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Family : Bobkat, Silhouette line

Other brands : H14 Bobkat was also sold as Airline 7250 | Barclay BA14 | Holiday AL9219

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Original catalog descriptions

[1966 catalog]
Solid body electric guitar
- Profile styled for beauty and ease of playing.
- Modern design and DeArmond electronics for speed and response, to give you what you want for today's music and playing style !
- With famous "Slim Line" neck, "Ultra Slim" fingerboards, and Torque Lok adjustable dual reinforcing rods. Short scale for easy chording.
model H14, single pickup
This new model is solid - solid in its making - and solid in its tone response and fun of playing. Its hardwood body and neck have Silhouette profile, in a shaded walnut wood finish wich lets the natural maple grain show through. Tuning keys are "6-in-line" type. 15 fret-clear ovalled ebonized fingerboard, making it easy to finger the highest notes. Other features include Golden Tone single pickup designed by DeArmond, tone and volume controls, slide switch for quick change rythm to take-off, adjustable bridge, chrome-plated cover plate. Connecting cord included.
H14, Size 12 3/4 x 36 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. : $64.50.
H14V - Same with No.1750 Type W vibrato tailpiece : $74.50
HC14 Carrying case for either model : $12.00

[1971 catalog]
Solid body electric guitar
- Modern design and GoldenTone electronics for speed and response, to give you what you want for today's music and playing style ! Pickups are fully guaranteed.
- Profile styled for beauty and ease of playing.
- With famous "Slim Line" neck, "Ultra Slim" fingerboards, and Torque Lok adjustable dual reinforcing rods. Short scale for easy chording.
H14 Bob Kat model, single pickup
This model is solid in its making and solid in tone and response and fun of playing. Its hardwood body and neck have Silhouette profile, in a shaded walnut wood finish wich lets the natural maple grain show through. Tuning keys are "6-in-line" type. 15 fret-clear ovalled ebonized fingerboard. Other features include Golden Tone single pickup, tone and volume controls, slide switch for quick change rythm to take-off, adjustable bridge, chrome-plated cover plate.
H14, Size 12 3/4 x 36 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. : $64.50.
H14V - Same with No.1750 Type W vibrato tailpiece : $74.50
HC14 Carrying case for either model : $12.00

Original price

  1967 : $64.50
  1969 : $64.50
  1971 : $64.50
  1972 : $66.50

Verified production year(s) : 1964-1971
others years possible, not verified.

6 comments | Add your comment !

• silvertone3 - 2006-01-15
  I have a red Airline H14 it had almost been butcherd by some kid at one time.Not hurt just sloppy paint and such a real mess.I paid 5 bucks for it on a garage sale with origanal case.I stripped the original finish and stained it light cherry with 10 hand rubbed coats of tung oil,added sealed tuners.The most interesting thing is the body.It's made of 5 pieces of wood, 3 strips glued together lengthwise for the main body and capped on both sides with maybe maple.It looks quite unique (in the nude) so to speak, I use it mainly for slide,seems like a pretty hot pickup and it sounds really fine tuned to standard.Definetly worth all of my 5 bucks!
• Bam Bam - 2006-03-11
  I own a mint condition H14 Bobkat, and I love it. It was given to me for free due to a split in the bridge wood. It collapsed onto the guitar, and was unplayable when I got it. I glued and clamped the bridge, re-installed it, set it up for intonation. It playes like a dream. The Dearmond pickups sound sweet(too bad for all the hum).
• anthonyz - 2006-08-14
  This was my first guitar - straight from the 1971 Sears catalog for my 10th birthday. I didn't want to burden my parents, so I got the cheapest electric they had. Later I continued to "trade up" until I got a '69 Telecaster in 1978. (That was a real guitar, and I'm sad I eventually sold it in '81.) Anyway, I had long since forgotten the old Sears guitar and was Googling like mad to find out what it was. Thanks to your site I now know.
• Kevin - 2006-12-29
  I purchased this guitar at a moving sale today for $25.00. Plays great! What a nice old guitar. The guy I bought it from said he got it when he was a kid about 40 years ago. The only date I can find is inside the fitted case written in ink, Oct. 19, 1965.
• rickenbacker325c - 2007-03-21
  I have an H14 bokat,I just got it from my brother in law.It had been hangingin in a bar for over 20 years.When I got it the floating bridge was missing due to the fact that there were no strings,the nut was also missing.Since then I have made a nut and bridge out of an old plastic kitchen cutting board and some super glue,suprisingly it turned out really good.This is only temporary though until I get the money to have it fixed.The date on the pickguard is june 4th 1964.It has two pickups(One was added),the stock one (the golden tone) works great nice sound.The added one is installed at the same angle as the stock pickup and is about and inch above it.It is not working.I am almost positive that it is a harmony (dearmond designed)pickup though.It is exactly the same size and mounts the same way(right on top of the pickguard) but this one is solid chrome.It is identical to the pickup on the h42 stratotone newport,and the h44 And many other of the stratotone family.Apparently it was called the "Hershey bar pickup"The pickup is stamped on the back "6/2/62"I know that it was added because it is a completly different pickup than the one that all h14 came with and the wiring was sloppy and it was cloth braided while the goldentone is gray rubber.If any body wants to buy the pickup...let me know.Im willing to get rid of it when I get a new pickguard made(the old one is cracked a little and seems very brittle,I'll keep it for the date of manufacture only).The body is in excelent shape,and the finish is also excelent.I cleaned it thoroughly(20 odd years of cigarette tar and gunk was caked on it,I think it actually formed a protective layer haha)and waxed it with some zymol(try this stuff it works wonders)automotive wax.The neck and Frets are also in great shape.the frets look brand new but they are original.The neck needs to be reset though,I put a baseball card in the neck pocket and reinstalled the neck and the action at the higher frets came down a bunch but there are a couple buzzy frets now past the 14th fret.I don't mind spending some dough on fixing it though because even with the homemade(cutting board bridge and nut) and with the bad neck angle,the tone is really cool.and the 3/4 neck is really sweet. For the infor on the extra "hershey bar pick up" I have,or if you have an extra bridge for an h14 let me know. rickenbacker325c@aol.com
• TheJetMedic - 2008-05-07
  My parents gave me a new Bobkat on my 16th birthday in 1967. It was a sunburst, single pickup. I played it for 2 years in a band, through a Silvertone piggyback amp. I am not sure why I ever got rid of it, but I'm looking for another one 40 years later. Actually bidding on one on eBay. If I win I'll provide an update. It carried my band as the rhythym guitar very nicely with great tone range. I wish I appreciated ownership then as much as I would now. - Jet