The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

I picked up this mint Conrad solid body a couple years back. It was obviously played very little and is in near-mint condition. The neckplate serial number begins with a 1 and it was advertised as a 1971. Is this correct?

I had a Conrad I bought new in '68 or 69' that was sunburst with a tortoise pickguard, 2 chrome soapbar-sized pickups w. rocker switches and a flush in-the-body trem like a Fender Jaguar. It had the same neck and headstock but it was more of a Burns Bison shape. It looked pretty and played great but sounded like junk, very bassy and thrummy sounding. This one plays unbelievably nice and with the the tone-circuit expander (bypass?) out it osunds just like a Fender Mustang and really nails a Jaguar tone with the tone expander in. It does not sound Stratty at all. Any idea what this one may be worth? It has to be the finest example of this guitar anywhere! But is it a 1971?






Oh, yeah, I am playing it through this 1971 Silvertone just like in the day!!!

Welcome.

I have to agree. She's gorgeous!

I'm not very familiar with these but I'd say '71 sounds about right. However, not sure the serial even denotes year at that time.
Others will surely know more.

I'm diggin' that Silvertone also. . .

No, I can't help with any sort of ID either but just wanna say welcome to the madhouse, and "What a great combination!!" That'll be a tone you can't just dial up on yer bloody COSM amp, eh; good stuff!!

I really like the Conrad for playing surf music. The Silvertone is very much in mint condition too. It is missing 2 knobs that I have just located and purchased. The slide levers are broken off just above the panel face. I am going to pull the levers off and build them up with plastic mend epoxy and then fit the knobs. Amp still has a 2 prong plug but does have a polarity switch so it should be safe to play. It has really strong tremolo and the reverb sounds like you fell down a well! I am trying to locate a correct foot switch for it too.

Thanks for the compliments on the guitar and amp!

It will still bite you. Best to convert to 3 prong.

Polarity is to keep you safe when you touch say a metal mike stand. I have an amp with original three prong plug and a polarity switch. I am with Jorg, get a three prong on there.

I've not seen that model of Silvertone amp before but it sounds like it would have been made by Danelectro, no?
I have a '65 Dano DM25 with the same Reverb, Tremolo, and Ground-Switch configuration that you describe.

Mine's also all original, including the 2 prong plug. I've never been concerned about it before, but now I'm wondering...I have been thinking about doing a long overdue clean up and perhaps replacing a few caps and maybe the tubes. If I should I replace the plug, doesn't the ground lug also need to be wired back to the chassis, or is it sufficient to have it in proximity to the power? Might not be a bad idea to replace the power cord altogether with a three-wire and integrated modern plug.

p.s. If you're looking for a schematic for your beast Schematic Heaven has a lot of info: http://www.schematicheaven.com/bargainbin.htm

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Yes. Replace cable and connect ground to chassis.

You talked me into a 3 wire cord. Doing it this weekend.

If you need someone to watch Conrad while you work on the amp. . .