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Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:50 am
by Mad Season
Hi there, fellow Talon players.
I have purchased a Talon V resently. A red devil with all the kick one might expect from an axe like this. But I can not find a serial number on it. Not on the headstock, not on the neck, not in the heel pocket. Does anyone know where I might look for it?

Cheers
Mad Season
Norway

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 8:45 am
by Richard
If it's not on the back of the headstock it's nowhere. It might have been sanded off, or might have been covered during a refinish. Sometimes you might be able to see it in a picture if you scan the back of the headstock using a flatbed scanner, or taking a picture in bright daylight and then fiddling with the contrast settings in a photo editing program.

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:23 am
by Mad Season
Hi Richard. Thanks for swift response. I doubt it beeing sanded off. The Made in Japan and Designed in USA is vividly there. Let's see if I might get a pic posted here. I will try the pictricks You mentioned too. It do look like a sticker is missing from that area though. Did any of these come with the serial on a sticker?

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 11:17 am
by Mad Season
Some pictures of the guitar?
A link to Norwegian site where the guitar currently is for sale:
https://www.finn.no/bap/forsale/ad.html ... =163846339

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:20 pm
by Richard
Is the guitar yours? The serial should be 'above' the "Made in Japan". On one of the pics (the 9th) it looks like the neutral wood grain was copied across the serial number to prevent it from being visible.

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:31 am
by Mad Season
Hi again, Richard.
Thanks again for swift response. Yes, that is my guitar. The pale area just above the Made in Japan is adhesive leftovers from a sticker. I suspekt this Talon might have had its serial on a sticker. Do You know if this might be the case? There have been no sanding or prior engravement on this headstock as far as I can see.

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:55 am
by Richard
The serials are never on a sticker. However the serial ink may have stick to the sticker too much and worn off when the sticker was removed. Can you feel any roughness on the patch where the sticker used to be? I do suggest you also try the photo "hacks" I mentioned earlier.

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2019 9:34 pm
by Istvan
Hi!

First of all, you're Talon V looks great and it's very rare to find one in such condition. It's all original, you can be 100% sure. Even the DiMarzio logos are in great shape. Those logos tend to fade away in most cases. These guitars were not popular for many years and you can come across many Talons that were either refinished or simply just beaten up in during the years. As Richard sad, at first I also thought that the serial numbers must have been sanded off. But after seeing the pictures, this is not the case. This particular guitar is a Heartfield Talon V, not a Heartfield by Fender version or not even a Fender Talon branded one. On my Talon Vs there are oval stickers saying "Design Fender USA". Those are from late '91. The sticker on your Talon V is a very simple sticker, not a fancy one. There aren' t any Fender logos on the guitar. I think your guitar is a very early model, it might be one of the kick off guitars, or even a pre-serial production one. Fender wanted to establish a new brand, one that was different from Fender. As sales figures were not that good, I believe later Fender started to use its own logo on these guitars to generate sales. Your guitar might have been made earlier than the serial numbering method was determined. But, of course, it's just me guessing. If you take the neck off, you might find some letters on the neck. Are you planning to keep it or it will be for sale? Have fun with that beauty.

Re: Heartfield Talon V without serial number?

Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 11:28 am
by Mad Season
Istvan wrote: Thu Nov 28, 2019 9:34 pm Hi!

First of all, you're Talon V looks great and it's very rare to find one in such condition. It's all original, you can be 100% sure. Even the DiMarzio logos are in great shape. Those logos tend to fade away in most cases. These guitars were not popular for many years and you can come across many Talons that were either refinished or simply just beaten up in during the years. As Richard sad, at first I also thought that the serial numbers must have been sanded off. But after seeing the pictures, this is not the case. This particular guitar is a Heartfield Talon V, not a Heartfield by Fender version or not even a Fender Talon branded one. On my Talon Vs there are oval stickers saying "Design Fender USA". Those are from late '91. The sticker on your Talon V is a very simple sticker, not a fancy one. There aren' t any Fender logos on the guitar. I think your guitar is a very early model, it might be one of the kick off guitars, or even a pre-serial production one. Fender wanted to establish a new brand, one that was different from Fender. As sales figures were not that good, I believe later Fender started to use its own logo on these guitars to generate sales. Your guitar might have been made earlier than the serial numbering method was determined. But, of course, it's just me guessing. If you take the neck off, you might find some letters on the neck. Are you planning to keep it or it will be for sale? Have fun with that beauty.
Hi Istvan, and many thanks for an interesting response. I do keep learning here, as this Heartfield somewhat is an enigma to me. I have not found any traces of serial number, and I am pretty sure it's not been sanded off. But there has been a sticker there that's missing - this sticker must most likely been rectangular with rounded edges. I had the neck off once, but can't recall any letters there either. The guitar plays like a dream, the floyd works swell and the sounds are spectacular. So I do plan on keeping it. But I have a policy that all my guitars allways are up for sale at the right price. As is this one. So no plans on selling, but time will tell.

I had some issues with finding the right hex key for the nut and bridge. It turned out to be 9/64" Could that tell anything? Have no other guitars that requires such a key.

Anyways - cheers from Norway. Happy holidays.