Why is this It all has to do with how Fender produced guitars.

Overlapping One-letter Codes 7.3 1976-Present USA Fender Guitars 8 Fender Anniversary, Reissue, Special Edition, and Signature Series 8.1 Fender Anniversary, Reissue, Special Edition, and Signature Guitars 9 Related Guides.

The Fender numbers tell the story of the company over the years.

Fender Lookup Serial Number Placement Is

Unfortunately, the serial number placement is sporadic and many ID numbers over lap between years and models.

In many instances, there is no exact known date for a specific guitar.

Fender Lookup How To Tell The

I want to help you understand how to tell the age of your Fender as well as any Fender you see.

Certain styles and colors have come and gone over the years, but there is no real obvious way to tell how old a Fender is other than the identification number.

Unfortunately, Fender decided not to simply write the date of manufacture on the guitar.

They decided that it would be easier to decipher the serial number code than just write the year on the guitar.

Most manufactures dont actually write the production dates on the guitar in plain view.

First lets take a look at where to find ID numbers on a Fender guitar.

In order to tell how old your Fender is you will have to find the identification number or neck number.

The serial number location has changed a few times of the years.

From 1954 to 1976 Fender stamped its guitars serial number on either the top or bottom of the neck plate.

Modern Fender production guitars, 1976 to the present, have their ID numbers on the front or back of the headstock near the Fender decal.

In 1982 Fender decided to start making reissued vintage guitars.

These guitars were replicas of the early 1950 and 1960s era guitars.

True to form the reissue guitars have their identification numbers stamped in the neck plate.

After the neck was finished, a Fender employee would either stamp or handwrite the date on the end of the guitar neck on its heel.

This marking is only visible when the neck is removed from the body because it is covered in the neck pocket.

Some Fender guitar bodies and pickups also have dates written on them.

Few Fender guitars have dates written on the bodies under the pickups, in the routed out cavities, and near the wiring harnesses.

Fender only decided to write dates on the bodies for a few years here and there.

After reviewing the ID number, you might find out that the two corresponding dates dont coincide.

Fender Serial Number Lookup