Hunterloft662

This masterfully hand-crafted acoustic guitar follows in the footsteps of the classic Hummingbird, but features a stunning quilted maple back and sides and a beautiful, hand-rubbed, bright cherry sunburst finish. The Gibson Serial Number Decoder currently supports 6 formats from 4 Factories. For guitars made prior to 1977 use the extended search function. This new function will try to match the serial number against older formats, details required for an exact match are listed in yellow. Made at Gibson Guitar’s acoustic guitar building operation in Bozeman, Montana, the new Gibson 50th Anniversary 1960 Hummingbird, is in all respects but age, a classic guitar. These Hummingbirds are made to the period-correct specs of the True Vintage in a gorgeous Dark Heritage Cherry 1960 sunburst finish, vintage body back bracings, gold. In 1994, Gibson’s Centennial year, many instruments have a serial number that begins with “94” for the year, with the remaining 6 digits indicating the ranking number. Gibson Custom. 1952-1960 Les Paul, Explorer, Flying V, and Futura reissues (since late 1992): M YRRR or MYRRRR M is the model year being reissued Y is the production year.

1. Gibson Hummingbird Serial Number Lookup 2327976
2. Gibson Serial Number Dating
3. Gibson Guitar Serial Numbers And Value

Gram Parsons '61 Hummingbird…
This 15 3/4-inch-wide Square Shoulder Dreadnought weighs just 4.60 lbs. and has a wide nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Mahogany back and sides, fine-grain spruce top, one-piece mahogany neck with a nice medium profile, and single-bound rosewood fretboard with 20 jumbo frets and inlaid pearl split-parallelogram position markers. Black headstock with inlaid pearl 'Gibson' logo and pearl crown inlay. Two-layer black on white plastic bell-shaped truss-rod cover. Individual gold-plated single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons. Brown celluloid pickguard with hummingbird, butterfly, and flowers etched in white and yellow. Rosewood tailpiece with two pearl dots and adjustable rosewood bridge.
The top has seven-ply binding, the back has five-ply binding, and the soundhole rings are in three groups of three, seven and three. Inside the soundhole is the orange label with Style 'Guitar' / Gibson 'Humming Bird' / Number '40620' stamped in black. The serial number '40620' is also stamped in blind on the back of the headstock. The 'A' tuner button has shrunk a little but is stable and the 'E' tuner has been changed for a matching, but slightly later (ca. 1964) Kluson double-line deluxe version. Housed in the original Gibson black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.25).
'The Hummingbird is numbered among those elite guitars that look like no others, that are unmistakably individual and unique. Of all the models in the history of Gibson acoustic flat-tops, probably the venerable J-200 alone is more immediately identifiable than this peerless 'bird of paradise…Gibson introduced the Hummingbird, their first square-shoulder guitar, in 1960. Their goal: an instrument designed for vocal accompaniment, one whose warm and honeyed tone would complement the voice, not overpower it. In reaching this goal Gibson employed a radical design that resulted in an instrument more boxy than its round-shoulder predecessors…The price and quality of this new model were appropriate for a guitar second only to that of the J-200 among Gibson flat-tops…The new model was not only more visually stunning than the competition of the time (especially that of other guitar companies), it offered superior playing capabilities. The Hummingbird certainly gave the public what it wanted: sales jumped to 595 in 1961 from 156 the previous year. In fact, the model was selling so well that Gibson expanded the Hummingbird concept, creating the Dove, which was based on the same body as the Hummingbird, but had maple back and sides, a long-scale neck, and different external components. The Dove cost approximately 35 percent more than the Hummingbird and filled the price slot between it and the top-of-the-line J-200…By 1965 the Hummingbird had been relegated to number five in the Gibson lineup, according to price, behind the J-200, Dove, Heritage, and Everly Brothers guitars. Also in this year many changes were made in the Hummingbird. One of the more unusual involved triangles or rectangles of black paint on the guitar's sides, next to the neck heel…That year also saw a neck change, in which the peghead angle was reduced to 14 degrees from 17 and the neck was made more narrow, two modifications that affected the entire flat-top line at that time. Also, chrome plate supplanted nickel that year…During 1967 and 1968, in a short-lived experiment, pickguards were attached by tiny screws rather than glued; also, some nickel-plated tuners were found on the 'birds. In 1968 the top-belly bridge was replaced by a squarish bottom-belly design; the adjustable saddle was retained. At this time some Hummingbird tops were also finished with the traditional dark brown sunburst instead of the trademark cherryburst. The last year for the ultra-light Hummingbird construction that produced such excellent sound was 1968. Near the end of that year Gibson initiated major changes intended to increase production while keeping warranty work to aminimum. Thus, the braces on both top and back became large and bulky, as did the solid-wood bridge pad' (Eldon Whitford, David Vinopal, & Dan Erlewine, Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars, pp. 111-114).
'Keith Richards has used Hummingbirds quite frequently throughout his career, alongside other acoustic guitars. His Hummingbird can be heard in many Rolling Stones songs, such as 'Let it Bleed', 'Love in Vain', 'No Expectations', and 'Dead Flowers'. Other notable Hummingbird players include Jimmy Page, Brian Jones, Marc Bolan, Sheryl Crow, The Edge, Bono, Sarah Harmer, Mick Jagger, Alan Sparhawk, John McLaughlin, Gram Parsons, Ryan Adams, KT Tunstall, Lefty Frizzell, Stoll Vaughan, and currently Michelle Branch is using one' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Hummingbird).

Did you know that you can use Epiphone serial numbers to discover the age of your guitar? In this guide, we’ll give you the basics on how it works so that you can learn if you have a vintage gem that’s worth a fortune.

How To Use Epiphone Serial Numbers To Date Your Guitar

If you have a vintage Epiphone or Gibson guitar, you could be sitting on a gold mine. Many older models have a rich history, and better than that, they could be worth a lot of money.

If you can’t make it to an antique shop with a certified professional who can date your guitar, you can still determine its age by using the Epiphone serial number. That information is extremely helpful if you’re trying to determine its value or if you’re looking to sell your instrument.

In this guide, we’ll give you the basics on how the numbers work and resources to help you determine the age and origin of your guitar.

To understand the significance of the Epiphone serial number, we first need to look at how their company historyintertwines with that of Gibson.

Gibson Hummingbird Serial Number Lookup 2327976

Epiphone started as a family business in 1873 as a luxury banjo manufacturer. In the 1930’s, they switched up their business model and began producing high-end guitars, and became the only manufacturer to successfully make the transition.

They grew in popularity and by the 1950’s, became Gibson’s main rival. In 1957, the Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) acquired Epiphone. As they already owned Gibson, this merge brought the two powerful brand names under one umbrella.

In 1969, a second purchase occurred. Norlin acquired CMI and moved all of the production of Epiphone to Japan and subsequently to Korea.

During each of these transitions, there were also changes made to how the instruments were labeled, which is part of the reason why the serial number identification process is so confusing. For example, after 1969, it’s unlikely your guitar would have a label saying it was made overseas, but you might have a seven-digit serial number that could tell that story.

When trying to date your vintage Epiphone or Gibson instrument, the most accurate way to do it is by decoding the serial number. Because there aren’t any factory ledgers prior to the 1980’s for Epiphone, these stamps will give you the closest approximation to their manufacturing date.

Particularly with older models, the serial number may not be enough to trace the guitar’s origins. Because there is not a single, central database for any of the models manufactured prior to 1977, you have to dig deep into the code to figure out from where and when it originated.

In fact, at Gibson’s customer service line, they report that at least a quarter of the calls they receive daily are from people trying to date their guitar.

If it was manufactured after 1977, the process is easy. If not, they, like the rest of us, refer to Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars to try to begin the process.

Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars

• Used Book in Good Condition
• Carter, Walter (Author)
• English (Publication Language)

A serial number not only confirms the authenticity of your guitar but can impact the value. If, for example, you have a Gibson Explorer that was made from 1958 to 1959, you have one of the few models produced in that period.

In general, rare guitars are worth more money, and that particular model is valued at between $250,000 and $310,000.

Today, it’s simple to use the serial number on your Gibson to date your guitar. If it was manufactured after 1977, the build date is included in the sequence.

The first and fifth number signifies the year it was built, and the second, third, and fourth are the day of the year.

For example, if the first five digits of your eight-digit serial number are 01545, then you know that the guitar was made on the 154th day of the year in 2005.

The sixth number in the modern sequence will tell you the batch, and the last three indicate the rolling production number.

Unfortunately, prior to the system instituted in 1977, the process is anything but simple to decipher.

There are entire books written on how to decipher your Epiphone serial number sequence, but here we will outline the basics of what you need to know based on year ranges that have commonalities.

In the first two years, 1932 and 1933, Epiphone die-stamped the serial number on the inside of the back of their instruments. If you look through the “F” hole on the bass side, you will see it positioned below the label.

Gibson Serial Number Dating

Beginning in 1934, they moved the placement directly onto the label itself.

This sequence begins in 1932 with the number 5000, and the last documented serial number in this series is 20142.

Gibson Guitar Serial Numbers And Value

When Epiphone launched the Electar line in 1935, they also began using a new system for serial numbers on their electric instruments.

You’ll find them die stamped on the top rear of the peghead, and they are a sequence of between three and five numbers.

They range from 001 in 1935, to 9999 in 1945.

In 1944, there were some shakeups inside of Epiphone which resulted in the creation of a new numbering system. Most significantly, Epi died, and his widow gave up her shares which opened the door to a financial restructuring of the company.

At the same time, the new shareholders decided to change some of their production methods which had a direct impact on their inventory. This, in turn, affected the numbering scheme.

The new serials began at 50,000 in 1944 and ended at 59,999 in 1950.

This is one of the many spans of time where there is a significant amount of grey area around dating the serial number on your instrument.

We know that from 1944 to 1950, the manufacturer introduced a two-digit prefix in front of the actual three-digit production number of all of its electric models. However, there is no data that tells us how many guitars were made each year, which makes it impossible to pinpoint an estimated date the instrument was manufactured.

On these models, you’ll locate the impressed serial number on the back side of the top of the peghead.

In 1951, Epiphone transitioned their electric models to the same five-digit numbering scheme as their acoustic models. Beginning with 60000 in 1951, and ending with the last known New-York made model, the Epi Zephyr, number 69637.

After Epiphone and Gibson merged under the same umbrella, Gibson started following their lead and placing serial numbers on their guitars.

During this time period, they ink stamped the digits on the back of the peghead and used the last number of the year as the first number in the serial sequence on their solid body models.

For example, in 1958, the first digit in the serial number is 8. In 1960, the first number was 0.

From 1958 to 1961, Gibson branded guitars used a different numbering series than Epiphone. You know it’s a Gibson if there is the letter “A” preceding the serial number found on the label of a hollow body model.

Beginning with A1000 in 1958, this series goes to A4999 in 1961.

In 1961, all of the guitars produced that were not part of the A-Series by both Gibson and Epiphone followed the same serial number series.

The manufacturers stamped it on the top backside of the peghead. They also removed text that read “Made in the USA” during this years because some of the components were created overseas.

The sequence begins with serial number 0100 in 1961, and by 1967, the six-digit code emerges. During that year, all started with the number zero, and by 1968 the companies were up to 999999.

Notably, from 1966 to 1968, they made an adjustment to differentiate between the low and high-end models. In that span, guitars numbered between 600000 to 600998 were lower quality. Then, in 1969, they changed things up and used the sequence 600000 to 606090 to denote the more expensive, high-end guitars.

There are many variations of serial numbers, and it can sometimes be difficult to decipher the code.

In addition to Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, which is considered the ultimate reference point for guitar enthusiasts, there are a few additional resources that can help.

In the Gibson forums, their support staff has broken down all of the possibilities for you and tried to help make sense of it. They share the four distinct formats, as well as a full list of factory later and number codes, and special designations found on the Les Paul models.