According to a book about Fender guitars (I forget the author) the original SM was 26" (this is what I have, 1954) which was dropped in favor of the choice of 24" or 221/2". The book claims that of the three, Leo liked the sound of the 26" the best. It says that the change was because of string breakage and, as Pat says, the bar slant problem.
I'm not sure if the pickup blend control went on at the same time as the scale change but that original SM does not have it. Both on/both off (per each neck) is the option. Is this a case of older is not always better?
Sure would be nice to find the time to start playing it.[This message was edited by Jon Light on 10-24-99]