Martin guitars are widely considered to be some of the greatest instruments in existence. While the brand has produced diverse types of guitars since their infancy in 1833, their steel string flat-top guitars are the most sought-after. Known for their rich sound and superb build, many Martin guitars are high-ticket collectible items. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with cheap replicas that capitalize off the Martin name. This is why you have to pay attention to the Martin guitar serial numbers.
Furthermore, the company has created many different guitars with similar designs throughout its history. To ascertain a guitar’s value and authenticity, look at the serial number.
The company started branding guitars with a serial number in 1898. The serial numbers begin with 8001, as the company estimated that they already had 8,000 guitars prior to 1898 in their portfolio. Martin guitar serial numbers will have between 4 and 7 serial numbers.
Found a Daion Acoustic no model number but has serial number of A1227. They claim it is a 70’s guitar. Spruce top made in Japan rosewood sides and back. With top and bottom white binding. Very new to guitar so any info would be great. Thank you, Mike.
The most common Martin serial numbers will have 6 digits due to an influx in manufacturing quantities in the 1960s and 1970s. Serial numbers are on the neck block inside the sound hole, on the back of the head-stock, or on the neck joint. Let’s see more details depending on the guitars’ production year.
Martin guitar serial numbers on earlier guitars are typically on the back of the head-stock. This causes used Martin guitars to show wear. Just over 2,000 guitars appeared on the market in this time.
A considerable dip in demand occurred in 1901, resulting in the company introducing a largest Martin guitar size and a 12-fret design.
The 1-45 guitars are common in this group. They were similar in length to standard 1 sizes but featured wider sides.
During this time, the first full-sized Dreadnought guitar also appeared. So, Martin also stopped using authentic elephant ivories, instead opting for celluloid bindings and ebony bridges.
These guitars mark the start of Martin making the switch from gut-string guitars to steel-string guitars. Tcp tool. The OM-28 appeared in 1929, becoming the first Martin guitar with steel-string that had no modifications.
Larger sizes like the 000 are modified to accommodate 14 frets instead of the standard 12. Models with these Martin guitar serial numbers are often bigger and feature a warmer bass tone to accompany vocals.
Martin guitar serial numbers first appeared onto the neck block in 1930. The company also began to include the model number directly above the serial number. Stamping on the head-stock officially stopped in 1935.
The famous D-45 guitars appear in this decade and start at the 53177 serial number. Used Martin guitars from this group are often the most valuable and sought-after by collectors.
Production of the D-45 stops due to the wartime shortage of materials. Guitars in this era have a noticeable change in style. Herringbone marquetry and scalloped bracing are discontinued.
Guitars from this group have a simpler build. The necks now have ebony to provide them strength and extra reinforcement.
Demand was high during this time, so production increased. Certain design elements like the zippered back seam were discontinued while bracing material changed. The most valuable models from this era feature Brazilian rosewood.
The famous D-45 reappeared in 1968. Used Martin guitars from this era feature pearl inlays on the fretboard. Brazilian rosewood lost its place in production in favor of rosewood from East India.
Martin serial numbers in this range include many new features, such as rosewood side strips, plastic saddles, and Micarta nuts. Replicas of older models also appeared.
These include the HD-28 and D-76. The replicas aren’t as valuable as the originals. However, they contain many original design elements like scalloped braces and herringbone.
Many guitars from this time are replicas and special editions. The company created many collectible guitars that harken back to the vintage pre-WWII designs. Glue-down pickguards also disappeared for regular production models.
Other common elements in these guitars are maple bridge plates and adjustable truss rods.
The new era of Martin guitars includes A-frame bracing, scalloped back bracing, laminated sides, innovative joints, and much more. Duke nukem forever mods nexus.
Common guitars in this group include the D-1 and HD-28V from the Vintage Series. The group also includes special edition guitars featuring intricate pearl details and Victorian design elements.
Martin guitar serial numbers are one the biggest indicators of authenticity. The company has a detailed logging system that dates back well over 100 years.
With a clear serial number, you can trace the guitar’s history, understand its production, and get the information you need to spot a fake.
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Did you know that you can use Epiphone serial numbers to discover the age of your guitar? In this guide, we’ll give you the basics on how it works so that you can learn if you have a vintage gem that’s worth a fortune.
If you have a vintage Epiphone or Gibson guitar, you could be sitting on a gold mine. Many older models have a rich history, and better than that, they could be worth a lot of money.
If you can’t make it to an antique shop with a certified professional who can date your guitar, you can still determine its age by using the Epiphone serial number. That information is extremely helpful if you’re trying to determine its value or if you’re looking to sell your instrument.
In this guide, we’ll give you the basics on how the numbers work and resources to help you determine the age and origin of your guitar.
To understand the significance of the Epiphone serial number, we first need to look at how their company historyintertwines with that of Gibson.
Epiphone started as a family business in 1873 as a luxury banjo manufacturer. In the 1930’s, they switched up their business model and began producing high-end guitars, and became the only manufacturer to successfully make the transition.
They grew in popularity and by the 1950’s, became Gibson’s main rival. In 1957, the Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) acquired Epiphone. As they already owned Gibson, this merge brought the two powerful brand names under one umbrella.
In 1969, a second purchase occurred. Norlin acquired CMI and moved all of the production of Epiphone to Japan and subsequently to Korea.
During each of these transitions, there were also changes made to how the instruments were labeled, which is part of the reason why the serial number identification process is so confusing. For example, after 1969, it’s unlikely your guitar would have a label saying it was made overseas, but you might have a seven-digit serial number that could tell that story.
When trying to date your vintage Epiphone or Gibson instrument, the most accurate way to do it is by decoding the serial number. Because there aren’t any factory ledgers prior to the 1980’s for Epiphone, these stamps will give you the closest approximation to their manufacturing date.
Particularly with older models, the serial number may not be enough to trace the guitar’s origins. Because there is not a single, central database for any of the models manufactured prior to 1977, you have to dig deep into the code to figure out from where and when it originated.
In fact, at Gibson’s customer service line, they report that at least a quarter of the calls they receive daily are from people trying to date their guitar.
If it was manufactured after 1977, the process is easy. If not, they, like the rest of us, refer to Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars to try to begin the process.
Gruhn's Guide to Vintage GuitarsA serial number not only confirms the authenticity of your guitar but can impact the value. If, for example, you have a Gibson Explorer that was made from 1958 to 1959, you have one of the few models produced in that period.
In general, rare guitars are worth more money, and that particular model is valued at between $250,000 and $310,000.
Today, it’s simple to use the serial number on your Gibson to date your guitar. If it was manufactured after 1977, the build date is included in the sequence.
The first and fifth number signifies the year it was built, and the second, third, and fourth are the day of the year.
For example, if the first five digits of your eight-digit serial number are 01545, then you know that the guitar was made on the 154th day of the year in 2005.
The sixth number in the modern sequence will tell you the batch, and the last three indicate the rolling production number.
Unfortunately, prior to the system instituted in 1977, the process is anything but simple to decipher.
There are entire books written on how to decipher your Epiphone serial number sequence, but here we will outline the basics of what you need to know based on year ranges that have commonalities.
In the first two years, 1932 and 1933, Epiphone die-stamped the serial number on the inside of the back of their instruments. If you look through the “F” hole on the bass side, you will see it positioned below the label.
Beginning in 1934, they moved the placement directly onto the label itself.
This sequence begins in 1932 with the number 5000, and the last documented serial number in this series is 20142.
When Epiphone launched the Electar line in 1935, they also began using a new system for serial numbers on their electric instruments.
You’ll find them die stamped on the top rear of the peghead, and they are a sequence of between three and five numbers. Tems dongle cracking.
They range from 001 in 1935, to 9999 in 1945.
In 1944, there were some shakeups inside of Epiphone which resulted in the creation of a new numbering system. Most significantly, Epi died, and his widow gave up her shares which opened the door to a financial restructuring of the company.
At the same time, the new shareholders decided to change some of their production methods which had a direct impact on their inventory. This, in turn, affected the numbering scheme.
The new serials began at 50,000 in 1944 and ended at 59,999 in 1950.
This is one of the many spans of time where there is a significant amount of grey area around dating the serial number on your instrument.
We know that from 1944 to 1950, the manufacturer introduced a two-digit prefix in front of the actual three-digit production number of all of its electric models. However, there is no data that tells us how many guitars were made each year, which makes it impossible to pinpoint an estimated date the instrument was manufactured.
On these models, you’ll locate the impressed serial number on the back side of the top of the peghead.
In 1951, Epiphone transitioned their electric models to the same five-digit numbering scheme as their acoustic models. Beginning with 60000 in 1951, and ending with the last known New-York made model, the Epi Zephyr, number 69637.
After Epiphone and Gibson merged under the same umbrella, Gibson started following their lead and placing serial numbers on their guitars.
During this time period, they ink stamped the digits on the back of the peghead and used the last number of the year as the first number in the serial sequence on their solid body models.
For example, in 1958, the first digit in the serial number is 8. In 1960, the first number was 0.
From 1958 to 1961, Gibson branded guitars used a different numbering series than Epiphone. You know it’s a Gibson if there is the letter “A” preceding the serial number found on the label of a hollow body model.
Beginning with A1000 in 1958, this series goes to A4999 in 1961.
In 1961, all of the guitars produced that were not part of the A-Series by both Gibson and Epiphone followed the same serial number series.
The manufacturers stamped it on the top backside of the peghead. They also removed text that read “Made in the USA” during this years because some of the components were created overseas.
The sequence begins with serial number 0100 in 1961, and by 1967, the six-digit code emerges. During that year, all started with the number zero, and by 1968 the companies were up to 999999.
Notably, from 1966 to 1968, they made an adjustment to differentiate between the low and high-end models. In that span, guitars numbered between 600000 to 600998 were lower quality. Then, in 1969, they changed things up and used the sequence 600000 to 606090 to denote the more expensive, high-end guitars.
There are many variations of serial numbers, and it can sometimes be difficult to decipher the code.
In addition to Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, which is considered the ultimate reference point for guitar enthusiasts, there are a few additional resources that can help.
In the Gibson forums, their support staff has broken down all of the possibilities for you and tried to help make sense of it. They share the four distinct formats, as well as a full list of factory later and number codes, and special designations found on the Les Paul models.
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