Silvertone 1425 Aristocrat 1959-61 / The End of an Era / June Special!!!

Here is a Silvertone 1425 Aristocrat in Excellent Condition, made by Kay for Sears somewhere between the Fall of 1959 and the Spring of 1961.  With its twin Valco Speed-Bump pickups, this is an iconic Chicago Jazz-Box, with a Plus-Size Body, a chunky neck and a rich singing voice.  The 1425 was the last of the Aristocrat line made by Kay for Sears.  Afterwards, Kay only made solid and semi-solid body electrics for Sears and their f-hole models were consigned to history.

This is a BIG guitar!  These Aristocrats were all, big jazz boxes that exemplified the Chicago Blues and jazz guitars of the 1950s.  It has some quirks in terms of the set up of the electronics, which are entirely original, from pickups to harness to jack.  

Here are the important Specs:

Made between Fall 1959 and Spring 1961

Laminated Spruce Top

Maple Back and Sides

Maple Neck

Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard

Lower Bout Width: 17 3/16”

Upper Bout Width: 12 1/4”

Body Depth: 3 1/4”

Nut Width: 1 3/4”

String Spacing at Bridge: 2 1/4”

Pickups: Valco Speed-Bumps

Control Configuration: Tone, Tone (Top), Volume, Volume (Bottom)  Note: The pickup selector switch is wired so that UP is the Bridge and Down is the Neck pickup. The harness is completely original, as are the Cupcake Knobs and Nickel Tailpiece

Truss Rod: Non-Adjustable Square Martin Style rod - the neck is straight

Scale: 25 3/4”

Action at 12th Fret: Low E 5/64”, High E 1/16”

The guitar came into the shop as quite a few old Kay guitars have done, with the neck already off. For whatever reason, we often see old Kays with failed glue joints and less than adequate neck shims.  We had a good bit of work to do to restore this guitar and make her sing again.

Here is a list of the work we performed:

Replaced the original Kluson Deluxe Tuners with a new set of the same

Cleaned the Electronics with DeOxit

Cleaned the Body, Neck, Fretboard and Hardware

Glued loose binding along the back

Reset the neck for an optimal playing angle

Shaped a period correct Rosewood bridge to the top to replace one that had been cut down too far

Leveled and Crowned the Frets / Dressed the Fret Ends

Lemon Oiled the Fretboard and Bridge

Strung with a fresh set of Dean Markley SLP Jazz Gauge strings (.012 - .054)

Tonally, this is a very warm and smooth sounding jazz box.  It will be ideal for jazz and blues, though it probably does not have enough twang for something like Rock-A-Billy.

Be sure to check out the photos of the guitar, as we have tried to capture it from all angles.

Ships in a Brand New On-Stage Hybrid Case

This Silvertone 1425 Aristocrat is sold AS IS, and is not returnable unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Serial Number: L2901 8999

Price: $1750.00 plus $145 shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)