c.1970 Sears-Roebuck 319 "clone"?

jbuonacc · Post by **jbuonacc** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:34 am

i have a couple of old mij Sears-Roebuck (Silvertone?) electrics from the early 70s that i absolutely love the look of. unfortunately, it's got a plywood body which is just a bit too thin, and the neck is a bit more robust than i'd like (even after some sanding). for what it is, it actually doesn't play too bad and the pickups are pretty distinct. i don't plan on getting rid of them (and would actually like to restore them further), but i think it'd be really nice to have something built to better standards which looks almost just like it.

here's what they look like:

i had a '65 RI Mustang for a couple years which i loved the piss out of, so i guess i'm looking for the feel of a Mustang with the look of this. i'm actually pretty open as far as the electronics go, and am not really set on putting those same pickups in it (especially if i had to pull them from one of mine). i'd like the feel of a Mustang/Jaguar/Jag-Stang neck, but keeping the same headstock that these have (a Gumby-Gibson design sort of like the old Electras) - so i don't think it would be possible to use an off-the-shelf neck (??).

does this seem like something that might be possible? any idea what the cost could run for something like this? i don't expect it to be very cheap, and i'm not looking to cut corners. i honestly haven't looked into the options much (besides knowing that this guy Andrew may be the best, but that he probably wouldn't do it), i know you guys know far more about this process than i do and come to you for suggestions on who might be worth trying to contact about a build.

thanks!

-justin.

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:59 am

Man, I remember looking through the Sears catalog, every year before Christmas, and drooling over those guitars. Always asked Santa for one, but never got one, but a buddy of mine did get one their basses and a small bass amp. He ended up selling it and used the money to buy his first drum kit. He went on to play with some bands whose albums were released nationally, but never broke through. He still plays studio gigs and has been recorded on over 2000 songs. Good memories. Always wondered how the Sears guitars actually played and sounded.

Thanks,

jamba72 · Post by **jamba72** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:39 pm

thats funny..I just sold exactly this piece..

and yeah, the neck is really FAT..baseball bat at least. the plywood body was super light, the overall design is kinda funny as it should count as a mosrite copy..but the size is more a childs guitar, really.
sold it after one week..

but the look is cool though, so a mustang in burst/ triburst would be awesome.

cheers

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:21 pm

is the one on the bottom missing some frets?

jbuonacc · Post by **jbuonacc** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 2:56 am

jamba72 wrote:thats funny..I just sold exactly this piece..
and yeah, the neck is really FAT..baseball bat at least. the plywood body was super light, the overall design is kinda funny as it should count as a mosrite copy..but the size is more a childs guitar, really.
sold it after one week..
but the look is cool though, so a mustang in burst/ triburst would be awesome.

it wasn't the one on eBay that just ended for 'Best Offer', was it?

the neck isn't that bad, but not nearly as slim as i'd like. i've thought about it as a Mosrite copy before, but i don't think it would count as it doesn't have the longer lower horn.

i'm not trying to just make a Mustang with a different headstock and pickguard, i really like the shape/feel of the body on this. nice and small, but maybe a 1/4" too thin. some deeper contours might not be bad either.

robert(original) wrote:is the one on the bottom missing some frets?

yes, all but the zero fret. a couple of them towards the middle were pretty gnarly when i got it so i ripped them all out (this was twenty years ago). the pics are from a few years ago from when i pulled them out of my parents' basement. the one with the frets is cleaned up and working now.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 3:42 pm

my very first guitar was a Global

letter B the cheapest one.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 3:53 pm

i had a global les paul copy years ago, it was actually a pretty sweet lil guitar. nice n thin body, light as a feather and it had two on off switches on the pickguard, which i rather fancied for some on off tom morrello style noise jams.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:52 am

I fixed a silvertone just like that top one, except with a fender style 6 tuners on one side headstock, last year for a student's mom. It sounded great and was a lot of fun to play! They forgot to pick it up for a couple months so I got to play with it for a while and I really liked the sound of those pickups.