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featured image thumbnail for post Squier Telecaster Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Squier Telecaster Serial Numbers Explained Squier Telecaster serial numbers are the quickest way to turn a stamped or printed code into the production year, factory, and series of your guitar. Whether you are hunting for a used Classic Vibe, checking the age of an Affinity, or just curious about a Bullet Tele you inherited, the serial number is the best place to start. Squier has built Telecasters…

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featured image thumbnail for post Squier Stratocaster Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Squier Stratocaster Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide Squier Stratocaster serial numbers are the fastest way to turn a stamped or printed code into the year, factory, and country of your guitar. Whether you are buying a used Classic Vibe, checking a Craigslist Bullet, or just curious about the Japanese Squier in your closet, the serial number is the first clue you should read. Squier…

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featured image thumbnail for post Squier Precision Bass Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Squier Precision Bass Serial Numbers Explained Squier Precision Bass serial numbers are the fastest way to turn a stamped or printed code into the year, factory, and series of your P Bass. Whether you are buying a used Affinity, selling a vintage Japanese Squier, or just curious about the instrument in your hands, the serial number is the first clue to unlock. Squier has built Precision Basses in…

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featured image thumbnail for post Squier Mustang Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Squier Mustang Serial Numbers Explained Squier Mustang serial numbers are the fastest way to turn a stamped or printed code into the year, factory, and country of your short-scale offset. Whether you are buying a used Bullet Mustang, selling a Classic Vibe, or just curious about your Vintage Modified, the serial number is the first clue to decode. Squier has built Mustangs in Japan, Korea, China…

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featured image thumbnail for post Squier Jazz Bass Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Squier Jazz Bass Serial Numbers Explained Squier Jazz Bass serial numbers are the quickest way to turn a stamped code on the headstock into the year, factory, and country of your bass. Whether you are decoding a used-market find, checking a Craigslist listing, or just curious about the instrument in your rack, the serial is always the best place to start. Squier has built Jazz Bass models in Japan…

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featured image thumbnail for post Mustang Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Mustang Serial Numbers Explained Mustang serial numbers are the fastest way to turn a stamped or printed code into the year, factory, and era of your Fender Mustang. Whether you are buying, selling, or just learning more about your short-scale offset, the serial number is the first place to look. Fender has used several numbering systems since the Mustang launched in 1964, and American, Mexican…

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featured image thumbnail for post Jazzmaster Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Jazzmaster Serial Numbers Explained Jazzmaster serial numbers are the fastest way to turn a stamped or printed code into a production year, factory, and era for Fender's original offset guitar. Whether you are hunting for a vintage 1960s Jazzmaster, decoding a used Player model, or trying to confirm whether a Japanese reissue is what the seller claims, the serial number is the first thing to check…

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featured image thumbnail for post Jaguar Serial Numbers: Dating & Identification Guide

Jaguar Serial Numbers Explained Jaguar serial numbers are the fastest way to place a Fender Jaguar in the right year, factory, and era. Whether you are hunting a vintage 1960s offset, comparing Japanese reissues, or checking the age of a modern Player Jaguar, the serial is the first filter every buyer and seller should use. Fender introduced the Jaguar in 1962 as the top of its electric line. The…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Tuners Identification Guide: Kluson, Stamped & Vintage

Fender Tuners Identification Guide: Kluson, Stamped & Vintage Fender tuners identification is one of the fastest ways to narrow down when a guitar was built and whether its hardware is still original. The tuning machines on a Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, or Jazz Bass changed repeatedly between the 1950s and today. Each major style — Kluson, Fender-stamped, Schaller, Gotoh…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Pot Codes Dating Guide: Read the Hidden Year Stamp

Fender Pot Codes Dating Guide: Read the Hidden Year Stamp Fender pot codes are some of the most useful clues hidden inside a vintage guitar. Every potentiometer stamped into a Fender control cavity carries a manufacturer code and a production date that can narrow a guitar's build window to within a few weeks. When the serial number is vague, the neck date is smudged, or the parts look like they…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Pickup Dating Guide: Black, Grey & Yellow Stamp Codes

Fender Pickup Dating Guide: Black, Grey & Yellow Stamp Codes Fender pickup dating is one of the most reliable ways to confirm the era of a vintage guitar without relying on the serial number alone. The plastic or fiber pickup bobbin hidden under the cover or pickguard carries color codes, date stamps, and construction details that rarely lie. If you know what to look for, a single pickup can tell…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Neck Date vs Serial Number: Which One Matters?

Fender Neck Date vs Serial Number: Which One Matters? Fender neck date vs serial number is one of the most useful comparisons a buyer, seller, or owner can learn. The serial number tells you the year Fender assigned to the instrument, while the neck date records when the neck itself was produced. Those two dates can match, or they can be months — sometimes years — apart. Understanding why they…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Logo Era Guide: Spaghetti, Transition, and CBS Decals Explained

Fender Logo Era Guide: Spaghetti, Transition, and CBS Decals Explained The Fender logo on a headstock is more than decoration. It is a quick-read calendar that can place a guitar within a few years, confirm a serial number, and expose a fake before you finish tuning the low E. Learning to read Fender headstock decals is one of the fastest skills a buyer, seller, or owner can develop. This guide…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Bridge and Tremolo Identification Guide

Fender Bridge and Tremolo Identification Guide Fender bridge and tremolo identification is one of the fastest ways to narrow down the year, model, and originality of a Fender guitar. The bridge is more than a string anchor; it is a fingerprint that changed with almost every major Fender era. A six-screw vintage synchronized tremolo, a two-point American Standard unit, a three-saddle Tele ashtray…

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featured image thumbnail for post Vintage Fender Telecaster Identification Guide

Vintage Fender Telecaster Identification: What to Look For Vintage Fender Telecaster identification is the process of matching a guitar's physical details to the era it was built. The Telecaster has been in continuous production since 1950, and its construction changed in visible, measurable ways across the pre-CBS, CBS, and early FMIC years. A single feature like the bridge plate, decal, or…

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featured image thumbnail for post Vintage Fender Stratocaster Identification Guide

Vintage Fender Stratocaster Identification: What to Look For Vintage Fender Stratocaster identification is the process of matching a guitar's physical details to the era it was built. The Stratocaster changed visibly and measurably from 1954 through 1985, with each period carrying distinct body contours, decals, pickups, neck profiles, and hardware. A single feature can place a guitar within a…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Telecaster Setup Specs 1969: Factory-Correct Measurements

Fender Telecaster setup specs 1969 are the exact factory measurements you need to get a late-sixties CBS-era Tele playing and sounding the way it left Fullerton. A 1969 Telecaster should have a neck relief of about 0.012" (0.30 mm) at the 8th fret, string height of 5/64" (2.0 mm) on the low E and 4/64" (1.6 mm) on the high E measured at the 17th fret, and vintage-style pickups set to 6/64" (2.4 mm…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Telecaster Setup Specs 1952: Factory Measurements

Fender Telecaster setup specs 1952 give you the exact factory measurements for the first full production year of the world's most iconic solid-body electric guitar. A 1952 Telecaster—part of the legendary blackguard era—carries a one-piece maple neck, a butterscotch blonde ash body, and the original three-saddle brass bridge that defined the model's snap and twang. If you own, restore, or set up a…

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featured image thumbnail for post 1972 Fender Stratocaster Setup Specs: Factory Measurements

1972 Fender Stratocaster setup specs follow the CBS-era factory formula: a 7.25" fretboard radius, three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt, bullet truss-rod adjustment at the headstock, and the new one-piece die-cast tremolo. Whether you are restoring an all-original 1972 Strat or just want your reissue to behave like one, the measurements below are the period-correct starting points. A factory 197…

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featured image thumbnail for post Fender Stratocaster Setup Specs 1965: Factory Measurements

The 1965 Fender Stratocaster sits on the CBS-era boundary. Early 1965 guitars still carry pre-CBS traits — small headstock, four-bolt neck plate, and the same 7.25" fingerboard radius used since 1954. By late 1965 the larger CBS headstock appeared, but the neck geometry and synchronized tremolo stayed the same. This page lists the exact factory setup specs for a 1965 Stratocaster, using Fender's…

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Owning A Fender covers setup guides, maintenance tutorials, and buying advice for Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Gibson, and bass players. Browse by model using the sidebar, or explore our tools like the Serial Number Lookup and Action Height Calculator.