As to the THROUGH 2006 comments, I'd say this:
Both 6 & 7 digit numbers were reportedly used. The first three digits are the day of the year, the next two (or three) are the number in that month's production, and the last digit designates the year. Any doubts regarding the year of manufacture during this period can be cured by a quick examination of the control layout. It is regarded as a "Refined Fly" if it is 2003 or later.
Interpreting the serial number:
I'd argue that it's most helpful to think of the serial number as 3 nodes, and each node needs some interpretation. I think it's helpful to use an example to explain. So let's take my serial number: 3430678BMH USA. Breaking just the numeric part into 3 nodes, I come up with 343|067|8. The first node, 343 is the day of the year my guitar was created. This has to be taken in conjunction with the last node, designating the year, of 8. Since we're talking about guitars made through 2006, that logically must refer to 1998. So day number 343 of 1998 happens to be Wednesday, December 9, 1998. That explains the 1st and 3rd nodes. But how do we interpret the 2nd node? The earlier comments said this was the number in that day's production. But I find that problematic. First, if mine was number 067, that would seem to say they made at least 67 guitars that day (12/9/1998). Further, the fact that the node is 3 digits implies that they were possibly making upwards of 100 (hence the need for 3 digits) guitars a day. Discussing with vjmanzo, and relying on some of his stats around daily/monthly/yearly production, that just doesn't seem reasonable. He has a stat from Ken Parker indicating they were producing around 3000 guitars a year back in those days. Averaging that out, we're looking at roughly 250/month, 50-60/week, and maybe 10-12/day. So for that middle node to indicate the number in that day's production doesn't make sense. If they're only making 10-12 a day, then having a number as 067 doesn't add up. And having 3 digits, to accommodate numbers upwards of 100, makes even less sense. I think it's more likely that the middle node is intended to indicate the number in that month's production, rather than that day's production. And so there again, that node has to be interpreted in conjunction with the other 2 nodes; because the month in question would only be known by interpreting the 1st and 3rd nodes. So again using my serial as an example, day 343 (1st node) of 1998 (3rd node) falls in the month of December. So my guitar was presumably number 067 (2nd node) made in December of 1998.
Hope that helps, and I haven't thoroughly confused everyone.
