Gibson wizards, please help me identify year of a Les Paul I have in my hands (serial

[BluesGuyJ]

So, my uncle picked up an LP not too long ago and he got it at a pawn shop and was told it was a '73. I am trying to pull off this serial number magic to confirm that and am just confused as all hell. Here is the number, can anyone help me out?


02851560

[Left_Hand_Strat]

i used Guitar Dater Project and it spewed out 2001

Edit:

Dig some more digging, it's eight digits so it will be from 1977 onwards.

[crusty philtrum]

" Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
October 12nd, 2001
Production Number: 260 "

[BluesGuyJ]

anyone else have any idea???

[phil_104]

anyone else have any idea???

Looks like a 2001 from what I can tell.

[FretFire]

YDDDYPPP

YY is the production year
DDD is the day of the year
PPP is the plant designation and/or instrument rank

So from 02851560 we have:

YY = 01
DDD = 285
PPP = 560

[ItsaBass]

An 8-digit serial means '75 or later. And unless the first two of those numbers are separated from the last six by a hyphen, it means 1977 or later. Serials from '77 to the present day follow the same format. The first and fifth digits tell you the last two numbers of the year. The three digits in between those two tell you the day of the year. The last three numbers are the daily serial number, starting at 500 each day for Nashville, and at 001 for Kalamazoo. Your guitar was made in the last few months of 2001, and it was the 61st guitar stamped that day.

All this info is available via the second Google search result for Gibson serial numbers.

[DrNewcenstein]

So what about a serial number of 11111 (5 1s).
Did they use pancake bodies only during the 70s, and at no other time?

[BluesGuyJ]

Awesome, thanks guys. After playing it plugged in for a while, I really didnt think it was a 73 LP unless the pickups had been swapped out. They sounded a little too hot to be T-Tops. I know the sound of early 70s T-Tops as I have an SG with those in it. Either the guy at the pawn shop didnt know a darn thing about LPs and was told that or he played one on my uncle. Anyways, he still got it for a decent deal. He snagged it for $1,200 and the only wear are a few spots ont he back of the neck.

[phil_104]

Awesome, thanks guys. After playing it plugged in for a while, I really didnt think it was a 73 LP unless the pickups had been swapped out. They sounded a little too hot to be T-Tops. I know the sound of early 70s T-Tops as I have an SG with those in it. Either the guy at the pawn shop didnt know a darn thing about LPs and was told that or he played one on my uncle. Anyways, he still got it for a decent deal. He snagged it for $1,200 and the only wear are a few spots ont he back of the neck.

Thats not a bad price for 2001 with some wear. Not great, but good score. Pics?

[Jeffrec]

" Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
October 12nd, 2001
Production Number: 260 "

Excellent work!

The first and fifth digits as the year is all I remember about their current system

[tonello]

Eh, for $1200 you can get a 2010 LP Standard, so I don't know how much of a deal he got, especially if it's got some wear on it.

[DrNewcenstein]

LPs have always held their value. At least he didn't pay vintage prices for it.

[ItsaBass]

Eh, for $1200 you can get a 2010 LP Standard, so I don't know how much of a deal he got, especially if it's got some wear on it.

He did fine, I think. Speaking in terms of quality as a player, I think that $1,200 for a 2001 with some wear is a better deal than $1,200 for a mint 2010. The specs and construction quality of the 2001 are better, IMO. Besides that, I don't know if I could reliably score a 2010 for 1,200 bucks.

[Left_Hand_Strat]

so for a guy who was in the dark and using google I got it right....

YES!!

[uOpt]

Pics?

[The Dali]

Eh, for $1200 you can get a 2010 LP Standard, so I don't know how much of a deal he got, especially if it's got some wear on it.

Where can you get a 2010 in nice condition for $1200? Your imagination?

[Aceman]

1st and 4th digit - 2001.

The end. How did this take so long?

[phil_104]

Where can you get a 2010 in nice condition for $1200? Your imagination?

Word. Also, some people would rather own a 2001 rather than a 2010.