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.
161 to to 1 to 61 to 04701951 - 19520475 to 08401952 - 19530848 to 18971953 - 1954Also, 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 - 1963By mid-1954, Fender began using a universal serial number sequence for all its instruments.ĭepending on the era and model, the number can be found on either the front or back of the headstock. 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. Esquires, Broadcasters and Telecasters shared a serial number sequence, while the landmark Precision Bass had its own system.
There are certainly plenty of exceptions, so again, using serial numbers in conjunction with other dating methods is always the best bet.Click on the links here to jump directly to the serial number style that matches your instrument.The Early Years: 1950 - 1954In the early years, Fender serial numbers schemes were specific to the model. There's and that follows the evolution of the most popular Fender guitar of all.īelow we'll go into detail about the various serial number schemes employed by Fender as far back as 1950. 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. 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.For starters, there's the Reverb Price Guide which has thousands of entries with pictures and details on various guitars and other gear. Once you have the information you need, if you're interested in selling your Fender, you can use Reverb to get it in front of the largest audience of musicians in the worldDesign Changes and FeaturesPerhaps 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 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.
Features like bolt-on necks and pickups wired into the pickguard all helped the Fender factory churn out guitar after guitar, day after day.