Gibson used a straight sequential numbering system (with some inconsistencies).
In 1902, Orville Gibson’s mandolin company kept production numbers like a secret recipe. By the 1920s, with the introduction of the L-5 archtop, they started serial numbers, but consistency was a dream. gibson guitar production numbers
When Ted McCarty introduced the Les Paul Model in 1952, they kept better, but still imperfect, records. These numbers are now gospel: Gibson used a straight sequential numbering system (with