1965 Silvertone Teisco Model 1487 - Built-in Amp Guitar - w/ Gig Bag
Crazy cool funky vintage! Check out this rare 1965 Silvertone Model 1487 - The "built-in amp" model! This oddball was made in Japan by Teisco and sold in the US through Sears department stores. This model was only sold in-store from 1963-1967and never through the catalog, which is part of the reason why we see so few of them compared to other Silvertone models from this era. Teisco also offered this model domestically as a Teisco-branded instrument. This portable Rock n Roll Starter Kit features a whopping 1/2-watt of power into a 3" speaker, instantly turning your bedroom into a stadium. Well, not really. But it's a blast to play with today, so I can only assume it was a ton of fun back in 1965, too! If you take a lap on Google, you can see photos of John Hiatt, Bruce Springsteen, Rory Gallagher, and Howlin' Wolf using this model live and in-studio, and just a few weeks ago, the guitarist backing Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special was playing one of these! Wild!
Finding one of these quirky Silvertones that is fully functional is getting hard to do, and so many of these hit the marketplace with excuses: they play great but the amp doesn't work. Or, the amp "sometimes" works, or crackles when used. This ones has been fully serviced for excellence, and works perfectly. All of the amp guts are original, aside from some capacitors, resistors, and a pair of 9v battery harnesses that our restoration shop installed. The pots, switch, and jacks have all been flushed and work without any unwanted noise or static. The stock Gold-Foil pickup sounds healthy and adds to the general lo-fi sound this kit makes. You can use the onboard amp, or run out through the output jack into the amp of your choice, if you need more power. The neck is straight, the original frets show minimal wear, the truss rod works in both directions, and the original bridge and tuners work great. The original brownish black paintjob has some dings and dents, but nothing abnormal or indicating abuse on this old instrument. This is the first one of these we have seen that still has the original battery cover! This one also has the Silvertone headstock script and Silver Tone body badge. This guitar has been setup and restrung in our repair facility and it plays better than expected!
A Fender gig bag is included.