1. Fender Mustang Iii Serial Number
2. Fender Mustang Serial Number
3. Fender Bass Mustang Serial Number
4. Guitar Values By Serial Number
5. Fender Mustang Serial Number Lookup

Creating your Fender® FUSE™ account not only gets you access to the Fender® FUSE™ Amplifier Online Community, but also gets you access to redeem authorization serial numbers for the third party software that is included with your amplifier. Apr 29, 2012  What I don't understand is the serial number. I wanted to date the guitar so I researched serial numbers from Fender Japan. My Mustang's serial number indicates it was made in circa 1994, which I found shocking, and I can't believe it. It begins with T and is followed by a 6 digit number beginning with 0, if this helps. General specifications, serial numbers, Fender vintage guitar cases. 01 = Precision Bass; 02 = Jazz Bass; 04 = Mustang Bass; 08 = Telecaster Deluxe; 09 =. From 1950 until 1976, Fender guitar serial numbers ran up into the 700,000s, with some overlap between years. From 1976 until 2009, serial numbers started with an S, E, N or Z, depending on the decade of production. From 2010, serial numbers begin with US and the final two digits of the year of production. Keep Learning. 1968 Mustang VIN and Data Plate Decoder Sheet Post navigation ← 1966 Mustang VIN and Data Plate Decoder Sheet 1968 Mustang Wiring Diagrams and Vacuum Schematics →.

Copyright 2010, Vintage Guitar Magazine

This article updates information from research started in 1995 and most recently published in 2002.The progress of this type of work is slow, hence the long hiatus, however, a lot of new data have been collected regarding Fender amplifiers, including production numbers.Advances have been made with regards to the production of 1960-67 tolex amps and it appears that much of this information can be applied to late 1950s tweed amps as well. In addition, the dating-by-serial number tables have been revised and are more accurate.That’s the good news.The bad news is that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done on the silverface amps.

Unfortunately, there is some sad news to report as well.Fellow Fender amp researcher, Greg Huntington, passed away June 5, 2007 after losing his battle with cancer.Greg kept his illness very private, even from this author.His passing is a great loss to this research team and the Fender amp aficionado community in general.Greg was passionate about Fender amps and his knowledge, insight and humor will be missed very much.

Paul Linden has volunteered to fill in for Greg.Paul worked with Greg on their small box brown Twin myth busting research and is extremely knowledgeable about Fender amps in general with a specialization in the brown and blonde amps.

Since 2002, more interesting factoids of interest have surfaced and are presented here.

Caveat emptor!Interest in vintage Fender amps really took hold about 8-10 years ago.As a result, there are a lot of amps out there that may look original, but are not.Yes, just as with vintage Fender guitars that get the “partocaster” treatment, Fender amps are suffering the same fate.There are some bad guys out there selling Fender amps of dubious origins, so it’s important to get this info into the public domain.Some things are very obvious such as non-original or reconed speakers, non-original transformers, replaced pots, re-tweed, re-tolex, re-grill, etc. and these changes are often disclosed and of a non-malicious nature.But other changes may be meant to deceive.

Other things to look for include chasses placed in cabinets from a different year, “doctored” tube charts, non-original control plates (usually reproductions) on silverface amps, original transformer bell ends (they have correct date codes, of course) on non-original transformers, and non-original knobs (either repro or silverface knobs on blackface amps).These modifications are making this research more difficult for a couple of reasons.First, the parts that don’t make sense must be reconciled and second, shady sellers aren’t disclosing or allowing close scrutiny of their amps (for obvious reasons).The bottom line is to do your homework or enlist the aid of an expert.

Do you have a silverface Twin Reverb Amp or Dual Showman Reverb Amp with the serial number A23373?A lot of people do and here’s a plausible explanation based on the evidence.Sometime in 1970, Fender ordered a bunch of Twin Reverb/Dual Showman Reverb chasses from their supplier.The machine that stamped the serial number into the back of the chassis got stuck on number A23373 and a lot of pieces were stamped with this number.It would have been very costly to destroy these units so two remedies were implemented.First, a foil sticker containing a 4-digit serial number was affixed to the chassis over the A23373.Unfortunately, these often peeled off or were removed by the amp’s owner thus revealing the A23373 number.The second thing that was done was the addition of another number stamped into the chassis as a suffix to the A23373 serial number, e.g. A23373-155.

So how many of these chasses were made?Well, for the 4-digit serials affixed on a foil sticker, numbers as low as 0127 and has high as 3765 have been observed.Assuming they were all used sequentially and starting at 0100, there would be around 3700 non-master volume silverface Twin Reverbs and Dual Showman Reverbs out there.The amps that received the stamped suffix must also be added to this sub-total.The lowest suffix observed to date is A23373-39 and the highest is A23379-2916.Assuming the suffixes started with -01 and went to -3000, there would be around 3000 of these floating around.Of course, this is all hypothetical, but still plausible.

In addition to A23373, it appears the stamping machine stuck on serial number A23378 as four distinct amps with this number has been reported.Could it be the machine also got stuck on A23374, -75, -76, and -77?These have not been observed or reported so the answer remains unknown.

Fender had a big transitional year for their amps in 1960.The tweed amps were being phased out and the brown/blonde amps were introduced.Although there are always strange amps from any era (tweed, brown/blonde, blackface, silverface), more changes probably occurred in 1960 than any other year.A lot of unusual things can be found such as the empty “Pulse Adjust” hole on the rear of early ’60 brown amps, the “middle” volume control, use of tweed style grill cloth, strange non-documented transitional circuits, and changes in tolex color including the super-rare cream colored “brown” tolex that is found on some late ’60 amps.

But changes took place in 1961 as well.This was the first year for the blonde 6G9 Tremolux.The first Tremolux (6G9) used 6BQ5 power tubes and later in the year, the 6L6GC-equipped Tremolux (6G9-A) took its place.That’s common knowledge.To make things more interesting, there were two versions of the 6G9 6BQ5 circuit.The earliest version had 12 coupling caps.The best estimate is that about 100 of these were made before the circuit was revised.The revised amp had 14 coupling caps and there may have been upwards of 150 made.Since these amps are so rare, it is impossible to comment on the technical or tonal differences between the two circuits.

Another anomaly was observed in 1961 with the 6G6-A Bassman.It seems that some of these amps were fitted with an output transformer from the blonde Twin Amp during the autumn of ’61.These examples all have the GZ34 rectifier tube (as found in the 6G6), yet the tube charts are 6G6-A.The 6G6-A lost its rectifier tube in favor of solid state rectification and its 1x12 8-ohm speaker in favor of a 2x12 4-ohm cabinet in December ’61.However, on the very first examples of this amp made in December ’61 and the first half of January 1962, Fender didn’t change one very important item – the output transformer.

Rather than waste those 8-ohm output transformers in stock from previous 6G6 production, Fender used them up on the first 6G6-A with 4-ohm speaker cabinets.Yes, Fender went with a deliberate mismatch, not unlike the 3x10 brown Bandmasters that shipped with 8-ohm output transformers.Very few of these were and those who own one of these oddballs can either be happy with the fact that it is a rare amp or be sad that the mismatched impedance means the amp is less efficient.Regardless, it is still a good sounding amp so that’s all that counts.

And now for an important update!The following charts are the revised dating tables for Fender tube amps.The revisions were made based on data collected since the tables were initially published.Some tables changed very little and others changed quite a bit.Unfortunately, good dating information for silverface amps from the 1970s is still lacking and that’s why there isn’t much new information for amps made from 1972-76.For some reason, folks are willing to poke their head into tweed, blonde, brown and blackface amps, but not into silverface amps.Perhaps the collectability of these more recent models, though still climbing, isn’t at a high enough level to generate the interest.Without date codes from transformers, pots and/or speakers, it’s not possible to predict amp dates by serial number.

Eventually, the hope is to have enough info for a more detailed breakdown on the B series, A+6 digit and F+6 digit series.For now, the dating schemes for these series are:

A6 + 5-digits – 1976-77

A7 + 5-digits – 1977-78

A8 + 5-digits – 1978-79

A9 + 5-digits – 1979-80

B + 5-digits – 1975, 1976

F9 + 5-digits – 1979-80

F0 + 5-digits – 1980-81

F1 + 5-digits – 1981-82

F2 + 5-digits – 1982-83

F3 + 5-digits – 1983-84

F4 + 5-digits – 1984

Finally, these tables are only a guide.There will be amps with serial numbers that lie outside of the listed ranges.This is no different with published dating tables for vintage Fender guitars and basses.For better or worse, this concept is common to this endeavor.

Bandmaster 5C7, 5D7 (tweed)

0001 to 0800 – 1953

5000 to 5600 – 1954

Bandmaster 5E7 (tweed)

S00001 to S00600 – 1955

S00500 to S01200 – 1956

S01200 to S01800 – 1957

S01800 to S02500 – 1958

S02500 to S03700 – 1959

Bandmaster 5G7, 6G7 (brown)

The same year, a remix of the song was used as the background for a commercial. References [ ] • External links [ ] • at This -related article is a. In 2010 the song was sampled by American rapper on the track 'Too Fake', which was produced by Xaphoon Jones and features American band. 'Too Fake' by from the album Released March 16, 2009 ( 2009-03-16) Format Length 4: 11 (radio/single edit) 4:07 (album version) Benjamin Grubin singles chronology ' Too Fake' (2009) 'Learn to Lose' (2009) ' Too Fake' is a single by American band, released in 2009. Big sean too fake download.

00001 to 01750 – 1960

Bandmaster 6G7, 6G7-A (blonde)

01750 to 02400 – 1960

02300 to 05200 – 1961

52000 to 57000 – 1962

57000 to 59400 – 1963

Bandmaster AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00590 to A01700 – 1963

A01700 to A07700 – 1964

A07700 to A17000 – 1965

A16000 to A22000 – 1966

A19700 to A27000 – 1967

Bandmaster AB763, AC568 (silverface)

A26000 to A29000 – 1967

A28500 to A35000 – 1968

A33000 to A34000 – 1969

A34000 to A46000 – 1970-72

Bandmaster Reverb AA768, AA1069, AA270, TFL5005 (silverface)

A30500 to A35000 – 1968

A35000 to A45000 – 1969

A45000 to A49000 – 1970

A49000 to A54000 – 1971

A54000 to A58000 – 1972

A58000 to A66000 – 1973

A66000 to A76000 – 1974

A76000 to A79000 – 1975

A79000 to A80000 – 1976

Bassman 5B6 (tweed)

0001 to 0350 – 1951 (TV front)

0250 to 0400 – 1952 (Wide panel)

0400 to 0650 – 1953 (Wide panel)

Bassman 5D6, 5D6-A (tweed)

0001 to 0100 – 1954

0100 to 0900 – 1955

Bassman 5E6, 5E6-A (tweed)

BM00200 to BM00550 – 1955

BM00550 to BM01200 – 1956

BM01200 to BM01600 – 1957

Bassman 5F6, 5F6-A (tweed)

BM00001 to BM00450 – 1957

BM00450 to BM01500 – 1958

BM01500 to BM03100 – 1959

BM03100 to BM04600 – 1960

Bassman 6G6, 6G6-A, 6G6-B (blonde)

BP00100 to BP01100 – 1961

BP01100 to BP05100 – 1962

BP05100 to BP08400 – 1963

BP08400 to BP12200 – 1964

Bassman AA864, AA165, AB165 (blackface)

A00100 to A03800 – 1964

A03800 to A15000 – 1965

A15000 to A25000 – 1966

A24000 to A33300 – 1967

Bassman AB165, AC568, AA270, AA371 (silverface)

A33300 to A40000 – 1967

A39000 to A49000 – 1968

A48000 to A58000 – 1969

A58000 to A60000 – 1970

A59000 to A64000 – 1971

Bassman 50 (silverface)

A62000 to A67000 – 1972

A67000 to A70000 – 1973

Bronco AB764 (silverface)

A19000 to A21000 – 1967

A21000 to A26000 – 1968

A26000 to A28500 – 1969

A28500 to A29000 – 1970

A29000 to A32000 – 1971

A32000 to A35000 – 1972

A33000 to A40000 – 1973

A40000 to A42000 – 1974

A42000 to A51000 – 1975

Champion 800 (tweed)

01 to 1000 – 1948-49

Champion 600 5B1 (tweed)

01 to 1300 – 1948-49

1300 to 1700 – 1950

1700 to 4200 – 1951-52

Champ 5C1, 5D1 (tweed)

4200 to 6600 – 1953

6600 to 8000 – 1954

8000 to 9300 – 1955

Champ5E1, 5F1 (tweed)

C00001 to C00800 – 1955

C00800 to C03100 – 1956

C03100 to C06000 – 1957

C06000 to C08900 – 1958

Fender Mustang Iii Serial Number

C08900 to C12400 – 1959

C12400 to C15400 – 1960

C15400 to C17200 – 1961

C17200 to C19800 – 1962

C19800 to C21000 – 1963

C21000 to C22900 – 1964

Champ AA764 (blackface)

A00100 to A02000 – 1964

A02000 to A05100 – 1965

A05100 to A11200 – 1966

A11200 to A12500 – 1967

Champ AA764 (silverface)

A12500 to A14600 – 1968

A14600 to A17800 – 1969

A17800 to A30000 – 1970

A30000 to A32000 – 1971

A32000 to A35000 – 1972

A32000 to A42000 – 1973

A42000 to A50000 – 1974

A50000 to A63000 – 1975

A63000 to A85000 - 1976

Concert 5G12, 6G12, 6G12-A (brown)

00001 to 02400 – 1960

02300 to 04900 – 1961

52000 to 57000 – 1962

56000 to 59300 – 1963

Concert AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00400 to A00900 – 1963

A02100 to A08500 – 1964

A08500 to A09800 – 1965

Model 26 Deluxe (woodie)

100 to 1500 – 1946-48

Deluxe 5A3, 5B3 (tweed)

001 to 800 – 1948

800 to 1800 – 1949

1800 to 3000 – 1950

3000 to 5400 – 1951

5400 to 6800 – 1952

6800 to 7500 – 1953

Deluxe 5C3, 5D3 (tweed)

0001 to 1600 – 1953

1600 to 3600 – 1954

3600 to 5300 – 1955

Deluxe 5E3 (tweed)

D00001 to D01400 – 1955

D01400 to D02800 – 1956

D02800 to D04900 – 1957

D04900 to D06800 – 1958

D06800 to D09000 – 1959

D09000 to D10300 – 1960

D10300 to D10700 – 1961

Deluxe 6G3, 6G3-A (brown)

D00100 to D00900 – 1961

D00900 to D03800 – 1962

D03800 to D04900 – 1963

Deluxe AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A00600 – 1963

A00600 to A02800 – 1964

A02800 to A05600 – 1965

A05600 to A05900 – 1966

A05900 to A06500 – 1967

Deluxe Reverb AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A00300 – 1963

A00300 to A03900 – 1964

A03900 to A12800 – 1965

A12000 to A18400 – 1966

A18400 to A24000 – 1967

Deluxe Reverb AB763, AB868 (silverface)

A24000 to A26000 – 1967

A26000 to A28500 – 1968

A28500 to A33000 – 1969

A32700 to A33000 – 1970

A33000 to A34500 – 1971

A34500 to A36000 – 1972

A36000 to A39000 – 1973

A39000 to A42000 – 1974

A42000 to A43000 – 1975

A43000 to A45000 – 1976

Dual Showman AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A01500 – 1963

A01500 to A01800 – 1964

A01800 to A04300 – 1965

A04300 to A07800 – 1966

A07800 to A12000 – 1967

Dual Showman AB763, AC568 (silverface)

A12000 to A12500 – 1967

A12500 to A16000 – 1968

Dual Showman Reverb AA768, AA769, AA270, TFL5000 (silverface)

A10600 to A16500 – 1968

A16500 to A22400 – 1969

A21700 to A25600 – 1970

A25600 to A37000 – 1971

A37000 to A50500 – 1972

A50500 to A68000 – 1973

A68000 to A99999 – 1974

A81000 to A99999 – 1975

B01000 to B15000 – 1975

B15000 to B68000 – 1976

Harvard 5F10 (tweed)

H00001 to H00500 – 1956

H00500 to H01300 – 1957

H01300 to H02000 – 1958

H02000 to H02600 – 1959

H02600 to H03300 – 1960

H03300 to H03800 – 1961

Musicmaster Bass CFA-7010 (silverface)

A00100 to A01000 – 1970

A01000 to A02500 – 1971

A02500 to A04100 – 1972

A04100 to A07900 – 1973

A07900 to A09500 – 1974

A09500 to A09800 – 1975

A09800 to A10500 – 1976

Princeton 5B2, 5C2, 5D2 (tweed)

2500 to 3600 – 1953

3600 to 4400 – 1954

4400 to 4800 – 1955

Princeton 5E2 (tweed)

P0001 to P00375 – 1955

Princeton 5F2, 5F2-A (tweed)

P0001 to P01100 – 1956

P01100 to P02500 – 1957

P02500 to P03100 – 1958

P03100 to P04300 – 1959

P04300 to P05300 – 1960

P05300 to P05600 – 1961

Princeton 6G2, 6G2-A (brown)

P00100 to P00900 – 1961

P00900 to P05100 – 1962

P05100 to P07200 – 1963

P07200 to P09900 – 1964

Princeton AA964 (blackface)

A00100 to A02500 – 1964

A02500 to A07000 – 1965

A05000 to A09900 – 1966

Princeton AA964 (silverface)

A09900 to A11000 – 1967-68

A11000 to A15000 – 1969-70

Princeton Reverb AA1164 (blackface)

A00100 to A02100 – 1964

A02100 to A07100 – 1965

A06500 to A14700 – 1966

A14700 to A18700 – 1967

Princeton Reverb AA1164, B1270 (silverface)

A18700 to A19500 – 1967

A19500 to A22000 – 1968

A22000 to A25500 – 1969

A23000 to A25000 – 1970

A25500 to A26000 – 1971

A26000 to A27500 – 1972

A27500 to A30000 – 1973

A30000 to A32500 – 1974

A32500 to A34500 – 1975

A34500 to A36000 – 1976

Pro 5A5, 5B5, 5C5, 5D5 (tweed)

01 to 600 – 1948

600 to 1100 – 1949

1100 to 1800 – 1950

1800 to 2500 – 1951

2500 to 3500 – 1952

3500 to 4800 – 1953

4500 to 5900 – 1954

59000 to 6100 – 1955

Pro 5E5, 5E5-A, 5E5-B (tweed)

S00080 to S00350 – 1955

S00350 to S01200 – 1956

S01200 to S01900 – 1957

S01900 to S02500 – 1958

S02500 to S03600 – 1959

Pro 5G5, 6G5, 6G5-A (brown)

00001 to 02000 – 1960

02300 to 05200 – 1961

53000 to 57500 – 1962

58000 to 58100 – 1963

Pro AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00170 to A01800 – 1963

A02700 to A06500 – 1964

Pro Reverb AA165 (blackface)

A00100 to A02700 – 1965

A02700 to A06200 – 1966

A06200 to A10200 – 1967

Pro Reverb AA1265, AB668, AA1069, AA270 (silverface)

A10300 to A12000 – 1968

A12000 to A13300 – 1969

A13300 to A14500 – 1970

A14500 to A15000 – 1971

A15000 to A15600 – 1972

A15600 to A17200 – 1973

A17200 to A19700 – 1974

A19700 to A20000 – 1975

A20000 to A21200 – 1976

Quad Reverb CFA7104 (silverface)

A34800 to A37000 – 1971

A37000 to A50500 – 1972

A50500 to A68000 – 1973

A68000 to A99999 – 1974

A81000 to A99999 – 1975

B01000 to B15000 – 1975

B15000 to B68000 – 1976

Reverb Unit 6G15 (brown, blonde, blackface)

R00100 to R00900 – 1961

R00900 to R02600 – 1962

R02600 to R04800 – 1963

R04800 to R07400 – 1964

R07400 to R09800 – 1965

R09800 to R11000 – 1966

Showman 6G14, 6G14-A (blonde)

00001 to 00350 – 1960

00200 to 00800 – 1961

00800 to 01500 – 1962

01500 to 01900 – 1963

Showman AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A01500 – 1963

A01500 to A01800 – 1964

A01800 to A04300 – 1965

A04300 to A07800 – 1966

A07800 to A12000 – 1967

Showman AB763 (silverface)

A12000 to A12500 – 1967

A12500 to A16000 – 1968

Super incl. Dual Professional (tweed)

01 to 400 – 1946-47

400 to 1300 – 1948-51

2000 to 5000 – 1952-53

5000 to 6000 – 1954

6000 to 6100 – 1955

Super 5E4, 5F4 (tweed)

S00001 to S00300 – 1955

S00300 to S00800 – 1956

S00800 to S01700 – 1957

S01700 to S02500 – 1958

S02500 to S03500 – 1959

Super 5G4, 6G4, 6G4-A (brown)

00001 to 02600 – 1960

02600 to 04600 – 1961

04500 to 05200 – 1962

52000 to 57500 – 1962

57000 to 59400 – 1963

Super Reverb AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A00600 – 1963

A00600 to A06000 – 1964

A06000 to A13000 – 1965

A13000 to A20000 – 1966

A20000 to A27000 – 1967

Super Reverb AB763, AB568, AA1069, AA270 (silverface)

A26000 to A29000 – 1967

A29000 to A35000 – 1968

A35000 to A45000 – 1969

A45000 to A49000 – 1970

A49000 to A54000 – 1971

A54000 to A58000 – 1972

A58000 to A66000 – 1973

A66000 to A76000 – 1974

A76000 to A79000 – 1975

A79000 to A80000 – 1976

B59000 to B60000 – 1976

Super Six Reverb CFA7106 (silverface)

A33000 to A37000 – 1971

A37000 to A50500 – 1972

A50500 to A67000 – 1973

A67000 to A99999 – 1974

A81000 to A99999 – 1975

B01000 to B15000 – 1975

B15000 to B68000 – 1976

Tremolux 5E9, 5E9-A (tweed)

0001 to 00650 – 1955

00650 to 00950 – 1956

00950 to 01200 – 1957

01200 to 01800 – 1958

01800 to 02700 – 1959

02600 to 03300 – 1960

Tremolux 6G9, 6G9-A, 6G9-B (blonde)

00100 to 00950 – 1961

00950 to 04800 – 1962

04500 to 05900 – 1963

Tremolux AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A00500 – 1963

A00500 to A03700 – 1964

A03200 to A05700 – 1965

A05200 to A08100 – 1966

Twin 5C8, 5D8, 5D8-A, 5E8, 5E8-A (tweed)

001 to 600 – 1953-55

A00100 to A00725 – 1955-57

Twin 5F8, 5F8-A (tweed)

A00001 to A00780 – 1957-60

Twin 6G8, 6G8-A (blonde)

00001 to 00100 – 1960

00100 to 00225 – 1961

00225 to 00400 – 1962

00400 to 00525 – 1963

Twin Reverb AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A01000 – 1964

A01000 to A04300 – 1965

A04300 to A07000 – 1966

A07000 to A10400 – 1967

Twin Reverb AB763, AC568, AA769, AA270 (silverface)

A10400 to A10500 – 1967

A10500 to A16000 – 1968

A16000 to A21500 – 1969

A21500 to A25600 – 1970

A25600 to A37000 – 1971

A37000 to A50500 – 1972

A50500 to A68000 – 1973

A68000 to A99999 – 1974

A81000 to A99999 – 1975

B01000 to B15000 – 1975

B15000 to B68000 – 1976

Vibrasonic 5G13, 6G13, 6G13-A (brown)

00001 to 00350 – 1960

00200 to 00800 – 1961

00800 to 01500 – 1962

01500 to 01900 – 1963

Vibro Champ AA764 (blackface)

A00100 to A01300 – 1964

A01300 to A09300 – 1965

A09300 to A16500 – 1966

A16500 to A20500 – 1967

Vibro Champ AA764 (silverface)

A19000 to A21000 – 1967

A21000 to A26000 – 1968

A26000 to A28500 – 1969

A28500 to A29000 – 1970

A29000 to A32000 – 1971

A32000 to A35000 – 1972

A33000 to A40000 – 1973

A40000 to A42000 – 1974

A42000 to A51000 – 1975

A51000 to A53000 – 1976

B64600 to B66200 – 1976

Vibrolux 5F11 (tweed)

F00001 to F00300 – 1956

F00300 to F00900 – 1957

F00900 to F01600 – 1958

F01600 to F02800 – 1959

F02800 to F04000 – 1960

F04000 to F04400 – 1961

Vibrolux 6G11, 6G11-A (brown)

00100 to 00700 – 1961

00700 to 04200 – 1962

04200 to 05500 – 1963

Vibrolux AA763 (blackface)

A00100 to A01300 – 1964

Vibrolux Reverb AA864 (blackface)

A00100 to A00850 – 1964

A00850 to A03900 – 1965

A03600 to A08300 – 1966

A08300 to A10700 – 1967

Vibrolux Reverb AA864, AA964, AB568, AA270 (silverface)

A10700 to A11000 – 1967

A11000 to A12000 – 1968

A12000 to A13600 – 1969

A13600 to A23400 – 1970

A23400 to A24500 – 1971

A24500 to A25000 – 1972

A25000 to A27000 – 1973

A27000 to A31500 – 1974

A31500 to A33000 – 1975

A33000 to A34000 – 1976

Vibrosonic Reverb (silverface)

A43000 to A50500 – 1972

A50500 to A68000 – 1973

A68000 to A99999 – 1974

A81000 to A99999 – 1975

B01000 to B15000 – 1975

B15000 to B68000 – 1976

Vibroverb 6G16 (brown)

00100 to 00600 – 1963

Vibroverb AA763, AB763 (blackface)

A00100 to A00400 – 1963

A00400 to A05300 – 1964

Here is another caveat about reading these tables. Given that people may refer to this information seeking specific production quantities of amps they are curious about, it should be pointed out that the serial numbers apply to chassis types, and not specifically to amplifier models. Looking at serial numbers next to the ’60 5G5 brown Pro Amp for example, we see numbers ranging from 00001 to 02000, suggesting that there are 2000 of these amplifiers made in ’60. Since several models can share one chassis type (for example, the early brown 5G7 Bandmaster, 5G5 Pro and 5G12 Concert), this kind of interpretation is inaccurate. Instead, there were approximately 2000 of these chasses produced, which then ended up as one of the three models in question. It would be more accurate to say that approx 650 of each of these models were produced in ’60.

Thanks to everyone who sent information about their amp(s).Many thanks to Andrew Waugh for his help with the 1982-84 tube amps.Andrew works in parallel with this research, but is specializing in the Rivera era blackface amps.As with the late ’70s serialization patterns, the early 1980s amps are a tough nut to crack and his task is even more daunting because the solid state amps also get thrown into the mix.

Special thanks to Bassman specialist extraordinaire, Clarke Blanton for his assistance with updating the Bassman dating tables and providing other Bassman facts and figures.Not too many people know more about the Bassman than Clarke.

Extra special thanks to co-researchers, Devin “The Tweed King” Riebe, Paul Linden, and the late Greg Huntington, for their invaluable assistance with collecting data and information about Fender amps.

So you need to figure out the year of production for your Fender guitar or bass. You're not alone. Fenders rank as the most frequently bought and sold instruments on Reverb, and finding a precise date of manufacture can be key to determining the value and specifics of an instrument.

The most important thing to keep in mind when dating a Fender is the highly modular nature of the designs. Like Henry Ford, part of Leo Fender's genius was in optimizing the company's production efficiency. His guitars were built en masse by an entire factory, not a single luthier toiling over one instrument at a time. Features like bolt-on necks and pickups wired into the pickguard all helped the Fender factory churn out guitar after guitar, day after day. 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. 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 world by clicking on this link.

Design Changes and Features

Perhaps 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 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

We also have some other blog posts related to Fender that can hopefully be of some help. There's A Brief History of the Stratocaster Part I and Part II that follows the evolution of the most popular Fender guitar of all. Similarly, take a look at Behold the Jazzmaster for general timeline of the history of everyone's favorite offset guitar. For Fender during the turning point era of the mid-'60s, check out Fender and the CBS Takeover.

Body and Neck Dates

Through much of Fender's production history, Fender workers would print or write a production date on both bodies and necks where the two pieces meet. These dates will tell when the original part was manufactured, but are not exact indicators of when the guitar was actually put together and finished.

Here is what the neck date and body date look like from a 1952 Telecaster:

If you're not comfortable removing the neck of a guitar to peek at the date marker, I encourage you to take it to a local tech or luthier.

I will also mention briefly pot-codes as a resource (numbers on the internal potentiometers of the guitar). These can definitely be useful in cases where no other numbers exist, but just tell when the pot itself was made. Who knows how long it was waiting in the Fender factory before finding its way into a Tele?

Serial Numbers

Like the body and neck dates, using serial numbers to date a Fender is not a sure bet. At many points in Fender's history, serial number usage overlapped again owing to the modular manner of production. Below we'll go into detail about the various serial number schemes employed by Fender as far back as 1950. 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 - 1954

In the early years, Fender serial numbers schemes were specific to the model. Esquires, Broadcasters and Telecasters shared a serial number sequence, while the landmark Precision Bass had its own system. 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:

And here are the ranges for the original Precision Basses:

Also, 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 - 1963

By mid-1954, Fender began using a universal serial number sequence for all its instruments. At this time, the location of the serial number also shifted from the bridge to the neckplate (the metal plate located on back of where the neck meets the body).

Here's how the serial numbers break down from 1954 to the beginning of 1963, though there are some areas of inconsistency in this era:

Fender Mustang Serial Number

L Series - The Transition Period of 1963 to 1965

Fender Bass Mustang Serial Number

At the very end of 1962 and into 1963, Fender changed to a system where serial numbers began with an 'L.' According to some accounts, the L was supposed to just be a 1 to mark the cross over into the 100,000 range from the previous scheme, but an L was used by mistake.

Here the range of the L-series serial used each year. Some of the earliest ones actually popped up in late 1962 as well:

F Series - CBS Era 1965 - 1976

After the CBS purchase of Fender in 1965, the factory switched to a new serial sequence with numbers that continued the same general format used prior to the takeover. These are generally referred to as F series due the large Fender branded F on the neckplates of the era. This period also saw a switch from the orginal four-bolt neckplate of the '60s to a three-bolt neckplate in just one example of cost-saving costs introduced under CBS.

Post 1976

Starting in 1976, Fender transitioned to a new serial number scheme and moved the placement of most serial numbers to the headstock of the instrument. Depending on the era and model, the number can be found on either the front or back of the headstock.

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. The decade letter codes break down like this: S = 1970s, E = 1980s, N = 1990s, Z = 2000s. In the 2000s, you'll also see serials starting with a DZ which indicates the Deluxe series, but the format is otherwise the same.

For example, a serial number with N4 would be from 1994. One starting with Z5 would be from 2005.

This scheme is not 100% consistent due to a number of production factors, such as Fender producing more serialized decals than needed in a given year. This is particularly pronounced in the transitional period of the mid-'80s, though the system has been pretty much on point since about 1990.

After 2009, the letter changed to a format starting with US then two digits that tell the year of the current decade.

Here's the breakdown of Post-1976 American-made Fender serials:

Signature Series

American-made signature series instruments follow a very similar scheme to the above, but use a prefix S before the decade letter. For example, a Signature Series guitar from 1998 would have a serial starting with SN8 followed by five digits.

American Vintage Reissue models

The major exception to all of this is the American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series. These have serial numbers starting with V and do not strictly correlate to years. The neck dates on these guitars, however, are usually reliable.

Made in Japan Fender Serials

Fender Japan serial numbers can usually be found on the back of the neck near the neck joint. Though examples also exist with the number on the headstock or the neck-plate in the case of certain early reissue models. Up until 1997, the serial was paired with the words 'Made in Japan.'

In 1982, Fender expanded operations with a series of instruments produced in Japan by the Fuji Gen Gakki company. Like the US serial numbers, MIJ (made in Japan) serials start with a letter or pair of letters that indicate the rough year of production. This system, however, is notoriously inconsistent and incomplete, which makes dating by serial number even less reliable for MIJ Fenders.

Here's a breakdown of serials for the 'Made in Japan' era:

Crafted in Japan Serial Numbers

In 1997, Fender changed the 'Made in Japan' decal to say 'Crafted in Japan.' There is some overlap with the earlier 'MIJ' serials, so it's important to note if your instrument carries the 'Made in Japan' or 'Crafted in Japan' decal.

Here are the serial numbers for the 'Crafted in Japan' or 'CIJ' era:

After 2007, Fender Japan switched back to marking Fenders as 'Made in Japan' though for a few years instruments with both decals were made. Serial numbers since this transition have continued the same sequence as the 'CIJ' era.

Made in Mexico Fender Serials

Fender opened a factory in Ensenada, Mexico in the late '80s and instruments started coming off the line in 1990. Mexican-made (MIM) Fenders carry a serial number on the headstock starting with an M. Some exceptions include a handful of special editions and signature models as well as the split US/Mexican-made California series which all have a 'AMXN' at the beginning of their serials.

The MIM serial number scheme is actually very straight-forward. For Mexican Fenders made in the 1990s, the serial will start with an MN followed by a number that indicates the year of the decade. Instruments made in the 2000s follow the same form but start with MZ. For the 2010s, the prefix is MX1. For example, a serial number starting with MN2 would be 1992.

Here's the serial number breakdown for a majority of MIM Fenders:

Exceptions

There are a number of exceptions to all these serial number schemes. As mentioned above, many reissue models use serial numbers that don't really correlate to their age. Additionally, there have been plenty of artist models, limited editions and other rare models that use a unique serial number. Examples include the 35th anniversary series, many of the uniquely finished Strats from the early '80s, as well as various export-specific models which carry a serial number starting with FN.

Guitar Values By Serial Number

Again, the serial number alone in any of these cases is not definitive and the best approach is to combine that with other methods like the neck and body dates, as well as just the features of the specific instrument. If you have any questions as to what Fender you're dealing with, I encourage you to seek out a local guitar shop or luthier to help figure it out.

Fender Mustang Serial Number Lookup

We understand the importance of online privacy and are committed to complying with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. To reflect our commitment, we updated our terms and conditions. By continuing to use Reverb, you agree to these updates, and to our cookie policy. Learn More