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There’s the Silvertone, of course:
And I remember some lap-steel guitars with amps in their cases.
Time for a revival, I think! But seriously, does anyone here have one? Anyone given them a try in a store? You could get a decent-sized speaker in the case, plus an amp and effects - the whole thing. Great for buskers and for playing with a couple of friends. With modern technology, it could be interesting.
On the other hand, how heavy would the case be, I wonder.
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07-04-2026 05:03 PM
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The thing is, that Silvertone amp-in-a-case doesn’t have a power transformer. So there’s no isolation between the player and the grid supply. The plug is also two pronged and you can plug it in either way- and you have no way of knowing if you’ve just made a connection between the 120v supply and your guitar strings until it’s too late. If you are going to use that amp, you should invest in an isolation transformer and you should always use it. The old five-tube radios were like that, too. The architecture has been illegal for quite some time now, and for good reason.
But then, no risk, no fun, I’ve heard.
steven
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Sounds dangerous. A rechargeable battery would be better.
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I remember a high-school friend of mine having one of these. There are a number of similar ones on ebay, reverb, sweetwater, etc. at prices ranging from $339 to (!) $1795. The price of nostalgia...
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I could see it as a revival where it's made a subscription service where the case does not even unlock unless you've paid your monthly fee to the manufacturer...."your rate plan didn't renew on time, please contact PlayFender.com to update your plan".
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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That’s another thing.
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Wow... my college roommate had one of those (the complete set with the guitar) and we used to play it all the time, at home and in the recording studio. No one ever got hurt, or even noticed a funny tingling sensation. Originally Posted by stevo58
otoh, everyone noticed how awful it sounded.
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Lol! The Silverstone sounds awful too, but I’m sure they could be manufactured to a higher standard, have WiFi control for backing tracks, effects, and more.
But I’m just musing on the possibilities. I can’t see it ever happening.
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I had one. It hummed terribly. I never got a shock. Luck?
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This kind of contraption exists now. JBL makes one; it's battery powered, connects to your phone via Bluetooth to provide backing tracks, provides inputs for two guitars, does real-time pitch changes, even has onboard AI stem separation capabilities so you can mix out the guitar or whatever else suits your needs. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
135-watt version $599 at Sweetwater - 18-watt version $249 at Sweetwater
Video demo, complete with obligatory, self-indulgent solo at the beginning. The various patches all sound kind of the same to me: either clean or dirty, with a few fx like delay. Still, a lot of features for the $.
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Okay, but that’s not in a case.
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They make the coolest-looking amps, but again not in a guitar case. Originally Posted by marcwhy
But I’m already getting bored with the idea, as it seems not workable to a high quality sound level.
I do like the look of those Vintage 47 designs!
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I have one of the Silvertone guitars with amp-in-case. Growing up, there was always a Sears catalog around the house and Dad also took us shopping at the local Sears store, but I never knew that these things existed until moving to Japan. Then again, I was still watching Sesame Street at the time and hadn't discovered the joys of an electric guitar.
About ten years ago, while wandering around Tokyo, I came upon a really grungy well-worn specimen in a touristic shop with an uncharacteristically pushy salesperson, who seemed eager to sell it to me. I don't recall now which model but its speaker was blown.
However, the seed was planted, so I did a little research and the next time I was in Tokyo I visited several shops. A couple had only the guitar, one only the case-amp, and two with both guitar and case. Of the latter, a large shop had the one in the OP video, which is the 1448 model. It was in pretty good shape and I played it for a while, but I really wanted the 1457 model, which has a better amp and speaker (5w amp / 8in speaker, as opposed to 3w / 5in in the 1448) and it was a full scale guitar with 2 pickups, sporting the red sparkle Danelectro finish. It was in good condition and sounded fine. The unusual thing is, I found that one in a quiet shop off the beaten guitar track, which specialized in acoustic guitars.
As for details, guitar and case weigh in at 11kg (a bit heavier than my old Fender Vibro-Champ). It included the original footswitch for the tremolo. As far as I can tell, everything seems to be original, right down to the two-pronged electrical plug (which had not been changed, but I take all the necessary precautions to avert any inadvertent hair restyling). I use this mostly at home for fun, although I did take it out a couple of times. As noted in the OP video (around the 5mn mark) it actually has an attractive sound that works, to my enfeebled ears, quite well for some jazz playing. It's interesting that more updated items are being made, but I got a thing for odd old music gear so this one's a keeper for now.
All this piqued my curiosity. So I began to wonder how this quirky thing made its way to Japan, especially that it wasn't just one unicorn that I happened upon; there were several in Tokyo alone. And there is an intriguing possibility. It could have arrived through one of the 1960s Far East Port Exchanges, the PX system that serviced US military bases and which partnered with Sears to provide US goods, including guitars. I learned this while tracking down another oddity, a Japanese "bizarre" guitar that I found in the Netherlands, and which I was able to trace to the PX system in Germany through a unique logo that was added to the headstock, which identified the specific music store from which it was purchased. That store, in turn, had a contract with Teisco in Japan to make inexpensive guitars to stock for US servicemen stationed at Rammstein. So it is entirely feasible that these Silvertones made their way to Japan in a similar fashion. I think it would be quite a fascinating research project to trace the role of US military bases in spreading gear (not to mention music, including jazz on vinyl in the old days), since, depending upon the time and place, US bases have proliferated throughout the world, including a dozen or so here in Japan.
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Hmm … I stand corrected - the 1457 has a power transformer. I apologize. I was certain about this, and I was certainly wrong. My brother’s first rig was a 1457.
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Great post and photos, JazzPad! Now, imagine a much updated version with today’s technology for sound production - that’s what I was thinking of earlier. I doubt there would be a million bucks to be made for any potential investor, but I do like oddities on the periphery.
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Early 80s Peavey amp-in-case:
It was a long time ago but I remember that these, ah, 'did not sound very good.'
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I can’t remember that one. Thanks for the interesting photo, at least.
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