Silvertone Classic 1478 Review – Vintage Vibes With Amazing Sound

If you are a little interested in the history of electric guitars than you most likely know that Silverstone has produced some great guitars over the years that are classics.

It has been the instrument of choice for legendary guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and even one of my all-time favorites Muddy Waters. However, after some time they feel out of prominence for being too dated and old looking in comparison to then-modern Fenders and Gibsons.

The Samick Instruments have brought them to life recently and their Silvertone Classic 1478 model is here to stay. It has an excellent style and features the classic body shape combined with vintage pickups. If you are an old soul like me then the Silvertone Classic 1478 is a great match for your taste, plus it is very affordable.

The design and build of the Silvertone Classic 1478 scream retro from every corner, with its curvy asymmetrical double-cutaway body shape with a 24-inch scale length.

It uses mahogany as a tonewood topped with a maple top, the guitar comes in two paint jobs, the classic Red Silver Flake or Black both look very interesting and both come with five-layer tortoiseshell pickguards that are very appropriate for the setting. The Silvertone Classic 1478 features a bolt-on mahogany neck that is very solid but features the modern C-shape for extreme playability compared to its original shape.

On top of the neck, you will spot the rosewood fretboard with 20 nickel-silver frets and pearl block inlays that enhance the overall retro styling of this guitar. Right from the get-go, you will notice that this guitar is very light and it is very playable without compromising the 60s style that differentiates it from the crowd.

In terms of hardware, the Silvertone Classic 1478 doesn’t feature the rosewood bridge that the legacy model featured, instead it has a solid adjustable chrome bridge that allows for plenty of sustain. The tremolo tailpiece is from Bigsby and is the right choice for your vibratos, however, it won’t be suited for Eddie Van Halen like dives. The headstock features vintage-style tuning machines that keep the tuning in check and stable throughout.

The Silvertone Classic 1478 sports dual single-coil pickups that are designed by Silverstone itself. They have done an awesome job of recreating the pickups that were featured on the legacy model, due to their use of similar materials and magnets, and they achieve a good range of vintage tones as a result. Controls consist of individual volume and tone knobs for each pickup and a three-way pickup selector switch to top off the package.

If you want a really vintage sounding guitar to recreate some Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, the Silvertone Classic 1478 will deliver in its entirety.

I enjoyed practicing some Led Zeppelin solos on it thanks to its great pickups and surf rock was a dream on this, as I came to achieve that wet sound that I love.

A pretty versatile and great electric guitar for beginners that have a thing for vintage stuff.