![fender stratocaster serial numbers guide fender stratocaster serial numbers guide](https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:eco%2Cw_1200/MTc0MDUzODQ0OTQ5NDExMzk0/the-fender-squier-series-stratocaster-not-a-typical-squier.jpg)
- #Fender stratocaster serial numbers guide serial number
- #Fender stratocaster serial numbers guide series
And bit by bit along the way, Black’s path intersected with the notion of pre-aging a guitar. In 1986, Black moved to New York City to work for Roger Sadowsky, and also moonlighted at Rudy’s Music, where John Suhr headed the repair and building side of the operation. Vince Cunetto with some of the first bodies he aged for Fender back in the early days of the Custom Shop’s Relic programmeīlack learned guitar repair at a local shop in his home town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before moving to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1980 to open a repair shop in the same building as famed vintage guitar dealer Jim Colclasure. Hired in 1989 by the head of the Custom Shop, John Page, Black had been a Master Builder for several years by the time the notion took hold in the early 90s that there might be some mileage in selling pre-aged guitars. One other significant mover in the venture, however, JW Black, was very much on the Fender payroll. Some understanding of the founding of the Fender Custom Shop makes crucial back-story to the history of the Relic Series, but the venture was very much a thing unto itself in the beginning, and even owed a major part of its initial success to an outside contractor who was never an official Fender employee. You could say that Fender’s famed Relics came about as a merger of these two rather contrary concepts.Īnd as big as pre-aged guitars have become in the guitar world of today, it’s amazing to note that according to the two prime movers in the creation of Fender’s original Relics – JW Black and Vince Cunetto – the story of how it all came about has never been told fully, or accurately.
#Fender stratocaster serial numbers guide series
Prior to the introduction of the Relic Series in 1995, fake ageing and playing wear was applied to guitars either to help repairs made to valuable old instruments match the look of the rest of the original, or to create forgeries. But the Relic wasn’t really a ‘thing’ until the Fender Custom Shop made it one.
#Fender stratocaster serial numbers guide serial number
Some early 90's examples held a serial number with the prefix M followed by 7 numerals, featured the a high gloss maple neck with a slimmer 40mm body made from plywood.The notion of ageing, antiquing, or distressing an instrument has existed for decades. There were also Korean Squier serials with no serial number prefix and 6 or 7 numbers and the first number is the year.
![fender stratocaster serial numbers guide fender stratocaster serial numbers guide](https://sc1.musik-produktiv.com/pic-010115096_05xxl/fender-lincoln-brewster-strat.jpg)
![fender stratocaster serial numbers guide fender stratocaster serial numbers guide](https://insounder.org/sites/default/files/styles/fb_1200_x_630/public/784DBFF3-872D-414F-87CA-27DFD75850E7.jpeg)
KC/KV: KC (Korean Cor-Tek (Cort)) and KV (Korean Saehan(Sunghan)), the serial number prefix is followed by a 2 number year. "VN5" = made by Saehan(Sunghan) in 1995."CN5" = made by Cor-Tek (Cort) in 1995.
![fender stratocaster serial numbers guide fender stratocaster serial numbers guide](https://insounder.org/sites/default/files/inline-images/376A84CD-B437-4558-A692-FA6609449ACC.jpeg)
CN/VN: C = Cor-Tek (Cort), V = Saehan(Sunghan), S was already taken by Samick so Saehan(Sunghan) used V instead (Saehan(Sunghan) made the Vester guitars), N = Nineties (1990s), the first number following the serial number prefix is the year.