The most important thing to keep in mind when dating a Fender is the highly modular nature of the designs. Like Henry Ford, part of Leo Fender's genius was in optimizing the company's production efficiency. His guitars were built en masse by an entire factory, not a single luthier toiling over one instrument at a time. Features like bolt-on necks and pickups wired into the pickguard all helped the Fender factory churn out guitar after guitar, day after day. This also means that various parts used on a particular guitar may have come from different points in time, so no single number can absolutely define when the instrument was built.Instead, the best approach to dating a Fender is to combine indicators from the design of the instrument, the dates found on the neck and body, along with the serial number.

1. Fender Princeton 112 Serial Numbers 1
2. Fender Princeton 112 Plus Serial Number
3. Fender Amp Serial Number Cr

Once you have the information you need, if you're interested in selling your Fender, you can use Reverb to get it in front of the largest audience of musicians in the worldDesign Changes and FeaturesPerhaps the best place to start when dating your Fender is to get an approximate idea of the era based on the instrument's design and components. This can be a tall order for someone less versed in guitar history, but we do have some resources here on Reverb to help you out.For starters, there's the Reverb Price Guide which has thousands of entries with pictures and details on various guitars and other gear.

Some browsing around the can definitely help you find which model you have.We also have some other blog posts related to Fender that can hopefully be of some help. There's and that follows the evolution of the most popular Fender guitar of all.

Fender Princeton 112 Serial Numbers 1

Similarly, take a look at for general timeline of the history of everyone's favorite offset guitar. For Fender during the turning point era of the mid-'60s, check out. Learn everything you need to know to choose the right Stratocaster for you.Body and Neck DatesThrough much of Fender's production history, Fender workers would print or write a production date on both bodies and necks where the two pieces meet.

These dates will tell when the original part was manufactured, but are not exact indicators of when the guitar was actually put together and finished.Here is what the neck date and body date look like from a 1952 Telecaster:If you're not comfortable removing the neck of a guitar to peek at the date marker, I encourage you to take it to a local tech or luthier.I will also mention briefly pot-codes as a resource (numbers on the internal potentiometers of the guitar). These can definitely be useful in cases where no other numbers exist, but just tell when the pot itself was made. Who knows how long it was waiting in the Fender factory before finding its way into a Tele?Serial NumbersLike the body and neck dates, using serial numbers to date a Fender is not a sure bet. At many points in Fender's history, serial number usage overlapped again owing to the modular manner of production.

Below we'll go into detail about the various serial number schemes employed by Fender as far back as 1950. There are certainly plenty of exceptions, so again, using serial numbers in conjunction with other dating methods is always the best bet.Click on the links here to jump directly to the serial number style that matches your instrument:.The Early Years: 1950 - 1954In the early years, Fender serial numbers schemes were specific to the model. Esquires, Broadcasters and Telecasters shared a serial number sequence, while the landmark Precision Bass had its own system.

In this early period, the serial number can be found on the bridge of the instrument (see image).Here are the rough serial number ranges for the early Esquires and Telecasters. 161 to to 1 to 61 to 04701951 - 19520475 to 08401952 - 19530848 to 18971953 - 1954Also, for the first half or so of 1954, the inaugural run of Stratocasters had a distinct number sequence all under number 6000.Classic Serial Numbers - 1954 - 1963By mid-1954, Fender began using a universal serial number sequence for all its instruments. At this time, the location of the serial number also shifted from the bridge to the neckplate (the metal plate located on back of where the neck meets the body).Here's how the serial numbers break down from 1954 to the beginning of 1963, though there are some areas of inconsistency in this era. Learn everything you need to know to choose the right Telecaster for you. L Series - The Transition Period of 1963 to 1965At the very end of 1962 and into 1963, Fender changed to a system where serial numbers began with an 'L.' According to some accounts, the L was supposed to just be a 1 to mark the cross over into the 100,000 range from the previous scheme, but an L was used by mistake.Here the range of the L-series serial used each year. Some of the earliest ones actually popped up in late 1962 as well.

0L00001 to L20000 to L59000 to L999991965F Series - CBS Era 1965 - 1976After the CBS purchase of Fender in 1965, the factory switched to a new serial sequence with numbers that continued the same general format used prior to the takeover. These are generally referred to as F series due the large Fender branded F on the neckplates of the era.

This period also saw a switch from the orginal four-bolt neckplate of the '60s to a three-bolt neckplate in just one example of cost-saving costs introduced under CBS. 100000 to 110000late to 200000 to 210000 to 250000 to 280000 to 300000 to 340000 to 370000 to 500000 to 580000 to 690000 to Post 1976Starting in 1976, Fender transitioned to a new serial number scheme and moved the placement of most serial numbers to the headstock of the instrument. Depending on the era and model, the number can be found on either the front or back of the headstock. After a short period of overlap with the old system, the post-76 numbers will start with a letter that indicates the decade, followed by a number that indicates the year of that decade.

The decade letter codes break down like this: S = 1970s, E = 1980s, N = 1990s, Z = 2000s. In the 2000s, you'll also see serials starting with a DZ which indicates the Deluxe series, but the format is otherwise the same.For example, a serial number with N4 would be from 1994. One starting with Z5 would be from 2005.This scheme is not 100% consistent due to a number of production factors, such as Fender producing more serialized decals than needed in a given year.

Fender Princeton 112 Plus Serial Number

This is particularly pronounced in the transitional period of the mid-'80s, though the system has been pretty much on point since about 1990.After 2009, the letter changed to a format starting with US then two digits that tell the year of the current decade.Here's the breakdown of Post-1976 American-made Fender serials. Fender Japan serial numbers can usually be found on the back of the neck near the neck joint. Though examples also exist with the number on the headstock or the neck-plate in the case of certain early reissue models. Up until 1997, the serial was paired with the words 'Made in Japan.' In 1982, Fender expanded operations with a series of instruments produced in Japan by the Fuji Gen Gakki company. Like the US serial numbers, MIJ (made in Japan) serials start with a letter or pair of letters that indicate the rough year of production. This system, however, is notoriously inconsistent and incomplete, which makes dating by serial number even less reliable for MIJ Fenders.Here's a breakdown of serials for the 'Made in Japan' era.

K + 6 digits1990 - 1991L + 6 digits1991 - 1992M + 6 digits1992 - 1993N + 6 digits1993 - 1994O + 6 digits1993 - 1994P + 6 digits1993 - 1994Q + 6 digits1993 - 1994S + 6 digits1994 - 1995T + 6 digits1994 - 1995U + 6 digits1995 - 1996N + 5 digits1995 - 1996V + 6 digits1996 - 1997Crafted in Japan Serial NumbersIn 1997, Fender changed the 'Made in Japan' decal to say 'Crafted in Japan.' There is some overlap with the earlier 'MIJ' serials, so it's important to note if your instrument carries the 'Made in Japan' or 'Crafted in Japan' decal. MZ3 + 5 or 6 digits2003MZ4 + 5 or 6 digits2004MZ5 + 5 or 6 digits2005MZ6 + 5 or 6 digits2006MZ7 + 5 or 6 digits2007MZ8 + 5 or 6 digits2008MZ9 + 5 or 6 digits2009MX10 + 6 digits2010MX11 + 6 digits2011MX12 + 6 digits2012MX13 + 6 digits2013MX14 + 6 digits2014ExceptionsThere are a number of exceptions to all these serial number schemes. As mentioned above, many reissue models use serial numbers that don't really correlate to their age. Additionally, there have been plenty of artist models, limited editions and other rare models that use a unique serial number. Examples include the 35th anniversary series, many of the uniquely finished Strats from the early '80s, as well as various export-specific models which carry a serial number starting with FN.Again, the serial number alone in any of these cases is not definitive and the best approach is to combine that with other methods like the neck and body dates, as well as just the features of the specific instrument.

If you have any questions as to what Fender you're dealing with, I encourage you to seek out a local guitar shop or luthier to help figure it out.

FenderAmps: the 'Rivera-Era' (1982 to 86);DatingAmpsby Serial Numberlatest updates;small changes to a few amp batches dates, Nov2015, Dec 2015, Feb 2016, July 2016, Sep 2016,March 2017, Feb 2018, Mar 2018, Aug 2018, Apr2019typos found, two edits, thanks Ben H, June2015Jan 2015 info updated, totals unchangedOct 2014 really nifty table designAug 2014 small data and totals updatesJan 2014 (info updated andtypos corrected, thanks Greg G)( April 2019 - still collecting data - email - removecapital letters) NOSPAMstratopastor@hotmail.comWhy Istarted doing thisIn 2002 I acquired a PrincetonReverb II. I became curious as to how many were made. Fender don'tpart with that kind of information., so Iput out a call for serial numbers on theI developed for this amp's care and feeding,.

Eventually, Ithought, I'll get a rough idea what the highest and lowest s/nswere. Subtract one from the other and I'll have a rough-cut figurefor how many were made. Oh, the naivite.PRII owners were kind enough tostart sending their serial numbers in. I was puzzled to see howsome of them were separated by over 100,000. Could Fender make somany PRIIs, considering they were making the other 13 amp types inthe range at the same time? Then Soren in Denmark started showingserial numbers on his excellent Super Champ website (which is nolonger on the web) - some of those numbers fell in betweensome of 'my' PRII numbers. A little light Googling revealed serialnumbers for a few other amps in the range - they seemed all mixedup together.

Then the terrible truth dawned on me: they WERE allmixed up; Fender had decided to change their 35-year-old system ofserial numbering so that, starting in 1982, every amp had a uniquenumber. I would have to collect data for ALL the amp types, justto work out how many were made of mine. Then I became awareof the amazing work Greg Gagliano had been doing since the 1990s -the summary of his latest results - andthat his research didn't take in the Rivera-era, or anythinglater. Then I read thechallenge on page 245 of Teagle and Sprung's excellent book Fender Amps: the First 50 Yearsconcerning dating the Rivera-era amps, and I decided to press on;maybe I could do, for this small range, what Greg has done foreverything that came before.

Fender have a right to keep that to themselves. Howeverfor this range of amps at least, I reckon it's not just a policyof withholding company-confidential information.

I reckon theysimply don't know. It's no criticism of Fender to suggest thatthey were too busy making great amps to keep records just sosome amateur could use them thirty years later.How I'mdoing itI run a couple of websitesmaking the easily accessible. As people download them,I'm hoping they'll respond to my request that they send me theiramp's serial number for this project, and many do. For a while Ialso had automated searches running on eBay for these 14 amp types- whenever one appeared for sale I would contact the seller,asking for the serial number.

9 out of 10 did - many thanks tothem for their trouble and good will. There are a handful of amptypes for which I'm still running the searches because I don'thave so much data for those (mainly in the solid-state range). Inaddition Greg Gagliano sent me the Rivera-era-relevant numbersfrom his huge research info, for which, along with his friendlyencouragement over several years, I thank him. His info (rightlypassed on to me without details of the amps' owners) stillrepresents about a seventh of my database. Iappreciate Jeff Lacio for contacting me (Dec 2015) with somemore serial numbers and date codes, and for enlightening meregarding amps with a 'H' in their chassis stamp. I should also thank Pierre Boilein France for his original idea of keeping a log of PRIIowners, way back in 2004.As of April 2019 I've got info on over 1900amps.

Fender Amp Serial Number Cr

Compared to my estimate of the total made, that's more thanone in forty. It might not sound like much, but quite a lot can bededuced from such a sample.

Advertisers and politicians makedecisions based on smaller percentages!Why I'mputting it on the webI'm guessing amp-owners like toknow when their amp was made, if it's old-ish. Maya 7.0 software. Certainly thehundreds of people who have helped me seemed keen to know.Meanwhile I've offered this info to Fender US, Fender UK, and a USmagazine.

Fender never replied, and the magazine showed politedisinterest. So, with my dreams of being A Published Author inshreds, I might as well make what I've got available to folks. Itrepresents fifteen years of time that could have been spentbecoming a better guitarist, so if you quote it elsewhere, I'dappreciate a link and/or a name-check, either as 'Stratopastor' orunder my real name. (C)copyright Andrew Waugh 2004-2019.Stuff Like This is Never Complete or Totally AccurateAll these amps have serialnumbers beginning F2, F3 or F4 followed by another 5 digits. It'ssometimes said that F2 = 1982, F3=1983 etc.

However Fendercouldn't maintain that system for long, and there are no F5 or F6amps. If you've got one of the 14 amp models in this range you canget a rough idea of its date-of-manufacture from these tables.Please note this isn't officialFender information, nor is it anywhere near complete. It's just my data so far, and youmay well find exceptions to it, in which case please let me knowon(delete the capital letters).

I never reveal names alongwith serial numbers, and I'm not making any money out of this.For the batches labelled 'datecodes needed', I haven't got any loudspeaker or transformer datecodes, or (gold dust) the 4-digit inkstamp on the metal chassis,which is usually only visible when out of the wooden cab. Howeverthe dates for these batches are certain to be later than the batchshown immediately above, or earlier than the batch shown below. Ifyou've got an amp in this category and can supply any of thosecodes as well as the serial number, I would luuuuurveto hear from you. The speaker codes are in the form 109xxxx or67-xxxx; the transformer codes are 606-xxx.Also, things got a little crazyduring Fender's last few months in the Fullerton factory, and whenthe management buyout was complete (March 1985) they had someparts but no factory. According to Tom Wheeler's excellent bookabout the Stratocaster, it may be that they had no factory afterDecember 1984! So (example) the last few hundred SuperChamps seem to have date codes from 1984 but there's anecdotalevidence that they were assembled in nearby Brea, CA in 1986.

Onerun of Princeton Reverb II serial numbers seems to stretch from1984 to 1986 with just a few from 1987, yes 1987, when some 220Vmodels were still being shipped to Sweden and the UK. So if you'dlike a bit more detail on an amp in that category please get methe speaker date codes, not just the serial number.There are a few other notes atthe bottom of this page which you may find interesting. Here's the date info!Seasons ofthe year are for the northern hemisphere. I apologise for anyparochial attitude this may convey.Valve / Tube AmpsBassman20 and Champ IIThese 2 amp types shared thesame metal chassis design. As explained (or assumed) elsewhere inthis article, the chassis were given serial numbers before the amps wereassembled. Upon arriving at Fullerton, any one of these chassismight be built as a Champ II or a Bassman 20, in a processwhich appears semi-random when tracked only by serial number.

Thismeans that these 2 amp types can only be treated together fordates or production quantities when, as in this study, the serialnumber is all we have to go on. (Fender did this chassis-sharingthing in earlier years, with the same implications for guessingquantities, as noted by Greg Gagaliano.) I estimate about 5700were made in total. While it's anyone's guess how many of those5500 were Champ II and how many were Bassman 20, they seem to comeup on eBay equally often.

(There is a self-perpetuatinginternet myth that fewer than 500 Bassman 20s were made - Ibelieve this is due to a misreading of the tables in back of Fender Amps: the First 50 Yearsby Teagle and Sprung. People keep on referring to this 'fewerthan 500' thing, especially when they're trying to sell one as'rare', but I'm still waiting for anyone to point back to theoriginal 'fact' of the matter!) The last batch inthis table also belongs in late 1983, judging by surrounding datafor other amp types and the received wisdom that they werediscontinued around that time.from s/n F.to s/n F.date00spring 202972late 205785late 206604late 224471spring 306340summer 311310autumn 314245autumn 316034autumn 1983ConcertAll this amp's speakerconfigurations, and the head unit, included. Estimated totalproduction is 12,500. If your amp's serial number falls into the last 3batches then your best hope of dating it is if you've still gotthe original speaker. These 3 runs of serial numbers start inmid-1984, when production was fairly normal. Then comes theMarch 1985 management buyout, when the new owners were left withsome parts but no factory! Then began a period in which ampswere assembled from pre-existing wired-up chassis in a small adhoc facility in Brea, CA.

They bought in speakers, and probablycabs, on a last-minute basis due to cost and spaceconsiderations. This carried on until 1986.from s/n F.to s/n F.date87spring 214573late 1982, early 1983 (hi Scott)06late 222479early 303297summer 0nly one s/n knownsummer 310672summer 317555summer/ late 326476late mostly early66summer 1984 and 416316mostly early 419404spring 1985 to maybe 1987!DeluxeReverb IIProduction total estimated at3,500.If your amp's serial number falls into the last batch then yourbest hope of dating it is if you've still got the originalspeaker.

This batch's run of serial numbers starts in mid-1984,when production was fairly normal. Then comes the March 1985management buyout, when the new owners were left with some partsbut no factory! Then began a period in which amps were assembledfrom pre-existing wired-up chassis in a small ad hoc facility inBrea, CA. They bought in speakers, and probably cabs on alast-minute basis due to cost and space considerations. Thiscarried on until 1986.from s/n F.to s/n F.date50spring 205847date codes needed79summer / autumn 1912272summer 83 / early 5926late 83 / early 962984 to 1122autumn 414978summer 1984 & 1986.

but with at least one amp from April 1983. Chassis stampsneeded in order to be sure.PrincetonReverb IIProduction totalestimated at 5,700. I am close to having serial numbers for 1 in10 of them.If your amp's serial number falls into the second-to last batchthen your best hope of dating it is if you've still got theoriginal speaker.

This batch's run of serial numbers starts inmid-1984, when production was fairly normal. Then comes theMarch 1985 management buyout, when the new owners were left withsome parts but no factory!

Then began a period in which ampswere assembled from pre-existing wired-up chassis in a small adhoc facility in Brea, CA. They bought in speakers, and probablycabs on a last-minute basis due to cost and spaceconsiderations. This carried on until 1987 by which time therewere only 220V models left. There are at least ten PRIIs in thisbatch with a 1987, week 7 speaker.from s/n F.to s/n F.date10prototypes, only 2 known00spring 206350autumn 207357autumn 1982 but a few from early 217248late 219979late 306832date codes needed19summer 313008late 1983 -spring 325360spring (only one s/n found)date codes needed3184 to 86338204(only one s/n found)1984SuperChampProduction total estimated at11,500.If your amp's serial number falls into the last batch then yourbest hope of dating it is if you've still got the originalspeaker. This batch's run of serial numbers starts in mid-1984,when production was fairly normal. Then comes the March 1985management buyout, when the new owners were left with some partsbut no factory! Then began a period in which amps were assembledfrom pre-existing wired-up chassis in a small ad hoc facility inBrea, CA.

They bought in speakers, and probably cabs on alast-minute basis due to cost and space considerations. Thiscarried on until 1986.from s/n F.to s/n F.date41spring 201478spring Only one s/n known)summer 203666summer and late 208932late 211037date codes needed214772(only one s/n known)late 215878summer to late 217799summer to late 222274early 308395summer 313788late 320535autumn/late 326782late 327422date codes needed19spring 411913summer 414894summer 41684085 and 86TwinReverb IIThe head unit and the far moreusual 2x12 are included here. Production total estimated at 7,000from s/n F.to s/n F.date214584(only one s/n known)possibly the prototype215127(only one s/n known)date codes needed220112(only one s/n known)date codes needed225934(only one s/n known)date codes needed83summer 300646spring 302587early 1983around 318700seems to be a batch sharing numbers withsolid-state Harvard Reverb IIs, which were made in anotherstate.!

Assume some kind of numbering error.05summer 321188late 83, early 326140date codes needed55spring/summer 400052date codes needed17spring 407655late summer/autumn 571984 to 1986?Solid State AmpsHarvardReverb IIProduction total estimated at3,500. Theserial numbering of the HRII is a little flaky. Some are mixedup with runs of other amps' numbers.from s/n F.to s/n F.date45spring 307232early 318813summer 319549summer 1983, only one s/n known15only one s/n known91late 325723late 330531spring 1984LondonReverbAll speaker configurationsincluded.