Fender Date Codes
※ Download: Fender serial number lookup
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. Sorry, since I do not collect new Fenders, I don't really keep track of these things. Fender Dating — Written in Stone Fender Serial Number Lookup for Guitar and Bass Guitar Dating Leo Fender started building electric guitars back in 1950 and produced his first bass guitar a year later.
First, a foil sticker containing a 4-digit serial number was affixed to the chassis over the A23373. Z0 denotes 2000; Z1 denotes 2001, etc. These can definitely be useful in cases where no other numbers exist, but just tell when the pot itself was made.
serial number search - Fender began negotiations with several Japanese musical instrument distributors and reached an agreement with Yamano Gakki and to establish Fender Japan.
Serial 's DATING YOUR U. Most notably, PRODUCTION DATES have been penciled or stamped on the butt end of the heel of the neck of most guitars and basses, although there were periods when this was not consistently done 1973 to 1981, for example or simply omitted. Neck-dating can be useful in determining the approximate age of a guitar, but it is certainly not definitive because the neck date simply refers to the date that the individual component was produced, rather than the complete instrument. Given the modular nature of Fender production techniques, an individual neck may have been produced in a given year, then stored for a period of time before being paired with a body to create a complete guitar, perhaps, for example, in the following year. Therefore, while helpful in determining a range of PRODUCTION DATES, a neck date is obviously not a precisely definitive reference. Most specifications for a given Fender instrument model change little if at all throughout the lifetime of the model. While there have been periods of dramatic change—such as the transition periods between the Leo Fender years and the CBS years or the transition between the CBS years and the current ownership—most models are generally feature-specific and do not change from year to year. For years, SERIAL NUMBERS have been used in various locations on Fender instruments, such as the top of the neck plate, the front or back of the headstock and the back of the neck near the junction with the body. DATING CHARTS The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1950 to 1964. Notice that there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES Up to 6,000 1950 to 1954 Up to 10,000 1954 to 1956 10,000s 1955 to 1956 10,000s to 20,000s 1957 20,000s to 30,000s 1958 30,000s to 40,000s 1959 40,000s to 50,000s 1960 50,000s to 70,000s 1961 60,000s to 90,000s 1962 80,000s to 90,000s 1963 90,000s up to L10,000s 1963 L10,000s up to L20,000s 1963 L20,000s up to L50,000s 1964 Fender was sold to CBS in January 1965. The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1965 to 1976. Notice that there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES L50,000s up to L90,000s 1965 100,000s 1965 100,000s to 200,000s 1966 to 1967 200,000s 1968 200,000s to 300,000s 1969 to 1970 300,000s 1971 to 1972 300,000s to 500,000s 1973 400,000s to 500,000s 1974 to 1975 500,000s to 700,000s 1976 The charts below detail the most common Fender serial number schemes from 1976 to the present. Once again, there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. As seen in the overlap of numbers and years, even these references to actual PRODUCTION DATES are rather loose. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES 76 + 5 digits S6 + 5 digits 1976 S7 + 5 digits S8 + 5 digits 1977 S7 + 5 digits S8 + 5 digits S9 + 5 digits 1978 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits 1979 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits E1 + 5 digits 1980 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits E1 + 5 digits 1981 1982 saw the introduction of the U. The only way to definitively date U. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES EI + 5 digits E2 + 5 digits E3 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E2 + 5 digits E3 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E3 + 5 digits E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year CBS sold Fender in March 1985. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES E3 + 5 digits E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E4 + 5 digits E8 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E8 + 5 digits E9 + 5 digits V + 5 or 6 digits U. The numbers and decals were produced far in advance, and some N9 decals denoting 1999 were inadvertently affixed to some instruments in 1990. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year N0 + 5 digits N1 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 v U. Z0 denotes 2000; Z1 denotes 2001, etc. As always, there is typically some number prefix overlap and carryover from year to year. Only the seven-digit suffixes were actually entered into the database. These SERIAL NUMBERS did not identify the country of origin in the body of the number. Instead, the instrument's country of origin appears on the decal on the back of the headstock, near the serial number. The first two digits of the number identify the year of manufacture, 10 for 2010, 11 for 2011, etc. The following six digits are the unit identifier, although it should be noted that these final six numbers are not sequential and do not provide any other identification information about the instrument. This new scheme is now used on the majority of U. If you have what you consider an odd serial number, it might appear here. NUMBER DESCRIPTION AMXN + 6 digits California Series electric guitars and basses; 1997 and 1998 DN + 6 digits American Deluxe series instruments; 1998 and 1999 NC XXXXXX Squier® Strat Bullets dating unclear FN XXXXXX U. Some may have stayed in the U. LE XXXXXX Blonde Jazzmaster® and Jaguar® guitars with gold hardware made in 1994. SZ0 XXXXX -2000, SZ1 XXXXX -2001, SZ2 XXXXX -2002, etc. We highly recommend each of them. They are detailed reference resources with a wealth of information on determining the production years of various instruments and on Fender history in general. Indeed, we use these same books here at Fender when researching historical and date-related issues. You can order these titles through your local Authorized Fender Dealer. TITLE PART NUMBER U.
For the 2010s, the prefix is MX1. The bass lineup features Precision and Jazz basses including fretless versions of bothJaguars and Telecasters, with five-string and short-scale models featured in the range. Vintage Modified guitar models include Stratocasters, Telecasters, Jaguars, Jazzmasters and Mustangs. You can order these titles through your local Authorized Fender Dealer. The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1965 to 1976. Serial 's DATING YOUR U. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year E4 + 5 digits E8 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits U. SERIENUMMER BESCHRIJVING AMXN + 6 digits California Series electric guitars and basses, '97 en '98 DN + 6 digits American Deluxe serie instruments, '98 en '99 NC 6 digits Squier Strat Bullets dating unclear FN 6 digits US-made guitars and basses destined for export. fender serial number lookup © 2006-2015 All rights reserved. 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. Indeed, we use these same books here at Fender when researching historical and date-related issues.
