Esp Guitar Serial Number Decoder
Engine Serial Number Decoder Only ESP's technical support staff can accurately make the determination of a guitar's year of production. Avoid guitar 'dater websites' that allow users to input a serial number of a model and get back the year and model name of the guitar in question.
- The serial number is located on the neck plate on the back of the guitar. The year of manufacture is determined in the same way for the Swamp Ash Special as for the CE and EC. The next number, after the year number, determines the model (8 or SA) for the SA-models and then the sequential order of that year.
- Fender guitars produced in Japan have the serial number on the back of the neck, near the attachment to the body. In some reissue models it can be found on the headstock or the neck plate. The combination of the text 'Made in Japan' and the serial number was used until 1997.
- Fender guitars produced in Japan have the serial number on the back of the neck, near the attachment to the body. In some reissue models it can be found on the headstock or the neck plate. The combination of the text 'Made in Japan' and the serial number was used until 1997.
| The founder of the ESP company is Hisatake Shibuya. He was born in 1937 in Sado on the island of the same name in Japan. After graduating from Doshina University in 1961, he joined the guitar manufacturer Kawai. After 4 years he joined Yamaha and later the guitar manufacturer Fernandes. During this period he gained a lot of experience and started his own company in Tokyo in 1975. The company where he employed 3 employees consisted of a shop and a workshop for repairs and making parts for guitars. Guitars were also made here on a special order, which were built to the individual wishes of the customer. The sale of the own-built guitars turned out to be a great success and the demand for them grew quickly. A few years later, the production facilities were therefore moved to larger premises just outside Tokyo. The company expanded and from 1979 orders for customized guitars were also produced worldwide. In 1981 ESP established itself in the USA with an office in New York and in 1983 in Germany for distribution in Europe. Also in 1983, Hisatake Shibuya started a 'guitar making vocational school', some graduates of which landed a job at ESP. ESP already had several hundred employees, but that number grew after a new plant was opened in 1986 in Sado Island. In 1985 George Lynch of the heavy metal band Dokken discovered during a tour in Japan that ESP also built custom guitars. As a result, his famous ESP Kamikaze was created and ESP released this George Lynch's Kamikaze as his first signature model. ESP gained fame by making guitars for trash metal guitarists including James Hetfield (Metallica), Scott Ian (Anthrax) and Jeff Hanneman (Slayer). As a result, ESP has become one of the most popular suppliers of heavy metal guitars. To keep costs down, the LTD series were now also made in Korea (later also in Indonesia, China and Vietnam) from 1996 and the export to the USA of the Japan-made LTD guitars stopped. However, despite the now increased prices, ESP resumed the export of the Japanese series to the USA in the early 2000s. | Hisatake Shibuya George Lynch with ESP kamikaze The top-quality ESP guitars are made in the ESP managed and operated factory in Japan, and the more affordable LTD line is made in various locations in Asia. The popularity and demand for ESP guitars continues to expand, with a new factory opened in North Hollywood, CA, USA in 2014 near the new Los Angeles headquarters. Here the line of ESP USA guitars is produced and was added to the existing well-known series of ESP as LTD and E-II series. ESP is constantly innovating both electric and acoustic models. |
Although a serial number is useful for roughly determining the age of a guitar, this is often not the exact date. As a result of the overlap between years, Fender serial numbers are also not by definition chronological.
In the past (before 1976) the serial numbers were often randomly assigned. To approximate the correct year of construction for the period before 1976, also look at the date on the heel of the neck and of the potmeters. Usually the production date is stamped or written on the heel of the neck. To approximate the correct year of construction for the period before 1976, also look at the date on the heel of the neck and of the potmeters. To read this it is necessary to unscrew the neck from the body.
Esp Guitar Serial Number Decoder Online
Esp Ltd Serial Number Lookup
Most specifications for a particular Fender guitar have hardly changed, if at all. Although there have been times when major changes have taken place, such as the acquisition of Fender by CBS, and the transition from CBS Fender to the current owner (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation), most models have generally not changed.
At Stratocasters from the early fifties, the serial numbers were stamped on the back of the vibrato cover plate. On some Telecasters at the bridge between the pick-up and the saddles.
| Patent numbers Various patent numbers were added to the models between 1960 and 1977. These were stamped in the headstock under the Fender logo. | Example: PAT, 2,573,254 2,968,204 3,143,028 2,976,755 DES 187304 2,573,254 for pickup and bridge combination. 2,968,204 for the single coil pickup patent awarded in 1961 under other for Jaguar, Stratocaster, Duosonic. 3,143,028 the patent granted in August 1964 for Fender's adjustable neck construction. 2,976,755 for the split coil pickup design. (Used since 1957 to the Precision Bass) The DES is the serial number. |
Esp Serial Number Lookup