peewee101 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I bought this several years ago from a pawn shop. It came with a letter from Gibson saying what it is. I have since lost the letter from gibson but this is what I recall. 1989 Gibson Melody Maker 2 Bill Laurence pickups Celebrity series pick guard Kahler Flyer tremlo Deluxe String Lock Explorer neck Grover tuners Serial # 81239724 as far as I can tell. The paint is so thick on the back of the neck it is hard to make it out. The letter said it was made at the end of the year with extra parts in the factory. They called it a build out. 4 were made, 2 were scrapped out so only 2 made it out the door. Its a sweet playing guitar but with one downfall. It fell over in a guitar stand several years ago and cracked where the headstock meets the neck. I had it repaired but you can still see the crack on the paint. I'm a player and not a collector but I try not to play it out on gigs much. I suppose I should trade it off for a player. Just wanted to share it with other Gibson lovers. If you know anything else about it please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I want it! lol Very nice guitar...very nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e/2 Explorer Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Cool looking axe with the Explorer neck. Message me with what you are looking to get for it cash. Not sure what a broken/repaired guitar goes for but if the price is right... Is that a Chevy II? I had one with a 502cid Chevy Marine block tire melter in it a few years ago , it would carry a wheelie almost 400ft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandamusic Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 hi peewee, i own this guitars evil twin. i traded a beat up fender twin reverb master volume straight up from some dude on PDX craigslist. he just thought it was some les paul. when i contacted gibson they told me it was called a melody maker pro II. i brought it into many many music shops, none of which had any info. one of them offered me $1000 right then, which led me to believe that is worth a whole lot more. cosmetically, mine is pretty thrashed but the neck is good and its very playable. i love this guitar. wont sell it, ever. i will post pics of mine soon. thanks for the info, i was wondering about the pickups. 2 out of 2! that blows my mind. i wonder which one was born first. i'll have to check my serial number for the date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peewee101 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Hey anandamusic, Thats real kewl that you have one like it. I'm excited to see pics and real courious about the serial number. If the serial number is within a couple digits that would make my story correct. Please do post your info here when you get a chance. Thanks PW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laaz Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Nice guitar. They made a V around that same time with the Explorer headstock. Looks like they made quite a few different models with the Explorer headstock Explorer headstock Another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandamusic Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 here she is... "The guitar appears to be a Gibson Melody Maker/Pro II model, made on the 136th day of 1989 in Nashville, TN. The US MSRP of the guitar in 1989 was $630." serial # 81369748 fin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I just noticed that every guitar is see that has a gibson exploer headstock just makes it like 50% cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I just noticed that every guitar is see that has a gibson explorer headstock just makes it like 50% cooler. I dont like it..the Headstock..it seems like whimpsy...I like BEST OF ALL THE WARLOCK HEADSTOCK Have you noticed that with the right lights you see massive devilhorns (Shadows) On Stage.. AWESOME.. Hint to Gibson? warlock head..Pleaze? Apart from that..I love the special melody makers above!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I dont like it..the Headstock..it seems like whimpsy...I like BEST OF ALL THE WARLOCK HEADSTOCK Have you noticed that with the right lights you see massive devilhorns (Shadows) On Stage.. AWESOME.. Hint to Gibson? warlock head..Pleaze? Apart from that..I love the special melody makers above!!!!! I love the Warlock head but i think that head is taken and gibson cant copy it or they are gona end up in court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peewee101 Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 I hate to post this, but I am thinking I would like to trade this Melody maker for a American strat or Tele. Most of my guitars are Gibson and I have always been a Gubson man but I just can"t get that Strat sound from tapping my Gibson humbuckers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev7555 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Yeah, trying to get a strat sound out of a Gibson is nearly impossible...and vice versa. My Firebrand 335S Custom had tapped pickups and it made a nice emulation of a Fender but nothing sounds like my strats. The Mexican and Japanese made Fenders are very nice instruments at a fair price. About the only drawback is the electronics. I bought a very nice Japanese-made Strat and replaced the pickups with some Fralins. It sounds every bit like a classic strat...and more. One of the finest Telecasters I have ever played is a Mexican-made Fender owned by my friend Rick. I'd put it up against any American made Tele, vintage or not. We set my American next to his and play them back to back. We always end up arguing ovwer who gets to play his... These ones made outside the country are made strictly following Fender's standards. If you can, play few of them, not just one. You'll find what you're looking for at half the price of new American standard. On another subject, I own a Mexican-made P-bass (brand new for $400.00) and I LOVE it! -Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibdad Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 Peewee101, I hate to dispute the production total that Gibson gave you, but I currently have TWO of this model! The wild thing is, I bought both of them off Ebay literally within two weeks of each other from different sources, AND-SAW A THIRD ONE COME UP THE SAME WEEK I BOUGHT THE SECOND ONE!!! I thought to myself that there must be a bunch of them out there, so I regrettably passed on the third one. The thing is, I've never seen another one since then! One had the serial number stamped on the 136th day of 1989, and the other was stamped on the 252nd day of 1989. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 your image gave me a picture idea[biggrin] .... BTW great guitar you have[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peewee101 Posted March 6, 2010 Author Share Posted March 6, 2010 Hey SELLITLIKETHIS I just remember the e-mail letter from Gibson saying that. Who knows could have been written by the janitor at gibson. LOL Do you have any pictures of yours? are they identical? DUANE V Your guitars are sweet especially aginst the car. Something about drag racing and guitars rocks. Maybe because they both are bad *** manly hobbies. :-) Hey HALL GROPER I love to play it but I am needing something with single coils for country kinda stuff and I would have to change out the pickups, tap them and it still might not be what I am after but I was just reading the EMG-81TW pickup says it has a true single coil and a humbucker in one package. Hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandamusic Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 what did you pay for the guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I know im about 3 years late, but I also own this model. It took me forever to find out what kind of guitar it was. I almost threw it away thinking it was a fake gibson (which would make me a felon). Thankfully, I found this post. I pretty much never use my guitar and I'm more of a Fender person to be honest. So if anyone wants to trade and american tele or strat, let me know. I will also take $$$! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 This is mine, made on the 262nd day of 1989. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlin' Mad Mac Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I agree with you 100% regarding Japanese, Korean & Mexican Fenders. Back in the good old days Fender guitars were never the hand-crafted instruments Gibsons, Rickenbackers, Gretschs and others were. That's not to say they weren't great guitars, they were & still are, but they were factory made mass production guitars. There was no Fender Custom Shop in the 1950's, 60's or 70's... they just rolled off a production line. Today, especially with modern CNC machinery, as long as good woods of the proper species are used (maple, swamp ash, alder) to assume the neck/body build quality of these imports are lacking you would be deluding yourself. The biggest drawback to the import models is the polyester finishes, more durable but it's a valid arguement, a lacquer finish has a much preferred quality about it. Still I own a Mexican made Telecaster, Stratocaster & P-Bass and they're all very good guitars & including the cost to upgrade hardware & electronics they still cost me far less than their standard American counterparts & like you, I've friends that own the more expensive USA models wanting to trade for my upgraded Mexi's. Just wanted to offer up my two cents worth. Yeah, trying to get a strat sound out of a Gibson is nearly impossible...and vice versa. My Firebrand 335S Custom had tapped pickups and it made a nice emulation of a Fender but nothing sounds like my strats. The Mexican and Japanese made Fenders are very nice instruments at a fair price. About the only drawback is the electronics. I bought a very nice Japanese-made Strat and replaced the pickups with some Fralins. It sounds every bit like a classic strat...and more. One of the finest Telecasters I have ever played is a Mexican-made Fender owned by my friend Rick. I'd put it up against any American made Tele, vintage or not. We set my American next to his and play them back to back. We always end up arguing ovwer who gets to play his... These ones made outside the country are made strictly following Fender's standards. If you can, play few of them, not just one. You'll find what you're looking for at half the price of new American standard. On another subject, I own a Mexican-made P-bass (brand new for $400.00) and I LOVE it! -Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlin' Mad Mac Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Well I'd never say you can't play country on a Gibson, but if you're looking for that "twang" the best receipe I know of is a long scale neck, a hard maple fingerboard, some bright, punchy single-coils & a stamped steel bridge. It's a time tested formula... just ask any chicken picker worth his salt! Coil taps are for shredding metalhead wannabes that need extra buttons & switches to compensate for their small imaginations. BTW I agree with you regarding sweet guitars & hot cars... all that's missing is an OCC bike or two, some hot babes in bikinis & a big cooler full of ice cold beer... Guy heaven! Hey SELLITLIKETHIS I just remember the e-mail letter from Gibson saying that. Who knows could have been written by the janitor at gibson. LOL Do you have any pictures of yours? are they identical? DUANE V Your guitars are sweet especially aginst the car. Something about drag racing and guitars rocks. Maybe because they both are bad *** manly hobbies. :-) Hey HALL GROPER I love to play it but I am needing something with single coils for country kinda stuff and I would have to change out the pickups, tap them and it still might not be what I am after but I was just reading the EMG-81TW pickup says it has a true single coil and a humbucker in one package. Hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibdad Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 If anyone reading this still has a Gibson Melody Maker Pro II they woukd like to sell or trade, please contact me at cgraham375@gmail.com. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Just my opinion on Fender's "other" guitars - Squier. I had several very good Fenders over the last 40 + years, but I recently discovered that several versions of their Squier brand - some of the older Statdard Strats and several of their newer Telecasters - are amazingly good guitars for very little money. On some of the Strats, I replaced the tremolo with an all steel version from Wilkerson - made a HUGE improvement, and i did not feel I needed to make any other changes at all...and the Tele I have is completely stock. I paid all of $39 for one of the Strats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspaz Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Newbie ...I have the exact same guitar. After reading your initial post, I thought it was the only 'other one' in the world. Mine looks exactly like the one in the large photo with the grey cloth background contained in this thread, which was posted by anandamusic. Make offer. I bought it at a pawn shop with a Peavey Classic VTX Series 212 Amp and Hard Case for $400.00 in the early 1990's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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