Serial number meaning

[RaistMagus]

Hi all!

After reading some stuff here (and elsewhere) I've come to the conclusion that the serial numbers of the Imported Jacksons provide no clues for the place or year of make. Am I right?

I came accross and I'm about to buy a DKMG transparent black with the serial 9733362. It supposedly is 2-3 years old. Is there any way to get any information from the number?

Has anyone ever contacted the facilities where the guitars are made? (I mean the factory in India and Japan)

[Newc]

The number itself has no such meaning - it's not like Gibson, for example, where the serial number indicates facility (Kalamazoo or Nashville), day of the year, and which spot in the daily production that one was made.

Jackson serials do indicate where they were made, but only in the sense that we compare those serial number formats to others that we know to be from a given manufacture.

For example, we know for a fact that Jackson imports produced in the Japan facility switched to the "96" serial format in the mid-90s (1996, as a matter of fact), and the "96" format merely means the serial numbers start with "96". These guitars were purchased new from retailers and had both Made In Japan stickers and in some cases it was etched into the neckplate. The catalogs also stated these were made in Japan, so it is therefore accepted that these serial numbers are not found on India-made guitars.

Shortly thereafter, they went to the "97" format, such as yours is.
However, they also added an extra number to the end, going from a 6-digit serial to a 7-digit serial.

Again, the numbers themselves mean very little, other than to state where it was made. Year of manufacture can be roughly estimated by comparing one to another that is known for certain. i.e. if you bought an identical model in 2004 new from the dealer upon its arrival, you can be fairly certain it is a 2004 model. If you find one today with a serial number in range of yours, you know it was made around 2004. If you find one whose serial number is several hundred or several thousand above yours, you know it was made after 2004.

Guitars made in India begin at 8-digit serials (and go up to at least 10 digits), and usually start with 0, though I believe it was also found that some were given 98 and 99 serials.

[RaistMagus]

Thanks for the prompt reply!

It is sad that the factories don't share this information. All the official jackson site would have to do is to announce a starting serial number for each model they make once per year...

[RacerX]

Hi all!
After reading some stuff here (and elsewhere) I've come to the conclusion that the serial numbers of the Imported Jacksons provide no clues for the place or year of make. Am I right?

Nope Read this thread: http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/101...abase-Sharing?

But I would take Newc's post in that thread with a grain of salt. In the past, some of his assertions weren't exact. Sorry, Newc, I've caught you numerous times re serials. Newc's post in THIS thread, however, is OK. So he's learning.
I do give props to Newc however for suggesting multiple times to remove the necks (on bolt-ons) to check for date-stamps in the neck pocket. That method has proved to be accurate.

a DKMG transparent black with the serial 9733362. It supposedly is 2-3 years old. Is there any way to get any information from the number?

2005, made in the Japan factory.

[RacerX]

All the official jackson site would have to do is to announce a starting serial number for each model they make once per year...

Oh that would be awesome, wouldn't it?

FYI, the Jackson site does have a (somewhat convoluted) info page on US serial numbers, but no info after the year 2001
Check out the page:

http://www.jacksonguitars.com/support/serialnumbers_productdating.php

A couple of us JCFers keep formal & informal charts to track them after '01.

Guitars made in India begin at 8-digit serials (and go up to at least 10 digits), and usually start with 0, though I believe it was also found that some were given 98 and 99 serials.

India guitars have had at least 3 different serial # formats*

Newc, didn't you own at one time that MII Star? Wasn't it a Charvel pre 1998? Do you remember its serial?




*As far as I know, the formats are:

-from around 1999 - 2004: 8 digits with the first 2 indicating year. 99xxxxxx = 1999 01xxxxxx = 2001
-starting around 2005: 9 digits with the first 4 indicating year. 2005xxxxx = 2005
-recent MII owners report 10 digits: NHJxxxxxxx (we haven't decoded this one yet)

[Newc]

Agreed. For some reason all the stuff I knew at the time about serial numbers was ass-backwards from what it really was

Don't recall that serial, Ron, and I can't find any other pics than the front of the body and the head

[RaistMagus]

I had checked both the US-up-to-2001 table and the database thread before posting here.

Thanks again guys!