1959 model 425 pickup position

[nmiller]

Howdy,

I recently acquired a '59 425; there are plenty of dings and a couple of cracks in the pickguard, but it's a delight to play. This is one of the 425s with the pickup in the bridge position (like a 450 without the neck pickup), not toward the middle like most. From what I can tell by looking at the register, this was only done in 1959 and only on some guitars that year, correct? Does anyone know how many were made like this? Was it a whim of the designers, a special-order option, or...?

[libratune]

Seems to be random. Most have the pickup placed in line with the middle pickguard screw on the bass side; some have the pickup closer to the bridge by about an inch or so.

Here's the 425 1959 models in the Register: http://www.rickresource.com/register/in ... 59&order=6

FWIW, the model 900, a short-scale from that era, also has the single pickup placed close to the bridge.