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Post subject: Jazz Bass 1978 serial S8 + 6 digit
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:28 am
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HI!
I'm buying a jazz bass 1978, but the serial is S8 + 6 digits and I have no information that would be. Some information about it?


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Post subject: Re: Jazz Bass 1978 serial S8 + 6 digit
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:08 pm
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Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
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Location: Province de Québec, Canada
chimbu wrote:
HI!
I'm buying a jazz bass 1978, but the serial is S8 + 6 digits and I have no information that would be. Some information about it?


What information are looking for ?

S8 + 5 digits ( not 6 ) = 1978

Scroll down ;
Support , Product Dating

http://www2.fender.com/fr-FR/support/ar ... ct-dating/


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Post subject: Re: Jazz Bass 1978 serial S8 + 6 digit
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:45 am
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Chimbu, The serial format listed on the Fender site and in most resources is for instruments SOLD by Fender to an authorized dealer in the USA and Canada. Whenever an instrument's serial is assigned if it is an export instrument going anywhere else it gets a different serial format. The extra or lacking digit is designed to instantly lock the instrument out of Fender's service system for instruments sold in North America.

International distributors are responsible for warrantying, servicing and supporting all the Fender instruments they import and distribute, not Fender itself. This support requirement includes authenticating the serial number of instruments they distribute. So far as I know Fender USA did not even maintain a record of the export serials telling which distributor got which export instrument from Fender. International distributors have different warranties than Fender USA.

The reason Fender assigns oddball serials to export models is so they can't possibly get warranty service in the USA or Canada. Therefore anytime you have an instrument with an oddball serial like this one it is almost certainly an export model.

Unfortunately international distributors change frequently but in the 1970's I think in the UK Selmer was the Fender international distributor, but there have been many since. I also know of no data base detailing international Fender distributors by year. Worse, in some nations there are more than one authorized international distributor!

So based on the fact you have what is almost certainly an export serial I'm guessing you are not in the USA or Canada, but if you are in Fender's home turf then you likely are talking about a Fender export issue that somehow found it's way home. It happens!

Fortunately the first two characters on the serial of export instruments still decode to the proper year of manufacture usually. You can often verify that by checking pot codes, pencil marks and stampings.


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