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Les Paul Artisan 1976, first produced ?

M

MicheeRoseBP

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Joined
Jun 20, 2018
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3
HEllo,

I am new.
I am from France.

I own several Gibson guitars but one is very special: my Les Paul Artisan from 1976
serial seems indicates my guitar is the first produced in 1976: 600115
see link here

Who could tell me more ?35682338_10212446769184876_8083170082190000128_n.jpg

Best Regards
Michee Rose
 
Arch D. Bunker

Arch D. Bunker

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MicheeRoseBP said:
HEllo,

I am new.
I am from France.

I own several Gibson guitars but one is very special: my Les Paul Artisan from 1976
serial seems indicates my guitar is the first produced in 1976: 600115
see link here

Who could tell me more ?

Best Regards
Michee Rose
Click to expand...

Hi there, welcome and nice guitar. Love those Arties.

That serial number says nothing though about the exact year, or exact sequence, in which your guitar was made. Serial numbering was quite a mess during that era.

Two Arties shipped in '76 is theoretically possible - I have 10 of those with a 1976 decal 00 prefix serial number listed though, plus four with six digit stamped serial numbers that all have late 1976 pots inside (week 46 and 47). But this does not imply that any of these guitars actually shipped out in 1976.

You could ask Gibson though - but I was told they do not have the 76 ledgers (which may be BS, otherwise the Meiners book could not have been made). I guess they were just not willing to provide that information to me.
 
guitplayer

guitplayer

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2,114
I would think the 6 didgit number scheme would
indicate a 1975... pre-decal and prefix. I`d check to see if its a mahogany neck.
That might be an indicator of an early one.
 
Tom Wittrock

Tom Wittrock

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MicheeRoseBP said:
HEllo,

I am new.
I am from France.

I own several Gibson guitars but one is very special: my Les Paul Artisan from 1976
serial seems indicates my guitar is the first produced in 1976: 600115
see link here

Who could tell me more ?View attachment 7817

Best Regards
Michee Rose
Click to expand...

Your serial number does not match the one that is first on the list. :hmm
 
Arch D. Bunker

Arch D. Bunker

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guitplayer said:
Earliest ones start with a "2".
Click to expand...

The lowest number on that list does not mean at all that the respective guitar was made, completed and shipped first. Necks were numbered then when these were made, stored and then mated to bodies. There could be a big gap in time between the date a neck was made and the guitar was completed. They also had spare necks with pre-stamped serial numbers lying around, some for years, that were used for repairs or warranty work. That's why numbers alone mean very little before the current numbering scheme was introduced around August 1977.

I'd look at the pot dates first...if those are original, they give a better indication on when the guitar may have left the factory.
 
Progrocker111

Progrocker111

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guitplayer said:
I would think the 6 didgit number scheme would
indicate a 1975... pre-decal and prefix. I`d check to see if its a mahogany neck.
That might be an indicator of an early one.
Click to expand...

No mahogany necks on Artisans. In fact, some of the last 6 number serials lasted into early 76, but they are fairly rare. Even some of the first maple fretboard Customs were still with 6 number serial system in 76.
 
M

MicheeRoseBP

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Progrocker111 said:
No mahogany necks on Artisans. In fact, some of the last 6 number serials lasted into early 76, but they are fairly rare. Even some of the first maple fretboard Customs were still with 6 number serial system in 76.
Click to expand...
Hi all,

Thanks for your answers.
From the list of numbers I gave, they also show the back of the headstock of the guitar with number 000115.
Please have a look, the guy misunderstood the number, it is really my guitar and first number is not 0 but 6 ;)

Whatever, pots indicate 1377642, so I guess 42nd week of 1976.
I do not know how to check if neck is mahogany or maple ...

Best Regards
 
Arch D. Bunker

Arch D. Bunker

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Progrocker111 said:
In fact, some of the last 6 number serials lasted into early 76, but they are fairly rare. Even some of the first maple fretboard Customs were still with 6 number serial system in 76.
Click to expand...

Likely the stamped 6 digit numbers lasted into 1977 - there are quite a few guitars with these six digit numbers that have late 1976 pots, or other indications that would validate a 1977 completion/shipping date.

Just two examples: a Les Paul Custom with original 7653 pots bearing headstock stamped serial number 100250, and a Flying V with serial #412456 with a 31 December 1976 factory ink stamp in the pickup cavity.

And I would not say these 'six digitters' are fairly rare for 1976, rather 'not uncommon'.

EDIT: checked my files - I found two Artisans with 1976 (decal) serial numbers and 7622 pots. And there is the one on the list that the OP linked to, with a 06 (1977) serial #, and a 7604 (!) pot code on the photo.

This just goes to show that both serial numbers and pot codes have limited value in dating ANY Gibson guitar from this period...
 
Last edited:
lonesomesheik

lonesomesheik

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If there is a cigarette burn near the low E peg, it must have been mine!!!!:salude
 
Big Al

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If the pot code says 42 week of 76 than it is 100% positive the guitar could not have been made or shipped any earlier than the 42nd week of 76, not that the guitar was made on the 42nd week of 76. That is a pretty reliable spec, IMO. Combine the pot code with the serial # and you have a pretty good idea of the year it was made. Any guitar with pot codes as late in the year as week 42 indicate the very real possibility that the guitar was made and shipped in the following year. It would be very safe, and correct, to infer that the guitar was either late 76, ( possible), or very early 77, (more likely and very probable). Anyone that thinks any Gibson guitar can be dated to the exact day or week it was made or shipped by pot codes oe serial numbers or the combination of, is deluded.

You would need some evidence of shipping logs to nail the exact date. Myself, I've never seen a need, EVER, to prove that any guitar was made on this exact date, or shipped on this exact date, when dating a guitar. YOM, determined by spec, see # and pot codes gives a very good indication of YOM with the caveat that end of year production always has an element of crossover. Always been good enough for me.
 
Strings Jr.

Strings Jr.

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Big Al said:
If the pot code says 42 week of 76 than it is 100% positive the guitar could not have been made or shipped any earlier than the 42nd week of 76, not that the guitar was made on the 42nd week of 76. That is a pretty reliable spec, IMO. Combine the pot code with the serial # and you have a pretty good idea of the year it was made. Any guitar with pot codes as late in the year as week 42 indicate the very real possibility that the guitar was made and shipped in the following year. It would be very safe, and correct, to infer that the guitar was either late 76, ( possible), or very early 77, (more likely and very probable). Anyone that thinks any Gibson guitar can be dated to the exact day or week it was made or shipped by pot codes oe serial numbers or the combination of, is deluded.

You would need some evidence of shipping logs to nail the exact date. Myself, I've never seen a need, EVER, to prove that any guitar was made on this exact date, or shipped on this exact date, when dating a guitar. YOM, determined by spec, see # and pot codes gives a very good indication of YOM with the caveat that end of year production always has an element of crossover. Always been good enough for me.
Click to expand...

That is SO true. (I wish I had said it...LOL) I can show examples all day long of instruments that were built months, or even years after the serial number date.
 
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