The Charvel Model 5 and 6 have a neck-through design and unlike the Model 1 - 4, their serial number directly reveal the build year. The serial syntax is CXXXXXX. For example, C 8 00210 is built in the year of 198 8. Does anybody know where I can get verification on a Japan Made Jackson Guitar? I want to know how to verify the serial number.

• Jackson Guitars Serial Number Search

This comprehensive Charvel guide will enable you to determine the year of production and verify any of the legendary Japanese made Charvel guitars, designed by Jackson Charvel and built by the Japanese Chushin Gakki factory back in 1986 through 1991. The guide will also show you both the original configuration of the guitars and the evolution they went through. Series overview During these six years of production, close to 80 different variations were offered and the best way to get a proper overview of this bunch, is to categorize them.

Below is how Jackson Charvel defined the series back then. Clicking the links will take you to the relevant catalogue scan. 1986-1988 1989-1991 1989-1991 1989-1991 1989-1990 1989-1991 The further down uses the same categorization.

1 The Charvette Series guitars were initially not in scope for this article, due to mainly being built in Korea, but I have included all the Charvel categories for the sake of completeness. Why focus on these six years? The 1986-1991 Charvel imports were the very first Charvel imports and they have become legendary due to their build quality vs. Price ratio in the second hand market. The guitars have proven themselves to be a fantastic alternative to the higher priced American made Jacksons and Charvels and having played both, you probably realize how great these vintage Japanese guitars really are.

Get all the details on the Charvel import guitars by also reading the article. A Japanese Chushin Gakki worker at the Charvel assembly line, installing hardware on a 1986 Charvel Model 2, 3 or 3A (confirmed by the Kahler™ Fulcrum tremolo and white dot rosewood fingerboard). Photo supplied by Grover Jackson. A quick and dirty way of determining the year of manufacture for the bolt-on Model Series 1 - 4, is to look at the combination of trademark symbols used on both the headstock and the neckplate. Furthermore, the presence or absense of a neckplate gasket will also help you find the year. The serial on these guitars can't be used directly to find the year. Study the following table to determine the year.

Year matrix, Charvel Model 1 - 4 Model 1 - 4 Neckplate symbol Headstock symbol Serial start, approximate 1986 No 2 Yes 2 Yes 275100. The Charvel Model 5 and 6 have a neck-through design and unlike the Model 1 - 4, their serial number directly reveal the build year. The serial syntax is CXXXXXX. For example, C 800210 is built in the year of 198 8. C 701212 would be 198 7.

When the Charvel Model 5 and 6 were introduced in 1986, the serial number was found on the back of the headstock under the clear coat, in the form of a plastic decal. Later on, around mid 1987, the factory abandoned the decal on the headstock and began stamping the serial number into the last, blind fret of the fingerboard. Logo trademarks on the headstock of the Model 5 and 6 should be the same as the bolt-on models. There are exceptions to the above, but the guidelines here are generally accepted and works for the most part in dating your instrument.

None of these guitars were made in USA. The neck plates on the bolt-on neck Charvel Model Series bear IMC's Fort Worth Texas address, despite the fact that they were all built in Japan. The address reads: Fort Worth, TX 76113, U.S.A.

All the Charvel imports in the scope of this article (1986-91), are made in Japan (except the Charvette Series which is made in Korea). IMC (International Music Corporation), who in 1985 merged with Jackson Charvel, was based in Fort Worth, Texas and having their USA P.O.

Address on the neck plate, was probably a sleek marketing trick to have us believe the models were made in USA. In all fairness it should be said, that the bolt-ons had a small MADE IN JAPAN sticker placed on the back of the neck at the heel (not like in the picture to the right, where is has been moved to the neck plate). This sticker told us the true origin, but it was easy to remove or would easily fall off.

The Charvette Series neck plates looks quite different and plain compared to the Charvel plates. Some of them have the Ft. Worth stamp as shown in the picture.

The Charvette Series was introduced in late 1989 as low priced versions of the Charvel Series imports, with a suggested retail price range of $320 - $500. My personal notes indicate that the production started with the 170 and 270 models.

They were initially made in Japan by Chushin Gakki, having basswood bodies, but soon the entire production of the Charvette Series was moved to Korea, introducing the use of plywood for the body. So there are most likely both basswood and plywood versions of the 170 and 270 models out there. The following info is the work of Mark St.

And he very generously let me publish it here on the site. Audiozone.dk This following data is being collected to confirm the pedigree of the Model Series 1 - 4 guitars.

The ONLY intent here is to simplify the identification of these guitars by production year, and to uncover any cool production changes that may have occurred. How accurate is the data? As accurate as can be expected from in-hand inspection, photos of widely varying quality and verbal descriptions. The data is compiled with a reasonable amount of certainty - no guesses or interpolation - but I'm sure there are some mistakes due to blurry vision and catalog interpretation. About 15% of the data is from 'neckplates only', and there are a large number of guitars being parted out on eBay. Personally, I like original guitars, to some folks it is less important. Just be aware of what you're looking at before you lay your money down.

Hopefully, this data will be of some interest and assistance. Work in progress Model 5, 6, 7 and 8's are not covered in the following serial list, because most of them can be dated from the serial number, stamped into the fingerboard or printed on a decal placed under the clear coat. Eventually, the serial list will maybe include these and also some of the later Charvel imports - the toothpaste models like the 375, 475 etc., to complete the period 1986 - 1991. More on that later.

Serial number Model name Bridge / tremolo Neck plate Head stock Comments 222298 Plate only -Lowest serial number to date 222365 Model 3 -222474 Model 3 Kahler TM TM Black, black guard 249331 - Possibly JT-6? -'Pink champagne metallic', not original, possibly Burgandy Mist? 222474 Model 3 Kahler TM - Black, black guard 222560 Model 3 Kahler TM - Red, black guard 222930 Model 4 -Black (sparkle?) 222973 Model 3 Kahler TM - Red, black guard 223463 Model 4 -Cream (pearl white?) 223483 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickups 224202 Model 3 Kahler TM - Red, black guard 224326 Model 3 Kahler TM - Black 225051? -225224? -Black 225457 Model 4 - TM - Dots, white, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickups 226624 Plate only -226754 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, blue, small route, 3 covered no-name pickups 227124 Model 3 Kahler TM - Red, black guard 227276 Model 3 -Pearl white 2273?4? -1986 Japan imports catalog, black, plate and neck joint only in picture 227735 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red, small route, 3 covered no-name pickups 228551 Model 3 -228860 Plate only -May have been red 3A 229265 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red 230404 Model 1 - TM - Black guard 230986 Model 4 -231209? -Metallic Platinum, noted as Fusion Custom, possible rebody?

231820 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, white 232383 Plate only - TM -232392 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, large route, e.g. Catalog Serial number Model name Bridge / tremolo Neck plate Head stock Comments 232986 Model 3 Kahler TM - White, black guard 2335?3 Model 4 Kahler TM - Black 233997 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, black 234003 Model 2 Kahler TM - WHite 234389 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, blue, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' pickups 234827 Model 3 Kahler TM - Red, black guard 235188 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red 235645 Model 2B - TM - White, bass 235697 Plate only -235983 Model 1 - TM - Black 236118 Model 3 -? TM White, black guard, refitted JT-6 236129 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, black cherry, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickupd 236314 Model 3 -? TM Black, black guard 236905 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickups? Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, red, small route, 3 covered no-name pickups 237786 Model 4 JT-6 ® TM?

Dots, Burgandy mist, very confusing mix of dots and JT-6 for a 1986 Model 4 (more info) 237851 Model 3A JT-6 TM ® Black 238018 Model 4 JT-6 TM? Red, heavily modified 238159 Plate only -238311 Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickups 238333 Model 2 Kahler TM - Black 238419 Model 3 -Gray, TM? Can't tell 238526 Plate only -Plate from Model 2 23?920 Model 3 Kahler TM - White, black guard 239951 Plate only -23???? Model 4 Kahler TM - Dots, black, small route, 3 covered 'Jackson' logoed pickups 241347 Model 3A Kahler TM - White, black guard, 2 humbuckers 241806 Model 1 - TM + gasket ® Flat black repaint, fulcrum replaced by Kahler hardtail, replacement neck?

Thanx to all of you in advance. I was evicted dec 6 and i lost everything.

A dear friend met up with me and gave me a Peavey backstage amp and a Jackson strat. The strat has 8 digits in the serial number which is stamped on the neck plate along with a 'made in india' sticker.

It has a strat body, 3 humbuckers in a single coil config with Duncan Designed on them. Bolt on neck, 24 frets with dot inlays/rosewood fingerboard. 3x3 machine heads with jackson on them. It is red 5 way switch, one volume, one tone.

Jackson Guitars Serial Number Search

Could anyone help me in identifying it please? I have very limited internet, im using an ATT Beam as an uplink for the cell network at 4G with 4 gigs and ive already used that up the 1st day. Ill try n post pics or a link to them.

I didn't try to decipher this, too late here. Maybe it will help you. Sorry if it doesn't. 8 Digit Serials Starts w/ Type of Jackson Guitar 00-04 JS (MII), X (MII) or very early JS30xx (MII) 2004 only, first two digits denotes year (00=2000, 04=2004) 6 JS (MIT), probably the first digit denotes year (6=1996) 96-99 JS (MII) or X (MII) first two digits denotes year (96=1996, 99=1999) 1996 the JS20 MIT, MII, MIK, MIJ The new 'No Series' name MIJ guitars had a low priced student model companion, the JS20.

The MSRP of the JS20 in 1996 was $325 and it could be purchased new for around $200 in the US at the time. A black JS20 (serial number 65002013) was my first electric guitar and my first Jackson, purchased new in 1996.

The JS20 was initially made in Taiwan (MIT), India (MII), Korea (MIK) and Japan (MIJ). Serial numbers for the MIT JS20s are 8 digits long and the first digit probably denotes the year. No serial numbers are known except ones leading with a 6, so it is likely production of Jackson guitars in Taiwan started and ended in 1996.

Serial numbers for the MII JS20s are also 8 digits long with the first two digits corresponding to the year (96xxxxxx = 1996, 99xxxxxx = 1999, 00xxxxxx = 2000, 04xxxxxx = 2004), JS20s are still made in India (as of 2010). Serial numbers for the MIK JS20s are 7 digits long and start with the number 1 (there is some speculation that they might also start with a 0, but I have not seen a 7 digit serial number starting with 0 as of yet), production ended in 1998 when the Jackson MIK production ended. Serial numbers for the MIJ JS20s follow the exact same format as all other MIJ serial numbers from 1996 on, they are assigned a 7 digit serial number which increases sequentially. I have never seen a pre-1998 MIJ JS20 and the MIJ JS20 appears to still be made today (2010). I suspect the move of the X series from Korea to Japan is why the MIK JS20s end in 1998 and MIJ JS20s appear to start in 1999 speculation warning. 1998 the Indian X series In 1998 Jackson started a new series called the X series, which was made in India. JS20s had been produced in India since 1996 using an 8 digit serial scheme where the first two digits corresponding to the year (96xxxxxx = 1996, 99xxxxxx = 1999, 00xxxxxx = 2000, 04xxxxxx = 2004).

The new 1998 X series continued using this same serial number sequence until the X series ended production in India in 2001 and moved to Japan starting in 2002 (where it currently is made, as of 2010). 2004 the MII JS30xx series End of year 2004, a new low cost student model series started production in India. In a very confusing manner, the new series was called the called the JS30xx series, which is not the same as the JS30 guitar made between 2002 and 2004.

The new JS30xx series had low cost versions of the Jackson Randy Rhoads (JS30RR), the Jackson Dinky (JS30DK and JS30DKT), the Jackson Kelly (JS30KE), the Jackson King V (JS30KV) and the Jackson Warrior (JS30WR). The JS30xx guitars have fixed bridges (JT390), chrome hardware and two Jackson CRV2 humbucking pickups, except the JS30DKT model which has a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo instead of the fixed bridge. It appears some early JS30xx production guitars were given 8 digit serial numbers starting with 04xxxxxx identical to the MII JS20 guitars already produced in India. The normal serial number scheme for all JS30xx guitars is a 9 digit (or 10 starting in 2008) serial number where the first four digits correspond to the year of production (2004xxxxx = 2004, 2007xxxxx = 2007), many 2004xxxx serial numbers have been observed, so there is probably not a large number for 8 digit JS30xx guitars with 04xxxxxx serials (it is possible the 04xxxxxx marked JS30xx are prototype guitars and normal production JS30xx started with 2004xxxxx serials). At the beginning of 2008 a 10th digit was added to the normal MII 9 digit serial scheme (2008xxxxxx = 2008).BLEEP.

wrote: darthyahya wrote: Thanx to all of you in advance. I was evicted dec 6 and i lost everything.and The evictors have your original guitar(s), amps(s), etc? It seems like you should at least have access to your property in order to sell it to pay debts - if that's what it's going to come to. Depending on the state law there may be a limited amount of time your former landlords are required to store your stuff, although you will probably be charged for whatever it costs to store the stuff to recover your property. At the end of that time, however, it will probably become your landlord's property, and they can sell or otherwise dispose of the stuff in any way they see fit. Check it out with your local housing board.