Dating your Ibanez guitar
By popular demand I have included this guide to dating your Ibanez guitar. This along with 'how much is it worth' is the most asked question I get.
You will need your serial number. Basically there are three distinct areas.
This is by no means going to work for every Ibanez guitar, but the majority should be covered with these methods.
For instance, if yours is a fairly recent model with a C as the prefix then its most likely a Korean Model.
Acoustic and Korean models do not appear to follow a dating sequence.
Guitars prior to 1975 had no serial number
1975-1987
Serial numbers built between 1975 and 1987 have the month prefix letter, then the year code and then the production number.
Our example shows the serial number for the first guitar made in July 1968.
Example serial number G680001
The month suffix
G680001
The year code
G680001
Monthly production number
G680001
A=Jan
B=Feb
C=Mar
D=Apr
E=May
F=June
G=July
H=Aug
I=Sep
J=Oct
K=Nov
L=Dec 19**
in this case 1968
0001-9999
In other words this is the first one of the month.
1987-1996
Serial number built between 1987 and 1996 had a factory prefix followed by the year code then the production number
Our example shows the serial number for the 10034th guitar made in 1989 at the Fugijen factory in Japan.
Example serial number F910034
The month suffix
F910034
The year code
F910034
Monthly production number
F910034
F=Fugijen Japan
C=Korea In this case 1989 00001-99999
In other words this is the 10034th of the year.
Additionally on some Korean models with a seven digit number the first two numbers represent the year of manufacture.
i.e. Serial number 9012345 is a 1990 model and number 12345 built that year in Korea.
(This is a guide and does not relate to all guitars of this era)
1997-Date
Serial numbers built after 1996 have a factory prefix followed by a two digit year code and then the production number.
Our example show the serial number for the 136th guitar built in 2003 at the Fugijen factory in Japan.
Example serial number F0300136
The month suffix
F0300136
The year code
F0300136
Monthly production number
F0300136
F=Fugijen Japan
C=Korea In this case 2003 00001-99999
In other words this is the 136th of the year.
Pour cause de changement complet de config, je vends tout mon matériel...
