Joe pass serial number not recognised? No inside sticker? Pics now here!!

[mrjones200x]

Going to take it to my guitar tech this afternoon for a complete setup, restring and to clean a couple of crackly pots or replace them also change the pickup selector washer as its cracked then i will be selling.

Also with a hard case.

Serial number is S9206668

 

If anyone interested then you can PM or email me. UK only tho unless you wanna big postal cost.

 

Hey The serial number is recognised on the serial number checker unles im doing somethin wrong and also there doesnt seem to be and inside sticker through the F hole? Is it normal to have no sticker? I know it could of been removed but the serial number is strange?

 

Any help would be great

[mrjones200x]

Hi i added to this recent post for help if possible, sorry to bump it but its really a new thread

[RotcanX]

Something fishy about that number. It looks as though it's a '92 but a '92 serial wouldn't have the '9'; it'd be of the form S2mmnnnn, i.e. 'S' for Samick followed by one digit representing the last digit of the year, followed by two digits for the month (01 - 12) followed by the four digit production number. Are you sure it's not supposed to be 'S902...'?

[mrjones200x]

Its at my luithers at the minute and getting back tommorrow. Thats what i thought initially. Im sure i wrote it down right but could be a mistake? I hope.

Pretty sure thats right tho.

 

Yeah by the data project it says s for samick 9 for year 20 for month then 6668 for production run so dont make sense as it is??

 

Doesnt look fake at all, very well built also and sounded real nice apart from 2 scratchy pots and bad inotation, hence the luither visit!

 

Looked over it loads for signs of being fake and ive never heard of a fake one before have anyone encountered a fake Joe Pass Emperor2???

[clarkuss]

Hmm that's a strange one.

 

[mrjones200x]

Pics tommorrow matey when i get it back from luithers!

[clarkuss]

How much do you reckon you'll be selling it for? What finish is it?

[mrjones200x]

Its a natuaral finish. No dents in the laquer that i can see and great frets. Slight tarnish on the pickup covers, tail piece and machine head buttons but thats the norm. Not reallly sure on a price throw me an offer. First off lets make sure the serial checks out. gonna post pics tommorrow.

 

I wont be insulted by your offer cos i know everyone wants a good deal.

 

Getting funds for a Orange amp and i had to pay back the outlay (the origanal cost of the guitar) so i wont make to much but all is helpfull.

 

Its a my luithers now getting small service and complete restring and setup, Cleaning of pots (Change if nessassary) electrics check ect. Costing me £50 for the service/setup. Ive seen them on ebay for £400 secondhand but i dont think thats reasonable think its a quite high.

 

Usally the postage in the UK is about £16 i think for parcelforce 48.

[clarkuss]

I'll wait until it comes back and pics etc because I've got a number of guitars selling at the moment and need to weigh up the balance books. I'm also holding out for another Casino so I'm scouring ebay daily!! But if I like the look of the pics I might be inclined to give it a bash!

[mrjones200x]

Not a problem my friend, Will hopefully sort the pics tommorrow. Any specific shots you need?

 

I normally do pretty good photos just takes ages uploading to photobucket lol

[clarkuss]

I'm not too fussy. Back and front of the headstock as well as inside the f-holes might help figure out the s/n mystery though!

[mrjones200x]

No problem will do that for you

[mrjones200x]

Here are the pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the pics of the guitar now i got it back. And must i say...................WOW does she sound really nice!! I couldnt believe how she sounded so crisp and clear and also played nice with small amount of distortion.

 

Any ideas on the serial number?? No sticker??

[RotcanX]

Well, it's definitely a non-standard serial. Perhaps somebody goofed somewhere along the line. But it would appear to be either a June 1992 or, more likely, a February 1989 (with a dyslexic serial) Samick. This is also borne out by the straight Epiphone logo. First time I've seen one with the Epsilon screened on the pickguard too; usually they just have the Joe Pass signature there. The TRC is from a newer one (post 2004) though; the earlier models would have had a 'GIBSON' TRC.

[mrjones200x]

The E on the pickguard is also raised like the signiture and the other ones i have seen look slightly bigger. You think it could be a fake or just a serial mistake?

 

To me dont matter if its fake cos it sounds so nice, ive never heard a better clean sound out of any other guitar. Only really need to know if i sell.

 

See how i say "if" i sell, im thinking of selling my acoustic instead of this!

[clarkuss]

No chance in hell it's a fake.... Serial number is curious but it definitely matches up to the very early samick production specs and that pickguard/logo/neck binding/inlay are bang on. Similar to early Sheratons, Anotria Jazz stars etc.

 

Possible it is supposed to be S902 but it could be June 92 also. I wouldn't worry about its authenticity but would be nice to know its year.

 

From the silk screen PG and the neck binding it could well be either but having the straight headstock logo I'd probably go for the earlier option as well but I thought their SN were on stickers?

 

The 93 Sheraton I just sold had a very similar look and the printed made in korea.

[RotcanX]

I don't think it's a fake. I'm more convinced that somebody goofed when he set up the serial number stamping machine, putting '20' when he meant to put '02'.

[mrjones200x]

No i didnt mean to say i thought you said it was a fake i just wondered if you thought it was based on the pictures i posted. Glad you all think its legit.

 

As i said i wanted to mainly know for selling purpuses. For me it wouldnt matter as i said it really sounds nice through my laney amp.

[clarkuss]

You'll get a good amount for it if you say it's Korean made, samick late 80s/early 90s. You should try and keep it though. bloody lovely and at the price you got it for...

[mrjones200x]

Im gonna keep it now and sell my accoustic as i dont ever play accoustic. I do like my accoustic sound just it sits there getting dirty.

 

This epi was a good deal, now before i tell you what i paid in total i would of taken £300 for it with the case. Sorry to say its not for sale now but the tone is so sweet i cant say no!!!

 

I paid £200 from shop then the setup total was less than i thought at £35 so a total of £235 with the case. I would of been more than happy with about £55 profit and someone got a good deal. Shame im a sucker and am being mean and keeping it. If i knew cleans could sound like this id play more clean, as i only play solid bodys normally the cleans are nice but not like this.

[clarkuss]

You're not being mean, nor are you a sucker. You've found a winner and want to enjoy it! I would have done the same at that price. It's a total gift at that price. I would have made you an offer but I'm going for a new casino on tuesday Let us know what you think of it once you've got to grips with it!

 

If you do ever decide to sell it, I call first refusal

[mrjones200x]

Yeah i will do mate. I brought it to make money which makes me silly but its a diamond so cant say no. Will still make enough money to cover the outlay of this and have enough for my new amp soon. Got a few bits in the selling section now (Boss BR600 and Valve junior V3). Gonna put my accoustic in there tommorow too. (WashburnD10SCE) Very nice sounding if you know anyone.

 

Cheers.

 

Was £300 a good price to sell at? Would of put it on Ebay for over £350 as i see two sell this week for over £370! Better deals for forum members!

[clarkuss]

I think 275-300 is a nice price for forum members/friends but on ebay you should sell for 350-400 because after ebay fees you're looking at similar ballpark (10-15% deduction)

[Vic Flick]

Well' date=' it's definitely a non-standard serial. Perhaps somebody goofed somewhere along the line. But it would appear to be either a June 1992 or, more likely, a February 1989 (with a dyslexic serial) Samick. This is also borne out by the straight Epiphone logo. First time I've seen one with the Epsilon screened on the pickguard too; usually they just have the Joe Pass signature there. The TRC is from a newer one (post 2004) though; the earlier models would have had a 'GIBSON' TRC.[/quote']

 

I don't think it would be a 1989, the letter code serial numbers began in 1992. Actually, according to the Walter Carter book, the Factory / Year / Month numbers began in 1993!!! Prior to that, there was no need to indicate the factory since Samick made just about all the Korean Epiphone with the possible exception of some cheaper models. The serial numbers from 1986 - 1993 were mostly random and often found on removable stickers.

 

Now take a look at this one from eBay:

 

 

Same serial # pattern. I would conjecture that Samick started using the S92 sometime in 1992, before the Factory / Year / Month pattern was adopted. Except...

 

There were no Joe Pass Emperors in 1992!!! Up until late 1993 it was the Emperor. Joe Pass endorsed the Emperor in September 1993, made some changes (most notable the switch moved from the lower horn to the upper bout), and it became the Emperor II. Joe died in 1994, in 1995 the Joe Pass signature was added to the pickguard and it officially became the Joe Pass Emperor II.

 

Originally, the top was a maple laminate, it was changed to select spruce in 1996.

 

So, the S9 would have to indicate Samick 1999. But what about the month??? Here's my guess, the last 5 digits are the production run, and Samick dropped the 0 for the month just like they did for the year. For Oct., Nov & Dec they would just add the 1. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 instead of 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12). Just a guess, but it's the only thing that seems to make sense.

[mrjones200x]

Cool thought that was fair. On ebay the fees are really crap! When i got my gibson i did the deal outside of ebay even tho they say its not safe because of costs. It cost me £600 and paypal would of been even worse to him than ebay to me! We spoke and on the phone and i made sure i could trust him, got his home address and alsorts then i transfered money to into his bank and he sent it straight away. Went well but there are a lot of scammers so i dont reccommend it. I did lots of research on the person his address, bank ect so i was pretty safe. i could hunt him down if i wanted now easily but as he was a great ebayer no need!