Conference napalm::guitar

    Didn't Sears ROebuck market a guitar like this in the 80s?!?  

    Sears made the beast . I owned 2 of them. I think they sold for about
    $269 . An interesting guitar to say the least .
    
    JJT

    All of the Sears guitars with the effects/buttons I ever saw were
    Explorer copies. I almost bought one around 1980. They were in the
    catalog for about $180. Looking back at the Hondo Strat copy
    I ended up buying, I should've given the Sears one a try.
    
    Just saw one of these puppies at a junk store. No strings. Neck
    wobbled badly. Hardware looked awful. They were asking $150.
    Shaaahhh. Good luck!
    
    Larry

    	Thanks for the info people ,I quite like the guitar for its novelty
    value ,made a few modifications and it plays ok now..	
    	I'm gonna change the pickups now , anyone recommend a descent
    replacement pickup to get an authentic old Les Paul sound out of this
    thing , yes I know it wont sound like a Real Les Paul but I need
    somethin to make it sound a bit more meaty than it does now.
    	By the way , Sears , can anyone give us a bit more info on this
    company , when and what sort of equipment did they make , being a Brit
    I dont know much about this company.
    	Cheers  J.....

    I'd recomend Carvin pickups.

    SEARS is a large chain that sells everyting not just musical
    instruments. I dont believe they are making instruments any more and
    you probably wouldnt have much luck getting specs or info on the
    instrumnet from SEARS themsleves but you can always try. You will find
    SEARS in many of the larger malls here stateside. As i say they have a
    line of houshold appliances (refrigerators, washing machines, stoves),
    automotive tools(Craftsman) and always a mesn, womens and childrens
    department for all manner of clothing. 
    
    
    						--Fred
    

    Quite a large retail chain here in Canada as well.

    Just as a clarification, I don't think Sears (or more formerly,
    the Sears and Roebuck Co.) ever MADE guitars.  Sears used to have
    a large catalog operation, and sold musical instruments made by
    others.  Many of these instruments were sold under Sears' own 
    brand names, of which the most notable was "Silvertone."
    Silvertone guitars came from a variety of manufacturers,
    but in the fifties and early sixties, most of them were made
    by "low-end" U.S. companies like Harmony and Kay.
    
    Some Silvertone electric guitars and amps from the sixties are
    actually desirable instruments, particularly guitars made by
    Danelectro and some of the tube amps.  Not great instruments,
    but interesting and serviceable ones.  As the low-end U.S.
    instrument makers folded, Sears turned toward the Orient for 
    its instruments.  
    

    Hey, watch it buddy!!  ;^|
    
    We could easily write a book about Sears and Roebucks. They have
    been around since the 19th century, possibly even earlier than 
    that. The Sear mail-order catalog is part of Americana. It was one 
    of the few sources of merchandice for people living in remote areas, 
    and military outposts. I believe the Sears towers (located in 
    Chicago) are the tallest man-made structures in the world, at least
    at one time they were.
    
    Over the years, Sears has sold instruments from Regal, Harmony, Kay,
    DanElectro, etc. Most of these manufacturers built to Sears specs 
    and attached the Silvertone name to instruments for Sears. At one time, 
    Sears owned the Harmony Company. 
    
    The instrument described in the base note was no doubt made after
    the great Sears Silvertone era, which ended in the early '70's.
    
    See note 333 (Off the Wall) for more details of Harmony and Silvertone
    than you probably want or need. As you will see, it's very near and
    dear to my heart!!
    
    Mark (avid Harmony collector)

    There is only one Sears Tower, but it IS still the tallest office
    building in the world. 
    
    Jim

re: .10

>              -< Not that it has anything to do with guitars... >-

True, but as long as we're in a rathole anyway...

>    There is only one Sears Tower, but it IS still the tallest office
>    building in the world. 
    
Are you sure about that?  I seem to recall that some other building
surpassed it sometime in the last decade or so.

-Hal

   I thought the World Trade Center in NYC stole the honor of the highest
   building from Sears.  I'm probably wrong, though.

   -- Sam

    It's the other way around: the Sears Tower stole the honor from the
    twin World Trade Center (which stole the honer from the Empire State
    Building).  

    Now that I think about it, I seem to vaguely remember plans being
    announced for a taller building, but I can't remember where it
    was to be built (or if it actually has).
    
    Anyway, the Sears Tower was the world's tallest building the
    last time I was in it (about 6 years ago).
    
    Jim

    I seem to recall that there is now a taller building, possibly in
    Europe or the orient. (for some reason, Madrid, Spain rings a bell).
    I'm probably way off base.
    
    Mark (guitar and sky-scrapers share one thing in common, they're
    both Phallic symbols). 

    The world tallest building is the CN Tower in Toronto.

      
    
     The CN tower is the world's tallest structure, I'm not sure if it ever
    qualified as a "building" . It's one of those vague things.