The Electra Forums

I have an electra Guitar but i cant figure out what year this is. The model number is x420v5 and the serial number is 103045. Can anybody please help me? Im kind of in a hurry!

That's a very nice guitar sir =)... We are pretty darned sure that means it is a 1981, and you can quote me on that Might I ask you if there are peace sign logos on the back of the tuners?

Also, are you looking for information in order to sell it? If so, I'm sure I could turn up an interested buyer. If it IS the case that it's for sale, and you are looking for a buyer, post the specs/pics here and I'll get back to you. Feel free to PM. Welcome to the forums by the way!

Thank you very much. May I ask what your sources were? No it does not have the peace sing on the back of the tuners. Tell Your buyer I am selling it on Ebay if he/she is intrested. Would you possibly know the price for this guitar?Thank you very much for your help again.

Yes you most certainly may! First of all, we know for a fact that guitar was only produced between 1981 and 1984. Then, by comparing documented dates such as sales receipts and warranty forms to serial numbers, someone (I really couldn't tell you who) deduced that the first digit of the serial number is the last digit of the year. It was something of an educated guess at first, but it has been confirmed so many times with no exceptions that it is now accepted as fact. A reasonable sale price for that guitar is very difficult to say, because as I'm sure you know one man's trash is another man's treasure. Depending on it's condition and what kind of modifactions it has recieved I would be quite surpised if it sold for less than $400. Though, it might be pertinent to add that I once witnessed an offer of $3500 on that very guitar be insistently turned down. If you post pictures + info (or just post a link to your auction) I'd be more than happy to give you a closer estimate. Depending on how it looks I might even make you an offer

How is the year of manufacture determined on each particular model?

It is noted that this particular X420 model was made from 1981 - 1984;

I know this has been an ongoing discussion;

My X340 was purchased new in 1977 serial number 115xxx;

My X330 was purchased new in 1979 serial number 111xxx;

Please advise.

Thanks,
RCSBlues

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RCSBlues

It is pretty black and white as far as which models are determined which way: some follow the rule, some don't. For models in the 70's it's hit or miss, and I'm really not that well versed in which models are reliable and which aren't. I don't know if anyone has started a master list yet, but if enough of us are interested there's no time to start like now! =) After 1980, however, you’ve got odds I’d bet the farm on. I won’t say that EVERY model after 1980 follows that rule, but I am 95% certain they all do. Of the three x420’s I’ve seen in person, two had a definite date of purchase, and both serial numbers had an indicated year that would be within the acceptable range (that is, not after the date of purchase). That’s not including the many corroborating examples on the web.

I took that to mean it was a VS... oh boo hoo.. all my hopes shattered
Ahh well, I'm still interested to see how the auction goes. If anyone intends to bid make sure to post, otherwise I met get compulsive

Please check the thread Electra X330 in the forum. The dating methods are all over the map so nailing it down will be difficult. It is not a science as you will see from the thread mentioned above.

Before 1980 the serial numbering was for all intents and purposes arbitrary- there don't seem to be any patterns that provide dating, etc. (the exception are 76-77 guitars distributed by Hoshino which begin with a letter and mean MYYetcetc) Different guitars were made at different factories, so no consistent patterns arise. SLM switched all its manufacturing directly to Matsumoku, and sometime around 1980 they started using a date code serial number in which the first number is the last digit of the year and the next two are the month.

so a serial number starting 115 couldn't be the fifteenth month, so we know this is a non-datecode serial number. Oen starting 111, there's no sure way to tell except, as the man said, by sales receipts and catalog lisitings.

I get general ideas of dating by looking at hardware details. This stuff varied slightly year to year, so by looking at different examples of the same model and comparing it to similar variations in other models, you can get something liek an idea. FOr instance, when I see an Electra whose tuners have a silver star on black on the back, I'm pretty sure I'm looking at a 76.

But otherwise, anything pre-1980 is pretty much guesswork. Remember too that some models hung aroudn unsold for a number of years, like some of the teles, so sales receipts could still indicate a later year than that of manufacture.


A post-1980 serial nubmer starting 103 was pretty definitely made 3/81, from what I've seen.

You guys are great. Thanks for all of the input. I posted this guiitar on ebay yesterday. The item number is 300172848884 if you are interested in taking a look. I am also going to list an X130, MPC 330 Sunburst and MPC Outlaw. These are all in really good condition. My brother was a collector and I am selling off some of his guitars for him.
Thanks again!

You're most welcome! Though as you can see, X is the real wealth of knowledge. I might take a crack at that x330 as well...

To confirm x189players' note; My x-930 was bought 10-3-78 with serial no. 11404. Peace and joy to all in the Forum and happy holidays too

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I bought the X930 Vulcan guitar serial # 11404, C200 guitar case and 6 modules on October 3, 1978. In Houston for $785.00+$39.25 tax.

Ah, exactly- pre-1980 and it doesn't follow the date pattern. I really suspect that it was a January 1980 thing- but I could be wrong.