Vintage Fret

Timeline: what was current in any year from 1890 to 2025

Pick a year. Each maker's lane shows its serial formats and the events that changed them. The lists below show the features that were in use that year.

1960

Grey bars are serial formats. Red marks are events. Lane names link to the brand page.

Formats in use in 1960

  • Harmony: Harmony stamped numbers. Rule
  • Kay: Kay stamped numbers. Rule
  • Ukulele, banjo and mandolin: Ukulele serial numbers. Rule
  • Ukulele, banjo and mandolin: Banjo serial numbers. Rule
  • Ukulele, banjo and mandolin: Mandolin serial numbers. Rule
  • Silvertone / Danelectro: Silvertone and Danelectro numbers. Rule
  • Martin: Martin sequential serial, 1898 to 2025. Rule
  • Epiphone: Pre-1990 numbers. Rule
  • Gibson: Factory order number with year letter, 1935 to 1942. Rule
  • Gretsch: Sequential numbers, 1939 to 1965. Rule
  • Fender: Four and five-digit numbers, 1950 to 1964. Rule
  • Gibson: Letter plus four digits, 1952 to 1961. Rule
  • Gibson: Five-digit number, first digit is the last digit of the year, 1953 to 1961. Rule
  • Guild: Early numbers, 1953 to 1960. Rule
  • Gibson: Loosely numbered runs, 1961 to 1972. Rule
  • Guild: Sequential numbers, 1961 to 1964. Rule
  • Rickenbacker: Two-letter year and month code, 1961 to 1986. Rule
  • Fender: L prefix, 1963 to 1965. Rule
  • Fender: Six-digit numbers, 1965 to 1976. Rule
  • Guild: Per-model prefix era, 1965 to 1970. Rule
  • Gretsch: Month and year-digit code, 1966 to 1972. Rule
  • Gibson: Norlin-era six digits, 1970 to 1975. Rule
  • Guild: Sequential numbers, 1971 to 1979. Rule
  • Gretsch: Month-hyphen-year-digit, 1973 to 1981. Rule
  • Gibson: Two-digit prefix, 1975 to 1977. Rule
  • Fender: S prefix and 76 prefix, 1976 to 1979. Rule
  • Fender: Seven digits starting 76, 1976. Rule
  • Gibson: Eight-digit date code, 1977 to 1999. Rule
  • Guild: Model-family prefix, 1979 to 1994. Rule
  • Fender: E prefix, 1981 to 1984. Rule
  • Fender: JV and SQ prefixes, Japan, 1982 to 1984. Rule
  • Rickenbacker: Month letter plus year digit, 1987 to 1996. Rule
  • Gretsch: Japan YYMM format, 1989 to 2002. Rule
  • Epiphone: Factory code, year and month, 1990s onwards. Rule
  • Fender: N prefix, 1990 to 2002. Rule
  • Fender: MN prefix, Mexico, 1990 to 2009. Rule
  • Rickenbacker: Serial begins with the year, 1998 onwards. Rule
  • Gretsch: Factory prefix, year and month, 2003 onwards. Rule

Features

Physical details that changed over time. They are clues to weigh against the serial, not rulings.

  • Earlier to 1969 Martin, Likely

    Brazilian rosewood back and sides on standard models. Tight, straight grain with strong colour variation. Indian rosewood is plainer and more uniform.

  • Earlier to 1975 Harmony, Likely

    Harmony production ends. The brand disappears from catalogues after 1975.

  • 1898 to later Martin, Likely

    Stamped serial on the neck block (post-1898). Look through the soundhole at the neck block.

  • 1931 to 1946 Martin, Likely

    Herringbone top purfling on D-28 style models. A herringbone pattern ring around the top edge.

  • 1938 to 1944 Martin, Likely

    Scalloped top braces. Look inside with a mirror: brace edges are carved in scallops.

  • 1946 to 1957 Gibson, Likely

    P-90 single-coil pickups as the standard fitting. A wide, flat-looking pickup cover with screw-slotted pole pieces.

  • 1949 to 1957 Gretsch, Likely

    White rectangular paper label. A plain white rectangular label on the inside back.

  • 1950 to 1954 Fender, Likely

    Black pickguard on Telecasters. A black guard on an ash body, often called a blackguard.

  • 1950 to 1965 Kay, Ambiguous

    Gold K logo on the headstock. A decal logo with a prominent K.

  • 1954 to later Gibson, Likely

    Tune-o-matic bridge introduced. A saddle bridge with individually adjustable saddles on two posts.

  • 1956 to 1966 Guild, Likely

    Hoboken, New Jersey factory. Label naming Hoboken, New Jersey.

  • 1956 to 1969 Silvertone / Danelectro, Likely

    Masonite and Lipstick-tube pickups. A hollow body of Masonite with pickups that look like lipstick tubes.

  • 1957 to 1962 Gibson, Likely

    PAF humbucker stickers. A "Patent Applied For" label on the underside of the pickup.

  • 1957 to 1965 Gretsch, Likely

    Orange oval paper label. A bright orange oval label on the inside back.

  • 1958 to 1969 Epiphone, Likely

    Made in Kalamazoo. Label or stamp naming Kalamazoo, Michigan.

  • 1959 to 1962 Fender, Likely

    Slab rosewood fingerboard. A flat-bottomed rosewood board with a visible straight line.

  • 1961 to 1986 Rickenbacker, Likely

    Letter-based jackplate date code. Two letters above the jack hole on the jackplate.

  • 1962 to 1973 Gibson, Likely

    Patent number sticker humbuckers. A label showing a patent number instead of "Patent Applied For".

  • 1965 to 1976 Fender, Likely

    Large script F neck plate. A neck plate with a stylised F and six-digit serial number.

  • 1966 to 1990 Guild, Likely

    Westerly, Rhode Island factory. Label or stamp naming Westerly, Rhode Island.

  • 1970 to later Gibson, Likely

    "Made in USA" stamp on the headstock. A stamp near the serial number on the back of the headstock.

  • 1970 to later Epiphone, Likely

    Japan production begins. "Made in Japan" stamp, usually on the back of the headstock.

  • 1976 to later Fender, Likely

    Serial number on the headstock face. A decal or stamp on the front of the headstock rather than a neck plate.

  • 1985 to later Martin, Likely

    Adjustable truss rod standard. A hex nut visible at the soundhole end of the neck.

Events

  • 1883 Gretsch

    Gretsch founded in Brooklyn. The company starts as a maker of drums and banjos.

  • 1898 Martin

    Martin begins one continuous serial sequence. From this year Martin numbered every instrument in a single run, which is why the Martin table works over more than a century.

  • 1902 Gibson

    Gibson founded in Kalamazoo. The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company is incorporated.

  • 1931 Martin

    Dreadnought D-28 and herringbone style. The D-28 style with herringbone purfling establishes the dreadnought as Martin's flagship line.

  • 1934 Martin

    Move to 14-fret necks on the OM and D lines. More frets clear of the body mark a shift in how these models are recognised.

  • 1944 Martin

    Scalloped bracing phased out. Martin moves away from scalloped braces during the war years.

  • 1946 Martin

    Herringbone purfling ends. The herringbone top ring is dropped.

  • 1946 Fender

    Fender founded. The company begins as Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing.

  • 1950 Fender

    Broadcaster and Telecaster introduced. The first mass-produced solid-body electric.

  • 1952 Gibson

    Les Paul model introduced. The solidbody Les Paul appears; solid bodies are not serialised until 1953.

  • 1952 Guild

    Guild founded. Alfred Dronge founds Guild in New York.

  • 1954 Gibson

    Tune-o-matic bridge introduced. The adjustable saddle bridge starts to appear on the better models.

  • 1954 Fender

    Stratocaster introduced. Neck-plate serial numbers begin at about this time.

  • 1956 Silvertone / Danelectro

    Lipstick-tube pickups appear. Danelectro-built instruments adopt the lipstick pickup.

  • 1957 Gibson

    PAF humbucker introduced. The Patent Applied For humbucker replaces P-90s on many models.

  • 1957 Gretsch

    Filter'Tron pickup introduced. Gretsch adds its humbucking pickup.

  • 1957 Epiphone

    Gibson acquires Epiphone. Epiphone production moves to Kalamazoo from about 1958.

  • 1958 Rickenbacker

    Rickenbacker 330 and 360 introduced. The slim-body models appear around this time.

  • 1961 Gibson

    Serial numbering becomes irregular. Number blocks stop mapping neatly to years until the 1977 reform.

  • 1961 Rickenbacker

    Letter-based date code starts. The two-letter year and month stamp begins on the jackplate.

  • 1965 Fender

    CBS buys Fender. The company is acquired in January; the large script F neck plate follows.

  • 1966 Guild

    Production moves to Westerly, Rhode Island. Manufacture moves from Hoboken, New Jersey.

  • 1967 Gretsch

    Baldwin acquires Gretsch. A change of ownership leads to production and numbering changes.

  • 1969 Martin

    End of Brazilian rosewood as standard. Martin changes to Indian rosewood across the standard line.

  • 1970 Gibson

    "Made in USA" stamp added. The stamp starts appearing on the headstock back.

  • 1970 Epiphone

    Production shifts to Japan. Epiphone instruments are built in Japan from about 1970.

  • 1975 Harmony

    Harmony ceases production. The company stops manufacturing guitars.

  • 1976 Fender

    Serial moves to headstock face. The number moves to a decal or stamp on the front of the headstock.

  • 1977 Gibson

    Eight-digit date-code system starts. Gibson adopts the YDDDYPPP format, running to 1999.

  • 1985 Martin

    Adjustable truss rod becomes standard. A hex nut at the soundhole end replaces the older T-bar design.