Oxnard Factory Serial Number

[Budha]

This is my first post here. I have a Taylor 12 string and am looking at the possibility of moving from the Taylor to a Guild F512. In my searching I have not found how to decode the more recent Corona (make that Oxnard) factory serial numbers. I think I am looking at a Corona (make that Oxnard) serial number. The number is C193xxx. Does this serial number mean it was built at the Corona (make that Oxnard) factory in 2019? If not, can someone lead me to place to decode newer US made Guild serial numbers? Thank you for any information.

 

[dreadnut]

Guild only produced guitars at the Corona factory for a couple of years after leaving Westerly in the early 2000's, so if it is a Corona built instrument it is not from 2019.

 

[Budha]

I found a thread that appears to answer my question. The other thread indicated the "C" stands for California. So apparently the guitar was built in Oxnard in 2019. My lack of knowledge about Guild guitars shows.

 

[fronobulax]

If that is an Oxnard (under Cordoba Musical Group) serial number then it ould be the 3xxx th guitar made in 2019.

I'm going by https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/oxnard-serialization.202833/#post-1883707
but if you just gave me a serial C193xxxx I am not sure I am certain that it has to be in Oxnard, although that remains my best guess.

 

[Budha]

The whole serial # is C193839. The guitar appears to be a fairly recent build. It a maple F512

 

[Cougar]

The whole serial # is C193839. The guitar appears to be a fairly recent build. It a maple F512

Buy it! I'm far from a serial number guru, but yes, that seems to me to be a 2019 out of Oxnard, California. The serial number of my 2018 Oxnard-built F512 (rosewood) starts out C18... so that does seem to be the protocol. And the number is engraved inside on the neck block, right? No inside paper label.

As I said, if you have the chance, buy it. My Oxnard F512 is spectacular! I don't think you can get a much better 12-string.

 

[Budha]

Good to hear so much enthusiasm from an owner. I have not been able to locate any Guild 12 strings around me. I will probably need to buy without playing if I want an F512. I am old enough to remember the folk players with their Guilds in the 60's & 70's. They are such a wonderful sounding guitars. I have a Stelling banjo for sale on Reverb to finance the F512. Hopefully the Stelling will sell soon.

 

[Cougar]

....I will probably need to buy without playing if I want an F512....

Almost all my guitars were bought online, so I wouldn't worry about that too much, but it's wise to ask a lot of questions of the seller and get more pics if there aren't enough. There are a few measurements you want to know, beyond the string height at the 12th fret.

 

[davismanLV]

I found a thread that appears to answer my question. The other thread indicated the "C" stands for California. So apparently the guitar was built in Oxnard in 2019. My lack of knowledge about Guild guitars shows.

If I'm not mistaken, just for the sake of completeness Corona built guitars did have a CA or at least a C # didn't they? They're different and quite a bit older than Oxnard but, someone, didn't the Corona builds have a CA serial #? I learn more here from being wrong than by being right, which is seldom.....

Not that it has anything to do with his Oxnard Guild, but.....

 

[hansmoust]

If I'm not mistaken, just for the sake of completeness Corona built guitars did have a CA or at least a C # didn't they? They're different and quite a bit older than Oxnard but, someone, didn't the Corona builds have a CA serial #? I learn more here from being wrong than by being right, which is seldom.....

Hello Tom,

Corona built Guild guitars had serial numbers that started with a C (not all of them; there were exceptions), but to the best of my knowledge the CA combination was not used. Each model had its own prefix of 2 or 3 letters and in the case of the F-512 that would have been CUP.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Cougar]

Each model had its own prefix of 2 or 3 letters and in the case of the F-512 that would have been CUP.

My Corona JF30-12 has CTT....

 

[Aarfy]

With my newly acquired d40e from Oxnard, I doubt they’ve churned out 5000+ guitars which is what the serial would leave me to believe if the numbering was sequential....

 

[SFIV1967]

I doubt they’ve churned out 5000+ guitars

5000 divided by 4 1/2 years is 1,111 per year divided by 50 weeks is 22 per week. Not impossible.
Even 5000 : 4 = 1,250 : 50 = 25 per week : 5 days = 5 per day.
The Martin guitar factory in Nazareth makes in the range of 200 per day if I remember (maybe it was less).
Ralf

 

[GGJaguar]

5000 divided by 4 1/2 years is 1,111 per year divided by 50 weeks is 22 per week. Not impossible.
Even 5000 : 4 = 1,250 : 50 = 25 per week : 5 days = 5 per day.

If you get even more conservative and assume the period of production was mid-2016 to February 2020 and include holidays and 2 week factory downtime for maintenance, that would be about 850 working days which puts production at 6 to 7 guitars per day. That assumes 5880 guitars were made in that period based on the highest serial number I've seen for 2020. So, I think even 6 to 7 guitars per day is not impossible.

 

[fronobulax]

With my newly acquired d40e from Oxnard, I doubt they’ve churned out 5000+ guitars which is what the serial would leave me to believe if the numbering was sequential....

Not sure where the 5000 came from.

The serial number that started this is C193839 which would be the 3839th instrument made in Oxnard in 2019. Westerly at it's peak produced 25,000 guitars in one year and New Hartford was on track to hit 5,000 per year. So if you re expressing surprise or disbelief at the possibility that Oxnard is producing at similar levels I don't share that sentiment with you.

5000 divided by 4 1/2 years is 1,111 per year divided by 50 weeks is 22 per week.

I thought the sequential numbering was based on the year. If C198642 was produced at 11:15 PM on December 31, 2019 I would expect the next instrument to be C200001 and not C208643

 

[SFIV1967]

Not sure where the 5000 came from.
...
The serial number that started this is C193839 which would be the 3839th instrument made in Oxnard in 2019.
....
I thought the sequential numbering was based on the year.

It was you who had quoted that link in your post #4 above! https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/oxnard-serialization.202833

So "no" and "no".

Ralf

 

[GGJaguar]

I thought the sequential numbering was based on the year. If C198642 was produced at 11:15 PM on December 31, 2019 I would expect the next instrument to be C200001 and not C208643

It looks like the "number produced" part of the serial number does not reset every year, i.e. - it's a running total. Some evidence at the link below (note there are typos in the list which put some things "out of order")

Oxnard serialization

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before, but Oxnard serial numbers don't use the Julian date encoded into the serial number as done in Tacoma and New Hartford. Instead, it appears to be YYxxxx where YY deontes the year and xxxx is simply a running total of guitars produced. So, C171484 is...

letstalkguild.com

 

[fronobulax]

I guess I assumed that the serialization would reset yearly because that made more sense than

C197890 C207891 ... C209999 C200001 especially when someone wonders which guitar is older.

The xxxx will produce duplicate serial numbers if they ever make more than 9999 instruments in a year and we know other brands and factories have done so.

But yeah, missing context plus unspoken assumptions...

 

[Aarfy]

The yearly reset was my assumption to. My (I’ll informed) assumption was that my Oxnard 205XXX was clearly not the 5000++ guitar made in 2020 but if a running total could make sense

 

[SFIV1967]

The xxxx will produce duplicate serial numbers if they ever make more than 9999 instruments in a year and we know other brands and factories have done so.

Not at all if you simply add a 5th digit when it's past the 9,999.
Ralf