Gretsch Guitar Serial Numbers By Year

How To Check The Date Of Gretsch Guitars By Serial Number

If you are wondering "How do I find out what year my Gretsch guitar was made?", simply reference your serial number using the dating guide below. This Gretsch guitar serial number lookup details the serial number ranges and prefixes used by Gretsch during a given year. Note that the serial number style and location of the serial number on the instrument varies over the years.

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Locating the serial number on your Gretsch guitar

Gretsch serial numbers are mostly sequential, however they have used a few different serial number styles, and placed the serial number on different parts of the instrument over the years depending on the type of guitar. The style in which the serial number is applied may help narrowing down the production window of your instrument, though not necessarily the exact year. Here is a simple guide:

• From 1939 to 1949, hollow body models had the serial number written in pencil inside the instrument on the back of the body.
• From 1945 through the early 1950s, some models had the serial number impressed into the wood on the top edge of the headstock.
• From 1949 to 1957, hollow body models have a paper label glued inside the back of the body, usually seen through the F hole. The labels read Fred Gretsch Mfg. Co, and have lines for model and serial number.
• From the early 1950s through the early 1960s, solid body models with a control plate on the back of the body have a label inside the control cavity. Sometimes it is glued inside the body cavity, and sometimes it is glued on the control plate itself. Early solid body models may have no label, but the serial number is faintly etched directly into the plastic control plate, making it hard to locate.
• From 1957 to 1965, “Orange Oval” logo labels were used, again with Fred Gretsch Mfg. Co printed on them, as well as “Musical Instrument Makers Since 1883” at the bottom. They continue to have lines for model and serial number.
• From 1962 to 1965, Electrotone and solid body models have the serial number impressed into the wood on the headstock.
• From 1958 to 1965, some models have the serial number stamped into the headstock nameplate like the Viking, Falcon, and Country Gentleman.
• From 1967 to the early 1970s, serial numbers are printed on the back of the headstock, along with the text “Made In USA”.
• From 1973 to 1981, a black and white rectangle Baldwin-era Gretsch label is used reading simply “Gretsch Guitars” with lines for model and serial number.
• From 1989 to 2002, guitars have a XXXXXX-XXX serial number format, with some located on paper labels inside the instrument and others located on stickers on the back of the headstock that may or may not be in-tact still.
• From 2003 to Present, the serial number is printed on the back of the headstock and generally contains a two-letter country/factory prefix before the number itself. The location of manufacturing is also printed.

Gretsch Guitar Serial Number Lookup Guide

1939 to 1965 Gretsch Vintage Guitar Sequential Serial Numbers

During this era, Gretsch serialized guitars with sequential numbers, beginning with 3 digits at 001 and ending with 5 digits in the 80,000s. Once you've located your instrument's serial number using the method above, the table below should offer an approximate year of manufacture. For serial numbers on the cusp, instrument specs or component date codes may be required to help firmly define which year.

Note: A batch of 1,000 numbers in 1957 model year range were misplaced, then subsequently used later in 1965. If your instrument has a serial in this range, using the model features will help identify it as produced in either 1957 or 1965.

1966 to 1972 Gretsch Serial Numbers from Baldwin Era with No Hyphen

During this era, Baldwin controlled Gretsch and switched to a date code serialization method. Serial numbers in this era are on the top edge or back of the headstock, and models produced from mid ’67 onwards have “Made In USA” stamped near the serial number. The numbers are 5 or 6 digits, depending on the month of manufacture with no hyphen (-) in the sequence:

• Month: The first and/or second digit denote the month of manufacture, 1 through 12 for January through December.
• Year: The single digit following the month denotes the year of manufacture: 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, or 2 for 1966 through 1972.
• The last three digits would denote the production number for a given month and year. For example, 199 would imply the 199th instrument serialized.

Example: For serial number 38125, “3” would denote March, “8” would denote 1968, and “125” would be the 125th instrument serialized for that month and year. For serial number 128125, “12” would denote December, “8” would denote 1968, and “125” would be the 125th instrument serialized.

1972 to 1981 Gretsch Serial Numbers from Baldwin Era with Hyphen or Space

Serial numbers in this era are easy to identify as they have a hyphen or space after the initial month number(s). These serials are generally found on the back of the headstock, have “Made In USA” next to them, and contain 5 or 6 numbers in total.

• Month: The first and/or second digit denote the month of manufacture, 1 through 12 for January through December. This number is followed by a hyphen (-) or space.
• Year: The single digit following the month denotes the year of manufacture: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, or 1 for 1972 through 1981.
• The last three digits would denote the production number for a given month and year. For example, 199 would imply the 199th instrument serialized.

Example: For serial number 11-7125, “11” would denote November, “7” would denote 1977, and “125” would be the 125th instrument serialized for that month and year.

1989 to 2002 Gretsch Serial Numbers (Pre-Fender)

During this era, the Gretsch family took back control of the brand and began manufacturing instruments offshore, mostly in Japan, with some models being produced in Korea. Serial numbers have a xxxxxx-xxx format containing year, month, model, and production number within them:

• Year: The first two digits denote the year of manufacture. “99” would indicate 1999, and “01” would denote 2001 for example.
• Month: The first and/or second digit following the year would denote the month of manufacture, 1 through 12 for January through December.
• The next three digits are the model number. “136” would indicate a 6136 model, and “120” would indicate a 6120 model.
• The last three digits after the hyphen would denote the production number for a given model. For example, 025 would imply the 25th instrument serialized for that specific model.

Example: For serial number 0112136-123, “01” would denote 2001, “12” would denote December, “136” would denote a G6136 model, and “123” would be the 123rd G6136 produced.

Note: For Historic Series, Synchromatic, and Electromatic guitars produced in this era, there is no clear serial number decoding process. Many of these instruments had serial numbers on stickers on the back of the headstock, and many of these stickers have not survived in-tact.

2003 to Present Gretsch Serial Numbers from Fender Era

Beginning in 2003, and continuing through the present day, Fender Musical Instruments Corp (FMIC) took over design and distribution of Gretsch guitars on behalf of the Gretsch family. This includes instruments produced in the US Custom Shop, as well as instruments produced across all model series from a handful of factories around the world. These modern instrument serial numbers have two letters, followed by a sequence of numbers:

• Country & Factory: The two letter prefix denotes the country and factory where the instrument was produced. “JT” would indicate an instrument made in the Japan Terada factory, while "CS" would indicate US Custom Shop production for example.
• Year: The first two digits after the letter prefix denote the year of manufacture. “15” would indicate 2015, and “23” would denote 2023 for example.
• Month: The two numbers following the year denote the month of manufacture, 01 through 12 for January through December.
• The remaining numbers identify the sequential yearly factory unit number of all instruments produced in that factory that year, regardless of model.

Example: For serial number JT15034567, “J” would denote Japan, "T" would denote the Terada factory, “15” would denote 2015 production year, “03” would denote March production, and “4567” would be the 4567th instrument produced that year in that factory regardless of model.

2003 to Present Gretsch Factory Letter Prefixes

The two letter prefix for modern Gretsch guitars produced under FMIC can be decoded as follows: