melodymaker'65 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hello, Who has a Gibson Melody Maker? I have a 1965 Melody Maker, and I love it! I'd love to hear about/see pictures of your Melody Maker! I personally think Melody Makers are a very underrated vintage Gibson, what about you? I had a question that I was hoping someone could help me with: Does anyone know approximately how many 1965 Melody Makers were made? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 This is mine, a 1965 Melody Maker. (All original, except for the nut, and the strap pins.) To anyone who has the Dual-Pickup version, how are the pickups? Is there a huge difference in the sound of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bongoscot Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Yes. Mine in not vintage. It was made in '10 as an '11 model. I got it on sale for $299 and it is by far the very best $300 guitar I have ever played. It is my second favorite guitar in the house behind my Les Paul and it gets played a lot more than any other. When I found it, it was hidden up high in a corner of the shop. Probably the least flashy looking guitar in the whole shop. I even like that. It's understated looks to me really add to the coolness of it. It sounds really sweet too. Comfortable and light. Some of them were made with baked Maple and some with Rosewood for a fingerboard. Mine has rosewood. Love it. It is also my first Gibson and made me a lover of the Gibson brand. If not for liking my Melody Maker so much I may not have bought my Les Paul, which I call my guitar soul mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I have a single pickup '60 that looks like a Les Paul Jr at first glance single cut, yellow/brown burst. it is very lightweight. Sounds a lot like a Telecaster. Haven't played it in some time. All original for the most part. Gotta get it out, put on fresh strings and crank it up one day. It was a beater when I bought it but it still looks and plays great. Fat 50's neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Yes. Mine in not vintage. It was made in '10 as an '11 model. I got it on sale for $299 and it is by far the very best $300 guitar I have ever played. It is my second favorite guitar in the house behind my Les Paul and it gets played a lot more than any other. When I found it, it was hidden up high in a corner of the shop. Probably the least flashy looking guitar in the whole shop. I even like that. It's understated looks to me really add to the coolness of it. It sounds really sweet too. Comfortable and light. Some of them were made with baked Maple and some with Rosewood for a fingerboard. Mine has rosewood. Love it. It is also my first Gibson and made me a lover of the Gibson brand. If not for liking my Melody Maker so much I may not have bought my Les Paul, which I call my guitar soul mate. Awesome! I've played a 2010 Les Paul Melody Maker before, definitely a cool guitar! I agree, I love the simplicity of the Melody Makers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 We pretended to be electric players for awhile in the 70s, but then we went back to acoustics. However, in the process we picked up a few electrics -- mostly 60s -- pawn shops, flea market, garage sales, etc. One of them we picked up was a 62 melody maker. You can see it in this picture. My son played in his alt rock band for awhile, but then went back to a Strat. My daughter also played in a rock band for awhile -- she has a '74 Tele Deluxe -- but she now does traditional acoustic music too. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Interesting stuff, Tom. Its cool .......to hear about your kids and their 'changing tastes with musicical instruments! I DO like your 'budget' electric collection. Any ONE of us would be proud to own those Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Interesting stuff, Tom. Its cool .......to hear about your kids and their 'changing tastes with musicical instruments! I DO like your 'budget' electric collection. Any ONE of us would be proud to own those Rod It is really bring backs memories of the younger us. Our 1970s recreation was was to visit flea markets and pawn shops on Saturday -- this all changed about 30 years ago. We got the the Danelectro Coral Firefly, the '67 SG JR, and the '62 Melody Maker for $100 each -- a bulk buy from a flea market guy who was going out of business. We got the Lake Placid Blue Fender Coranado at a pawn shop for $200, and the 67 Fender Music Master for $140. We payed south of $100 for all the Kays on the right side -- the old bass sounds quite good and it goes out pretty often when we want to avoid the stand up bass. The same is true for the Silvertone Dans with the in-case amps -- if you started in your teens playing some rock in the late 50s, those feel like coming home. We used them quite a bit about 25 years ago in our really brief blues period. The Wildwood Coranado was the last one we got -- I traded a mid 70 Mustang (that my son has rejected for the Strat) for it because basically I thought it was cool. Because these are true hollow bodies, they feed back badly on a loud stage -- we now mostly bring them out each Christmas and play carols on them. The Kent on right center was actually my electric in the 60s, but even then I was mostly a folkie. The one on the left center is new old stock -- $50 at a flea market. The only other thing is the 67 blackface deluxe reverb. I bought it at a flea market -- its tubes were lying in the bottom and the guy said he had two and did not need it. He wanted $50. Well, I am basically an honest person, and if someone has something way underpriced, I will tell them. But at this time (maybe 15 years ago), I had never studied Fender amps -- I had no idea what it was or how old it was. So my wife offered him $40, and he took it. Since I figured out what I had, I (it worked BTW) have felt guilty. Ahh, the good old days . Those days are gone now -- it is no longer even worth the trouble to go out at all. In case you have not noticed, I like to tell guitar stories almost as much as I love to play music. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hey Tom! Beyond words at the moment, over your story. Will hit you back with a 'proper' reply later! Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 I have a single pickup '60 that looks like a Les Paul Jr at first glance single cut, yellow/brown burst. it is very lightweight. Sounds a lot like a Telecaster. Haven't played it in some time. All original for the most part. Gotta get it out, put on fresh strings and crank it up one day. It was a beater when I bought it but it still looks and plays great. Fat 50's neck. Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 We pretended to be electric players for awhile in the 70s, but then we went back to acoustics. However, in the process we picked up a few electrics -- mostly 60s -- pawn shops, flea market, garage sales, etc. One of them we picked up was a 62 melody maker. You can see it in this picture. My son played in his alt rock band for awhile, but then went back to a Strat. My daughter also played in a rock band for awhile -- she has a '74 Tele Deluxe -- but she now does traditional acoustic music too. Let's pick, -Tom Very cool! Beautiful collection, Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I have a 1964 Doublecut Melody Maker, 2 pickup model in sunburst. Was all-original, but made some performance/playability upgrades (reversible, except the new nut). In total I swapped out the stock bridge for a Tonepros AVT-2 Adjustable Wraparound, replaced the bridge pickup with a Wolfetone P90 (and got a new pickguard so the old one wasn't cut up), replaced the nut (it was worn down to nothing and beyond repair) and replaced the cheap tuners with vintage-style Grovers. Here she is stock: And here she is after: Perhaps one day I'll put her back to stock... -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCBirdMan Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Hello, Who has a Gibson Melody Maker? I have a 1965 Melody Maker, and I love it! I'd love to hear about/see pictures of your Melody Maker! I personally think Melody Makers are a very underrated vintage Gibson, what about you? I had a question that I was hoping someone could help me with: Does anyone know approximately how many 1965 Melody Makers were made? Thanks! Melody Makers were intended as more entry level inexpensive student electric guitars, but were quite good. That little Gibson single coil pickup is sort of underrated/overlooked-- but has a nice clean sound. Although I don't know how many were made that year, probably a substantial number. Seems like the MM spanned the 60s almost exactly. SG body Melody Makers started in maybe '66 and are also great... the 3 pickup one is totally killer and a pretty good bargain, even now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Melody Makers were intended as more entry level inexpensive student electric guitars, but were quite good. That little Gibson single coil pickup is sort of underrated/overlooked-- but has a nice clean sound. Although I don't know how many were made that year, probably a substantial number. Seems like the MM spanned the 60s almost exactly. SG body Melody Makers started in maybe '66 and are also great... the 3 pickup one is totally killer and a pretty good bargain, even now. Yeah, Melody Makers started production in '59 and the original design was last produced in '65, before they switched it to the SG shape. Also, prior to that, there was a smaller change to the body style in '63 or '64 I believe. They shifted the horns forward and made them a bit pointier, almost like a transition period between the original and SG shapes. Also, those thinner Gibson single coils have a nice clean sound for a reason; they're the pickups Gibson used in their electric lap steels. If you take off the plastic baseplate, it's a bobbin with one big bar bagnet inside. Pretty low output, mine read 7.20K neck and 7.28K bridge. -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Melody Makers were intended as more entry level inexpensive student electric guitars, but were quite good. Just a little addition; the reason they're so good is because this was a time when the price bracket didn't determine the quality of materials Gibson used. A Gibson was a Gibson. The Melody Makers still got the same 1-piece Honduras Mahogany bodies and necks (albeit thinner bodies), Brazillian Rosewood fretboards and same high-gloss nitro finish (without plasticizers!). -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Awesome! OK, got it out of the attic and dusted it off: I believe it may still have the original frets on it as I got it in 1980 and there are deep grooves on the frets, I never changed 'em, it plays just fine. The nut looks like white plastic, I don't know if that's stock and it looks like the marker on the third fret was replaced. There's some good buckle rash on the back but I bought it because I wanted a guitar that looked as if it had been played. I also liked this model because I was lusting after a Les Paul Jr but either couldn't find one or afford one or both. I may have replaced the strap pins and seem to remember that one of them was black plastic and I couldn't match that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 OK, got it out of the attic and dusted it off: I believe it may still have the original frets on it as I got it in 1980 and there are deep grooves on the frets, I never changed 'em, it plays just fine. The nut looks like white plastic, I don't know if that's stock and it looks like the marker on the third fret was replaced. There's some good buckle rash on the back but I bought it because I wanted a guitar that looked as if it had been played. I also liked this model because I was lusting after a Les Paul Jr but either couldn't find one or afford one or both. I may have replaced the strap pins and seem to remember that one of them was black plastic and I couldn't match that. Oooh, a '59. Very nice. Heard good things about the wider Melody Maker single coil they used in those... -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 OK, got it out of the attic and dusted it off: I believe it may still have the original frets on it as I got it in 1980 and there are deep grooves on the frets, I never changed 'em, it plays just fine. The nut looks like white plastic, I don't know if that's stock and it looks like the marker on the third fret was replaced. There's some good buckle rash on the back but I bought it because I wanted a guitar that looked as if it had been played. I also liked this model because I was lusting after a Les Paul Jr but either couldn't find one or afford one or both. I may have replaced the strap pins and seem to remember that one of them was black plastic and I couldn't match that. Very Nice-looking Junior jr. Play to good health! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Oooh, a '59. Very nice. Heard good things about the wider Melody Maker single coil they used in those... -Ryan It's actually a 1960, it does sound great, a lot like a vintage Tele with Gibson overtones. Very Nice-looking Junior jr. Play to good health! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 I have a 1964 Doublecut Melody Maker, 2 pickup model in sunburst. Was all-original, but made some performance/playability upgrades (reversible, except the new nut). In total I swapped out the stock bridge for a Tonepros AVT-2 Adjustable Wraparound, replaced the bridge pickup with a Wolfetone P90 (and got a new pickguard so the old one wasn't cut up), replaced the nut (it was worn down to nothing and beyond repair) and replaced the cheap tuners with vintage-style Grovers. Here she is stock: And here she is after: Perhaps one day I'll put her back to stock... -Ryan Very cool guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Melody Makers were intended as more entry level inexpensive student electric guitars, but were quite good. That little Gibson single coil pickup is sort of underrated/overlooked-- but has a nice clean sound. Although I don't know how many were made that year, probably a substantial number. Seems like the MM spanned the 60s almost exactly. SG body Melody Makers started in maybe '66 and are also great... the 3 pickup one is totally killer and a pretty good bargain, even now. I agree! The pickups are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 OK, got it out of the attic and dusted it off: I believe it may still have the original frets on it as I got it in 1980 and there are deep grooves on the frets, I never changed 'em, it plays just fine. The nut looks like white plastic, I don't know if that's stock and it looks like the marker on the third fret was replaced. There's some good buckle rash on the back but I bought it because I wanted a guitar that looked as if it had been played. I also liked this model because I was lusting after a Les Paul Jr but either couldn't find one or afford one or both. I may have replaced the strap pins and seem to remember that one of them was black plastic and I couldn't match that. Beautiful guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Does anyone know what year Joan Jett's Melody Maker is? She got the guitar in 1977, according to this webpage: http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Melody-Maker/Gibson-USA/Joan-Jett-Signature-Melody-Maker.aspx To me, her guitar looks different than a 1964-5 Melody Maker. Maybe because it's been modified? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Does anyone know what year Joan Jett's Melody Maker is? She got the guitar in 1977, according to this webpage: http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Melody-Maker/Gibson-USA/Joan-Jett-Signature-Melody-Maker.aspx To me, her guitar looks different than a 1964-5 Melody Maker. Maybe because it's been modified? Thanks! Body shape looks identical to my '64. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melodymaker'65 Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Body shape looks identical to my '64. I did some more research, and found that her MM is a 1965. It has been heavily modified, as you can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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