- Where Are Washburn Guitars Made
- Washburn Guitar Serial Number Decoder Numbers
- Washburn Guitar Serial Number Decoder Chart
Thankfully Takamine serial numbers are a little more straight forward than some other guitar companies.
Apr 18, 2014 I agree with Randy-I wish Washburn stuck with separate names for models, put the names on the truss rod covers or SOMEWHERE for many models and stuck with ONE serial number system. BTW Randy-I need your SN to put you as an owner of that white B-60 now. Heya Heisenbass-I have your SN up on your Force 8 BBR. (see post 231 here). Welcome to the Reverb Price Guide, the ultimate resource for music gear pricing and information. These price ranges utilize a combination of expert research, external market data, and real-time Reverb transactions to estimate the current value of items in used but original condition. From my research, your guitar was built at the Moridaira factory and is based on the Morris VX-45R. (Morris was a house brand of Moridaira.) And the VX-45R is also the same as, alas, the Washburn Eagle. Further proof is the silver serial-number sticker on the back of the headstock that appears to be unique to Morris models of that era. Enter Serial Number eg. The Epiphone serial number decoder currently supports 12 serial number formats from 25 factories. Vintage numbers from 1932 to 1970 are supported. Serial numbers from 70' and 80's era Epiphone guitars made in Japan are not supported. Locate the serial number on the headstock of the guitar. With Semi-Hollow models on the label inside the top f-hole and with acoustic guitars on the label inside the sound hole. It consists of a number of digits, often also in advance of one or two letters.
This article will look at what your Takamine serial number can tell you about your guitar and how to decode that number.
What They Can Tell You About Your Guitar
The main things that Takamine’s serial number tells you is the date your guitar was built – more specifically the month and the year – not the exact day.
It also tells you which number guitar produced your guitar was, during the particular month – i.e. the 1st guitar that month, the 22nd, the 1,000th etc.
This might give you some clue as to the day in the month it was made but not an accurate one – for example, if your guitar was the 5th built that month, then it was likely to be on one of the first days of the month. But for most, the exact day of build and the sequential number it was built in that month, isn’t that important anyway.
So, the main thing this serial number will tell you is finding out the month and year of build.
Where Can I Find the Serial Number?
Takamine serial numbers are typically found on the neck block (where the neck joins the body) on the inside of the body of the guitar.
Decoding Takamine Serial Numbers
Now we come the important part – decoding the serial number. Thankfully this is fairly straight forward when it comes to Takamine, though there are, as usual, a few extras.
There are a couple of different serial number systems depending on which model and depending on where they were made and distributed.
Pro Series Models
Takamine’s Pro Series (which is pretty much all of their series except for the G series) models follow an 8 digit serial number system.
The first 2 numbers represent the year of production.
The next 2 numbers represent the month of production.
The last 4 numbers represent the sequential order of that guitar for the month.
O.k. so pretty straight forward right. But let’s take a look at an example to make it really clear.
- Example serial number: 08040781
From our example serial number we can see that this guitar would have been built in 2008 (08), in April (04) and it was the 781st (0781) guitar built that month.
Said another way, this was the 781st Pro Series guitar that Takamine built in April of 2008.
However, this system is only relevant for up to the end of 2012 – after that they adopted a new system (see overseas models below).
G Series Models
O.k. did I say that Takamine’s serial number systems were straight forward – o.k. I might have lied, just a little.
The G series is the exception. There is no discernable system for G Series models. No decoding going on here, unfortunately.
Models Distributed in Japan
Note that Takamine is a Japanese guitar manufacturer (more on Takamine’s History).
Any models that were distributed in Japan, as opposed to internationally, used a slightly different serial number system. It’s still an 8 digit system and the 1st two digits still represent the year, the second two digits still represent the month, and the last 4 digits still represent the sequential order that the guitar was built in that month.
The difference is the first two digits for the year.
These digits represent the number of years since Takamine’s began in 1962.
For example, if the first two digits were “40” then that would represent 2002 (1962 + 40 years).
So, using an example: 41100035
This was the 35th (0035) guitar manufactured in October (10) of 2003 (41 – which is 1962+41)
Where Are Washburn Guitars Made
Japanese Made Models Distributed Overseas
Towards the end of 2012 models distributed overseas started to use the same serial number system as those that are distributed in Japan.
So, if your Takamine was built after 2012 you might see something like this: 51050213
This would represent the 213th (0213) guitar built in May (05) 2013 (1962+51 = 2013).
Thanks for Reading
Apart from the G Series models, Takamine’s serial number systems are fairly straightforward and easy to understand.
If you have a G Series guitar, you might want to contact Takamine to see what they can tell you about the guitar. Otherwise, you should be able to decipher the year, month and the sequence in that month that your guitar was built.
Any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
Image Credits
Colt delta elite production dates. By Alan Levine (Flickr: EST 1962) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Quote: Originally posted by Vestapol Is there something written that shows what the letters are of guitar serial numbers? I have never seen a public document that explains this. We have found out over the years that some of the letters stand for the factory where they are made (and the country if the same manufacturer is in multiple countries). Take my D34SCE Augusta for example.
1997 Carvin SC90 Electric Guitar in very good condition with light play wear on the front and back. There are some chips. Serial Number: 63612. Weight: 8 lbs. Carvin offers a 100 Dollar credit towards a replacement system, which are in the 638-698Mhz range(NEW), older is (700-800Mhz). You don't have to send in your old wireless. The credit applies to any owner not just the original owner. A serial number must be provided. Valid until Jan, 2013. Please call Carvin Sales at 800-854-2235.
It begins with SK, which I understand stands for Samick Korea, but my WD18SW begins with SI, or Samick Indonesia (Samick makes guitars for a lot of people - they're HUGE). My J56SW is made in China and also begins with a G, so my assumption is at this time that the G stands for the producer of these guitars. --- Jim Dirkes - aka Deacon Charleston, SC The Pack: 2005 Washburn J56SWNA Timbercraft 2005 Washburn D34SCE Augusta 2004 Washburn WD18SW 2004 Washburn NV100C Classical 1996 Washburn D46S Cheyenne The Rest: 2005 Epiphone Les Paul Classic 1981 Electra Phoenix X140N. As you can see, it could mean many things depending on the manufacturer. Alembic The first 2 numbers of the serial number correspond to the year it was built.
There may also be present a letter code designating a certain model. The latter digits indicate the individual instrument and its place in production.
American Archtops The digits after the dash in the serial number are the year that the guitar was made in. Tom Anderson The neck plate of each guitar has the date it was completed along with the letters A,N or P which stands for a.m., noon or p.m. Arpeggio Korina The first 2 numbers (they will have a space between them) are the year of manufacture, then a 0, then the production number for that year. Benedetto Benedetto archtops have a 4 or 5 digit serial number.the last 2 digits in the # are the year in which the instrument was made. The digits in front of the last 2 are the instruments place in production. G.S.Brandt The year is on the label inside of the guitar - you can also use a mirror to read the inside of the top of the guitar which is signed and dated. Breedlove On the label, inside of the guitar - the first two numbers of the serial number is the year the instrument was made.
Washburn Guitar Serial Number Decoder Numbers
The nanny torrent season 1. Buscarino The last two digits of the serial number is the year in which the guitar was made in. Campellone The first three digits of the serial number are the sequence of production - the next two are the month - the last two are the year in which the guitar was made. Carvin From 1964 thru 1968 Carvin Guitars Do Not Have serial numbers.then in 1970 they started off with number 5000.
Year Serial # 1970 5000 1980-1983 11,000 - 13,000 1983-1984 13,001 - 15,000 1985-1986 17,000 - 20,000 1988-1989 22,000 - 25,000 1989-1991 26,000 - 33,000 1992-? Citron The first two digits of the serial number is the month in which the guitar was made.the second two digits are the year in which the guitar was made. Collings The date is on the label on the inside of the guitar. Comins The date is on the label on the inside of the guitar. Charles Cote' Basses Before 1995 Charles Cote' Basses Do Not Have Serial Numbers.starting in 1995 each bass has a 5 digit serial #.the first 2 #'s are the year in which it was manufactured. The last three #'s are the sequence in manufacturing of that year.
Washburn Guitar Serial Number Decoder Chart
Danelectro Most Danelectro serial #'s have 4 digits. The first 2 are the week of completion.the last digit is the year. D'Angelico John D'Angelico built 1,164 guitars, all by hand.
The first few had no serial #'s. Looking at that list of manufacturers, the ones that have the most specific information are the custom/small shop builders or are companies that ahve been in continuous existence for many years. Of course Collings, Goodall, Langejans et al. Are going to have specific dates on their instruments. They are, for the most part, hand crafted instruments and are built in the US.