Silvertone Guitars to Reissue 1444 Bass
Another piece of history is coming back to life as Silvertone Guitars has announced a reissue of the 1444 Bass. The model was the very first four-string electric bass offered by Sears in 1959 and was produced for seven years before being discontinued.
Silvertone’s new version will feature some modifications to offer modern and vintage tones. “The Reissue 1444 features a 24 fret 30” short scale rock maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and a solid mahogany body,” they write. “We modified the bass by adding a bridge position lipstick pickup for added versatility, and a fully adjustable bridge.”
Another improvement over the original is a fully adjustable dual expanding truss rod. Finally, the reissue will go beyond the only black finish with Copper Metallic and Silverburst colorways, as well.
Silvertone will be shipping the revamped 1444 in September for $599.
Silvertone Guitars 1444 Reissue Bass Specs:
Construction: | Bolt-on |
Scale: | 30″ |
Body: | Mahogany |
Neck: | Rock Maple |
Neck Shape: | C |
Fingerboard: | Rosewood |
Frets: | 24 |
Inlays: | Pearloid Dot |
Nut Material: | PPS |
Pickups: | Lipstick Single Coil |
Controls: | Volume, Volume, Tone |
Pickguard: | Single Layer Clear |
Bridge: | Chrome/Adjustable |
Tuners: | Enclosed |
That was my first bass back in 1961!!
Why in the world would anyone want this bass. It was a joke when it came out in the Sears catalogue in 1n 1958. .The only thing worse was the Danelectro/Silvertone guitar with the silly double breakable antelope-horns.. You would never be taken seriously in any garage band and certainly not as a playing for money musician.Just my humble opinion. By the way, Last year I sold my mint 1958 Fender Precision Bass for $16.000. The original price was $205. I wish I had bought two..
Bought an Instrument just for the money?
Strange….
Because of the headstock it looks like a kid toy lol.
That’s a good price for decent wood selection. Not bad.
There never was a company called Silver tone, and now there is? I don’t think this is a reissue. Maybe a copy.
Silvertone was a Sears, Roebuck, and Co. generic house name for their lines of related audio and video products. Sears would order items from manufacturers which would be delivered with the Sears logos. Bicycles and sporting goods were J C Higgins. Sears made NONE of these. Motor scooters and cycles were Allstate made by Cushman, Lambretta, Vespa and even Harley Davidson. Sears made none of these. Tools were labeled Craftsman. At one time, you could buy replacement parts; engines, wheels, fenders, seats for Ford Model T and A. None of these products were made by Sears. Electric guitars and basses were made by Danelectro and sold with the Silvertone name. Sears also sold acoustic guitars, banjos, ukuleles, string basses, pianos, organs, amplifiers, band instruments and violins. All products carried the Sears house names. None were made by Sears. When compared to Gibson, Gretsch, Fender, Moserite, Epiphone, and other brands available in those years, the Danelectro line certainly came up at the bottom of the list for reasons of sound, durability, material quality, and pride of ownership.
6-string tuners work with short scale strings? I’m off to upgrade my Bronco!