General Gibson serial number information
Gibson serial numbers are usually on the back of the guitars headstock; either stamped, inked or as a decal. Instruments with f-holes often have the serial number repeated on a label inside the guitar body. A lack of a serial number usually implies an instrument has been refinished.
The current Gibson serial number system
There is no Gibson serial number decoder that can automatically date your pre-1977 Gibson, although after this time, the currently used eight digit system ha been used. Not only can it tell the date, but also the place of production. These details are encoded unambiguosly into the serial number as follows.
YDDDYXXX
where YY is the year, DDD is the day of the year, and it was the XXXth instrument stamped that day. Numbers below 500 signify a Kalamazoo productio, above signifies Nashville.
So for example, 80921089 tells us that this bass was stamped on the 2nd April 1981 (day 092), at the Gibson Kalamazoo plant, and was the 089th instrument stamped that day
Vintage Gibson serial numbers
Gibson used various systems of numbering their instruments, and some records exist that can give a clue to a shipping date. 50s and early 1960s details are fairly straightforward, but later serial numbers (particularly around 65-75) can cause more confusion than clarity. BEFORE you read the Gibson serial number charts, please read the rest of this page!
The serial numbers Gibson used, particularly from 1969-1979 are often very difficult to interpret. The reason being that Gibsons 6 digit serial number system reached 999999 several times; each time they continued from 000001.
So Gibson re-used serial numbers. If you read through the charts for a hypothetical number, say 123456 - we see that it was shipped in 1963, 1970-72, and again in 74-75. Not an ideal situation, but many of the Guitars we see listed for sale as 1960s instruments, are actually newer. It is often not the sellers fault, as they will have looked through the numbers, found it was 1963, and would see no reason to look further in the document.
Dating Gibson guitars without serial numbers
Seeing as the Gibson serial numbers can be ambiguous, and that guitar serial numbers are sometimes removed, how can you be sure of a Gibson guitars vintage?. There are subtle changes in most Gibson guitars over the course of their production runs, and, you can usually date a guitar by physical features. Also, with a little knowledge of potentiometer codes, another approximate date can be read. Most instruments can be dated to within 1-2 years without a serial number.
See the list of serial numbers on the Gibson website
Gibson EBO Bass Guitar 1967 solid wood cherry finish made in the US with case
Lebanon, New Jersey, 088**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$2100
1967 Gibson EB2-C Bass Guitar Cherry Finish Original Hardware
Hackettstown, New Jersey, 078**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$5500
EB2-C bass in very good condition. Everything original except for strings and brand new truss rod. Very little finish cracking
Works perfectly! Baritone pushbutton switch works!
We minor cosmetic damages shown. There was a chip on the left side of the head when I bought it and when the truss rod was fixed there was some bubbling on the neck and damage to the head stock
Feel free to reach out for any questions!... more
1968 Gibson EB-2D 2 Color Sunburst Electric Bass Guitar
Hollywood, Florida, 330**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$5865
Feel free to ask me any questions
... more
Vintage 1969 Gibson EB-0L Playable Project
Madison, Alabama, 357**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$900
The main issue is one that plagues all of these late 60??s EB Basses, and that??s the horrible neck sets on them. Which usually results in crazy high action. And this example is not exempt from that
The neck is very playable up until til about the 7th fret when the action starts to get fairly high. We tried everything we could to get it to a fairly standard height, but to no avail. This is why it is being ... more
1967 Gibson EB-2 Vintage Sunburst Semi-Hollow 4 String Right-Handed Bass Guitar
Winnsboro, Louisiana, 712**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3000
1976 Gibson The Ripper Fretless L9-S Vintage Bass Ebony w / Case, Hangtag
Seattle, Washington, 981**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3800
The set neck and ... more
1968 Gibson EB2 Bass Cherry w / OHSC
Towson, Maryland, 212**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$2100
1968 Gibson EB-2 Bass in Cherry with original hardshell case??a vintage semi-hollow thumper with unmistakable Gibson character. The double-cut hollow body design delivers a deep, woody low end with a warm, blooming response, while the neck-position humbucker provides that classic ??mudbucker?? fullness that sits perfectly in the mix and a bridge humbucker with a little more bite. Its short-scale feel makes it ... more
1968 Gibson EB-2D Bass a very original example ready to enjoy for 58 more years.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 333**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3995