In case you missed it, my review of the Aeroplane Heaven DC-3/C47 is up and running on my youtube channel:

 

What make is that guitar, Alan? Cannot quite make it out.

49 minutes ago, vc10man said:

What make is that guitar, Alan? Cannot quite make it out.

Now, that's an interesting one. People in the know about guitars, know that particular guitar, is one of the best-sounding ones you can get in spite of it also being one of the least expensive ones you can get. There are many comparison videos of it on youtube where it is demonstrated to sound better than a lot of very expensive famous name acoustics, including a Martin D28 and a Taylor 214. So, what is this mystery guitar which sounds so good?

It's a Silvertone. You can find them for less than 100 quid. Which just goes to show that sometimes with guitars, paying for a name on the headstock doesn't make it a better guitar. And believe me, I have lots of guitars, including many which cost waaay more than that thing. But when I heard one of those Silvertones, I knew I had to have one.

Lots of Silvertones were marketed with an horrendous picture of Paul Stanley from the rock band Kiss on them. Mine was one such version, however, I refinished it to remove that tacky nonsense. When I bought mine it was difficult to find a distributor for them in the UK; the only place which had them was Chase Music in Manchester, so when I went down there they had two in stock, both were those 'Kiss' models in black, but one was reduced in price because it had a dent in the upper bout. If I recall correctly, I think I might have paid about 85 quid for it. I of course intended to refinish it to get rid of that awful picture on it, so it was no skin off my nose to buy one which required a very minor repair I could easily do myself and which did not in any way affect its tone.

The fact that the one I bought did have a little damage on it, is both the curse and the joy of Silvertone acoustics: What makes them sound so good is the fact that in order to make them cheap to build, the soundboard is quite thin and much of the construction is thin material too, although they are well braced. With such a thin soundboard, they are able to vibrate and produce a lovely tone. It's more by accident than design of course, but as they say, I'd rather be lucky than good!

You might be aware that another 'cheap' guitar which is the same in that respect, is the 1960/70s-era Harmony Sovereign, which is the guitar on which Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven is played on the recording of it. I've got one of those Harmony Sovereigns too incidentally, although these days they can be quite expensive to track down because of that Zeppelin legacy and I only really wanted one because I'm a guitar nerd, it's not that good.

This means Silvertones are a little bit fragile in terms of resisting dents, although if you are careful with your guitars, as I always am, it's no problem. The plus side of course is that with a very lightweight soundboard, they are - like their name - very silvery in tone to the extent that whenever I gig with that thing, anyone who hears it and who plays guitar always wants to know what it is.

I have modified mine in a few ways to bring it up to snuff, since it is (or was) a cheap guitar. I added some much better tuning machine heads, although to be fair, the ones which were on it were not terrible. I adjusted the truss rod so it would have a decent action with my preferred string choice for it. I dressed the frets to improve the action. I filed and re-profiled the bridge and the nut to lower the action a little bit. Finally, I added an electric pick up over the soundhole so it can be amplified for gigs.

If you like good acoustics, it is definitely worth trying to find one. You won't be disappointed.

 

Edited April 11, 20206 yr by Chock

Thanks Alan. I know all about Martins(USA) and non-USA Martins, and Taylors, and our own Tangelwoods (of which I have one), D'Angelico (US import I have),plus Takamines and Ibanez (both left behind in Australia), and Yamahas, and Guilds, but I must declare, it's first time I have heard of Silvertone.

Your 2nd paragraph hits the nail on the head. My brother in Australia who plays in a band and has been since the late 60s, took me to a music store, and the first thing he asked me in this vast array of different branded guitars was, what was the most important criteria I used to buy a guitar. Lug-holes! Spot-on came the reply.

And when at a guitar show in Thirsk, what did I pick up for a mere £50? A superb sounding dreadnought Tanglewood acoustic. All it need was a newt set of D'Addarios, et al. By far the best value for money £ for £ I have ever spent. And like you, have spent a good fortune on acoustic and electric guitars, never mind this hobby.

However, one brand that I am so, so annoyed that I did not earn enough to afford £25 at a pawn-shop in the mid-60s, was a black Gibson, down in Kentish Town..

Your last but one paragraph typically exemplifies the man I shared a ride to FlightSim2018 with----you have an unique knack for modifying things👍

Thanks for the guitar review..., sorry, for the DC3/C47 review!.

Cheers, Ed

I've got a 1934 Martin OM that belonged to my grandfather and a 1967 Telecaster that I bought new in  1967 along with a Fender Champ tube amp. 🙂

 

Bode- I don’t turn green often, but a 1934 OM will do it- wow!

C

PS- Thanks for the DC 3 review Chock!