Determining Your Custom's Time of Manufacture


I get a lot of questions on how to determine the date of manufacture of people's Tele Customs. As with all Fenders, there are a number of ways to do it, depending a little on what version of the Tele Custom you have. Some of these methods apply to all or most Fender guitars while some are specific to the '72 Custom (or Thinline or Deluxe). If you cannot date your Custom with any of these methods, try asking a question in the Forum.


On all versions of the Tele Custom, the most obvious way to more or less determine the time of manufacture is to check the different features of the guitar, such as bridge saddles, color, knobs, etc. See the pages Specs & Features and The '72 in Detail for more info on this.

Original MIA Tele Customs (1972-1981)
  • The easiest option is to check the serial number, but it doesn't provide a very exact date (often not even exact year). See Fender's Mr Gearhead page for a list of serial numbers and years. From 1976 and on, numbers are 76xxxxxx (1976), SXxxxxxx (197X) or EXxxxxxx (198X).
  • The neck heel. On Customs from up until 1973 this gives the month and year of the neck, however, most post-1973 Fenders have a mysterious inventory number in this place. See this site for more information on this.
  • The back of the Wide Range Humbucker sometimes has a date stamp.

MIM '72 Tele Custom reissues (1999-)
  • Serial number. These are more precise than the '70s numbers, but still very unspecific (if you buy a new 2004 Custom in February 2004 it is probably made up of parts mostly from 2003). Serial numbers follow the NXxxxxxx (199X) and ZXxxxxxx (200X) schemes so far.
  • Underside of the pickguard may have a date written (again, this applies specifically to this part, but will probably be "the year" of the guitar).

MIJ/CIJ '72 Tele Custom reissues (c:a 1990-)
  • Serial number. This follows a scheme different from the MIA and MIM Fenders. See Mr Gearhead for this.
  • If your Custom has a 1996 50th Anniversary sticker on the back of the headstock, it was probably made in that year.

*) MIA = Made in America, MIJ = Made in Japan, CIJ = Crafted in Japan, MIM = Made in Mexico.


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