Fernandes – Burny: Serial Number
In the late ’70s and then in the’ 80s, Japanese brands making copies were afraid of a possible lawsuit from Gibson. Indeed, Gibson had previously filed a lawsuit against Ibanez in 77-78. As for Fender, the brand had preferred to follow the saying “If you can not beat them, join them”.
Fernandes has almost never used a serial number on his guitars and basses, except on the first models released by the brand or on models manufactured by Tokai in the late 70s. This strategy was certainly intended to prevent an exact count of guitar and bass sales in the case of US trademark lawsuits.
In addition to the serial numbers, there are a few things that can help define the manufacturing date of a Fernandes or Burny instrument.
- the logo design (example: Stone logo = 1978-1980)
- date or symbol on the pot
- Ibanez 1975 Oldies Catalogue — March 27, 2021
- Tokai 1982 Catalogue Vol.6 — January 24, 2021
- Orville by Gibson 1992-1996 Brochure (2) — January 21, 2021
Frankie Benedittini
Vintage Made in Japan guitar aficionado! I do not consider myself a specialist, I still have a lot to learn about MIJ guitars. I am just an enthusiast who wants to share the results of his research. I hope that my work will be useful.
11 thoughts on “ Fernandes – Burny: Serial Number ”
Hi there. I have a Fernandes Stratocaster here, and I have disessembled it fight now. On the headstock there is a sticker with a serial number. In the neck pocket IT is stamped AFR 45 and the neck says AFR 55. I have bought ut secondo hand from the original owner, that claims he bought ut new like this. Is this something known, or do I have a rare/fake model here? Cheers
Bjarte inn Norway
Does it have Made in Japan on the serial sticker and/or the neck plate? AFR-45 and AFR-55 were low price tier and may be manufactured in China. The high end on this series were AFR-120 / AFR-150. AFR-45 and 55 were almost the same guitars so it’s totally possible IMO to have parts from both models since they can share the same specs (i.e. same neck).
Thank you for quick response. Yup, a sticker with Made om Japan, and neckplate engraved with same statement. Hardware is Gotoh, even a Gotoh humbucker. It may be an affordable model, but it is really well made. Probably sold new in Norway. May it been put together for European marked?
Cheers
Bjarte
AFR models were for US market, in Japan they were called just FR. I don’t know if it’s common to see 55 stamped neck on 45 models, it just can be because they had a stock in factory 😉
Sorry. My autocorrect is constantly changing in to om. Made in Japan. Both sticker and neckplate. Even the pots are Japan made.
Hi! I have a fernandes pj bass serial no 09067 with a transparent pickguard can you help me to date my bass please?
Ask in the Fernandes – Burny facebook group and post pics of your bass there
Hello! I have a Fernandes HB 65 but the ones i see others on line are the Burny ones, whats the difference? I see the hb 65 in the 1996 catalog you have on here. Are the Burny ones from Japan and Fernandes is US?
Hello Mike,
The Gibson copies with Fernandes logo were principally for UK, Australia, South Africa and maybe a couple of other specific markets.
привет у меня Fernandes Warlock Bass WB-90 с реверсивной головой грифа из опознавательных знаков одна буква ” F ” на голове грифа название ( фирмы ) и номер L078094 как узнать год выпуска и строну производителя
what are the specs for a Fernandes Limited Edition, large headstock, 3 screw neckplate, almost a 70s revival had not been for a regular gotoh tuners?
Источник
Серийные номера гитар burny
DATING ESP GUITARS BY REFERENCE OF SERIAL NUMBERS
The serial numbers of ESP guitars were not or hardly administered in the early days of production. Serial numbers from before 2000 are therefore unreliable for an exact date.
Where to find the serial number
The serial number is stamped on the back of the headstock, punched on the neck plate or on (semi) acoustic guitars on the bottom inside the body.
If you want to know the production year of your ESP guitar,you can decipher it with the serial number decoder, or find it in explanation about the dating system below.
ESP history in short
The founder of the ESP company is Hisatake Shibuya. He was born in 1937 in Sado on the island of the same name in Japan. After graduating from Doshina University in 1961, he joined the guitar manufacturer Kawai. After 4 years he joined Yamaha and later the guitar manufacturer Fernandes. During this period he gained a lot of experience and started his own company in Tokyo in 1975. The company where he employed 3 employees consisted of a shop and a workshop for repairs and making parts The sale of the own-built guitars turned out to be a great success and the demand for them grew quickly. A few years later, the production facilities were therefore moved to larger premises just outside Tokyo. In 1981 ESP established itself in the USA with an office in New York and in 1983 in Germany for distribution in Europe. ESP already had several hundred employees, but that number grew after In 1985 George Lynch of the heavy metal band Dokken discovered during In 1990, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett visited the ESP Custom Shop with the idea of building a model based on the mysterious Ouija board game. ESP gained fame by making guitars for trash metal guitarists including To keep costs down, the LTD series were now also made in Korea (later However, despite the now increased prices, ESP resumed the export of | Hisatake Shibuya George Lynch with ESP kamikaze Kirk Hammett with ESP Ouija The popularity and demand for ESP guitars continues to expand, ESP is constantly innovating both electric and acoustic models. |
The dating of guitars built in the eighties and nineties is often unreliable. Its administration was done carelessly. Some guitars from that period have no serial number at all. Also with the neck plate serial numbers do not always give the For guitars without a serial number on the headstock or neck
The eight-digit coding system from before 2000 looks like this: DDMMYNNN After 2000 a serial number system was used which is a lot simpler. From 2016 another system was introduced. | Kirk Hammett Signature (K-) serial numbers The first Kirk Hammett Signature guitars appeared as Custom Shop models back in 1993. Kirk Hammett’s signature is on the front of the headstock and the serial number on the back of the headstock. These serial numbers start with K- followed by 4 or 5 digits. Until the official introduction in 1995 the guitars had a 4 digit number, then a 5 digit number was introduced. Kirk Hammett Signature (K- serial number) ASIA The guitars built in Korea, India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam use different serial number systems. Productie locations 2 letters + 7 digits. IS and IR = Indonesia. 2 letters + 8 digits. 2 letters + 9 digits. IS = Indonesia. Factory World Musical Instrument Co., Incheon, Korea Источник Серийные номера гитар burny
Fake or real
Example of a Gibson serial number: Brands such as Gibson, Fender, PRS or other renowned brands also issue a certificate of authenticity, but this can also be used for fraud. An authorized dealer will certainly not sell you a fake, but if you want to buy a guitar privately or via the internet, be careful. What you should pay attention to is first of all the price. | If the price seems very favorable, that is already a reason to doubt. What you should also pay attention to is the appearance of the guitar. Headstock Fret inlays There are more external features that you should pay attention to, such as the logo and printed or stamped serial number, but that differs per brand. With acoustic guitars, the most common trick is that forgers use cheap plywood instead of solid wood. If you are in any doubt about the guitar’s authenticity, please first contact the manufacturer’s service department and provide the features (or a photo) that you are unsure about. MIRC USED guitars Источник |