Dating Your Vintage Fender Guitar

By Bobby Brooks

Years ago I examined a childhood friend's Fender Telecaster guitar, not knowing what I was doing; however, today I will try to help you date your vintage Fender guitar. I didn't know enough back then, I didn't know that Fender guitars were build on an assembly line, by more than one person, although sometimes at the same time, but often over weeks or a month's time.

A craftsperson could be working on the neck at the same time that someone else was working on the electronics; because different Luthiers on the assembly line were working on one component of the guitar's construction, and only building that one type of component, they achieved perfection over time. And then the part would be put in a bin to be used later in the final build.

A guitar could be constructed of a body made last week and a neck made last month or months prior; however, they were most likely constructed around the same time because they were pushing out new guitars daily. But they all started out life, theoretically speaking, as parts guitars.

The serial number on the headstock only gives you a clue about the decade in which the guitar was produced, even the numbers are useless in telling you the year in which the guitar was produced, only the E prefix gives you a clue telling you it was produced in the 1980s, the rest of the numbers were slapped on without regard to the rest of the serial numbers used in the plant; they were simply using up "old" stock before the plant closed.

And when I examined my friend's guitar, all those years ago, I thought the neck and body didn't match together as I thought they should, not knowing the guitar could have been put on the showroom floor that way! And the only true way to examine the guitar's "age" was to examine each part individually!

With Fender's instrument production in the United States, the date of production was either stamped or penciled on various components.

The production years were stamped or penciled on the end of the neck heel of most guitars and basses, although between the years 1973 to 1981 this wasn't consistently done. But bear in mind this is the year the neck was finished, and not necessarily the entire instrument. The date of the neck production and the date of the completion of the guitar can differentiate by months.

Even the date stamped on the heel of the guitar neck wasn't very reliable if the "ink" smeared, such in this case where my eyes see an upside down 2, a smeared 81, and a smeared 83; perhaps the body or potentiometers will give a better clue to the age of the guitar.

Most vintage Fender instrument models didn't change much from year to year, if at all. While there have been periods of major changes, like during the transition between Leo's operation and when Fender was purchased by CBS, overall changes didn't occur from year to year.

The serial numbers on Fender instruments have been put in various locations such as the front or back of the headstock, the top of the neck plate, the bridge plate, the vibrato, and the neck where the neck meets the body.

Nonetheless, dating your vintage Fender guitar by serial number isn't a precise science because the serial numbers overlap by a few years, and even cover years when the guitar wasn't produced; such as the U.S. made Bullet series where a serial number may represent the years 1980 to 1981, but the guitars weren't even produced until 1981.

Now we're getting somewhere, at least the stamp in the guitar's neck cavity is clear and showing the 6th month of 82'. The FRR 40 matches the stickers placed inside the pickup cavities (not shown).

Serial Numbers

Up to 6,000

Up to 10,000

10,000s

10,000s to 20,000s

20,000s to 30,000s

30,000s to 40,000s

40,000s to 50,000s

50,000s to 70,000s

60,000s to 90,000s

80,000s to 90,000s

90,000s up to L10,000s

L10,000s up to L20,000s

L20,000s up to L50,000s

Production Dates

1950 to 1954

1954 to 1956

1955 to 1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963;

1963

1964

When Fender was purchased by CBS in the first month of 1965 the serial numbering didn't immediately change due to the factory tooling and number schemes remaining the same.

Serial Numbers

L50,000s up to L90,000s

100,000s

100,000s to 200,000s

200,000s

200,000s to 300,000s

300,000s

300,000s to 500,000s

400,000s to 500,000s

500,000s to 700,000s

76 + 5 digits

S6 + 5 digits

S7 + 5 digits

S8 + 5 digits

S9 + 5 digits

E0 + 5 digits

E1 + 5 digits

S9 + 5 digits

E0 + 5 digits

E1 + 5 digits

EI + 5 digits

E2 + 5 digits

E3 + 5 digits

Production Dates

1965

1966 to 1967

1968

1969 to 1970

1971 to 1972

1973

1974 to 1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

The volume potentiometer shows R1378206 which indicates the 6th week of 1982, so now all the clues are adding up to the production year being sometime in 1982; and the totally of evidence shows that all the parts are original.

Dating Your Vintage Fender Guitar with Potentiometers

Dating vintage guitars can be frustrating, because the dates don't often match up from the neck stamp, to the body stamp, and to the potentiometer stamps. The potentiometers will be stamped showing the week and year they were produced by the Chicago Telephone Supply Company who produced them.

The potentiometers were often stamped on the top, and then covered with solder when they were soldered in place! And they were stamped on the sides, as well, making it easier to read the codes.

The final clue, the tone potentiometer showing the code R1378208 indicating the pot was made in the 8th week of 1982; solidifying that this instrument was indeed produced and marketed in 1982.

A potentiometer code which reads 1428214 was stamped in the Chicago (CTS) Factory the 14th week in 1982.

If the dates of your guitar are off by a year or more it usually means the body and neck didn't come together and one or more parts were replaced. Often parts on older guitars wear out and are replaced over time. And if all the parts are close to date, you know you have an all original instrument; usually!

Skoukor Music - Equipment - Opinions - Advice - Production - History - Culture

Dating Your Vintage Fender Guitar

By Bobby Brooks

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Today's Issue		Friday 18th April 2025