Guitar Pages Gibson History
In the spring of 1935, Gibson enlisted musician Alvino Rey to help develop a prototype pickup with engineers at the Lyon & Healy company in Chicago. Later that year, research was moved in-house, where Gibson employee Walter Fuller came up with the final design.
Gibson introduced the distinctive hexagonal pickup on a lap steel model in late 1935. The pickup was installed on an F-hole archtop guitar, dubbed the ES-150 (ES for Electric Spanish), and the first one shipped from the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 20, 1936.
Was the ES-150 the best electric guitar that guitarists in 1936 had ever seen? Jazz musician Charlie Christian, who would establish the electric guitar as an instrument with its own unique voice, thought so. Sixty years later, the Gibson ES-150 is still known as the Charlie Christian model, and some jazz players consider the ES-150's "Charlie Christian" pickup to be the best jazz pickup ever made.
The ES-150's success was a double-edged sword, establishing Gibson as the foremost maker of electric guitars but at the same time challenging Gibson to top this monumental achievement. After a production break for World War II, Gibson did just that.
In the years after World War II, the electric guitar came of age and Gibson entered a golden of age of innovation. The P-90 pickup, introduced in 1946, gave guitarists new power and versatility. Under the aggressive leadership of company president Ted McCarty, Gibson debuted two new concepts in 1949 with the ES-5, the first three-pickup guitar, and the ES-175, the first guitar with a sharply pointed cutaway bout.
The advent of the solidbody electric guitar posed a new challenge for Gibson. Like the ES-150 in 1936, Gibson's first solidbody electric had to uphold Gibson tradition while going a step beyond all other guitars of its kind. A carved contoured top harkened back to the very first Orville Gibson instruments of the late 1800s, and a gold finish signified a value above all others. With the endorsement of the most popular guitarist of the time, Gibson introduced the Les Paul Model in 1952. The Les Paul quickly grew into a family of four models-the Junior, Special, Standard and Custom-all of which would become Gibson classics. Gibson's top models sported McCarty's new tune-o-matic bridge, which was introduced on the Les Paul Custom in 1954 and is still the standard Gibson electric guitar bridge. In 1958 McCarty debuted not one, but two radical new ideas-a semi-hollowbody electric and a group of exotic, futuristic solidbodies. The ES-335 was an instant success, combining traditional archtop styling with modern, solidbody construction. The Flying V, Explorer and Moderne proved to be decades ahead of their time.
Gibson pushed on into the 1960s with two more bold, modern solidbody lines-the double-cutaway SG models of '61 and the reverse-body Firebirds of '63. By the time the McCarty era ended in 1965, a foundation of classic models had been laid that would carry Gibson through the rest of the century.
The home of Gibson electric guitars today is "Gibson USA," built in 1974 in Nashville specifically for the production of Gibson's Les Paul guitars. Although the entire guitar industry went through a slump in the late '70s, the spirit of innovation remained strong at Gibson. In response to a growing demand for vintage stylings, Gibson tapped its rich history and reissued the dot-neck version of the ES-335 in 1981 and the flametop sunburst Les Paul in 1982. At the same time, two legendary guitarists joined Gibson- B.B. King in 1980 with the Lucille model and Chet Atkins in 1982 with his new concept of a solidbody acoustic guitar.
Gibson world headquarters moved to Nashville in 1984 with the closing of the Kalamazoo plant. The financially troubled company was rescued in January 1986 by Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, and the new owners quickly restored Gibson's reputation for quality as well as its profitability.
Today's Gibson electric guitars represent the history as well as the future of the electric guitar. The models whose designs have become classics-the ES-175, ES-335, Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, SGs and Les Pauls-are a testament to Gibson's wide appeal, spanning more than four decades of music styles. Gibson's close relationship with musicians is manifest in endorsement models from King, Atkins and jazz greats Howard Roberts and Herb Ellis, plus new Les Pauls made to the personal specifications of rock stars Jimmy Page and Joe Perry. In 1994, Gibson's Centennial year, the new Nighthawk model won an industry award for design, setting the stage for a second hundred years of Gibson quality and innovation.
Brought to you by Gibson Musical Instruments and the Gibson Internet Services Department. Copyright 1997 Gibson Guitar Corp. 1818 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, Tennessee 37210 USA. All rights reserved.
Gibson Serial and Factory Order Numbers (from provide.net)
Intersilo is working on automating the search for Gibson
SN's and FON's, scheduled for November 2001.
Factory Order Numbers with a Letter, 1952 to 1961.
This letter preceeds the batch number within the Factory Order Number (FON), and denotes the year of manufacturer. Remember, the batch number is the first 4 digits of the FON, followed by a 1 or 2 digit sequence number (within the batch). This letter should be before the FON batch number. This was used on archtop models (ink stamped inside treble F-hole) and on flat top models (ink stamped on the neck block), from 1952 to 1961:
Year Letter
---- ------
1952 Z
1953 Y
1954 X
1955 W
1956 V
1957 U
1958 T
1959 S
1960 R
1961 Q
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Serial Numbers
Serial Number Configuration and Placement:
1902 to 1908: Rectangular label, no serial number or model name on label, photo of Orville Gibson and lyre-mandolin on label, date sometimes penciled under top.
1904 to 1909: Oval label with serial number, no model name, photo of Orville Gibson and lyre-mandolin: 1904 to 1909.
1902 to April 1947: Number and model name on white paper label, number range 1000 to 99999:
1908 to 1932: Hand ink or penciled (some overlap with previous style):
1932 to 1947: Ink stamped, not penciled.
1927 and later: Low end models with no serial number.
Hollowbody instruments 1947 to 1961:
"Artist" serial numbers used on mid to upper line guitars. No serial number used on lower line instruments (date by Factory Order Number). Instruments with an "Artist" serial number should also have a Factory Order Number by which a date can be cross-referenced.
Number preceded by an "A-" on white oval label: 4/28/47 to 1/12/55. The first number, A-100, was assigned to an L-7 on 4/28/47. The last white label number was A-18750, used 1/12/55. Note white label numbers A-18751 to A-20000 were not used.
Number preceded by an "A" on orange oval label: 1/13/55 to 2/21/61. The first orange label number, A20001, was used on a F-5 mandolin 01/13/55. The last orange label "A" number was A36147, used 2/21/61. Note the "-" after the "A" was dropped for the orange labels.
Solidbody instruments 1952 to 1960:
No number: 1952 to early 1953
ink stamped numbers in back top of peghead. First number denotes last digit of year, followed by a space and 4 digits, or no space and 5 digits. No space and 5 digits following the year only occured in 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. In 1955 Gibson forgot to reset their serial number back to #5 0001. Instead they continued the 1954 series, just changing the first digit to a "5" for 1955. For this reason the serial numbers exceeded "5 9999", hence 5 digits and no space following the year had to be used. Apparently production was high enough in 1956 to exceed "6 9999". 1959 & 1960 production was also very high, exceeding "9 9999" and going to "932000" or higher.
All models, NO "made in U.S.A." stamped on peghead, 1961 to 1969:
4 or 5 digits impressed in back top of peghead: 1961 to 1964.
6 digits impressed in back top of peghead: 1963 to 1969.
All models, "made in U.S.A." stamped-on the peghead, 1970 to present.
Stamped on the back of the peghead. The "U.S.A." is below the "Made in", which is below the stamped-on serial number. All stamps in the same size type. Used from 1970 to present:
6 digits impressed in back top of peghead: 1970 to 1975.
Letter followed by 3 digits, custom shop or limited edition models only: 1971 to present.
Number on decal: 1975 to 1977.
8 digits impressed in back top of peghead: 1977 to present.
Serial Numbers for Hollow bodies, 1947 to 1961.
"A" series, number on interior label, 1947 to 1961 hollow body models. This "Artist" series serial numbers were only used on mid to upper end instruments.
Year Number
---- ------
1947 A-100 (Apr 28) A-411 (Jul 2) A-1146 (Dec 1) A-1304
1948 A-1305 (Jan 8)
A-1849 (Jul 2)
A-2613 (Dec 8)
A-2665
1949 A-2666 (Jan 5)
A-3353 (Jul 1)
A-4209 (Dec 1)
A-4413
1950 A-4414 (Jan 3)
A-5456 (Jul 3)
A-6312 (Dec 4)
A-6597
1951 A-6598 (Jan 4)
A-8030 (Jul 2)
A-9194 (Dec 3)
A-9419
1952 A-9420 (Jan 2)
A-11057 (Jul 1)
A-12202 (Dec 1)
A-12462
1953 A-12463 (Jan 8)
A-14332 (Jul 1)
A-15883 (Dec 2)
A-16101
1954 A-16102 (Jan 5)
A-17435 (Jul 1)
A-18496 (Dec 1)
A-18667
1955 A-18668 (Jan 6)
A-18750 (Jan 12, last white label.
Note A-18751 to A-19999 not used)
A 20001 (Jan 13, First orange label)
A 20991 (Jul 1)
A 21745 (Dec 1)
A 21909
1956 A 21910 (Jan 6)
A 23387 (Jul 3)
A 24567 (Dec 1)
A 24755
1957 A 24756 (Jan 3)
A 25899 (Jul 3)
A 26695 (Dec 3)
A 26819
1958 A 26820 (Jan 6)
A 27816 (Jul 1)
A 28576 (Dec 1)
A 28880
1959 A 28881 (Jan 9)
A 30569 (Jul 13)
A 31844 (Dec 2)
A 32284
1960 A 32285 (Jan 4)
A 34068 (Jul 1)
A 35252 (Dec 1)
A 35645
1961 A 35646 (Jan 3)
A 35943 (Feb 1)
A 36147 (Feb 21, Last "A" number)
Serial Numbers, 1952 to 1960, solid body models.
Ink stamped number on back top of peghead. The first year of Gibson solidbodies was 1952, and Gibson didn't use any serial number in 1952. Starting in 1953, the first number is the last number of the year. If the ink stamped number consists of 5 digits, there will be a space between the first and second numbers (separating the last digit of the year from the actual serial number). If there is a 6 digit ink stamped number, there is no embedded space as the serial number has exceeded 9999 and now occupies the place where the space existed in numbers 9999 and lower. No space and 5 digits following the year only occured in 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960. In 1955 Gibson forgot to reset their serial number back to #5 0001. Instead they continued the 1954 series, just changing the first digit to a "5" for 1955. For this reason the serial numbers exceeded "5 9999", hence 5 digits and no space following the year had to be used. Apparently production was high enough in 1956 to exceed "6 9999". Production in 1959 and 1960 was also very high, exceeding "9 9999" and going to "932000" or higher:
Year First Number
---- ------------
1952 none
1953 3
1954 4
1955 5
1956 6
1957 7
1958 8
1959 9
1960 0
Stamped in serial numbers, used from 1961 to 1969. The 1964 number on the left is still a "pressed in" number, though gibson has inked the impression to make it more readable (they started doing this about 1963 or 1964, when serial numbers went to six digits). The number in the middle is from 1964 (on an ES-335), and the number in the right is from 1961 (on an Les Paul TV Special). Note the lack of "Made in USA", thus denoting these are pre-1970 guitars.
Serial Numbers, Feb 1961 to 1970.
All models, stamped in back top of peghead. No "MADE IN USA" stamp below serial number! Note many serial numbers are duplicated from 1963-1969. To figure out which is the exact year for a guitar, see the General Specs section for details.
Range Year
----- ----
0100 to 42440 1961
42441 to 61180 1962
61450 to 64222 1963
64240 to 71040 1964
71041 to 96600 1962, a few from 1963/1964
96601 to 99999 1963
000001 to 099999 1967 (all 6 digit numbers
starting with "0" are 1967)
100000 to 106099 1963 or 1967
106100 to 106899 1963
109000 to 109999 1963 or 1967
110000 to 111549 1963
111550 to 115799 1963 or 1967
115800 to 118299 1963
118300 to 120999 1963 or 1967
121000 to 139999 1963
140000 to 140100 1963 or 1967
140101 to 144304 1963
144305 to 144380 1964
144381 to 149864 1963
149865 to 149891 1964
149892 to 152989 1963
152990 to 174222 1964
174223 to 176643 1964 or 1965
176644 to 250335 1964
250336 to 305983 1965
306000 to 310999 1965 or 1967
311000 to 320149 1965
320150 to 320699 1967
320700 to 329179 1965
329180 to 330199 1965 or 1967
330200 to 332240 1965, 1967 or 1968
332241 to 348092 1965
348093 to 349100 1966
349121 to 368638 1965
368640 to 369890 1966
370000 to 370999 1967
380000 to 385309 1966
390000 to 390998 1967
400001 to 406666 1966
406667 to 409670 1966 to 1968
409671 to 410900 1966
410901 to 419999 unknown
420000 to 429193 1966
500000 to 500999 1965, 1966, 1968, or 1969
501009 to 501600 1965
501601 to 501702 1968
501703 to 502706 1965 or 1968
503010 to 503109 1968
503405 to 520955 1965 or 1968
520956 to 530056 1968
530061 to 530850 1966, 1968, or 1969
530851 to 530993 1968 or 1969
530994 to 539999 1969
540000 to 540795 1966 or 1969
540796 to 545009 1969
555000 to 556909 1966
558012 to 567400 1969
570087 to 570643 1966
570645 to 570755 1966 or 1967
570857 to 570964 1966
580000 to 580080 1969
580086 to 580999 1966, 1967 or 1969
600000 to 600998 low end models, 1966, 1967, or 1968
600000 to 606090 high end models, 1969
700000 to 700799 1966, 1967 or 1969
750000 to 750999 1968 or 1969
800000 to 800999 1966, 1967, 1968 or 1969
801000 to 812838 1966 or 1969
812900 to 819999 1969
820000 to 820087 1966 or 1969
820088 to 823830 1966
824000 to 824999 1969
828002 to 847488 1966 or 1969
847499 to 858999 1966 or 1969
859001 to 895038 1967
895039 to 896999 1968
897000 to 898999 1967 or 1969
899000 to 899999 1968
900000 to 901999 1970
910000 to 999999 1968
All models, stamped in back top of headstock. "MADE IN U.S.A." stamped below the serial number in back top of peghead, in the same size type, and on two lines with "U.S.A." below the "MADE IN":
Number Year
------ ----
6 digits + A 1970
000000's 1973
100000's 1970-1975
200000's 1973-1975
300000's 1974-1975
400000's 1974-1975
500000's 1974-1975
600000's 1970-1972, 1974-1975
700000's 1970-1972
800000's 1973-1975
900000's 1970-1972
A + 6 digits 1973-1975
B + 6 digits 1974-1975
C + 6 digits 1974-1975
D + 6 digits 1974-1975
E + 6 digits 1974-1975
F + 6 digits 1974-1975
Serial Numbers, 1975-1977.
All models, decal, 2 digit prefix followed by 6 digits. The decal can also states the model name/number.
Prefix Year
------ ----
99 1975
00 1976
06 1977
Serial Numbers, 1977 to present.
All models, 8 digit number impressed in back top of peghead in the following format:
YY (1st and 5th digit) = year
DDD (digits 2-4) = day of the year,
001=Jan 1st, 365=Dec 31st.
NNN (digits 6-8) = rank of instrument for that day.
Example: 80012005 = 5th instrument made in Kalamazoo
on the first day of 1982.
Note all Kalamazoo made instruments (1977-1984) and Bozeman (1989-present) are numbered beginning with 001 each day. Instruments made at Nashville are numbered beginning with 500 each day.
Exceptions to the 1977 and later 8 digit serial numbers.
Vintage reissue and custom shop models use a different serial number format.
1970s Les Paul Spotlight Special
Numbered YY nnnn (with YY being the year, nnnn is the ranking).
1994 Electric Gibsons.
In 1994 only, the Nashville Gibson factory numbered all instruments with a 94xxxxxx style number. The final 6 digits ranked the instruments over the whole year's production.
1994 Centennial Electric Models.
Inked on serial number in a YYYY-MM format. This funky formatting keys the YYYY number to a ranking of the model according to the years of centenial (1894 corresponds to #1, 1994 corresponds to #101, etc). The MM was the month of the model within the series, ranging from 1 to 14 (but only 12 models were actually produced, plus 2 prototypes).
Les Paul Classic, 1990-present.
The LP Classic have a 1950s style inked serial number with the first digit decoding to the last digit of the year.
Les Paul '59 FlameTop
Ink stamped, 4 or 5 digits
no "MADE IN USA"