- #VINTAGE MARTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBERS#
- #VINTAGE MARTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBER#
So, for example, let?s take the serial number 80351045. The PPP represents the factory the guitar was made in and the number of production.The DDD is the day of the year that the guitar was made.The YY represent the year the guitar was made.This is an 8 digit system and follows the format YDDDYPPP. Not sure why these numbers were used, but at least it was uniform! Serial #įinally, in 1977 a much more logical serial number system was introduced.
#VINTAGE MARTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBERS#
These serial numbers started with either ?96?00? or ?06? with the 96 representing 1975, the 00 representing 1976 and 06 representing 1977. Some serial numbers also used a letter (just because?) NUMBER To make matters even more confusing, there wasn?t really an order for these serial numbers ? so you could have something from 1975 that started with a 1 and something from 1972 that started with a 9. The biggest telling factors for guitars from this period, as opposed to the guitars from 1961 to 1969 is the ?Made in U.S.A? that can be found on guitars from 1970 onwards.Ħ Digit Serial numbers were still used so a lot of the same numbers were also used on 1960s models.
It didn?t get any less confusing during this time either. This was pretty poorly done though (IMO) and meant that some serial numbers were reused so a certain serial number could be from a guitar from different years. YearĪ new system, introduced in 1961, was made to cover all of the instruments in Gibson?s line (not just acoustic guitars). The first guitar in this new system was A 100 which was in April of 1947. The new system used a letter to prefix the numbers. Once the serial numbers hit 99999, Gibson decided to change to a new system, rather than go into 6 digits. The first serial number for acoustic guitars was 100. The serial numbers shown represent the approximate last serial number for that year. The chart below shows the year that relates to the serial number. Guitars were just given the next available number. The following serial numbers apply just to acoustic guitars.ĭuring this period, the system was actually relatively simple. O.k., let?s take a look at the different time periods of serial numbers from Gibson Guitars. Good question ? and the answer is simply that the serial number system used up until 1977 wasn?t the easiest or most reliable system ? so you may not be able to accurately determine anything about your guitar using the serial number alone. so why discuss all these other aspects, when this post is supposed to be about serial numbers! Things such as tuners, capstans, plates can also give you clues ? though remember that an older instrument could have had these items replaced so it?s not a definite clue.These were starting to be added in 1969 ? so if your instrument didn?t have them then it?s likely to be pre-1969 Volutes: Extra bits of wood carved into the headstock where it meets the neck.You can also use other features to help identify the time period of your instrument. This can help determine if your guitar was from the 1960s or 1970s (some guitars during those 2 decades had the same serial number). Made in USAįrom 1970 onwards a ?Made in U.S.A? was engraved below the serial number. Gibson?s logo has been largely unchanged since 1947 but before that time the logo changed a bit, so you can use that to help identify the era your guitar was built.
There are some other ways you can get an idea of the age of your Gibson. In some cases, in fact, only FONs were used and there was no serial number (this was mainly for early low-end models).įON?s (and serial numbers) on Gibson guitars are usually found either on the inside of the back of the guitar (inside the sound hole) or on the back of the headstock).įON?s were used from 1902 to 1961. In addition to serial numbers older Gibson guitars also had Factory Order Numbers (FONs) imprinted.
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