that an Indonesian-made bolt-on Les Paul knockoff languishing amongst the used cheapies at Good'N'Loud Music would turn out to be a sleeper? I was at GnL Sunday killing time, and the salesman I always deal with grabbed this "Silvertone by Samick" LP copy for the purpose of making fun of it, he started playing it unplugged. I noticed some nice sparkle and resonance, so I unplugged the PRS I was demoing and jacked that silly Samick into the Hot Rod Deville I was playing through. I was surprised at the sound coming from it. He handed me the guitar and the first thing that struck me was how even the frets were and how fast the neck felt...it played like butter! Whoever owned this little mutt spent some $$ having a nice fret dress/level and setup done. A little DeOxIt killed the pickup switch gremlins. I couldn't believe the tone and sustain this cheapie had. Asking price? $149. Told my wife about it at dinner, she said we could grab it. So back to Good'N'Loud we went, I played it again, and pulled the trigger. My guy cut me a deal too, got the axe for a smidgeon over $130 out the door.

Samick (huge Korean-based instrument conglomerate) bought the Silvertone name a couple years ago, and used it on their line of entry-level instruments (including some vomitable-looking Paul Stanley endorsed oddities). They're certainly capable of making fine instruments in their higher-end offerings (including their vast OEM work), but I never thought an entry-level axe could end up with the grade of mahogany this thing ended up with, the wood looks nice and despite being bolt-on resonates and sustains very well. Not quite as much tonal complexity from the stock pups (which may not be stock, they sound too good to be cheap-axe stock pickups) as a nice Gibson, PRS, Hamer, or whatever, but stupid killer for the pocket change it cost. It has zero street cred, but sounds rather nice and plays amazingly well. RAWK!

Herewith a pic of the poor mutt...

TP

Anudder pic...

Samick offers the same guitar with a set neck too.

Yup, saw that on zzounds...$199. Similar deal to the Korean-made Agile gits www.rondomusic.net sells...by all accounts silly good guitars for the money. I just kind of bumped into this one, and it played and sounded too nice to pass up for as absurdly cheap as it was selling for. The Korean firms are really making a concerted effort in the quality control department, and even China is turning out some guitars of a quality level I would never have thought them capable of. Ever try the Ibanez Artcore hollowbodies? The Goerge-Benson-signature-styled AG75 is a great box for the cash, around $450 with a hard case locally. Definitely better than Epiphone's semi and full-hollow boxes. I'm jonesing for one to have around the studio for jazz noodling. :)

TP

Yep! I agree! :yes:

I've played several of the Korean made EPi's...The set necks. Pretty
top notch stuff. I loved the feel of the SG 400 with the 60's neck! :thmbsp:

Now you have to get yourself a REAL Silvertone! I'd recommend the 1484 Twin Twelve 50 watt dual 6L6 head, but that's me...

Hehe, have you seen what 1484's are going for on ePay these days? Sheesh...prices are through the roof thanks to the White Stripes, and the 1484 isn't the Jack White amp even...the 100-watt one with the six 10's is. That isn't stopping bidders though. It'd have to be a local bargain find, methinks. I'd love one though, really nice-sounding amplifiers. Still want a Deluxe Reverb though. :D Pro Juniors rock too...dang things are nice'n'greazy when you crank 'em. :D

TP

haha yeah its crazy....... as far as samick buying out cool complanies, they also bought out my favorite cabinet makers.... ACOUSTIC control corp....... and they're not doing anything with it, man what i'd do to get another 405 4-12 transducer cab!

Yeah, I know. I got mine for $70, and another one for $120....sold that to a friend for $200. I wouldn't mind picking up another one, but...

Yeah, those 100 watters are overkill...my 50 watter is too much as it is!

They look identical from the front...in the back, just an extra transformer and two more 6L6's.

I like the sound of the 12" speaker rather than 10's. I've never liked the sound of 10's.

haha yeah its crazy....... as far as samick buying out cool complanies, they also bought out my favorite cabinet makers.... ACOUSTIC control corp....... and they're not doing anything with it, man what i'd do to get another 405 4-12 transducer cab!


I've got a 105 4x12 bottom that I plug my Silvertone into on occasion...what kind of speakers did they use? These have silver dust covers, no other markings of mention.

I like 10's...love Vibroluxes and Super Reverbs. Good'n'Loud has a nice player-condition '65 Super on their floor...I'm afraid to plug into it beacuse I'm afraid I'll be smitten ass-over-teakettle like I was with the last '65 they had (and I couldn't afford). Oy oy oy what an amp...expansive clean giving way to a smooth overdrive that made the hair on my neck stand up. Kickass Strat amp and it liked jazz boxes too. But I dig 12's too, the Deluxe Reverb is a perennial fave. I want a nicer 10" for my little Epiphone Galaxie 10...the stock Celestion in mine sounds like dog poo, harsh harsh harsh! I wired the amp to the 12" celestion in my Line 6...much better but a vintage-voiced speaker would be better yet. Still, it's the only time real tube tone ever came out of my Line 6's cabinet! :D Using a 12AT7 now instead of the stock 12AX7...seems a popular sub for that amp and makes the OD more controllable. Fun little tube amp to experiment on, sure was cheap enough!

TP

I want a nicer 10" for my little Epiphone Galaxie 10...the stock Celestion in mine sounds like dog poo, harsh harsh harsh! I wired the amp to the 12" celestion in my Line 6...much better but a vintage-voiced speaker would be better yet. TP

Hence, why I like 12's over 10's. Those Fender amps sound great, but would sound even better thru 12's.

Hey, for your Epi, I'll give you a vintage Silvertone 12ax7. It did wonders for my crapomatic Vox hybrid Cambridge 30 (which also has an ass-sounding 10" Celestion...ugh)

Thanks for da toob offer...wonder who made that AX7...I have a bunch of pulls from Hammonds and other bits of gear, lots of 12AX7's and 12AU7's. Often they end up being GE or Sylvania. Was going through my tube stash last night, I had a British 12AX7 in that epi for awhile, was better than the stock Sovtek. But I'm liking what the lower-gain 12AT7 is doing in that amp. Now just to stick a Weber or maybe a Reverend Alltone in there... :)

TP

heh for acoustics, everything, i think the 100's are an early square back EV or eminance while my 405 is 2 altec horns (never bothered to see which ones, and a couple of CV's that take tons of power and got the warning "Caution: Sound pressure levels within 10 feet of this cabinet may exceed 130 dB"