Alternate serial number configurations for Yamaha Electric, Archtop, and Bass Guitars. The final four numbers are the unit number 13.

The third letter is the month June (see chart above.) The first and second numbers (following the 3 letters) are the day 18th. Several of the owners of the Japanese built model have found the letters 'NK' on the inside. The first two letters are the year Q0 and I2, so 2002. These were the only ones distributed to the USA. Bottom line, those of us who own an FG-360 model, actually have a guitar that Yamaha calls an FG-360N. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required. The 'N' may not show on the label, but to Yamaha, it is an FG-360N. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand.

These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).

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