Question about USA Charvel Promod serial numbers

[J_A / 540s]

They have 6 digit serial numbers like 001234 up until the number hits 8000. For some reason when they hit 8000 they left the 2 zeros off.

I have 2 theories on that.. The 1st is it was a mistake on the plates.. The 2nd is that when they got to 8000 it was the end of the USA production & they knew there would never be any promods hitting 10000 mark needing the extra digit. I dont think it has anything whatsoever to do with any rep guitars.. I have never seen a plate 8000 & up with the 2 zeros on it & I have never seen a promod plate under 7999 without the 00 prefix

Since I have stupid obsessons with guitars Ive been saving pics & a list of neck plate serial numbers from parted out promods for the last year or so... I like the promods enough that theres a good chance I'll end up with a sizable stack of 'em so I figured down the road I'd like to know what I'm buying

[RacerX]

J_A, what is your theory about "Custom Shop plates" proposed in Posts # 6 & 7?

[dg]

You've got it backwards, J_A. They made some with CS plates very early on, most likely because the 6-digit plates weren't ready when they put the dealer rep or NAMM show guitars together. The biggest proof is that if you look at busdriver's registry, there are no cases of a Custom and a 4-digit promod having the same number, which would be very likely if they just started leaving zeroes off of promod plates.

[J_A / 540s]

J_A, what is your theory about "Custom Shop plates" proposed in Posts # 6 & 7?

I may be fresh outta theories.. but that wont stop me from trying to learn more & share what data Ive collected


I just checked through that list of CS plates (which I've never seen til now) & notice there no duplicated numbers from there or my pic list in the 8000 range but I didnt really expect that there would be. Why they would use a s/n twice unless there was a majorly major screw up they didnt know about?

I'll spend more time with that list & mine over the weekend.

So far I did look through about 30 S/N's in other ranges on my list & the one in the link DG shared in post #7 & so far & theres #6920 listed as a chlorine Dinky & I have pics of a complete Red 1H wild card with the plate 006920 when it was new at a store. but then of course .. thats not really a duplicate due to the 00's

Im not sayin its the law but ive never personally seen a promod in person or on the internet without the 00xxxx pattern with a number lower than 8xxx that wasnt at least used or a modified guitar. There are however only 213 #'s on my list right now which is something to consider but ive been lookin at em long before i started collecting the data. I'm not saying they dont exist.. just that i never saw one.


On my list of the "parted out" plates in the 8000 range i only have 8305, 8306, 8309, 8310, 8312 & 8323. I think recently figured out how the "reliable" dealer inventories their parts so i can hopefully associate their bodies & plates when theyre listed & started adding a pic of the bodies for future reference on what it was originally.

It doesnt mean squat in this thread but I can tell ya my SD2 #001434 has a very nice flamey neck & is one of the best guitars ive ever owned at any price range.. My JCF-01 & 1st 5 RR among many other killer guitars have been collecting dust since I started using this low brow beast. I almost have to force myself to use another guitar or "need" a traditional Strat for a session im working on.

Ok.. So heres a revised theory.. When they hit 8000 maybe they stopped making promod specific USA neck plates because they knew the MIJ was only right around the bend. Why spend money on more plates when they can just use a few of the 4 digit plates they had already to finish out the run? As for pre 8000 4 digit promod plates my theory is I dont know! One nice thing about a theory is ya can change it every time ya learn something new

Edit: I did see a gold SD2 for sale recently with a 4 digit 8xxx plate.. but it had changed pickups & a chrome Floyd so I dismissed it as a rebuilt parts guitar ! I know the chrome floyd & pickups were replaced.. but it also had a killer flame neck,, Im gonna try to find it again now that I know about this rep guitar thing

[RacerX]

Oh, you're keeping a database? Feel free to add my two Charvels...

[Chubtone]

There is no reason to have a theory about this. The very earliest Pro Mods that were given to the Charvel sales reps had custom shop neck plates on them. I owned two rep samples from the very start of the USA Pro Mods and they both have 4 digit numbers in the 8000's. Played them from a sales rep before the Pro Mods were released and purchased directly from that sales rep after he had showed them to all his dealers. There should be no mystery about this. They weren't ringers or any better than the USA Productions that came after them, but they were set up incredibly well.

There's a lot of mysteries in this world that need to be solved. This isn't one of them.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

They weren't ringers or any better than the USA Productions that came after them, but they were set up incredibly well.

If you think they were the same quality as a randomly-grabbed Pro Mod off the assembly line then you DO need a tin foil hat because the mothership has successfully brainwashed you.

I'm not saying they were birdseye maple with one-piece bodies or anything, I'm saying that they were a best-case-scenario of the production model.

[J_A / 540s]

There is no reason to have a theory about this. The very earliest Pro Mods that were given to the Charvel sales reps had custom shop neck plates on them. I owned two rep samples from the very start of the USA Pro Mods and they both have 4 digit numbers in the 8000's. Played them from a sales rep before the Pro Mods were released and purchased directly from that sales rep after he had showed them to all his dealers. There should be no mystery about this. They weren't ringers or any better than the USA Productions that came after them, but they were set up incredibly well.

There's a lot of mysteries in this world that need to be solved. This isn't one of them.

Yep.. hence my comment about theories can be changed when ya learn something new.. I had no idea about the list & the dealer rep guitars until my 2nd post in this thread..

[Chubtone]

If you think they were the same quality as a randomly-grabbed Pro Mod off the assembly line then you DO need a tin foil hat because the mothership has successfully brainwashed you.

I'm not saying they were birdseye maple with one-piece bodies or anything, I'm saying that they were a best-case-scenario of the production model.

I already have a tin foil hat! I told you that. I have also held way more than 100 Production models in my hands. Of the two that I still own, one was a rep sample and one was just a guitar out of the box and off the wall. I love them both and to be honest, I play them both more than my '80 and my '84 Charvels. I just like the neck shape better.

Now have you seen my you tube video on making a tin foil hat? Check it out buddy. Then we'll both be protected.

[Bionic]

If you think they were the same quality as a randomly-grabbed Pro Mod off the assembly line then you DO need a tin foil hat because the mothership has successfully brainwashed you.

I'm not saying they were birdseye maple with one-piece bodies or anything, I'm saying that they were a best-case-scenario of the production model.

Wow, I'm going to regret this... but that is incorrect... they were right off the line. In fact, we couldn't wait to get them into reps hands... which is why we used the Custom Shop neck plates. There was no special set up. Even SO, there is no difference in those USA Production Model guitars with 4 digit vs. 6 digit. Also, they weren't just rep guitars... many of the first batch had 4 digits...due to a delay in receiving the 6 digit plates.

[shreddermon]

These things happen. Sometimes planned, sometimes not, sometimes out of necessity. It happened back in the San Dimas era, too. Heck, I have a new custom shop Charvel with a Jackson USA production plate and serial number. No biggee. LOL

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Wow, I'm going to regret this...

Bionic Mike makes his triumphant return...

Good to see you posting again.

Hey if that's true Mike (and I believe you) then that is really awesome. I personally wouldn't have the balls to just grab a random sample to be the representative of a new line of guitars. No matter who makes them, there's always a dud or two somewhere.