Fender neck dates from 1950 to today.
From the production of the first solidbody Fender guitars until 1976, Fender tagged a production date at the butt of the detachable neck of their guitars.
Below is a list of date formats and how they were marked on the neck-butts:
1950-1954:
Hand-written below the truss rod adjustment at the butt end of the neck. Date format is usually M-D-YY and often features the woodworker’s initials as well.
1954-1959:
Same as above, only the format is M-YY, leaving out the day.
First half of 1959:
No markings for a period after a customer complained about an obscenity written
on the neck butt. Markings start to appear again around mid-year.
Mid-1959-March 1962:
Same as ’54-’59.
March 1962 to 1965:
Dark blue or red ink stamps below the truss
rod adjustment at the neck butt. Date format written as “XX MM-YY W”. The “XX” does not refer to the day; it is a code for the neck type
(e.g. “02”=Stratocaster, “3/4″=3/4 scale Musicmaster). The “W” stands for neck width: “A” is the narrower, “B” is normal width, and “C” wider and “D”, though rarely seen,
is the widest.
A - 1 ½" - 38.100mm
B - 1 ⅝" - 41.275mm
C - 1 ¾" - 44.450mm
D - 1 ⅞" - 47.625mm
1966:
the model number (the number stamped on the neck before the month) change (for example, “13”=Stratocaster).1969: A new type of neck stamp of six,
seven or eight digits was used on some models. The new stamp was usually green ink. Example: “529129B” (more info on reading there in the “nack stamps” section below.)
This new green stamp was used simultaneously with the earlier “XX MMM-YY W” format. Models from this period could have either code system.
1972:
A new eight-digit neck stamp was introduced colored either green or red. Example: “02033923”, as found on a Jazz Bass. From 1972 to around March 1973, this new
system was used simultaneously with the previous “XX MMM-YY W”. Again, either stamp can occur on instruments from this era. A example of this is “02033923” found on
a Jazz Bass. From 1972 through about March 1973, this new system was used concurrently with the previous “XX MMM-YY W” format. Again, a neck was stamped with either
the new or the old date stamp, but not both. The model numbers change yet again (for example, “09”=Stratocaster). See “neck stamps” section below for more info.
April 1973-1980:
Fender dropped the old style date stamp after March 1973 and continued with the new 8-digit code.
April 1973 to 1980:
After March 1973, Fender dropped the
old style date stamp and continued to use the new style, 8-digit code. See “neck stamps” section below for more info..1976 to present: All non-vintage reissue instruments
have the serial number printed on the decal on the face of the peghead. The approximate production year can be determined from this (more about serial numbers will follow).
Sometimes a date is stamped or hand-written on the butt of the neck. Vintage reissue instruments have the date on the butt end of the neck like the originals.
1980:
Little glued labels with MM-DD-YY date stamps appear in the neck pocket, pickup cavity and/or back of the neck.
How to read the 1969-1971 neck stamps
The neck stamps on Fenders from 1969 to 1971 can be most logically translated by reading from right to left. For example, let’s take a Stratocaster with the serial
number 279515 and the code 22384109B. Starting with the letter B, this is the same neck width code Fender has been using since 1962. The next number is the production year,
in this case 9 = 1969. The next one or two digits are for the month, here 10 = October. The following three digits, here 384, could be a batch or lot number, or i could be
the count for how many of this one instrument that was made within the month. Since Fender could probably produce more than 999 of any one type instrument in a month, it is
more likely a batch or lot number. Finally, the first one or two digits of the code tells you which model you are holding; 22 being a Stratocaster.There are some exceptions
as you can see in this information provided by Mike Gagliano. A few Telecasters have shown up with neck codes that show a ’67 date and one with a possible ’68 date, while
the rest of the guitar appears to be from ’69. If Fender used this code system as early as ’67, then we should be seeing more ’67 and ’68 guitars with the code stamped in
green ink. A likely explanation is the use of leftover necks, which Fender is known to have done at several occasions. Other exceptions exist as well. For example, a
1970 Strat with the neck code 2231008B. The first “22” is the model (Strat), and the ending “B” is the neck width. But the “008” is not the month and year. There aren’t
really any explanations to this, but it appears on the occasional Fender guitar from this era.
How to read the 1972-1980 neck stamps
The ’72 to ’80 eight digit code is similar to the ’69-’71 system that we just discussed. Example: a Music Master with serial number 595121 and the code 49002153.
The first 6 digits are in pairs and the last two digits are standalone, giving us 49 00 21 5 3:49 = model code (Musicmaster, Mustang, Bronco)00 = neck code
(rosewood fingerboard)21 = week code (week 21)5 = year code (1975)3 = day of the week code (Wednesday)
1972-1980 model codes.
Model codes (first two digits):01 = Precision Bass02 = Jazz Bass04 = Mustang Bass08 = Telecaster Deluxe09 = Stratocaster13 = Telecaster, Telecaster Custom,
Telecaster Thinline49 = Musicmaster, Mustang, Bronco
1972-1980 neck codes
Neck codes (second pair of digits):00 = rosewood fingerboard01 = rosewood fingerboard03 = fretted maple neck OR skunk stripe neck with rosewood board10 = fretless maple neck |