Translation

※ Download: Dg standard dating

Vintage reissue and custom shop models use a different serial number format. Guitars with no label are usually lower end instruments or are a solidbody guitar! Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 157315 Gaming Gaming or video game related.

Gibson began to develop professional quality flat top instrument in the 1930's. Various serial number systems were used by Gibson, and often the same serial number could be used in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Vintage Guitars Info - Gibson collecting vintage gibson guitars Vintage Guitars Info's Gibson Vintage Guitar General Info, Specs, and Serial Numbers.

Dating Fender Guitars - Most Gibsons have some sort of body binding.

The most important thing to keep in mind when dating a Fender is the highly modular nature of the designs. Like Henry Ford, part of Leo Fender's genius was in optimizing the company's production efficiency. His guitars were built en masse by an entire factory, not a single luthier toiling over one instrument at a time. Features like bolt-on necks and pickups wired into the pickguard all helped the Fender factory churn out guitar after guitar, day after day. This also means that various parts used on a particular guitar may have come from different points in time, so no single number can absolutely define when the instrument was built. Instead, the best approach to dating a Fender is to combine indicators from the design of the instrument, the dates found on the neck and body, along with the serial number. Design Changes and Features Perhaps the best place to start when dating your Fender is to get an approximate idea of the era based on the instrument's design and components. This can be a tall order for someone less versed in guitar history, but we do have some resources here on Reverb to help you out. Some browsing around the can definitely help you find which model you have. We also have some other blog posts related to Fender that can hopefully be of some help. There's and that follows the evolution of the most popular Fender guitar of all. Similarly, take a look at for general timeline of the history of everyone's favorite offset guitar. For Fender during the turning point era of the mid-'60s, check out Body and Neck Dates Through much of Fender's production history, Fender workers would print or write a production date on both bodies and necks where the two pieces meet. These dates will tell when the original part was manufactured, but are not exact indicators of when the guitar was actually put together and finished. Here is what the neck date and body date look like from a 1952 Telecaster: If you're not comfortable removing the neck of a guitar to peek at the date marker, I encourage you to take it to a local tech or luthier. I will also mention briefly pot-codes as a resource numbers on the internal potentiometers of the guitar. These can definitely be useful in cases where no other numbers exist, but just tell when the pot itself was made. Who knows how long it was waiting in the Fender factory before finding its way into a Tele? Serial Numbers Like the body and neck dates, using serial numbers to date a Fender is not a sure bet. At many points in Fender's history, serial number usage overlapped again owing to the modular manner of production. Below we'll go into detail about the various serial number schemes employed by Fender as far back as 1950. There are certainly plenty of exceptions, so again, using serial numbers in conjunction with other dating methods is always the best bet. Esquires, Broadcasters and Telecasters shared a serial number sequence, while the landmark Precision Bass had its own system. In this early period, the serial number can be found on the bridge of the instrument see image. Here are the rough serial number ranges for the early Esquires and Telecasters: 161 to 357 1951 299 to 619 1952 0001 to 0160 1952 0161 to 0470 1951 - 1952 0475 to 0840 1952 - 1953 0848 to 1897 1953 - 1954 Also, for the first half or so of 1954, the inaugural run of Stratocasters had a distinct number sequence all under number 6000. Classic Serial Numbers - 1954 - 1963 By mid-1954, Fender began using a universal serial number sequence for all its instruments. At this time, the location of the serial number also shifted from the bridge to the neckplate the metal plate located on back of where the neck meets the body. Here the range of the L-series serial used each year. These are generally referred to as F series due the large Fender branded F on the neckplates of the era. Depending on the era and model, the number can be found on either the front or back of the headstock. After a short period of overlap with the old system, the post-76 numbers will start with a letter that indicates the decade, followed by a number that indicates the year of that decade. For example, a serial number with N4 would be from 1994. One starting with Z5 would be from 2005. This scheme is not 100% consistent due to a number of production factors, such as Fender producing more serialized decals than needed in a given year. This is particularly pronounced in the transitional period of the mid-'80s, though the system has been pretty much on point since about 1990. These have serial numbers starting with V and do not strictly correlate to years. The neck dates on these guitars, however, are usually reliable. Made in Japan Fender Serials Fender Japan serial numbers can usually be found on the back of the neck near the neck joint. Though examples also exist with the number on the headstock or the neck-plate in the case of certain early reissue models. Made in Mexico Fender Serials Fender opened a factory in Ensenada, Mexico in the late '80s and instruments started coming off the line in 1990. As mentioned above, many reissue models use serial numbers that don't really correlate to their age. Additionally, there have been plenty of artist models, limited editions and other rare models that use a unique serial number. Again, the serial number alone in any of these cases is not definitive and the best approach is to combine that with other methods like the neck and body dates, as well as just the features of the specific instrument. If you have any questions as to what Fender you're dealing with, I encourage you to seek out a local guitar shop or luthier to help figure it out.

"Esprit Manouche", 05 - Swing Gitan - Gypsy jazz
This was short lived though. Copyright 1995-2004 all rights reserved. During the late 1950's, the red ainline used in their sunburst finishes often faded. Discontinued all models except L-5 by 1927. The Aztecs consumed few domesticated animals like Xolos or turkey. Vintage reissue and custom shop models use a different serial number format. Made in Mexico Fender Serials Fender opened a factory in Ensenada, Mexico in the late '80s and instruments started coming off the line in 1990. In 1955 Gibson forgot to reset their serial number back to 5 0001.