Silvertone is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

created and promoted by

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

for its line of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

and

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s from 1916 to 1972. The rights to the Silvertone brand were purchased by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n corporation Samick Music in 2001. Samick made new musical instruments under the Silvertone brand and relaunched some historic models. In 2020, RBI Music was appointed the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Silvertone brand, and in December 2021, RBI acquired all rights to the brand. Musical instruments under the Silvertone name are

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and acoustic guitars, basses, accordions, and ukuleles.

History

Beginnings

filed for Silvertone as a trademark in late 1915 to be used as a house brand for a line phonographs and records. It was approved in early 1916 with their first phonograph models appearing in their Spring 1916 catalog and the records following later that year. Beginning in the 1920s, the brand was expanded to include Silvertone

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

s and again expanded in the 1930s to musical instruments, superseding the previously-used

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

branding.

In the early 1920s Sears began selling Silvertone radio tubes and batteries, although Silvertone radios decreased in popularity during late 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sears introduced the Silvertone radio antenna for their radio receivers.

Musical instruments

Silvertone

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s became popular with novice

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s due to their low cost and wide availability in Sears stores and the Sears catalog. The Canadian band Chad Allan and The Silvertones (later The Guess Who) took its name from this line of instruments. Silvertone instruments and amplifiers were manufactured by various companies, including Danelectro, Valco,

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, Thomas, Kay and Teisco. The guitars, especially the 1960s models, are frequently prized by collectors today. Two of the best-known Silvertone offerings are the Danelectro-built Silvertone 1448 and 1449, made in the early to mid-1960s. The 1448 had a single lipstick pickup, while the 1449 was equipped with a two-pickup configuration, and was succeeded in 1964 by the 1457 model. These guitars' cases had a small built-in amplifier, and the guitars themselves had very short-scale 18-fret necks, which proved popular with beginners. Similarly the Silvertone 1484 "Twin Twelve" 60-watt

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic amplifier, electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a Pickup (music technology), pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce so ...

, introduced in 1963 as an affordable beginner's amp, has gained a collectors' following, since artists like Jack White, Beck,

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

, and others have been known to use it. Sears also sold a number of non-stringed instruments under the Silvertone name, such as

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has si ...

s and chord organs manufactured by the Thomas Organ Company, and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

s made by the Wm. Kratt Company.

Samick rebrand

Rights to the Silvertone brand were purchased by Samick Music Corporation in 2001. In 2013 Samick released the Silvertone Classic series, reissues of Silvertone electrics. The first two models released were the 1303/U2 (originally manufactured by Danelectro) and the 1478 (originally manufactured by Harmony), followed by the 1449 (also known as the "Amp-in-Case" model, originally manufactured by Danelectro), and the 1423 Jupiter (originally manufactured by Harmony). In January 2014, the Silvertone reissue 1444 bass was debuted at the Winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

in Anaheim. In early 2015, Samick introduced six reissue Silvertone acoustic guitars including the full-body 955 and single cutaway 955CE, the 600 in either spruce or mahogany, the "Sovereign" 633, and the 604. Some models were also made available with acoustic pickup circuitry for amplified playing. In addition, the model 853 ukulele was introduced with an amplificable version as well.Reissue guitars - The real deal
on Silvertone Classic website (archived, 2 Apr 2015)

New distribution and owners

In late 2020, Samick exclusively partnered with Rhythm Band Instruments (RBI Music) for worldwide distribution, expanding the reach of the Silvertone brand and ensuring better market access for the whole product range. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, RBI Music has been developing and distributing musical instruments accessories for over sixty years, including the Vintage, Big Joe, and Fret King lines of instruments and guitar accessories. RBI Music's president, Brad Kirkpatrick, said of the deal: “Does anyone not know the Silvertone name? We are thrilled to represent this iconic brand on a worldwide basis.” William Park, executive director of Samick Music Corporation, said “RBI Music already distributes a number of high-value brands globally... We believe they will prove an excellent fit for growing the Silvertone brand.” A year later, RBI bought all rights to the brand from Samick, ending the two decades of Samick’s involvement with Silvertone.

References

External links

Official website
(archived, 16 Jun 2013)
Silvertone World

Vintage Silvertones
curated collection of 1950s–80s models {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvertone (Instruments) Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Sears Holdings brands Phonograph manufacturers