1951 Slab ash body
Butterscotch blond finish.
Black bakelite pickguard, covering both horns.
Positionable finger rest with one screw
Single coil bar pickup, with black string winding.
Serial number on bridge plate.
One piece maple neck, with skunk stripe, 20 frets, 34" scale.
String through body, bridge has two fibre saddles, each holding two strings.
Narrow tele-style headstock
Kluson tuners
1953
1954 Contoured ash body with bevelled edges
Two tone sunburst finish as standard.
White single ply plastic pickguard, (though black pickguard still available
on blond models until 1955).
 1955 Pickup poles are staggered, with a raised A pole.
Bridge saddles are changed to steel towards the end of the year.
Serial number moved to the neck plate.
1956 Sunburst models are Alder, blond models remain ash
Earliest examples of custom colours are made: peach pink, black, light blue
and metallic blue. Custom paint colours available based on DuPont automobile
colours
String winding changes from black to white
Neck shape is less rounded and more V shaped
1957 Split-coil two piece humbucking pickup.
New gold coloured anodized aluminum pickguard, covering only the lower horn,
but also mounting the pickup, input jack, and tone/vol pots
Wider headstock to match the Stratocaster
Finger rest now has two screws
Price: $219.50 (custom colours 5% extra)
 1958 The standard sunburst finish is now three-tone rather
than two-tone
Pickup poles are now level.
Redesigned bridge with four saddles and no longer strung through the body
Chrome covers made smaller
Neck shape is less V shaped, and more U shaped
1959 Rosewood fingerboard over the same maple neck.
New celluloid three layer white pickguard (custom coloured instruments), or
four layer tortoiseshell (usually for sunburst and blond models). Includes metal
under layer to provide sheilding
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