mystery!Jackson professional serial number...

[Cuthbert]

J802846...This should already say it all to the experten of the board...

The guitar is a Jackson Soloist Professional, black, bought in England for 230 quid, if I recall well, of course, we all know that the Pros were produced until 1995...



Any suggestion?

[Cuthbert]

A picture of the guitar...as you see it's a standard Soloist professional...

[Rich#6]

I didn't think they were out that early, but I'm thinking 1988. Those Jackson pickups were used late 80's early 90's

[Sunbane]

My guess: It was monday morning. 7 AM, or worse. Someone was tired as fuck - possibly humg over as well - and grabbed the wrong number when he stamped it.

[Cuthbert]

My guess: It was monday morning. 7 AM, or worse. Someone was tired as fuck - possibly humg over as well - and grabbed the wrong number when he stamped it.

Possible...this means that my guitar is worth more than the others?Like a misprint in a stamp? :P

[Aaronharmon]

I would say it makes it worth less becuase it calls into question its authenticity

[Newc]

I have seen 1989 Professionals. Very few, but they do exist. Don't recall seeing one from 88 though, but it's not entirely impossible, especially if they were ramping up for a 1990 release date and shipping out preview pieces.

Are you sure that's the whole number? Only 5 numbers? The pic's kinda blurry. As well, if it is a 1988 Pro, and they were following the sequential serialization, that would be the 248th one they did that year. Seems like a ton of "preview" copies


Anyone with a 1988 catalog? Is there any word on these in there?

[Cuthbert]

I have seen 1989 Professionals. Very few, but they do exist. Don't recall seeing one from 88 though, but it's not entirely impossible, especially if they were ramping up for a 1990 release date and shipping out preview pieces.

Are you sure that's the whole number? Only 5 numbers? The pic's kinda blurry. As well, if it is a 1988 Pro, and they were following the sequential serialization, that would be the 248th one they did that year. Seems like a ton of "preview" copies


Anyone with a 1988 catalog? Is there any word on these in there?

Sorry for the pic, it's pretty bad, I know that, but I can tell you read J802846, first and fourth digit are the same.

Personally, I've never seen a Professional ante-1990, neither a '89, and I seriously dubt they were making them, because at that time there were the import Charvels, plus, the tremolo is recessed and the angle of the neck is flat, like all the professionals I've seen, these features weren't available so early for the american models (if somebody knows soemthing different, please contradict me).

My hypothesis are that the guitar is from 1990 and it's just a error, or in the years somebody deliberately turned the first digit from 0 to 8, but this wouldn't make much sense because in the end the guitar was sold for a good price and the girl who owned her knew very little about the instrument, she didn't know that was called "soloist" for instance...

[RobRR]

The pickup ring is a dead give away of it not being an 88... they still used the large style pickup rings. I believe it was 89 and above that they went to the normal sized rings, which that one has. Also the pickups dont appear to have the raised "jackson" lettering, also indicating its not an 88.

[Cuthbert]

The pickup ring is a dead give away of it not being an 88... they still used the large style pickup rings. I believe it was 89 and above that they went to the normal sized rings, which that one has. Also the pickups dont appear to have the raised "jackson" lettering, also indicating its not an 88.

Mmm, my friend has a Charvel 6 from '87, I don't know if your observations are valid for these guitars as well, but I noticed that while the pickup ring of my guitar is slanted, the oen of the model 6 is flush.

His pickups don't have the raised "jackson" letters as well, as far as I remember, and I'm 100% sure that the instrument is original because he bought it at that time.

If you want better resolution pictures, I'll try to provide them tonight.

[Cuthbert]

Just curious, anybody have a '89 professional?I never heard about them, is there a register for the Jackson professionals like for the Charve 750 XL?

[pro-fusion]

It's very obviously a 1990-95 Pro with a botched serial number--and obviously a fair amount of replacement hardware. It seems like there are more "1988" Charvel 750xls out there than "1989" Jackson Pros, but maybe they just haven't been posted here.

I think it's analogous to automobile model years--we date the guitar by the year of its catalog, but it's possible that some 1990 Pros were in shops in later 1989. I have a hard time believing that there were any Jackson Pros (even prototypes) made in 1988. They hadn't even introduced the toothpaste Charvels at that point.

[Cuthbert]

It's very obviously a 1990-95 Pro with a botched serial number--and obviously a fair amount of replacement hardware. It seems like there are more "1988" Charvel 750xls out there than "1989" Jackson Pros, but maybe they just haven't been posted here.

I think it's analogous to automobile model years--we date the guitar by the year of its catalog, but it's possible that some 1990 Pros were in shops in later 1989. I have a hard time believing that there were any Jackson Pros (even prototypes) made in 1988. They hadn't even introduced the toothpaste Charvels at that point.

For the replacement hardware, actually I placed it, I stilll have the original black, but personally I think that black on black was too easy.

For the model year, still, the only person I know that bought a Charvel/Jackson import at that time got a model 6 in 1987, and it was the first guitar arrived at least in this country, supposely they were introduced in 1986 but it's pretty difficult to say. Still, I'd like to know if somebody got a '89 Jackson Pro...so far on the website I just saw 1990 models...

[pro-fusion]

For the model year, still, the only person I know that bought a Charvel/Jackson import at that time got a model 6 in 1987, and it was the first guitar arrived at least in this country, supposely they were introduced in 1986 but it's pretty difficult to say. Still, I'd like to know if somebody got a '89 Jackson Pro...so far on the website I just saw 1990 models...

I'm in the USA, and I remember Model series Charvels in the shops in 1986. I remember it clearly because I desperately wanted one but didn't have the cash.

The "Model year" and the actual date of manufacture don't have to be the same, since J/C clearly starts production early to have guitars ready to send to the shops. But not two years early. I'm sure yours was just a screw-up when the serial number was stamped into the fretboard. Which is actually kind of a cool thing to have, like a USA Rhoads with a J serial number or a Soloist with an RR serial number.

[Newc]

A few people here have seen and owned 1989 Professionals - can't recall who, offhand. Charvel750? Brooks? Tracy?

As for the "toothpaste" Charvels not having been introduced yet, remember that there was a concerted effort to separate Jacksons from Charvels. There could have easily been a "test run" of Jacksons that would compete with the Charvel Model 6/650XL - ebony on the Jacksons and rosewood on the Charvels, etc etc.

And in mass-manufacturing, there are no sudden changes such as embossed lettering vs decals or pickup ring diameter changes. You will always have old stock on-hand, and it will always be mixed in with the new stuff if it's not a dramatic change (i.e. Metric vs Standard, etc).