In the early 1960s, Silvertone, Danelectro, or Sears & Roebuck (it is unknown whose idea it was), decided to capitalise on the increasing popularity of guitars and began offering an all-in-one package for the entry-level guitarist. The package included a guitar, a case with a built-in amplifier, cord, pick, chord charts, and a how - to - play 45 rpm record - everything a beginner would need to get started. Five different variations of this package were available, including options for single- or double-pickup guitars, 3- or 5-watt amplifiers, and onboard tremolo.
This package was quite appealing during the guitar boom of the 1960’s and the Danelectro Amp-In-Case, properly known as Solid-body Electric Guitar with "All-in-one" Amplifier-Case or Silvertone 1448/1449/1451/1452/1457 was built in substantial quantities from 1962 to 1968.
The amplifier is built into the top-half of the hard-shell guitar case. The first one, the 1448 series, was a simple 3-watt amplifier with 2 tubes plus 1 tube rectifier, 5-inch speaker, and gain control. When first introduced in 1962, the 3/4-sized guitar had a double cutaway semi-hollow body in a shape similar to the well known Fender Stratocaster. The body was composed of a poplar center block and frame with Masonite top and back. It came with a single lipstick pickup at the "middle" position, controlled by a volume and tone knob. The poplar neck was fitted with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, and only had 18 frets. The neck connected to the body with three bolts.
This guitar was owned by english guitarist, singer, and songwriter Alain Whyte. He is famous for being Morrissey's main songwriting partner since 1991 and his lead guitarist from 1991-2004. Alain has more than 81 know songwriting credits with Morrissey and of Morrissey's 40 currently released singles, Whyte has written 16. Since Alain joined Morrissey in 1991, Morrissey has released 29 singles giving Whyte the credit for writing over half of Morrissey's singles since that time.
This guitar was heavily used during the Morrissey "Maladjusted" era for songwriting.
