Как посмотреть гитару по серийному номеру
DATING EPIPHONE GUITARS AND MANDOLINS
BY REFERENCE OF SERIAL NUMBERS
Epiphone guitars come from a number of different factories in different countries.
For this reason, it is not that easy to recognize where each guitar came from or when it was made. Epiphone stamps a serial number on each guitar, which after decryption can tell you where and when it was built.
Where to find the serial number
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.
If you want to know the production year of your Epiphone guitar/mandolin, you can decipher it with the serial number decoder, or find it in explanation about the dating system below.
Epihone history in short.
| Anastasios Stathopoulos born in 1863, was a Greek luthier who started a mandolin and violin company in 1873 in Pellana, Greece. In 1903 he emigrated with his wife to New York. As luthier he started a year later a company that mainly produced mandolins. The company ran well, and therefore he took the Italian professional Henry cappielo employed. After the death of Anastasios in 1915, his son Epaminondas (Epi) take control over the company. Under his management the company grows to one of the biggest of its kind. A few years later, Epaminondas opens a factory where mainly banjos were made. In 1924 he registered the brand name Epiphone, a combination of his own name (Epi) with the Greek word for sound (phone). Shortly thereafter, Epi buys the banjo company Favoran and introduces the banjo Epiphone Recording line. Because of their quality and elegant design, it will be a great success. Due to the success of the banjo Recording line, a Recording line for guitars was also established in 1928 and a full line of f-hole archtop guitars was introduced in 1931. There are 12 models, including the top models: Broadway, Triumph and DeLuxe. Epiphone has been competing with Epaminondas dies in 1943 and the business is continued by his two sons Orpheus (Orphie) and Frixo. The cooperation between the two brothers is going badly and the company is going through hard times in the post-war years. By the mid-1950s, Epiphone is still making very few instruments. | In 1957, Epiphone is sold to CMI, Gibson’s parent company, for $20,000.00. A full line of newly designed acoustic and electric guitars is launched in 1958. In 1960, Epiphone’s production moved to the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At the beginning of 1970 the production under license from Gibson moved from the USA to Japan. From 1983 there is also produced in Korea and then in 1995 also in Indonesia. In 2004, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China for the production of Epiphone guitars. Although the vast production of Epiphone guitars takes place in these countries, some more exclusive models are still being made in the USA.
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The stamped serial number can consist of a series of numbers, or letter(s) and numbers.
Only numbers
For an eleven digit serial number, the encoding is as follows:
Example: 11051500160
The first two digits are the last 2 digits of the year. (11)
The next two digits represent the month. (05)
The 5th and 6th digit represent the factory code.. (15)
(See list numbered factory codes)
The last 5 digits form the series sequence number.
Serial number 11 05 15 00160 is the 160 th guitar built in May 2011
at the factory of Qingdao in China .
(Since 2004 Epiphone guitars have been produced in China)
Five digit serial numbers.
Five digits with a space after the first digit and custom shop on the back of the headstock, applied from 1990 to 1999.
The first digit is the last digit of the production year, the following four digits are the serial number.
Five digits no space after the first digit were used from 1951 to 1956 and from 1961 to 1967 for both acoustic and electric models.
Six digit serial numbers
From 1961 to early 1970, Epiphone used 6-digit serial numbers in the Gibson serial number line. However, many serial numbers were duplicated during this period, making the exact production year difficult to trace. It is certain that the models with a 6 digit serial number starting with 0 were produced in 1967.
Seven digit serial numbers do not have a factory code.
Here is the first digit the last year of the decade. The 2nd and 3rd numbers represent the month.
These were manufactured in Korea by Samick between 1984 and 1995.
Eight and nine digit serial numbers without a factory code.
These were used respectively from 1990 and 1988 and also manufactured by Samick in Korea.
Letter(s) and numbers
One letter five digits
This combination was applied to the Elite/Elitist models.
The letter indicates the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year (since 2002).
The factory code can be an F or a T here.
(See list Factory code letter)
Example: Serial number T 3 2222 is the 2222 th guitar of 2003
built in the factory of Terada Gakki Seisakusyo, Japan .
One letter six digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the first and second digit are the last two digits of the year.
Example: Serial number Z051234 is the 1234th guitar built in 2005 at the Zaozhuang Saehan factory in China.
(Between 2001 and 2010 only 1 digit was used for the production year)
Two letters five digits
The letters indicate the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year.
Example: Serial number CI21234 is the 1234th guitar built in 2002 at the Cort, Indonesia factory.
One letter seven digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year.
The 3rd and 4th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Because the year is only represented by 1 digit, guitars with this coding from the 80s, 90s or a decade of 2000. (depending on the factory code)
Example: Serial number S6031234 is the 1234th guitar built in 1986, 1996 or 2006 at the Samick factory in Korea.
Two letters six digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the next two digits are
the last two digits of the year.
The second letter (fourth character) stands for the month.
(A = January, B = February, etc.)
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number
Example: Serial number R 04 G 0123 is the 123 th guitar of July 2004 , built in the Peerless, Korea factory.
One letter eight digits
The letter indicates the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The 3rd and 4th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: C99040233 is the 233rd guitar of April 1999, built in the Cort factory, Korea.
(This coding method was used until 2010)
Two letters seven digits
The letter indicates the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The second letter (fourth character) stands for the month. (A = January, B = February, etc.)
The last 5 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: S07C00122 is the 122th guitar of March 2004, built at
the Samick factory in Korea.
(This coding method was used until 2010)
Two letters eight digits
The 2 letters indicate the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The 5th and 6th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: SI02060234 is the 234th guitar of June 2002, built at the Samick factory in Cileungsi near Bogor, Indonesia.
Two letter nine digits
This coding is the same as the coding of two letter eight digits
with the difference that here is 5 digits for it sequence number
are used.
Acoustic guitars
Japan
The acoustic guitars from Epiphone, which were manufactured by Matsumoku in Japan from 1970 to 1987, are not reliable serial numbering system, but can be approximately dated by color and inscription from the Epiphone label.
Blue label 1970-1975
The first blue labels that were used were leftover labels from the Kalamazoo factory.
In the bottom left corner of these labels is printed «Union Made» and stamped, «Made in Japan».
Until supplies ran out, they were used from 1970 until the beginning of 1971. Some of these first labels do not include Made in Japan or Union Made.
After supplies ran out, new blue labels were used where in the lower right corner «Made in Japan» is printed.
Brown or white «Lincolnwood» label 1976-1979
The Lincolnwood label was also used for the acoustic guitars of
the Taiwanese «Ep» series from 1979-1980.
These labels in the bottom right corner say, ‘Made in Taiwan’.
From 1980 to 1987 a mottled label was used.
China
In 2004 Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which produces Epiphone guitars.
No labels have been used here, but stickers with «Made in China» are glued to the neck of the guitars.
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Как посмотреть гитару по серийному номеру
| Since 2000, the letter system for year and month is applied at all Yamaha plant locations. The table YEAR AND MONTH CODING SYSTEM explains the meaning of the letters. |
YEAR AND MONTH CODING SYSTEM:
| LETTER YEAR | MONTH |
| H 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011 | H Januari |
| I 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, 2012 | I Februari |
| J 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, 2013 | J March |
| K 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 | K April |
| L 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, 2015 | L May |
| M 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006, 2016 | M June |
| N 1967, 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007, 2017 | N Juli |
| O 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998, 2008, 2018 | O August |
| P 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009, 2019 | P September |
| Q 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 | X October |
| Y November | |
| Z December |
As you can see in the table, the letter of the year is repeated every decade.
Production Tenryu/Wada Factory, Japan
From 1946 to 1968 a 5-digit sequential system is used. However, there
is no indication of the year of production in this system.
A nice and simple 6-digit system is used in the period from 1969 to1984.
The first two numbers represent the year.
The next two digits represent the month and the last two digits represent the number of the unit (serial number).
For example: 800629
The 29th guitar that was built in June 1980.
In the short period of 1985-1986 a 6-digit serial number has been used but the month is not displayed.
The first 2 numbers are the year.
The last 4 digits are the number of the unit (serial number).
For example: 860123
This stands for the 123th guitar built in 1986.
Production Custom Shop, Japan
In the 1966-1985 period, successive serial numbers from 001 to 1042 were used.
To find the production year, you have to make a rough estimate
The closer to 001 it is closer to 1966 and the closer to 1042, the closer
to 1985.
From 1986-1990 the serial numbers have 1 letter followed by 4 digits.
The letter represents the month and follows the same system for months as the most common system.
(see year and month coding system)
The first number stands for the year.
The last 3 digits represent the number of the unit (serial number).
For example: K8123
This would be a guitar built in April 1988 and the 12th guitar of that day made in the custom shop.
The K is April according to the coding system and the year must be
1987, since this system was only used between 1986 and 1990.
In the period of 1991-1996 one used a 2 letter, 3 digit, then 1 letter system.
The first letter is the year and follows the same coding system.
The second letter is the month and also follows the same coding
system. The 3 numbers represent the unit number, but in this case the unit numbers started with 701 for unclear reasons. So the first unit of the day was not 001, but 701.
The last letter is an unknown internal factory code.
Example KN712J belongs to the 12th guitar produced in July 1994.
K N 712 J is the 12 th guitar built in July , 1994 .
In the period of 1997-2003 the same method was applied as for 1991
to 1996 with 2 differences.
There is no more internal factory code at the end, and the unit numbers start at 001 instead of at 701.
For example: HL032
The sample serial number here represents the 32nd guitar built in May 2001.
From 2004 to 2021 a 3 letter, 3 number, 1 letter system is used.
The first 2 letters represent the year in this case. So you get the decade here.
The third letter represents the month according to the coding system.
The 3 digits represent the number of the unit. (serial number)
The last letter is an internal factory code.
For example: QNK026C
This guitar in the sample serial number was the 26th guitar built in April 2007.
The Q stands for a 0 and the N is a 7, which means 07 for 2007.
QN K 026 C is the 26 th guitar built in April , 20 07 .
For the period of 1997-1999 the same system is used as that for «Custom Shop 1991-1996» except that the unit number starts at
501 with the exception of 701.
From 1999-2000.
The first letter is the year. The second letter the month.
The 3 digits are the number of the unit.(serial number)
The unit number starts at 200.
For example: PX267
This was the 67th guitar made in October 1999.
From 2001 to 2021 they uses a system with 3 letters, 3 digits, 1 letter.
The first 2 letters represent the year. The third letter represents
the month and the 3 digits are the number of the unit (serial number).
The last letter is an internal factory code
For example: QJH055B
This would be the 55th guitar that was built in January 2003.
Production Kaohsiung, Taiwan
An eight-number system is applied here from 1971-2001 The first digit represents the year. The second and third digits represent
the month. The fourth and fifth numbers represent the day of the month.
The last three digits are the number of the unit (serial number).
Because there is only one digit for the year, there are duplicates with this system because it repeats itself every decade.
For example: 60708077
This example serial number was the 77th guitar built on July 8 in 1976, 1986 or 1996.
At the end of 2001, Kaohsiung changed the 8-digit system into a 3-letter 6-number system.
The first 2 letters represent the year. The third letter represents
the month. The first 2 digits are the day of the month and the last
4 digits are the number of the unit.(serial number)
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