Note however that there appear to be times when the neck plates are out of sequence with production, in clusters as though a box of plates was found months later.īrass ground plate gone before February, maybe January.Īfter the 2xxxxx system there is possibly a short lived five digit system starting with 1xxxx. The Fender serial number system apparently ends in the spring of 1986.Īnd as the Fender system ends a different 6 digit serial number system appears.Īfter logging examples of these 2xxxxx guitars along with the pot dates, I figured out that the first number of the production code is most likely the month as felixcatus and togps had claimed years ago to have gotten directly from Tokai. Six Digit Serial Numbers Starting With 11xxxx It seems hit and miss between 19/85 when it starts being used again and more often on unconventional models with Fender style bodies. The first one I have seen seems to be Breezys that are non reproduction models with humbicker pickups and trem bridges.īreezys With Tremolo & Humbuckers 6 Digit Serial 10xxxx It is starting to look like there was an alternate serial number system for non reproduction Fender style guitars beginning around 1981. Note: I wanted to reach out with an appeal at the bottom of this post for specific help with the remaining puzzle pieces. Usually = on the body and - on the neck, but I have seen the opposite as well. His forensic work on Tokais and other MIJ guitars is inspiring.įor me, I think it all began with a six digit serial number Breezy someone was asking to date and Voidoid56 shared how he had dated some guitars with the pots,Īnd that combined with Peter Mac commenting on when the hyphen or - symbol began, just fed my curiosity.īut the mystery of that guitar and the tools used to sort it out stuck with me.Īs I applied these same tools to other guitars, some common themes emerged and began to fit together.Īs a side note, the = sign persists into 1987 at least as a mixed code where it is used with the - sign. It seems he created a monster and began quite a journey for me. First off, I have to acknowledge Voidoid56 for showing me how to date pots.

Tokai guitar serial numbers