Copyright Kit Rae. The pots are what the knobs are mounted to, essentally manually adjustable resisitors that control the voltage across a circuit. The codes were created by the Electronic Industries Association EIA in s to identify the product source and date of manufacture. The first string of numbers is usually the part number, or sometimes the pot value. In the second string of numbers, the first three numbers are a code identifying the manufacturer. The next two numbers after the manufacturer number are the year, and the last two numbers are the week of the year the pots were made. So a pot stamped is a CTS pot made in the 33rd week of Note that this does not mean a Muff with a pot was actually made in , it just means it was not made much earlier than The Muff could have been made months or even years after the pots were purchased as it is known that Electro-Harmonix bought the pots in bulk, as did Fender, and other companies at the time.

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Around Fender started using CTS pots. Look for this number: It’s a code for Stratocaster pots. Any vintage strat pot must have

Ever since Fender started making basses in , they dated certain parts and components to give a general idea of when the instrument was produced. Then there are pickup and potentiometer date codes, serial numbers, and even bridge stamps and pickguard codes in some cases. So how do you properly determine the year of production? They just grabbed whatever part or component was ready and put the instrument together to fill an order as fast as possible.

The general rule of thumb is that a bass is as old as its newest part, or at least its latest dated part. So, if you have a Fender with a neck date of and the pots are dated , then you have a Fender Bass. There are some years in particular that can get really tricky. Some Precision Basses have no neck date stamp at all, and several Fender basses from to have neck stamp codes that are difficult to decipher and sometimes impossible to read.

Body stamp dates were used by Fender from the early s to the mids, after which they stopped until the s where they started again sporadically to this day. Potentiometer codes are pretty reliable for dating, usually indicating the year and week it was made. One exception is that most Fender pots from to are dated to Pickups were only date stamped from to about , but they can be really useful in helping pin down the year.

How to Date Fender and Gibson guitars with potentiometer codes

So, you can’t afford that ’54 Strat, or that ’64, or even that ’74 for that matter. Your last chance to own a vintage Fender Stratocaster is with the guitars of the late ‘s. You spot a ’79 in a local shop, or online, but how can you be certain it is a ’79? Some dealers simply go by the serial number, which you will discover can be far from accurate.

Some might go by the pot codes, but those could have been stock a year or more old by the time they were put into the newly finished guitar.

I have found that with “House Brand” guitars such as Silvertone, sometimes pot-​code dating is a good way to zero in on date of manufacture.

With guitars in mind, dating if the last two digits of the source-date code are greater than 52, you’re not looking at the source-date code! Also it’s worth mentioning:. Stackpole for example converted from three to four digit date codes in late. On 3 digit date codes, you date to “guess” the decade guitars the pot or speaker. Codes this isn’t too difficult. Date used by Fender. Codes pots on the left and right are Stackpole pots manufacture.

Note the different position of the markings, even on pots from the same maker. The source-date code on a speaker. In this case, the speaker is made by Rola in the 9th week of. The decade, though not here shown by the source-date pot, was easily determined because this particular amp was only made during the s. Note pot font guitars of guitars source-date code number always seems to be the same, for all speaker manufacturers.

Same thing here. Jensen speaker made in the 41st guitars of.

1963-1966 Magnatone Custom Series Dating

Gibson bass guitars Part descriptions for Gibson bass guitars Potentiometers. Just like the basses themselves, the potentiometers the volume and tone dials have certain codes stamped into them that can provide useful information. These are an invaluable tool for dating vintage Gibson Instruments. The Gibson serial number system can be very difficult to interpret to say the least – whilst the pot codes had a simple system in which the date of manufacture was encoded into the numbers stamped into the casing.

Usually on the back, as shown in the picture here, or sometimes on the side. CTS codes are in the format year-week.

The original pots are the only way to date an MXR pedal, so this pedal is not very valuable even if someone could get it working, as the date codes and pots are.

The Code on the tube chart of your Fender Amp is made up of two letters. The First letter equates to the Year and the Second letter to the Month. Reissue amps also use stamped Date Codes. Examples of “Hand Stamped” Date Codes. The source-date code on a pot is a 6 or 7 digit code impressed into the casing of the potentiometer. For speakers this code can be 5, 6, 7 or 8 digits long, and it’s ink-stamped or paint-stamped on the “bell housing” of the speaker.

In either case, the code works the same. The first 3 digits on a pot, or the first 2, 3 or 4 digits on a speaker are the source or manufacturer code. The remaining 3 or 4 digits are the date code. In 3 digit dates code, the 1st digit is the last digit of the year.

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Zachary R. Fjestad is a freelance writer who specializes in guitars and amplifiers including the history behind them and their current value. Fjestad has been evaluating and appraising guitars for over 20 years. For more information, email Zachary at zacharyfjestad hotmail. Guitars Bass Amps Pedals Players. I read on a Gibson forum that, on seven-digit pot codes, the fourth and fifth numbers represent the date. Can you tell me what model this is and how much it is worth today?

HOFNER POT CODES – FACT FILE

Pot dating codes Feature articles fun things to do when first dating articles on my console grande. Cts pot code which all audio taper pots. Serial number on seven-digit pot codes addendum page contains information gretsch guitar dating a 70’s gibson used them and two volume pots code number dates. Let’s say that, open up the pots’ and supposedly gibson les. Egmond produced at many others were made guitars serial numbers, the numbers for.

When dating an instrument by the ‘pot code,’ keep two things in mind: The potentiometers must be original to the piece (new solder, or a date code that is off by ten.

This page contains details about the Magnatone Custom Series amps. For an overview, see Magnatone Custom Series , or for a history of the Magnatone amps from , see The history of the Magnatone brand. Serial Numbers are located on the back panel and are listed with the Model. I haven’t have been able to find any concrete information regarding serial numbers for these amps Though its not critical a critical aspect of the history of these amplifiers, the more we know about serial numbers, the more we can make guesses on production numbers.

Early Custom’s were build without the interlock switches, although the interlock was on the schematic inside the amp. The metal part of the handle had a bare metal finish on early models, and soon there after they started to paint them black. Also, the badge plates were different on the very early Customs, eventually they were produced with the large “M” below right.

Dating a Rat

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HI Everyone:. Came up with a cool, yard sale deal. Get this, An early 70’s LPC with a lot of damage and a crappy headstock repair. Looks like a Pete Townsand got hold of it. Pancake body. Chainsaw case. It’s playable but I’m going to have to do some work to make it look right. But the price was very right. The neck is really nice to me, wich is unusual for an LPC.

Potentiometer Codes On Gibson Bass Guitars

Seriously though, the best way to date a vintage SG is not through the serial number, but rather by the potentiometer codes and other features it has. Only in did Gibson switch to a more reliable serial number system which can be trusted as a dating tool. Even then, you want to have a rough idea of when it was made based on the features first, because they have used several different serial number formats through the years. It is important to remember that no one feature is the absolute determinant factor in dating, but rather the totality of all features taken into consideration.

However, the interpretation of the two date code systems appears to be relatively straight forward and the conclusions were confirmed by pickup dates and pot.

Since I primarily collect amps by Fender, and guitars by Gibson, Fender, Martin, National, Epiphone, Gretsch and Rickenbacker, I really can’t help them with these other less popular brands. As you have probably noticed, there is plenty of information here to help date the brands that I am interested in. But where does that leave everyone else? Well I’m not one to leave you out in the informational cold, so here’s something that I use quite often in dating amplifiers and electric guitars.

It’s called the “source-date code”, and it can help determine the approximate age of an electric instrument by the date its components were manufactured. Source-Date Codes On American made vintage gear, the pots and speakers provide an excellent opportunity to date a piece of equipment by referencing their “source-date code”. The source-date code found on pots and speakers gives the manufacturer and date roughly when the components were made.

It may have been some time before the part was installed at the factory, but it still provides a good approximation of when the gear was made.

DATE NIGHT AT THE MELTING POT #FOODPORN (VLOG #65)