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Korean baseball

The Incheon, Korea factory's Baseball Inspection Sticker

The "Baseball" inspection sticker is an easy way to spot a Samick built guitar. However, look closely because there are a few other manufacturers who use similar, but not identical, stickers.

Korean Baseball[]

Korean baseball 2-0

Yellow Korean

Korean-made guitars have used the Baseball since at least 1974, if not earlier. It does not include any helpful information as far as dating is concerned, just the inspector number and inspection count. The border and lines are a yellowish-gold, but sometimes tend more toward yellow, other times more toward gold. Sometimes, the inspector number was ink-stamped at the top.

Indonesian Baseball[]

Indonesian baseball

Indonesian Samicks also use a baseball inspection sticker, but not the exact same one. This one can be easily identified by it's much thicker gold border (as well as obvious differences in format).

H76 baseball-0

Other Baseballs[]

There are two known examples of baseball inspection stickers on guitars not made by Samick:

Unknown Manufacturer 1[]

The Hondo H-75/H-76/H-77 use a noticeably larger baseball with orangey-yellow border and lines. They often include the month and year of production written on the bottom part. These guitars are likely made either in India or Indonesia.

Indian baseball

Unknown Manufacturer 2[]

Some Lotus brand guitars and Hondo reissues from the '90s-00s which were made in India have a baseball with a white border and yellow lines, with a letter printed on the top.

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