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Post subject: What color was used to stamp dates on Pre-CBS neck heels?
Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:33 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:04 pm
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Hi, I'm partially color blind (red blue) so I have a hard time distinguishing certain colors. I wanted to know what color ink that Fender used to stamp the dates of production on the neck heels of vintage, pre-CBS Fender guitars.

According to this website http://www.guitarhq.com/fender.html it says"

March 1962 to 1965: Ink stamp in dark blue or red ink below the truss rod adjustment at the butt end of the neck in "XX MMM-YY W" format. The "XX" is not the day of stamping. Instead it is a code for the type of neck (for example, "02"=Stratocaster, "3/4"=3/4 scale Musicmaster). The "W" is the neck width where "A" is the narrowest, "B" is normal, and "C" is the widest.

however when I look at pictures of post CBS guitars like this, it looks black to me

Image

The above picture was taken from here:
http://www.blah3.com/the-gift-1967-fend ... elecaster/

I'm particularly interested in Mike Bloomfield (Butterfield Blues band) 1963 telecaster,

Image

https://www.vintageguitar.com/25061/mic ... elecaster/

Is that red, blue, or black ink? I can't tell. Did Fender go to black ink in the post CBS era, or did they also use red and blue ink (which looks black)? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.


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Post subject: Re: What color was used to stamp dates on Pre-CBS neck heels
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 5:01 am
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Rock Star
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AFAIK, all three (red, black, blue) have been used post-CBS; and my guess is there was no "official, company regulated" color. (And there are quite a few examples of greetings, jokes &such on neck joints that it seems this kind of things weren't a major controlling point.)

While it's relatively easy to separate red from the others, blue and black can both fade to whatever over the years; grey, green, non-specified etc. The stamp can be a part of verifying an old instrument, but I'd say it plays a minor role. Don't think anyone's ever done the CSI-style ink testing or such... :wink:


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Post subject: Re: What color was used to stamp dates on Pre-CBS neck heels
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:13 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:29 am
Posts: 835
Location: Paradise Valley, Arizona
I own a late 1965 Stratocaster and the date stamp at the neck heel is very black.
ImageIMG_0097 by John Bohn, on Flickr
So black was still used near the end of 1965.

John


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