Key Instruments

A list of instruments, variations and general production dates for key vintage instruments from Fender, Gibson and Music Man. These classic instruments shaped the history of modern popular music.

This list is a bit of fun and is not intended to be comprehensive. The odd error may also have crept in, so I wouldn’t rely on it as a piece of research material. Apologies too if I’ve missed anything crucial…

Notes:

To order the table by a specific column, click on the arrows in the table header (ascending and descending).
The dates are shown as text and will be ordered alphabetically, not by date order.
To search the table, enter characters in the search box. Only rows containing the search text will be displayed. To re-display all rows, delete the text in the search box.

Key Instruments:

	Brand	Model	Key Variations	Type	Vintage Production
1	Fender	Bass VI		Bass	1961-1975; 1995-1998
2	Fender	Bronco		Guitar	1967-1980
3	Fender	Bullet		Guitar	1981-1982
4	Fender	Coronado	I; II; XII; Antigua; Wildwood	Guitar	1966-1970
5	Fender	Duo-Sonic	II	Guitar	1964-1969; 1993-1997
6	Fender	Electric XII		Guitar	1965-1969
7	Fender	Jaguar		Guitar	1962-1975; 1995-1999
8	Fender	Jazz		Bass	1960-present
9	Fender	Jazzmaster		Guitar	1958-1980
10	Fender	Lead		Guitar	1979-1982
11	Fender	Musicmaster	II	Guitar	1956-1982
12	Fender	Mustang	Competition	Guitar	1964-1982; 1993-1998
13	Fender	Precision	Elite	Bass	1951-present
14	Fender	Starcaster		Guitar	1974-1980
15	Fender	Stratocaster	Elite; Standard; American Standard	Guitar	1954-present
16	Fender	Telecaster	Broadcaster; Nocaster; Esquire; Custom; Deluxe; Thinline; Elite; American Standard	Guitar	1950-present
17	Fender	Telecaster		Bass	1968-1979
18	Gibson	Byrdland		Guitar	1955-1992
19	Gibson	Corvus	I/II/III	Guitar	1982-1984
20	Gibson	EB	0; 1; 2; 3; L	Bass	1953-1979
21	Gibson	EDS-1275		Guitar	1958-1968; 1977-1990; 1991-1994
22	Gibson	ES-125	T; D	Guitar	1941-1943; 1946-1970
23	Gibson	ES-150	T; D	Guitar	1936-1942; 1946-1956; 1969-1975
24	Gibson	ES-175	T; D	Guitar	1949-present
25	Gibson	ES-330	T; D; C	Guitar	1959-1972
26	Gibson	ES-335	T; D; C; Dot; Reissue; Trini Lopez	Guitar	1958-present
27	Gibson	ES-345	S; V	Guitar	1959-1983
28	Gibson	ES-355	S; V, Lucille	Guitar	1958-1982
29	Gibson	Explorer	I/83; Custom Graphic; E2; CMT; Reissue	Guitar	1958-1959; 1963; 1975-1980; 1981-1989; 1990-present
30	Gibson	Firebird	Reverse; Non-Reverse; I; III; V; VII; 76/Bicentennial; Reissue	Guitar	1963-1965 (reverse); 1965-1969 (non-reverse); 1976; 1990-present
31	Gibson	Flying V	V2; Heritage; CMT; I/83; The V; XPL; Reissue	Guitar	1958-1959; 1962-1963; 1966-1969; 1975-1980; 1981-1982; 1990-present
32	Gibson	Grabber		Bass	1973-1983
33	Gibson	L5	C; E; S	Guitar	1922-1958; 1948-1982; present
34	Gibson	L6-S	Custom; Deluxe	Guitar	1973-1981
35	Gibson	Les Paul	Junior; Special; Deluxe; Standard; Custom; Recording; DC; Gold Top, Artisan, The Paul	Guitar	1952-1963; 1968-Present
36	Gibson	Melody Maker		Guitar	1959-1971; 1977-1983; 1986-1993
37	Gibson	Moderne	Korina Heritage; Reissue	Guitar	1982-1983
38	Gibson	RD	Custom; Standard; Artist; CMT	Guitar	1977-1982
39	Gibson	S-1		Guitar	1976-1980
40	Gibson	SG	Junior; Special; Standard; Custom; 100; 200	Guitar	1959-1981; 1983-present
41	Gibson	Super 400	N; P; C	Guitar	1934-present
42	Gibson	Thunderbird	Reverse; Non-Reverse; II; IV	Bass	1963-1969; 1983-1984; 1987-present
43	Music Man	Sabre		Bass	1979-present
44	Music Man	Stingray		Bass	1976-present
45	Music Man	Stingray	I/II	Guitar	1976-1982

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