How Do You Date a Jackson Guitar by Its Serial Number?
A Jackson guitar is dated by cross-referencing the serial number with the product dating reference chart. The serial number is generally found on the neck plate on bolt-on neck models and on the fingerboard of the last fret on neck-through-body model guitars, and the manufacturing product date and manufacturer location are based upon the serial number. The product dating reference chart is available under the Support tab from JacksonGuitars.com.
Jackson guitars can be dated through their serial numbers, but guitars not sold in the United States are not tracked in this manner. The guitars are sold directly from the manufacturer to the distributor in that instance. For information on products sold outside of the U.S., contact the distributor directly.
All Randy Rhoads neck-through-body model Jackson guitars were given serial numbers beginning with “RR” from 1983 through the spring of 1990. At that point, only custom Rhoads guitar serial numbers continued beginning with “RR;” all other Rhoads post-1990 guitar serial numbers begin with “U0.” All other guitars that are not Randy Rhoads, including Soloists, King V’s, Kelly’s and Concert Basses, have serial numbers that begin with “U0” with pre-1990s guitars starting with “JN.” There are exceptions and stamping mistakes with some serial number labeling. For instance, some early examples of Randy Rhoads guitars feature a “J” serial number rather than the correct “RR.”
