Samick started making guitars in 1965. For many years, the company built instruments for other brands as well as its own name. That is one reason Samick serial numbers can be hard to decode.
Since 1984, serial numbers have appeared on Hondo guitars. Around 1987, Samick began using regular serial numbers on its own guitars.
Samick did not use a single serial number system for their guitars. The format can change by period, factory, and guitar type. Some early guitars have no serial number at all. Some later guitars use different formats for bolt-on, set-neck, and semi-hollow models. A serial number may help with the year or factory, but it does not always identify the exact model by itself.
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Where to Find Samick Serial Number
On many Samick guitars, the serial number is on the back of the headstock. On some older guitars, it appears on a white sticker with a black border placed on the back of the headstock or near the heel of the neck. These stickers often wear off or go missing, so the serial number may be gone even if the guitar originally had one.
On many bolt-on Samick guitars, the serial number can be on the neck plate.
On some semi-hollow models, you can find it on the label inside the f-hole.
Samick Serial Number Decoder
Enter the serial number of your Samick guitar and click the “Check” button. The decoder will display the year and country of manufacture.
Samick Serial Number 1984-1989
The first known Samick serial numbers appeared in 1984 on Hondo and other Samick contract guitars.
These serial numbers had the following format: YMMPPPP.
The first digit is the year in the 1980s.
The next 2 digits are the month.
The last 4 digits are the production number.
Example: 7041826 reads as April 1987, production number 1826.
In 1988, Samick also used a longer format on some guitars: YYMMPPPPP.
The first 2 digits are the year.
The next 2 digits are the month.
The last 5 digits are the production number.
Example: 880912345 reads as September 1988, production number 12345.
In the mid-80s, some early Samick guitars, including the Mastercaster series, used this format: 110PPPP or 120PPPP. The exact meaning of the first three digits is still unknown. These serial numbers are usually printed on a white sticker with a black border. The sticker is usually found on the back of the headstock or near the heel of the neck. Many of these stickers are now missing.
Samick Serial Number 1990-1993
1990-1993 was a transition period for Samick guitars. Samick was changing formats at this time, and the serial number can differ by guitar type and by location on the guitar.
The most common early 1990s format is YYMMPPPP.
The first 2 digits show the year.
The next 2 digits show the month.
The last 4 digits show the production number.
Example: 92071436 reads as July 1992, production number 1436.
In the early 1990s, a new format of serial numbers with the prefix S appears: SYYMMPPPP. It is read the same way as the format above:
The first 2 digits show the year.
The next 2 digits show the month.
The last 4 digits show the production number.
Example: S93050827 reads as May 1993, production number 827.
These serial numbers are most often found on a sticker on the back of the headstock or near the heel of the neck. Many of those stickers are now missing.
Samick Serial Number 1992-2005
Since about 1992, many Korean Samick guitars have had their serial numbers printed on the back of the headstock instead of the sticker on earlier guitars. The most common Korean Samick pattern from this period starts with S.
In 1992, a common format is SYYPPPPP.
The first 2 digits show the year.
The remaining digits show the production number.
Example: S94018625 reads as 1994, production number 18625.
By 1994, Samick began using the month-specific format: SYMMPPPP. In this format, only the last digit of the year was present:
The digit after S shows the year in the decade.
The next 2 digits show the month.
The last 4 digits show the production number.
Example: S5081324 reads as August 1995, production number 1324.
By at least 1997, Samick returned to a two-digit year serial number: SYYMMPPPP. This is one of the main Samick serial number patterns for the late Korean period.
The first 2 digits after S show the year.
The next 2 digits show the month.
The last 4 digits show the production number.
Example: S99062457 reads as June 1999, production number 2457.
Samick Semi-Hollow Serial Number
Semi-hollow Samick guitars in 1990s-2000s use a different pattern of serial number.
This serial number looks like this: YYPPPP(P).
The first 2 digits show the year.
The last 4-5 digits show the production number.
Example: 922685 reads as a guitar from 1992, production number 2685.
The serial number is usually found on the label inside the top f-hole.
Samick Bolt-On Serial Number
On Samick bolt-on guitars, the serial number is engraved on the neck plate.
The main bolt-on neck plate format from the 1980s into the 1990s is YMMPPPP.
The first digit is the year in the decade.
The next 2 digits are the month.
The last 4 digits are the production number.
Example: 9071384 reads as July 1989, production number 1384.
Samick changed the neck plate design in May 1990. An early 1990 bolt-on guitar can still have the older 1980s-style plate.
Some lower-priced bolt-on models use a different neck plate serial: YYPPPPP.
The first digit is the year.
The last 5 digits are the production number.
Example: 9408652 reads as 1994, production number 8652.
In the early 2000s, bolt-on Samicks still retained the serial number on the neck plate. Some 2001 examples add an S prefix, but many do not.
Not every bolt-on Samick guitar uses a neck plate serial. Some bolt-on models with a recessed heel and recessed bolts did not use a normal neck plate at all. This is seen on some models from 1991 to 1997. On some models, the change happened around 1994.
For example, the TRL-650A dropped the neck plate around April to May 1994, switched to studs, and moved the serial number to a sticker on the back of the headstock. When that happens, the guitar uses the later headstock serial system instead of the older engraved neck plate format.
Samick Acoustic Serial Number
Samick acoustic serial numbers are harder to decode than Samick electric guitar serials. The most useful acoustic patterns are the 2-digit year formats used on many Korean-made guitars from the early and mid 1990s.
The first format is YYPPPPP(P).
The first 2 digits show the year.
The rest of the number is the production number.
Example: 9312845 reads as 1993, production number 12845. This format does not include the month.
Another acoustic format is YYMMPPPP.
The first 2 digits show the year.
The next 2 digits show the month.
The last 4 digits show the production number.
Example: 94071236 reads as July 1994, production number 1236.
Samick started building acoustics in Indonesia in 1993, but those early Indonesian models did not use serial numbers right away. The serial numbers were added in 1999. The first prefix was IS, and it quickly changed to SI.
Indonesian Samick Serial Number
Samick built its Indonesian factory in 1992. Acoustic guitar production started in 1993. Electric guitar production followed in 1995.
The Indonesian factory did not use serial numbers from its opening in 1992 until about 1999-2000. That is why some Indonesian Samick guitars from the late 1990s can be hard to date by serial number alone.
The first Indonesian prefixes are IS and then SI.
On many SI serial numbers, the first 2 digits after the prefix are read as the year.
Example: SI04123456 points to an Indonesian-made Samick from 2004.
By 2006, Samick production had largely shifted to Indonesia.
Greg Bennett Serial Number
Greg Bennett came into the Samick redesign in 1998. The Signature Series appeared in 2001. By 2002, Samick had introduced the new line with Greg Bennett on every headstock. Old Samick lines and Greg Bennett lines also overlapped for a short time around 2001 to 2002.
On Korean-made Greg Bennett guitars, the serial number starts with S. These guitars use the same S-prefix serial system as later Korean Samick guitars: SYYMMPPPP.
Example: S02071436 reads as July 2002, production number 1436.
On many Indonesian-made Greg Bennett guitars, the serial number starts with SI. The first 2 digits after SI are read as the year.
Example: SI04123654 points to an Indonesian-made guitar from 2004.
How To Date Samick Guitar With No Serial Number
No serial number does not mean the guitar is fake or wrong. Many early Samick-branded guitars have no serial number. Samick did not start using serial numbers on its own brand guitars until about 1987.
There are also later exceptions. Some Indonesian-made guitars from the factory’s early years have no serial number. Some Korean Artist Series Strat-style guitars from 1995-1996 also appear without serial. Many Korean-made Japanese-market models can be missing a serial number too.
Model Code
If your Samick guitar has no serial number, start with the model code. On Samick electric guitars from 1972 to 1987, model names usually begin with EG. Samick basses from that period usually start with EGB.
From 1988 to 1990, Samick changed to model codes like LS for Les Paul Standard, SA for Semi-Acoustic, and W for Warlock.
From 1991 to 2002, the naming system was simplified again, and through-neck models add a T at the end.
Logo
The logo can help too. Samick‘s early guitars used several older logos before the late 1980s. Around 1985, the Comic logo started to appear. From 1989 to 1994, Samick had the Wave logo. However, the old and new logos sometimes overlapped.
Headstock Shape
The headstock shape can narrow the date even more. On early Samick home-brand guitars, the most common shape is the Arched headstock. It is usually seen on guitars from 1979 to 1988. Guitars with Arched headstock often use the Tree Notes, Badge, or Comic logo.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, many models use the Pointed headstock. That shape belongs to about 1988 to 1992.
Around April 1992, Samick started changing to the Rounded headstock. Rounded shape becomes the main style from 1992 to 2001.
The headstock shape is another useful clue. One of the most common early Samick headstocks is the so-called Arched shape. It is usually seen from 1979 to 1988. Guitars with Arched headstock often use the Tree Notes, Badge, or Comic logo. That combination can place a guitar in the right period even when there is no serial number.
Guitar Electronics & Hardware
On guitars built before 1984, or on guitars that lost the old sticker serial, one of the best clues is the date ink-stamped on the side of the original box switch. That date is written as YY/MM/DD.
On early Hondo guitars made by Samick, original Grover Rotomatic tuners with the larger post style are another sign of a pre-1984 guitar.
A Brief History Of Samick Guitars & Where They Are Made
Samick Musical Instruments Co. was founded in September 1958 in Korea.
Samick‘s founder, Lee Hyo-ik, was a Korean importer of Baldwin pianos. Around 1960, he also began producing his own pianos. By 1964, the company had begun exporting pianos to the United States.
A year later, in 1965, Samick began producing acoustic guitars. In 1969, Samick, in partnership with the American company International Music Corporation (IMC), founded the Hondo Guitar Company.
They began producing inexpensive acoustic guitars under the Hondo brand. The instruments were manufactured according to American quality standards.
In 1972, the company began producing electric guitars. Mandolins and banjos followed in 1976.
In 1976, they released guitars under the Hondo II brand. They were based on the Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul. Since 1978, these guitars have been equipped with DiMarzio pickups.
Until 1989, Hondo guitars were primarily manufactured at the Samick factory in Korea.
In 1978, a Samick branch opened in Los Angeles. Samick instruments quickly gained popularity in the United States. In 1987, the American division, Samick Music Corporation (SMC), was established.
In 1992, the company opened a factory in Cileungsi near Bogor, Indonesia (PT Samick Indonesia). They moved production of the vast majority of their instruments there.
In 1995, Hondo Guitar Company was sold to MBT International, Musicorp. The Hondo brand was replaced by J.B. Player.
In 2006, Samick moved all production to Indonesia, and production in South Korea was discontinued.
In 2003, a group of Samick employees founded SPG (Sound Professional Guitar Co., Ltd.). The company acquired Samick’s Korean factory in 2006 after production ceased.
In 2011, a new line of instruments was released under the Greg Bennet Guitars label. Greg Bennett, a former Gibson luthier, designed this line for Samick. The electric guitars were equipped with Seymour Duncan-designed pickups, Grover tuners, and Wilkinson bridges.
Today, Samick produces guitars primarily under OEM license for several major brands, such as Fender, Squier, Gibson, Epiphone, Gretsch, Ibanez, Jackson, and many others.