Guitar serial database

The external characteristics of the guitar are also crucial to determining its decade of manufacture. The answer is out there somewhere. I strongly recommend joining guitar blogs and forums as many experts can help you. I have seen some guitars on craigslist sell for more than the asking price, merely on speculation of what they might be worth. So, how do you decide how much your guitar is worth?

There are a few things you need to consider when pricing your guitar. The most critical factors are rarity, condition, and demand. Guitars with a big name brand attached to them, such as Fender Stratocasters or Gibson Les Paul, usually sell for higher prices.

This is because these brands tend to define the quality of the instrument, and many people want to own one. However, some brands are considered just as good if not better than the biggest guitar names. There are many different ways to value a guitar. The most common way is to look at similar guitars that have been sold recently and use that as a guide.

Nonetheless, the best way to determine how much your guitar is worth is to find out the history yourself. Poor — It has cracks, chips, and worn-out parts. Fair — It is still playable, but has some cracks, chips, or worn out parts.

The sound quality may be poor or average, depending on the damage. There are probably some repairs that need to be completed. Good — It can still play well enough even though there may be some body or hardware chips and dings.

The sound quality is usually pretty good. General wear and tear issues only. Excellent — There is no damage to any part of the guitar. The sound quality is excellent and has been cared for throughout its life. The most common way to spot a fake digit is to find an inconsistency between the numbers and letters. Another giveaway can be discrepancies in the spacing or alignment of the numbers and letters.

Remember that not all inconsistencies are definitive proof of a fake number. Sometimes there can be legitimate variations in serial numbers from one guitar to the next. They also have a duty to make sure you buy the real thing. They will be able to inspect it for any markings or identifying features that can confirm authentic guitars.

A genuine authorized dealer will not sell you a fake. The Hawaiian-styled guitar was named the EH Shortly after that came the Spanish design ES It immediately becomes a huge hit with Jazz orchestras and bands around the United States. They purchase the company and fit the demand.

During this time Gibson acquired the recording talents of a ceratin Les Paul. Les Paul sales hit the ground running so Gibson decided to expand on their Les Paul arsenal.

The Junior, Special, Standard, and the Custom hit the stores shortly after It quickly becomes popular in the market. The hugely successful ES was born. Three more outrageous designs were brought to the forefront with the Flying V, the Explorer, and the Moderne.

These designs were seen as commercial disasters. So naturally, Gibson added to the family with the double-cutaway SG models and the classy Firebirds from Further innovating guitars were Further impressive innovations were produced in With various B.

King models and Chet Atkins solid body acoustics An automatic tuning unit is fitted on the rear of the headstock. Four new species of pickups including the Sidewinder.

Undercut Fret binding for quicker fingers. A Tektoid nut and Cryogenic treated fret wire for longer playing time. Here is a summary of the serial number, model, and year. To gain the best results use our decoder above.

A variation of letters was used to decipher the early production of Kalamazoo, MI Gibson guitars. Some serials were only 3 digits long. The Serial process from was clearer. Other notable variations from this time period are a 5 character serial number starting with a number, then a space, and 4 digits. The first letter in this sequence is the year. A 6 digit serial number is solid-bodied guitars produced from the years: , , , or The first number is the year.

As always, to receive the best possible information available, be sure to type your serial info into our decoder above. But in reality, left us with more of a headache. Without this list becoming too much of a mess, here are the serial numbers within this nine-year period. Enter your full serial details into our decoder to get a much closer idea of the production year:. Unfortunately, this is where we start to cross over. Yet you may come across these serial numbers between Finally during the late seventies right up to Gibson gave us by far the best method of working out our serial number.

July saw the 8 digit serial system replaced by another digit. The stamp number in silver below starts at and ends at Once it reaches , the next guitar stamp goes back to In the serial number information was changed yet again. The number of digits was changed to 9 in total. The batch number, day number were completely done away with leaving a very simple method.

The first two digits are the year, and the next 7 digits are the serial number. As always, use our decoder to find out the guitar in question. The first two digits are the year, the last digit specifies the type of guitar.

At this time we have scattered information regarding CS Custom Shop serial coding. The closest most notable information is as follows. Serials beginning with CS05 are from Memphis CS15 is At this point it is still unclear what the CS10 number is. Some important information will be printed or embossed as usual on the rear of the headstock or inside the body on a label.

These particular models do not have serial numbers on the back of the headstock. Limited edition Gibsons such as the serial number PAGE xxx, are signature guitars from great players over the years. Here are more. As always, pop them into the decoder for a clearer idea of the legendary player in question.

Lee has been playing guitar for over 25 years. In the s he made a few TV appearances in London and supported and few big bands at festivals. Lee is the founder of Authority Guitar , a site where he wants readers to enjoy every aspect of learning the guitar. I had never really thought about the fact that the head stock says deluxe but the truss rod cover and the rest of the body is a standard. The luthier that changed out the pickups a few years ago of course I still have the originals thought that it must have been routed out for standard pickups until he noticed the overspray in the holes and verified it was built like this originally.