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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink serial numbers and production runs of Fender AVRI guitars '82-'11

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So, when taking breaks from work over the past several days, I've let my OCD side run wild, and have been looking online at the serial numbers of Fender's reissue instruments going back to 1982 and comparing them against their neck dates. I think I've put together some interesting info.

An important clue came from this website: http://www.fenderreissue.com/fender-stratocaster-reissue-strat-serial-numbers
They were able to come up with the rough rule of thumb for the serial numbers and the early reissue instrument production (Fullerton-era Strats, Teles, Precicions, Jazz Basses):

V000001-V004000 - 1982 (4000/year)
V004000-V010000 - 1983 (6000/year)
V010000-V016000 – 1984 (6000/year)

I thought I'd extrapolate from there, for the Corona-era instruments, checking it against the data I was able to find on the neck dates vs. serial numbers, and came up with the following rule of thumb for the correlation between serial numbers and years of manufacture (understanding that there is going to be some variation due to neck plates being used in production somewhat at random rather than consecutively):

V016000-V018000 – 1985 (2000/year)
V018000-V024000 – 1986 (6000/year)
V024000-V030000 – 1987 (6000/year)
V030000-V036000 – 1988 (6000/year)
V036000-V043000 – 1989 (7000/year)
V043000-V050000 – 1990 (7000/year)
V050000-V057000 – 1991 (7000/year)
V057000-V064000 – 1992 (7000/year)
V064000-V071000 – 1993 (7000/year)
V071000-V078000 – 1994 (7000/year)
V078000-V085000 – 1995 (7000/year)
V085000-V092000 – 1996 (7000/year)
V092000-V099000+ – 1997 (7000/year)

Fender revamped their reissue line in early '98, coinciding with the serial numbers reaching V100000. From '98 until the end of '11 - a total of 14 years - the serial numbers made it nearly up to V200000 (14 x 7000 = 98,000), at which point Fender once again revamped their AVRI line in early '12. Since then the serial numbers start with the last two digits of the year of manufacture, making it much easier to date without taking the neck off.

Here are the serial numbers and years of production for the '98 through '11 period:

V100000-V107000 – 1998 (7000/year)
V107000-V114000 – 1999 (7000/year)
V114000-V121000 – 2000 (7000/year)
V121000-V128000 – 2001 (7000/year)
V128000-V135000 – 2002 (7000/year)
V135000-V142000 – 2003 (7000/year)
V142000-V149000 – 2004 (7000/year)
V149000-V157000 – 2005 (7000/year)
V157000-V163000 – 2006 (7000/year)
V163000-V170000 – 2007 (7000/year)
V170000-V177000 – 2008 (7000/year)
V177000-V184000 – 2009 (7000/year)
V184000-V191000 – 2010 (7000/year)
V191000-V198000+ – 2011 (7000/year)

Anyway, just thought I'd share this stuff with anybody that might be interested. It's actually been a lot of fun figuring all of this out! I'll probably continue to collect serial numbers vs. neck dates on and off and see how well my rule of thumb continue to hold.

Hope some of you found this interesting!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Last edited: Jun 04, 2016 07:30:13

I just had the neck off my Candy Apple Red AVRI Stratocaster.

It was dated 1995. Serial number V078993.

Seems like your method works Ivan. Awesome! I'll check my Sunburst out later.

Last edited: Jun 03, 2016 21:45:50

Okay my Sunburst AVRI Strat's plate is V144095

I never had the neck off, I thought it was a 2001, from what the sellar told me or was it 2010 Confused

It should be a '04.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

WaimeaBay wrote:

Okay my Sunburst AVRI Strat's plate is V144095

I never had the neck off, I thought it was a 2001,

Using the above that's what I would've thought too.
There's obviously some cross-numbering going to occur on the neckplate now with the scheme in play since end of 2011.

Thanks for all this Ivan; interesting stuff. Big Grin

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Badger wrote:

There's obviously some cross-numbering going to occur on the neckplate now with the scheme in play since end of 2011.

Not the case, Wes, since they added a digit to the serial numbers since 2012 - so, the new ones would be V+7 digits, of which the first two signify the year of production. The old serial numbers were just V+6 digits.

Thanks for all this Ivan; interesting stuff. Big Grin

You'revery welcome!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

A few other tidbits I found interesting:

It took Fender 16 years ('82-'97) to build the first 100,000 US vintage reissue instruments (though of course, there was a change of ownership in '85, along with the move of the production line from Fullerton to Corona), and 14 years ('98-'11) to build the next 100,000.

The most recent revamp of the whole line was the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the production of the vintage reissue instruments.

Even though they added the Jazzmaster and the Jaguar to the reissue line in the '90s (what was the exact year, anybody know?), their total production of vintage reissues remained constant, around 7000/year.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

^^ Awesome info and thread Ivan.

IvanP wrote:

Not the case, Wes, since they added a digit to the serial numbers since 2012 - so, the new ones would be V+7 digits, of which the first two signify the year of production. The old serial numbers were just V+6 digits.

Ah, thanks. Should've known better than to post something before 2nd cup of coffee.

The production numbers are interesting because I recall when Mr. Schultz et al got the company back they had to use some imported Japanese-chartered stock to keep filling regular orders till they got their feet (back) on the ground.* Right at the buyback time (and don't let the door hit you in the ass CBS) must've been pretty hectic on the ground level. Tough times nugged through by real people. Biz mgmt at the Eagle Scout level.
Smile

  • I had a mid-80's Japanese Strat, it was a phenomenal player - on my "wish I had back" list.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Last edited: Jun 04, 2016 12:17:43

Interesting info, I just checked my AVRI JM V146171, puts it at 2004, makes sense since I moved here at the end of Oct 2003, and it was probably a few months before I got it.
Thanks for posting,
Ran

The Scimitars

The AVRI Jaguars and jazzmasters were introduced in 1999

I know of one that corresponds with the year 2000 according to Ivan's list.

Freshwater Surfin'

The Murray Basin
Australia

1982 vintage reissue Stratocaster. See link for story.

http://martincilia.com/fender-stratocaster-1962-vintage-reissue-fiesta-red-made-in-1982-serial-no-v002729/

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