Earl Scruggs Standard Banjo Serial Numbers
Here is a sweet 1934 Granada Tenor from about 1934. New Gibson serial-number database information! Check out this database of old Gibson banjo serial numbers.
The Earl Scruggs Gibson Banjo by Doug Hutchens This article originally appeared in the BITH newsletter. The Gibson Earls Scruggs banjo model was initiated in 1984. If you go back to the advertisements of that time, 1984 were to be signed. And that's how many were signed as stock models. I know the person who purchased the banjos with serial numbers 1983 and 1984. This banjo in the beginning was the developed through the efforts of Roger Siminoff collaborating with both Gibson and Earl. The tonering was a standard Stewart- MacDonald ring with a standard Stewart-MacDonald 3 ply rim.
The flange was made from the same die from which all the flanges had been made since the late 20's. The peghead shape and color is an interesting story by itself.
Earl had let Jim Faulkner from Indianapolis put a new neck on his banjo. Jim was the creator of the Scruggs/Ruben capo and, according to Earl, he wanted to build a neck for Earl's banjo at the time. Earl really didn't want a new neck, but, since Jim was such a nice guy, he let him take the banjo home with him after playing Bean Blossom in 71 or 72. Earl said when Jim brought the banjo back to him in Madison, he opened the case and was not immediately fond of the new neck. Jim thought he would do Earl a favor and refinish the resonator to match the new neck (and possibly to put his own twist on banjo history).
1999 Gibson Earl Scruggs Standard. Serial number 3814. This banjo has been very well taken care of and is in excellent condition for a 21-year-old instrument. Curly maple neck and resonator. Nickle hardware. Ebony fingerboard. Frets show virtually no wear. Spikes 7, 9, and 10. Gibson USA stamped Kulesh tone ring. Gibson flange. Keith D-tuners. The numbering system used by Gibson to choose their serial numbers was counterintuitive during their prewar period. Knowing if your Gibson banjo is a prewar or postwar model will help you understand the serial number. There are many styles of Gibson banjos, and there is a lot of variation within those styles.
- Most will be 5 to 6 digits in length, but the earliest examples feature 4 digit serial numbers. There should be a space after the 1st digit with the 4 and 5 digit serial numbers, and no space with the 6 digit numbers. The 1st digit indicates the year of manufacture for the 4 & 5 digit serial numbers, these were used from 1989-1999.
- Most will be 5 to 6 digits in length, but the earliest examples feature 4 digit serial numbers. There should be a space after the 1st digit with the 4 and 5 digit serial numbers, and no space with the 6 digit numbers. The 1st digit indicates the year of manufacture for the 4 & 5 digit serial numbers.
- Locating the Serial Number of your Gibson Banjo. Most prewar and wartime Gibson banjos are actually marked with factory order numbers rather than serial numbers, but for right now you don't need to be worried about the distinction unless you're just especially interested! If your banjo has a wooden back, or resonator, you'll need to remove it to get to the factory order number.
Earl again said that Jim was such a nice guy and he didn't say anything about it. It is also important to remember that in the late 60s and early 70s, peghead and pearl cutting was not the art it was to come in the next several years. Gibson actually did a great job in recreating the copy neck that Jim Faulkner had made and the color was absolutely correct. The pearl in the first Gibson Earl Scruggs banjos was cut by pantograph. Gibson even used several petal and heart designs to attempt to make the neck look like the one made by Jim Faulkner. I started work with Gibson as a in October, 1986 and went full time in June, 1988. By that time we had Granadas in production.
The RB-3 came next and then others of the original Gibson banjo line. Greg Rich did not want to do anything to the Scruggs model for the time being.
Earl was reluctant to change the model since so much hype had been made about how it was a recreation of his banjo. In the spring of 1989, we put together a prototype of what we wanted to present to Earl as the 'new' Earls Scruggs model banjo. The prototype used a standard Granada neck and had a solid colored resonator with the same reddish brown color on the resonator side walls. We took it out to show to Earl and he played it for a while and said there is just something missing. I had a slightly different prototype model in my van, even more similar to the Granada, the only difference being in the resonator construction. His words were 'Boys, that's what I wanted when we started this whole thing'.
After talking with him at length that day, he suggested that we use an ebony fingerboard and put the inlay at the first fret to make it look 'better than the Granada'. Soon afterward, we refinished Earl's original resonator and put a new neck on his banjo. That's about the way it's been since. The last of the first run of Scrugg's yellow banjos was serial number 1141. After that, all of the standard Scruggs models, except a few special production banjos, were finished exactly like the the Granada.
For a while, the resonators were still made with complete maple side walls. The old resonators had a 3-ply sandwich consisting of a face maple veneer on the outside, and a ply of poplar running perpendicular to the back, then a third ply of maple on the inside. At Gibson's request, Stewart-MacDonald had been making resonator sides of 3-ply of maple. Since there was a good supply of those at the time, all of the remaining resonator sides from that supply were used on the RB-250 and Scruggs models until they were gone. Stewart-MacDonald had already gone to poplar in the center of the sandwich except for the ones they were making for Gibson.
Once the supply of 3-ply maple resonator sides was exhausted, all resonators contained the maple- poplar-maple sandwich combination. The small peghead was a product of the Faulkner neck. For those who don't know, Jim Faulkner also made some of the first copy Top Tension hoops in the late 60s and early 70s and a series of one of the most desirable tonerings that Gibson had during that period. Many of these tonerings ended up in the RB-800s and RB-500s.
But Jim, like the rest of us who were attempting to build banjo necks back then, didn't have the greatest patterns from which to work. The peghead design was weak by today's standards. It was small and cryptic looking. The tonering in the early Scruggs model banjos was indeed a Stewart-MacDonald ring.
The problem with those banjos was with the setup! The Stewart-MacDonald tonering is an excellent ring, and I'd still rather have it than most on the market today. Some banjo 'critics' didn't like the Stewart-MacDonald ring. I've found one thing in my 30 or so years in dealing with banjo parts and the players. Banjo players always want whatever they can't get. There is a mystique about trying to get something that others cannot attain.
And when Stewart-MacDonald rings were readily available, many thought they can't be any good. Any one could order them. (A side bar to that. Does anyone know who made the tonering for Stewart-McDonald for several years? I'll leave that for speculation, but you'll be pleasantly surprised.) (Steve Ryan, also in Ohio as is Stewart-Macdonald.
ed.) The problems with the originally produced 'yellow' Scruggs banjos were not with respect to the tonering. The problems came from other places: 1.
The ring and shell did not fit properly together. The tonerings varied in inside diameter (the way practically all good rings do) and the shells were cut with a slight taper so that the tonering would tighten as it slid down onto the shell. This caused a dampening effect, producing a tight fit once the ring was put on the shell, but leaving a small airspace where the skirt of the tonering was suppose to make contact with the outside of the shell. The resonator 'was 'way too heavy. Gibson had ask Stewart-MacDonald to make sidewalls as I mentioned previously from 3-ply maple instead of 1/3 poplar. Anyone who has ever worked with wood knows the difference in the weight of poplar and maple.
I found out about the poplar in the resonator from an old friend Harry Sparks, who helped me as much as anyone in getting my act together with banjos. Harry, once while living outside Frankfort, Kentucky tried an experiment with several original flat head banjos. In the late 60s and early 70s he had his hands on many of those. He said that they tried banjo after banjo exchanging resonators and each time it would change the sound; some drastically and some only slightly. The most dramatic sound change of all occurred when they put a top tension resonator on a non-top tension banjo. But, that's another story altogether.
The neck fit was not the best. They basically put the heel on the pot the way it came from the carving machine. Those of you who have had those banjo necks off the rim will notice that they did no final fitting of the neck and the shell.
They just bolted them on and sent them out. I've seen just a little tinkering help those banjos considerably. Those types of details are, by the way, done at the factory before an leaves Gibson today. The ebony fingerboard has a different sound. Though Earl liked the ebony fingerboard because it made his banjo look different from the others, ebony does produce a distinct sound unlike that one gets from a rosewood fingerboard. Some will argue this, but I traveled the country for a few years and heard more than my share of banjos.
Take it from me, there is a difference and if those of you who have an ebony board could hear their banjo with a good neck and a rosewood board, you'd agree. Sounds crazy, its only a little over 1/8 of an inch thick, but there is definitely a sound variation. And one last note about Earl playing the 'honey colored' banjo. This happened a couple of years after Flatt & Scruggs had broken up, during the Earl Scruggs Review days. If you're looking for Flatt & Scruggs photos exhibiting this banjo, you're not going to see it.
Also, there were a few times I was able to get security clearance while the 'Review' was together to go back stage. Earl had another banjo set up with a pickup that he used part of the time. Another side bar: the neck that Faulkner replaced was a neck made of mahogany. This neck had been on the banjo since the Beverly Hillbilly days. It was made by G.W.
Many talk of the sweet sound of the Granada opposed to the more harsh and strong sound of the Scruggs. Try one of the Scruggs Deluxe, it is basically a Granada with an ebony board and an extra inlay or two. It has the same harshness of the Standard Scruggs. I asked Doug for a bio to accompany this article. Here is his reply: 'I'm from Patrick County, VA in the foothills of the Blueridge Mountains. Having grown up in this area I was very interested in the banjo as we had a steady diet of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and Don Reno & Red Smiley on TV in those days (early '60's). 'I was fortunate enough to get to meet and subsequently work with Bill Monroe in 1971 and was associated with him in one way or the other till his passing with such activities as getting the many former members of the band together for his birthday from '82 until '93.
'I also have filled in with the Whites, Don Reno & Bill Harrell, Larry Sparks, The Goins Brothers, and Kenny Baker and Josh Graves. 'In 1986 I began a syndicated radio program Bluegrass Today which lasted until 1998 and which featured interviews each week with various entertainers within our industry.
It was also in '86 that I became a consultant to Gibson Guitars in Nashville. The new owners asked that I join the team of Greg Rich and Jim Triggs in getting the banjo line more in keeping with what they were in the 1920s and '30's. I worked as a consultant for a couple of years spending much of my time working on getting the inlay patterns and engraving patterns correct, then in June of '88 I began full time as Director of Artist Relations and Product Manager with Gibson where I stayed until 1990, opting to leave to spend more time in the mountains of Virginia but retaining the position of consultant until 1994. 'I consider myself as being one of the luckiest people in the world, having been able work with and to call many of the first generation of Bluegrass music my friends.' Email to Doug.
Text ©2000 by Doug Hutchens Last Updated 15 Jul 2006 by PJH Edited 07 Apr 2007 by WF.
Martin began producing instruments in 1833. Prior to serial numbers, the different instruments were identified by the Martin brand which was stamped into the back of the headstock, the upper portion of the back or on the back binding strut visible through the soundhole (the eased blocking reinforcing the center joint between the 2 back pieces). The original instruments had a paper label that read: “Martin and Coupa” 1833 to 1867 The brand reads: “C.F. Martin New York”. 1867 to 1898 The brand reads: “C.F. 1898 onward The brand reads: “C.F. Nazareth, Pa.” 1888 to 1898 Paper label includes: “Charles A.
Zoebisch & Sons” (Zoebisch was the sole distributor of Martin at the time). 1898 Serial numbers begin at #8000 1929 Model numbers were marked on the neck block, inside the body. Some pre-1898 guitars have the date penciled on the top just inside the sound hole.
Before 1929, the model size and style designation was generally written on a paper label and glued inside the top of the instrument case. 1895 Mandolins were 1915 Ukuleles, taropatches, tiples and Hawaiian guitars were introduced 1923 Tenor banjos were introduced After workers at the Nazareth factory had been employed for a period of years they were permitted to fashion an instrument for themselves at the plant. Many of these unique instruments pop-up today and don’t fit any clear category.
Fortunately, they are often signed by the builder. Ukuleles did not carry serial numbers but can be roughly identified and dated by the headstock: 1895 to 1932 The Martin brand stamped on the back of the headstock. 1930 onward The Martin logo decal on the front of the headstock.
1895 to 1934 Bar frets 1934 onward Standard frets Interestingly, the original order for Martin decals was placed in June of 1932. This implies that a number of ukuleles built in 1930 remained in the factory until being sold in 1932. It was, after all, the depression.
This would also explain why the occasional pre-1932 Martin guitar appears with a decal. Year Last Number 1903 1150 1904 1850 1905 2550 1906 3350 1907 4250 1908 5450 1909 6950 1910 8750 1911 99999. From 1970-1975 all numbers were stamped into wood and assigned a six digit number. There are many exceptions and sometimes letter prefixes were used. The orange labels inside hollow bodied instruments were discontinued in 1970 and replaced by white and orange rectangle labels on the acoustics and small black, purple and white rectangle labels were used on electric models.
In 1970, the words “MADE IN USA” was stamped into instrument headstocks (though a few instruments from the 1950s also had MADE IN USA stamped into their headstocks). Year(s) and Approximate Serial Numbers. 1970, 1971, and 1972 100000s, 600000s, 700000s, 900000s. 1973 000001s, 100000s, 200000s, 800000s and a few “A” + 6 digit numbers.
1974 and 1975 100000s, 200000s, 300000s, 400000s, 500000s, 600000s, 800000s and a few A-B-C-D-E-F + 6 digit numbers During the period from 1975-1977 Gibson used a transfer that had eight digit numbers, the first two indicate the year, 99=1975, 00=1976 and 06=1977, the following six digits are in the 100000 to 200000 range. MADE IN USA were also included on the transfer and some models had LIMITED EDITION also applied. A few bolt on neck instruments had a date ink stamped on the heel area. In 1977, Gibson first introduced the serialization method that is in practice today. This updated system utilizes an impressed eight digit numbering scheme that covers both serializing and dating functions.
The pattern is as follows:. YDDDYPPP. YY is the production year. DDD is the day of the year. PPP is the plant designation and/or instrument rank. The numbers 001-499 show Kalamazoo production, 500-999 show Nashville production. The Kalamazoo numbers were discontinued in 1984.
Earl Scruggs Wiki
When acoustic production began at the plant built in Bozeman, Montana in 1989, the series numbers were reorganized. Bozeman instruments began using 001-299 designations and, in 1990, Nashville instruments began using 300-999 designations. It should also be noted that the Nashville plant has not reached the 900s since 1977, so these numbers have been reserved for prototypes. Examples:. 70108276 means the instrument was produced on Jan.10, 1978, in Kalamazoo and was the 276th instrument stamped that day. 82765501 means the instrument was produced on Oct.
3, 1985, in Nashville and was the 1st instrument stamped that day. However, it has come to light recently that the Kalamazoo plant did not directly switch over to the “new” 8 digit serialization method in 1977. When the Nashville Gibson plant was opened in 1974, it was decided that the bulk of the production of products would be run in the South; the Kalamazoo plant would produce the higher end (fancier) models in the North.
Of course, many of the older guitar builders and craftsmen were still in Kalamazoo; and if they weren’t ready to change how they built guitars, then they may not have been ready to change how they numbered them! Certain guitar models built in the late 1970s can be used to demonstrate the old-style 6 digit serial numbers. It is estimated that Gibson’s Kalamazoo plant continued to use the 6 digit serial numbers through 1978 and 1979. So double check the serial numbers on those 1970s L-5s, Super 400s, and Super 5 BJBs!
Gibson’s Factory Order Number (FON) System In addition to the above serial number information, Gibson also used Factory Order Numbers (FON) to track batches of instruments being produced at the time. In the earlier years at Gibson, guitars were normally built in batches of 40 instruments. Gibson’s Factory Order Numbers were an internal coding that followed the group of instruments through the factory. Thus, the older Gibson guitars may have a serial number and a Factory Order Number. The FON may indicate the year, batch number, and the ranking (order of production within the batch of 40).
This system is useful in helping to date and authenticate instruments. There are three separate groupings of numbers that have been identified and are used for their accuracy.
The numbers are usually stamped or written on the instrument’s back and seen through the lower F hole or round soundhole, or maybe impressed on the back of the headstock. 1908-1923 Approximate #s. Factory Order Numbers for the years 1935-1941 usually consisted of the batch number, a letter for the year and the instrument number. Examples are as follows:.
722 A 23. 465 D 58. 863 E 02 Code Letter and Year. A 1935. B 1936. C 1937. D 1938.
E 1939. F 1940. G 1941 Code Letter Factory Order Numbers were discontinued after 1941, and any instruments made during or right after World War II do not bear an FON codes. In 1949, a four digit FON was used, but not in conjunction with any code letter indicating the year. From 1952-1961, the FON scheme followed the pattern of a letter, the batch number and an instrument ranking number (when the guitar was built in the run of 40).
The FON is the only identification number on Gibson’s lower grade models (like the ES-125, ES-140, J-160E, etc.) which do not feature a paper label. Higher grade models (such as the Super 400, L-5, J-200, etc.) feature both a serial number and a FON. When both numbers are present on a higher grade model, remember that the FON was assigned at the beginning of the production run, while the serial number was recorded later (before shipping). The serial number would properly indicate the actual date of the guitar. FON examples run thus:. Y 2230 21.
V 4867 8. R 6785 15 Code Letter and Year.
Z 1952. Y 1953. X 1954. W 1955. V 1956.
U 1957. T 1958. S 1959. R 1960. Q 1961 After 1961 the use of FONs was discontinued at Gibson. There are still some variances that Gibson uses on some instruments produced today, but for the most part the above can be used for identifying instruments. Best slot odds in reno.
For the most accurate identification you would need to contact the Gibson Guitar Corporation itself. Serial # Model # Approx.
Before 1965 it is possible to determine the approximate date of the instrument by it’s serial number but a more accurate method is to consider both the serial number and the appropriate specifications together. The system of numbering at the Brooklyn Gretsch factory was approximate at best and many inconsistencies exist in both serial numbers and product line specifications. To complicate matters, Gretsch built many one-of-a-kind prototypes and there were employee variations on the cataloged lines.
Since there are examples of consecutively numbered instruments with different specifications, it appears that the serial numbers were not applied simply to batches of instruments. 1949 to 1965 Serial Numbers Numbers can be found stamped in ink on the inside of the instrument back wood or on the Gretsch label itself. Most F-hole models have the label on the inside back and can be seen through the f-holes. Solidbody models with control plates have the label somewhere inside the control cavity.
Some serial numbers have been found scratched on the inside control plate of solidbody guitars and sometimes the serial number is impressed on the top edge of the headstock. 1965 to 1972 Serial Numbers The number can be found on the back of headstock or on the top edge of the headstock and (prior to 1967) with no hypen in the number. Also: “Made in USA” is stamped on the back of the headstock next to the serial number starting in June 1967 through approximately 1973. First digit or first 2 digits month (1-12). Next digit last digit of the year (1965 to 1972: 5,6,7,8,9,0,1,2). Remaining digits rank of individual instrument Example:.
118243 November 1968, 243rd instrument. 31041 March 1971, 41st instrument. 993 September 1969, 3rd instrument 1973 to 1981 Serial numbers Hyphenated number impressed into back of peghead.
1 or 2 digits before hyphen month (1-12). First digit after hyphen last digit of year. Last 3 digits rank of instrument Example:. 10-5155 October 1975, 155th instrument. 4-622 April 1976, 22nd instrument. 1900-1970 Sequential-listed below 1-6 digits stamped into the top edge of the headstock-often difficult to read.
Some banjo models have the serial number stamped on the inside of the rim. 1970-1972 6 digits hand-written on the label or printed on a silver sticker placed on, or near the label inside the instrument. It’s not uncommon for those stickers to fall off where they can sometimes be found loose inside the instruments. 1972-1974 6 digits printed on a small brown paper label glued to the label. 1974-1979 Six digits printed on the label. The Levin factory closed in 1979.
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Some nylon string acoustic models were built by Landola in Finland. Year Serial # 1980-198? 578 (latest known example) Levin Serial Numbers and Model Names In late 1947, Levin redesigned and modernized its entire line of instruments. Changes included cutaways on archtops, natural finish on some f-hole guitars and mandolins, and a line of nylon string acoustics. Keyblaze reviews. Up to that point, only the top 3 archtop guitar models (The De-Luxe, Solist and Royal), some early lutes and some fancier banjo models had names.
Earl Scruggs Standard Banjo Serial Numbers Chart
All Levin’s other instruments were identified by a model number only. After 1947 all models were given a name and a model number. The model number was inconsistently stamped as a prefix or suffix to the serial number. If the model was available in both natural and sunburst finish, the letter “N” would follow to denote a natural finish instrument. The use of a prefix or suffix was largely discontinued in 1955 when the most of the lines were redesigned again. Some prefix and suffix designations remained on old models until they were all discontinued by 1958.
In the redesigned lines of 1955, all models were identified by model number only.
