When would this X-700 have been made?

X-170AB

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
181
Reaction score
13
This blonde X-700 has a Westerly label. The pickups look like HB-1s. The serial number doesn't seem to fit with the numbers shown on westerlyguildguitars.com and other sources. When would it have been built?

s-l1600.jpg


s-l1600.jpg
 

hansmoust

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
9,201
Reaction score
3,504
Location
Netherlands
This blonde X-700 has a Westerly label. The pickups look like HB-1s. The serial number doesn't seem to fit with the numbers shown on westerlyguildguitars.com and other sources. When would it have been built?

Hello X-170AB,

That first F in the serial number letter prefix is a mistake; should be AK. That particular guitar should have SD-1 humbuckers and was completed during 1998.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
Last edited:

chazmo

Super Moderator
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
25,443
Reaction score
7,105
Location
Central Massachusetts
Hello X-170AB,

That first F in the serial number letter prefix is a mistake; should be AK. That particular guitar should have SD-1 humbuckers and was completed during 1998.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
How interesting! Hans, how does a mistake like that get made? Did they mistakenly think this should be the serial number, or did they (intentionally) substitute and "F" for the "A" (say, they wore out the "A") in the stamping press that they used to create the headstock brand? Just curious.
 

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
7,763
Reaction score
394
Location
Jupiter, FL.
How interesting! Hans, how does a mistake like that get made? Did they mistakenly think this should be the serial number, or did they (intentionally) substitute and "F" for the "A" (say, they wore out the "A") in the stamping press that they used to create the headstock brand? Just curious.

Heineken perhaps?
 

X-170AB

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
181
Reaction score
13
Thanks everyone for the replies, and special thanks Hans for clarifying. I had seen that X-700s were supposed to have AK serial numbers, but with all the other known anomalies, I wasn't sure what to make of this.

Here is the guitar that peghead and label are attached to:

s-l1600.jpg
 

hansmoust

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
9,201
Reaction score
3,504
Location
Netherlands
how does a mistake like that get made? Did they mistakenly think this should be the serial number, or did they (intentionally) substitute and "F" for the "A" (say, they wore out the "A") in the stamping press that they used to create the headstock brand? Just curious.

No, they didn't think this was the correct serial number and it was definitely not the intention to substitute the "A" for an "F".

It was an honest mistake made by the person who had to change the various digits while going from one model to the next. It's too long a story trying to explain how exactly it all worked, but if you look at the various serial number prefixes that were used around that time, you will notice that there were 36 models that had a serial number that started with an "A" and only 4 models of which the serial number started with an "F".
Going from one model to the next, the worker forgot to change that first digit back from "F" to "A" and it took a couple of instruments before he noticed his mistake. I know that because I had already seen a couple of instruments with a similar serial number prefix next to the guitar that is the subject of this thread. There is a chance that he didn't even notice his mistake and those were the X-700s that he did that day after which he changed to the next model!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,789
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
Here is the guitar that peghead and label are attached to:
s-l1600.jpg

Oh my, I'm not even a " 'leccie guy" and that gets my attention.

Going from one model to the next, the worker forgot to change that first digit back from "F" to "A" and it took a couple of instruments before he noticed his mistake. I know that because I had already seen a couple of instruments with a similar serial number prefix next to the guitar that is the subject of this thread. There is a chance that he didn't even notice his mistake and those were the X-700s that he did that day after which he changed to the next model!
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
And yet one more source of omissions and errors in the s/n records? (no sarcasm intended)
 

chazmo

Super Moderator
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
25,443
Reaction score
7,105
Location
Central Massachusetts
No, they didn't think this was the correct serial number and it was definitely not the intention to substitute the "A" for an "F".

It was an honest mistake made by the person who had to change the various digits while going from one model to the next. It's too long a story trying to explain how exactly it all worked, but if you look at the various serial number prefixes that were used around that time, you will notice that there were 36 models that had a serial number that started with an "A" and only 4 models of which the serial number started with an "F".
Going from one model to the next, the worker forgot to change that first digit back from "F" to "A" and it took a couple of instruments before he noticed his mistake. I know that because I had already seen a couple of instruments with a similar serial number prefix next to the guitar that is the subject of this thread. There is a chance that he didn't even notice his mistake and those were the X-700s that he did that day after which he changed to the next model!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
:) Great piece of sleuthing, Hans! Thanks!
 
Top