It has long been Ibanez's practice to begin production for the subsequent model year in November (or even late October), but the serial numbering change that was implemented in November 2004 acknowledged and formalized this practice.ġ997–October 2004, FujiGen, "F" + 7 digits Eight characters Note: as of November 2004, the serial number represents not necessarily the year the instrument was produced but rather the model year to which the instrument belongs. What is known is that this rubric is used by Ibanez to set the production date for warranty claims. It's unclear whether this numbering convention is rigidly enforced, that is, each month actually starts out with the number prescribed above, or if this is just a way to estimate the production month. Number also indicates month of manufacture, with the sequence incrementing to the next multiple of 3,000 each month, as follows:
# = consecutive production number for the year. F = manufactured by FujiGen Gakki in Nagano. AUSTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP SERIAL NUMBERS
Serial numbers by country of origin Japan November 2004– present, FujiGen, "F" + 7 digits Eight characters
2.3 JEM/UV models with square heels (non-AANJ). 1.1.1 November 2004– present, FujiGen, "F" + 7 digits. In cases where you have a serial numbe r but not a country of origin, the origin can sometimes be deduced from the serial number, although in this case it's very helpful if you have at least a rough idea of the date of manufacture. In most cases the country of origin is provided in the same location as the serial number. The first step in deciphering the serial number is determining the country or facility in which the guitar was produced. Stamped on the neck block inside an acoustic guitar. Stamped on the fretboard past the last fret, or. Printed, written or stamped on the label inside a hollow body or acoustic guitar, or. Stamped on the neck plate (the metal plate at the joint between the neck and the body), or. On the back of the headstock either on a sticker or painted/printed on the headstock itself,. Serial numbers on Ibanez guitars can generally be found in one of several locations: It applies primarily to electric guitars, but some information may also be applicable to acoustics. The information on this page is culled from several sources both on-line and off-line and represents a distillation of the available information. Ibanez guitar production is outsourced to several companies and facilities through the world and the numbering schemes are different in each region and/or factory. Unfortunately, there is no single unified format used for Ibanez serial numbers. Serial numbers can be useful in determining the age of a guitar as well as in which country and by which builder it was produced. The serial numbers are generally a character string containing letters and numbers, although some are purely numeric. The practice wasn't fully adopted on set-neck guitars until sometime in 1976. The first serial numbers on Ibanez acoustic guitars appeared in October 1974 Serial numbers on solid body guitars came a bit later with the first appearing on the neck plate of bolt-on neck models around August 1975. Ibanez guitars have used serial numbers since the mid 1970s. Ibanez serial numbers are unique identifiers placed on instruments sold under the Ibanez brand.
Examples of Ibanez serial numbers on back of headstock