Identifying silvertone lap steel

Matthew Hargis · From: Oklahoma, USA

I was given this silvertone lap steel by a friend yesterday. He said its from the 1950s. I haven't found any pictures of a 1950s silvertone with this exact bridge/pickup combo. The tuners are in much better condition than the rest of the guitar, so probably aftermarket. Anyone mind shedding some light on this steel?

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

It looks like a Silvertone Model 1311 from around 1958-9. Manufactured by Valco of Chicago, you should be able to determine the exact year of manufacture if there's a small metal plate with a serial number on the back of the neck near the nut.

The tuners are almost certainly replacements - these usually used Kluson tuners with a plastic tuner button.

I hope you enjoy the steel!
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Matthew Hargis · From: Oklahoma, USA

Thank you sir!

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

That looks just like my old beloved Silvertone.
It originally had Kluson deluxe Tuners with gold sparkle translucent buttons. They were starting to crack so I replaced them with inexpensive enclosed tuners. It had a Valco pickup with fantastic tone and output!

The volume and tone original bakelite knobs also were crumbling, so I replaced them too (See Photo)

I sold it only because I wanted more than six strings.

Did yours come with the original case?

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