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Free Les Paul Melody Maker Mod Ideas...


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Hi,

 

So i recently stumbled across a Les Paul Melody Maker in a pile of trash and like any responsible guitarist, grabbed it!! Score...

Anyway, im pretty into customising and modding my guitars, but not got loads of ideas for this one and was wondering if anyone did have any or had done any mods to MMs before and would care to advise or warn etc.

 

In the past i have swapped out pups or for example with my strat put all new pups and switching mechanism in (now has 6 dials and 3 switches in stead of usual 3 and one 5 way selector)

 

So yer..ideas please would be great.

Cheers!!

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i have a MM...not from the trash...and the first thing i would do is put a Real P-90 in it!

 

the MM reissues come with a "Gibson special design" pickup...which is just code for chinese generic!

 

i still have that pickup...and it does the job but alot of people say its underpowered compared to a real P-90!

also you can always throw a bigsby b5 on there...the same bigsby that goes well with the SG.

 

the knobs on that baby are solid and actually work so no change on that...maybe the tuners??

the white ones look nice but the strip ones would be better...plus if you put a bigsby on it you'd want locking tuners i would imagine...get it set-up possibly have the frets leveled...i did that to my Les Paul VM and it plays like a dream...plays twice as expensive as the 875 i payed for it...

 

the MM is a fun little guitar and more than just a gimmick!

some people set them up high and play slide on them or use them for weird tunings...

 

the strap pegs on the guitar are great too...wide enough to not need straplocks!

 

overall you got lucky as hell!

i got mine for 200 on Craigslist like a year ago and i thought i was lucky...free?? cmon!

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Yer it was a pretty lucky find!! Thanks for all the information Mr Newhaven and co, not too knowledgable about the guitar as it was stumbled across not researched and bought. Have a few other guitars (strat, tele, prs modded thing) so was looking for something that would offer me alternatives. Its not a proper p-90 on this then? Doesnt surprise me...P90s are fairly unique sounding, might look to stick one on then maybe a humbucker too, i like variety. BigKahune, thats quite something, i like!! Presume the extra pickups involve some routing?

 

And one last one (sorry if this is real stupid...just dont really know gibsons that well) how different is P-90 sound to say single coils on tele / strat?

 

Thanks people

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It all depends on which Melody Maker you have. You never mentioned it.

 

The 2007 Melody Maker, which is still being made today, is almost a reissue of the 1959 model with a single-coil pickup. In 2003, they were selling a model which was essentialy a Les Paul Junior, with a P-90.

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Thats a good point, i did try to work something out fromt he serial number...00263305 has made in the use stamped on the back of the headstock too below that...so 26th Jan 2003 this was made by my reckoning. I thought it was a Junior when i first found it, it has no scratchplate, just the pup, couple of dials and jack on the front of the guitar

http://www.harmony-central.com/ProductImages/Large/000007966.jpg looks identicle

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Yeah, that's the P-90 version. The local Guitar Center was trying to sell a used one as a "Les Paul Junior Faded" $600.

 

You could put a mini-humbucker in there, if you wanted. You'd just have to find a dogear mounting ring... I've seen them somewhere, but they're not easy to find.

 

Or you could make a custom pickguard- one benefit of it not having one is there are no screw holes to cover.

 

[EDIT] Closest I could find, for now:

 

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/custom-shop/specialized-1/p90_dog_ear_hum/

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Question for anyone who knows... on a 2007-version Melody Maker, how big is the pickup routing? I see a lot of pickguards for sale online to accomodate other kinds of pickups, and I wondered if it was routed to the exact size of the pickup or slightly bigger.

 

Specifcally... is it big enough for a P-90 or mini-humbucker?

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I have a new MM single pickup and would like to change to a custom color pickguard. How difficult is it to change with the electronics attached to the pickguard. Also, can I just loosen the strings for this procedure or do I have to remove them to lift out the pickup assembly.

I think a white MM with a custom red pearl pickguard will look righteous!

 

Thanks

Kungfumailman

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Question for anyone who knows... on a 2007-version Melody Maker' date=' how big is the pickup routing? I see a lot of pickguards for sale online to accomodate other kinds of pickups, and I wondered if it was routed to the exact size of the pickup or slightly bigger.

 

Specifcally... is it big enough for a P-90 or mini-humbucker?[/quote']

 

It is smaller than a standard single coil, the MM pickup is basically half a humbucker.

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thats def a P-90

 

good score my friend!

 

the bigsby B5 is still a good option...to be honest...if you mess with it too much it will take away from what it really is...a cheap (free in your case) great sounding instrument that should have a voice all its own when compared to your other guitars...

 

good luck with it!

 

and let us know how things turn out!

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This is a little mockup I made of what I want to do with mine (when I get it...)

 

Picture5.png

 

Refinish with Stew-Mac aerosol lacquer, replace the pickup with a lipstick tube or a Charlie Christian. The headstock is just wrong, I don't intend to change it, but I can't change it on the program.

 

(Made at The Complete Telecaster)

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pohatu771 - man that looks nice. I like that you've kept the pickguard.

 

and that red - reminds me of the original finish on mine which was a bit brighter, called cardinal red (lacquered, not stained). Actually that red finish is rare, here's a pic

 

65MMorigfin.jpg

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Hey SolidGuitar - you nailed me. When I modded it back in the 70s, most players knew what it was after. These days, you're one of only a couple guys that hit it. That pup setup really puts out a vintage sound. My mod has two 3ways that allow and single/combo selection of the 3 pups. These days I can afford to throw down loot on a LP if I want, back then it was mod a MM or Junior. I paid $60 for that '65 MM in 1974, and the price included a Gibson amp.

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It looks like you got the old Pete Townshend Les Paul Deluxe setup there. Sweet.

 

frontadd.jpg65MMfront-up.jpg

 

Hey SolidGuitar - you nailed me. Townsend acutally had a few setup like this (that #9 is a '75 I think). When I modded my MM back in the 70s, most players knew what it was after. These days, you're one of only a couple guys that hit it. That pup setup really puts out a vintage sound. My mod has two 3ways that allow any single or combo selection of the 3 pups. These days I can afford to throw down loot on a LP if I want, back then it was mod a MM or Junior. I paid $60 for that '65 MM in 1974, and the price included a Gibson amp. I scrounged the mod parts up for less than $150 total (including the bridge and tuners).

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  • 1 month later...

IF YOUR PICK UP IS WHITE, I CAN TRADE YOU FOR THE DIMARZIO SINGLE COIL ONE THAT IS CURRENTLY ON MINE. OR BUY YOURS.

JUST RECENTLY ACQUIRED A LATE 60'S OR SO GIBSON MELODY MAKER WITH DUAL WHITE SINGLE PICKUPS, WHITE PICKGUARD , IN CARDINAL RED . AM LOOKING FOR THE BRIDGE PICKUP FROM AROUND THAT PERIOD, MID TO LATE 60'S. WILL BUY 1 OR A SET OF 2 IF THEY ARE A MATCHED SET FROM THE SAME GUITAR. THIS IS THE SG TYPE HORN MELODY MAKER WITH THE TREMELO ARM. IT CURRENTLY HAS A DIMARZIO IN THE BRIDGE POSITION. IT SCREAMS WITH THIS PICKUP BUT WOULD LOVE TO GET IT BACK TO ORIGINAL SPECS. ANYONE WITH A MM WHITE PICKUP THAT IS NOT IN USE PLEASE EMAIL ME OR CALL ME. WILL BUY YOURS.

THANKS LOU

machepalle@aol.com

212 702-0116 nyc

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