JF30 serial number question

[tarheelguild]

Hey all. Today was a long-awaited NGD: I snagged a real nice JF30 on Reverb. It arrived today and it's a beaut! The serial number is AJ301480. This makes it a '96 model, but I'm wondering if anyone (Hans?) could tell me the month it was manufactured. Strangely, there doesn't appear to be a date stamped on the neck block, none that I could clearly see anyway.
Thanks as always for your help!
Tony
'80 F50R
'84 D40
'87 D50
'96 D4
'96 JF30
'98 D30 AB
'98 D25 12
'00 Taylor 414ce (the black sheep)

 

[wileypickett]

Have you checked the interior braces around the soundhole with a mirror? Not sure when Guild went from brace dating to bevel dating, but dates are usually on one or the other.

 

[Cougar]

Hey all. Today was a long-awaited NGD: I snagged a real nice JF30 on Reverb. It arrived today and it's a beaut!....

Congrats on your NGD! Nothing like a Guild jumbo!

 

[tarheelguild]

Have you checked the interior braces around the soundhole with a mirror? Not sure when Guild went from brace dating to bevel dating, but dates are usually on one or the other.

Thanks, I will check the braces!
Tony

 

[tarheelguild]

Congrats on your NGD! Nothing like a Guild jumbo!

Thanks. It's even better when the guitar is in even better shape than the seller indicated! I definitely lucked out with this one.

 

[tarheelguild]

Couldn't find a date on the bracing either.

 

[bobouz]

Love my ‘94 JF-30. It’s amazing how consistently good the JF-30 was - One of the best guitar values out there, imho.

Congrats & Enjoy!

 

[tarheelguild]

Thanks to all who've responded. Turns out, according to Hans, my JF30 is from 2001, not '96, I am confused why Guild's serial number order seems to be out of whack?? The serial number of my guitar is AJ301480. According to Westerly Guild's site, that number puts the YOM as 1996. But there's another 2000 JF30 which just sold on Reverb where the SN was AJ301219 and an actual "96 model with a SN of AJ301708. Why did Guild go backwards and seemingly duplicate number from '96 when it was 2000 and 2001?? Color me confused!

 

[fronobulax]

Thanks to all who've responded. Turns out, according to Hans, my JF30 is from 2001, not '96, I am confused why Guild's serial number order seems to be out of whack?? The serial number of my guitar is AJ301480. According to Westerly Guild's site, that number puts the YOM as 1996. But there's another 2000 JF30 which just sold on Reverb where the SN was AJ301219 and an actual "96 model with a SN of AJ301708. Why did Guild go backwards and seemingly duplicate number from '96 when it was 2000 and 2001?? Color me confused!

The error is in assuming that if one Guild serial number is less than another then the instrument with the lower number is older. We have examples where that is not true and examples of duplicate serial numbers. Second, you are assuming that all the instruments you cite are correctly dated. The online charts are known to be wrong. Unless all three instruments were dated by Hans, there is a possibility that the other instruments were dated incorrectly. So maybe you're not confused after all.

 

[Badger]

The same thing happened to me with my 2000 JF30. From the serial number on the back of the Headstock it looked like from 1996 but the date available in the internal block indicates 2000. This is due to the fact that between 2000 and 2001 someone in Guild he made a mistake and used serial numbers from the past.

 

[beecee]

This is due to the fact that between 2000 and 2001 someone in Guild he made a mistake and used serial numbers from the past.

First I ever heard of that...boy someone was asleep at the wheel!

 

[Badger]

I read this information on the discussions of the past of this forum.

 

[SFIV1967]

This is due to the fact that between 2000 and 2001 someone in Guild he made a mistake and used serial numbers from the past.

I don't think that is the case. It's more likely people believe what was written in the published serial number list, which is wrong for those models. Unless this "story" was stated by Hans I just don't believe in this story.
Ralf
Update: See Hans info in next post.

 

[hansmoust]

The same thing happened to me with my 2000 JF30. From the serial number on the back of the Headstock it looked like from 1996 but the date available in the internal block indicates 2000. This is due to the fact that between 2000 and 2001 someone in Guild he made a mistake and used serial numbers from the past.

I don't think that is the case. It's more likely people believe what was written in the published serial number list, which is wrong for those models. Unless this "story" was stated by Hans I just don't believe in this story.

The story is correct and I already mentioned it in previous threads.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[SFIV1967]

The story is correct and I already mentioned it in previous threads.

Interesting! I did not remember. Thanks for the clarification!
Ralf

 

[tarheelguild]

I just wish someone at Westerly had remembered to stamp the date inside my JF30. As far as I can see, there's no date on the neck block or the bracing. Hans said my guitar was probably made in the second quarter of 2001, so that means April through June of that year.

 

[SFIV1967]

I just wish someone at Westerly had remembered to stamp the date inside my JF30. As far as I can see, there's no date on the neck block or the bracing. Hans said my guitar was probably made in the second quarter of 2001, so that means April through June of that year.

Since that date on the neck block was stamped only at some point during production and the guitar could have been finished long time after you still wouldn't know much about the finishing date. So Hans info is the most reliable when your guitar was finished.
Ralf