Dating Valco Instruments
- National Lap Steel Serial Numbers
- Supro Guitars History
- Supro Steel Guitars
- National Guitar Serial Numbers
- 1954 Supro Lap Steel
- Supro Lap Steel Guitar History
Electric lap steel guitar by National-Dobro Corporation, Los Angeles, 1936.Supro Electric Hawaiian. Serial number B213. Ex coll.: Walter Carter, Nashville.
- National Vintage Serial Numbers. National/Valco serial numbers provide the easiest way to find the year for a particular instrument. Serial numbers courtesy of Bob Brozman and his book 'National Resonator Instruments', 1993. Serial Numbers 1927-1935. From 1927 to 1935, Natonal used a different serial number system for each model.
- Bob Gjika plays some slide guitar on a National Chicagoan lap steel with a Supro pickup through a Gjika 25 watt 6V6 amp.
- 1951 Supro MOTS Lap Steel Guitar, Serial Number #X2040. Light play-wear with fully functioning pickup and electronics. Appears to be missing bridge cover or possible bending mechanism. The tuner buttons are fragile. Original hard case included. Condition: Good.
The most effective way to date a Valco guitar or amp is by its serial number. From the ‘40s until 1964, the serial could be found stamped into a small metal plate that was tacked onto the back of the headstock or the back of the cabinet. From 1964-1968, the serial was ink-stamped onto a silver foil sticker that is found in the same place. The following is a key for decoding the serial number, but keep in mind that the numbers are approximate.
'N' prefix: 1935
'S' prefix: 1935-36
'A' prefix: 1936-37*
'B' prefix: 1937-38
'C' prefix: 1938-40*
'G' prefix: 1941-42
'G' suffix: 1943-47
V100-V7500: 1947
V7500-V15000: 1948
V15000-V25000: 1949
V25000-V35000: 1950
V35000-V38000: 1951
X100-X7000: 1951
X7000-X17000: 1952
X17000-X30000: 1953
X30000-X43000: 1954
X43000-X57000: 1955
National Lap Steel Serial Numbers
X57000-X71000: 1956
X71000-X85000: 1957
X85000-X99000: 1958
T100-T5000: 1958
T5000-T25000: 1959
T25000-T50000: 1960
T50000-T75000: 1961
Supro Guitars History
T75000-T90000: 1962
T90000-T99000: 1963
Supro Steel Guitars
G5000-G15000: 1963
National Guitar Serial Numbers
G15000-G40000: 1964
1954 Supro Lap Steel
Starting with '1-': 1964-68
Starting with '2-': 1968
*'A' and 'C' prefixes also occur in some pre-1936 serials.
Supro Lap Steel Guitar History
However, some of these plates and many of these stickers have disappeared over time. Often the speaker codes or potentiometer codes can help, assuming that these parts are original and legible. Pot codes can be decodedhere, and speaker codes can be decoded here. For dating pre-Valco acoustic instruments,see this page.