Les Paul serial

[bigshaft]

Hi,
I'm new in this forum. I have an issue of serial verification. Recently I saw an online auction of a Gibson Les Paul traditional. The seller claimed it as a 2013 Light burst model. The pictures look legit text-book Gibson Trad for me, with all the paperworks included. But the serial provided by the seller was 112860***. After having a check at Guitar dater project website, it appears to have being made on May 8th 2016...Now, is there any chance of it fallen into the fake category? Is the guitar dater project has enough credible to tell the originality of a guitar? Can someone verify this?

 

[Meepers]

first and 5th number of the serial is the year it was made. If that is infact the first 6 digits, that points to 2016. The last 3 that you didn't include would be 629? If so then yes the serial number says the guitar was made May 8th, 2016. It can't be fake, it's from the futor! But without photos I say, yes, it is a fake.

Edit: i forgot to add the the last three numbers to reflect made in Nashville. Unless it does read 129, in which case it is definitely fake as the serial point to me being made in Montana, and Les Pauls are not made in Montana.

 

[Farquad]

We'd want to see pics, but ya I concur with Meepers that is a fake serial number, thus the guitar is most likely fake.
Of course if it was a 2016, the serial number would read more like: 1600XXXXX

 

[bigshaft]

Meepers, 129 is not the last three, assume it as 480 (close to the alleged number), and it'll give you Gibson Nashville production number 180. I really wanted to own my first ever Paul. But I wish I could dodge a bullet by not pulling a trigger on a fake guitar. But I read somewhere on MLP that GDP is not a reliable source of information... Thru here:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/gibson-les-pauls/253046-gibson-serial-number-info.html
Here are some pics..Note the serial at the back of the headstock is just not clear. The seller wrote it on the website. Can you spot any suspicions?

http://cdn.yasukukaeru.com/531e6c8f8083010dfe8f3ec0.jpg
http://cdn.yasukukaeru.com/531e6c8f8083010dfe8f3ec1.jpg
http://cdn.yasukukaeru.com/531e6c8f8083010dfe8f3ec2.jpg
http://cdn.yasukukaeru.com/531e6c8f8083010dfe8f3ec3.jpg

 

[colchar]

Hi,
I'm new in this forum. I have an issue of serial verification. Recently I saw an online auction of a Gibson Les Paul traditional. The seller claimed it as a 2013 Light burst model. The pictures look legit text-book Gibson Trad for me, with all the paperworks included. But the serial provided by the seller was 112860***. After having a check at Guitar dater project website, it appears to have being made on May 8th 2016...Now, is there any chance of it fallen into the fake category? Is the guitar dater project has enough credible to tell the originality of a guitar? Can someone verify this?

That guitar dater website is beyond useless and should not be used by anyone for anything. It cannot verify a guitar's authenticity and anyone who understands Gibson's serial number system can make one up that that website will accept as being real.

 

[Farquad]

The pics look a real LP. I cant read the serial number at all. However, it has wings, , correct serial number font, nibs and the correct bridge which are the most common fake spots.
He may have been dyslexic in his writing the serial number to you. I would ask him again for that, or a more clear picture of the back of the headstock.

 

[Meepers]

I don't know what I was thinking. I was thinking the instrument production number was the day of the year number. Been awhile since I dated a Gibson other than the year. But I agree, the pictures look legit. Ask the seller to confirm the serial. Some times they are hard to read.

 

[BACzero]

Is it possible that he misread the 3 as a 6 in the serial number? Or perhaps just mis-typed it? If you change the 6 to a 3, you've got a valid serial number for a guitar made on May 8th (128th day of the year on a non-leap year) of 2013 (1xxx3), first batch of the day (represented by the zero). The last 3 digits would be the number of guitar, in that batch, on that day. Gibson started using the 'batch' numbering system in 2005.

I would ask for a closeup picture of the serial number... or at the very least, ask him if he is sure the serial number he typed is accurate. Don't offer him an alternate (by saying 'are you sure that 6 isn't a 3?'), just ask him to verify the numbers. Could be a simply type-o.

If he confirms that the 5th number is truly a 6, it's worth questioning... or at least looking at closer.

 

[colchar]

Is it possible that he misread the 3 as a 6 in the serial number? Or perhaps just mis-typed it? If you change the 6 to a 3, you've got a valid serial number for a guitar made on May 8th (128th day of the year on a non-leap year) of 2013 (1xxx3), first batch of the day (represented by the zero). The last 3 digits would be the number of guitar, in that batch, on that day. Gibson started using the 'batch' numbering system in 2005.

Just to clarify - the date does not indicate the day the guitar was 'made'. It indicates the date it was stamped. The guitar would not have been completed on that day.

I owned an LP stamped December 2010 but the pickups were dated February 2011 so the guitar was not 'made' the day it was stamped.

 

[bigshaft]

Wouldn't make any difference if the fifth number is 3 instead of 6 would it? It could still be a stonewall fake. I see a lot of 2013 Les Pauls have 2012 serials stamped on em.... Regarding on me reaching the seller, the site wouldn't allow asking back question....

 

[2manyGuitars]

You're right, the serial number doesn't guarantee the authenticity of a guitar. But, a bunch of us already looked at the pics and the guitar looks legit. The one digit in the serial number was the only thing that didn't add up. That why we were hoping you could get confirmation.

 

[ARandall]

Wouldn't make any difference if the fifth number is 3 instead of 6 would it? It could still be a stonewall fake. I see a lot of 2013 Les Pauls have 2012 serials stamped on em.... Regarding on me reaching the seller, the site wouldn't allow asking back question....

There tends to be 1 consistent number used for fakes, rather than a revolving door of them. But it is one in a number of aspects you look at, including the position, the font and the features. In this case it is an important addition as it matches the year that the guitar is claimed to be.
And the 2012/2013 thing has been gone over many times, it is a guitar made in 2012 with the newer 2013 features - mainly as construction changed and gibson again had use of solid rosewood.