Your shopping bag is empty
Go to the shop
Up for sale, a 1960 Silvertone Stratotone Jupiter in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Manufactured by Harmony in the USA and virtually identical to their "H49 Stratotone," this Silvertone model 1423 has a Black Sparkle finish that was exclusive to the Silvertone-branded version of this guitar, available via Sears. This model was only offered from Winter 1959-63, and was one of Silvertone's more expensive offerings.
The pickups have strong output and the clear, percussive quality that you only get from a DeArmond Gold Foil (this particular iteration of the gold foil design has silver diamond covers). The tone is full and dynamically responsive, with a distinctive woody bite when picked with authority, and a glassy clarity in every pickup position. The body is fully hollow, which adds a certain richness and soft attack to the notes that you simply can't get with a solidbody instrument. The guitar weighs a mere 4lbs 14oz. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with comfortable action and 10-46 roundwound strings, this Silvertone is ready for stage and studio use.
The neck has a chunky C-shaped profile carve with generous shoulders and ideal substance, measuring .905" deep at the 1st fret and .945" at the 9th. The dyed maple fretboard features multi-ply binding and pearloid block inlay, and the original slender frets have their full factory height. The frets show light, uniform wear beneath the strings on the crowns of frets 1-4, with wear extending beneath the plain strings and growing fainter until fret 7. There is also wear into the maple on the treble side of the board from frets 1-3. The guitar plays easily up the 24 1/4" scale, and the nylon nut is a full 1 3/4" wide. The headstock retains the full raised metal Silvertone logo, with individual Waverly open-gear tuners that turn smoothly and hold pitch well.
On the body, all of the electronics work as they should including the ingenious "Blender" knob. This knob acts as a balance control between the two pickups when both are selected, giving the player a smooth gradient between the Bridge and Neck positions. This is easily one of the coolest features of the Stratotone Jupiter and one found only on this model. The wiring harness features untouched solder joints, with mini CTS pots that date to the 9th week of 1960. Both pickups have Rowe Industries foil stickers on the baseplates, and the 1960 date stamp is visible on the body beneath the guard. Hardware includes the original rosewood floating bridge and nickel trapeze tailpiece. There is modest pick wear on the treble side of the strum path, and the silkscreen text largely worn off of the guard. The original plastics are otherwise extremely clean.
The nitro lacquer Black Sparkle finish has densely packed sparkles, and cosmetic wear is limited to light buckle wear central to the back, light forearm wear on top (with fewer sparkles), and sparingly little additional wear. The neck profile retains its nitro gloss, and the sparkles have oxidized to a deep blue from contact with the palm on the profile length.
A padded gigbag is included.
The pickups have strong output and the clear, percussive quality that you only get from a DeArmond Gold Foil (this particular iteration of the gold foil design has silver diamond covers). The tone is full and dynamically responsive, with a distinctive woody bite when picked with authority, and a glassy clarity in every pickup position. The body is fully hollow, which adds a certain richness and soft attack to the notes that you simply can't get with a solidbody instrument. The guitar weighs a mere 4lbs 14oz. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with comfortable action and 10-46 roundwound strings, this Silvertone is ready for stage and studio use.
The neck has a chunky C-shaped profile carve with generous shoulders and ideal substance, measuring .905" deep at the 1st fret and .945" at the 9th. The dyed maple fretboard features multi-ply binding and pearloid block inlay, and the original slender frets have their full factory height. The frets show light, uniform wear beneath the strings on the crowns of frets 1-4, with wear extending beneath the plain strings and growing fainter until fret 7. There is also wear into the maple on the treble side of the board from frets 1-3. The guitar plays easily up the 24 1/4" scale, and the nylon nut is a full 1 3/4" wide. The headstock retains the full raised metal Silvertone logo, with individual Waverly open-gear tuners that turn smoothly and hold pitch well.
On the body, all of the electronics work as they should including the ingenious "Blender" knob. This knob acts as a balance control between the two pickups when both are selected, giving the player a smooth gradient between the Bridge and Neck positions. This is easily one of the coolest features of the Stratotone Jupiter and one found only on this model. The wiring harness features untouched solder joints, with mini CTS pots that date to the 9th week of 1960. Both pickups have Rowe Industries foil stickers on the baseplates, and the 1960 date stamp is visible on the body beneath the guard. Hardware includes the original rosewood floating bridge and nickel trapeze tailpiece. There is modest pick wear on the treble side of the strum path, and the silkscreen text largely worn off of the guard. The original plastics are otherwise extremely clean.
The nitro lacquer Black Sparkle finish has densely packed sparkles, and cosmetic wear is limited to light buckle wear central to the back, light forearm wear on top (with fewer sparkles), and sparingly little additional wear. The neck profile retains its nitro gloss, and the sparkles have oxidized to a deep blue from contact with the palm on the profile length.
A padded gigbag is included.
