Here are some pics of the one I have. It's a very sexy one. It's a Transparent Blue Jackson DK2S. I plan on upgrading the bridge and middle pickups with a Dimebucker and a Hot Rail.
I want to start a Jackson and Ibanez collection. I play this guitar through a Digitech RP250, Crate PowerBlock amp (which is very good for the price!!!!), and a Behringer BG412H Ultrastack cab (also awesome). I had the Behringer V-Ampire LX-1200H head but I didn't need a modeling amp so I sold it and bought the PowerBlock. And, I just upgraded to the Digitech RP250 from the RP100. Huge difference!!!!
DATING YOUR U.S.-MADE FENDER STRINGED INSTRUMENT For most of Fender’s U.S. Instrument production history, production dates have been applied to various components. Most notably, production dates have been penciled or stamped on the butt end of the heel of the neck of most guitars and basses, although there were periods when this was not consistently done (1973 to 1981, for example) or simply omitted. Neck-dating can be useful in determining the approximate age of a guitar, but it is certainly not definitive because the neck date simply refers to the date that the individual component was produced, rather than the complete instrument. Given the modular nature of Fender production techniques, an individual neck may have been produced in a given year, then stored for a period of time before being paired with a body to create a complete guitar, perhaps, for example, in the following year. Therefore, while helpful in determining a range of production dates, a neck date is obviously not a precisely definitive reference. Most specifications for a given Fender instrument model change little (if at all) throughout the lifetime of the model.
While there have been periods of dramatic change—such as the transition periods between the Leo Fender years and the CBS years or the transition between the CBS years and the current ownership—most models are generally feature-specific and do not change from year to year. Serial numbers are also helpful in determining an instrument’s production year. For years, serial numbers have been used in various locations on Fender instruments, such as the top of the neck plate, the front or back of the headstock and the back of the neck near the junction with the body. Serial numbers were stamped on the back vibrato cover plate on early ’50s Stratocaster® guitars, and on the bridge plate between the pickup and the saddles on some Telecaster® guitars. But once again, due to Fender’s modular production methods and often non-sequential serial numbering (usually overlapping two to four years from the early days of Fender to the mid-1980s), dating by serial number is not always precisely definitive.
DATING CHARTS The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1950 to 1964. Notice that there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. The only way to try to narrow the date range of your specific instrument is to remove the neck and check the butt end of the neck heel for a production date, which may be stamped or written there (if you’re uncomfortable doing this yourself, please refer to an experienced professional guitar tech in your area). SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES Up to 6,000 1950 to 1954 Up to 10,000 1954 to 1956 10,000s 1955 to 1956 10,000s to 20,000s 1957 20,000s to 30,000s 1958 30,000s to 40,000s 1959 40,000s to 50,000s 1960 50,000s to 70,000s 1961 60,000s to 90,000s 1962 80,000s to 90,000s 1963 90,000s up to L10,000s 1963 L10,000s up to L20,000s 1963 L20,000s up to L50,000s 1964 Fender was sold to CBS in January 1965. Serial numbering didn’t change immediately because instruments continued to be made using existing, tooling, parts and serial number schemes. The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1965 to 1976.
Notice that there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES L50,000s up to L90,000s 1965 100,000s 1965 100,000s to 200,000s 1966 to 1967 200,000s 1968 200,000s to 300,000s 1969 to 1970 300,000s 1971 to 1972 300,000s to 500,000s 1973 400,000s to 500,000s 1974 to 1975 500,000s to 700,000s 1976 The charts below detail the most common Fender serial number schemes from 1976 to the present. Once again, there is quite a bit of overlap in numbers and years. The only way to try to narrow the date range of your specific instrument is to remove the neck and check the butt end of the neck heel for a production date, which may be stamped or written there (if you’re uncomfortable doing this yourself, please refer to an experienced professional guitar tech in your area). Serial numbers with an “S” prefix denote the 1970s (signifying a CBS attempt to use serial numbers to identify production years); an “E” prefix was introduced in 1979 to denote the 1980s.
![Guitar Guitar](http://www.edroman.com/guitars/jackson/images/jac_174.jpg)
As seen in the overlap of numbers and years, even these references to actual production dates are rather loose. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES 76 + 5 digits S6 + 5 digits 1976 S7 + 5 digits S8 + 5 digits 1977 S7 + 5 digits S8 + 5 digits S9 + 5 digits 1978 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits 1979 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits E1 + 5 digits 1980 S9 + 5 digits E0 + 5 digits E1 + 5 digits 1981 1982 saw the introduction of the U.S. Vintage Series instruments and “V”-prefix serial numbers. The only way to definitively date U.S. Instruments with “V”-prefix serial numbers is to remove the neck and check the butt end of the neck heel for a production date, which may be stamped or written there. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES EI + 5 digits E2 + 5 digits E3 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1982 (For U.S.
The number one source of guitar and amplifier pricing and information so you can find the price and value of your used guitars and amplifier. Use this site for a pricing guide and source of information on all guitars.
Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) E2 + 5 digits E3 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1983 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) E3 + 5 digits E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1984 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) CBS sold Fender in March 1985. Serial numbering didn’t change because instruments continued to be made using existing tooling, parts and serial number schemes. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES E3 + 5 digits E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1985 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1986 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) E4 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1987 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) E4 + 5 digits E8 + 5 digits V + 4, 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1988 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) E8 + 5 digits E9 + 5 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1989 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) “N”-prefix serial numbers denoting the 1990s were introduced in 1990.
The numbers and decals were produced far in advance, and some N9 decals (denoting 1999) were inadvertently affixed to some instruments in 1990. Consequently, some 1990 guitars bear 1999 “N9” serial numbers. SERIAL NUMBERS PRODUCTION DATES E9 + 5 digits N9 + 5 digits N0 + 5 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1990 (For U.S. Vintage Series, check neck date for specific year) N0 + 5 digits N1 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 v (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1991 N1 + 5 or 6 digits N2 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1992 N2 + 5 or 6 digits N3 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1993 N3 + 5 or 6 digits N4 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1994 N4 + 5 or 6 digits N5 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1995 N5 + 5 or 6 digits N6 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (U.S. Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1996 N6 + 6 or 6 digits N7 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 v (U.S.
Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1997 N7 + 5 or 6 digits N8 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (American Vintage Series) 1998 N8 + 5 or 6 DIGITS N9 + 5 or 6 digits V + 5 or 6 digits (American Vintage Series except ’52 Telecaster) 1999 “Z”-prefix serial numbers denoting the new millennium appeared on U.S.-made instruments in 2000. Z0 denotes 2000; Z1 denotes 2001, etc. American Deluxe Series instruments use the same dating convention, but with the addition of a “D” in front of the “Z”; i.e., DZ1, DZ2, etc. As always, there is typically some number prefix overlap and carryover from year to year.