BY REFERENCE OF SERIAL NUMBERS. Serial numbers can be useful in determining the year of manufacture of a guitar or amp.

How do you date a guitar?

There should be a date on the neck and a date on the body. If those two dates match up, thats probably the exact date your guitar was built. If they dont, it could indicate that the guitars neck was replaced at some point, or that the guitar was built from spare parts and is not an original build.

How old is my guitar by serial number?

For US instruments, the serial number will start with a letter. That letter indicates the decade. The second character will usually be a number. That number indicates the specific year .That number indicates the specific year.S9 means 1979.E4 means 1984.N8 means 1998.Z5 means 2005.US11 means 2011.

How do I find out what year my guitar was made?

The serial number can be found in the sound hole of the acoustic or on the back of the headstock on electrics. In most cases**, the first two numbers of the serial number are the year of manufacture. For example, if your guitars serial number is 94000000, your guitar was made in 1994.

How can I tell how old my Fender guitar is?

The only way to try to find the date is to remove the neck from the body. If the year is unreadable, it can also be written on the body under the pickguard or in the cavity in which the pickups are. With Fenders from before 1955 you cannot use the serial numbers to determine the exact year of construction.

How can I tell how old my Gibson guitar is?

The 1st and 2nd indicate the year of manufacture for the 6 digit serial numbers which weve been using since 2000. Those beginning with 94: In 1994, Gibsons Centennial year, many instruments have a serial number that begins with 94 for the year, with the remaining 6 digits indicating the ranking number.

How do you know if a guitar is good?

Play all strings, up and down the neck. Try to tell if all the notes play well and sound good. Some guitars have dead frets meaning their neck has some defects (usually fixable), and some guitars resonate very well at some frequencies (notes) and poorly at others.

What do Fender Serial Numbers Mean?

Although a serial number is helpful for roughly determining the age of a guitar, this is often not the exact date. As a result of the overlap between years, Fender serial numbers are also not by definition chronological. In the past (we are talking about before 1976) the serial numbers were often randomly assigned.

How much does it cost to ship a guitar?

Most sources say the cost of shipping a guitar ranges from $100 to $150, which is close. Weve found this to be true if youre opting for one of the couriers cheaper options (i.e. the shipping options that take longer to deliver).

How do I know if my guitar is original?

2:369:10How to check a guitar before buying. - YouTubeYouTube

Why do guitars sound better with age?

Wood loses structure over time as water-soluble sugars that make up the woods cell walls (cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose) break down. This causes the wood to become lighter and more resonant, affecting the woods ability to hold moisture relative to humidity.

How do you read a guitar serial number?

The serial number of an acoustic is located on the label inside the sound hole of the guitar. All acoustic serial numbers begin with the letter A, and are followed by the two digit year prefix. The remaining digits indicate the sequential number of acoustics built to date.

How do you read a Fender amp serial number?

With 3 digits, the first digit is the last digit of the decade of the 20th century. The last two digits is the week of that year. At 4 digits, the first two digits are the year of the 20th century. Example: 606 6849 is 1968 week 49.