Melody Maker - ID and parts needed

[FlatBot]

A dear friend of mine passed away recently and I inherited his guitar.   I'd like to identify it and also acquire a new bridge so I can restore it and play it.

I believe it is a Les Paul Melody Maker like this one (Picture from Wikipedia).

Here are some pics of my friend's guitar:

 

 

 

Notice the bridge posts require 2 bridge pieces.

[JO'C]

Looks to be a 1965 based on the serial#. I believe these came with P90 pickups originally so someone in the past likely routed it for a humbucker. Knobs have been changed to speed knobs. It was originally a tremolo model, not a stop tail, hence the 3 posts. Here's a link to one on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/item/71818472-gibson-melody-maker-with-vibrola-1964-1965-cherry

Finding the missing pieces could be tough... and expensive. Good luck getting it back into shape.

 

[FlatBot]

Thank you for the reply.  I believe you are right, and have identified the correct era. 

Now to find compatible parts.   I honestly don't want to set it up with a Tremolo.   I'd rather have a fixed bridge.

[JO'C]

If you put a stop tail piece in, you'll need to drill two additional holes in the body. The three that are there for the trem are too far back and straight in line. The stop bar holes are angled a bit. Then you'll have 3 extra holes further back. The good news is that it's black. And black is black, so filling the 3 holes and touching up shouldn't be too difficult. You may want to remove the control panel to get a look at the back of the pickup to see what it is. It might be quite valuable if it's an original PAF or Pat No. sticker Humbucker. Just don't leave the plastic panel off too long as it might shrink and be difficult to reattach. I had this happen on a 1966 Fender Jazzmaster that I had. Got it back on but it was a scary few minutes. Old and aged plastic does funky things.