? about CTS pot code

[Csharp]

I just removed the control plate on my Standard (for the first time) to get the pot codes. Here's all that I could read under magnification - 70-028
137745

Question is, should I assume that they're from the last 3 weeks of 1974? There is too much solder to read any more, and I'm guessing that it would read
1377405 if they were from the 5th week of '74. Thanks

[dwagar]

yes, the 137 means CTS, 74 is the year (don't throw it away), I assume 5x would be the week and that they'd use 05 as you suggest.

So it's probably on the cusp of 74/75.

Can you tell if it's a mahogany neck? can you pull the neck pickup and check for the trans tenon?
- mahogany neck I would call a '74
- maple neck with trans tenon I would call a very early 75
- maple neck with short tenon I would call a 75

[Csharp]

Thanks, dwagar. I'm not going to throw anything away. I'm just trying to nail down a more accurate date on the guitar. This mid-seventies-new factory-tenon length-mahogany or maple-Kalamazoo or Nashville....blur...can make it a challenge.

The neck is mahogany, but I haven't pulled the pickup to look at the tenon. One other thing that seems unusual is that the binding in the cutout is not the typical wide Norlin style. I should probably get with Gibson on this one, let it mess with them a bit, they made it.

[dwagar]

Gibson might not be much help on these early 70's, before the new numbering system.

If the neck is mahogany, then it should have the trans tenon. I don't believe any mahogany necks were late enough for the short tenon. I've seen pics of one maple neck with a trans tenon though.

With a mahogany neck, I think it's best described as a '74. Even though the electronics may be very late in the year, if you think about it, the electronics are one of the last things put into the guitar.

I also don't believe that Nashville ever built a guitar with a trans tenon. I've asked this question many times, and there is probably no way to get a real answer to this question. But it makes sense to me that your guitar came from Kalamazoo.

[Csharp]

I just wonder, if the pots were made in the last 3 weeks of '74, how long CTS had them before shipping, and how long Gibson had them before installing them. See what I mean? It puts the actual completion of the guitar into early '75.

[Mike60]

just a guess but back then,I would allow,probably about 6-8 weeks after they were made before Gibson installed them...

[dwagar]

sure, but, changes don't happen on Jan 2nd when the guys get back to work. I'm sure they didn't walk in and say "hey, where the hell did the mahogany necks go?"

Even though your guitar may have shipped on (eg) Jan 15/75 IMO it is still best described as a '74. A '75 would normally have a maple neck and a short tenon.

[BCRGreg]

Pics would be good...

[Csharp]