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I need Some info about the M3 (MIII)


VanHalen

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Best glean what you can from the web.

 

I don't think the MIII went over too well with the regular Gibson crowd, but I can claim to have shopped for one a year or two after they were introduced. All that kept me from buying one was the price.

 

I'd still like to have one, but it would have to be cheap.

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IT IS a shame that Gibson people don't keep an archive of their guitars on their site. SHAME! Fortunately, I have some info on this guitar:

 

--> It was produced between 1991 - 1996

--> Double-cut solidbody with long horns

(NOTE: The body is exactly the same with the one that Epiphone's EM models have - EM-1, Prophecy EM-2 Custom FX, Prophecy EM-2 Custom EX)

--> 25.5" scale neck (I think Bolt-on) w/24 frets

--> Various PU configurations

 

The M Series Collection (incomplete):

 

1) M-III Standard: H/S/H PU configuration, maple fretboard w/black triangle inlays, reverse Explorer headstock w/reversed Gibson Logo (must my inlayed pearl), 1 Tone, 1 Volume, 5-way (or 3-way) blade switch, 1 mini-switch, side jack, Gibson stamped locking vibrato bridge, w/pickguard, various finishes including Metallic Candy Red (don't know the actual finish name) and Ebony.

 

2) M-III Standard - No Pickguard: The same as (1) but without pickguard, ad shows the guitar in Translucent Amber finish.

 

3) M-IV S Deluxe: The same model as (1) & (2), but the body wood is different, the finish in Translucent, the vibrato bridge is seems like an alternated/wider Vintage Synchronized Vibrato Bridge, Rosewood (could be Ebony) fingerboard w/triangle pearl inlays.

 

4) M-IV S Standard: Same as the above, solid Ebony finish, the same weird bridge, Ebony (seems a bit too dark to be Rosewood) fretboard w/pearl dot inlays.

 

(The ads show the guitars with black hardware)

 

All these models were produce by Gibson USA.

 

NOTES:

--> There's a model which had H/H/H PU configuration.

--> Another models had pearl or abalone triangle inlays on the Maple fretboard.

--> I think that some FR style Gibson stamped bridges were made by Kahler (which means the bridge could be either a Kahler Spyder or a Kahler Steeler).

--> Some models were neck-thru constructions.

--> Epiphone produced the EM-2 Rebel, which had trapezoid pearl inlays (Ebony or Rosewood fretboard - not really sure), H/S/H PU configuration, same controls as Gibson and gold hardware.

--> According to the Vintage Guitar magazine Price Guide (2007) the Deluxe models between 1991 - 1992 are valued between $1,500 - $2,500.

 

Hope this helps, and would someone please tell me if I'm allowed to post pictures that aren't mine (I mean guitar pictures...).

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I'm not exactly sure I get what you're saying, but if Gibson's line of products doesn't satisfy you, I think it's rather reasonable that you move on to something that you like better. What saddens me is the fact that Gibson, a guitar manufacturer with such legacy doesn't give you any information whatsoever about discontinued products on their site (while the site for Ibanez Guitars holds vintage catalogs from the 1950s) and that it always sticks to its standard designs and models. One thing from me to the Gibson people: Shred is back, how about reintroducing your 1986 Gibson SG Special 400, but with 24 frets this time (and I'm not talking about a custom shop model that will cost me as much as a trip to the Moon)?

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IT IS a shame that Gibson people don't keep an archive of their guitars on their site. SHAME! Fortunately' date=' I have some info on this guitar:

 

--> It was produced between 1991 - 1996

--> Double-cut solidbody with long horns

(NOTE: The body is exactly the same with the one that Epiphone's EM models have - EM-1, Prophecy EM-2 Custom FX, Prophecy EM-2 Custom EX)

--> 25.5" scale neck (I think Bolt-on) w/24 frets

--> Various PU configurations

 

The M Series Collection (incomplete):

 

1) M-III Standard: H/S/H PU configuration, maple fretboard w/black triangle inlays, reverse Explorer headstock w/reversed Gibson Logo (must my inlayed pearl), 1 Tone, 1 Volume, 5-way (or 3-way) blade switch, 1 mini-switch, side jack, Gibson stamped locking vibrato bridge, w/pickguard, various finishes including Metallic Candy Red (don't know the actual finish name) and Ebony.

 

2) M-III Standard - No Pickguard: The same as (1) but without pickguard, ad shows the guitar in Translucent Amber finish.

 

3) M-IV S Deluxe: The same model as (1) & (2), but the body wood is different, the finish in Translucent, the vibrato bridge is seems like an alternated/wider Vintage Synchronized Vibrato Bridge, Rosewood (could be Ebony) fingerboard w/triangle pearl inlays.

 

4) M-IV S Standard: Same as the above, solid Ebony finish, the same weird bridge, Ebony (seems a bit too dark to be Rosewood) fretboard w/pearl dot inlays.

 

(The ads show the guitars with black hardware)

 

All these models were produce by Gibson USA.

 

NOTES:

--> There's a model which had H/H/H PU configuration.

--> Another models had pearl or abalone triangle inlays on the Maple fretboard.

--> I think that some FR style Gibson stamped bridges were made by Kahler (which means the bridge could be either a Kahler Spyder or a Kahler Steeler).

--> Some models were neck-thru constructions.

--> Epiphone produced the EM-2 Rebel, which had trapezoid pearl inlays (Ebony or Rosewood fretboard - not really sure), H/S/H PU configuration, same controls as Gibson and gold hardware.

--> According to the Vintage Guitar magazine Price Guide (2007) the Deluxe models between 1991 - 1992 are valued between $1,500 - $2,500.

 

Hope this helps, and would someone please tell me if I'm allowed to post pictures that aren't mine (I mean guitar pictures...).[/quote']

 

 

I don't think there is any problem with posting pics here, as long as it's not for monetary gain, and they aren't linked to another site.

 

I don't remember ever seeing a bolt on M series Gibson, but there could have been some built. Apparently there are some custom shop versions of the M series also, but I'm not familiar with the differences in those models, just remember seeing references to them on the web.

 

Quirky guitar, really. Very Gibson like in the "off the beaten path" way. They bring to mind the V and Explorers, and how they were not so well received at first.

 

Yep. I still want one.

 

Hmmmm. Maybe it's time for another build project. :-k

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  • 1 month later...

I currently own 10 different MIII model guitars. I was collecting them back when I was single and consider myself a sudo expert/collector on them. If you have any questions let me know. I always wanted an MIV - although I've never seen one for sale.

 

2 MIII Deluxe

3 MIII Standard (2 white, 1 black)

1 MIII All American with Steinberg Trem (3 humbuckers)

2 MIII Les Paul Classic (both Heritage Cherry Sunburst, although one looks like a Honey Burst and seems to be chambered/lighter and was registered as a promo model)

2 MIII Les Paul Studio Lite (1 trans-red, 1 trans-blue)

 

Off the top of my head there are;

 

MIII Standard - poplar body, comes in black or ebony, white / or artic white, and a translucent red

 

MIII Stealth - same as Standard - though no pick guard, and a natural wood finish

 

MIII Deluxe - 3 different woods - (I don't remember right now and don't have the documentation with me) with a natural finish (my personal favorite)

 

MIII Les Paul Studio Lite, black chrome hardware, translucent Blue, Red, or Cherry Burst finishes. very light guitars made out of Chromyte (balsa wood block) They state ebony boards but I have one ebony and one rosewood.

 

MIII Les Paul Classic, only came in Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish

 

Custom Shop - you never can tell...

 

MIII, M-III, M III, M3, M-3, M 3

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I currently own 10 different MIII model guitars. I was collecting them back when I was single and consider myself a sudo expert/collector on them. If you have any questions let me know. I always wanted an MIV - although I've never seen one for sale.

 

2 MIII Deluxe

3 MIII Standard (2 white' date=' 1 black)

1 MIII All American with Steinberg Trem (3 humbuckers)

2 MIII Les Paul Classic (both Heritage Cherry Sunburst, although one looks like a Honey Burst and seems to be chambered/lighter and was registered as a promo model)

2 MIII Les Paul Studio Lite (1 trans-red, 1 trans-blue)

 

[u']Off the top of my head there are;[/u]

 

MIII Standard - poplar body, comes in black or ebony, white / or artic white, and a translucent red

 

MIII Stealth - same as Standard - though no pick guard, and a natural wood finish

 

MIII Deluxe - 3 different woods - (I don't remember right now and don't have the documentation with me) with a natural finish (my personal favorite)

 

MIII Les Paul Studio Lite, black chrome hardware, translucent Blue, Red, or Cherry Burst finishes. very light guitars made out of Chromyte (balsa wood block) They state ebony boards but I have one ebony and one rosewood.

 

MIII Les Paul Classic, only came in Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish

 

Custom Shop - you never can tell...

 

MIII, M-III, M III, M3, M-3, M 3

 

 

Wow what a great collection :)

I love my Gibson m3 Deluxe. I know one of the woods in the body is made from walnut if that is of any help.

I paid £600 for it about 2 years back. I have never seen a range of guitars sell for such a huge diversity of prices too.

 

They are one of Gibson's unsung heroes to me!

 

Matt

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have an M3 from 1992. I suppose it's a Stealth model, as it has no pickguard. It has a translucent amber finish.

There currently is a very similar one on Ebay, except it is translucent red.

You can find some videos of my guitar on my Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/scalibq).

 

I'd like to add that the Epiphone Em-1/2 series aren't new. Back in 1992-1996, when the original Gibson M3/4 were in production, Epiphone offered the Em-1/2 Rebel series, which were basically budget copies of the Gibsons.

They had the same body shape as the Gibsons (and a reversed headstock, unlike the current Em models), but they used a bolt-on construction, just like the current models.

They also had the same H-S-H pickup configuration with the mini-switch for the vast array of pickup selections (sadly that too is missing on the current Em models).

The Em-1 Rebel was the cheapest model, and featured a standard Strat-style tremolo.

The Em-2 Rebel had a double-locking tremolo like the Gibsons, although I think it was a brandless copy, not a real Schaller like on the Gibsons.

 

A very nice detail imho is that the tremolo was custom-made for Gibson, and where you normally had "Schaller" stamped into the baseplate, on an M3 it reads "Gibson".

 

I'm looking for an Epiphone Em-2 Rebel myself, I think it will make a nice couple with the M3 that I have.

 

I've actually sent an email to Gibson asking if there's any chance of making an Epiphone Em-2 variation with the original pickup configuration, and perhaps the reversed headstock. It's worth a shot =D>

 

At any rate, I think these are some of the finest Superstrats ever made. I've been playing for about 13 years now, and my first guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul. I've been hooked to Gibson's creamy sound and sustain ever since. But when I got more advanced as a player, and started digging into Satriani/Vai territory. This was around 1997... I had seen the Gibson M3 in a magazine earlier, and knew that this was the guitar I wanted to get. I just couldn't find one anywhere, neither new nor secondhand. So I got an Ibanez RG570CT instead.

Fast-forward about 10 years, and the neck pickup on my RG570CT dies. I figured I had the money, so I might look at a backup guitar. I remembered the Gibson M3, and started searching Ebay.

I found one, but sadly I didn't get it on the first auction. Not much later a second one surfaced. I seemed to be the only bidder, so I won it without any trouble.

The guitar was playable, but not in too great shape. After setting it up, I knew that this guitar was everything I hoped for, and more. It's the only guitar I've ever played that is nicer/faster to play than my Ibanez. And the sound is very different aswell. The sustain is immense, especially considering the weight.

So I decided to invest some money into having the guitar refretted, and replacing the missing/broken parts. It's not a great looker, but it plays and sounds pretty much like new now, and I love it.

 

Over the years I've collected some pictures, promotional material and such. I am thinking of putting it online somewhere for easy reference. It's by no means complete, but it will at least give a rough idea of what various models look like.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi i am new to the forum,

I have a few Gibson Guitars that i am trying to get values on, one being a M3.

I beleve it to be a 1992, dont know which model though, i bought it on ebay years ago.

Just wondered if anyone could help. Thanks alot Ian. Pic below.[biggrin]

IMG_03421.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

Hi everybody,

 

I found your topic via google while trying to find out any information about my guitar.

 

I have one MIII, I baught it 10 years ago in Istanbul, but I don't know if it is standard or ultimate, maybe you can tell me after seeing the pics.

 

I can only tell that it has a perfectly strong sound, excellent variations for a rock guitarist. I'm a proud owner.

 

Here are the pics...

 

Greetings from Istanbul...

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 months later...

Hi everyone, over the years, I have owned most versions of the MIII, including the MIII deluxe, which I still have, the MIII standard, the MIV-S Deluxe and the MIV All-American. I will pass on all I know about them here, starting with the MIII Deluxe:

I am in France, and when originally looking for an electric guitar, I happened upon a review of the MIII Deluxe in a magazine. I thought the description & photos were great, and so went of to my local decent music store to see if they could get one. There was just one left in stock at the distributors, ( the last one ever available from them ) so I ordered it (6000 FF / £600) and it duly arrived. What a beauty, I was delighted. Here's the specs:

 

The body is a 5-piece sandwich of ( from back to front ) maple /walnut /poplar /redwood /walnut. ( I have described one part here as redwood, as it is RED and although on my first deluxe I believed it to be synthetic, and believe I also may have read that somewhere, on my latest one, it seems to have a grain & looks like wood. Can anyone throw any light on this..? ) The neck is one piece quarter-sawn maple, with 24 frets, which is glued to the body at around the 22nd fret(!!) The fingerboard is laquered maple and the frets are medium wide and taken down quite low with flat tops. the body has a synthetic tortoiseshell pickguard, which appears to have been glued to the body with Tippex!! Actually it's not true, a white paint has been applied to the back to highlight the semi-transparent colours. This has also been done to the truss rod cover, and this paint sticks to the guitar, and if you want to take the guard or truss cover off, they will try & take the varnish with them. Great care is needed. I use a blade to carefully free them, but you shouldn't really need to remove the pickguard, anyway, as the pick-ups are phenomenal and don't need changing.

They consist of a 500T bridge in zebra / NSX single middle in cream colour / 498T neck in zebra ( I think. Or maybe it's 496? ) The tremolo block is a Floyd Rose licensed Schaller, stamped Gibson. Twice, I've had to order a new B string saddle, on separate guitars, as they were out of spec & too low. Otherwise excellent quality. 5-way pick up switch, with 2-way switch for changing between split or humbucker sounds. Single coil sounds are as per a Strat, and in Humbucker mode we have Bridge/both/Neck/Gibson sound (Neck filtered by inductor)/off. Also has volume and tone controls. Gibson marked Schaller machine heads, and Floyd type nut.

The set-up on this guitar is critical. Set up correctly it sounds absolutely lovely, and plays beautifully. By correctly I mean that the neck must have some relief, the intonation must be perfect, and the action not too high & not too low. The neck on this guitar is extremely long outside the body - the reason for the quarter-sawn neck, and 10-46 strings, tend to give a lot of pull on it, and frankly that worries me about the long-term stress effects, but that's what I use. With the truss rod too tight, the sound is thin, and with it too loose it's soft & loses definition, and the string height rises noticeably. Set up well, the sound is thick, rich, and mellow, with a sort of Mediaeval character. Fantastic on recordings, perfectly in tune everywhere, and even chords are playable right up to near the 24th fret. Distortion sounds are deadly, solos sing, picking is clear, strong, and well defined, and the single coil sounds are cutting, chimey and full of character.

In my opinion, this is one of the best electric guitars ever made, although I repeat that the set-up is critical, and explains to me why this guitar was never a great sucess for Gibson, as an example not well set-up will be disagreeable to play, because of the slightly weird low, flat frets, and will not sing, scream, chime, cry, or inspire, like this guitar is capable of doing.

 

The MIII standard is pretty much the same, except that the body is made from solid poplar. Nice guitar, but does not posess the magic of the Deluxe IMHO.

 

OK, I'll move onto the MIV-S Deluxe which I was lucky enough to own for a while, and then inexpicably sold on, much to my regret. These were pretty much my first electric guitars, and I falsely believed that similar quality could easily be found elsewhere.. How horribly wrong I was!!

The MIV-S is similar in construction to the MIII, with a quarter-sawn, 24 fret neck. Explorer style headstock like the MIII. The fingerboard is ebony though, and the wonderful markers are white MOP whereas on the MIII they were dark pearloid.

The body, which I have seen erroneously described as a variety of woods is African BLACK LIMBA. This wood is none other than dark KORINA, and boy do I know why those old rare Korina Exploreres and Flying V's are sought after! They were made from light coloured Korina, I believe, but I imagine the sound must be similar. The body of the MIV-S Deluxe is made from 3 joined pieces. No pick-guard. The pick-up ( all black ) & switching configuration is the same as for the MIII.

The tremolo system is completely different though, and is fabulous, and made by STEINBERGER. The tremolo arm screws through the block, into a sort of Butterfly nut. When the arm is in the rest position, the butterly butts up against a metal block, which is fixed to the body of the guitar. The vibrations from the strings thus pass directly into the body, increasing the tone, resonance, and sustain of the guitar. In this position, the tremolo is blocked ( great for string changes ). When you use the tremolo, the arm swings forward, releasing the butterfly, and freeing the tremolo.. Fantastic! And the difference in sound is easy to hear between the two positions.

The nut is also weird & wonderful, consisting of a 6 small swinging arms rotating on a centre spindle. The strings sit in them as though in a sort of pulley, and as they move in unison with the tremolo block, the string length does not change, and the guitar ALWAYS stays in tune..! Genius!! The machine heads are just as radical, and consist of threaded knobs which pull the string tight from the back of the guitar. No gears, and no play. Fabulous! The whole system being infinitely better than a Floyd IMHO.

I set mine up with 10-46 strings, and it played and sang beautifully and stayed like it. Fantastic on solos, and just a lovely sound on everything else. Very different to the MIII Deluxe, but wonderful in it's own right. I said earlier that the MIII Deluxe was one of the best guitar ever made, and this is just as good, if not better.

Sadly, utterly impossible to find, and I will never forgive myself for disposing of it. NOTHING can replace it's qualities.

 

The MIV All-American, was a different beast. It had 3 humbucker pick-ups, the Steinberger tremolo system and machine-heads, a Poplar body. 24 fret neck, which I'm not too sure about, as it was painted black, so I don't know if it was quarter-sawn. The fingerboard was ebony I believe. The headstock was a different shape to the previous versions to avoid the mild problem of the MIV-S, where the strings pulled too much to the side of the nut rollers on certain strings. I believe this version was made relatively cheaply, and for me it did not match up to the others, which is a great shame, because it had the potential to be the best of them all. A Deluxe version in H-S-H with Korina body and quality neck would have been killer.

 

There we have it. I believe that my descriptions are accurate. I'd be pleased to be corrected or enlightened on anything, and hope I have done the same for others...

 

 

GIBSON MIII , M-III , M III , M3 , M-3 , M 3 , MIV Deluxe

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  • 1 year later...

This thread is old, but I recently acquired a 1991 M-III in seemingly very good condition. It appears to have never been intonated as the saddles were all at minimum string length.

The tremolo cavity is misaligned, but it seems to function. How many springs should the tremolo have?post-63100-086556000 1392000162_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

This thread is old, but I recently acquired a 1991 M-III in seemingly very good condition. It appears to have never been intonated as the saddles were all at minimum string length.

The tremolo cavity is misaligned, but it seems to function. How many springs should the tremolo have?post-63100-086556000 1392000162_thumb.jpg

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Hi there. I have a Gibson M3 and it should have 2 or 3 springs depending on the string guage you intend using. It should all sit square but check with a reputable dealer as it may have been adjusted to compensate for the heavier wound strings or set up incorrectly. It is very easy to goof up the spring tension settings if you don't know what you are doing. Personally I found it difficult to maintain string tuning using the tremolo arm setup so resorted to blocking the bridge inside with a piece of brass which can be removed. I also found that the intonation hadn't ever been set from new when i bought the guitar in 1996. It never played in tune and i was almost at the point of getting rid of it when a friend observed that the bridge had never been adjusted. Having adjusted the intonation after fitting a new settled set of strings i adjusted the intonation with a really sensitive electronic guitar tuner. It now plays perfectly in tune and stays in tune after playing. I used to play a Yamaha SG2000 as well, which was extremely heavy to handle. In comparison the Gibson M3 is light, easy to play and has a fantastic range of sounds and is a really lovely guitar to own and use. I will never be parted with it.

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  • 5 years later...

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