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2014 melody maker. Who's got one ?

57Lefty

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Jun 7, 2005
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They make them lefty. 50s neck , P90s and TV yellow for $569 shipped ? Heck why not. Sounds like fun. Have not even seen a righty in real life to try. See them on lots of websites. Who's got one and what do you think ?
 

sonar

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Jan 10, 2003
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I can appreciate a cheap guitar, especially a USA, so I wandered over to Chicago Music Exchange today and played one.

The one I played was on the heavy side for such a narrow body. The body was reminiscent of the 70's L6 in thickness and weight. The finish (yellow) was applied a little thicker than other faded/satin models, so it had a slightly smoother feel on the neck side. It's a maple top and mahogany back, with the seam being hard to distinguish with the finish. Neck felt 50's profile, with a little too much shoulder for my tastes. Fretwork felt and looked ok.

I compared the MM to a couple discontinued satin Juniors (single P90) and a custom shop '57 Junior that were hanging on the wall. I liked the satin Juniors a little better. The thicker, yet lighter Jr. bodies and the more user friendly necks just felt better to me, even with the feel of the faded necks, which seem to be love or hate thing with players. The '57 CS was night and day better than the rest, but obviously at a significant price increase.

For the price it might be worth it, but the pickups (I guess these are a new P90 wind based off of something from the past) are pretty dry and shrill, so with a pickup swap you're looking at the same price as a used SG Classic or even a used glossy USA Junior.
 

JR.Deluxe

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May 4, 2003
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get a real SC MM for $1k and put a tele pickup in it. Neck like 59 les paul, sound is blues heaven.
 

sonar

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Good luck finding a '59-'61 single cut MM for 1k.
 

zombiwoof

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Feb 22, 2003
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I was considering one, a TV Yellow one (the other colors are awful IMO), but my one complaint is the lack of a pickguard. It just looks strange to me. I think I'd rather find one of the older reissues with P90's that looks more like the originals.

Al
 

sonar

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Jan 10, 2003
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I see them around here all the time. Check Guitar Center used page.

Guess you're lucky. Around Chicago most clean examples are much more than 1K. I'd also wager any MM on the GC database that is priced around 1K is either a 3/4 scale or modified.
 

JDUB

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Apr 30, 2015
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I've got two of 'em. "Platinum" was prepared for Miranda Lambert's recent tour of the same name by Gibson, Nashville. Lil'Joe is a stock Manhattan Midnight that I've buffed out with Virtuoso cleaner and polish. Both are great rockers. I find the p-90s most versatile and great for cutting through a live stage mix.
 
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toxpert

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Jul 2, 2005
Messages
3,068
I had one of the reissue SC MMs they were selling a while back. I swapped the pickup to a P-90 and ...wowser....a nice lightweight hotrod plank !
The guitar body was made of at least a dozen strips of mahogany, the neck was between the 50s and 60s carve that Gibson makes. I since have sold that one....and replaced it with a SC 1959 MM.

The 1959 SC MM is way more resonant. The original pickup on this one sounds great - you can go from woman tone to tele with a sinple rotation of the tone knob.
I experimented with replacing the pickup with a Seymour Duncan MM-sized P-90. The P-90 sounded great as well...but could not get that brighter almost-tele sound.
The original pickup is back in the guitar to stay. The original finish was stripped years ago and was refinished to nitro that has an ambered/aged look to it.
The guitar has all original hardware, electronics, fretboard in great condition, what looks to be original '59 style larger frets......and cost me ~ $800.
To me, that cost is a bargain for a electric guitar with Brazilian rosewood fretboard and 1 piece 50s mahogany body & neck.

Like noted above...GC sells 50s SC MMs for a $1000 or less. These may be player grade instruments.
 

Rip

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Mar 14, 2015
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I have had one for a couple of months now; play it every day and it is a perfect fit! I personally like the finish on the LP MM. Someone mentioned the lack of a pick guard but I certainly do not miss it. There is nothing I would change on this MM. You can always pay more; it's your money. The P-90s are decent.
 
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