The Silvertone 1429 was the pinnacle of the Sears catalog guitar line when it was introduced in 1959. The thinline archtop construction was becoming very popular as a result of the Gibson ES-335 of the same time period. The 1429 was built by Harmony for Silvertone and was the exact same body as the Harmony Meteor H-70 but with an added pickup and 3 on/off toggle pickup switches. This model along with a small amplifer with a torn speaker cone was used by the Kinks’ Dave Davies for that hugely popular riff in “You Really Got Me.”

This guitar has survived in very good shape and is now back in to gigging condition. The three argile DeArmond Golden Tone pickups are strong and hot. The neck is straight and the frets have plenty of life left in them. The body is solid but does have a repaired crack on the bass side lower rim. All of the finish is original and shows moderate wear with scratches and checking throughout. The Silvertone logo has long since flaked off with traces of it still left in the paint. The tuners have been cleaned and adjusted and function well. The nut has been replaced long ago with a custom bone nut. Everything else on the guitar is original except for one of the pickup selector switch tips. One switch tip has a repaired crack but the other is solid. The potentiometers are in good shape but could use some cleaning with contact cleaner. The pickguard is original and solid with one of the mounting screws original and the other a replacement. Everything else is original to the guitar and in functional condition. The case is a surprisingly well fitting TKL made Alvarez case that was likely designed for a solid body acoustic. It fits this 1429 very well and has plenty of protection.

The three individual on/off pickup switches and individual volume and tone knobs for each pickup give this guitar a wide selection of tonal combinations at the flick of a switch. The Golden Tone pickups are surprisingly hot and full not weak like some Chicago made guitars. This is a professional instrument through and through and is ready to go back on the road.