How Many Gravis UltraSounds?

The question came up a while ago. Just how commercially unsuccessful was the Gravis UltraSound? There appears to be no public information about the sales volume of the UltraSound. But now, looking at a sample of 3 (three) classic GUS cards, it occurs to me: Could the serial number be exactly that? I know that’s extrapolating a lot from very little.

Lots of folks put pictures of their GUSes on the Internet. Not too many show the reverse side where the S/N sticker is usually located. So let’s start with mine:

• GUS 2.4, PCB week 47/92, S/N: K33579
• GUS 3.7, PCB week 50/93, S/N: K103633
• GUS 3.73, PCB week 16/94, S/N: K119146

If the serial number is a true serial number, it would mean there were somewhere upwards of 120,000 GUS Classics made, perhaps around 150,000 (in 1994, the GUS MAX took over).  The 2.4 is an early revision (2.2 was the first production rev), so it has a relatively low serial number. The 3.7 and 3.73 are fairly close to each other in age so makes sense their serial numbers wouldn’t be very far apart. The 2.4 and 3.7 are a year apart so there’d be a much bigger gap.

GUS MAX does not appear to have a real serial number. The S/N looks to be a production week/year (mine says “Serial Number 0695”).

What serial number does your GUS Classic have? With enough data, it should become apparent if the serial number looks like a simple counter incremented for each card, and it should be possible to estimate how many there were. Please list the version, the date code etched on the reverse of the PCB, the serial number, and other identifying information if it seems relevant.

Update: Older GUS MAX cards appear to have six- or possibly five-digit serial numbers in the same format as GUS Classic cards.

Update: And here is the complete list so far:

• GUS 2.4, GF1 43/92, S/N: K15404 (batyra.pl)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 43/92, S/N: K17728 (vogons.org)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 41/92, S/N: K20617 (eBay Kleinanzeigen)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 47/92, S/N: K20695 (eBay Kleinanzeigen)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 47/92, S/N: K24466 (eBay listing)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 week unknown, S/N: K25871 (RK)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 week 47/92, S/N: K33400 (eBay listing)
• GUS 2.4, GF1 week 47/92, S/N: K33579
• GUS 2.4, GF1 week 47/92, S/N: K39582 (hardforum.com)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 45/92 , S/N: K48027 (reddit)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 45/92, S/N: K48246 (auction listing)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 51/92, S/N: K53728 (dosdays.co.uk)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 51/92, S/N: K55883 (auction listing)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 51/92, S/N: K56240 (auction listing)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 45/92 , S/N: K57605 (wavetable.nl)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 47/92, S/N: K60420 (auction listing)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 47/92, S/N: K60624 (retronn.de)
• GUS 3.4, PCB week 36/93, S/N: K67727 (eBay listing)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 25/93, S/N: K68146 (oboroc.com)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 25/93?, S/N: K71451 (audiofanzine.com)
• GUS 3.4, GF1 week 25/93, S/N: K71891 (vogons.org)
• GUS MAX 1.7, CS4231 week 29/93, S/N: K102816 (phantom.sannata.org)
• GUS 3.7, PCB week 50/93, S/N: K103633
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 12/94, S/N: K104862 (twitter/lazygamereviews)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 12/94, S/N: K106776 (eBay listing)
• GUS MAX 1.8?, GF1 week 02/94, S/N: K107427 (Wikipedia)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 14/94, S/N: K110046 (auction listing)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 29/94, S/N: K114492 (imgur.com)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 15/94, S/N: K116188 (linustechtips.com)
• GUS 3.73, PCB week 16/94, S/N: K119146
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 34/94, S/N: K120306 (vccollection.ru)
• GUS 3.74, GF1 week 52/93, SN: K125809 (vcfed.org)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 34/94, S/N: K126321 (oldschooldaw.com)
• GUS MAX 1.8, CS4231 week 35/94, S/N: K128008 (twitter/lazygamereviews)

So far the theory is holding, but more data is needed.

Update: Some amount of serial numbers was almost certainly skipped around the beginning of 1994. Without doing a statistical analysis, I believe that with 25+ samples, finding nothing at all in the 75k-100k range is highly improbable.