Fillmore Johnny Ramone models

[Richard A]

Good morning all,

I know that I am likely going down a rabbit hole with this, but here goes: does anyone know how to decode the serial numbers of the Fillmore Johnny Ramone Models, specifically the white ones? I am aware that they made them in other colors (blue, which had s/n JRB-XXX, and then the blue sparkle which had s/n JRM-XXX) but for the white ones I have seen the following:

J-XXX (example here: https://reverb.com/item/74816735-mosrit ... 2001-white )
JR-XXX (example here: https://romanguitars.com/product/mosrit ... -sold-1609 )
JS-XXX. (example here: https://reverb.com/item/69840365-mosrit ... ber-js0101 )

The only difference that I can tell is that the very early ones had the Ramones logo with all the band's names on the headstock, (like the first example above) then after that it was an amended version of the Ramones seal with just Johnny's name. Does anyone know what significance there is, if any, to the different serial numbers? I know that the answer will probably be, "what happens in Japan stays in Japan" but I wanted to see if anyone had any clues. Thanks!

[Richard A]

Ok, I have been researching this and have found the following information:

1) The first run of 100 was produced in 2001, and had the full Ramones logo on the headstock, with all 4 original band members names. The serial numbers on these were in the J-XXXX format, so, like the one in the link below, J-0043. The COA was gold and white and was hand signed by Johnny, as far as I can tell, since the signatures are different on each of the examples I have been able to find of these first production run COAs. The very early models of this run did not have the Ramones stenciled cases, but the later ones appeared to have.

https://reverb.com/ca/item/71185838-mos ... 2001-white

2) Presumably for legal reasons, the next production run did not have the full Ramones logo on the headstock, but an amended version of the Ramones logo, only featuring Johnny's name. I *think*, but am not sure, that these were also produced in 2001-02, and the serial number on these was in the JR-XXX format, so, like the two examples in the links below, JR-000 and JR-019. I believe production was limited to 100 on these also. The COAs for these are gold/silver but do not feature the gold seal of the first run, and do not appear to be hand signed.

https://romanguitars.com/product/mosrit ... -sold-1609
https://reverb.com/item/619934-mosrite- ... s-case-coa

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot- ... el-guitar/
https://reverb.com/item/6759786-johnny- ... apan-blue3)

In 2003, the

[Richard A]

Ok, I have been researching this and have found the following information:

1) The first run of 100 was produced in 2001, and had the full Ramones logo on the headstock, with all 4 original band members names. The serial numbers on these were in the J-XXXX format, so, like the one in the link below, J-0043. The COA was gold and white and was hand signed by Johnny, as far as I can tell, since the signatures are different on each of the examples I have been able to find of these first production run COAs. The COAs refer to the guitars as "Ramones 1974-1996 Models". The very early models of this run did not have the Ramones stenciled cases, but the later ones appeared to have. This production run is the only one to feature the full Ramones logo on the headstock.

https://reverb.com/ca/item/71185838-mos ... 2001-white

2) Presumably for legal reasons, the next production run did not have the full Ramones logo on the headstock, but an amended version of the Ramones logo, only featuring Johnny's name. I *think*, but am not sure, that these were produced in 2001-02, and the serial number on these was in the JR-XXX format, so, like the two examples in the links below, JR-000 and JR-019. I believe production was limited to 100 on these also. The COAs for these are gold/silver but do not feature the gold seal of the first run, and do not appear to be hand signed, and now refer to the guitars as "MARK 2 Johnny Ramone signature models". The cases for these were stenciled with the Ramones logo with all the usual case candy.

https://romanguitars.com/product/mosrit ... -sold-1609
https://reverb.com/item/619934-mosrite- ... s-case-coa

2a) I believe that this production run also included a blue version, limited to 100, with the serial number format JRB-XXX, so as in the examples below JRB-000 and JRB-008. The COAs for these also referred to the guitars as "MARK 2 Johnny Ramone signature models", which is why I think that these were produced around the same time as the second run outlined above with the JR-XXX serial numbers. The cases for these were stenciled with the Ramones logo with all the usual case candy.

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot- ... el-guitar/
https://reverb.com/item/6759786-johnny- ... apan-blue3)

3) In 2003, there was a third production run of 300 white (and *I think* also 300 blue, although I am not sure) "Johnny Ramone signature standard version models", as these were now referred to on the COAs. As with the second production run, these only had Johnny's name on the headstock. The serial number format for the white version of this run appears in two different formats JS-XXX and JS-XXXX, examples of both, can be seen below, JS-0101, JS-0177 and JS-059 (which oddly has a Ventures II headstock, a mystery I have yet to solve; something looks off about this one in general). The COAs for these "signature standard" models appeared in both red and also in blue, as can be seen below. I have been unable to locate an example online of the blue model from this production run. The cases for these were stenciled with the Ramones logo with all the usual case candy.

https://reverb.com/item/69840365-mosrit ... ber-js0101
https://reverb.com/item/84435331-fillmo ... -1974-1996
https://reverb.com/item/26581237-mosrit ... -with-ohsc

4) Finally, in 2004, the last guitars produced as part of the official Johnny Ramone signature models were, sadly, the Johnny Ramone Forever models. My understanding is that he had been working on this with Fillmore prior to his death. There were only 30 of these produced, in blue sparkle with gold hardware and a serial number format of JRM-XXX; a good example, JM-012 can be seen below. The cases for these were stenciled with the Ramones logo with all the usual case candy.

https://reverb.com/item/52629277-mosrit ... e-12-of-30

5) I am aware that there was also a gold version produced, perhaps around 2003, in very limited quantities (less than 30), but I have been unable to locate any solid information on these, apart from the example below. I believe the the serial number format for these was JG-XXX.

https://reverb.com/item/83202944-mosrit ... japan-2000


This is in no way a definitive history, but it is all of the information I have been able to collect. Please feel free to add to, correct or supplement the information above.

Thanks,

Richard A.