The G Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hi, Does anyone know the serial number convention for Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Just picked one up and my search here proved futile. It is an AJ 500 MVS with a 10 digit # starting with 0810160---. Appreciate any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 The serial# reads like YY-MM-FF-1234(5) So your guitar was made Oct 2008 at the Gibson owned QingDao plant in China Thanks Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ne_buddy Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 The serial# reads like YY-MM-FF-1234(5) Hey y'all, what's FF? I'm guessing you meant to type "DD." And, also, what do the 1234 numbers refer to? Finally, if I'm using the guitardaterproject.com site, which letters do I enter for QingDao? Thanks very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StijnV Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 FF would stand for the factory code, but lately we don't use these anymore. Therefore, the first two digits 08 would refer to the year of manufacture= 2008. For any questions regarding dating our guitars, please send an email to service@gibson.com or service.europe@gibson.com Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StijnV Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Why don't you use the factory codes any longer ? Is it on all guitars - or only on the "F3........" serials ? I know from conversation with Jim Rosenberg that we should rate the guitar by its quality, that is ok for me - nonetheless it would be nice to know where it was build. And by 'where' I mean not only the country. We don't provide information anymore on the factory codes, as the quality of our Epiphone guitars is the same throughout all the Epiphone factories; just to avoid that people were starting to ask for a guitar from a particular factory, which would thus make no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR GIBS Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Please help... I have a Epiphone Massterbilt AJ-500 RE NS since yesterday. Bought the guitar from e-bay manifacturer refurbished. The # is 311557536 I can not understand the year and the month of the production... And I need to know that because I have to tell it to my luthier Please help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR GIBS Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 All serial# of 'refurbished' models start with 311..... It is because this models are not covered with the same warranty as regulary models there is no 'known' way to tell the year out of this serial# Yeah... I see. Well, thanks. I'll try to contact the dealer for some further help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterB Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Does anyone out there have tech info on an Epiphone Masterbuilt DR-500 RANGH It's a Dreadnought, Rosewood back & sides, Gold Grover open tuners, Spruce top (maybe) No electronics. Stamped on the neck block 0309210043, on label G0100043 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 " We don't provide information anymore on the factory codes, as the quality of our Epiphone guitars is the same throughout all the Epiphone factories " ...says the customer service team..... LOL! There's nothing like a good joke to brighten up the day right?! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 On 5/11/2021 at 4:34 PM, MasterB said: Does anyone out there have tech info on an Epiphone Masterbuilt DR-500 RANGH It's a Dreadnought, Rosewood back & sides, Gold Grover open tuners, Spruce top (maybe) No electronics. Stamped on the neck block 0309210043, on label G0100043 Regarding the "RANGH" -- I'd check the label again since that doesn't seem to be a code sequence that Epiphone ever used. The R typically indicates Rosewood, A indicates Abalone all over the edges of the guitar. After that, the only codes I've ever seen are "VS" for Vintage Sunburst and "NS" for Natural Satin. So there are RAVS guitars and RANS guitars. The "03..." serial number would normally indicate a 2003 model, which is not compatible to the number on the label. Is that label number on tape covering the original number? Is the "03..." number on the "neck block" or on the back of the neck? Photos would help with all these questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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