starcaster by fender serial number location

First, narrow it down by the country of origin.Here's a brief rundown of how to do it, plus resources for more information. Well, good news it's very easy to figure out the age of Fender and Gibson instruments from the last 30 years. I believe that's from experimenting with a different bridge but I don't know for sure.Īre there any other details I could look for to get a better feel for what year this could have been made? More pictures and info here: Fender Starcaster Gene Fields Prototype.Ever wonder exactly when your favorite guitar was made? You sort of remember when you got it, but you want to really know its history, especially if you're not the first owner. There's an extra set of string ferrules on the back of the body. Prototypical features: Four knobs with no master volume, solid Maple top and back, foam mounted pickups, Coronado style neck heel strap button location, no model name on the headstock, etc. Paperwork from Fender?: I've not been able to find anyone with such paperwork. The finish on the back of the body shows checking and the dark area is unfaded. The dark outer edge of the Sunburst finish on the top has faded significantly but the top doesn't show checking. Picture below.įinish: Appears to be a mix of nitro and poly. I was lucky to find that one of the cans had fallen off the pot, but the date code was covered by solder. Potentiometer codes: Unfortunately for us, the potentiometers are hidden under soldered on cans. Serial number: 275xxx on a three bolt patent pending neck plate (1969 era number but this guitar is not believed to be from 1969).

I've been unable to determine the exact year the guitar was made. This guitar was described by Gene's son-in-law as 'the original prototype that Fender let him keep.' The polaroids below were taken by Gene in his kitchen long ago, but the exact date or time period is unknown. Gene Fields was one of the lead designers on the Fender Starcaster model that came out in the mid 1970s. I'm hoping that the experts can weigh in on any details that I'm missing here.

Starcaster by fender serial number location