New Melody Maker Pics!

[okiegibson]

I really like Singlecut's white one, damn it now I need a white one too!

Looking at them side by side, looks like Gibson really got them right.

Okay I Need one of each color in the single and double pick-up please, that would be $2,200 for 6 guitars, please drive through and come again.

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by okiegibson

I really like Singlecut's white one, damn it now I need a white one too!

Looking at them side by side, looks like Gibson really got them right.

Okay I Need one of each color in the single and double pick-up please, that would be $2,200 for 6 guitars, please drive through and come again.

i got bad news tonight, a friend who can really spray nitro and guitars in general[cars +bikes too] offered to do a few of these for me if i was interested in some solid colors ala 60's fenders,so he could put a few in his pic folder,damn him,damn him to hell,i'm trying not to think about it,he knows me too well
i'm not thinking about or will think about,
candy apple red
lake placid blue
sherwood forest green metalic
charcoal mist
burgandy mist
shoreline gold...........
make it stop, please...................................

[okiegibson]

How about an Inverness Green one I found on the web:

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by okiegibson

How about an Inverness Green one I found on the web:

awesome, hate that body style,but the color is cool, but then again i'm not thinking about any of this

[scooby]

Originally Posted by singlecut

i got bad news tonight, a friend who can really spray nitro and guitars in general[cars +bikes too] offered to do a few of these for me if i was interested in some solid colors ala 60's fenders,so he could put a few in his pic folder,damn him,damn him to hell,i'm trying not to think about it,he knows me too well
i'm not thinking about or will think about,
candy apple red
lake placid blue
sherwood forest green metalic
charcoal mist
burgandy mist
shoreline gold...........
make it stop, please...................................

Candy Apple Red, & Lake Placid Blue.......

[Wattage]

OK so I had it with me for practice last night with my LP Standard.

It is a very 3D sounding pickup/guitar combo and I have to say it is the quietest single coil I think I have ever used. It is light on the bottom end and a bit towards the bright side but is still a great sounding guitar. Being the only guitarist in my band I need a bit more fullness from the low end in most situations but I was very pleased with it. I am sure 11's will give me a little more of the "chunk" I want but the MM has an almost Tele like thing going on that is really cool.

Comparing it to the Standard isn't quite fair because the Standard sounds like a brick ****house but it definitely has it's own thing going on. I am almost certainly ordering another (in white) and dropping a humbucker in on it. It will sound massive I am sure. I love having a light, simple guitar like this - makes me realize how much I really miss my old Junior.

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by Wattage

OK so I had it with me for practice last night with my LP Standard.

It is a very 3D sounding pickup/guitar combo and I have to say it is the quietest single coil I think I have ever used. It is light on the bottom end and a bit towards the bright side but is still a great sounding guitar. Being the only guitarist in my band I need a bit more fullness from the low end in most situations but I was very pleased with it. I am sure 11's will give me a little more of the "chunk" I want but the MM has an almost Tele like thing going on that is really cool.

Comparing it to the Standard isn't quite fair because the Standard sounds like a brick ****house but it definitely has it's own thing going on. I am almost certainly ordering another (in white) and dropping a humbucker in on it. It will sound massive I am sure. I love having a light, simple guitar like this - makes me realize how much I really miss my old Junior.

nice looking melody maker you got there bro.may i make a suggestion, on the next 1 you get and are considering a humbucker mod, i've got a few of the old melody makers and have 1 with a dogear p-90 and 1 with paf.
to be honest, the p-90 kills the paf.
if you miss your old jr, trust me, you'll be happier with a p-90.
for my ears,these mahogany slabs, be them , jr's , melody makers,specials, sound best with p-90's.
i've had my share of vintage jr's , specials, that got modded thru time with humbuckers,and it's not really an upgrade to my ears.
just throwing this out there for discussion,and it's worked for me
also, if someone is willing to post/ host a pic for me , i can forward a pic of said modded melody makers.
better yet, grab 2 more and have 3 and have 1 with a p-90 and 1 with a bucker

[Bluesbubba]

Does anyone know how much Saul at Centre City Music in San Diego is selling the Melody Maker for He's always sells for much lower. I know I'm scrimping

[Mr. Clean]

I just placed an order for a Vintage Sunburst via MF. I'll post a report of my own after I have an opportunity to give it a good look-see.

[Wattage]

Originally Posted by singlecut

nice looking melody maker you got there bro.may i make a suggestion, on the next 1 you get and are considering a humbucker mod, i've got a few of the old melody makers and have 1 with a dogear p-90 and 1 with paf.
to be honest, the p-90 kills the paf.
if you miss your old jr, trust me, you'll be happier with a p-90.
for my ears,these mahogany slabs, be them , jr's , melody makers,specials, sound best with p-90's.
i've had my share of vintage jr's , specials, that got modded thru time with humbuckers,and it's not really an upgrade to my ears.
just throwing this out there for discussion,and it's worked for me
also, if someone is willing to post/ host a pic for me , i can forward a pic of said modded melody makers.
better yet, grab 2 more and have 3 and have 1 with a p-90 and 1 with a bucker

Much appreciated input, thanks. If I skip replacing the Jr. I might bolt on a P-90 but we'll see. I am holding off on any new purchases for a bit to see what the new Classic Custom is like.
Here's a few under the hood shots of the new MM/ I swapped in an OD cap while I had it open. More out of superstition than anything else plus I like orange

The little pup measured out about 4.79k on the meter fwiw.

[Shredrrr]

More pics and some clips too plz =)

[Wattage]

There isn't much more to photograph they're so simple!

These are 2 quickie clips I did the night I got it.

Lotsa clams clean and dirty.

[neon333]

Originally Posted by Wattage

There isn't much more to photograph they're so simple!

These are 2 quickie clips I did the night I got it.

Lotsa clams clean and dirty.

Sounds like a slide players dream

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by Bluesbubba

Does anyone know how much Saul at Centre City Music in San Diego is selling the Melody Maker for He's always sells for much lower. I know I'm scrimping

i can't see him selling them for less ,but ya never know,already rumors about them going up too.

[Uncle Gary]

I think Uncle Gary need about tree-fiddy!!

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by Wattage

Much appreciated input, thanks. If I skip replacing the Jr. I might bolt on a P-90 but we'll see. I am holding off on any new purchases for a bit to see what the new Classic Custom is like.
Here's a few under the hood shots of the new MM/ I swapped in an OD cap while I had it open. More out of superstition than anything else plus I like orange

The little pup measured out about 4.79k on the meter fwiw.

\
little tone report on mine just in.
i dropped the pickup way down on mine last night , it now sits about a 1/4 "
over the top of the pickguard, really sweetened it up, more p-90 like, try it out and see what ya think, just a few turns. i really like it

[wilder]

MF has many more pics of the dual pickup version now. I ordered a white one Wednesday and am scheduled to receive it tomorrow. Anybody know what case fits? I ordered their $39 SG case, but I have another use for it if it doesn't fit.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tar?sku=512641

[okiegibson]

The white dual pick-up version looks great, post some pics when you get it. I may have to somehow find some change to get one.

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by wilder

MF has many more pics of the dual pickup version now. I ordered a white one Wednesday and am scheduled to receive it tomorrow. Anybody know what case fits? I ordered their $39 SG case, but I have another use for it if it doesn't fit.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tar?sku=512641

i don't think these will fit an sg case, at least they won't in any of mine,les paul case is the 1 you need.

[scooby]

The MF site has a Sunburst two pickup model in the pics, but all they offer to sell is white or black.

Seriously, I'd like a single and dual in sunburst. The white is awesome too.

[dock44]

Gibson rep told me a regular LP case is too deep. He gave me the part # for their slim line case. Don't have it with me at the moment but it was expensive. I'm just going with a nice padded gigbag.

[Jim Jones]

Thanks for all the fodder, guys. I'm waiting on a sunburst single PU one now myself.

Jim

[Shredrrr]

MM is probably the only gibson I'd use a gig bag for

[Minneapolis Slim]

Originally Posted by Wattage

There isn't much more to photograph they're so simple!

These are 2 quickie clips I did the night I got it.

Lotsa clams clean and dirty.

Gack!! Why'd you have to go and post these

Sounds like a sweet little guitar. I'm trying hard to resist!

[rootbeersoup]

Originally Posted by Shredrrr

MM is probably the only gibson I'd use a gig bag for

It's the only one small and light enough to handle it...

[Wattage]

Originally Posted by Minneapolis Slim

Gack!! Why'd you have to go and post these

Sounds like a sweet little guitar. I'm trying hard to resist!

Payback!

[j45]

Originally Posted by wilder

Anybody know what case fits? I ordered their $39 SG case, but I have another use for it if it doesn't fit.

If it is true to the 50's model it's almost an exact standard Les Paul body shape and drops right in any regular Les Paul case. You may have trouble getting it in an SG case.

[rootbeersoup]

http://www.fqms.com/TKL_Premier_Seri...15723C1608.cfm

[omboy]

OK, I finally got around to shooting a few mediocre pix. I'd been thinking about changing the knobs, but Singlecut's pix pushed me over the edge and I slapped on some gold reflectors.





Whatta groovy little plank!

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by omboy

OK, I finally got around to shooting a few mediocre pix. I'd been thinking about changing the knobs, but Singlecut's pix pushed me over the edge and I slapped on some gold reflectors.





Whatta groovy little plank!

very nice, i like the way the gold "pops" against the pickguard, they blended too much black on black.yours looks very nice.solid lil suckers ain't they?

[omboy]

Originally Posted by singlecut

very nice, i like the way the gold "pops" against the pickguard, they blended too much black on black.yours looks very nice.solid lil suckers ain't they?

Hey thanks, yeah I think they should've used gold knobs from the git-go, but it's a quick fix. "Solid lil suckers" is right on, I'm amazed how righteously "authoritative" five pounds can feel.

I wish I could get the lighting right to accurately represent the color, it's a nice cream color that doesn't seem to come out in any of my pix. This is kind of close, but still not right:

[singlecut]

try dropping that pickup down, sounds way better to me

[Bluesbubba]

Do you guys know the availability on these Melody Makers. Guitar Center in San Bernardino CA don't have any in stock and they don't know if they are getting any in. I talked with Saul at Centre City Music and he is still waiting on the ones he ordered. Is Musician's Friend the best bet right now

[singlecut]

yes, any of the online superstores,M.F ,SAM ASH,MUSIC 123, just don't pay more than 349.00 shipped.get a white 1, they are the bomb........

[rootbeersoup]

How's the sustain on this guitar? Like, compared to a junior...

[chuckocaster]

here is mine



i'm gonna cut a new guard for it and drop a gibson mini in it, also going to put in a sidejack and a "stutter" button.

plays really nice, i've fiddled with the pup but really can't get on with it.

[wilder]

I got the new 2 pickup Gibson Melody Maker on Saturday. You guys were right about the SG case not fitting, but I found an old Sonex (or something) case in the closet that works well.

My impressions:

Out of the box setup was pretty impressive. The action and relief was perfect for me, but the intonation took some adjustment. The fretboard is nice looking (moreso after I oiled it) but was a little dry and really sucked up the oil. The frets are really smooth and don't have any rough edges. It's nice and light at about 6 lbs. The worn finish is a little cheesy...it looks like the faded series, but it really feels nice and smooth. I like that it's not sticky like a normal new guitar. The neck profile is cool, but not quite as big as a Historic. It sounded pretty good, but I tried singlecuts advice to lower the pups and it really took it over the top. It's much smoother with the pups lowered. On the bridge I lowered the treble side a bit more than the bass and found a nice balance. It's overall a bright guitar, but the tone knob works well to tame it if plugging into a brighter amp.

Mods:

I decided pretty quickly that I liked it enough to keep so I relocated the output jack to the lower bout and wired up separate volume knobs with a master tone ala Hamer guitars. I didn't try to use a standard LP style jack plate as it is about as wide as the body. Instead I used a 2-screw football type jack and it worked well. FWIW, I used my R7 as a template for where to locate the output jack and the body is the exact same size and shape as a Les Paul.

Here's pic of the current config. I didn't have three matched knobs, but I'll order some today.

[Mr. Clean]

OK, I just got mine a few hours ago, my assessment is:

Surprisingly not bad. It arrived in good shape after rudimentary at best packing by MF, grossly out of tune (no surprise) but the setup on the whole OK, certainly playable, action pretty much where I like it, a bit on the high side but not overly so. The neck is actually quite good, the shape is roughly between the 50s and 60s types, feels very comfortable and there seems to be no issues with high frets, fret buzz or dead spots. It's actually one of the better Gibson necks I've played in a while.

Acoustically the guitar has a nice ring to it, with some natural sustain that is apparent even unplugged. The body is very light but the acoustic tone has some heft to it, which is always a good sign.

Through an amp the tone is quite bright as others have noted, but with a funky Tele-ish edge that I kind of like. It does have a touch of the P90 but doesn't have the midrange punch. With the mahogany body and neck elements of the traditional Gibson warmth are definately there but it leans toward the Fender realm, which is not necessarily a bad thing to me. Overall I'd say the pickup is closest in output and response to the old minihumbuckers, not quite as warm but leaning in that direction. I'm going to experiment with pickup height a bit later, maybe consider a retrofittable replacement, but to my ears this is a decent pickup in its own right and certainly has a tonal vibe all its own and unique in terms of Gibson sonics.

The only real issue is the tone control is DOA, probably the lead needs to be resoldered and if so shouldn't be too much of a problem to deal with. I'd like to see what backing the tone off will do but on the plus side the volume pot is good with a nice usable range, it seems to retain clarity even when backed pretty far down which is good because I generally like to use the volume control to go from clean to dirty, and vice versa, rather than fiddling with stomp boxes and/or amp channel switching.

Overall finishing is quite nice, the sunburst is even a decent approximation of that found on the original Melody Makers of the 60s, its a nice mellow burst that allows the grain of the mahogany to come through. I know alot of people tend not to like the so-called "faded" finsihes but I like it on this guitar, it has a vintage patina to it and the wood on the neck and body feels good to the touch, it doesn't have that sticky or plastic kind of feel which to me gets in the way.

So, my early impressions are very favorable and on the whole I'd say this is a damn good axe for the money and at $350 practically a steal. The tone control issue is a minor bummer but not enough to make me want to return the guitar, I think in terms of what really counts I got a good one.

To me, there is nothing fake, phony or cheap about this guitar. It's not going to be to everybody's taste but it does its own thing and does it well. Certainly worth checking out if you have the chance.

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by wilder

I got the new 2 pickup Gibson Melody Maker on Saturday. You guys were right about the SG case not fitting, but I found an old Sonex (or something) case in the closet that works well.

My impressions:

Out of the box setup was pretty impressive. The action and relief was perfect for me, but the intonation took some adjustment. The fretboard is nice looking (moreso after I oiled it) but was a little dry and really sucked up the oil. The frets are really smooth and don't have any rough edges. It's nice and light at about 6 lbs. The worn finish is a little cheesy...it looks like the faded series, but it really feels nice and smooth. I like that it's not sticky like a normal new guitar. The neck profile is cool, but not quite as big as a Historic. It sounded pretty good, but I tried singlecuts advice to lower the pups and it really took it over the top. It's much smoother with the pups lowered. On the bridge I lowered the treble side a bit more than the bass and found a nice balance. It's overall a bright guitar, but the tone knob works well to tame it if plugging into a brighter amp.

Mods:

I decided pretty quickly that I liked it enough to keep so I relocated the output jack to the lower bout and wired up separate volume knobs with a master tone ala Hamer guitars. I didn't try to use a standard LP style jack plate as it is about as wide as the body. Instead I used a 2-screw football type jack and it worked well. FWIW, I used my R7 as a template for where to locate the output jack and the body is the exact same size and shape as a Les Paul.

Here's pic of the current config. I didn't have three matched knobs, but I'll order some today.

bro the mods you did are awesome, i have a 60 2 pickup that someone relocated the jack ,same way you did and i really like it.great job,and adjusted alittle the pups ain't bad

[badform]

The thing about the 2 pup version that bothers me is the location of the selector switch. I'd be hitting that all the time, from the looks of it. It does look MUCH better with three knobs and the jack moved. Good job!