The reason for this is that there is no reliable documentation from this time period. Specimens built before 1902 had a star inlay or crescent in place of a logo. Copyright 2020 Gibson Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. This can be easily decoded to show the exact day that the guitar was manufactured along with the location of the Gibson factory. Some lap steels and Les Paul's from 1961 have such a serial number. For guitars made prior to 1977 use the extended search function. Numbered in sequence as "DB xxx" Dickey Betts '57 red top Les Paul Numbered in sequence as "DBR xxx" Gibson Custom 1952-1960 Les Paul, Explorer, Flying V, and Futura reissues (since late 1992): M YRRR or MYRRRR M is the model year being reissued Y is the production year This is sometimes referred to as the slanted script logo.Some earlier specimens from 1903 to 1907 did not slant the logo, or went without a logo entirely. Gibson Brands, Inc. respects your right to privacy. Is your serial number ink stamped like the 1957 Gibson Les Paul Special above? I would love to take a look. 6 digits or less and ink stamped: Is your serial number ink stamped like the 1957 Gibson Les Paul Special above? I would love to see it. Numbered in sequence as "AS xxxx" Dickey Betts '57 goldtop Les Paul Limited edition of 114. I'll get back to you as quickly as I can. I'm looking forward to checking it out! Have a questions about an item? Do you have a Gibson Les Paul with an ink stamped serial number? Gibson stopped the stamped serial numbers at the end of 1960, although a few instruments were made in 1961 with a 1 as a prefix. That's a tall order! Andy Summers ES-335 Limited edition of 50. Want to sell something? Please note that most of this information relates to serial numbers used from 1975 to present. by Underground •  This new function will try to match the serial number against older formats, details required for an exact match are listed in yellow. This section is designed to assist in dating and/or identifying instruments manufactured or distributed by Gibson Guitar Corp. Serial number ranges here can be tricky since Gibson reused the serial range multiple times through out the 1960s. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The Gibson Serial Number Decoder currently supports 6 formats from 4 Factories. Take a look- if your serial number is more than 6 digits then your guitar is no earlier than 1976. The Epiphone serial number decoder currently supports 12 serial number formats from 25 factories. Serial numbers from 70' and 80's era Epiphone guitars made in Japan are not supported. Click the Contact Me button in the corner of your browser or reach out to me at the Sell My Vintage Gibson Guitar page. Shopify Theme By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to our True Vintage Guitar comes to you from Birmingham, AL. Need help? If you're looking for "How old is my Gibson Les Paul guitar?" You would probably benefit from having a professional take a look at your guitar. Gibson Custom 1952-1960 Les Paul, Explorer, Flying V, and Futura reissues (since late 1992): M YRRR or MYRRRR; M is the model year being reissued; Y is the production year The original logo featured the words \"The Gibson\" inlaid in pearl at a slant, with an almost hand-written cursive font. By submitting this form you are agreeing to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. The serial number for your guitar should be on the back of the neck at the top just between and above the tuning machines. The Gibson serial number decoder Date a Gibson guitar by serial number From 1977 to 2013 Gibson have used an 8 digit serial number on all of their guitars. I'd be happy to take a look at your guitar. Copyright © 2020 True Vintage Guitar • The serial number for your guitar should be on the back of the neck at the top just between and above the tuning machines. For example, this Les Paul's serial number is "7_6227" so it was made in 1957. Take a look- if your serial number is more than 6 digits then your guitar is no earlier than 1976. Terms & Conditions | Registered Trademarks. Powered by Shopify. then you've come to the right place. Privacy Policy | Click the red Contact Me button in the lower right corner of your browser. Here's a list of the possible years of manufacture for different serial number ranges: 500000 - 500999   1965, 1966, 1968, or 1969, 600000 - 600998   low end models, 1966, 1967, or 1968, 800000 - 800999   1966, 1967, 1968 or 1969, All blog comments are checked prior to publishing. Click the red Contact Me button in the lower right corner of your screen to send me information about your guitar.