- #GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER#
- #GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT CODE#
- #GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT SERIES#
The head stock decal is raised, although some history lessons show that the headstock label that says Gibson was indeed raised at that time, in my years of searching, I found one 1955 with a lowered head stock label. It has some amazing differences and parallels very early changes that Gibson was either doing, or trying at the time. It was not a store bought offered guitar, thats not how it was acquired. I have spent many many years researching this guitars early history, its ties to Seth Lover.
#GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER#
It has a 6 digit hand stamped serial number in to back of the head stock, and the pattern of the numbers clearly shows each number was hand stamped. It is nearly perfect in its feel and play, the sound is remarkable. It is 100% authentic, and provides some distinct oddities and differences as they correlate to the Gibson history as we know it, subtle and drastic changes that were made, and such. He owned it nearly unplayed until I got it in 1970. This dad, Lonnie Vermillion was a sound engineer who served with Seth Lover, Dale Hyatt, and he acquired this guitar and case for a birthday gift to his son.
I have owned it since 1970 and know much about the early history of its existence, it belonged to my brother, a gift from his father, who was a close friend of Seth Lover in the early 50's when Seth Lover went to work for Gibson. Hey there, I have an early 50's Les Paul Special. It would seem a mystery why Gibson started using 51XXXX when they only made a combined total of 6181 solid body guitars/steels in 1955. It could make sense if it correlated with all models made but we know that Archtops and high-end ES guitars got A serial numbers and lower-end ES models only have FONs to date them with. 1959 is the only year they went over the 10,000 solid body production mark and by nowhere near enough to start using 92XXX and 93XXXX numbers. So I grabbed my Gibson Steel guitars book and looked at those totals:Įven with these numbers it doesn't add up. Then I remembered that Steel guitars also received inked numbers (consoles got a mix of ink or impressed numbers that followed the same system). Here's a breakdown of solid body guitar shipping totals, this is every model which had an inked number: But the shipping numbers dispel that notion pretty quickly. My assumption, as with most other people is that the 'sixth' digit was due to going over the 10,000 mark.
#GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT CODE#
Throughout the war and even for some time after, each year had its own quirks around FON batch numbers and letters 1942 to 1951 FON Info Yearĩ07, 910, 923, 2004, 2005, 7000s (all with banner logo)ġ100s to 3700s (move from script to block logo)įrom 1952 to 1961, a consistent letter code resumed, with the letter appearing before the batch number.This question has been bugging me, so I grabbed my trusty orange 'Gibson Electrics, the Classic Years' book and looked at the shipping totals.
#GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SERIAL NUMBERS 6 DIGIT SERIES#
The year is indicated by the first letter in any series of letters for these years.
To complicate matters further, there was sometimes a second letter from 1938 to 1941 indicating the brand (G for Gibson, K for Kalamazoo, W for Recording King) and sometimes even a third letter indicating "Electric" (the letter E). The consistency around this stopped during WWII and resumed in the early 1950s. 1902 to 1945 FON Overview Yearġ to 7900 (some with letter, some without)įrom 1935 to 1942, the FON included a letter suffix. A FON usually consisted of a 3-, 4-, or 5-digit batch number followed by one or two other numbers in most cases. Some earlier lower-end models had no serial number at all, making the FON the sole numerical identifier in those cases. These will generally date an instrument earlier than the serial number, as they were typically applied in the early stages of assembly. Instruments will generally have one or both of these numbers stamped or written either inside the body (generally the case on earlier models) or on the back of the headstock.įONs were Gibson’s way of internally tracking batches of instruments throughout production. Gibson has historically used two different alpha-numerical formats to catalog its instruments: serial numbers and FONs (Factory Order Numbers). Dating a Gibson by Factory Order Number (FON) After 1950, headstocks had uniform thickness. Before mid-1950, most Gibson headstocks were thinner at the top when looked at from a side profile. The thickness of the headstock, however, is not as vulnerable to modification or replacement. This makes relying entirely on the physical features of a guitar potentially misleading. Many older instruments may have reproduction or other non-original parts, including a non-original finish. Aside from the logos, each era of manufacturing included certain identifying traits such as the hardware (tuners, knobs, plates, etc.), the pickups, the type of finish, and the electronics inside that can give clues as to when an instrument was made.
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