There's a very fine account by Bob Leggitt here:
The fact that Young Chang built many Squier, Contemporary and Silver Standard top end guitars and indeed Fender branded guitars between 1985 and 89 muddies the water.
Serial numbers for very early Young Chang (Fenix) were stamped into the neck plate below a large Y. C. - Continued use of the E prefix signified the Incheon workshop. Many examples begin E7 and some assume this represents 1987 as per Squier numbering (Eighties+7=87). I don't know if this is correct. It may be for 97, but I don't believe any satisfactory number convention continued.
A vast number of guitars carry an E105 prefix, I've heard rumours of production runs totalling 75,000 units.
Each individual guitar needs to be considered in relation to other factors, as many were built using elements from their previous stockpile. It is thought this includes the Fender style pickup with visible pole pieces. Once stocks were exhausted a lane sensor style pickup was used. This was a stacked coil humbucker, and is likely responsible for their unique sound. (Possibly manufactured for them by Cort). Many Frankenstein examples exist today.
In 1990 Fenix changed the colour of the serial number decal and sadly began to reuse the original numbers. This coincides with a subtle redesign of the headstock shape, thought to have been necessary to avoid any legal challenge from Fender themselves. The headstocks were further altered around 1995 incorporating a scalloped lower lip. Other models maintained the Gibson, open book design or mimicked the Charvel/PRS styles. Post 95 examples can be determined by the newer lowercase fenix Logo.
The best examples remain in the hands of savvy collectors, with very few early examples appearing for sale. Bargains may still be found around Europe, if you're lucky.Statistics: Posted by gkkes — Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:23 pm
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