I had one of those guitar nerd moments today. I found a site that takes the serial number of certain guitar manufacturers and spits out a little bit of info about said guitar.
I gave it my Les Paul Custom’s serial number and it gave me this:
Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
September 18th, 1978
Production Number: 27Gibson: Nashville
Gibson’s Nashville plant was opened in Tennessee 1974. All electric models and some acoustic models currently made at this factory. This facility has an average production rate of 220 guitars a day. Each guitar is built by hand and takes about 4 to 6 weeks to complete. Note: Most hollow and semi-hallow body guitars are made at a separate plant in Memphis Tennessee. This facility has an average production rate of 40 guitars a day.
I then gave it my ES-335 Pro and it gave me a somewhat underwhelming response:
Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Kalamazoo Plant, USA
December 5th, 1979
Production Number: 127
That’s it, eh? Okay. Kalamazoo!
I then gave it my Stratocaster:
Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Corona Plant (Fender), USA
in the Year(s): 2000 – 2001Fender: Corona
Corona factory was opened in 1985, Corona California, with major guitar production starting in 1987. With the addition of a custom shop in 1987 the plant currently employs about 700 workers. Apart from general and Custom Shop Fender instruments and amplifiers, it also encompasses Guild acoustic & electric guitars.
Now, I knew the years for the two Gibsons. At that time the first and fifth digit in the serial number combined to form the last two digits of the year. The Les Paul is 7nnn8nnn or something. The 335 is 7nnn9nnn or something. Get it?
As for the Fender, I had no idea. I started my Google search with a Fender Q&A page that gave the serial number/date of manufacture breakdown. My guitar’s serial number starts with Z0. The Zn format means it was made between 2000 and 2009, and the 0 represents the last digit of the year. Z0 means 2000.
Having said that, Fenders are modular assembly line deals. Gibsons are hand made works of art. For a Fender, the year from the serial number does not necessarily represent the date of manufacture. Each component has it’s own serial number, and it’s possible that each component on a specific guitar could have been made in a different year. But the 2000 is close enough for me.
It was already weird owning a Fender, but somehow it’s even weirder owning a guitar that was not built in the 1970’s, or even the 20th century!
Inside the Red Head's Head 