I occasionally stop by the pawn shops in my small Georgia town to look for bargain guitars. Ninety-nine percent of the time there is absolutely nothing of interest, but today I came across something that caused me to take a second look: a Sears Silvertone model 319.14410000 guitar. It is obviously a Mosrite copy and clearly states that it was made in Japan. It seemed to be in great condition and the only issue I found was some fret buzz at the 12th fret of the G string. I did not have the opportunity to listen to it through an amp as the shop was about to close. The asking price is $360 USD, but past experience leads me to believe it could be had for under $300. With no idea as to what would be a fair price, I left it hanging on the wall and headed home to do some research on the internet and to solicit the opinions of the sg101 community. Is it trash or treasure?

Here is what I found out on the internet. This model of the 1441 was made by Teisco and had previously been sold as the 1445. The 1445 was considered the flagship of the Japanese made Silvertone line. The guitar would have been made between 1968 – 1972. I found a short thread on the 1445 here at sg101. There seemed to be some enthusiasm for the guitar, but no information on the price.

It has the following specifications and features:

Body: Morite-style, celluloid bound, fully contoured, Maple over basswood with German carve; sunburst (yellow-red-mahogany) nitrocellulose lacquer finish; tortoise shell celluloid pickguard.

Neck: Bolt-on solid Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard, Pearloid block inlays and triple bound celluloid edge (w/b/w); 25-1/2"; 22 frets with zero fret; 1-5/8"at nut.

Pickups: Three Teisco single coil "Hound Dog" pups wired in series (loud, louder, loudest); 3 slide switches plus tone boost switch for 7 pup combinations; 3 volumes and 1 master tone control.

The one I found seems to be in better condition than any pictures I found on the internet. It had the original tremolo fully intact. It had all four volume and tone knobs. It also had a metal cover over the bridge that I did not see in any of the few pictures that I found. Players probably always removed it to allow palm muting.

These are pictures that I found on the internet. They are accurate, but not the specific one I am considering.

I have only recently thought that it would be neat to own a Mosrite, but they are seriously out of my budget. Is this vintage Mosrite-style knockoff an opportunity I should jump on for the price? Please let me know your thoughts.

-Tim
MyYouTubeChannel
My Classic Instrumental Surf Music Timeline
SSS Agent #777

Other than the rough shape of the body, these guitars are nothing like Mosrites. Very different pickups, the necks are complete opposites, and the body thickness will feel very different.

It's a cool guitar. The nicer of those two photos, I've played that one before. The trem is useless as it is with most guitars of its ilk. Cool sound, can be willed to play well.

Handful of VM Jags on Reverb.com for $250-$275

JakeDobner wrote:

Handful of VM Jags on Reverb.com for $250-$275

All I see are VM jag basses for $179.

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

Thanks Jake, that did it. There's a ton of em $300 and less. Many surf green. One of these could be my next acquisition.

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

Hi Noah, He does make it sing. Thanks for sharing. It makes me want to go back and play the local one through an amp to see if sounds near as good.

He kicks off his video by saying, "The Silvertone 1445-9L is the best Mosrite copy you're going to find for under a thousand dollars." That's the kind of statement that could stir up some debate. It sort of begs the question, "What is the best Mosrite copy for under a thousand?" Opinions, anyone?

-Tim
MyYouTubeChannel
My Classic Instrumental Surf Music Timeline
SSS Agent #777

SilverFlash wrote:

Hi Noah, He does make it sing. Thanks for sharing. It makes me want to go back and play the local one through an amp to see if sounds near as good.

He kicks off his video by saying, "The Silvertone 1445-9L is the best Mosrite copy you're going to find for under a thousand dollars." That's the kind of statement that could stir up some debate. It sort of begs the question, "What is the best Mosrite copy for under a thousand?" Opinions, anyone?

Hallmark. Hands down. Many players, including myself, believe then to be superior to Mosrite in many ways.

THE KBK ... This is the last known signal. We offer Sanctuary.

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Hallmarks are the best Mosrite copies IMO.
I own an original Mark V Mosrite, a Fillmore reissue Mark I, 2 Hallmark 60 Customs and a Aria Diamond DM380. While the original has a sound of it's own (and nothing can beat that sound when it comes to Mosrites), the Hallmarks are the best bang for the buck. Very close to the original tone, excellent build quality and you can find them for less than 1k used in lots of interesting colors.

The Hicadoolas

Last edited: Nov 11, 2015 03:57:06

I've bought all three of my guitars at Pawnshops and they are the best place to buy guitars. and it seems like they sell some sweet guitars you just don't see in the shops or hear about much and in the long run they're allways the perfect guitar at least for me they are. i hate it when i see one i want and it's gone when i can get it.