Silvertone S1453 Rebel 1968 - RedBurst / Light as a Feather!

What a cool little guitar!  This is a 1968 Silvertone S1453, made by Harmony and, essentially, the Silvertone variant of the Harmony H82 Rebel.  It is in Excellent Condition and plays beautifully, up and down the neck, through a hot set of DeArmond Silver Foil pickups, some of the finest single coils ever manufactured.

The Silvertone 1453, like the Harmony Rebel, is a guitar patterned along the lines of a classic Rickenbacker. The single f-hole and neck with full and easy fretting all the way up, are hallmarks of the Rick.  Unlike the Harmony Rebel, the Silvertone 1453 uses standard potentiometers as volume and tone controls, rather than the funky sliders of the Harmony.  What the Silvertone gives up in grooviness, it more than makes up for in usefulness.  Anyone who has used a slider based guitar knows how finicky they can be and how difficult it is to find replacement parts for them.

Instead of a standard three way pickup selector, the Silvertone does feature a basic on/off slider switch for each of the two pickups.  Originally, this guitar had a whammy bar, which has been lost in the sands of time.  The apparatus for the tremolo however, remains in place, beneath the tailpiece, and an aftermarket whammy bar could screw right on.  These tremolos were never particularly useful to begin with, so we opted to leave it off.  The guitar has a 

24 1/4” scale and a comfortable 3/32nds” action at the twelfth fret, both sides.  The action could be lowered further at the bridge if desired.

When the guitar came into the shop, it had been set up for slide playing by a prior owner, with an extra high nut.  The owner had also seen fit to raise the pickups and bridge (and even part of the scratch plate) with homemade “risers” as well.  Some of these were adhered to the surface of the guitar and required some very careful cleaning and gentle removal to protect the finish.  Generally speaking, the finish is really in fine shape, but there are some minor blemishes, notably one on the top between the bass side of both pickups, and a few nicks and dings on the back of the neck.

For our part, we removed the offending decals and risers, cleaned the body and hardware, replaced some missing ferules with period appropriate ones, cleaned the electronics with DeOxit, made a new bone nut, leveled and crowned the frets, repaired some minor blemishes on the back of the neck and head stock, polished the guitar and set it up with a fresh set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys.  It plays effortlessly and has that wonderful snarl that only a DeArmond Silver Foil can produce.  There is actually a wider than expected tonal range to the guitar as the tone controls are raised and lowered.

With its eye-catching Red-Burst finish, shiny hardware and distinctive body design, this is an attention grabbing guitar (and that’s before you even plug it in!).  It is also light as a feather and would be a comfortable instrument for a longer gig.  Who needs to develop early osteoporosis with a Strat dangling off your neck, when you can stand straight and tall and survey your adoring fans?

Please be sure to check out the high definition photos included with the listing, as we have tried to capture this guitar from all angles.

This Silvertone S1453 is sold AS IS and is not returnable unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Serial #: 5946S1453

Price: $950.00 plus $125 shipping (Lower 48 USA only)