Japan Squiers
- Samick Guitar Serial Number Search
- Samick Guitar Serial Number Lookup
- Samick Guitar Serial Number Decoder
Learn how to read Korean Fender serial numbers and tell how old your Fender guitar is. 3.5) The Epiphone serial number decoder currently supports 12 serial number formats from 25 factories. Vintage numbers from 1932 to 1970 are supported. Dealer of vintage guitars, basses, mandolins, and violins. Buy, sell, trade. Decode ibanez serial numbers. Samick first started using serial numbers on Hondos and other contract brands in 1984 (their home brand models did not use serials until 1987), using the following format: YMMPPPP Y = Year M = Month P = Production Number Example: 8030768 = 768th guitar made in March of 1988 In 1988, occasionally the format was YYMMPPPPP because of high.
- I got a Custom Pro with serial, VA 02255, and when I compared the number with a couple other serial Numbers in your registrer section it says it is a 90’s guitar, the numbers I compared with were VA 02250 and VA 02275, so my number are in between, but on the heel of my guitar neck it says it is a 2003, which I were told when I bought the guitar, but I find it a little bit confusing.
- S, E (“Made in Korea”) S = Samick, E = Young Chang, E letter serial numbers were used on Young Chang's Fenix brand guitars. The S and E serial number prefix Korean Squiers are from the late 1980s/early 1990s. The first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7 digit number.
The Japanese MIJ (Made in Japan) Squiers were made by FujiGen up to 1997 and the Japanese CIJ (Crafted in Japan) Squiers were made by Tokai and Dyna from 1997.
“Made In Japan” (1982-1987)
JV+ 5 digits 1982-1984 | L + 6 digits 1991-1992 |
SQ + 5 digits 1983-1984 | M + 6 digits 1992-1993 |
A + 6 digits 1985-1986 | N + 6 digits 1993-1994 |
B + 6 digits 1985-1986 | O + 6 digits 1993-1994 |
C + 6 digits 1985-1986 | P + 6 digits 1993-1994 |
E + 6 digits 1984-1987 | Q + 6 digits 1993-1994 |
F + 6 digits 1986-1987 | S + 6 digits 1994-1995 |
G + 6 digits 1987-1988 | T + 6 digits 1994-1995 |
H + 6 digits 1988-1989 | U + 6 digits 1995-1996 |
I + 6 digits 1989-1990 | N + 5 digits 1995-1996 |
J + 6 digits 1989-1990 | V + 6 digits 1996-1997 |
K + 6 digits 1990-1991 |
Crafted In Japan” (1995-2008)
A + 6 digits 1997-1998 | Q + 6 digits 2002-2004 |
B + 6 digits 1998-1999 | R + 6 digits 2004-2006 |
N + 5 digits 1995-1996 | S + 6 digits 2006-2008 |
O + 6 digits 1997-2000 | T + 6 digits 2007-2008 |
P + 6 digits 1999-2002 |
“Made In Japan” (2007-)
T + 6 digits 2006-2008 | U + 6 digits 2007-2008 |
Mexican Squiers
MN - M = Mexico, N = Nineties (1990s), the first number following the serial number prefix is the year.
MZ - M = Mexico, Z = 2000's, the first number following the serial number prefix is the year.
For example:
- 'MN8' indicates that it was made at Ensenada, Mexico in 1998-1999.
- 'MZ1' indicates that is was made at Ensenada, Mexico in 2001-2002
USA Squiers
E(“Made in USA”) – E = Eighties (1980s), The first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7 digit number.
Example: E9xxxxxx = 1988
N(“Made in USA”)– N = Nineties (1990s), The first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7 digit number.
Example: N0xxxxx = 1990
No Prefix(“Made in USA”) - Some USA made Squiers also had a 000XXX serial stamp on the neckplate with no letter prefix and no serial number on the headstock. 6-digit number
Korean Squiers
CN(“Made in Korea”, “Crafted in Korea”) - C = Cor-Tek , N – Nineties (1990s), The first digit following the prefix is the year. 6-digit number.
Example: CN5xxxxx = 1995 made by Cor-Tek/Cort
VN(“Made in Korea”) - V = Saehan(Sunghan), S was already taken by Samick so Saehan(Sunghan) used V instead (Saehan(Sunghan) made the Vester guitars), N = Nineties (1990s), the first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7-digit number
Examples: VN7xxxxxx = 1997 made by Saehan/Sunghan.
KC, KV(“Made in Korea”, “Crafted in Korea”) - KC (Korean Cor-Tek (Cort)) and KV (Korean Saehan(Sunghan)), the prefix is followed by a 2 number year. 8-digit number.
Examples:
KC97 = made by Cor-Tek (Cort) in 1997
KV97 = made by Saehan(Sunghan) in 1997
S, E(“Made in Korea”) S = Samick, E = Young Chang, E letter serial numbers were used on Young Chang's Fenix brand guitars. The S and E serial number prefix Korean Squiers are from the late 1980s/early 1990s. The first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7 digit number. The first guitars made in Korea are those with serial number written in silver E1 + 6 digits
Examples:
Adobe zii 2020 photoshop. E1 + 6 digits with silver serial = made by Samick in 1987-88
S9 = made by Samick in 1989
E0 = made by Sung-Eum in 1990
E1 with black serial = made by Sung-Eum in 1991.
M(“Made in Korea”) – The first number following the prefix is the year. 7-digit number. Used in early 90's, featured the a high gloss maple neck with a slimmer 40mm body made from plywood.
Example: M1xxxxxx = 1991
No prefix(“Crafted in Korea”) – The first number following the prefix is the year. 6 or 7-digit number.
Example: 7xxxxx = 1997
Chinese & Taiwanese Squiers
CA (“Made in China”, “Crafted in China”) - The first number following the serial number prefix is the year.
CAE ('Made in China' - may not be on all models) - The first 2 numbers following the prefix Is the year. 10-digit number.
Example: CAE-08xxxxxxxx = made in 2008
YN(“Made in China”) - Y = Yako (Taiwan), N = Nineties (1990s), the first numbers following the prefix is the year. 6-digit number.
Example: YN5xxxxx = made by Yako in 1995.
CY(“Crafted in China”) - C = China, Y = Yako (Taiwan), the first number following the prefix is the year. 8-digit number.
Example: CY2xxxxxxx = made by Yako in 2002-03
COS(“Crafted in China”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8-digit number.
Example: COS10xxxxxx = 2010
COB(“Crafted in China”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 9-digit number. The plant from which the COB serial number prefix models originate remains a mystery. No documentation, or comment from the manufacturer has resolved the question of which plant produced them.
Example: COB09xxxxxxx
CD, CT, CJ(“Made in China”, “Crafted in China”) - C = China, the first number following the prefix is the year. Probably made by Yako (Taiwan).
NC(“Made in China”) – The first number following the prefix is the year. 6-digit number.
Example: NC8xxxxx = 2008
CXS(Crafted in China) – X = Axl, The first number following the prefix is the year. 9-digit number.
Samick Guitar Serial Number Search
Example CXS07xxxxxxx = 2007
CGRL(“Crafted in China”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8-digit number.
Example: CGRL09xxxxxx = 2009
CGS(“Crafted in China”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 7 or 8- digit number.
Example: CGS10xxxxxx = 2010
Indonesian Squiers
Samick Guitar Serial Number Lookup
IC(“Crafted in Indonesia”) - I = Indonesia, C = Cor-Tek (Cort), The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8 or 9-digit number.
Mini militia exe. Example: IC09xxxxxx = 2009
ICS(“Crafted in Indonesia”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8 or 9-digit number. In 2009-10 some Indonesian Squier's had the prefix ICS09XXXXX and ICS10XXXXX. Usually the S in ICS designates a Factory Special Run or FSR guitar manufactured by Cor-Tek in Indonesia.
Example: ICS10xxxxxx = 2010
IS(“Crafted in Indonesia”) – I = Indonesia, S = Samick, The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8 or 9-digit number.
Example: IC02xxxxxxx = 2002
ISS(“Crafted in Indonesia”) - I = Indonesia, SS = ??, The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 6-digit number.
Example: ISS19xxxx = 2019
SI(“Crafted in Indonesia”) – The first 2 numbers following the prefix is the year. 8 or 9-digit number.
Example: SI08xxxxxxx = 2008
India Squiers
Some Squier IIs were made in India around 1989-1990. The head stock is marked 'MADE IN INDIA'. Made in India Squier IIs seem to follow the made in USA serial numbering scheme. For example, a 1990 made in India Squier II serial number would start with N0 plus 5 digits. The serial number is printed on a sticker located on the back of the neck, close to where the neck attaches to the body. Because the number was placed on a sticker it is fairly common for the serial number to be missing.
Some more recent Squiers, including the Vintage Modified series (serial numbers starting with SH), were introduced in 2007. The VM series is marked 'Crafted in India' on the rear of the head stock, and the serial numbers are not stickers, but printed and sealed on the rear of the head stock.
CS07 + 6 digits = 2007-08 | NSHI09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 |
NHS10 + 6 digits = 2010-11 | NSHJ08 + 6 digits = 2008-09 |
NHS11 + 5 digits = 2011-12 | NSHJ09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 |
NSHA09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 | NSHK09 + 6 digits =2009-10 |
NSHD09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 | SH07 + 6 digits = 2007-08 |
NSHE09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 | SH08 + 6 digits = 2008-09 |
NSHF09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 | ZSSH07 + 6 digits = 2007-08 |
NHSG09 + 6 digits = 2009=10 | ZSSH08 + 6 digits = 2008-09 |
NSHH09 + 6 digits = 2009-10 |
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SAMICK
See separate listings for Wm. Knabe, Pramberger, and Seiler.
Samick Music Corp. (SMC)
1329 Gateway Drive
Gallatin, Tennessee 37066
615-206-0077
[email protected]
www.smcmusic.com
Pianos made by: Samick Musical Instrument Mfg. Co. Ltd., Inchon, South Korea; and Bogor, West Java, Indonesia
In 1958, in South Korea, Hyo Ick Lee founded Samick as a Baldwin distributor. Facing an immense challenge in an impoverished and war-torn country, in the early 1960s, using largely imported parts, Lee began to build and sell a very limited quantity of vertical pianos. As South Korea’s economy improved, Lee expanded his operation, and in 1964 began exporting to other parts of the world, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest piano manufacturers, now making most parts in-house. Over the next several decades, Samick expanded into manufacturing guitars and other instruments and opened factories in China and Indonesia, where it shifted much of its production as Korean wages rose. The Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s forced Samick into bankruptcy, from which the company emerged in 2002; it is now on a sound financial footing.
The company says that “Samick” means “three benefits” in Korean, symbolizing the management’s wish that the activities of the company benefit not only the company itself, but also its customers and the Korean economy.
Samick Music Corporation (SMC), the North American sales and marketing arm of the Korean company, distributes Samick, Pramberger, Wm. Knabe, and Seiler pianos in North America (see separate listings for Wm. Knabe, Pramberger, and Seiler). Samick no longer distributes pianos under the names Bernhard Steiner, Conover Cable, Hazelton Bros., Remington, or Sohmer & Co. The Kohler & Campbell line has been discontinued in North America but is still sold elsewhere. (For historical information about the original Kohler & Campbell piano company, see The Piano Book.) Most Samick-made pianos destined for the U.S. market are made in Indonesia. Some of the company’s upper-level Wm. Knabe and J.P. Pramberger instruments are still made in South Korea. SMC has a warehouse and office facility in Tennessee, at which it uncrates, inspects, tunes, regulates, and voices its upper-level pianos before shipping them to dealers.
In the 1980s Klaus Fenner, a German piano designer, was hired to revise the Samick scale designs to make the pianos sound more “European.” Most Samick pianos now being made are based on these designs. Most Samicks also have veneer-laminated soundboards, which the company calls a “surface tension” soundboard — essentially, a solid spruce soundboard sandwiched by two very thin veneers. With Klaus Fenner’s technical advice, Samick pioneered the use of this soundboard in early 1980, and it is now used by others as well. Tonally, it behaves much like a solid spruce soundboard, but won’t crack or lose its crown.
Samick Guitar Serial Number Decoder
Quality control in Samick’s South Korean and Indonesian factories has steadily improved over the years, and the Indonesian product is said to be almost as good as the Korean. The company says that new CNC machinery installed in 2007 has revolutionized the consistency and accuracy of its manufacturing. Climate control in the tropically situated Indonesian factory, and issues of action geometry, are also among the areas that have seen improvement. Many of Samick’s Indonesian pianos are priced similarly to low-cost pianos from China. The musical design and performance of Samick’s upper-level pianos — J.P. Pramberger, Wm. Knabe, and Seiler — have met with very positive response.
[Note: Samick-made pianos are identified using an odd system of serial numbers and letters that appears to vary from factory to factory. Please contact SMC for information on the date of manufacture of a Samick-made piano.]
Warranty: 10 years, parts and labor, transferable to future owners within the warranty period.
Acoustic Piano: Model & Pricing Guide
* See the Introduction for an explanation of pricing.
Model | Feet | Inches | Description | MSRP* | SMP* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samick Verticals | |||||
JS-43 | 43 | Continental Satin Ebony | 8,549 | 6,158 | |
JS-43 | 43 | Continental Polished Ebony | 7,719 | 5,638 | |
JS-143F | 43 | French Provincial Satin Cherry | 8,549 | 6,158 | |
JS-143T | 43 | Satin Mahogany | 8,549 | 6,158 | |
JS-115 | 45 | Satin Ebony | 9,269 | 6,358 | |
JS-115 | 45 | Polished Ebony | 8,549 | 6,158 | |
JS-115 | 45 | Polished Mahogany/Walnut | 9,059 | 6,458 | |
JS-247 | 46.5 | Institutional Satin Ebony | 11,019 | 7,598 | |
JS-247 | 46.5 | Institutional Polished Ebony | 10,299 | 7,178 | |
JS-247 | 46.5 | Institutional Satin Walnut | 11,019 | 7,598 | |
JS-118H | 46.5 | Satin Ebony | 9,989 | 6,978 | |
JS-118H | 46.5 | Polished Ebony | 9,269 | 6,558 | |
JS-121M | 48 | Satin Ebony | 11,019 | 7,598 | |
JS-121M | 48 | Polished Ebony | 10,299 | 7,178 | |
JS-132 | 52 | Satin Ebony | 13,389 | 8,938 | |
JS-132 | 52 | Polished Ebony | 12,359 | 8,418 | |
Samick Grands | |||||
SIG-49 | 4 | 9 | Satin Ebony | 18,179 | 11,918 |
SIG-49 | 4 | 9 | Polished Ebony | 16,809 | 11,098 |
SIG-54 | 5 | 4 | Satin Ebony | 21,629 | 13,978 |
SIG-54 | 5 | 4 | Polished Ebony | 19,569 | 12,638 |
SIG-54 | 5 | 4 | Polished Fire-Engine Red | 26,469 | 16,858 |
SIG-54 | 5 | 4 | Polished Ebony w/Bubinga or Pommele Accents | 24,509 | 15,738 |
SIG-57 | 5 | 7 | Satin Ebony | 25,029 | 16,038 |
SIG-57 | 5 | 7 | Polished Ebony | 23,479 | 15,118 |
SIG-57L | 5 | 7 | Empire Satin Ebony | 27,809 | 17,698 |
SIG-57L | 5 | 7 | Empire Polished Ebony | 26,469 | 16,858 |
SIG-61 | 6 | 1 | Satin Ebony | 27,089 | 17,278 |
SIG-61 | 6 | 1 | Polished Ebony | 25,439 | 16,258 |
SIG-61L | 6 | 1 | Empire Satin Ebony | 29,659 | 18,818 |
SIG-61L | 6 | 1 | Empire Polished Ebony | 28,119 | 17,898 |
Samick NSG Series Grands | |||||
NSG 158 | 5 | 2 | Satin Ebony | 25,495 | 19,198 |
NSG 158 | 5 | 2 | Polished Ebony | 23,995 | 18,198 |
NSG 175 | 5 | 7 | Satin Ebony | 27,995 | 20,998 |
NSG 175 | 5 | 7 | Polished Ebony | 26,495 | 19,998 |
NSG 186 | 6 | 1 | Satin Ebony | 30,795 | 22,998 |
NSG 186 | 6 | 1 | Polished Ebony | 29,395 | 21,998 |