guitarserials

Jackson

Jackson's serial history splits across three main production groups. USA San Dimas and Ontario models from the 1980s onward use simple sequential prefixes (J, RR, U). Made-In-Japan Professional series 1990–1995 embed the year in the first digit. Modern import production (2013+) uses a 10-character format with a 3-letter factory code followed by YY + 5 digits.

Sources 1 Manufacturer 2 References view all

Decode a Jackson serial

Quick pick

Supported formats

Modern (1996+)

Modern import (2013+) — factory + YY + seq

2013+
Example ICJ1500001 Try it →

Three-letter factory code + 2-digit year + 5-digit sequence. Country prefix (letter 1): I = Indonesia, C = China, N = India, K = Korea, M/X = Mexico. Factory letter (letter 2): C = Cort, W = World Musical Instruments, S = Samick, Y = Yako, U = Unsung, H = Chushin Gakki (Harmony). Trailing J marks Jackson brand line. Documented codes: ICJ, ISJ, IWJ (Indonesia); CYJ, CJ, CUJ, CNJ, CSJ (China); NHJ (India); KCJ, KWJ, KSJ (Korea); plus 2-letter MJ and XJ (Mexico). Example ICJ1500001 = Indonesia Cort, 2015, #1.

Made-in-Japan bolt-on (1996–2012)

1996–2012
Example 9612345 Try it →

Seven plain digits. The first two digits are the 2-digit year. Covers the 1996–2012 MIJ bolt-on window that bridges the MIJ Professional era and the 3-letter modern-import era. Plausibility gate accepts leading pairs 96–99 (1996–1999) and 00–12 (2000–2012).

Gotchas & format-specific sources
  • Outside the 96–99 / 00–12 window the rule does not match to avoid collision with other 7-digit numeric serials.
1 less common variant

Made-in-India (JS20-series, 8-digit)

1996+
Example 19000123 Try it →

Eight plain digits. The first two digits are the 2-digit year. Used on Jackson JS-series instruments made in India (Chushin Gakki / Harmony). Plausibility gate: leading pair 96–99 (1996–1999) or 00–15 (2000–2015).

Vintage

3 less common variants

Randy Rhoads RR signature

1983+
Example RR0001 Try it →

RR + 4-digit sequence. Assigned to Randy Rhoads neck-through guitars (all of them 1983–spring 1990, custom only after that).

USA J-prefix (1983+)

1983+
Example J1234 Try it →

J + 4-digit sequence. Year is not encoded in the serial — listing-year context or USA Charvels serial archive lookup is required to date.

Made-in-Japan Professional (1990–1995)

1990–1995
Example 412345 Try it →

Six plain digits. The first digit is the year offset from 1990: 0 = 1990, 1 = 1991, …, 5 = 1995. Example 412345 = 1994, #12345.

Gotchas & format-specific sources
  • Gated tightly on first-digit ≤ 5 to avoid shadowing generic 6-digit numerics from other brands.

Where to find your serial

Jackson serials are typically on the back of the headstock (modern production) or on the neckplate (earlier USA and some Japan production).

Sources

Every format rule on this page traces back to at least one of the sources above. If you spot an error or have an additional authoritative source, see the methodology.