The Dating Game: Figuring out the age of your guitar or bass
posted by TweedCase on September 13 2009
There are two important dates for the instruments in your collection. The day you brought it home is probably the most important date for both of you, but the date that it was manufactured, or at least the year, is very important in knowing what you actually have and how much it is worth in the long run.
Sometimes, finding out the year your instrument was manufactured can be quite a surprise. In the summer of 1985, I bought a new Fender Jazz bass from a music store in Dayton, Ohio and it was my main bass for quite a few years. Last year I took it to a local music store to get a tune up and in the process we looked up the serial number to figure out when it was made. It turns out that it was made in 1978 and it had just been sitting in music stores for a few years before I bought it. The value of a 1978 Jazz Bass, though, is actually a fair amount higher than the value of a 1985 Jazz Bass so it was good that I had found this out.
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