My "new" Silhouette

[D.K.]

Hi guys and gals!

Just wanted to share some pics of my new silo, quite a unique one, I'd dare say (actually, each MuMan is very unique and personal).

First, just the facts:

Body and electronics 1986, neck and assembly 1987
Schaller passive PUs
Schaller 3D6 roller bridge
Non-Locking Schaller tuners
finished neck
6 Bolt
The "Silhouette" inscription on the headstock does not have the typical "registered trademark" sign behind it.

Now some pics, if You please:

Well, my first impressions:

Judging by the looks, the body has been wrapped in barbed wire more than once - the body has literally hundreds of lacquer cracks in it. The picks really don't really do it justice, it's almost like a textured finish. I like it this way, though - it adds a lot of character to his baby. BTW, the actuall colour is actually the darker one on the pics, but with this orage-ish shine to it, when the sunlight hits the body.

Technically everything is in great shape. Stays in tune perfectly (I had my doubts about the bridge, but hey - Dudley and Big Poppa surely knew what to put on one of their first guitars). The finished neck feels quite different form the todays silo neck, though - if I closed my eyes, I'd say it's a strat neck I'm playing. In terms of comfort no strat comes close, however, those silos have been incredibly comfy right from the start!!!

The sound - oh, THIS sound! It's a bit different from the way today's SSH silo specials sound, probably because of the different body wood, and deffinitely due to the schaller the PUs. They are really quite sweet - single coils being very stratty, and the hum very 80's rock/metal oriented.

So, all in all: An incredible guitar, and a proof what a great company EBMM has been right from the start.

Please, if You know anything You want to add about this (or other) early silos, feel free to correct me or just join in!

Whoa, that was a long post

 

[rmh925]

Now that's classic...Very nice guitar congrats.

 

[DJ.]

Sweet axe!
Congrats

 

[Warg Master]

Wow, that looks SWEET!

 

[5Stringer]

DK that is awesome. Where in the world did you find it?

Dan

 

[D.K.]

The place, most of the used guitars go to one day or the other - ebay.com.

That sure looks like one of those very rare finds to me!

 

[brokenvail]

Great looking guitar man congratz! Do we know if modern silo's pickup cavaity have that open routing?

 

[jamminjim]

What a nice piece of history....really cool looking Silo. Nice find and purchase.

Do we know if modern silo's pickup cavaity have that open routing?

Yup, but it's a tad different... here ya go

 

[5Stringer]

Yes, they do. From the beginning, Silhouettes were designed to accept different pickup configurations - in fact, we used to offer them with HSH, HH, HSS, and SSS options.

Dan

 

[brokenvail]

That is cool, are SS' the same way except with less frets?

 

[5Stringer]

The Specials don't have a "swimming pool" rout, they have a more specific one that accomodates the HSS or SSS configurations only.

Dan

 

[banjoplayer]

sweet guitar, thanks for sharing !

 

[colinboy]

nice find.its definitely a keeper.

 

[Sweat]

Very unique guitar, would be interesting to try an older model, congrats.

 

[metal_terrorist]

Nice axe man. BTW - What's the big screw next to the bridge on the high E side? Looks almost like a trem bar mount but I'm pretty sure that's a hard tail.

 

[D.K.]

Nice axe man. BTW - What's the big screw next to the bridge on the high E side? Looks almost like a trem bar mount but I'm pretty sure that's a hard tail.

Thanks to all of You, guys, for great comments. This screw is there to set up the spacing between the rollers, as this bridge can be used with a great variety of necks

 

[5Stringer]

I spoke with Dudley, and he says it sure looks like an '87!

He thought the finish was Translucent Red, though hard to tell. I think so too, not being sure what else it could be, though it has obviously changed color over the years (too much time in a showroom window, perhaps?).

The body is ash, which also dates it because by 1989 we were using alder on all Trans Red bodies, but in the earliest days you could find poplar, alder or ash on just about any instrument body.

Dan

 

[D.K.]

Thanks a lot - now You don't know how much I appreciate Your interest in this guitar and Your and Dudley's help. Nice knowing it's an ash body - it's something one can not get on a silo those days. As for the colour - Translucent Red it surely is, I just didn't know that was an official colour back then.

(I actually have to keep telling myself it's not a rare collector's item, but a great sounding and playing guitar after all!)

One thing I'm not quite sure about, is the show room - it surely does feel and look played!

Now if I could only find the right allen key to adjust the rollers' height a little - today's MuMan hex keys don't fit it. According to Schaller's website those bridges are now equipped with an M3 screw - but was it the same in the year 1986 ?

 

[5Stringer]

not sure if we have any old Schaller tools laying around in a dusty corner - but if it is a hex size, then it should be metric as it was made in Germany. Perhaps a set of multiple metric wrenches would yield the right fit. If not, let me know, and I will see what I can find out.

Dan

 

[D.K.]

Thanks, I'll keep You informed - and new pictures are coming, too