Gibson Melody Maker First Look

[Zaphod B]

Some body shots....

From the right side...

 

[Zaphod B]

More body...

From the upper left....

 

[Zaphod B]

How about some head?

Head stock. Sorry about the poor focus. It appears that the headstock is veneered - it's the only part of the guitar that has a smooth finish.

 

[Zaphod B]

Neck joint

Here's a good shot of the neck joint from the top. Note that there's a noticeable pocket in the body - this is different from my LP Special, which is smooth on the lower side of the neck joint. I assume this is due to the neck heel and body being thinner at the joint, for reserve strength. You don't notice it when you play.

 

[Zaphod B]

The mystery pickups....

A close up of the pickups. As you can see, they really protrude from the body - this isn't evident from the pictures you see on Musician's Friend, etc.

 

[JCH]

Cool little guitar. I'd love to see one up close.
What are your impressions of the bridge?
How's the factory intonation?
What does it weigh?

 

[Zaphod B]

Talk about no pore fillers!

Here's a shot of the back side of the headstock. You can really tell what pore fillers do when they're not used on an open-grained wood like mahogany!

It's ugly but I guess you get what you pay for. The tuners are marked as "Gibson Deluxe."

 

[marshall409]

no offence to you zaphod

but man, i hate that headstock.


enjoy your new guitar though.


Adam

 

[Zaphod B]

Baby got back!

The back side of the guitar. Again you can clearly see the pores in the wood. This also shows the neck joint from the rear.

 

[Zaphod B]

Cool little guitar. I'd love to see one up close.
What are your impressions of the bridge?
How's the factory intonation?
What does it weigh?

JCH - The bridge is just a straight tailpiece with no compensation for the individual strings. There are set screws at each end for overall compensation. That said, the intonation is pretty close out of the box.

I don't have a scale that would be accurate at these weights, but I'd say it weighs about 2/3 what my LP special weighs - maybe less. It's definitely easy to haul around by the neck.

 

[Zaphod B]

but man, i hate that headstock.
enjoy your new guitar though.

No offense taken. It is really ugly on the backside. I'm going to try not to look at it from that angle any more than I have to.

 

[raven46]

cool, you went for the sunburst

nice one, it looks the business, hope you have many a good jam on it

 

[Zaphod B]

cool, you went for the sunburst

nice one, it looks the business, hope you have many a good jam on it

Thanks, raven - I'm planning on it.

 

[Gorty]

Thanx Zaphod for the pics. For what you paid and for how it plays I think you have done well!

 

[Sonixx]

maybe I missed it, but is this a new Melody Maker?

Also, how balanced is the guitar. the body sinks on mine when I let go.

looks like you have a Satin finish?

 

[rileykill]

Thanks for posting photos - looks very nice overall. Pretty solid deal, there.

 

[Zaphod B]

maybe I missed it, but is this a new Melody Maker?

Also, how balanced is the guitar. the body sinks on mine when I let go.

looks like you have a Satin finish?

Sonixx, yes, this is a brand-spankin' new Melody Maker, mail-ordered from Musician's Friend.

The guitar is well-balanced - ever so slightly neck-heavy when strapped on, but not so much that you feel like you're holding up the neck.

It is a satin finish of the "faded" variety.

 

[Buck62]

Wow... that guitar sure screams "Look at me!... I'm cheap and ugly, too!"

I hope she plays better than she looks!

May I suggest a name for her?

Ugly Betty









.

 

[Zaphod B]

Wow... that guitar sure screams "Look at me!... I'm cheap and ugly, too!"
I hope she plays better than she looks!
May I suggest a name for her?
Ugly Betty

Very funny. And true. Fortunately, it plays and sound a lot better than it looks.

If I named my stuff, that would be an appropriate one!

 

[Sonixx]

Wow... that guitar sure screams "Look at me!... I'm cheap and ugly, too!"

I like it... very cool.

FWIW here's my early 70's (I think) Melody Maker. I gigged with it on and off for years, painted it, and added the whammy. It had a Cherry finish. Since yours is Sunburst, here's my PRS that has a similar finish.