Morris Guitar Serial Numbers · Best
The Ultimate Guide to Morris Guitar Serial Numbers: Dating and Deciphering Your Vintage Japanese Instrument
What if your Morris guitar has a completely blank label, or the label fell off entirely? You can still narrow down the date using these physical features:
The model number provides excellent context clues to double-check the era you decoded from the serial number. The letter dictates the body style.
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Square or rectangular labels. This era features the famous "Martin-style" vertical Morris logo on the headstock of higher-end models (like the TF series).
: For modern instruments, you can download the latest official Morris Catalog PDF to check specs and serial formats for new series. Dave Doll's Pro Tips - Serialization and Registration
: Distinctive labels shaped like a hexagon usually signify mid-to-late 1970s production. Headstock Aesthetics The Ultimate Guide to Morris Guitar Serial Numbers:
Join the "Vintage Japanese Guitars" groups on Facebook or Reddit’s r/Japaneseguitars. Post a clear photo of your serial number and the full guitar. The collective memory of enthusiasts often outperforms any written guide.
: Thin-body acoustic-electrics with Ovation-style backs. Pro-Tip: The Potentiometer Trick
Many models from this era feature no numeric serial number at all. This public link is valid for 7 days
In vintage Japanese guitars, the number usually correlated directly to the original retail price in Japanese Yen. For example, a Morris W-15 originally cost 15,000 Yen, while a Morris W-60 cost 60,000 Yen.
Because there is no official Morris database, guitar historians have reverse-engineered the numbering systems. Below is the consensus system used by vintage Japanese guitar forums (Vintage Japan Guitars, Acoustic Guitar Forum).
