How to Find Out the Age and Value of a Guitar. The guitar's serial number also may give you a clue to its value. Generally speaking, a lower serial number. 1946-1957: White rectangle label, 'Fred Gretsch Mfg. - 60 Broadway, Brooklyn, N.Y.' , serial number in red, model number in blue or black. All models have this label by 1954. 1957-Early 1965: Gray top part, orange background for 'The Fred Gretsch Mfg. , beginning with serial number 25001.

Alongside Fender, Gibson, Martin and Rickenbacker, Gretsch was one of the original American guitar manufacturers. As such, there are a lot of vintage specimens hidden under beds, lurking in closets or parading in plain sight on shop walls (and Reverb listings). Half the battle of finding a great deal or pre-empting conflict is accurately dating the guitar in question.

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The guide below is intended to help you identify the production year of any Gretsch guitar, given the serial number and its location on the guitar. This information has been compiled from multiple sources (cited at bottom). Their collective investigative legwork deserves the respect and gratitude of us all. Like the other Giants of Original American Guitars (save Martin), Gretsch had its share of corporate hand-offs and resulting serial number inconsistencies over the years. While the situation isn't quite as bad as say, Gibson or Guild, this guide should be viewed as the best available consensus, not gospel. In some cases a serial number may leave you with a fuzzy span of several years, and in others you will know which number your guitar was within a batch during a specific month and year.

And there's always the possibility of discovering a specimen that completely upends common knowledge about what was produced when. Just make sure it's not modified or a partscaster before screaming from the Gretsch-pert mountaintops. The best approach is to cross-reference the serial number with known features for the model during different eras and the personal account of previous owners.

Getting the correct year is one thing, but getting the story behind a guitar is the fun part. The guide for that is much simpler: be nice, ask questions, offer whiskey. Overview of Gretsch Production Eras If you have absolutely no idea whether your Gretsch is old or new, a good place to start is the model number. This will give you an approximate idea of the era during which your guitar was manufactured.

It's also one more piece of evidence to pair with the serial number to corroborate the actual year. 1933 - 1948: Model numbers reflect retail price. The original Synchromatic models. 1948 - 1971: 6000 Series (example, the original 6120 Chet Atkins Hollowbody) 1971 - 1980: 7000 Series (though the 8000 Series started in 1979) 1979 - 1983: 8000 Series 1990 - present: G before the number. G6120) Does this also tell me where my Gretsch was manufactured, you ask?

The bulk of vintage Gretsch specimens were manufactured in the original factory in New York, with a decade of Arkansas production during the '70s. From there, things get a bit more complicated. See the reference below. Early 1900s - 1970: New York City 1970 - 1979: Booneville, Arkansas 1979 - 1981: Various locations including Mexico. Low production. 1989 - present: Japan (Terada factory) 1995 - present: US (Custom & Masterbuilt Series) 2000 - present: China and Korea (Electromatic & Synchromatic Series) You will also hear people throw around terms with Gretsch guitar like pre-Baldwin or Fender-era.

This refers to the corporate ownership changes the company experienced over time. Gretsch is unique in that it started as a family company, was bought out and later taken back by the family, only to be bought a second time. See the reference below.

Pre-Baldwin Era: 1883 - 1967. Gretsch is family owned, growing to major distribution. This was the original Golden Age for Gretsch, particularly the late '50 and early '60s, when they enjoyed the endorsement of Chet Atkins and George Harrison. Baldwin Era: 1967 - 1981.

Gretsch is bought by Baldwin as a second choice after failing to buy Fender. Production moved to Baldwin/Burns factory in Arkansas. Quality and worker morale drop in the wake of new management and two factory fires. Chet Atkins withdraws his endorsement. Revival Era: 1989 - 2002. Gretsch (great grandson of the founder) buys back the company.