 solid state ones for about the same power !
    These things were designed for low cost, but they had some neat
    features that seem to have become anachronisms. I still like insulated
    switches, detatchable wheels, big easy-to-grab knobs, long power cords
    & mainly price tags that don't cause a stroke. I think Peavey is the
    only one even *trying* to do this today.
    For some reason (probably short duration of production) there don't
    seem to be many old Silvertones around.
    One of the Velvet Underground albums shows a "tube 150" on the cover.
    Paul
      

    Re: .32
    
    I suspect that the real reasons more Silvertones aren't around is that
    the cab construction was pretty filmsy.  Probably lots of these died
    under fire.  At the prices they sold for, they probably sold tons of
    them.
    
    							Brian

    re: .32, .33
    
    I bet you could find lots of Silvertones in the homes of many
    middle-aged people, in the back of their closets and in their basements 
    and attics.  They've either upgraded or they don't play any more.
    
    Of course, no one in *this* conference would keep amps like that around!
    
    Dave

   I was in a local pawn shop which caters to musicians in particular the 
   other day and saw 3 of the "amp in the guitar case" Silvertones.  Cheap
   prices, too.  At least one had the guitar with it.

   -- Sam