How old is my Fender 12 string?

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Cameron
Date: 16 Mar 13 - 06:48 AM

My F310-12 is numbered A6476398 and has a Made in Korea sticker. It seems from this string that no-one has any idea how these serial numbers work. Frustrating!!

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Martin
Date: 18 Jun 14 - 04:46 PM

My F55-12 also has number 109025 on the neck block inside, like the one bought in Paris and the one bought in Cardiff. It also has the letter K above that number. I'm very surprised -- that number seems to be a batch number, not a serial number. Has anyone else got a letter above the numhber on the neck?

I bought mine second-hand in Avignon, France, in 1980 and carried it on my knee in a cardboard box on coaches and ferries all the way back to my home to the north of England because I couldn't afford a case. It's a bit lacking in bass but apart from that the sound is nice and it has a very thick, solid neck. It won't be for sale while I am still alive.

This page:
http://www.fender.com/en-DK/support/articles/acoustic-instruments-product-dating/
says that the F55-12 was made from 1972 - 1980 in Asia.

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Martin
Date: 18 Jun 14 - 04:59 PM

I forgot to mention that my F55-12 bought in Avignon in 1980 also has the number T 35 7 3 stamped with ink on the flat bracing rib that runs inside the body of the guitar from the neck end to the bottom end of the body, passing under the sound hole.

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 15 - 03:38 PM

I also have a a F310-12 serial no.00000045    early 1985

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 27 Aug 15 - 03:23 PM

I have one that is numbered 00000059

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,MustangSally
Date: 18 Aug 18 - 05:44 PM

My F55-12 also shows 975 stamped on the label inside the guitar and my Dad bought it for me in1975 for Xmas! Love it but might sell it. Had 11 surgeries on both my hands and can’t play anymore????????

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Jala
Date: 26 Dec 18 - 12:37 AM

I am also trying to find the history of a F55-12 for my son.
His father had it when I met him :)
It had been his special girl till then..he loved it so much!
We had two boys who grew up strumming her, she was always there. But now their father has passed away leaving two teenagers with questions, some are hard to answer - and this guitars details is one of them !!!

Subject: RE: How old is my Fender 12 string?
From: GUEST,Martin
Date: 31 Oct 19 - 08:04 PM

I posted here a few years ago - I have the F-55-12 bought second-hand in Avignon in 1980 with the proceeds of 3 weeks picking grapes. The number on the neck block is K109025, the same number as a couple of other guitars mentioned in this thread, and the number on the center brace on the back is T 35 7 3. Since someone in this thread bought an F-55-12 with that same neck block number in Paris in 1973, I expect that mine is also from around that year.

Looking at the posts in this thread, I'm wondering if a K in front of the neck block number may refer to Korea (probably Samick who have made guitars for lots of US companies), a Y to Yamaha in Japan, and an F to Fender in the USA. The 025 at the end of the neck block number also seems to have some significance.

My guitar does not have the adjustable bridge that I see in photos of F-55-12s. I presume that the bridge on mine was replaced with a non-adjustable one in the 1970s when a piezo pickup was fitted. I had a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed recently and it sounds very sweet even though it still doesn't put out deep bass.

I've had mine for nearly 40 years, it sounds and plays great, and it's in very good condition despite the fact that I hauled it around and played gigs with it in the early 1990s. I now have a beautiful Guild 12-string that sounds better, but that Fender is like a member of my family and it goes when I do.