Serial number doesn't match with list

[odd]

I bought my Bjärton J-45 late fall or early winter 1969, …or so I thought. The serial number says it’s produced in 1971, but I know for a fact that the guitar is somewhat older than this. (I brought it with me when I served in the army in 1971). Robbi tells me this model came in 1970, so if that’s right, I must have bought it in 1970. Anyway, the guitar’s serial number and the list does not match. Robbi is certain the list is right and suggests a misprint on the guitars label. Anybody else with a serial number that doesn’t match?

[robbi]

I have to correct you on one thing, your model was in the catalouge from 1971. The J-45 from 1966 is a different type. So it might have come inbetween these catalouges and 1969. The real odd thing is the missmatch of the serialnumber. So your guitar might be from 1969, I have no reason to doudbt your memory so the only explaination I can think of is that the label got wrong numbers. For example if they mixed up the second number and wrote 1 instead of 0, the placed the guitar two years ahead.

I meen, these things might as well have happened in a factory there everybody works in high tempo. I have heard of wrong written labels before but never in Bjärton guitars, before now.

The serialnumber list is given to us from a former factory boss of the old Bjärton factory and it was the official register so I have no reason to doubt it eather. And this far it has been matching good with my own observations and calculations on dating.

But, if anybody has guitars that doesnt match with the serialnumber list, please let us know.

Odd, this meens that you maby have an unique guitar?

[odd]

You may doubt my memory, Robbi. I often do.
But as I told you in the e-mail: I went to Oslo to buy a radio for my Volvo PV, bought in 1969, and bought the guitar instead. I didn't have enough money (a bit over 900 Nkr.), so my sister's fiance, who went with me, lent me the rest. This was late in the year. I remember, because the guitar was only a few months old when it, on new year's eve, was taken from a cold car and straight into a warm room. The varnish crackled and the guitar got a cobweb of fine lines in the varnish. (I haven't found out how to post pictures, or else I should have shown you) My sister and her fiance broke up in 1970, so that indicates that the year really was 1969.
Of course it's only my word against the serial number list, but to me it really doesn't matter. This is a unique guitar with or without the serial number. I have loved it and played it almost every day since I bought it.
(A neighbour, who also is a band musician, heard it for the first time a couple of days ago. The next day he came up to me and said: "I can't forget the tone of that guitar.")

[calle]

Hi Odd,

Lucky us, robbi and me, that the serialnumber missmatches otherwise we had not heard your history about when you bought this guitar. I also think that the J-45 is really some piece of great craftmans work and my J45 has a great sound.

I sold a J45 to a musician some years ago and he uses this J45 always, he loves it so much so he sold his Gibson j45 and told me that his Bjärton J45 is better in all ways.

[robbi]

caljon said:

Hi Odd,

Lucky us, robbi and me, that the serialnumber missmatches otherwise we had not heard your history about when you bought this guitar. I also think that the J-45 is really some piece of great craftmans work and my J45 has a great sound.

I sold a J45 to a musician some years ago and he uses this J45 always, he loves it so much so he sold his Gibson j45 and told me that his Bjärton J45 is better in all ways.

Hi Odd,
I agree with Caljon, you have a great story to tell and the fact that you can connect all your other memories with the buying of this guitar makes it rock steady.

I checked my reference list, I was working with before we got the official list and I would have been placed the serial the year 1971. So I really don't think is something wrong with the official list. I collected many serial numbers for a while and put together a list with of certain dates based on people remembering wich year they bought their guitars and so on. The serialnumbers close to yours is all dated 1971, based on different peoples testamony. So for me that proves that the official list is correct.

Still this guitar must have been made 1969 and it missmatches with the serial number list?? And it makes it the first known one doing that. Why? Who knows. My guess is maby, like meansioned before, that some numbers got mixed up labeling this guitar or it could even be that they acctually were a bit ahead with the production line and it wasn't supposed to be shipped that soon? A former worker of Bjärton said to me that things sometimes got mixed up as they where trying to produce the quantity that was needed. Somehow the serial got mixed up, and we will problaby never know the whole truth about it.

Would be nice to see some pics? You need to have them on the Internet and link them at this forum. A good and free uplouding site is photobucket.

This is how you add pics using photobucket.

1. Surf to www.photobucket.com
2. Register yourself as a user, its free.
3. Upload your pics to photobucket.
4. Write a thread chose and insert the links into your message:

Copy the the link from Photobucket (chose direct link under the photo you wish to upload)
Place it between the signs [/img] or press the icon for photo in the toolbar and it pops up automatically.


Regards
Robbi

[odd]

Thanks for the lesson, Robbi. I'll give it a go.
Pictures of my old, battered (and dusty), but loved J-45:

[robbi]

Nice piece of wood Odd!
The tailpiece and the adjustable bridge is typical 70's J-45. I can't see the headstock but I guess its the same with that? Its a mystery this guitar. I also guess that it has a bult neck? Wonder when this version was introduced? We have another thread about the different types of this model. I would guess that around 1968-69 they started with this type. The reason was anyway that Hagström had some wishes about the model, to make it look more like a typical Hagström. You can see it with the tailpiece for example. The Bjärton-labeled guitar was sold exlusivly in Sweden, but I guess the Nordic countries as well and the Hagström version (H-45) was for export.

[odd]

I have read somewhere that it was sold as Hagström outside Scandinavia. I bought mine at the Hagström music store in Skippergata in Oslo (Where Imerslund musikk is today).
Pics of headstock and bolt on neck coming up:

[bloshak]

I've followed this thread with some interest, since i have a J45 myself. According to the serial numbers list, mine is built in the spring of 1970 (sn 109 146). I can't verify this in any way, since I bought it in a pawn shop sometime around 1990.

Judging from the pictures, we have twin guitars: chrome-tail, sunburst, bolt-on neck, tortoise pickguard, even the same headstock and tuners.
The only detail that I can spot as somewhat different is the label. Where your label says: "BJÄRTON MUSIK AB 208 20 BJÄRNUM", mine says "BJÄRTON MUSIKINSTRUMENTFABRIK BJÄRNUM".

I couldn't remember ever having seen your type of label, so I tried to find examples to see if that could maybe help solve the mystery, but so far I have only come across this one:
sittner.se/bjarton/hagstrom/index.php?alt=07 where the serial number also indicates 1971. Incidentally, it is the exact same build, plus the electronics.

[bloshak]

Great story, by the way!

[odd]

Unless guitars can travel in time........

[robbi]

odd said:

Unless guitars can travel in time........

Well, with all this myserious things about Vintage guitars, who knows!