'67 Silvertone bass for sale in Raleigh/Durham area ($475)

ack1961 · January 31, 2012, 07:46:23 AM

I know nothing about these basses...not sure if anyone here is interested in these or not:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/msg/2819911298.html

nofi · January 31, 2012, 08:03:53 AM

from my experience those are crap. and now overpriced crap.

ack1961 · January 31, 2012, 08:22:55 AM

Quote from: nofi on January 31, 2012, 08:03:53 AM
from my experience those are crap. and now overpriced crap.

good. then it shall remain someone else's crap.

Happy Face · January 31, 2012, 08:36:46 AM

Quote from: nofi on January 31, 2012, 08:03:53 AM
from my experience those are crap. and now overpriced crap.

Yeah, it's funny how brands that were universally derided at the time are now collectibles. The fog of memory...

Bionic-Joe · February 08, 2012, 08:36:46 PM

UH....those basses are pretty Kick ass...Nice weight...nice chunky neck...I dig them...If i only had the cash....seems like a good price.

Denis · February 10, 2012, 05:59:34 AM

Personally, I'd love to have one of those basses. That's a really clean one too.

nofi · February 10, 2012, 07:20:26 AM

i had the 1444 model. chunky neck aside it was a toy imo. lots of old crap is now vintage and people get all excited about it. teisco for interest. i'm sure there are people who love this stuff but this is my opinion.

Dave W · February 10, 2012, 08:36:19 AM

Quote from: nofi on February 10, 2012, 07:20:26 AM
i had the 1444 model. chunky neck aside it was a toy imo. lots of old crap is now vintage and people get all excited about it. teisco for interest. i'm sure there are people who love this stuff but this is my opinion.

Back then, some Teiscos were played by pros, though I didn't think much of them. Silvertone was different, they weren't as good as Teisco and were even goofier looking, and no one I knew wanted a guitar or bass that was associated with the Sears & Roebuck catalog. Not that Sears was a bad place, you just didn't want a department store brand if you had any self-respect. Most guys would have been embarrassed to play one professionally, even at band practice, you would rather play with a bag over your head than be seen in public with it. Maybe okay for your first bass bought by your parents, but that's it.

Denis · February 10, 2012, 09:05:06 AM

Link Wray played Danelectros and I've never heard anyone say HE had no self-respect! Jimmy Page played one too, although the instruments they both played were the masonite models.

The 1444 is a solid body (right?) so maybe they had a different reputation. Today, it's pretty common to see people playing Danos and Silvertones because they are perfect for garage rock.

nofi · February 10, 2012, 09:24:28 AM

bass and guitar are two different animals. since the 1444 weighed about 5 or 6 pounds i guess it was semi hollow, chambered or some such.

Pilgrim · February 10, 2012, 11:52:29 AM

Quote from: Denis on February 10, 2012, 09:05:06 AM
Link Wray played Danelectros and I've never heard anyone say HE had no self-respect! Jimmy Page played one too, although the instruments they both played were the masonite models.

Danos were different, and not a Gibson or Fender, but I think they were a cut above the imports.

Rob · February 10, 2012, 01:11:43 PM

That was also an era where most people only owned one bass.
I had a friend with a Dano and it sounded great but they were honestly not that great at standing up to travel.
They were used a LOT in Nashville to double with uprights for the tic tac stuff.

+1 on Daves comments about the department store stuff and Jimmy Page didn't play one that I know of until 10 years or so after the time where even grocery stores were selling guitars.

Dave W · February 10, 2012, 01:19:13 PM

Quote from: Denis on February 10, 2012, 09:05:06 AM
Link Wray played Danelectros and I've never heard anyone say HE had no self-respect! Jimmy Page played one too, although the instruments they both played were the masonite models.

The 1444 is a solid body (right?) so maybe they had a different reputation. Today, it's pretty common to see people playing Danos and Silvertones because they are perfect for garage rock.

These were later and solidbody, they did not have a good reputation, and AFAIK they were only available with the Silvertone brand. Not to be confused with the masonite Danos.

You're also looking at it through today's lenses. A number of famous players played the masonite Danelectros, mostly earlier in their careers and mostly for a short time before moving to something else. Even so, the masonite Danos were not well thought of back then. We value the tone now, at least many of us do, but it wasn't so back then.

patman · February 10, 2012, 02:28:39 PM

Not being a purest...a modern Dano is fun in a funky sort of way, and lightweight...and can be made to play within professional tolerances. Not sure that I feel the same way about the older ones I've played.

jumbodbassman · February 23, 2012, 07:44:53 PM

i have a bunch of danos. some are actually very nice sounding basses. nice small necks , all are buzzy as they never had the reverse polarity thing going on. least favorite is the chinese made 63 long scale but looks cool in the aqua. back in the late 70's i had an early model DC one pickup. At the time i felt it was a toy compared to the fenders and rics i was playing but sure wish i had kept it. IMHO must have flats on them....