Up for sale, a 1961 Silvertone Stratotone Jupiter in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a vintage chipboard case. Manufactured by Harmony in the USA and very similar 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, distinct from what can be achieved with a solidbody instrument. Featherweight at 4lbs 15oz, this Silvertone has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Chunky C, measuring .890” 1st fret, .970” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Dyed maple, block inlay
-Frets: Slender, leveled and crowned, faint wear on frets 1-5, extending beneath the plain strings to fret 8
-Scale Length: 24 1/4”
-Nut: 1 3/4”, bone
-Tuners: Waverly open-gear

Body Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Pickups: DeArmond "gold foil" x2, May 22, 1961 date stamps and Rowe Industries stickers on baseplates
-Harness: CTS pots date to 11th week of ‘60
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Blend knob, Three-way rotary pickup selector
-Hardware: Trapeze tailpiece, floating Brazilian rosewood bridge
-Plastics: DeArmond bell knobs, pickguard with silkscreened text

The nitro lacquer finish has densely packed sparkles and subtle vertical lacquer checking. Cosmetic wear includes light buckle rash central to the back, some oxidation of the sparkles on the lower bout on top (where the arm rests), and some tiny finish chips and minor marks on the body as a whole. The neck profile retains its matching nitro gloss, buffed smooth with limited palm wear along the treble-side shoulder behind frets 4-6, plus one shallow scratch on the treble side of the carve at frets 8-9 that is not distracting to the palm while fretting.

A vintage chipboard case is included.